cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ectopic expression of tropomyosin promotes myofibrillogenesis in mutant axolotl hearts.

Expression of tropomyosin protein, an essential component of the thin filament, has been found to be drastically reduced in cardiac mutant hearts of the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) with no formation of sarcomeric myofibrils. Therefore, this naturally occurring cardiac mutation is an appropriate model to examine the effects of delivering tropomyosin protein or tropomyosin cDNA into the deficient tissue. In this study, we describe the replacement of tropomyosin by using a cationic liposome transfection technique applied to whole hearts in vitro. When mouse α-tropomyosin cDNA under the control of a cardiac-specific α-myosin heavy chain promoter was transfected into the mutant hearts, tropomyosin expression was enhanced resulting in the formation of well-organized sarcomeric myofibrils. Transfection of a β-tropomyosin construct under control of the same promoter did not result in enhanced organization of the myofibrils. Transfection of a β-galactosidase reporter gene did not result in the formation of organized myofibrils or increased tropomyosin expression. These results demonstrate the importance of α-tropomyosin to the phenotype of this mutation and to normal myofibril formation. Moreover, we have shown that a crucial contractile protein can be ectopically expressed in cardiac muscle that is deficient in this protein, with the resulting formation of organized sarcomeres. Dev. Dyn. 1998;213:412–420. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
High-Speed Distributed Data Handling for On-Line Instrumentation Systems

The advent (and promise) of shared, widely available, high-speed networks provides the potential for new approaches to the collection, organization, storage, and analysis of high-speed and high-volume data streams from high data-rate, on-line instruments. We have worked in this area for several years, have identified and addressed a variety of problems associated with this scenario, and have evolved an architecture, implementations, and a monitoring methodology that have been successful in addressing several different application areas.In this paper we describe a distributed, wide area network-based architecture that deals with data streams that originate from on-line instruments. Such instruments and imaging systems are a staple of modern scientific, health care, and intelligence environments. Our work provides an approach for reliable, distributed real-time analysis, cataloguing, and archiving of the data streams through the integration and distributed management of a high-speed distributed cache, distributed high-performance applications, and tertiary storage systems.
Phase relations of binary systems that form azeotropes: I. The ammonia–n‐Butane system

Binary systems that form azeotropes in the critical region of the system show a wide variation in their phase behavior. As part of an investigation of the factors responsible for this variation, the P-V-T-x relations of the ammonia-n-butane system were determined at the liquid-vapor phase boundaries from near room temperature to the highest temperature and pressure at which the liquid and vapor coexist. Ammonia and n-butane form an azeotrope whose composition varies from 81.7 mole % ammonia at 300 1b./sq. in. to 86.3 mole % at 1295 1b./sq. in. The critical locus possesses a minimum temperature point similar to other binary systems that form azeotropes in the critical region. The experimental results support the hypothesis that binary systems that form azetropes exhibit a characteristic pattern of P-T-x relations in the critical region that is distinctively different from systems that do not form azeotropes.
The soil hydrologic response to forest regrowth: a case study from southwestern Amazonia

As a large and dynamic land-use category, tropical secondary forests may affect climate, soils, and hydrology in a manner different from primary forests or agricultural areas. We investigated the saturated hydraulic conductivity Ksat of a Kandiudult under different land uses in Rondonia, Brazil. We measured Ksat at four depths (12·5, 20, 30 and 50 cm) under (a) primary forest, (b) a former banana–cacao plantation (SF1), and (c) an abandoned pasture (SF2). At 12·5 cm, all three land uses differ significantly (α = 0·1), but not at the 20 and 30 cm depths. At 50 cm, Ksat was significantly greater in the former pasture than in other land uses. Lateral subsurface flow is expected during intense rainfall (about 30 times per year) at 30 cm depth in SF1 and at 50 cm depth in the forest, whereas the relatively low permeability at shallow 12·5 cm in the SF2 may result not only in lateral subsurface flow, but also saturation overland flow. For modelling purposes, recovering systems seem to have Ksat values distinct from primary forest at shallow depths, whereas at deeper layers (>20 cm) they may be considered similar to forests. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Currency Exposure Management in Multinational Companies: “Centralized Coordination” as an Alternative to Centralization

Recent survey reports (see Appendix) have established that companies with international operations manage their foreign exchange risk in a surprising variety of ways — often inconsistent principles of financial economics. Multinational companies (MNCs) tend to emphasize transaction exposure over economic exposure (see for instance Batten et. al. 1993; Glaum/Roth 1993; Belk/Glaum 1990). Frequently, they manage transaction exposure in an ad hoc fashion, with hedging rules that tend to concentrate on the requisites of internal organization rather than the volatility in the business and financial markets environment (see Hinz 1989; Collier/Davis 1985). Many MNCs leave some of their transaction exposures unprotected (see Belk/Glaum 1989; Glaum/Roth 1993; Hinz 1989; Collier/Davis 1985) and, thus, effectively engage in exchange rate speculation. In the past, MNCs have focused at least to some degree on accounting exposures, and thus have committed real resources to the management of paper gains and losses (see for instance Rodriguez 1981; Mathur 1982; Belk/Glaum 1989; Collier et. al. 1990).
Steady state frequency domain analysis of parallel and series parallel resonant converter

The steady state analysis of the half bridge series parallel resonant converter (HBSPRC) is described using an AC equivalent circuit in terms of normalized frequency and quality factor. The effects of inductor resistance and average on the resistance on the semiconductor devices used in the inverter are considered. Design equations for a half bridge parallel resonant convertor (HBPRC) are obtained as a special case of the HBSPRC. Design examples are given to illustrate the usefulness of the parametric curves in the design of HBSPRC and HBPRC. Simulation results using PSPICE (simulation program and IC emphasis) are given to support the analytical results. >
Detection of Phishing Attacks: A Machine Learning Approach

Phishing is a form of identity theft that occurs when a malicious Web site impersonates a legitimate one in order to acquire sensitive information such as passwords, account details, or credit card numbers.Though there are several anti-phishing software and techniques for detecting potential phishing attempts in emails and detecting phishing contents on websites, phishers come up with new and hybrid techniques to circumvent the available software and techniques.
Au/MxOy/TiO2 catalysts for CO oxidation: Promotional effect of main-group, transition, and rare-earth metal oxide additives

Abstract Au/TiO 2 catalysts are active for CO oxidation, but they suffer from high-temperature sintering of the gold particles, and few attempts have been made to promote or stabilize Au/TiO 2 . Our recent communication addressed these issues by loading gold onto Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 prepared via surface-sol–gel processing of Al( sec -OC 4 H 9 ) 3 on TiO 2 [W.F. Yan, S.M. Mahurin, Z.W. Pan, S.H. Overbury, S. Dai, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 127 (2005) 10480–10481]. In our current full paper, Au/Al 2 O 3 /TiO 2 catalysts were prepared alternatively by thermal decomposition of Al(NO 3 ) 3 on TiO 2 followed by loading gold, and the influences of the decomposition temperature and Al 2 O 3 content were systematically surveyed. This facile method was subsequently extended to the preparation of a battery of metal oxide-modified Au/TiO 2 catalysts virtually not reported. It was found that Au/TiO 2 modified by CaO, NiO, ZnO, Ga 2 O 3 , Y 2 O 3 , ZrO 2 , La 2 O 3 , Pr 2 O 3 , Nd 2 O 3 , Sm 2 O 3 , Eu 2 O 3 , Gd 2 O 3 , Dy 2 O 3 , Ho 2 O 3 , Er 2 O 3 , or Yb 2 O 3 could retain significant activity at ambient temperature even after aging in O 2 –He at 500 °C, whereas unmodified Au/TiO 2 lost its activity. Moreover, some 200 °C-calcined promoted catalysts showed high activity even at about −100 °C. The deactivation and regeneration of some of these new catalysts were studied. This work furnished novel catalysts for further fundamental and applied research.
Transitions between pitting and intergranular corrosion in AA2024

The pitting and intergranular corrosion (IGC) behavior of various tempers of AA2024 was investigated in 1 M NaCl. The breakdown potentials associated with pitting or IGC were determined. The breakdown potentials were found to be almost independent of sample orientation for any given temper. Artificial aging had a strong effect on polarization behavior and localized corrosion morphology. The anodic polarization curves of AA2024 in the solution heat treated and water-quenched condition, T3, and T3+ tempers exhibited two breakdown potentials, whereas overaged AA2024-T8, T8+ , and solutionized and furnace cooled AA2024 exhibited only one breakdown potential. When two breakdown potentials were observed, the more active one was found to be related to the transient dissolution of S phase Al2CuMg particles leading to pitting while the noble one was thought to result primarily from initiation and growth of IGC. The breakdown potentials decreased with increasing aging time at 190°C, and only one breakdown potential was measured for T8 and T8+ tempers. Unlike the T3 temper, no sharp IGC was found for these tempers. Selected granular attack from breakdown of the copper-depleted matrix was believed to be the cause for localized corrosion in the T8 and T8+ tempers. The effect of nitrate and sulfate ions on the localized corrosion behavior was also studied.
Extending Our Vision: Access to Inclusive Dance Education for People with Visual Impairment

ABSTRACTEnvironmental, organizational and attitudinal obstacles continue to prevent people with vision loss from meaningfully engaging in dance education and performance. This article addresses the societal disabilities that handicap access to dance education for the blind. Although much of traditional dance instruction relies upon visual cuing and modeling, evidence suggests that dance can be successfully taught to blind students by integrating verbal and tactile modes of instruction. There is a need for professional development to train teachers in inclusion dance methodologies that specifically address the learning needs of students with vision loss. There is a further need for a significant paradigm shift towards the acceptance of blind people as dance students and performers with full capacity to experience, appreciate and expand the current boundaries of the art form. We surveyed fifteen parents of dance students with vision loss to assess their perceptions of the importance of dance education and t...
Scattering Studies of the Crystallization of Polymers and their Blends

The crystallization of polymers and their blends has been studied by light, x-ray, and neutron scattering. Light scattering serves to characterize the crystallization at the level of spherulites and other superstructure, x-rays at the lamellar level, and neutrons at the interfacial and molecular level. This have been studied in the case of blends of high density, low density, and linear low density polyethylene where common sperulites are found containing separate or mixed lamellae, depending on crystallization conditions. With the poly (vinylidene fluoride)/poly(methyl methacrylate) blend, the crystalline PVDF are interspersed with an inhomogeneous mixture of amorphous PVDF and PMMA. Recent work is presented on the crystallization of a blend of polycarbonate and poly-e-caprolactone where both components may crystallize
INDICATIONS: Unilateral, Bilateral, Heart–Lung, and Lobar Transplant Procedures

Indications for unilateral, bilateral, heart-lung, and lobar transplant procedures for emphysema, cystic fibrosis, primary pulmonary hypertension, and pulmonary fibrosis are presented, and a brief historical perspective of the procedures is supplied.
Neural Stem Cell Therapy in the Ischemic Brain (P02.022)

OBJECTIVE: We determined the impact of intracranially transplanted NSCs in a C57BL6 mouse model of stroke. BACKGROUND: Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States. We previously reported that when mouse or human neural stem cells (NSCs) are intracranially transplanted into adult mid-symptomatic Sandhoff-diseased mice, which exhibit lethal gangliosidosis, transplanted cells migrate across the entire brain, even into the contralateral side. It has been previously established that cytokines, including stromal-derived factor-1 alpha (SDF-1 alpha), function in stem cell migration into brain injury sites. DESIGN/METHODS: We first optimized both stem cell growth conditions in vitro and the transplantation site. We subjected mice to 60-minute middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and reperfusion to induce ischemia and transplanted stem cells into mice 24 hours later, as upregulation of proinflammatory cytokines is well documented during this time period. RESULTS: When we analyzed mice 24 hr post transplantation, mice treated with stem cells showed improved physical behavior compared to controls, as assessed by rotarod, beam walking, and adhesive removal tests. We found that transplanted stem cells were extensively disseminated from the implantation site into the ipsilateral cortex and into regions of the striatum affected by MCAO. We also found that mice receiving NSCs showed downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines in the brain compared to controls. Since stem cells reportedly secrete anti-inflammatory factors, we are now focusing on whether stem cell-derived factors may suppress proinflammatory genes involved in blood brain barrier breakdown and extravasation of blood cells into the brain caused by MCAO. CONCLUSIONS: Intracranial transplantation of neural stem cells into a C57BL6 mouse model of stroke preserved motor function and reduced pathology including downregulation of proinflammatory cytokines. Disclosure: Dr. Lee has nothing to disclose. Dr. Huang has nothing to disclose.
A new two-motor drive to control a two-phase induction motor and a DC motor

A multi-motor drive, which independently controls multiple motors by a single microcontroller and converter, reduces the system cost by reducing the drive system parts count. This paper proposes direct torque control (DTC) of a two-phase induction motor (as the main motor) and hysteresis-based current control of a permanent magnet DC motor (as the auxiliary motor) using a four-leg converter. An augmented switching table is proposed to control both motors. Analytical equations are also proposed to assess the current ripple and controllability of the DC motor. The proposed drive system and presented theories are validated by simulation case studies in MATLAB/Simulink.
History and Theory of Good Faith Performance in the United States

This book Chapter is about breach of contract based on the obligation to perform in good faith, which is implied in virtually every contract in the United States. The Restatement (Second) of Contracts provides: Every contract imposes upon each party a duty of good faith and fair dealing in its performance and enforcement. Similarly, the Uniform Commercial Code provides: Every contract or duty within [the Uniform Commercial Code] imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance and enforcement. These vague formulations, however, beg the practical question: What distinguishes good faith from bad faith performance?The good faith performance doctrine is a relative newcomer to American law. It has burgeoned in importance in recent decades; it now seems that hardly a complaint is filed stating a claim in contract without including an allegation of bad faith. By far, most of these claims are rejected by the courts, most often for good reasons. Enough of them succeed to make it crucial to grasp the shape of current judicial practice. In this Chapter, I will give a brief history of the good faith performance doctrine and present the main current theories of its proper use. We now can see that some lines of development that seemed important only a few years ago are dead ends. In particular, case law treating the good faith obligation as a basis for claims of tortious breach of contract, allowing damages for emotional distress and even punitive recoveries, has vanished except in the insurance context. Similarly, early scholarly commentary treating good faith performance as a post-formation counterpart to the unconscionability doctrine, allowing courts to impose obligations of “contractual morality” or "altruism" on the parties, has not gained general favor with the courts. The now-considerable case law has taken on a distinctly free market orientation, regularly construing good faith to protect and serve the parties' justified expectations arising from their promises. I will conclude with some remarks on comparative aspects of good faith.
Framework for Modeling and Evaluating Earth Observation Campaigns

The National Research Council Space Studies Board recently released a decadal survey for the Earth and environmental science and applications communities. The survey recommends a mission campaign that aims to satisfy the numerous and often competing needs of a wide range of stakeholders. We developed a framework for modeling and evaluating Earth observation campaigns that can help mission planners manage and understand the complexity involved in executing the decadal survey’s recommendations. The framework provides a clear, consistent method for articulating and organizing stakeholder needs, objectives, required measurements, instruments, and missions. It is a useful tool for understanding how cost-incurring decisions involving instruments and spacecraft affect the value delivered to stakeholders. It has also been helpful in guiding the development of our own stakeholder and system architecture modeling tools for Earth observation campaigns.
Feedback, concordance and text comprehension

Research on the effects of sentence-order feedback on text processing has shown that agreement between the order of original text and either (1) the order of reconstructed text or (2) recall of text does not influence amount of recall. Students' processing of text is a function of too many uncertain variables to permit endorsements of simple association models of instructional assistanc
Comparison of Spur Gear Root Stress Calculations

Methods of Spur Gear Root Stress determination were analyzed by comparing an experimentally proven method to documented theoretical methods. The methods evaluated were German DIN standards, AGMA standard, JGMA standard, and Cornell method. The Cornell method was used as a benchmark for comparison of other methods. Each method was used to calculate root stresses in a spur gear system. The gear system variables were torque and rotational speed. Seven different torque settings and four different rotational speeds were used in the analysis, giving 28 different system settings for analysis. The system was modeled using a NASA computer program, Dynamic Analysis of Spur Gear Transmission (DANST) developed by one of the authors. The stresses in the tooth root were calculated from the dynamic forces at 121 points along the involute tooth profile during a two-gear mesh. The study has shown that the stresses calculated using AGMA could predict the stresses calculated using the Cornell method of stress calculation. The JGMA method calculates the maximum root stress of the gear system within three percent of the Cornell method. The study showed that AGMA, and JGMA methods could be as effective at calculating the root stresses as the Cornell method.© 2005 ASME
Know-Nothingism and the Republican Majority in Massachusetts: The Political Realignment of the 1850s

HE dramatic voting changes that took place in the decade before the Civil War have attracted the attention of historians.' Recent scholars have attempted to reassess interpretations of northern voting, party loyalty, and realignment in the 1850s. Following the lead of Lee Benson, they have challenged the notion that partisan differences arose from a fundamental cleavage over the national debate regarding slavery and have emphasized instead ethnocultural conflicts between Protestants and Catholics-or other negative reference groups-as the primary determinants of voting behavior.2 According to these newer interpretations, any explanation of the realignment of the 1850s must include a discussion of the important role played by political nativism. The forces that produced the anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant KnowNothing movement in the North, it is argued, had immense significance for the emergence of the Republican party.3 In no other northern state did the Native American or Know-Nothing party achieve such phenomenal, if short-lived, success as in
Ehrenberg's Negative Binomial Model Applied to Grocery Store Trips:

Ehrenberg's negative binomial distribution model is applied to a new facet of consumer behavior, the frequency of household filler trips to food stores. Goodness-of-fit tests and intertemporal pred...
Effect of charge on point defect size misfits from ab initio: Aliovalently doped SrTiO3

Abstract We demonstrate a computationally efficient method to calculate size misfits of point defects in aliovalently doped SrTiO 3 using density functional theory. The size misfits of neutral and charged single point defects are calculated and linearly combined to estimate the effective size misfits of multiple point defects in aliovalently doped SrTiO 3 . The charge state has a demonstrable effect on point defect size misfits for both isolated and multiple defects. We attribute this to the different charge localization between the defective systems. The extra electron or hole for the charged isolated point defects compensates the difference of charge localization between the neutral point defects and aliovalently doped system. The sum of size misfits of charged isolated point defects accurately estimates size misfits for aliovalently doped SrTiO 3 , without charge correction which was possibly required due to the additional charge state of point defect.
Rethinking human and nonhuman animal relations in J. M. Coetzee's Elizabeth Costello (2003).

RETHINKING HUMAN AND NONHUMAN ANIMAL RELATIONS IN J. M. COETZEE'S ELIZABETH COSTELLO (2003) Rodrigo Martini Paula August 1,2012 For the past four decades, scholarship on the relationship between human and nonhuman animals has been growing inside the academy and sprouting ontological and epistemological concerns about the status of the Humanities as an institution. Between 1997 and 2003, South-African author and Nobel Laureate 1. M. Coetzee created Elizabeth Costello, an Australian writer that delivers lectures at certain universities and causes controversy when addressing the nature of animal rights movements. This work aims at analyzing the situations in which Coetzce uses Costello to speak about the cruelty to nonhuman animals. What I argue is that in entering the conversation through the use of a fictional character, Coetzee puts the discourse of both philosophy an science in perspective and forces the reader to rethink the politics involved in the ways disciplines
Epidemiological analysis on malaria incidence in Zhejiang,2010-2013

Objective To understand the incidence pattern of malaria in Zhejiang province from 2010 to 2013,and provide a scientific evidence for malaria elimination. Methods The incidence data of malaria in Zhejiang from 2010 to2013 were collected from national disease reporting information system and epidemiological investigation. Results A total of 603 malaria cases were reported,including 200 vivax malaria cases,395 falciparum malaria cases,6 ovale malaria cases,1 quartan malaria case and 1 mixed infection case. Among the reported cases,10( 1. 66%) occurred in local people( 1. 66%),593( 98. 34%) were imported cases,and no local malaria case has been found since 2012.Malaria cases were reported every month,and the case number during May-October was not significantly different from that in other months( χ2= 3. 254,P = 0. 354). The cases mainly distributed in Jinhua,Hangzhou,Wenzhou,Lishui and Ningbo,the cases in these areas accounted for 76. 45% of the total( 461 /603). Most cases were 20 to 49 years old,accounting for 80. 10% of the total( 483 /603) and the male to female ratio of the cases was 6. 9 ∶ 1. The infection sources were mainly from malaria endemic regions of Africa and Asia, accounting for 70. 98% and 16. 92%.Conclusion The local malaria transmission have been controlled in Zhejiang. However,imported malaria becomes a major challenge. It is still necessary to strengthen the malaria surveillance and health education among risk population.
Partial ordered structure circular diagram: a new method for partial ordered structure visualization of big data

The partial ordered structure diagram has been widely applied to knowledge discovery and data mining and many other domains due to its better visualization. However, the shortcomings of traditional partial ordered structure diagram has lead to indistinct visualization results when researching and analyzing big data, which is not conducive to data mining and knowledge discovery. Through improving the traditional tree map, a new visualization method based on attribute partial ordered structure diagram is proposed, and the method can be used to analyze big data. Applying this method, a partial ordered structure diagram of a set of big data is mapped and compared with traditional tree map in this paper. The results show that this approach is clear, intuitive, and visualization effect is better, thereby the diagram shows more important information of the large amount of data.
Barriers to love between patient and analyst

Analysts tend to avoid the full range and force of love and hate in themselves and in their analysands. Such affective constriction in the analyst interferes with full analysis of patients' defenses against passionate feelings, loving and hating. I contend that our analytic ego ideal tends to encourage constriction and discomfort with our loving feelings for analysands. My intention is not to advise analysts to love their patients, but to focus carefully on mutually constructed barriers that serve to prevent loving feelings in the analytic setting. I describe some of my loving feelings toward two analysands and some of the obstacles with which I had to struggle in order to preserve such feelings for the sake of these patients' analytic growth and change.
Effect of hypoxemia on the cardiovascular response to intracranial hypertension in postnatal lambs

Large increases in intracranial pressure in fetal sheep result in more potent peripheral vasoconstriction and better maintenance of cerebral O2 consumption (CMRO2) than in postnatal sheep. The fetus is exposed to a lower PO2. We tested the hypothesis that low PO2 in postnatal lambs potentiates peripheral vasoconstriction and better maintains cerebral perfusion pressure and CMRO2. Pentobarbital-anesthetized lambs, 2-7 days old, were ventilated with either room air (n = 7) or a low O2 mixture to reduce arterial O2 saturation to 50% (n = 7). Elevation of intracranial pressure to within 3-5 mmHg of baseline mean arterial pressure for 30 min by ventricular fluid infusion initially caused a similar increase in arterial pressure in the normoxic [11 +/- 3 (SE) mmHg] and hypoxic (14 +/- 2 mmHg) groups. Plasma catecholamines increased more rapidly in the hypoxic group. However, plasma vasopressin levels were substantially elevated by hypoxia alone and failed to increase further with elevated intracranial pressure. Moreover, there was no significant difference between groups in the steady-state increase in arterial pressure, and microsphere-determined blood flow to intestines, kidney, skin, and muscle did not decrease in either group. Consequently, cerebral perfusion pressure, regional cerebral blood flow, and CMRO2 were reduced similarly in both groups. Therefore, hypoxemia failed to potentiate the postnatal pressor response. Low PO2 is unlikely to be the major mechanism for the potent Cushing response in the fetus.
The Eugene Berman Collection: A Roman Memoir

This memoir recounts the author’s first meetings with David Soren in Tunis and Rome during the summer of 1970. It also records an influential visit to the Roman apartment of a major artist and collector of Etruscan antiquities, Eugene Berman (1899–1972), that same summer and gives a brief description of the collection, now the property of the Italian State. Finally it shows how that visit helped to set the author on a path that would lead to his career as an Etruscologist. DOI:10.2458/azu_jaei_v10i1_de_puma
Electrostatic MEMS vibration energy harvester for HVAC applications with impact-based frequency up-conversion

This paper reports on electrostatic MEMS vibration energy harvesters with gap-closing interdigitated electrodes, designed for and tested on HVAC air ducts. The harvesters were fabricated on SOI wafers with 200 µm device layer using a custom microfabrication process. Designs with aspects ratio (electrodes' gap versus depth) of 10 and 20 were implemented, while the overall footprint was approximately 1 cm × 1 cm in both cases. In order to enhance the power output, a dual-level physical stopper system was designed to control the minimum gap between the electrodes, which is a key parameter in the conversion process. The dual-level stopper utilizes cantilever beams to absorb a portion of the impact energy as the electrodes approach the impact point, and a film of parylene with nanometer thickness deposited on the electrode sidewalls. The parylene layer defines the absolute minimum gap and provides electrical insulation. The fabricated devices were first tested on a vibration shaker to characterize the resonant behavior. Devices with aspect ratio 10 were found to exhibit frequency up-conversion, which enhances the amount of converted power. Devices with both aspect ratios were found to exhibits spring hardening due to impact with the stoppers and spring softening behavior at increasing voltage bias. The highest power measured on shaker table for sinusoidal vibrations was 3.13 µW (includes enhancement due to frequency up-conversion driven by impact) for aspect ratio 10, and 0.166 µW for aspect ratio 20. The corresponding dimensional figure-of-merit, defined as the power output normalized to vibration acceleration and frequency, squared voltage and device mass, was in the range of 10 10−8 m V−2 for both devices, about an order of magnitude higher than state-of-the-art. Testing was carried out on HVAC air duct vibrating with an RMS acceleration of 155 mg RMS, a primary frequency of 60 Hz and a PSD of 7.15 10−2 g2 Hz−1. The peak power measured was 118nW with a PSD of 1.91 × 10−9 W Hz−1 at 120 Hz (four times the primary frequency of 60 Hz), some of the highest values reported to date.
Ashes and Embers, the film: a critical review

ABSTRACTAshes and Embers written, produced, and directed by Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima garnered numerous awards and accolades from critics when it first came out in 1982, yet it has rarely been the subject of a critical review. A pioneer of the L.A. Rebellion and proponent of Third Cinema political philosophy, Gerima embodies generations of aesthetic theories and influences from W.E.B. DuBois, Oscar Micheaux, Frantz Fanon, to Fernando Solanas and Ousmane Sembene; and he has forged from this precursory package a unique, experimental cinematic style and the only revolutionary film tradition in the United States. With thousands of returning Vietnam War veterans suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder, Gerima found an exemplary character for psychoanalysis in Black Vietnam veteran Ned Charles. Ashes and Embers explores Ned's psychological dislocation and trauma as he wanders from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., to the countryside trying to come to grips with his tormented past. This pivotal film w...
An evaluation of the SD Bioline HIV/syphilis duo test

Many health agencies now recommend routine HIV and syphilis testing for pregnant women and most-at-risk populations such as men who have sex with men. With the increased availability of highly sensitive, low cost rapid point-of-care tests, the ability to meet those recommendations has increased, granting wider access to quick and accurate diagnoses. Using blood specimens collected from a Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) sexually transmitted infection clinic, we evaluated the SD Bioline HIV/Syphilis Duo, a rapid test that simultaneously detects antibodies to HIV and syphilis and has the potential to further benefit clinics and patients by reducing costs, testing complexity, and patient wait times. SD DUO HIV sensitivity and specificity, when compared to BCHD results, were 91.7 and 99.5%, respectively. SD DUO syphilis sensitivity and specificity, when compared to rapid plasma reagin, were 85.7 and 96.8%, respectively, and 69.7 and 99.7%, respectively, when compared to Treponema pallidum particle agglutination (TPPA). SD DUO syphilis sensitivity and specificity, when compared to a traditional screening algorithm, improved to 92.3 and 100%, respectively, and improved to 72.9 and 99.7%, respectively, when compared to a reverse screening algorithm. The HIV component of the SD DUO performed moderately well. However, results for the SD DUO syphilis component, when compared to TPPA, support the need for further testing and assessment.
New concepts in feedback regulation of glucose metabolism

Glycolysis, the breakdown of glucose, is one of the most conserved and extensively studied biochemical pathways. Designing principles from chemistry and thermodynamics allow for energy production, biosynthesis and cellular communication. However, the kinetics or metabolic flux through the pathway also determines its function. Recently, there have been numerous developments that establish new allosteric interactions of glycolytic enzymes with small molecule metabolites and other mechanisms that may cooperate to allow for addition complex regulation of glycolysis. This review surveys these newfound sources of glycolysis regulation and discusses their possible roles in establishing kinetic design principles of glycolysis.
The Apparatus of Social Reproduction: Uncovering the Work Functions of Transgender Women

The apparatus of social reproduction describes the process by which knowledge production contributes to oppressive conditions. This article explains and defines this process through the application...
Vacuum Furnace for Degassing Stainless-Steel Vacuum Components

Ultrahigh vacuum systems must often be constructed of materials with ultralow outgassing rates to achieve pressure of 10−6 Pa and below. Any component placed into the ultrahigh vacuum system must also be constructed of materials with ultralow outgassing rates. Baking stainless steel vacuum components to a temperature range of 400–450 °C while under vacuum is an effective method to reduce the outgassing rate of vacuum components for use in ultrahigh vacuum systems. The design, construction, and operation of a vacuum furnace capable of baking vacuum components to a temperature of 450 °C while maintaining a pressure of 10−3 Pa or lower is described. The furnace has been used for extended bakes at 450 °C while maintaining pressures below 10−5 Pa. As an example, the authors obtained an outgassing rate of 1.2 × 10−9 Pa l s−1 for a gate valve baked for 20 days at a temperature of 420 °C.
Ultra-High Resolution Photon-Counting Detector CT Reconstruction using Spectral Prior Image Constrained Compressed-Sensing (UHR-SPICCS)

Photon-counting detector based CT (PCD-CT) enables dose efficient high resolution imaging, in addition to providing multi-energy information. This allows better delineation of anatomical structures crucial for several clinical applications ranging from temporal bone imaging to pulmonary nodule visualization. Due to the smaller detector pixel sizes required for high resolution imaging, the PCD-CT images suffer from higher noise levels. The image quality is further degraded in narrow energy bins as a consequence of low photon counts. This limits the potential benefits that high-resolution PCD-CT could offer. Conventional reconstruction techniques such as the filtered back projection (FBP) have poor performance when reconstructing noisy CT projection data. To enable low noise multi-energy reconstructions, we employed a spectral prior image constrained compressed sensing (SPICCS) framework that exploits the spatio-spectral redundancy in the multi-energy acquisitions. We demonstrated noise reduction in narrow energy bins without losing energy-specific attenuation information and spatial resolution. We scanned an anthropomorphic head phantom, and a euthanized pig using our whole-body prototype PCD-CT system in the ultra-high resolution mode at 120kV. Image reconstructions were performed using SPICCS and compared with conventional FBP. Noise reduction of 18 to 46% was noticed in narrow energy bins corresponding to 25 - 65 keV and 65 - 12 keV, while the mean CT number was preserved. Spatial resolution measurement showed similar modulation transfer function (MTF) values between FBP and SPICCS, demonstrating preservation of spatial resolution.
Unpacking Legality through "La Facultad" and Cultural Citizenship: Critical and Legal Consciousness Formation for Politicized Latinx Undocumented Youth Activists.

Over the last ten years, there has been an increasingly growing body of scholarship devoted to undocumented college students in higher education. Prior scholarship has focused on how undocumented s...
Immunoreactivity of Biochemically Purified Amandin from Thermally Processed Almonds (Prunus dulcis L.)

Almond seeds were subjected to select thermal processing and amandin was purified from processed and unprocessed (control) seeds using cryoprecipitation. Amandin immunoreactivity was assessed using two murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)–4C10 and 4F10 detecting human IgE‐relevant conformational and linear epitopes, respectively. Overall amandin immunoreactivity following thermal treatment ranged from 64.9% to 277.8% (4C10) and 81.3% to 270.3% (4F10). Except for autoclaving (121 °C, 15 psi, 30 min) and roasting (160 °C, 30 min), the tested processing conditions resulted in increased immunoreactivity as determined by mAbs 4C10 and 4F10‐based enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). A significant, yet not complete, reduction in immunoreactivity was caused by autoclaving (121 °C, 15 psi, 30 min) and roasting (160 °C, 30 min). Western‐ and dot‐blot immunoassays corroborated the ELISA results, confirming amandin thermal stability. The tested immunoassays indicated amandin to be stable, regardless of the targeted epitope and the processing method that whole almond seeds were subjected to.
The effect of social context and social scale on the perception of relationships in monk parakeets

Social relationships formed within a network of interacting group members can have a profound impact on an individual’s behavior and fitness. However, we have little understanding of how individuals perceive their relationships and how this perception relates to our external measures of interactions. We investigated the perception of affiliative and agonistic relationships at both the dyadic and emergent social levels in two captive groups of monk parakeets ( Myiopsitta monachus , n = 21 and 19) using social network analysis and playback experiments. At the dyadic social scale, individuals directed less aggression towards their strong affiliative partners and more aggression towards non-partner neighbors.At the emergent social scale, there was no association between relationships in different social contexts and an individual’s dominance rank did not correlate with its popularity rank. Playback response patterns were mainly driven by relationships in affiliative social contexts at the dyadic scale. In both groups, individual responses to playback experiments were significantly affected by strong affiliative relationships at the dyadic social scale, albeit in different directions in the two groups. Response patterns were also affected by affiliative relationships at the emergent social scale, but only in one of the two groups. Within affiliative relationships, those at the dyadic social scale were perceived by individuals in both groups, but those at the emergent social scale only affected responses in one group. These results provide preliminary evidence that relationships in affiliative social contexts may be perceived as more important than agonistic relationships in captive monk parakeet groups. Our approach could be used in a wide range of social species and comparative analyses could provide important insight into how individuals perceive relationships across social contexts and social scales.
The Effect of Forest Roads on the Reproductive Success of Forest-Dwelling Passerine Birds

Recent studies indicate that forest roads may affect the distribution of forest-dwelling birds. However, previous studies have not demonstrated any significant effects of forest roads on avian productivity. We studied the effect of maintained and unmaintained forest roads on (1) forest bird nest survival, (2) reproductive parameters of ovenbirds (Seiurus aurocapillus) potentially associated with food abundance, and (3) habitat and microclimate at six sites on the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, during two breeding seasons. Nest survival did not differ between areas near (0-150 m) and far (>150 m) from maintained forest roads, and was marginally (P= 0.08) higher in areas near (0-150 m) unmaintained roads. When the 0-150 m distance class was subdivided, however, nest survival was significantly higher within 0-75 m of maintained roads than >75-150 m away. Ovenbird nest initiation dates, clutch size, and fledging success did not differ between areas near (0-150 m) and far (>150 m) from maintained and unmaintained forest roads, and this result did not change when the distance class 0-150 m from roads was subdivided. There were no relationships between habitat or microclimate and distance from maintained roads. We conclude that small, unsurfaced forest roads at low road density do not result in decreases in forest passerine bird productivity in extensively forested areas in New England.
Finding critical thresholds for defining bursts

A burst, i.e., an unusally high frequency of an event in a time-window, is interesting in monitoring systems as it often indicates abnormality. While the detection of bursts is well addressed, the question of what "critical" thresholds, on the number of events as well as on the window size, make a window "unusally bursty" remains a relevant one. The range of possible values for either threshold can be very large. We formulate finding the combination of critical thresholds as a 2D search problem and design efficient deterministic and randomized divide-and-conquer heuristics. For both, we show that under some weak assumptions, the computational overhead in the worst case is logarithmic in the sizes of the ranges. Our simulations show that on average, the randomized heuristic beats its deteministic counterpart in practice.
The Hiperwall tiled-display wall system for Big-Data research

In the era of Big Data, with the increasing use of large-scale data-driven applications, visualization of very large high-resolution images and extracting useful information (searching for specific targets or rare signal events) from these images can pose challenges to the current display wall technologies. At Bellarmine University, we have set up an Advanced Visualization and Computational Lab using a state-of-the-art next generation display wall technology, called Hiperwall (Highly Interactive Parallelized Display Wall). The 16 ft $$\times$$ 4.5 ft Hiperwall visualization system has a total resolution of 16.5 Megapixels (MP) which consists of eight display-tiles that are arranged in a $$4\times 2$$ tile configuration. Using Hiperwall, we can perform interactive visual data analytics of large images by conducting comparative views of multiple large images in Astronomy and multiple event displays in experimental High Energy Physics. Users can display a single large image across all the display-tiles, or view many different images simultaneously on multiple display-tiles. Hiperwall enables simultaneous visualization of multiple high resolution images and its contents on the entire display wall without loss of clarity and resolution. Hiperwall’s middleware also allows researchers in geographically diverse locations to collaborate on large scientific experiments. In this paper we will provide a description of a new generation of display wall setup at Bellarmine University that is based on the Hiperwall technology, which is a robust visualization system for Big Data research.
Teachers’ intentions to report suspected child abuse: the influence of compassion fatigue

Teachers are legally mandated to report suspected child abuse – a role that positions teachers as crucial figures in the detection and prevention of child abuse. It is, thus, important to explore u...
Differential effect of body mass index by gender on oncological outcomes in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Objectives To investigate the relationship between gender, body mass index (BMI), and prognosis in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. Materials and Methods We retrospectively reviewed 1353 patients with RCC who underwent a partial or radical nephrectomy between 1988 and 2015. The association among sex, BMI, stage, grade, overall survival (OS), and recurrence-free survival (RFS) was analyzed. Results The median age of the patients was 59.4 ± 11.9 years. Female patients had proportionally lower grade tumors than male patients (Grade I-II in 75.5% vs. 69.3% in women and men, respectively, P = 0.022). There was no relationship between Fuhrman grade and BMI when substratified by gender (p > 0.05). There was a nonsignificant trend toward more localized disease in female patients (p = 0.058). There was no relationship between T stage and BMI when stratified by gender (p > 0.05). Patients with higher BMI had significantly better OS (p = 0.0004 and P = 0.0003) and RFS (P = 0.0209 and P =0.0082) whether broken out by lower 33rd or 25th percentile. Male patients with higher BMI had significantly better OS and RFS rates. However, there was no relationship between BMI and OS or RFS for female patients (P > 0.05). Multivariate analysis of the entire cohort demonstrated that a BMI in the lower quartile independently predicts OS (hazard ratio 1.604 [95% confidence interval: 1.07-2.408], P = 0.022) but not RFS (P > 0.05). When stratified by gender, there was no relationship between BMI and either OS or RFS (P > 0.05). Conclusions Increasing BMI was associated with RCC prognosis. However, the clinical association between BMI and oncologic outcomes may be different between men and women.