cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of a web-based preoperative education program for patients undergoing ambulatory surgery: a preliminary study

Increasing numbers of surgical procedures that were once done in hospitals are now being performed in ambulatory care settings. Provision of quality preoperative education in those settings has become a challenge. This article reports findings from a practice-based study where the nurses in a preoperative preparation center implemented a supplemental, web-based educational program for same-day surgery patients and assessed its outcomes (N = 69). The patients who used the web-based program in addition to usual care achieved significantly higher scores for anesthesia knowledge ( t = 2.15, p = 0.04) and teaching satisfaction ( t = 2.13, p = 0.04) than those who received usual care only. The findings demonstrate a great potential for use of web-based programs to improve patient education in busy preoperative care areas. A convenience sample with a small sample size was a major limitation. Further studies with large samples are needed to demonstrate tangible clinical outcomes.
ToxR-Independent Expression of Cholera Toxin from the Replicative Form of CTXφ

ABSTRACT The ctxAB operon, which encodes cholera toxin, resides in the genome of CTXφ, a filamentous bacteriophage. WithinVibrio cholerae cells, the CTXφ genome can exist either as a replicating plasmid or as a prophage integrated into the chromosome. Previous work established that ToxR is required for chromosomal ctxAB expression. We have learned that strains harboring the CTXφ replicative form produce cholera toxin under all conditions tested, independently of ToxR. During passage of CTXφ lysogens through the infant mouse intestine, transduction of CTXφ to a recipient strain can be detected, indicating that phage excision and replication occur in vivo. These results suggest that phage induction might provide a novel mechanism for the regulation of cholera toxin production.
Dynamic Compartmentalization of DNA Repair Proteins Within Spiral Ganglion Neurons in Response to Noise Stress

ABSTRACTIn response to stress, spiral ganglion neurons may remodel intracellular pools of DNA repair proteins. This hypothesis was addressed by determining the intracellular location of three classic DNA excision repair proteins (XPA, CSA, and XPC) within the neurons under normal conditions, one day after noise stress (105 dB/4 hr) and following DNA repair adjuvant therapy with carboxy alkyl esters (CAEs; 160 mg/kg/28 days). Under normal conditions, three intracellular compartments were enriched with at least one repair protein. These intracellular compartments were designated nuclear, cytoplasmic, and perinuclear. After the noise stress each repair protein aggregated in the cytoplasm. After CAE therapy each intracellular compartment was enriched with the three DNA repair proteins. Combining noise stress with CAE therapy resulted in the enrichment of at least two repair proteins in each intracellular compartment. The combined results suggest that in response to noise stress and/or otoprotective therapy, s...
A New Dental Superalloy System: I. Theory and Alloy Design:

Basic factors that influence the physical metallurgy and the mechanical properties of cobalt-base alloys are discussed in this study; these factors include the coherency of the interphase interface, the stacking fault energy, and the average electron hole number. Control of these factors and considerations of corrosion resistance and body compatibility determined the compositions for alloys that fulfill dental requirements.
Outsider Hacking and Insider Trading: The Expansion of Liability Absent a Fiduciary Duty

In January 2008, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York held that trading put options of a company’s stock based on inside information allegedly obtained by hacking into a computer network did not violate antifraud provisions of federal securities law. The court ruled that the defendant’s alleged “hacking and trading” did not amount to a violation of section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5, promulgated thereunder, because there was no proof the hacker breached a fiduciary duty in obtaining the information. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the District Court’s decision, finding that a breach of fiduciary duty was not required for computer hacking to be “deceptive.” This article evaluates the Second Circuit’s decision in S.E.C. v. Dorozhko in light of the assumption that liability under the misappropriation theory requires a breach of fiduciary duty. This article also explores how the Second Circuit’s decision may potentially expand section 10(b) liability to a wider range of parties who take advantage of access to material nonpublic information by trading securities based on that information.
Brainwashing’ as Forensic Evidence

“Brainwashing” is an idea first developed for purposes of propaganda in the conflict between the USA and China after the Communists took over China in the early 1950s. In the 1970s the term gained attention in the then “trial of the century” involving Patty Hearst, and it has since become a common term used against unpopular religious movements. The term is now applied in the legal arena to describe any process of influence that is viewed negatively, such as with participation in New Religious Movements (NRMs), sometimes pejoratively labeled as “cults”. Brainwashing explanations were favored over the idea that youth were rejecting America’s cultural values in favor of strange practices from outside the cultural ambit of America. Brainwashing-based claims surfaced in civil suits against NRMS by former members, and they were effective until some major state and federal court decisions undercut such claims. The vast preponderance of the social and behavioral evidence about participation in NRMs does not support brainwashing claims, and such claims do not meet standards of rules of evidence (Frye or Daubert). More mundane explanations that involve time-honored theories from sociology and social psychology adequately explain why people choose to participate in NRMs. However, the brainwashing concept is alive and well within Western (and even Eastern) cultures, and is still being used in various ways within the legal system (such as with Parental Alienation Syndrome), the arguments outlined herein notwithstanding.
Elastic and Thermal Properties of Low-Dimensional Conductors

In this paper, I will discuss thermodynamic properties of materials undergoing charge-density-wave transitions; both their equilibrium properties (i.e. at the phase transition) and their non-equilibrium properties (i.e. functions of electric field when the CDW is depinned) will be discussed. Emphasis will be on recent measurements on the quasi-one dimensional metals K0.3MoO3 (blue bronze) and orthorhombic TaS3.
Inclined impinging jets in crossflow

The flow from an idealized thrust reverser (an oblique forward-blowing circular jet in an air stream in ground proximity) has been explored by flow visualization, 5-hole yawmeter traverses, and hot-wire measurements of turbulence (in the plane of symmetry only). In addition, surface pressures and surface shear stress were mapped over a range of jet/tunnel speed ratio. The measurements of this highly-threedimensional flow, though limited in scope, provide a useful, and severe, test case for Reynolds-averaged turbulence models.
Conversations on restorative justice: a talk with Tim Chapman

Tim Chapman is course director of the Masters in Restorative Practices programme at Ulster University. For 25 years he worked in the Probation Service in Northern Ireland. He has played an active p...
Discussion on the Training Objective of Clinical Medical Personnel

To discuss the training objective of medical undergraduates in the 21st century through consulting data and collecting questionnares from various aspects as history review,present situation study.The overall training objective of medical undergraduates was qualified for medical treatment,prevention,health care and recuperation,and with high humanistic quality,broad knowledge of basic medical theories,great practicing ability and certain innovation quality as well, confronting the modernization,the world and the future.This discussion is of the curriculum and the further reformation of the teaching materials.
Plenary lecture VI: advances in brain research through systems science and engineering methods

This plenary talk will present research advances in neurotechnology that are aiming to improve the quality of life of patients suffering from neurological disorders. We will focus on epilepsy as a typical severe disorder. Enabling technologies will be discussed that begin with intracranial monitoring techniques, such as IEEGs, and the analysis of signals to determine precursors to an epileptic seizure. The intent is to detect but primarily to predict in advance the seizure initiation. Upon detection/prediction, an electrical signal is transmitted to the areas of the brain suspected as the seizure source in order to terminate the seizure before is affects the patient. We will describe clinical results of an implantable device currently under development to implement the monitoring, signal analysis and intervention methods.
Paul Claudel (1868–1955)

Break of Noon, one of the great plays of the twentieth century, is archetypal in magnitude. It centres upon ‘adultery’ — a wife, a husband, and two lovers. It dramatises the struggle between ‘the religious vocation and the call of the flesh’.1 The flesh dominates. Every word in Break of Noon breathes with Dionysian fervour and jubilation. Yet counterforces follow each euphoric experience, shedding feelings of shame and guilt in their wake. The intensity of these clashing emotions — exquisite sensuality in pursuit of forbidden fruit, and terror engendered by belief in the damnation to follow — heightens the excitement and titillates the senses. Claudel’s creatures are pagans clothed in Catholic vestments; they are hedonists yearning to be ascetics.
Sustainable trail development: Applications of the GreenPaths Rating System

ABSTRACTExpanding on the concept of green building, sustainable development is being implemented across various infrastructure systems. Performance metrics and rating systems have been developed to measure the economic, social, and environmental impacts of the development process. The transportation sector has adapted with the development of sustainable rating systems, such as Greenroads, which focuses on roadway planning, design, and construction. Efforts to support more sustainable modes, such as pedestrian and cycling, have led to the development of new transportation rating systems, such as GreenPaths. The GreenPaths Rating System, developed as part of a previous research project, includes sustainable performance metrics related to the planning, location, design, construction, safety, and maintenance of shared-use pathways. This research builds on the development of the rating system and explores the feasibility of applying GreenPaths to various pathway development phases (existing, in development, an...
Prognostic significance of large airway measures on computed tomography (CT) in the general population: The MESA-lung study

Background: Airway wall thickening and lumen narrowing have been associated with COPD and asthma, but the prognostic significance of large airway structure is unclear. Aim: To test if airway measures on CT were associated longitudinally with physiologic, anatomic, and clinical outcomes in the general population. Methods: MESA recruited participants ages 45-84 years without cardiovascular disease in 2000-02. Airway wall thickness (AWT), lumen diameter, 10mm luminal perimeter (Pi10), and wall area percent (WA%) were measured in two dimensions on cardiac CTs at baseline. Spirometry was performed in 2004-06 and 2010-12. Percent emphysema was defined on cardiac (2000-07) and full-lung (2010-12) CT. Respiratory mortality was classified by death certificate. Random-intercept mixed and proportional-hazards models were adjusted for age, sex, race/ethnicity, site, height, weight, scanner, smoking, and pack-years. Results: Repeated measures of lung function and percent emphysema were available for 3561 and 4108 participants; 6324 had 15-year mortality follow-up. Greater AWT and Pi10 were associated with more rapid FEV1 decline (P Conclusions: Airway wall thickening predicted lung function decline and smaller lumen diameter predicted emphysema progression and respiratory mortality over 15 years, including in never-smokers.
Comprehensive Peptide Ion Structure Studies Using Ion Mobility Techniques: Part 1. An Advanced Protocol for Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Collision Cross-Section Calculation

Collision cross-section (CCS) measurements with a linear drift tube have been utilized to study the gas-phase conformers of a model peptide (acetyl-PAAAAKAAAAKAAAAKAAAAK). Extensive molecular dynamics (MD) simulations have been conducted to derive an advanced protocol for the generation of a comprehensive pool of in-silico structures; both higher energy and more thermodynamically stable structures are included to provide an unbiased sampling of conformational space. MD simulations at 300 K are applied to the in-silico structures to more accurately describe the gas-phase transport properties of the ion conformers including their dynamics. Different methods used previously for trajectory method (TM) CCS calculation employing the Mobcal software [1] are evaluated. A new method for accurate CCS calculation is proposed based on clustering and data mining techniques. CCS values are calculated for all in-silico structures, and those with matching CCS values are chosen as candidate structures. With this approach, more than 300 candidate structures with significant structural variation are produced; although no final gas-phase structure is proposed here, in a second installment of this work, gas-phase hydrogen deuterium exchange data will be utilized as a second criterion to select among these structures as well as to propose relative populations for these ion conformers. Here the need to increase conformer diversity and accurate CCS calculation is demonstrated and the advanced methods are discussed.
TNF-alpha receptors 1 and 2 contribute to the development of upper genital tract pathology following primary genital chlamydia muridarum infection in mice (P3200)

Chlamydia is the leading cause of sexually transmitted disease worldwide and causes serious pathologies in the upper reproductive tract. In this study, we evaluated the contribution of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) and TNFR2 to upper genital tract pathogenesis following primary intravaginal chlamydial infection in mice deficient in TNFR1 (TNFR1 KO), TNFR2 (TNFR2 KO), or TNFR1 and 2 (TNFR1/2 DKO), and the corresponding C57BL/6J wild type mice. All groups (n=8) of mice displayed comparable chlamydial clearance following primary bacterial inoculation. The production of IFN-gamma, IL-5, TNF-alpha, and IL-1 beta in the genital tracts, draining iliac lymph nodes, and spleens on day 9 following inoculation were comparable in all the groups. Serum anti-Chlamydia total Ab, IgG2c, and IgG1 response on days 14 and 60 following primary inoculation were comparable in all the groups. On day 80 after primary incoluation, TNFR1 KO, TNFR2 KO, and TNFR1/2 DKO mice displayed significantly reduced hydrosalpinx (6 %, 44%, and 0% oviducts, respectively), when compared to C57BL/6J mice (75% oviducts). Anti-Chlamydia antibody response and bacterial clearance following secondary intravaginal C. muridarum infection was comparable in all groups of mice. Collectively, these results suggest that TNFR1 and TNFR2 do not contribute significantly to chlamydial clearance, but both TNFR1 and TNFR2, with a dominant role for TNFR1, contribute to the UGT pathology following primary genital chlamydial infection.
Ten-year survivorship of primary total hip arthroplasty in patients 30 years of age or younger.

Aims For this retrospective cohort study, patients aged ≤ 30 years (very young) who underwent total hip arthroplasty (THA) were compared with patients aged ≥ 60 years (elderly) to evaluate the rate...
Supratentorial Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor: Therapy

Supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors (StPNET) are a group of highly aggressive cancers that account for 2–3% of all brain tumors in childhood arising within the pineal gland and at non-pineal sites. These tumors share many histological features with their infratentorial counterpart (medulloblastoma) as well as a propensity for leptomeningeal dissemination and accordingly they have traditionally been treated along similar lines. More recently, however, it has been shown that the biological mechanisms underlying the development of StPNETS and medulloblastoma differ significantly. As with medulloblastomas, StPNETs are both radio and chemo sensitive although the outcome for patients treated using similar regimens of multi-model therapy with surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy in clinical trials is consistently significantly inferior. Young children under the age of 3 years have a dismal prognosis. Large multicentre trials specifically for patients with StPNETs are now required, including the identification of clear prognostic clinical and biological prognostic factors. In future studies should aim to exploit StPNET biological targets to develop novel disease specific therapies to improve prognosis.
Sulfur Metabolism of Autotroph-Invertebrate Symbioses

Two years after geologists initially examined the Galapagos Rift using the deep submergence vehicle, ALVIN (Corliss et al. 1979), these deep-sea hydrothermal vents were first visited by biologists in 1979. The discovery of symbiotic, presumably mutualistic, associations between chemolithoautotrophic sulfur bacteria (thioautotrophs) and invertebrates followed shortly thereafter (Cavanaugh et al. 1981; Felbeck et al. 1981). The taxonomic range of hosts known to associate with putatively thioautotrophic bacteria continues to expand and currently includes well over 100 species in five families of bivalves (clams and mussels) and several phyla of worms (Fisher 1990; Nelson, Fisher 1995 and references therein). The largest associations are endemic to hydrogen sulfiderich hydrothermal vents or marine seeps, but many other smaller bivalves and worms occur in marine sediments containing high concentrations of biogenic sulfide. Globally, approximately half the oxidation of organic matter reaching marine sediments is performed by sulfate-reducing bacteria (Jorgensen 1983), and hydrogen sulfide, the waste product of this latter group, still contains most of the potential energy stored in typical organic matter (Howarth 1984). Hydrogen sulfide equilibrates between H2S, HS- and S= depending on pH, but the sum of these soluble forms is designated “sulfide” hereafter.
Preparation and Characterization of Charge-Stabilized Polymer Colloids

Polymer colloids are readily prepared by ‘emulsion’ polymerization, and derive their stability as colloids from charged groups fixed at the polymer/water interface. These groups provide an electrostatic potential energy barrier to flocculation. We are particularly interested in the polymer surface, since this represents an ‘interfacial polyelectrolyte’. Polymer colloids are uniquely suited for study since high specific surface areas, high charge densities, and variation in the kinds of groups introduced are attainable on well-characterized interfaces.
Concerning Cognitive Maps: Discussion of Baird and Kuipers

Baird’s paper and Kuipers’ paper could hardly be more different. I see only one point that they have in common: the belief that global or survey maps grow out of route maps (or route information in some form). This almost has to be true, I think, if we are referring to cognitive maps acquired by personal experience rather than by studying the maps of cartographers.
Mechanical Properties and Warm Prestress of Ultra-Low Carbon Steel at 4 K

The yield strength of ultra-low carbon steel increases from 137 MPa at 295 K to 705 MPa at 4 K. In liquid helium the material is brittle and cleaves in tension. Consequently it is difficult or impossible to properly fatigue-precrack toughness specimens for tests at 4 K. We precracked a series of compact specimens at room temperature and then fractured them at 4 K. The toughness measurements at 4 K are affected by precracking at 295 K, and they provide only an estimate of KIc for this steel: 15 MPa·m½. The tensile properties of the steel at 295 and 4 K are reported, and the effects of prestress on the tensile and fracture properties at 4 K are discussed.
Neighbourhood approximation forests.

Methods that leverage neighbourhood structures in high-dimensional image spaces have recently attracted attention. These approaches extract information from a new image using its “neighbours” in the image space equipped with an application-specific distance. Finding the neighbourhood of a given image is challenging due to large dataset sizes and costly distance evaluations. Furthermore, automatic neighbourhood search for a new image is currently not possible when the distance is based on ground truth annotations. In this article we present a general and efficient solution to these problems. “Neighbourhood Approximation Forests” (NAF) is a supervised learning algorithm that approximates the neighbourhood structure resulting from an arbitrary distance. As NAF uses only image intensities to infer neighbours it can also be applied to distances based on ground truth annotations. We demonstrate NAF in two scenarios: i) choosing neighbours with respect to a deformation-based distance, and ii) age prediction from brain MRI. The experiments show NAF’s approximation quality, computational advantages and use in different contexts.
Entwicklung wirkungsvoller Umgebungen zur Untersuchung von Lehrerkompetenzen zum mathematischen Modellieren

In diesem Kapitel wird verdeutlicht, wie Modellierungsprozesse von Lernenden fur die Lehrerausbildung zum Lehren von mathematischer Modellierung als ein wirkungsvolles Instrument eingesetzt werden konnen. Wir behaupten, dass sich die Expertise des Unterrichtens zum Teil darin widerspiegelt, wie Lehrkrafte Unterrichtssituationen interpretieren und darauf reagieren – sowohl darin, was sie sehen und erkennen, als auch darin, was sie tun. Wir beginnen unsere Ausfuhrungen mit der Identifikation verschiedener Beliefs in Bezug auf mathematisches Denken und Lernen sowie den entsprechenden Unterrichtsmethoden, die die Schlusselkompetenzen der Lehrkrafte zum Lehren und Lernen von Modellieren umfassen, die bei diesem Projekt in den Vordergrund gestellt wurden. Unsere Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass – bei Studien zur Entwicklung von Modellierungskompetenz bei Lernenden uber die Dauer eines ganzen Kurs hinweg – signifikante wirkungsvolle Veranderungen auch bei den Kompetenzen auf Lehrerebene fur das Lehren und Lernen von Modellieren stattfinden konnen. Ein Grund fur diese Entwicklung auf Lehrerebene ist, dass die Lernenden bei den Modellierungsaktivitaten wichtige Aspekten ihres Denkens auf eine Weise ausdrucken, die direkt sowohl von Lehrenden als auch von Forschenden beobachtet werden konnen. Einblicke in die Denkweisen der Lernenden haben sich als starke Impulse zur Forderung von Lehrerkompetenzen zum Lehren mathematischer Modellierung erwiesen.
Principles of Animal Nutrition

Animals are biological transformers of dietary matter and energy to produce high-quality foods and wools for human consumption and use. Mammals, birds, fish, and shrimp require nutrients to survive, grow, develop, and reproduce. As an interesting, dynamic, and challenging discipline in biological sciences, animal nutrition spans an immense range from chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy and physiology to reproduction, immunology, pathology, and cell biology. Thus, nutrition is a foundational subject in livestock, poultry and fish production, as well as the rearing and health of companion animals. This book entitled Principles of Animal Nutrition consists of 13 chapters. Recent advances in biochemistry, physiology and anatomy provide the foundation to understand how nutrients are utilized by ruminants and non-ruminants. The text begins with an overview of the physiological and biochemical bases of animal nutrition, followed by a detailed description of chemical properties of carbohydrates, lipids, protein, and amino acids. It advances to the coverage of the digestion, absorption, transport, and metabolism of macronutrients, energy, vitamins, and minerals in animals. To integrate the basic knowledge of nutrition with practical animal feeding, the book continues with discussion on nutritional requirements of animals for maintenance and production, as well as the regulation of food intake by animals. Finally, the book closes with feed additives, including those used to enhance animal growth and survival, improve feed efficiency for protein production, and replace feed antibiotics. While the classical and modern concepts of animal nutrition are emphasized throughout the book, every effort has been made to include the most recent progress in this ever-expanding field, so that readers in various biological disciplines can integrate biochemistry and physiology with nutrition, health, and disease in mammals, birds, and other animal species (e.g., fish and shrimp). All chapters clearly provide the essential literature related to the principles of animal nutrition, which should be useful for academic researchers, practitioners, beginners, and government policy makers. This book is an excellent reference for professionals and a comprehensive textbook for senior undergraduate and graduate students in animal science, biochemistry, biomedicine, biology, food science, nutrition, veterinary medicine, and related fields.
Relating soil gas to weathering using rock and regolith geochemistry

Weathering-induced fracturing (WIF) has been posited to be a mechanism that develops secondary porosity when mineral reaction fronts separate over depth intervals in regolith, and, in particular, when oxidation (which can promote porosity development through volume expansion) occurs deeper than dissolution (which grows porosity through material removal). If this is true, then the protolith9s capacity to reduce O2 [for example, the Fe(II) content] and O2 availability should affect WIF. This study explores the hypothesis that if the ratio of pO2 to pCO2, in soil water, R9(aq), is greater than the ratio of the capacity of the protolith to consume O2 and CO2, R0, then WIF is more likely to occur, and regolith will become thicker. We evaluated this hypothesis by measuring the bulk geochemistry of regolith and rock and monitoring soil gas at three sites, encompassing a wide range of FeO concentrations and regolith thickness: a Pennsylvania (PA) diabase (10.15%; 3.8 m), a Virginia (VA) diabase (10.49%; 1.4 m), and a VA granite (1.45%; 20 m). We inferred soil water O2 concentrations from calculated equilibrium with the measured soil gas pO2. We observed WIF in the VA granite and PA diabase where R9(aq) > R0, while at the site that lacked WIF – the VA diabase – R9(aq) We defined Rz, the ratio of O2 consumption to CO2 consumption during weathering for each depth interval, z. For all profiles, R9(aq) > Rz near the surface but R9(aq) approaches Rz in the saprolite. We suggest that R9(aq) > Rz in the soil reflects consumption of O2 and production of CO2 due to biotic processes whereas R9(aq) approaching Rz suggests that low fluxes at depth are at least partly dictated by rock and regolith composition, notably tortuosity of pores. In the VA diabase, we observed R9(aq)
Overview of Global Urban Cities

Abstract The technologies and theory are applied to practice in a few communities that have created and started smart, green, and healthy communities. Some cases in the United States and Japan are given here but also in appendices that provide more detail. This chapter gives a practical interactive overview with some examples. More important is the need for interactionism among people in communities, governmental organizations, and those in business, education, or neighborhoods. Above all, there are lessons to learn and that start with a plan, and then add environmentally good ideas, programs, finance, and strategies.
Recyclability of Encapsulated Ionic Liquids for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture

Ionic liquids (ILs) with aprotic heterocyclic anions (AHAs) are promising candidates for post-combustion carbon capture technologies since they react with CO2 stoichiometrically and reversibly. CO2...
Fundamental Issues Regarding the Nature of Technology: Implications for STEM Education.

Science and technology are so intertwined that technoscience has been argued to more accurately reflect the progress of science and its impact on society, and most socioscientific issues require technoscientific reasoning. Education policy documents have long noted that the general public lacks sufficient understanding of science and technology necessary for informed decision-making regarding socioscientific/technological issues. The science–technology–society movement and scholarship addressing socioscientific issues in science education reflect efforts in the science education community to promote more informed decision-making regarding such issues. Now Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) education has emerged as a major reform movement impacting science education. STEM education efforts emphasize literacy across the disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, but with rare exceptions, treat issues of technology superficially and uncritically. Informed decision-making regarding many personal and societal issues requires technological literacy beyond merely becoming an enthusiastic designer or skilled user of technology, but the science education community has given little attention to what such literacy entails. Here, we present results of an extensive review of the literature regarding the nature of technology (NOT) in order to identify key issues among scholars who study technology. We then provide predominant perspectives among those scholars and suggest which identified NOT issues are most essential to address as part of STEM education efforts that seek to promote informed personal and societal decision-making.
An expeditious synthesis of 2-amino-4(3)-oxo-5-pyrrolo[3,2-]pyrimidine (9-Deazaguanine)

9-Deazaguanine has been synthesized in five steps from 2-amino-6-methyl-5-nitro-4(3H)-pyrimidinone by a modification of the Batcho-Leimgruber indole synthesis.
Quality of Spiritual Care at the End of Life: What the Family Expects for Their Loved One

Spiritual care at the End of Life (EOL) is a "keystone" investment at any Regional Tertiary Acute Care Hospital. Spiritual Care Departments need to demonstrate quality indicators in the provision of spiritual care at an EOL not only for their patients, but to satisfy family expectations of that care for their loved one. A fixed choice survey instrument using a structured interview via telephone was utilized for 202 criterion families who had lost a loved one. Three domains surfaced: (1) Families retained traditional chaplain role expectations of Priestly/Liturgical (78.6%) and Pastoral/Shepherd (67.5%); (2) Expectations of an expanded chaplain role after the EOL (50%); and, (3) Traditional spiritual care services regardless of one's religion or spirituality: Comfort and care, emotional support (96%); active listening (96.5%); the Chaplain as a reminder of God's presence (93.6%); prayer (96%); scripture reading (69.3%); and ritual/sacramental anointing of the sick (71.3%).
Unlocking Trapped Foreign Cash, Investor Types, and Firm Payout Policy

I study whether trapped foreign cash levels and investor type explain variation in US-based multinationals’ payout policy responses to tax-repatriation-driven cash windfalls. To do so, I use the deemed mandatory repatriation of trapped foreign cash included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). I find my measure of the level of “unlocked” trapped foreign cash (UTC) relates to increases in repurchases and dividends observed post TCJA. I examine whether this increase in payout varies with institutional investor type: transient, dedicated, and quasi-indexers (Bushee 2001). I find that firms with high UTC and low (high) dedicated ownership see an increase (no change) in repurchases post TCJA. I do not observe similar variation with investor type for dividends. Finally, mechanism tests show that HI UTC, HI DED (LO DED) firms tend to have higher (lower) cash balances, lower (higher) payouts, and higher capital expenditures when previously capital constrained. This suggests that firms use UTC in a way that minimizes agency frictions through the presence of dedicated investors who serve as effective monitors in the setting. For this reason, HI UTC, LO DED firms have higher levels of share repurchases and lower cash balances once the UTC windfall arrives in an effort to mitigate agency frictions stemming from an inability to effectively monitor managers for the long-term.
Ontogeny of strike performance in ball pythons (Python regius): a three-year longitudinal study

The rapid strike of snakes has long been of interest in terms of mechanical performance. Recently, several nonvenomous taxa have been found to strike with the same incredible strike velocity and acceleration as the high-performing vipers. However, little is known regarding how these patterns change through ontogeny. Here I present ontogenetic strike data on ten ball pythons (Python regius) over a three year time period, from birth to sexual maturity. I found that performance declined rapidly over the first 18 months in nearly all kinematic measures. This puts the adult data out of the currently developing trend of high performance being maintained across the diversity of snakes. The underlying cause of the decline in performance is unclear, but there are several avenues of behavior, morphology, biomechanics, and ecology to be investigated.
Provably Stabilizing Controllers for Quadrupedal Robot Locomotion on Dynamic Rigid Platforms

Creating controllers for quadrupedal robot locomotion on platforms that exhibit dynamic behaviors, which are herein termed as dynamic platforms, poses a challenging problem because of the complexity of the associated hybrid, time-varying robot dynamics. Towards tackling this challenge, this article focuses on controller design for quadrupedal robot locomotion on dynamic rigid platforms, which are floating-base platforms with a rigid surface. The main contribution of this article is the derivation of a control approach that realizes stable quadrupedal robot locomotion on dynamic rigid platforms of known motions through the provable stabilization of the hybrid, time-varying robot control system. The control approach is synthesized based on the formulation of the robot model as a hybrid, time-varying system and the analysis of the closed-loop control system through the construction of multiple Lyapunov functions. Simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control approach in guaranteeing the stability and robustness of quadrupedal robot walking on dynamic rigid platforms.
Rethinking Protections For Indigenous Sacred Sites

Meaningful access to sacred sites is among the most important principles to the religious exercise of Indigenous peoples, yet tribes have been repeatedly thwarted by the federal government in their efforts to vindicate this practice of their religion. The colonial, state, and federal governments of this Nation have been desecrating and destroying Native American sacred sites since before the Republic was formed. Unfortunately, the callous destruction of Indigenous sacred sites is not just a troubling relic of the past. Rather, the threat to sacred sites and cultural resources continues today in the form of spoliation from development, as well as in the significant barriers to meaningful access Indigenous peoples face. Scholars concerned about government failure to protect Indigenous sacred sites on government property have generally agreed that the problem stems from the unique nature of Indigenous spiritual traditions as being too distinct from non-Indigenous religious traditions familiar to courts and legislators, and therefore eluding protection afforded to other traditions. By contrast, this Article approaches the problem from an entirely different angle: we focus instead on the similarities between government coercion with respect to Indigenous religious exercise and other non-Indigenous religious practices. We illustrate how the debate about sacred sites unwittingly partakes in longstanding philosophical debates about the nature of coercion itself — a phenomenon that has previously gone unnoticed by scholars. This Article argues that whether or not one formally labels the government’s actions as “coercive,” the important question is whether the government is bringing to bear its sovereign power in a way that inhibits the important ideal of religious voluntarism — the ability of individuals to voluntarily practice their religious exercise consistent with their own free self-development. Indeed, this is precisely the sort of question courts ask when evaluating government burdens on non-Indigenous religious exercise. The failure to ask this same question about voluntarism for Indigenous religious practices has created a double standard, wherein the law recognizes a much more expansive notion of coercion for contexts impacting non-Indigenous religious practices, and a much narrower conception of coercion when it comes to Indigenous sacred sites. This egregious double standard in the law ought to be revisited. Doing so would have two important implications. First, when government interference with religious voluntarism is viewed clearly, tribal members and Indigenous practitioners should be able to prove a prima facie case under statutes like the Religious Freedom Restoration Act much more easily. Second, this Article makes the novel claim that clearer understanding of the coercive control government exercises over sacred sites should animate a strong obligation under the government’s trust responsibility and plenary power doctrine to provide more — rather than less — robust protection of Indigenous sacred sites.
Massively parallel transport sweeps on meshes with cyclic dependencies

Abstract When solving the first-order form of the linear Boltzmann equation, a common misconception is that the matrix-free computational method of “sweeping the mesh”, used in conjunction with the Discrete Ordinates method, is too complex or does not scale well enough to be implemented in modern high performance computing codes. This has led to considerable efforts in the development of matrix-based methods that are computationally expensive and is partly driven by the requirements placed on modern spatial discretizations. In particular, modern transport codes are required to support higher order elements, a concept that invariably adds a lot of complexity to sweeps because of the introduction of cyclic dependencies with curved mesh cells. In this article we will present a comprehensive implementation of sweeping, to a piecewise-linear DFEM spatial discretization with particular focus on handling cyclic dependencies and possible extensions to higher order spatial discretizations. These methods are implemented in a new C++ simulation framework called Chi-Tech ( χ − T e c h ). We present some typical simulation results with some performance aspects that one can expect during real world simulations, we also present a scaling study to >100k processes where Chi-Tech maintains greater than 80% efficiency solving a total of 87.7 trillion angular flux unknowns for a 116 group simulation.
Who conserves and who approves? Predicting water conservation intentions in urban landscapes with referent groups beyond the traditional ‘important others’

Abstract Water availability and conservation are among today’s top global issues, and urban irrigated landscapes have a pronounced role to play in developing solutions to water scarcity problems. Innovative approaches are needed to promote water conservation outside of the home, and social norms comprise one such type of strategy that can accelerate the use of landscape water conservation technologies and practices. However, social expectations (injunctive norms) and others’ engagement in a behavior (descriptive norms) are often not fully considered, and these normative influences are often not measured beyond the traditional ‘important others’. A national survey was used to gather quantitative data from 2601 individuals across the United States. Framed by the Reasoned Action Approach, data were collected on participants’ attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and injunctive and descriptive norms relative to the traditional important others along with neighbors, other state residents, and other national residents. In the absence of the additional three groups, both descriptive and injunctive norms predicted water conservation intentions in a multiple regression model. When the additional referents were added, neighborhood and state descriptive norms and neighborhood injunctive norms overpowered injunctive norms drawn from important others. The perceived actions of important others (descriptive norms) remained the most powerful predictor. Normative beliefs specific to certain referent groups explain additional variation in behavioral intent beyond that of norms associated with important others. The findings revealed neighbors’ approval of conservation practices may be even more important than approval from those people an individual defines as important. Altogether, an understanding of perceptions of whether important others, neighbors, and people across the state conserve (descriptive norms) as well as what their neighbors approve of (injunctive norms) explains United States residents’ intent to engage in water conservation.
Scoping review of the risk factors and time frame for development of post-traumatic hydrocephalus.

Post-traumatic hydrocephalus (PTH) following traumatic brain injury (TBI) may develop within or beyond the acute phase of recovery. Recognition and subsequent treatment of this condition leads to improved neurologic outcomes. In this scoping review, we identify statistically significant demographic, clinical, radiographic, and surgical risk factors as well as a predictive time frame for the onset of PTH in order to facilitate timely diagnosis. Two researchers independently performed a scoping review of the PubMed and Cochrane databases for articles relevant to risk factors for PTH. Articles that met inclusion and exclusion criteria underwent qualitative analysis. Twenty-seven articles were reviewed for statistically significant risk factors and a proposed time frame for the onset of PTH. Variables that could serve as proxies for severe brain injuries were identified as risk factors. The most commonly identified risk factors included either very young or old age, intracranial hemorrhage including intraventricular hemorrhage, hygroma, and need for decompressive craniectomy. Although the timeframe for diagnosis of PTH varied widely from within one week to 31.5 months after injury, the first 50 days were more likely. Established risk factors and timeframe for PTH development may assist clinicians in the early diagnosis of PTH after TBI. Increased consistency in diagnostic criterion and reporting of PTH may improve recognition with early treatment of this condition in order to improve outcomes.
The Use and abuse of serologic testing

The field of serology is changing at an incredible pace with the development and utilization of new technologies such as DNNRNA probes, in situ hybridization, restriction enzymes, and monoclonal technology. The value of the information gained from any serologic test however remains dependent on appropriate use and interpretation of the test. Serology when used correctly as a diagnostic tool in combination with other diagnostic information and procedures provides a valuable and reliable means of confirming or eliminating diagnoses, monitoring flock or herd health, and evaluating management practices.
Room temperature plasmon nanolaser

We report plasmon lasers with strong cavity feedback and optical confinement to 1/20th wavelength. Strong feedback arises from total internal reflection of plasmons, while confinement enhances the spontaneous emission rate by up to 20 times.
Basale Stimulation® in der Pflege

Die Aufgaben fur Pflegende werden immer komplexer und stellen neue Herausforderungen dar. Daraus resultiert das Erfordernis, zusatzliche Qualifikationen durch den Besuch von Fort- und Weiterbildungen zu erlangen. Um die Konzepte jedoch in den Pflegealltag implementieren zu konnen, werden Ressourcen und Rahmenkonzepte benotigt. Hierzu wird die Vorgehensweise zur Wissensvermittlung des Pflegekonzeptes Basale Stimulation® in der Pflege im Krankenhaus Hietzing mit Neurologischem Zentrum Rosenhugel vorgestellt.
Subarea Focusing with UTPS Distribution-Split Model

The effect of a data reduction technique called subarea focusing on the accuracy of forecasts produced by the Urban Transportation Planning System (UTPS) distribution-split model is explored. The UTPS package is a product of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration and its distribution-split model is a default option of the UMODEL module of this system. The results of the sensitivity analysis of the UTPS distribution-split model to subarea focusing indicate that levels of zonal aggregationg of 75 percent or less are suitable for conventional subarea modeling. Even higher levels may be acceptable for sketch planning purposes.
Xfin: an embryonic gene encoding a multifingered protein in Xenopus.

The Xenopus laevis genome was screened for putative DNA-binding gene products by using the 'finger' region of the Drosophila gene Kruppel as a probe. The one gene detected, named Xfin, codes for a protein with 37 finger domains that comprise nearly 90% of the protein. In the light of studies by Rhodes and Klug (Cell, 46, 123-132, 1986), these data suggest that the Xfin protein has the capacity to bind an unusually large stretch (185 bases) of DNA. The Xfin gene is expressed as a maternal and zygotic mRNA that undergoes extensive polyadenylation changes during early development. The Xfin mRNA expression pattern and the potential DNA binding activity of the protein point to the possibility that the Xfin gene may have a role in controlling gene activity during early embryonic development.
FACTORS AFFECTING INFANT MORTALITY IN INDIA

The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors affecting infant mortality in India as informed by the "Demographic Transition Theory." This theory suggests that improved standard of living, public health programs, changes in nutrition, technological and medical advances, and sanitary reforms promote a decline in the level of mortality. Using the data from the National Family Health Survey, India: 1998-1999, this study tests the following major hypothesis: The higher the level of socioeconomic development, the lower the infant mortality rate among the states of India. The findings support the demographic transition theory in large measure, revealing that the overall socioeconomic development is inversely related to infant mortality rate among the states of India.
Summer's Heat

On a shelf over the kitchen sink, a little oblong mirror with fluted edges stood. In front of it lay four big hair pins, bent out of shape, shiny where the enamel was broken off at the U. Elisa, washing the noon day dishes, paused now and then to look in the mirror. —“The Chrysanthemums” (first draft)