cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Forskolin suppresses insulin gene transcription in islet β-cells through a protein kinase A-independent pathway

This work was designed to evaluate the effect of cAMP on insulin gene regulation. We studied the effects of forskolin on insulin gene transcription in the INS-1 β-cell line, confirming key results in primary cultures of human islet cells. Forskolin increased intracellular cAMP and cAMP-responsive element-binding activity. Insulin gene transcription was studied using a reporter construct in which the human insulin promoter was fused to luciferase. When cells were treated with forskolin for 12 h, insulin promoter activity was decreased 2- to 3-fold, whereas islet amyloid polypeptide promoter activity was significantly increased. This effect of forskolin on the insulin gene was time- and concentration-dependent, and was mimicked by 8-bromo-cAMP. Mutagenesis of the CRE-like elements in the insulin promoter had no effect on the forskolin-induced suppression, but dramatically decreased basal insulin promoter activity. Inhibition of PKA with H-89 also did not reverse the forskolin-induced suppression of insulin transcription. However, this effect was completely reversed by inhibition of cellular MAP kinase activity with PD98059 or U0126. These results demonstrate that forskolin suppresses insulin transcription in INS-1 cells through a PKA-independent mechanism that probably involves MAP kinase signalling.
Nāgārjuna, Kant and Wittgenstein: The San–Lun Mādhyamika Exposition of Emptiness

Among Western scholars there has been a growing interest in Buddhist philosophy, especially in the philosophical teachings of the Mādhyamika. Mādhyamika philosophy is considered to be ‘the most important outcome of Buddha's teaching’ and to represent ‘philosophical Buddhism par excellence’. The main message of Mādhyamika Buddhism is the doctrine of emptiness. Yet scholars, as well as students of Buddhism, have often been puzzled about this teaching and have misinterpreted it. The chief purpose of this paper is to expound the Mādhyamika philosophy of emptiness as presented in Chinese San–lun sources and to clarify misconceptions about this important philosophy of Buddhism.
Plumbite-treated cotton in formation of glassy materials

Glass-like materials containing carbon were produced by heating plumbite-treated cotton fabrics in a limited oxygen atmosphere while in contact with a surface having a high silica content. Although the new materials were changed to a clear glassy state, they retained the design and shape of the fabric weave and were hard, brittle, acid resistant, and alkali resistant. Surface smoothness of the new materials and release from the high silicon-content materials on which they were made depended on lead content of the plumbite-treated cotton fabric. High lead contents produced smoother surfaces and better release. This information was applied in producing glass-like write-on labels for laboratory glassware or individual flakes of the new material. Direct heat from a Bunsen-type burner caused the new glass-like materials to become metallic gold in color without altering other properties. Indirect heat reversed the color to the original. ESCA and x-ray fluorescence examinations showed the atom ratio of lead to silicon to be 2.5:1 for those made from high lead-content fabric. Substantial carbon was present in all lead levels.
Comparative studies of metamodeling techniques under multiple modeling criteria

Despite the advances in computer capacity, the enormous computational cost of complex engineering simulations makes it impractical to rely exclusively on simulation for the purpose of design optimization. To cut down the cost, surrogate models, also known as metamodels, are constructed from and then used in lieu of the actual simulation models. In the paper, we systematically compare four popular metamodeling techniques —Polynomial Regression, Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines, Radial Basis Functions, and Kriging —based on multiple performance criteria using fourteen test problems representing different classes of problems. Our objective in th is study is to investigate the advantages and disadvantages these four metamodeling techniques using multiple modeling criteria and multiple test problems rather than a single measure of merit and a single test problem.
A survey of the response of Rhododendron to in vitro culture

The responses of 7 genotypes of Rhodendron to culture conditions and their establishment as shoot cultures are described. The genotypes represent a broad genetic diversity in the genus. After sterilization and an acclimation period of 3 to 12 months, all the selections were established as shoot cultures on Woody Plant Medium (WPM) supplemented with N6(-Δ2-isopenteny) adenine (2iP). Plants with strong episodic growth cycles required the longer acclimation periods. Utilizing shoots from these cultures, the response to a cytokinin series of 0 to 32 μM 2iP or BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine) was analyzed. BAP proved toxic to all but the elipidote and lepidote rhododendrons (R. mucronulatum, R. x ‘Boule de Neige’, and R. x ‘PJM’); however, even with these selections, 2iP stimulated greater shoot multiplication rates. The optimum 2iP level for shoot multiplication varied little with the genotype and levels of 4 to 16 μM generally proved optimal, depending on the specific selection. Adventitious shoot production was observed in 3 selections (R. canadense, R. x ‘Boule de Neige’ and R. x ‘PJM’), but only at 2iP levels above 8 μM. Shoot multiplication rates of 7 to 21 times were observed, depending on the selection. Using an average utilizable shoot production rate of 40 shoots per culture per 6 week subculture period, some 75,000 shoots can be generated per square meter of culture space per year. The harvested shoots (microcuttings) rooted readily out-of-culture and the resultant plants grew like seedlings.
To Throw the Blessing: Poetics, Prayer, and Performance in the Andes

La bendicion es una recontextualizacion indigena de oraciones Catolicas dentro de un oratorio Quichua que obedece a normas esteticas de ejecucion deinidas culturalmente. Constituye un genero de discurso que surgio a traves de procesos historicos de conver sion y catecismo, y la reformulacion autoctona de los rituales y textos Catolicos. Con el surgimiento historico del genero tambien surgio una preferencia por los �mayores� (ancianos del pueblo), vinculados al sistema de auspicion de iestas, como los agentes de ejecucion. La institucion de este sistema sirve para mantener la sobrevivencia de los textos, ya que los patrocinadores (�alcaldes�) memorizan los textos y pasan el conoci miento a los novicios. La bendicion, y otras oraciones, constituyen una clase de discurso ceremonial que es necesario para la celebracion apropriada de los rituales. Analizo la oracion y a los agentes como una instancia de la reformulacion de los textos religiosos dentro de contextos locales, y propongo que la ejecucion de la bendicion merece aten cion como un acto de memoria y expresion de socialidad Andina
Country susceptibility to rail infrastructure attacks

Factors that make a state more susceptible to attacks on rail infrastructure are heavily underexplored in the transportation security literature. This study is the first to examine state susceptibility to attacks on rail infrastructure by violent extremist organizations from a quantitative perspective. The most significant finding in this study was that countries that increase ethnic grievance in certain ways were significantly more likely to suffer such attacks. The implications of this finding are important because states that are more likely to ban parties along ethnic lines increase the risk of harm to their most vulnerable populations that often rely on rail for transportation and commerce.
Macromolecular synthesis in cells infected by frog virus 3 XI. A ts mutant of frog virus 3 that is defective in late transcription

Abstract A ts mutant (ts 9467) of frog virus 3 (FV3) does not synthesize late viral RNAs or proteins, although it does synthesize viral DNA. We have analyzed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis the RNAs and proteins produced in ts 9467-infected cells to determine the requirements for turning on late transcription. The electrophoretic pattern of the mutant viral RNA species late in infection at 30° (nonpermissive temperature) was identical to the early RNA pattern seen during infection with wild-type virus. Temperature-shift experiments indicated that continuous viral protein synthesis was necessary for late transcription. The proteins produced by this mutant at 30° were similar to the early proteins in cells infected with wild-type FV3, with the exception of the appearance of a 38,000 MW protein. Although there was also a late protein with an identical molecular weight, this particular protein was synthesized in ts 9467-infected cells in the presence of fluorophenylalanine, an amino acid analog known to inhibit the formation of late FV3 RNAs and proteins. We postulate that this protein is an early protein not normally synthesized in detectable amounts, and that it may be the temperature-sensitive protein involved in late transcription. These studies conclusively demonstrate that (1) a virus-specific protein is required for late transcrip ion and (2) viral DNA synthesis per se is insufficient for the synthesis of late viral mRNAs and proteins.
Primers on Molecular Pathways — Caspase Pathway

Apoptosis, or programmed cell death, is a physiological process of cellular autodestruction, or cell suicide. This process is strictly controlled in response to integrity of pro-death signaling and plays critical roles in development, maintenance of homeostasis and host defense in multicellular organisms. As pancreatologists, apoptosis plays a central role in the pancreas and its disease states, from diabetes to pancreatitis to pancreatic cancer. In pancreatic β-cells, apoptotic cell death is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes, as signals from death receptors and DNA damage have been widely accepted as being triggers of apoptosis in β-cells [1]. During acute pancreatitis, this common clinical condition is of variable severity in which some patients experience mild, self-limited attacks while others manifest a severe, highly morbid, and frequently lethal attack. However, recent research in this area has demonstrated the importance of acinar cell death in the form of apoptosis and necrosis as a determinant of pancreatitis severity [2]. In pancreatic cancer, various survival mechanisms have been shown to act in the prevention of cell death to result in promotion of tumor growth and metastasis. Thus, resistance of pancreatic cancer to apoptosis is the key factor preventing responses to therapies [3]. Thus, it is for these reasons that in the current ‘Primers on Molecular Pathways,’ we take a closer look at the pathway cascade that is triggered during apoptosis.
Modeling 3D heat flow interaction with defects in composite materials for infrared thermography

Abstract Estimation of defect depth and size is an important problem in the domain of Nondestructive Testing in order to perform corrective repairs. The problem of defect depth estimation using Infrared Thermography has been previously studied using 1D heat conduction models. Unfortunately, 1D heat conduction based models are generally inadequate in predicting heat flow around finite-sized defects, especially in composite structures. In this study, a novel approach based on 3D heat conduction is proposed to model the heat flow interaction with the defect in quasi-isotropic composite materials. The modeling process involved coordinate transformations to reduce the anisotropic heat conduction problem to the isotropic domain, followed by separation of variables to solve the partial differential equation of the heat conduction. The validity of the model is established using Pulsed Thermography experiments performed on a composite panel containing rectangular flat-bottom holes of different sizes, present at different depths.
The role of complexed heavy metals in initiating the mineralization of “elastin” and the precipitation of mineral from solution

Preparations of nuchal ligament, a calcifiable elastin-containing matrix, can be separated into soluble and insoluble phases, both required for calcification. Fe 3+ can replace the soluble fraction and appears to be joined to the insoluble via a sulfhydryl group. Formation of a mineral phase in the absence of a matrix was accelerated by low concentrations of both complexing agents and heavy metal ions with the combinations of metal ions and complexing agents most effective. This suggested that a complexed metal either on a matrix or in solution might be the species inducing nucleation.
The compensation and capitalization models: A test of two approaches to individualizing the treatment of depression

Despite long-standing calls for the individualization of treatments for depression, modest progress has been made in this effort. The primary objective of this study was to test two competing approaches to personalizing cognitive-behavioral treatment of depression (viz., capitalization and compensation). Thirty-four adults meeting criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (59% female, 85% Caucasian) were randomized to 16-weeks of cognitive-behavioral treatment in which strategies used were selected based on either the capitalization approach (treatment matched to relative strengths) or the compensation approach (treatment matched to relative deficits). Outcome was assessed with a composite measure of both self-report (i.e., Beck Depression Inventory) and observer-rated (i.e., Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) depressive symptoms. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed a significant treatment approach by time interaction indicating a faster rate of symptom change for the capitalization approach compared to the compensation approach (d = .69, p = .03). Personalizing treatment to patients' relative strengths led to better outcome than treatment personalized to patients' relative deficits. If replicated, these findings would suggest a significant change in thinking about how therapists might best adapt cognitive-behavioral interventions for depression for particular patients.
Selective insufflation of collapsed lung with fiberoptic bronchoscope and Swan-Ganz catheter.

With its potential to initiate more serious pulmonary complications, atelectasis requires prompt, effective therapy. We present three cases of patients who, when conventional measures failed, were treated with a technique we devised using a flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope and Swan-Ganz catheter to selectively insufflate the collapsed area. The technique effectively re-expanded the patients' lung.
Assessing Participant Performance in Online Professional Development Training Programs

Abstract In the United States, professionals in many disciplines are required to remain current in their field by completing training courses to obtain continuing education units. Traditionally, face to face professional development training has been designed to teach workplace skills and could include laboratory segments and activities where instructors observe participants’ involvement. Satisfactory completion is assessed using true-false or multiple choice tests. Today, instructional designs using on-demand distance-based professional development training are widely promoted, but how participant performance is measured is not standardized. The issue is particularly important in online courses containing innovative simulated laboratory activities where participant choices and actions in virtual workplace scenarios must be evaluated. In this paper, methods used to assess participants’ decision-making and higher-order thinking skills are discussed and effectiveness measures are presented. The paper concludes with a summary of how these assessment methods can be implemented by organizations responsible for licensure and professional development credits.
Electrocardiograms of Ninety Patients with Acrosclerosis and Progressive Diffuse Sclerosis (Scleroderma)

The records of all patients with scleroderma seen at the Mayo Clinic during the years 1949 through 1953 were reviewed. There were 90 who had electrocardiograms available for study. The diagnosis in 63 patients was acrosclerosis and 27 were diagnosed as having progressive diffuse sclerosis.
Upregulation of Soluble Transferrin Receptor (sTFR) in Relapsing Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome (INS) 126

Background: We studied biochemical parameters of iron metabolism in INS, to elucidate the consequences of urinary transferrin and iron loss in relapse of INS.
Power strips, prophylactics, and privacy, oh my!

While Internet users claim to be concerned about online privacy, their behavior rarely reflects those concerns. In this paper we investigate whether the availability of comparison information about the privacy practices of online merchants affects users' behavior. We conducted our study using Privacy Finder, a "privacy-enhanced search engine" that displays search results annotated with the privacy policy information of each site. The privacy information is garnered from computer-readable privacy policies found at the respective sites. We asked users to purchase one non-privacy-sensitive item and then one privacy-sensitive item using Privacy Finder, and observed whether the privacy information provided by our search engine impacted users' purchasing decisions (participants' costs were reimbursed, in order to separate the effect of privacy policies from that of price). A control group was asked to make the same purchases using a search engine that produced the same results as Privacy Finder, but did not display privacy information. We found that while Privacy Finder had some influence on non-privacy-sensitive purchase decisions, it had a more significant impact on privacy-sensitive purchases. The results suggest that when privacy policy comparison information is readily available, individuals may be willing to seek out more privacy friendly web sites and perhaps even pay a premium for privacy depending on the nature of the items to be purchased.
Boundary Mixing Associated with Tidal and Near-Inertial Internal Waves

Abstract Moorings deployed on the south (August–November 2002) and north (November 2002–June 2003) flanks of the Kaena Ridge, Hawaii, are used to document the flow variability associated with mixing within 200 m from the boundary, deep along the ridge, as part of the Hawaii Ocean Mixing Experiment (HOME). At both sites, strong temperature inversions are detected with vertical scales of ∼100 m. A Thorpe-scale analysis of the overturns yields a time-averaged dissipation near the bottom at the south site (1.2 × 10−8 W kg−1) that is 10 times higher than the north site (1.9 × 10−9 W kg−1), with both higher than the dissipation at similar depths 30 km from the ridge. On the south flank, observed horizontal currents and vertical displacements are dominated by the semidiurnal internal tide. On the north flank, the semidiurnal tide is less energetic than on the south, with a different vertical structure as tidal amplitudes decrease toward the boundary. These differences are attributed to greater separation from th...
Repair of thymine · guanine and uracil · guanine mismatched base-pairs in bacteriophage M13mp18 DNA heteroduplexes☆

Abstract Repair of thymine·guanine (T·G) and uracil·guanine (U·G) mismatched base-pairs in bacteriophage M13mp18 replicative form (RF) DNA was compared upon transfection into repair-proficient or repair-deficient Escherichia coli strains. Oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis was used to prepare covalently closed circular heteroduplexes that contained the mismatched base-pair at a restriction recognition site. The heteroduplexes were unmethylated at dam (5′-GATC-3′) sites to avoid methylation-directed biasing of repair. In an E. coli host containing uracil-DNA glycosylase ( ung + ), about 97% of the transfecting U·G-containing heteroduplexes had the U residue excised by the uracil-excision repair system. With the analogous T·G mispair, mismatch repair operated on almost all of the transfecting heteroduplexes and removed the T residue in about 75% of them when the mismatched T was on the minus strand of the RF DNA. Similar preferential excision of the minus-strand's mismatched base was observed whether the heteroduplex RF DNA molecules had only one or both strands unmethylated at dcm (5′-CC(A/T)GG-3′) sites and whether the RF DNA was prepared by primer extension in vitro or by reannealing mutant and non-mutant DNA strands. Also, the extent and directionality of repair was the same at a U·G mispair in ung − host cells as at the analogous T·G mispair in ung − or ung + cells. Only in a mismatch repair-deficient ( mutH − ) host was the plus strand of the transfecting M13mp18 heteroduplex DNA preferentially repaired. It is suggested that the plus strand nick made by the M13-encoded gene II protein might be employed by a mutH − host to initiate repair on that strand.
Photodriven Charge Separation and Transport in Self‐Assembled Zinc Tetrabenzotetraphenylporphyrin and Perylenediimide Charge Conduits

Zinc tetrabenzotetraphenyl porphyrin (ZnTBTPP) covalently attached to four perylenediimide (PDI) acceptors self-assembles into a π-stacked, segregated columnar structure, as indicated by small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering. Photoexcitation of ZnTBTPP rapidly produces a long-lived electron-hole pair having a 26 A average separation distance, which is much longer than if the pair is confined within the covalent monomer. This implies that the charges are mobile within their respective segregated ZnTBTPP and PDI charge conduits.
Painting Dixie Red: When, Where, Why, and How the South Became Republican. Edited by Glenn Feldman. (Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2011. Pp. xii, 388. $74.95.)

Understanding partisan change in the post‐World War II South is one of the most significant challenges confronting students of modern American history and politics, and three generations of scholar...
Real-Time Monitoring of Carbocationic Polymerization of Isobutylene via ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy: The t-Bu-m-DCC/DMP/BCl3 System

The kinetics of isobutylene (IB) polymerization were monitored using real-time, in-situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopic analysis. Polymerization was initiated using the 5-tert-butyl-1,3-bis(2-chloro-2-propy...
Initial isolation and stabilization of aequorin luminescent activity from the jellyfish, Aequorea forskalea

Abstract A method is described which substantially increases the amount of crude aequorin available for subsequent purification. Sodium fluoride and Triton X-100 are used to inhibit the decay of aequorin luminescent activity commonly encountered in the preparation of a purified product. In addition, these reagents were used to extract aequorin from whole jellyfish, removing the need to excise the circumoral rings of individual jellyfish. With this method, the total amount of aequorin activity increased over three times that obtained in crude preparations by previously described methods.
Predictive Relationships for Uptake of Organic Contaminants by Hybrid Poplar Trees

Twelve organic compounds commonly found at hazardous waste sites were studied for uptake by hybrid poplar trees. The vegetative uptake of many of these compounds has not previously been demonstrated for plant species being utilized for phytoremediation, such as hybrid poplar trees. Experiments were conducted hydroponically utilizing 14C-labeled compounds to ascertain translocation and fate. Predictive relationships for the translocation and partitioning to plant tissues were developed from the experimental data. Translocation and partitioning relationships based on compounds' octanol−water partitioning coefficients (log Kow) produced the best results, but the relationships did not allow for fully accurate prediction of each contaminant's fate. Translocation and subsequent transpiration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the leaves to the atmosphere was shown to be a significant pathway. As full-scale phytoremediation systems are deliberated, the pathways investigated here should be considered in te...
Solution structure of the RIM1alpha PDZ domain in complex with an ELKS1b C-terminal peptide.

PDZ domains are widespread protein modules that commonly recognize C-terminal sequences of target proteins and help to organize macromolecular signaling complexes. These sequences usually bind in an extended conformation to relatively shallow grooves formed between a β-strand and an α-helix in the corresponding PDZ domains. Because of this binding mode, many PDZ domains recognize primarily the C-terminal and the antepenultimate side-chains of the target protein, which commonly conform to motifs that have been categorized into different classes. However, an increasing number of PDZ domains have been found to exhibit unusual specificities. These include the PDZ domain of RIMs, which are large multidomain proteins that regulate neurotransmitter release and help to organize presynaptic active zones. The RIM PDZ domain binds to the C-terminal sequence of ELKS with a unique specificity that involves each of the four ELKS C-terminal residues. To elucidate the structural basis for this specificity, we have determined the 3D structure in solution of an RIM/ELKS C-terminal peptide complex using NMR spectroscopy. The structure shows that the RIM PDZ domain contains an unusually deep and narrow peptide-binding groove with an exquisite shape complementarity to the four ELKS C-terminal residues in their bound conformation. This groove is formed, in part, by a set of side-chains that is conserved selectively in RIM PDZ domains and that hence determines, at least in part, their unique specificity.
Communications blackout predictions for atmospheric entry of Mars Science Laboratory

The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) is expected to be a long-range, long-duration science laboratory rover on the Martian surface. MSL will provide a significant milestone that paves the way for future landed missions to Mars. NASA is studying options to launch MSL as early as 2009. There are three elements to the spacecraft; carrier (cruise stage), entry vehicle, and rover. The rover has a UHF proximity link as the primary path for EDL communications and may have an X-band direct-to-Earth link as a back-up. Given the importance of collecting critical event telemetry data during atmospheric entry, it is important to understand the ability of a signal link to be maintained, especially during the period near peak convective heating. The received telemetry during entry (or played back later) allows for the performance of the entry-descent-landing technologies to be assessed. These technologies include guided entry for precision landing, a new sky-crane landing system and powered descent. MSL will undergo an entry profile that may result in a potential communications blackout caused by ionized particles for short periods near peak heating. The vehicle will use UHF and possibly X-band during the entry phase. The purpose of this report is to quantify or bound the likelihood of any such blackout at UHF frequencies (401 MHz) and X-band frequencies (8.4 GHz). Two entry trajectory scenarios were evaluated: a stressful entry trajectory to quantify an upper-bound for any possible blackout period, and a nominal trajectory to quantify likelihood of blackout for such cases.
The role of proton affinity, acidity, and electrostatics on the stability of neutral versus ion-pair forms of molecular dimers

Abstract Ion-pair formation via proton transfer from an acidic hydrogen of one functional group to a basic functional group plays an important role in the structure and reactivity of biomolecules in the gas phase. The relative stabilities of the ion-pair and the neutral-pair forms of five dimers composed of a basic molecule and a trifluoroacetic acid molecule were compared using density-functional calculations. The proton affinity of the basic molecules investigated ranged from 246 to 254 kcal/mol. The gas phase acidity of trifluoroacetic acid is 323.8 kcal/mol. The results of the B3LYP (6−311++G∗∗) calculations indicate that the structures of the dimers change from a neutral pair to an ion pair as the proton affinity of the bases increases. This result is consistent with previous blackbody infrared radiative dissociation experiments on protonated trimolecular complexes (or trimers) consisting of two basic molecules and trifluoroacetic acid, which indicates that the predominant structure of the trimer changes from a charge-solvation structure to a salt bridge structure with the increasing gas phase basicity of the base. The electrostatic character of the interaction between the basic molecule and the trifluoroacetic acid molecule was determined using the natural energy-decomposition analysis (NEDA) program. In the ion pair, a majority (69%–77%) of the attractive energy of the dimer is comprised of the electrostatic component. Two models are derived that include the acidity of the acidic molecule, the proton affinity of the basic molecule, and an electrostatic binding term for both the ion pair and the neutral pair. Several nonelectrostatic interaction terms can be replaced by a single correction or constant term so that both models, one using NEDA electrostatic terms and the other using integration of point-charge interactions, provide reasonably accurate results. This indicates that electrostatic models similar to the ones used here may be useful in studying salt bridge formation in larger molecules.
Of Mice, Rats, and Men: Exploring the Role of Rodents in Constructing Masculinity Within a Group of Young African American Males

In this article I demonstrate the process through which mice—generally characterized as meek and frightened creatures—are used symbolically by the participants in a study I conducted among boys on a high school basketball team to define masculinities that are consistent with what Connell (1995) calls hegemonic masculinity. I use ethnographic data, gathered as an assistant coach of the team, to argue that in managing their interaction with rodents, the young men and coaches, through their talk, transform their orientation to these creatures by constructing the rodents in a manner that encourages aggressive responses. Although the participants' use of mice is part of an idioculture (Fine 1987) that may be distinctive to the team, the meanings they create are consistent with a broader set of meanings and evaluations of men and masculinity.
Rattler-seeded InSb nanoinclusions from metastable indium-filled In0.1Co4Sb12 skutterudites for high-performance thermoelectrics

Abstract The synthesis and thermoelectric properties of In0.1−xCo4Sb12−x skutterudite-based nanocomposites with xInSb nanoinclusions are reported. The nanoinclusions reduce the thermal conductivity of the composites considerably compared with nanoinclusion-free In0.1Co4Sb12. Unequivocal evidence is provided demonstrating that the InSb nanoinclusions found in some of the highest reported thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) skutterudites are synthesized in situ from filler atoms diffusing out of the icosahedral void-sites, and the kinetics of their synthesis is enhanced strongly by mechanical attrition. Moreover, a procedure designed to maximize the concentration of InSb nanoinclusions is reported, and can be employed to create void-site-filled and optimally doped skutterudite-based InSb-nanocomposites with exceptional ZT.
A multi-institutional perspective of complication rates for elective nonreconstructive breast surgery: an analysis of NSQIP data from 2006 to 2010.

Background: As elective nonreconstructive breast surgery increases in popularity, there is greater demand for accurate multi-institutional data on minor and major postoperative complications. Objective: The authors utilized a multi-institutional database to compare 30-day morbidities and reoperation rates among the different types of elective nonreconstructive breast surgery. Methods: Patients in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) participant use file who underwent elective nonreconstructive breast surgery between 2006 and 2010 were identified. Twenty defined morbidities were compared among mastopexy, reduction mammaplasty, and augmentation mammaplasty patients using analysis of variance and χ2 tests for continuous variables and categorical variables, respectively. Logistic regression modeling was employed to identify preoperative risk factors for complications. Results: Of the 3612 patients identified, 380 underwent mastopexy, 2507 underwent reduction mammaplasty, and 725 underwent augmentation mammaplasty. Complication rates were low in all cohorts, and patients undergoing augmentation mammaplasty had the lowest overall complication rate compared with mastopexy and reduction mammaplasty (1.24%, 2.37%, and 4.47%). Patients undergoing reduction mammaplasty had a modestly elevated incidence of overall morbidity, superficial surgical site infections, and wound disruptions ( P < .05). Moreover, 30-day reoperation rates for mastopexy, reduction mammaplasty, and augmentation mammaplasty were low (1.58%, 2.07%, and 0.97%), as were the rates of life-threatening complications (0%, 0.16%, and 0%). One death was observed for all 3612 procedures (0.03%). Conclusions: Elective breast surgery is a safe procedure with an extremely low incidence of life-threatening complications and mortality. Comprehensive data collated from the NSQIP initiative add to the literature, and the findings of this multi-institutional study may help further guide patient education and expectations on potentially deleterious outcomes. Level of Evidence: 3 ![Graphic][1] [1]: /embed/inline-graphic-1.gif
A self-consistent polycrystalline model for creep under combined stress states

Abstract The application of the self-consistent polycrystalline model of inelastic deformation has been extended to include time-dependent (i.e. creep) behavior. Comparison of the predictions of a simple power-law micro-constitutive relation in the model with experiments suggests that an appreciable amount of the observed dependence of behavior on prior history of combined stressing can be explained by grain interaction effects. The existence of a flow potential for the self-consistent polycrystalline model is demonstrated, and flow potential surfaces, calculated from a simple power-law micro-constitutive relation, are shown for several cases of combined tension-torsion deformation. To a good approximation these surfaces exhibit a kinematic translation in stress space with prior deformation history.
Coupled prediction of flood response and debris flow initiation during warm and cold season events in the Southern Appalachians, USA

Debris flows associated with rainstorms are a frequent and devastating hazard in the Southern Appalachians in the United States. Whereas warm-season events are clearly associated with heavy rainfall intensity, the same cannot be said for the cold-season events. Instead, there is a relationship between large (cumulative) rainfall events independently of season, and thus hydrometeorological regime, and debris flows. This suggests that the dynamics of subsurface hydrologic processes play an important role as a trigger mechanism, specifically through soil moisture redistribution by interflow. We further hypothesize that the transient mass fluxes associated with the temporal-spatial dynamics of interflow govern the timing of shallow landslide initiation, and subsequent debris flow mobilization. The first objective of this study is to investigate this relationship. The second objective is to assess the physical basis for a regional coupled flood prediction and debris flow warning system. For this purpose, uncalibrated model simulations of well-documented debris flows in headwater catchments of the Southern Appalachians using a 3-D surface–groundwater hydrologic model coupled with slope stability models are examined in detail. Specifically, we focus on two vulnerable headwater catchments that experience frequent debris flows, the Big Creek and the Jonathan Creek in the Upper Pigeon River Basin, North Carolina, and three distinct weather systems: an extremely heavy summertime convective storm in 2011; a persistent winter storm lasting several days; and a severe winter storm in 2009. These events were selected due to the optimal availability of rainfall observations; availability of detailed field surveys of the landslides shortly after they occurred, which can be used to evaluate model predictions; and because they are representative of events that cause major economic losses in the region. The model results substantiate that interflow is a useful prognostic of conditions necessary for the initiation of slope instability, and should therefore be considered explicitly in landslide hazard assessments. Moreover, the relationships between slope stability and interflow are strongly modulated by the topography and catchment-specific geomorphologic features that determine subsurface flow convergence zones. The three case studies demonstrate the value of coupled prediction of flood response and debris flow initiation potential in the context of developing a regional hazard warning system.
Metaperception and the Organization

Metaperception refers to how a person believes others see him or her and research in this area presents an opportunity for researchers to enhance their understanding of how similar constructs opera...
The Dialectics of Care: Communicative Choices at the End of Life

Communication at the end of life poses important challenges for patients, families, and caregivers. Previous research on end-of-life communication has concentrated on areas including the provision of bad news and clinical and personal decision making. In this study, we turn our attention to the processes through which caregivers provide comfort in palliative care. Our ethnographic and interview study of spiritual communication among hospice workers and their patients is guided by a dialectical framework. We find a central dialectic in which hospice workers recognize the tension between “leading” and “following” patients and families in discussions of spirituality at the end of life. Our analysis reveals that though some care providers choose one pole of this dialectic, most workers try to manage the dialectic by shifting between leading and following in different situations or different points in time or by transcending the dialectic and addressing the multiple goals of interaction.
Comparison of Cardiac Output Calculation by Manual and Analogue Computer Methods

An analogue computer was used to calculate cardiac output from dye dilution curves. Very close agreement was obtained between manual calculations by the Stewart-Hamilton and automatically computed values. Approximately 20 min per determination was saved by using the computer. Curves which did not exhibit logarithmic decay of indicator concentration were detected by the computer.
THE EFFECT OF THYROTROPIC HORMONE, ALONE AND WITH OTHER SUBSTANCES, ON THE IN VITRO O2 CONSUMPTION OF THYROID AND LIVER

The fact that the injection of thyrotropic hormone results in an increased metabolism of intact animals has been thoroughly established by many researches (1, 2, 3, 4, 5). Similar results have been obtained in human beings. There is also ample evidence that the injection of the hormone causes hyperplasia of the thyroid, with reduction and vacuolization of the colloid. While the increased total metabolism of the animal naturally depends upon the increased metabolism of individual tissues, it is of course possible that the latter effect might be dependent upon the integrity of the animal, and might not be manifest when the tissues are isolated. Only Paal (6) has investigated this. He observed that after 3 days’ injection of anterior pituitary extract into guinea pigs, the O2 consumption of thyroid tissue taken from such animals was 3 to 4 times as great as that of normal guinea pig thyroid tissue, and that this effect was also to be seen to a lesser extent in other tissues. A few experiments have also been ...
Photostructural relaxation in As–Se–S glasses: Effect of network fragility

Abstract The effect of photoinduced structural relaxation in As–S–Se glass is investigated during sub-bandgap irradiation. It is shown that the glass undergoes rapid optically induced structural relaxation upon photoexcitation of bonding electrons. Fragile systems exhibit larger relaxation as expected from their enthalpy profile. This suggests that the process is thermodynamically driven and that the kinetic impediment to relaxation at low temperature is lifted through photoinduced softening of the glass matrix. Activation energy for enthalpy relaxation measurement and an annealing study near T g show that the photorelaxation effect is not a thermally activated process. The 〈 r 〉 dependence of photostructural changes is addressed and explained using the energy landscape formalism.
Peanut consumption improves indices of cardiovascular disease risk in healthy adults.

Background: Diets containing nuts reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. This has primarily been attributed to their fatty acid composition, but other constituents may also contribute. Peanuts, the most widely consumed ‘nut’ (actually a legume), are a rich source of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA), magnesium and folate, but their effects on CVD risk factors are poorly characterized.Objective: This study determined the effects of chronic peanut consumption on diet composition as well as serum lipids, magnesium and homocysteine concentrations in free-living subjects under different conditions of peanut intake.Design: Fifteen normolipidemic adults participated in a 30-week cross-over intervention. Subjects were provided 500 (+136) kcal as peanuts during an eight-week free feeding (FF) diet. The same amount of peanuts was added during a three-week addition (ADD) diet or replaced an equal amount of other fats in the diet during an eight-week substitution (SUB) diet.Results: Energy intake from fat...
Rejoinder to the response to the comment on 'Time-dependent paths, fictive temperatures and residual entropy of glass'

Contrary to the arguments of Johari and Aji, broken ergodicity is an essential feature of the glass transition and has important implications for the entropy of the glassy state. Johari and Aji have not addressed the issues that we raised in our Comment on their original manuscript.
Bibliometric application of Markov chains

Abstract A rudimentary description of Markov chains is presented in order to introduce its use to describe and to predict authors' movements among subareas of a discipline. Other possible applications are suggested.
An Investigation of Media Influences on Elementary Students Representations of Scientists.

Even long before children are able to verbalize which careers may be interesting to them, they collect and store ideas about scientists. For these reasons, asking children to Draw-A-Scientist has become an accepted method to provide a glimpse into how children represent and identify with those in the science fields. Years later these representations may translate into student’s career choice. Since 1995, children’s illustrations of scientists have been assessed by the Draw-A-Scientist Checklist (DAST-C). The checklist was created from the common aspects or features found in illustrations from previous studies and were based initially on the scientists, broken down into “stereotypical” and “alternative” images shown in the drawings. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development, field test and reliability of the modified Draw-A-Scientist Test (DAST) and The Draw-A-Scientist Rubric designed as an improvement of the DAST-C to provide a more appropriate method of assessing students’ drawings of scientists. The combination of the modified DAST and the DAST Rubric brings more refinement as it enables clarities to emerge and subsequently increased detail to what one could ascertain from students about their mental images of scientists.
Large-eddy simulation of turbulent rotating convective flow development

Large-eddy simulations were carried out to simulate laboratory-scale isolated buoyant convection in unstratified water with shelf and slope topography in the presence of rotation and to compare and complement the experimental study of Jacobs & Ivey (1998) under the same conditions. The simulation code developed in this work was a three-dimensional incompressible Navier-Stokes solver and the simulation runs were performed on a distributed memory massively parallel computer, namely the IBM SP2, to study the effects of different applied heat fluxes and system rotation rates. We are able to show for the first time the detailed temporal evolution and spatial structure of the three-dimensional convective flow field. Rayleigh-Benard instability in the form of circular concentric convective rings is recognized in the initiation process of the convection. The onset of Rayleigh-Benard instability was investigated and the critical Rayleigh number was found to increase with Taylor number only when the Taylor number is greater than 5 x 10 3 , where both non-dimensional parameters are based on the conductive layer thickness. The horizontally axisymmetric convective rings later break down and evolve into a quasi-two-dimensional vortex field. An azimuthal rim current develops around the periphery of the convective region. Our simulation results confirmed that the rim current velocity scales as Bt 1/2 /Hf 3/2 . Here B is the buoyancy flux applied over a bottom circular disk, f is the Coriolis parameter, t is the time and H is the distance between the tank bottom and the shelf. With increasing lateral temperature gradient the rim current undergoes a baroclinic instability. Our study of root-mean-square velocities in the convective region suggests that the transition from the buoyancy-flux-controlled to background-rotation-controlled flow occurred when the natural Rossby number Ro * became smaller than a critical value between 0.015 and 0.044. The simulation results of the convective overturning time, the wavelength of the baroclinic eddies and the density anomaly at steady state are all in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.
Solution time reduction techniques of a stochastic dynamic programming approach for hazardous material route selection problem

We use a stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) approach to solve the problem of determining the optimal routing policies in a stochastic dynamic network. Due to its long time for solving SDP, we propose three techniques for pruning stochastic dynamic networks to expedite the process of obtaining optimal routing policies. The techniques include: (1) use of static upper/lower bounds, (2) pre-processing the stochastic dynamic networks by using the start time and origin location of the vehicle, and (3) a mix of pre-processing and upper/lower bounds. Our experiments show that while finding optimal routing policies in stochastic dynamic networks, the last two of the three strategies have a significant computational advantage over conventional SDP. Our main observation from these experiments was that the computational advantage of the pruning strategies that depend on the start time of the vehicle varies according to the time input to the problem. We present the results of this variation in the experiments section. We recommend that while comparing the computational performances of time-dependent techniques, it is very important to test the performance of such strategies at various time inputs.