cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Possible case of nafcillin-induced acute interstitial nephritis.

Purpose To report a case of acute interstitial nephritis (AIN) secondary to nafcillin. Summary A 55-year-old Hispanic man (height, 63 in.; weight, 61.2 kg) with a history of deep vein thrombosis in the right lower extremity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and hepatitis C infection was admitted to the hospital with right-sided chest pain that radiated down his right arm and leg. The patient was diagnosed with methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus endocarditis. A renal ultrasound was performed on hospital day 9 after the patient developed acute renal failure and showed diffusely increasing echogenicity of the renal parenchymal bilaterally with an interpolar cyst in the left kidney. A urine analysis, serum chemistry panels, and complete blood counts were consistent with AIN. The patient received a total of seven days of nafcillin, and cefazolin was initiated. A renal ultrasound and renal biopsy were performed, which confirmed the diagnosis of AIN. The patient received short-term hemodialysis, after which his renal function slowly returned to baseline. He then underwent an aortic valve replacement and tricuspid valve repair. His antibiotics were changed to rifampin and vancomycin after methicillin-resistant S. aureus was found in an aortic valve culture on hospital day 26. Cefazolin was discontinued 3 days after rifampin and vancomycin were added. The patient received 18 more days of antibiotics and was discharged on the last day of therapy (hospital day 45). Conclusion A 55-year-old, critically ill man developed a possible case of nafcillin-induced AIN after receiving a 7-day course of treatment with the drug.
Applications of isothermal titration calorimetry in RNA biochemistry and biophysics

Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) has been applied to the study of proteins for many years. Its use in the biophysical analysis of RNAs has lagged significantly behind its use in protein biochemistry, however, in part because of the relatively large samples required. As the instrumentation has become more sensitive, the ability to obtain high quality data on RNA folding and RNA ligand interactions has improved dramatically. This review provides an overview of the ITC experiment and describes recent work on RNA systems that have taken advantage of its versatility for the study of small molecule binding, protein binding, and the analysis of RNA folding.
Intraspecific competition effects on Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae).

Two kinds of experiments were conducted with Aethina tumida Murray larvae over four temperatures: “consumption” experiments, in which larvae and diet were weighed to determine food consumption rates under conditions of unlimited food and few conspecifics; and “competition” experiments, in which varying numbers of larvae were presented with the same amount of honey and pollen diet, and larval weight at final instar was used to determine competition effects. In consumption experiments temperature, diet and their interaction all had significant effects on the ratio of larval weight to the weight of food consumed, which was higher at 24°C than at any other temperature. In competition experiments, three relationships were examined and modeled: that between the number of larvae per experimental unit and the average weight of those larvae; that between average larval and adult weights; and that between average adult weight and survivorship to adult (emergence rate). An exponential decay function was fit to the relationship between number of larvae per experimental unit and their average weight. Average adult weight was linearly correlated with larval weight. Likewise, emergence rates for adults <11.6 mg in weight were linearly correlated with adult weights, but no significant relationship was observed for heavier adults. Using these relationships, the reproductive potential for A. tumida were estimated for a frame of honey and pollen. Information on resource acquisition by A. tumida will be useful in evaluating the impact of different factors on beetle population dynamics, such as bee hygienic behavior or control strategies used by the beekeeper.
Modeling of longitudinally pumped solid-state lasers exhibiting reabsorption losses

Many solid-state lasers of current interest exhibit reabsorption loss. Previous modeling calculations of laser performance with longitudinal pumping either have neglected reabsorption loss or have been valid only for certain special cases of the ratio of the pump- and laser-beam waists. Rigorous numerical modeling calculations have been carried out to provide a comprehensive understanding of the behavior of longitudinally pumped solid-state lasers, including reabsorption loss and for arbitrary sizes of the pump- and laser-beam waists. In addition, certain aspects of laser behavior that have traditionally not been discussed in papers on laser modeling, such as clamping, saturation, and spatial distribution of the population-inversion density, are investigated to provide a general understanding of laser performance. The results are applied to a particular solid-state laser of current practical interest, the 946-nm Nd:YAG laser.
Residential segregation and interracial friendship in schools

This article uses social network and spatial data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine the effect of racial residential segregation on school friendship segregation in the United States. The use of hierarchical models allows the authors to simultaneously estimate the effects of race, within‐school residential segregation, and school diversity on friendship choice using the Add Health data. The authors use these results to predict the decline in friendship segregation that would occur if across‐ and within‐school residential segregation were eliminated in U.S. metropolitan areas. The results suggest that about a third of the level of racial friendship segregation in schools is attributable to residential segregation. Most of this effect is the result of residential segregation across schools rather than within them.
Tesseral harmonics of the gravitational field and geodetic datum shifts derived from camera observations of satellites

Tesseral harmonics of gravitational field and geodetic datum shifts derived from Baker-Nunn camera observations of satellites
Voluntary intake and digestibility by mature beef cattle and Holstein steer calves consuming alfalfa or orchardgrass hay supplemented with soybean oil and(or) corn.

Effects and interactions of corn and soybean oil supplementation and forage source on feed intake and digestibility by mature and growing cattle were determined. Eight mature beef cattle (571 ± 17 kg initial body weight) were used in two simultaneous 4×4 Latin squares. Cattle in each square consumed long‐stemmed alfalfa (AL; 16% crude protein, 54% neutral detergent fibre and 6.1% acid detergent lignin) or orchardgrass (OR; 11% crude protein, 71% neutral detergent fibre and 9.4% acid detergent lignin) hay ad libitum for 15 d followed by 6 d of restricted consumption (85% of ad libitum). Supplement treatments were Control, ground corn (C; 0.5% body weight), soybean oil (O; 0.125% body weight), or C + O. Total ad libitum dry matter (DM) intake was greater for AL than for OR (P < 0.05) and with than without C (P < 0.05), and a corn x soybean oil interaction occurred (P = 0.07; 11.8, 14.0, 13.6, 14.2, 8.4, 10.7, 9.3 and 10.3 kg/d); total tract neutral detergent fibre (NDF) digestibility was 66.0, 67.7, 65.8, 6...
More Genes or More Taxa? The Relative Contribution of Gene Number and Taxon Number to Phylogenetic Accuracy

The relative contribution of taxon number and gene number to accuracy in phylogenetic inference is a major issue in phylogenetics and of central importance to the choice of experimental strategies for the successful reconstruction of a broad sketch of the tree of life. Maximization of the number of taxa sampled is the strategy favored by most phylogeneticists, although its necessity remains the subject of debate. Vast increases in gene number are now possible due to advances in genomics, but large numbers of genes will be available for only modest numbers of taxa, raising the question of whether such genome-scale phylogenies will be robust to the addition of taxa. To examine the relative benefit of increasing taxon number or gene number to phylogenetic accuracy, we have developed an assay that utilizes the symmetric difference tree distance as a measure of phylogenetic accuracy. We have applied this assay to a genome-scale data matrix containing 106 genes from 14 yeast species. Our results show that increasing taxon number correlates with a slight decrease in phylogenetic accuracy. In contrast, increasing gene number has a significant positive effect on phylogenetic accuracy. Analyses of an additional taxon-rich data matrix from the same yeast clade show that taxon number does not have a significant effect on phylogenetic accuracy. The positive effect of gene number and the lack of effect of taxon number on phylogenetic accuracy are also corroborated by analyses of two data matrices from mammals and angiosperm plants, respectively. We conclude that, for typical data sets, the number of genes utilized may be a more important determinant of phylogenetic accuracy than taxon number.
Precipitation and Temperature Forecast Performance at the Weather Prediction Center

AbstractThe role of the human forecaster in improving upon the accuracy of numerical weather prediction is explored using multiyear verification of human-generated short-range precipitation forecasts and medium-range maximum temperature forecasts from the Weather Prediction Center (WPC). Results show that human-generated forecasts improve over raw deterministic model guidance. Over the past two decades, WPC human forecasters achieved a 20%–40% improvement over the North American Mesoscale (NAM) model and the Global Forecast System (GFS) for the 1 in. (25.4 mm) (24 h)−1 threshold for day 1 precipitation forecasts, with a smaller, but statistically significant, 5%–15% improvement over the deterministic ECMWF model. Medium-range maximum temperature forecasts also exhibit statistically significant improvement over GFS model output statistics (MOS), and the improvement has been increasing over the past 5 yr. The quality added by humans for forecasts of high-impact events varies by element and forecast projecti...
An improvement to the Minkowski-Hiawka bound for packing superballs

The Minkowski-Hlawka bound implies that there exist lattice packings of n-dimensional “superballs” |x1|σ + … + |xn|σ ≤ 1 (σ = 1,2,…) having density Δ satisfying log2 Δ ≥ −n(l + o(l)) as n → ∞. For each n = pσ (p an odd prime) we exhibit a finite set of lattices, constructed from codes over GF(p), that contain packings of superballs having log2 Δ ≥ −cn(l + o(l)), where for σ = 2 (the classical sphere packing problem), worse than but surprisingly close to the Minkowski-Hlawka bound, and c = 0·8226 … for σ = 3, c = 0·6742 … for σ = 4, etc., improving on that bound.
CEPM 3: contributors to lead time in construction supply chains: case of pipe supports used in power plants

This paper describes process models that characterize the design phase in the supply chain of pipe supports used in power plants. The models are used to study how production system design factors such as batching, uncertainty, and multitasking throughout this phase hamper supply chain performance. These factors all cause an increase in lead time. The models build on the STROBOSCOPE discrete-event simulation engine and illustrate several deterministic and probabilistic simulation scenarios including different batch sizes, uncertainty levels, and allocation percentages of shared resources. Based on the analysis of the simulation results, this paper recommends performance improvement opportunities that apply not only to the supply chain of pipe supports but generally to the delivery of capital projects.
Improving gene expression programming performance by using differential evolution

Gene Expression Programming (GEP) is an evolutionary algorithm that incorporates both the idea of a simple, linear chromosome of fixed length used in Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and the tree structure of different sizes and shapes used in Genetic Programming (GP). As with other GP algorithms, GEP has difficulty finding appropriate numeric constants for terminal nodes in the expression trees. In this work, we describe a new approach of constant generation using Differential Evolution (DE), a real-valued GA robust and efficient at parameter optimization. Our experimental results on two symbolic regression problems show that the approach significantly improves the performance of the GEP algorithm. The proposed approach can be easily extended to other Genetic Programming variations.
Development of an Instrument to Measure Evaluative Criteria that Patients Use in Selecting a Pharmacy for Obtaining Prescription Drugs

The objectives of this study were (1) to design an instrument which identifies the attributes of evaluative criteria that are used by patients in selecting a pharmacy for obtaining prescrip tion drugs, (2) to analyze these attributes and formulate dimensions of evaluative criteria, and (3) to assess the reliability of the instrument. The instrument contained 51 items describing various attributes of evaluative criteria. After pretesting the instrument, it was mailed to a systematic random sample of 500 households in Madison and Middleton, Wisconsin. The response rate was 69.5%. Using multivariate analysis, eleven dimensions (factors) were identified which explained 64.9% of the variance. Pharmacist-related factors accounted for approximately 39% of the variance. Reliability assessment of the instrument suggested that the sampling of items for the domain of evaluative criteria was adequate. As the practice of pharmacy evolves in the health care system, researchers must be cognizant of the fact that patient...
The IUPS and International Relations. A Response to Otto Klineberg

Abstract I am prompted to record these few thoughts in response to your article, “The IUPS and International Relations,” in the International Journal of Psychology 1. I will respond in terms of the two questions you posed for the Executive Committee.
The demonstration of plasmin agglutinators in human sera.

Plasmin agglutinators are natural IgG anti-Fab antibodies. These antibodies bind to erythrocytes which are coated with the Fab fragments of anti-Rh antibodies that have been hydrolyzed with plasmin. The plasmin agglutinators are demonstrable in most human sera albeit in low titer. These agglutinators can be inhibited with Fab fragments that have been hydrolyzed with subtilisin, bromelin, trypsin, and plasmin but cannot be inhibited by Fab fragments from pepsin, ficin, chymotrypsin, papain or elastase digests. The Fab fragments from naturally fragmented immune serum globulin gave identical inhibition reactions to those produced by plasmin hydrolysis.
A minimax sensor placement approach for damage detection in composite structures

This article proposes a new method for optimal placement of sensors for detecting damages in composite structures. The problem is formulated as a minimax optimization in which the goal is to find the coordinates of a given number of sensors so that the worst (maximum) probability of nondetection of the sensor network is made as good as possible (minimized). It is shown that a minimax approach can more efficiently place the sensors on complex geometries, compared to existing placement methods that consider average probability of detection. The method allows one to account for characteristics of sensors by assuming that the effectiveness of a sensor decreases with the distance from damage via an experimentally determined sensor probability of detection function and sensor noise in sensor network optimization. The formulation also enables to account for nonuniform likelihood of damages on the structure, which often arises due to irregular loading or boundary conditions, using a damage probability density. Nu...
Material Characterization and Transfer of Large-Area Ultra-Thin Polydimethylsiloxane Membranes

Fabrication of ultra-thin (1–20- $\mu \text{m}$ thickness) polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films is enabled with a hexane dilution process and an underlying gelatin release layer. The release and transfer of these films over large areas (>5 cm) allows measurement of the thickness-dependent and process-dependent mechanical properties of ultra-thin PDMS membranes, reported for the first time. The effective Young’s modulus of 1- $\mu \text{m}$ -thick PDMS, measured by bulge testing, is approximately ten times larger than that of 0.5-mm-thick material, following a continuous power-law relationship over the entire thickness range. Mesh-patterned metal electrodes of 2- $\mu \text{m}$ minimum feature size are embedded in selected membranes. Metal evaporation and subsequent reactive ion etch patterning on PDMS increases its Young’s modulus due to the increase in cross-link formation and hardening of the surface. The results are meaningful in design and fabrication of soft electronics, microsensors, microvalves, and micropumps. [2014-0382]
New Formulation and Strong MISOCP Relaxations for AC Optimal Transmission Switching Problem

As the modern transmission control and relay technologies evolve, transmission line switching has become an important option in power system operators’ toolkits to reduce operational cost and improve system reliability. Most recent research has relied on the DC approximation of the power flow model in the optimal transmission switching problem. However, it is known that DC approximation may lead to inaccurate flow solutions and also overlook stability issues. In this paper, we focus on the optimal transmission switching problem with the full AC power flow model, abbreviated as AC optimal transmission switching (AC OTS). We propose a new exact formulation for AC OTS and its mixed-integer second-order cone programming relaxation. We improve this relaxation via several types of strong valid inequalities inspired by the recent development for the closely related AC optimal power flow problem [Kocuk et al ., “Strong SOCP relaxations for the optimal power flow problem,” Oper. Res., vol. 64, no. 6, pp. 1177–1196, 2016]. We also propose a practical algorithm to obtain high-quality feasible solutions for the AC OTS problem. Extensive computational experiments show that the proposed formulation and algorithms efficiently solve IEEE standard and congested instances and lead to significant cost benefits with provably tight bounds.
Three Dimensions of the Openness of Borders

This talk identifies a dimension of the openness of borders that I call arpenness. Roughly, a border is arpen when nationals and foreigners are free to carry on various kinds of activities and relationships across that border. It is Activity and Relationship Permitting. There are two other dimensions of the openness of borders:1. Open for temporary entrances, stays, and departures These sorts of movements are often covered by tourist visas - if visas are required at all - and involve stays of a few months. The border between Denmark and Sweden is open in this sense. 2. Open for permanent entrances, stays, and departures This category covers arrivals and departures that are intended to be extended or permanent. Few if any international borders today are fully open in this sense, although permanent departure is usually permitted. Arpeness is a different dimension from either of these. When a border is highly arpen the following sorts of activities are possible: People can keep in touch with and send money to their relatives in other countries. Scholars from all around the world can work together on projects via phone, fax, and e-mail. People can associate with (be friends with, have love affairs with) people from other countries. Trade and business can be conducted across international boundaries. Religious groups can maintain ties with their co-religionists in other countries. Ethnic groups can maintain ties with their ethnic cousins in other countries. Political groups and human rights organizations can promote political causes and respect for human rights in other countries. Arpenness was a major concern of the Helsinki Accords. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe attempted to reduce tension between the Soviet and Western blocs. The Helsinki Accords, signed on August 1, 1975, included strong commitments to more arpen borders. Arpeness of international borders is of considerable value because it promotes liberty and human rights.
Effects of Problem-Based Learning on Recognition Learning and Transfer Accounting for GPA and Goal Orientation

Conflicting research results have stirred controversy over the effectiveness of problem-based learning (PBL) compared to direct instruction at fostering content learning, particularly for novices. We addressed this by investigating effectiveness with respect to recognition learning and transfer and conducting an aptitude-treatment interaction analysis. We also examined how students' goal orientations may moderate learning in PBL and lecture/discussion environments. Participants included 197 preservice teachers in an undergraduate educational psychology course. Controlling for GPA, students in the PBL condition performed significantly better than students in the lecture/discussion condition on a transfer measure (p <.001, partial η2 =.271) and equally on a recognition learning measure (p =.530). We also found an aptitude-treatment interaction for recognition learning (p =.012, partial η2 =.034) but not transfer (p =.088). Results of goal orientation on learning outcomes were inconclusive.
Enhanced Electron Extraction from Template-Free 3D Nanoparticulate Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) Electrodes for Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

The semiconducting metal oxide-based photoanodes in the most efficient dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) desires a low doping level to promote charge separation, which, however, limits the subsequ...
Vasoactive intestinal peptide promotes differentiation and clock gene expression in granulosa cells from prehierarchal follicles.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) signaling via cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is reported to stimulate steroidogenesis in ovarian granulosa cells from a variety of vertebrate species, including the domestic hen. Prior to follicle selection in the hen ovary (i.e., cyclic recruitment) follicle-stimulating-hormone (FSH)-induced cAMP signaling is absent within the granulosa layer until immediately following follicle selection. As a consequence, granulosa cells remain in an undifferentiated state and are unable to initiate FSH-induced steroidogenesis. VIP receptors (VPAC1 and VPAC2), like the FSH receptor, are G protein-coupled receptors, so we predicted that VIP signaling in granulosa cells is also absent in follicles that have not yet been selected into the preovulatory hierarchy. Initial studies established that mRNA encoding VPAC1 and VPAC2 are expressed within the granulosa cells throughout follicle development. Nevertheless, undifferentiated granulosa cells from prehierarchal (6-8 mm) follicles do not accumulate cAMP in response to a 4-hr incubation with chicken VIP; the capacity for such receptor signaling is attained only following selection within actively differentiating granulosa cells. VIP treatment did, however, increase expression of mRNA encoding the Gallus circadian clock protein, BMAL1-but only in granulosa cells collected from selected follicles. These findings provide evidence that, at follicle selection, the acquisition of VIP-induced cAMP cell signaling helps initiate and promote the differentiation of of granulosa cells. Furthermore, we propose that VIP signaling may regulate BMAL1 expression and, thus, a daily rhythmicity within granulosa cells of preovulatory follicles. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 83: 455-463, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A Completeness of Metrics for Topological Relations in 3D Qualitative Spatial Reasoning

For qualitative spatial reasoning, there are various dimensions of objects. A considerable amount of effort has been devoted to 2D representation and analysis of spatial relations. Here we present an exposition for 3D objects. There are three types of binary relations between pairs of objects: topological connectivity, cardinal directions, and distance relations. The combinations of these relations can provide additional useful knowledge. The spatial databases include data and the spatial relations to facilitate end-user spatial querying, it also is important to associate natural language with these relations. Some work has been done in this regard for line-region and region-region topological relations in 2D, and very recent work has initiated the association between natural language, topology, and metrics for 3D objects. However, prior efforts have lacked rigorous analysis, expressive power, and completeness of the associated metrics. Herein we present a detailed study of new metrics required to bridge the gap between topological connectivity and size information for integrating reasoning in spatial databases. The complete set of metrics that we present should be useful for a variety of applications dealing with 3D objects including regions with vague boundaries.
Evaluation of Health Education Program for Endemic Diseases in Puyang

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this program is to understand the percentage popularity of knowledge about the iodine shortage diseases and drinking water fluorosis after related health education at the county level of Puyang City,and to provide the evaluation of education effects.METHODS The method is carried out,according to the requirements of "Education Program for Endemic Diseases of He’nan Province,by surveying knowledge of endemic diseases with pupils and housewives corresponding to the necessary items required by this program.Then,the intervention effects are evaluated two months later after teaching pupils and housewives in counties,towns,villages and schools with the knowledge of endemic diseases.RESULTS The results show that after this education,pupils’ knowledge about the iodine shortage diseases increase from 49.89% to 95.27%;Housewives do from 55.21% to 92.72%.At the same time,after this education,pupils’ knowledge about the drinking water fluorosis increase from 47.22% to 89.89%;Housewives do from 46.89% to 87.67%.There are about an increase from 2.80% to 97.79% of pupils that are able to tell their parents about the iodine shortage diseases after this education;There are about an increase from 59.01% to 98.42% of housewives that know when to put iodine salt in their cooking;An increase from 39.20% to 74.45% of pupils is seen to be willing to drink water of low fluorine,while housewives grow up to 88.89% compared to the former 74.32% before this education.CONCLUSION Our conclusions are that health education is effective in strengthening peoples’ knowledge of endemic diseases,and their living styles improve greatly.In enhancing the popular education through public medium,the education-intervention mode of ‘pupil to family to community’ should be established towards this effort.
On Managerial Rights Transfer of Forest Park

For these years,the transfer of the managerial rights has become the main way for the forest parks to change their system of the management and administration.The article discusses the feasibility of the managerial rights transfer and states some main points by analyzing the current situation,feature and question of the administration of the forest parks.
The Circle and the Cycloid: A Surprising Link

(2007). The Circle and the Cycloid: A Surprising Link. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 114, No. 5, pp. 441-443.
Prevention of large colon displacements and volvulus.

Recurrence of large colon displacement or volvulus is a rare but significant occurrence in horses. Prevention of these lesions has been attempted by three basic approaches. They include removal of the displacing colon, obliteration of the space into which the colon displaces, and colopexy of the large colon. Large colon resection is useful for horses with strangulating lesions of the large intestine. For horses with a viable large colon, colopexy of the left large colon to the abdominal wall appears to be the best method for prevention of recurrence.
Red Blood Cells from Individuals with Abdominal Obesity or Metabolic Abnormalities Exhibit Less Deformability upon Entering a Constriction

Abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome (MS) are multifactorial conditions associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes mellitus. Previous work has demonstrated that the hemorheological profile is altered in patients with abdominal obesity and MS, as evidenced for example by increased whole blood viscosity. To date, however, no studies have examined red blood cell (RBC) deformability of blood from individuals with obesity or metabolic abnormalities under typical physiological flow conditions. In this study, we pumped RBCs through a constriction in a microfluidic device and used high speed video to visualize and track the mechanical behavior of ~8,000 RBCs obtained from either healthy individuals (n = 5) or obese participants with metabolic abnormalities (OMA) (n = 4). We demonstrate that the OMA+ cells stretched on average about 25% less than the healthy controls. Furthermore, we examined the effects of ingesting a high-fat meal on RBC mechanical dynamics, and found that the postprandial period has only a weak effect on the stretching dynamics exhibited by OMA+ cells. The results suggest that chronic rigidification of RBCs plays a key role in the increased blood pressure and increased whole blood viscosity observed in OMA individuals and was independent of an acute response triggered by consumption of a high-fat meal.
Pressure/flow modeling and induced seismicity resulting from two decades of high-pressure deep-well brine injection, Paradox Valley, Colorado

ABSTRACTThe Bureau of Reclamation operates a deep injection well near Paradox Valley, Colorado. Intermittent injection testing began in 1991, followed by near-continuous injection since 1996. Daily average injection flow rates and surface injection pressures have been recorded since 1991, and seismicity has been monitored since 1985. Before the injection flow rate was decreased in 2013 in response to the largest induced earthquake to date, observed wellhead pressures were increasing and approaching the maximum permitted pressure. Potential solutions were needed to provide long-term reductions in wellhead pressures and to minimize the occurrence of future large-magnitude induced earthquakes. A key step in this process is to establish whether the trend of increasing pressures is more likely caused by far-field reservoir pressurization or near-well flow impairment. The spatiotemporal occurrence of induced seismicity is fit relatively well by a 1D diffusive triggering front relationship, suggesting that the r...
The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra

The Fundamental Theorem of Algebra (stated below) provides an ideal case study for illustrating the roles of alternative proofs in mathematical practice. Like the Pythagorean Theorem, the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra has been proved in many different ways since its enunciation by Euler in 1739. Unlike the Pythagorean Theorem, however, early attempts to prove the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra are not shrouded in the mists of antiquity, so we know how the adequacy of those attempts was evaluated by mathematicians of the time. We can see how criticisms of earlier efforts to prove the theorem led to alternative proof strategies, and we can analyze why the proof given by Gauss in his 1799 inaugural dissertation was the first to be accorded general acceptance, though it too would later be deemed not fully rigorous.
Expression of connexin 26 and connexin 43 is reduced in Hirschsprung's disease

Abstract Background Despite having an optimal pull-through operation, some children with Hirschsprung's disease (HSCR) continue to experience persistent bowel symptoms. Coordinated colonic electrical activity depends on intercellular communication between the enteric nerves, interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs), smooth muscle cells, and fibroblast-like (platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha-positive) cells. Gap junctions are low-resistance channels composed of connexin (Cx) proteins which couple cells electrically and chemically. We aimed to evaluate the expression patterns of Cx26, Cx36, and Cx43 in the colon of children with HSCR and in healthy control colon. Materials and methods Entire resected colonic specimens were collected from children undergoing pull-through surgery for HSCR (n = 10). Colonic controls were collected at colostomy closure in children with imperforate anus (n = 8). Distribution of Cx26, Cx36, and Cx43 was assessed using double-labeled immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy. Protein expression was quantified using Western blot analysis. Results Sparse punctate Cx36 expression was seen in the myenteric plexus in nerve trunks and some platelet-derived growth factor receptor-alpha-positive cell and ICC fibers. Cx26 was similarly distributed, although it was not coexpressed in ICCs. Cx43 was only coexpressed with ICCs in the myenteric plexus. Expression of Cx26 and Cx43 was markedly reduced in the aganglionic colon in HSCR compared to controls, while Cx26 expression was also moderately reduced in the ganglionic bowel in HSCR. Conclusions Reduced expression of Cx26 and Cx43 is implicated in the pathophysiology of colonic dysmotility in the aganglionic bowel as well as, in the case of Cx26, the ganglionic bowel in HSCR.
Fabrication of assembled micromechanical components via deep X-ray lithography

A variant of deep X-ray lithography, the LIGA process, is described. The fundamental processing sequence has been augmented with a locally defined sacrificial polyimide layer. This requires alignment of the X-ray mask to the optically defined sacrificial pattern via specially developed align-and-clamping jigs. The end results of this process are either fully unsupported metal structures or components which are locally attached to the substrate. Attempts to use this type of processing to produce assembled devices have been successful. Thus, free gears and fully attached shafts have been connected to form a nickel gear box. More complex assembly experiments have been completed successfully and are encouraging enough to pursue this approach further. >
Selenium Isotopes as a Biogeochemical Proxy in Deep Time

Funding during the compilation of this manuscript was provided by the NASA postdoctoral program.
Age-specific neural strategies to maintain motor performance after an acute social stress bout

Stress due to cognitive demands and fatigue have shown to impair motor performance in older adults; however, the effect of social stress and its influence on prefrontal cortex (PFC) functioning in older adults during upper extremity motor performance tasks is not known. The present study explored the after-effects of an acute social stress bout on neural strategies, measured using PFC and hand/arm muscle activation, and adopted by younger and older adults to maintain handgrip force control. Nine older [74.1 (6.5) years; three men, six women] and ten younger [24.2 (5.0) years, four men, six women] adults performed handgrip force control trials at 30% maximum voluntary contractions before and after the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). PFC activity was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy and muscle activity from the flexor and extensor carpi radialis (FCR/ECR) was measured using electromyography. In general, aging was associated with decreased force steadiness and force complexity with a concomitant increase in bilateral PFC activity. While motor performance remained comparable before and after the TSST stress session in both age groups, the associated neural strategies differed between groups. While the stress condition was associated with lower FCR and ECR activity in younger adults despite no change in the PFC activation, stress was associated with increases in FCR activity in older adults. This stress-related compensatory neural strategy of increasing hand/arm muscle activation, potentially via the additional recruitment of the stress-motor neural circuitry, may have played a role in maintaining motor performance in older adults.
Preparing Fellows for Precision Cardiology: Are We Ready?

During his 2015 State of the Union address, former U.S. President Barack Obama launched the Precision Medicine Initiative, an innovative and ambitious effort to collect genetic and other health data on 1 million individuals nationwide to spur the development of tailored, patient-specific therapies.
Elastic Tissue Histochemistry

The object of our project has been to isolate, purify and characterize elastin from normal, fetal and pathological tissues and to relate the chemical findings to the morphological description of the tissue. Verhoeff’s iron haematoxylin technique (1) was adopted as the standard stain as it has reliably given a good differentiation between elastin and other connective tissue elements. However, it has not given entirely satisfactory results in pathological sections or in fetal tissue. To overcome some of these difficulties we have developed a fluorescent technique and have experimented with the Oxytalan fiber stain developed by Lillie & Fullmer (2).
Personalizing Glucose-Lowering Therapy in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes and Cardiovascular Disease

Twelve drug categories are marketed in the United States to lower blood glucose concentrations in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). After metformin, there is disagreement about the optimal next choice for combination therapy. Guidelines advise balancing potency, risks, benefits, and costs. For T2DM and cardiovascular disease (CVD), emerging evidence suggests that certain options may have specific advantages. Specific members of the thiazolidinedione, sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, and glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist classes have been associated with significant reductions in major adverse cardiovascular events, generally in those with established CVD. A personalized approach should consider these evidence-based therapies to optimize clinical outcomes.
Leaving a Light on for Ash: Explorations into the Activist Mothering of Coralee Smith (Mother of Ashley Smith, 1988-2007)

Over the last decades, scholars have investigated mothers’ roles in ensuring their daughters and loved ones unexplained disappearances and deaths by violence are publicized and acknowledged. Here, I draw from previous scholarship to explore whether there are commonalities between a mother’s quest for justice after her daughter’s death in a Canadian prison and other mothers who similarly demand accountability after a loss. The mother’s name is Coralee Smith, the mother of the well-known teenager and deceased prisoner, Ashley Smith. In this text, I work to theorize Coralee Smith’s agency by drawing parallels with other mothering actions to demand redress for disappearances and losses. In this text, I offer fresh insights to the mothering literature by focusing on activism by parents of criminalized children, rather than adding to the studies on criminalized mothers. Incarcerated mothers are the subject of recent scholarship, but little research is available on the experience of mothers who provide support to incarcerated daughters and who demand accountability following deaths in custody.
Local lattice distortion in NiCoCr, FeCoNiCr and FeCoNiCrMn concentrated alloys investigated by synchrotron X-ray diffraction

Abstract Severe lattice distortion is presumptively considered as a core effect of high-entropy alloys, but quantitative measurements are still missing. Here, we demonstrate that the lattice distortion in high-entropy alloys can be quantitatively analyzed based on pair distribution function obtained from synchrotron X-ray diffraction. By applying this method to equiatomic NiCoCr, FeCoNiCr and FeCoNiCrMn concentrated alloys, we found that the local lattice distortion in the NiCoCr (0.23%) and FeCoNiCrMn (0.24%) alloys are comparable while negligible in the FeCoNiCr alloy (0.04%). The origin of local lattice distortion in the NiCoCr and FeCoNiCrMn concentrated alloys was discussed.
Biofilm development and sanitizer inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium on stainless steel and Buna-n rubber

Biofilm formation by seven strains of Listeria monocytogenes and one strain of Salmonella typhimurium on stainless steel and Buna-n rubber was examined under two nutrient conditions. The type of surface, nutrient level, and organism influenced biofilm development and production of extracellular materials. Buna-n had a strong bacteriostatic effect on L. monocytogenes , and biofilm formation on Buna-n under low nutrient conditions was reduced for four of the seven strains tested. Buna-n was less bacteriostatic toward S. typhimurium . It inhibited the growth of several other pathogens to varying degrees. An ethylene propylene diamine monomer rubber was less inhibitory than Buna-n, and Viton rubber had no effect. The effectiveness of sanitizers on biofilm bacteria was examined. Biofilms were challenged with four types of detergent and nondetergent sanitizers. Resistance to sanitizers was strongly influenced by the type of surface. Bacterial biofilm populations on stainless steel were reduced 3-5 log by all the sanitizers, but those on Buna-n were resistant to these sanitizers and were reduced less than 1-2 log. In contrast, planktonic (suspended) bacteria were reduced 7-8 log by these sanitizers. Chlorine and anionic acid sanitizers generally removed extracellular materials from biofilms better than iodine and quaternary ammonium detergent sanitizers. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that biofilm cells and extracellular matrices could remain on sanitized biofilm cells and extracellular matrices could remain surfaces from which no viable cells were recovered.
Classical Conditioning, Neural Basis of

Classical or Pavlovian conditioning, the simplest form of associative learning demonstrated in a variety of animals (ranging from mollusks to humans), is hypothesized to be an elemental unit for complex learning. Classical conditioning ensues when an initially neutral conditional stimulus (CS) is paired in close temporal proximity with a biologically significant unconditional stimulus (US) that elicits a reflexive unconditional response (UR). Through the formation of a CS–US association, the CS comes to evoke a conditional response that typically mimics the UR and has an adaptive value. Classical conditioning is an ideal model system for investigating the neurobiology of learning and memory because (a) the stimuli are discrete and well defined; (b) only two stimuli are involved, and thus the learning or association of CS and US must occur at brain site(s) where the two pieces of information converge; (c) the onset and offset of the stimuli can be controlled precisely by the experimenter; and (d) this form of learning is ubiquitous across the phylogenetic scale. This article will discuss those types of classical conditioning whose neural basis is relatively well understood.
Explaining the Emerging Sino-Russian Energy Partnership

This chapter contends that although geopolitics plays a role in the emerging Sino-Russian energy cooperation, it is important to take into account domestic politics to fully understand this development. Russia’s energy turn to China occurred before the Ukraine crisis, and has in large part been driven by Moscow’s assessment that Asia, and China in particular, would be the primary source of Russia’s future growth. The Sino-Russian gas breakthrough in 2014 was due to the peculiar way in which domestic and international factors combined to produce the outcome at that particular moment. Even though Russia has been able to conclude landmark deals and open the Chinese energy market, China has been able to negotiate favorable deals with a Russia desperate for cash, credit, and new markets.
Trojan horses in amazon's castle: understanding the incentivized online reviews

During the past few years, sellers have increasingly offered discounted or free products to selected reviewers of e-commerce platforms in exchange for their reviews. Such incentivized (and often very positive) reviews can improve the rating of a product which in turn sways other users' opinions about the product. Despite their importance, the prevalence, characteristics, and the influence of incentivized reviews in a major e-commerce platform have not been systematically and quantitatively studied. This paper examines the problem of detecting and characterizing incentivized reviews in two primary categories of Amazon products. We describe a new method to identify Explicitly Incentivized Reviews (EIRs) and then collect a few datasets to capture an extensive collection of EIRs along with their associated products and reviewers. We show that the key features of EIRs and normal reviews exhibit different characteristics. Furthermore, we illustrate how the prevalence of EIRs has evolved and been affected by Amazon's ban. Our examination of the temporal pattern of submitted reviews for sample products reveals promotional campaigns by the corresponding sellers and their effectiveness in attracting other users. Finally, we demonstrate that a classifier that is trained by EIRs (without explicit keywords) and normal reviews can accurately detect other EIRs as well as implicitly incentivized reviews. Overall, this analysis sheds an insightful light on the impact of EIRs on Amazon products and users.
A General framework for studying the evolution of the digital innovation ecosystem: The case of big data

Abstract This paper presents a general framework for studying the digital innovation ecosystem. The notion of complex networks offers a conceptual lens to analyze the emergence and evolution of a digital innovation ecosystem. The framework uses digital data and evolutionary community detection analysis for the empirical inquiry of the digital innovation landscape. The proposed framework is applied to the big data ecosystem. Data from Twitter, for a three year period, is processed and analyzed. This study reveals a large number of elements that are diverse in form and capacity, including organizations, concepts (e.g., #analytics, #iot), technologies (e.g., #hadoop), applications (e.g., #healthcare), infrastructures (e.g., #cloud), regulations, professional meetings and associations, tools, and knowledge. These elements and their communities have evolved in the big data ecosystem. The findings highlight the evolution of digital innovation by two mechanisms, variation and selective retention, which are nonlinear and often unpredictable. Implications are presented and potential ways to improve the proposed framework are discussed. The study aims to make both conceptual and methodological contributions to digital innovation research.
The effect of the timing of biochemical failure after external beam radiotherapy or low-dose-rate brachytherapy for definitive prostate cancer treatment.

28Background: To assess the effect of the timing of biochemical failure (bF) after definitive radiotherapy with external beam (EBRT) or low dose-rate brachytherapy (LDR) on clinical failure (cF) an...