cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The concept of nudge and its moral significance: a reply to Ashcroft, Bovens, Dworkin, Welch and Wertheimer

I warmly thank Richard Ashcroft, Luc Bovens, Gerald Dworkin, Brynn Welch, and Alan Wertheimer for their insightful comments on my article.1 As I do not have the space to discuss all the questions they raise, I will focus on four concerns that run through my commentators’ responses. Wertheimer argues that my Choice-Set Preservation Condition is objectionable because it wrongly implies that any reduction of the choice-set is incompatible with the preservation of freedom of choice.2 He notes that removing unimportant options may enhance the influencee's ‘deliberative capacities and, perhaps, her freedom’. I agree with Wertheimer's substantive claim, although I do not think it is incompatible with my view. As Joel Feinberg argued, freedom of choice is undermined when fecund options are eliminated.3 Fecund options are options that lead to another array of options. For instance, the choice between several universities opens up different career prospects. Restricting those upstream choices has consequences on an unspecifiable number of branching downstream choices. However, restricting ‘limited’ options (eg, multiple toothpaste brands) that are not gateways to other options may actually facilitate decision-making and ultimately increase freedom. Cluttering our minds with trivialities would undermine the exercise of practical reason. Welch's objections focus on my definition of easy resistibility.4 He claims that my definitions of easy resistibility and of the ability to resist an influence easily are inconsistent. Dworkin argues that the language of the ‘ability to easily resist’ overlooks the critical distinction between having a capacity and exercising it.5 While I stand by my understanding of nudges, I would like to rephrase my view in order to consolidate some of the definitions I offer, taking into account the comments of Dworkin and Welch. I defend the thesis that an influence preserves freedom of choice if and only if it is …
Plant–pollinator community network response to species invasion depends on both invader and community characteristics

The effect of an invasive species on the species richness of its host community can range from catastrophic to negligible to beneficial. Here, we use a network model of plant–pollinator community formation to consider the influence of invader and invasion-related properties (including physical characteristics, assignment and type of interacting partners, and number of independent introductions of the species into the community) and community properties (including connectance and nestedness) on the outcome of an invasion. As expected from empirical work, invaders with properties atypical of the regional species pool drive the strongest changes in species richness. However, we find that an increase in species richness corresponds to an increase in the community's spectral nestedness coupled with a decrease in connectance. While such a response has been observed in real invaded systems, these results differ from previous theoretical studies in which these two measures respond in a similar way outside the context of species invasions.
Likelihood to abort an online transaction: influences from cognitive evaluations, attitudes, and behavioral variables

This study identifies evaluative, attitudinal, and behavioral factors that enhance or reduce the likelihood of consumers aborting intended online transactions (transaction abort likelihood). Path analyses show that risk perceptions associated with e-shopping have direct influence on the transaction abort likelihood, whereas benefit perceptions do not. In addition, consumers who have favorable attitudes toward e-shopping, purchasing experiences from the Internet, and high purchasing frequencies from catalogs are less likely to abort intended transactions. The results also show that attitude toward e-shopping mediate relationships between the transaction abort likelihood and other predictors (i.e., effort saving, product offering, control in the information search, and time spent on the Internet per visit).
Singlet sensitized formation of triplet acetone from tetramethyl-1,2-dioxetane

The multiplicities of the excited states resulting from the thermal 1 and photochemical 2 decomposition of tetramethyl-1,2-dioxetane have recently been shown to result in the selective and high yield production of the (n,v*) triplet state of acetone. We report in this note both chemical and spectroscopic evidence for the formation of triplet acetone from the pyrene singlet sensitized decomposition of tetra3 methyl-1,2-dioxetane (TMD) . The observation that both 9,10-diphenylanthracene and 9,10-dibromoanthracene act as efficient singlet sensitizers of the photochemical decomposition Of cis-diethoxy-1,2-dioxetane has already been made. 4 Product studies for such a process, however, have not as yet been reported. Addition of TMD to acetonitrile solutions of pyrene resulted in the quenching of the pyrene fluorescence intensity. Stern-Volmer treatment of the data led to straight line plots of IO/I vs [TMDI with kqr = 335 i: 29 (least squares analysis). Using the value of 352 + 15 nsec for the pyrene lifetime under our conditions (measured via single photon counting), resulted in a value of kq = 9.52 f 1.44 x lo8 M-lsec-‘. A similar value of k = 9.11 f 0.51 x lo* was obtained via Stern-Volmer q analysis of fluorescence lifetime quenching as measured by single photon counting. In order to establish whether excited acetone molecules are produced in a pyrene sensitized TMD decomposition, a chemical titration was designed. The substrate for the chemical titration must meet two standards. It should not quench the excited
In honour of N. Yngve Öhrn: surveying proton cancer therapy reactions with Öhrn's electron nuclear dynamics method. Aqueous clusters radiolysis and DNA-base damage by proton collisions

Proton cancer therapy (PCT) utilises high-energy H+ projectiles to cure cancer. PCT healing arises from its DNA damage in cancerous cells, which is mostly inflicted by the products from PCT water radiolysis reactions. While clinically established, a complete microscopic understanding of PCT remains elusive. To help in the microscopic elucidation of PCT, Professor Ohrn's simplest-level electron nuclear dynamics (SLEND) method is herein applied to H+ + (H2O)3–4 and H+ + DNA-bases at ELab = 1.0 keV. These are two types of computationally feasible prototypes to study water radiolysis reactions and H+-induced DNA damage, respectively. SLEND is a time-dependent, variational, non-adiabatic and direct-dynamics method that adopts a nuclear classical-mechanics description and an electronic single-determinantal wavefunction. Additionally, our SLEND + effective-core-potential method is herein employed to simulate some computationally demanding PCT reactions. Due to these attributes, SLEND proves appropriate for the s...
PKA-I Holoenzyme Structure Reveals a Mechanism for cAMP-Dependent Activation

Protein kinase A (PKA) holoenzyme is one of the major receptors for cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), where an extracellular stimulus is translated into a signaling response. We report here the structure of a complex between the PKA catalytic subunit and a mutant RI regulatory subunit, RIalpha(91-379:R333K), containing both cAMP-binding domains. Upon binding to the catalytic subunit, RI undergoes a dramatic conformational change in which the two cAMP-binding domains uncouple and wrap around the large lobe of the catalytic subunit. This large conformational reorganization reveals the concerted mechanism required to bind and inhibit the catalytic subunit. The structure also reveals a holoenzyme-specific salt bridge between two conserved residues, Glu261 and Arg366, that tethers the two adenine capping residues far from their cAMP-binding sites. Mutagenesis of these residues demonstrates their importance for PKA activation. Our structural insights, combined with the mutagenesis results, provide a molecular mechanism for the ordered and cooperative activation of PKA by cAMP.
DNA polymerase kappa produces interrupted mutations and displays polar pausing within mononucleotide microsatellite sequences

Microsatellites are ubiquitously present in eukaryotic genomes and are implicated as positive factors in evolution. At the nucleotide level, microsatellites undergo slippage events that alter allele length and base changes that interrupt the repetitive tract. We examined DNA polymerase errors within a [T]11 microsatellite using an in vitro assay that preferentially detects mutations other than unit changes. We observed that human DNA polymerase kappa (Pol i) inserts dGMP and dCMP within the [T]11 mononucleotide repeat, producing an interrupted 12-bp allele. Polymerase b produced such interruptions at a lower frequency. These data demonstrate that DNA polymerases are capable of directly producing base interruptions within microsatellites. At the molecular level, expanded microsatellites have been implicated in DNA replication fork stalling. Using an in vitro primer extension assay, we observed sequence-specific synthesis termination by DNA polymerases within mononucleotides. Quantitatively, intense, polar pausing was observed for both pol i and polymerase a-primase within a [T]11 allele. A mechanism is proposed in which pausing results from DNA bending within the duplex stem of the nascent DNA. Our data support the concept of a microsatellite life-cycle, and are consistent with the models in which DNA sequence or secondary structures contributes to non-uniform rates of replication fork progression.
On the histochemistry and ultrastructure of the redia of Neophasis lageniformis (Lebour, 1910) (Trematoda, Acanthocolpidae)

Abstract The redia of Neophasis lageniformis within the first intermediate host, the carnivorous prosobranch Buccinum undatum, has been studied by means of light microscope and scanning and transmission electron microscopes. The tegument of the redia is provided with irregular cytoplasmic projections or microvilli-like structures and knobs. Short cilia occur around the mouth and long cilia on the lateral surface. Numerous pinocytotic vesicles in the intestinal cells and in the tegument show that absorption of nutrients takes place through both the intestinal caecum and the external surface. The fine structure of the body wall of the redia is discussed and compared with previous investigations of the ultrastructure of germinal sacs. Histochemical tests showed that the tegument and subtegumentary layer contain acid and alkaline phosphatases, non-specific esterase, and aminopeptidase. The intestinal lumen contains a high concentration of acid phosphatase, and the pharynx is highly non-specific esterase-posit...
Visible and Infrared Imagery from Meteorological Satellites

The data from meteorological satellites have provided the research community and the operational user during the past decade with global visible and infrared measurements which have served as valuable inputs for the better understanding of the earth-atmosphere system. Early in the meteorological satellite program, the instrumentation largely consisted of vidicon imaging devices and low spatial resolution scanning radiometers. In contrast, current devices being flown on meteorological spacecraft include high spatial resolution scanning radiometers, spectrometers, and high signal-to-noise ratio imaging systems. This array of instrumentation, flown on twenty-eight spacecraft, has permitted the researcher and operational user to (1) remotely measure surface temperatures, (2) deduce the vertical profiles of temperature, water vapor, and ozone, (3) ascertain atmospheric kinematics from cloud motions, cloud characteristics, and circulation patterns, (4) detect and track cyclones and local storms, (5) calculate the heat balance of the earth-atmosphere system, (6) determine the nature and distribution of cloud cover, and (7) remotely detect natural resource boundaries and characteristics.
PathExpander: Architectural Support for Increasing the Path Coverage of Dynamic Bug Detection

Dynamic software bug detection tools are commonly used because they leverage run-time information. However, they suffer from a fundamental limitation, the Path Coverage Problem: they detect bugs only in taken paths but not in non-taken paths. In other words, they require bugs to be exposed in the monitored execution. This paper makes one of the first attempts to address this fundamental problem with a simple hardware extension. First, we propose PathExpander , a novel design that dynamically increases the code path coverage of dynamic bug detection tools with no programmer involvement. As a program executes, PathExpander selectively executes non-taken paths in a sandbox without side effects. This enables dynamic bug detection tools to find bugs that are present in these non-taken paths and would otherwise not be detected. Second, we propose a simple hardware extension to control the huge overhead in its pure software implementation to a moderate level. To further minimize overhead, PathExpander provides an optimization option to execute non-taken paths on idle cores in chip multi-processor architectures that support speculative execution. To evaluate PathExpander, we use three dynamic bug detection methods: dynamic software-only checker (CCured), dynamic hardware-assisted checker (iWatcher) and assertions; and conduct side-by-side comparison with PathExpander's counterpart software implementation. Our experiments with seven buggy programs using general inputs that do not expose the tested bugs show that PathExpander is able to help these tools detect 21 (out of 38) tested bugs that are otherwise missed. This is because PathExpander increases the code coverage of each test case from 40% to 65% on average, based on the branch coverage metric. When applications are tested with multiple inputs, the cumulative coverage also significantly improves by 19%. We also show that PathExpander introduces modest false positives (4 on average) and overhead (less than 9.9%). The 3.4 orders of magnitude lower overhead compared with pure-software implementation further justifies the hardware design in PathExpander.
Glucocorticoid-Induced Degradation of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 Protein Is Triggered by Serum- and Glucocorticoid-Induced Protein Kinase and Akt Signaling and Controls β-Catenin Dynamics and Tight Junction Formation in Mammary Epithelial Tumor Cells

Glucocorticoid hormones stimulate adherens junction and tight junction formation in Con8 mammary epithelial tumor cells and induce the production of a stable nonphosphorylated beta-catenin protein localized exclusively to the cell periphery. Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK3) phosphorylation of beta-catenin is known to trigger the degradation of this adherens junction protein, suggesting that steroid-activated cascades may be targeting this protein kinase. We now demonstrate that treatment with the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone induces the ubiquitin-26S proteasome-mediated degradation of GSK3 protein with no change in GSK3 transcript levels. In transfected cells, deletion of the N-terminal nine amino acids or mutation of the serine-9 phosphorylation site on GSK3-beta prevented its glucocorticoid-induced degradation. Expression of stabilized GSK3 mutant proteins ablated the glucocorticoid-induced tight junction sealing and resulted in production of a nonphosphorylated beta-catenin that localizes to both the nucleus and the cell periphery in steroid-treated cells. Serine-9 on GSK3 can be phosphorylated by Sgk (serum- and glucocorticoid-induced protein kinase) and by Akt. Expression of dominant-negative forms of either Sgk- or Akt-inhibited glucocorticoid induced GSK3 ubiquitination and degradation and disrupted the dexamethasone-induced effects on beta-catenin dynamics. Furthermore, the steroid-induced tight junction sealing is attenuated in cells expressing dominant-negative forms of either Sgk or Akt, although the effect of blunting Sgk signaling was significantly greater. Taken together, we have uncovered a new cellular cascade in which Sgk and Akt trigger the glucocorticoid-regulated phosphorylation, ubiquitination, and degradation of GSK3, which alters beta-catenin dynamics, leading to the formation of adherens junctions and tight junction sealing.
How to Govern a City on the Hill: The Early Puritan Contribution to American Constitutionalism

While they maintained firm and sometimes brutal religious establishments, the New England Puritans also helped cultivate a number of striking constitutional ideas that would prove influential for the United States after the American Revolution. Among the most novel were their ideas of social, political, and ecclesiastical covenants, rooted in biblical covenant thinking but prescient of later secular social and government contract theories. Also influential were their ideas of natural rights and liberties and their necessary protection by church and state authorities alike. But the Puritans’ most prescient and enduring contribution lay in their theory of sin and the need to create constitutional safeguards against tyranny. This led them to develop early doctrines of separation of church and state, separation of powers within church and state, checks and balances amongst these powers, federalist layers of authority, codification of laws and limitations on equity, democratic election of religious and political officials, and the practice of congregational and town meetings between elections to render officials accountable to their constituents. The themes and contents of this early Article were greatly expanded and revised in the author’s later book: The Reformation of Rights: Law, Religion, and Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism (Cambridge University Press, 2007). .
THE DETECTION OF NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT BY NONMIGRATORY AND MIGRATORY BIRDS

ABsTR^½T.--Near-ultraviolet (UV) light reception was demonstrated for the first time in three species of nonmigratory emberizid and passerid birds. Behavioral data also established that eight additional alcedinid and emberizid birds can detect near-UV wavelengths. The finding that these more recently evolved species can see near-UV light implies that nearUV vision is probably an important visual capability in most, if not all, diurnal birds. Although the utility of near-UV reception for birds remains equivocal, the fact that nonmigratory as well as migratory birds can perceive UV suggests that birds may be able to utilize the UV spectrum for homing, orientation, and navigation, as do the UV-sensitive arthropods. It also can be inferred that UV vision may be especially useful to insectivorous birds for the detection of UV reflectance patterns, which many otherwise cryptic arthropods possess for mate recognition. Ultraviolet reflectance patterns also may be useful to frugivorous and nectarivorous birds for the detection of food items. Received 17 January 1983, accepted 8 July 1983. NEAR-ULTRAVIOLET (UV) light recepti6n was first demonstrated in the homing pigeon (Colurnba livia) by Kreithen and Eisner (1978), although an earlier study by Wright (1972) had indicated that UV light affected color discrimination in pigeons. Emmerton and Delius (1980) have confirmed that pigeons can discriminate UV wavelengths and have convincing data that imply that the pigeon's visual system may be tetrachromatic, or possibly pentachromatic. Goldsmith (1980) has shown that three species of hummingbirds (Archilochus alexandri, Larnpornis clemenciae, and Eugenes fulgens) can see near-UV light, and we have found similar capabilities in the relatively primitive Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (Parrish et al. 1981). The fact that the lenses, ocular media, and some oil droplets of pigeons and other birds do not strongly absorb UV (Strother 1963, Govardovskii and Zueva 1977, Emmerton et al. 1980), as do the lenses and other optical components of UV-blind humans and many other animals (Walls and Judd 1933, Walls 1940, Wald 1952, Kennedy and Milkman 1956), prompted us to survey several groups of birds in order to determine whether or not, in general, most other birds also can see near-UV light. The present studies were designed to determine whether or not near-UV light reception is found among nonmigratory groups of birds and to ascertain whether or not such visual capabilities are widely distributed among representatives of the more recently evolved fami53 lies of Alcedinidae, Emberizidae, and Passeridae (AOU Check-list 1982). Our behavioral data suggest that nonmigratory as well as migratory species of the most recently evolved passerines are capable of near-UV light detection. METHODS
Physical Map and Gene Survey of the Ochrobactrum anthropi Genome Using Bacterial Artificial Chromosome Contigs

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) clones are effective mapping and sequencing reagents for use with a wide variety of small and large genomes. This report describes research aimed at determining the genome structure of Ochrobactrum anthropi, an opportunistic human pathogen that has potential applications in biodegradation of hazardous organic compounds. A BAC library for O. anthropi was constructed that provides a 70-fold genome coverage based on an estimated genome size of 4.8 Mb. The library contains 3072 clones with an average insert size of 112 kb. High-density colony filters of the library were made, and a physical map of the genome was constructed using a hybridization without replacement strategy. In addition, 1536 BAC clones were fingerprinted with HindIII and analyzed using IMAGE and Fingerprint Contig software (FPC, Sanger Centre, U.K.). The FPC results supported the hybridization data, resulting in the formation of two major contigs representing the two major replicons of the O. anthropi ge...
Abstract 2252: ALDH7A1 expression is associated with recurrence in patients with resected non-small cell lung carcinoma

The aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) enzymes are important for detoxification of endogenous and exogenous aldehydes. Expression of ALDH family members has recently been described as a potential marker for tumor-initiating cancer stem cells in a variety of human malignancies, including lung cancer. We were interested to determine whether expression of ALDH7A1, a member of the ALDH family, has prognostic significance in resected non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Tumor specimens were obtained for 107 patients with completely resected stage I through stage III NSCLC from paraffin-embedded tissue microarrays and stained with an antibody specific for ALDH7A1. Staining patterns were graded by a pathologist based on the intensity of staining and the percentage of cells stained. A staining score index was calculated by multiplying intensity score by the percentage area with positive staining. An index of ≥100 was considered positive, while an index Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2252. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2252
Axel Honneth and the neo-Idealist turn in critical theory:

I provide a critique of Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition by calling into question the extent to which recognitive relations are immune to the effects of social and economic power and their abil...
Analysis of the Therapeutic Effect of Mycobacterium Vaccae Vaccine in the Initial Treatment of Pulmonary Tuberculosis as the Adjunctive Therapy

Objective To observe the clinical effect of mycobacterium vaccae vaccine combined with the conventional chemotherapy on new sputum smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods 120 new sputum smear positive patients with pulmonary tuberculosis visited our center from July, 2012 to July, 2013 were randomly divided into the treatment group of 60 cases and the control group of 60 cases. Both groups were treated with the same anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy. In addition, from the first weekend of the chemotherapy, the treatment group were given deep intramuscular injection of mycobacterium vaccae vaccine(vaccae vaccine),22.5μg, one time every two weeks, for a course of treatment of 6 months. The observation group were only given chemotherapy.The negative conversion of the sputum, focus absorption situation, change of cavity and adverse reactions of the two groups were studied. Results At the end of the second month and the third month of treatment, the sputum negative conversion rate of the treatment group was 83.3%, 96.6%, respectively, higher than 61.7%, and 78.3% of the observation group, respectively, the differences were statistically significant(P0.05). At the end of the treatment, the lesions improvement rate of the treatment group was96.7%, better than 83.3% of the observation group, the difference was statistically significant(P0.05); the cavity closure rate of the treatment group was 89.2%, higher than 76.9% of the control group, the difference was statistically significant(P0.05). Conclusion The clinical efficacy of mycobacterium vaccae vaccine combined with conventional chemotherapy in the treatment of new sputum smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis is better with higher sputum negative conversion rate, better focus absorption and milder adverse reactions, which is worthy of popularization and application.
Research on the Application of Superpave Mixture Design in Jin-Cha Expressway

In this paper,with the application of Superpave-19 in construction design of the middle layer of asphalt pavement,the performances of asphalt pavement were investigated and compared with the dense-graded asphalt concrete was conducted,which can reveal construction characteristics.
A 4th-order analog continuous-time filter designed using standard cells and automatic digital logic design tools

An inverter-transconductor-based continuous-time analog 4th-order low-pass Butterworth filter was described entirely in Verilog hardware description language (HDL) using only standard cells. The physical design was synthesized with automated digital logic place-and-route (APR) CAD tools. APR was achieved in less than a minute making for an enormous improvement compared to traditional manual analog chip layout. A test chip was fabricated in a 0.18um CMOS technology and its performance was experimentally verified. The experimental results document excellent measured performance and a huge physical design timesaving thereby validating the proposed automated design methodology.
Indexing Tactics & Tidbits: An A–Z Guide: Perlman, Janet. Medford, NJ: Information Today, 2016, 170 pp., $45.00, ISBN: 1573875252

Award-winning indexer Janet Perlman's Indexing Tactics & Tidbits: An A–Z Guide is an alphabetical, descriptive guide that includes topics related to indexing and advice for being an indexer. There ...
Renal Failure in the Elderly

Elderly patients present a large and growing portion of the population suffering from chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease. These patients are challenging to care for, especially in terms of dialysis access, with low maturation rates for arteriovenous fistulas, high rates of complications after vascular procedures, and short life expectancies being especially problematic. Strategies are in general similar to those for younger patients. However, because of increased frailty, it is especially important for practitioners to carefully elicit patient preferences and to provide realistic education regarding prognosis before offering vascular surgery interventions.
Genetically Modified Tumor Cell Vaccines

Recent progress in identifying tumor antigens and understanding the host-tumor relationship have catalyzed a dramatic expansion of efforts to develop cancer vaccines. Gene transfer technologies have figured prominently in the design of many of these novel immunization schemes. This article highlights some of the key principles and controversies raised by experiments involving genetically modified tumor vaccines and speculates about future directions for investigators in this field.
Abnormal Organogenesis of Facial Structures

Much of the early research concerning embryonic facial development has been conducted on amphibian embryos. More recently the emphasis has turned to avian and mammalian embryos, and the development and utilization of the new techniques required have led to considerable advances towards the understanding of developmental mechanisms. The description of facial embryogenesis which is now emerging reflects a sequence of events that is similar in the various types of vertebrate embryos studied.
Metabolic Effect of Foregut Exclusion Demonstrated by the Impact of Gastrogastric Fistula on Recurrence of Diabetes.

Background Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) resolves in >80% of patients after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). It has been hypothesized that foregut exclusion is mechanistically important to this observation. This study aimed to determine whether gastrogastric (GG) fistula, with a loss of foregut exclusion, is associated with T2DM relapse, and to assess whether closure of GG fistula is associated with T2DM resolution. Study Design A matched cohort study of patients who experienced T2DM remission after RYGB. Cases (patients with GG fistula) were matched to controls (patients without GG fistula) based on age, BMI, weight regain, and duration from RYGB. Primary end point was T2DM relapse. Time-to-event analysis was performed to identify an association between GG fistula and time to T2DM resolution. Results One hundred and twenty-six patients (42 cases and 84 controls) were included. Cases experienced a higher rate of T2DM relapse than controls (48% vs 13%; odds ratio 18; p Of the 42 cases, 20 experienced T2DM relapse, with 1 spontaneous resolution. Of 19, thirteen underwent fistula revision and experienced a higher rate of T2DM resolution than the nonrevision group (69% vs 0%; odds ratio 27; p = 0.036). Time to T2DM resolution was shorter in the revision group compared with the nonrevision group (p = 0.006). Conclusions The RYGB patients with GG fistula have a higher rate of T2DM relapse, compared with those without GG fistula with similar BMI and weight regain. Successful fistula revision is associated with resolution of T2DM.
Vermicomposting of sludge from recirculating aquaculture system using Eisenia andrei: Technological feasibility and quality assessment of end-products

Abstract Intensive aquaculture is an important and fast-growing food production industry generating significant amounts of nutrient-rich sludge, which represents a potential environmental threat. Vermicomposting aquacultural sludge has been suggested, but remained poorly understood – only survival and growth of initial earthworm stocks have been assessed so far. The present study provides a comprehensive evaluation of the production system, examining vermicomposting of three types of sludge each at four inclusion levels and the possibility of further utilising end-products (vermicomposts and earthworms). Through an 18-week experiment, high survival of initial earthworm stocks, exceeding 90% among treatments up to week 6, was documented. Higher inclusion levels and sludge types richer in nutrients positively influenced individual weight of initial stocks and their reproduction indices (cocoon and juvenile production). The most progressive treatments sustained >300 juveniles in experimental incubators containing 200 g dw of initial substrates. Original sludge and final vermicomposts were found suitable for use in agriculture, complying with limits for heavy metals given in the most usually applied regulations. In relation to the heavy metals, earthworms were found to be a generally safe feed for fish. Only arsenic concentrations may occasionally exceed given limits. Still, observed concentrations are considered safe, presuming arsenic presence primarily in organic forms having largely reduced toxicity. Vermicomposting is recommended as a clean and sustainable technology transforming aquaculture sludge into highly valuable vermicompost and earthworm biomass.
Application of the Feminist-Relational Model for the Treatment of Subclinical Eating Disorders

Subclinical eating disorders are more common than eating disorders, but far less understood. Despite knowledge that the larger socio-cultural context contributes to the maintenance of eating disord...
English as a lingua franca: Facts, benefits and costs

How much further can we expect the spread of English to go? What are the gains? What are the costs? The paper first tries to identify the areas of life where English already serves as a lingua franca in the world and those where the language faces sharp competition. The discussion goes on to show that the future advance of English will depend heavily on the motives to learn the other major languages in the world as well. The cultural market is the single one where the extraordinary progress of English threatens to go too far.
Tunable waveguiding in origami phononic structures

Abstract A novel design of origami phononic structures with tunable waveguiding features are studied in this research. The structure is formed by attaching cylindrical inclusions on top of origami sheet; in this kind of architecture, folding of the underlying origami sheet can change the periodicity of inclusions. Being periodic in nature, the origami structure exhibits bandgaps features and have the potential to steer wave energy through a path of defects (also known as waveguide) created in the lattice of inclusions. Since the spectral content transmitted through the waveguide depends on the periodicity surrounding it, the folding induced lattice transformation in such origami structures can lead to adaptation in waveguide frequency. In fact, in origami structures that can transform between different Bravais-lattice types, for example between a square and hexagon lattice, the waveguide frequency can be drastically tuned. Such phenomenal adaptation is studied in this research by extracting dispersion diagrams of defective origami structures using the plane wave expansion method. Further, numerical and experimental investigations are performed on finite origami structures with waveguides and the transmission results of different folding configurations demonstrate that waveguide frequency can be significantly altered. Overall, the low effort one-degree-of-freedom (1DOF) folding mechanism combined with the scalable nature of the origami architecture makes the origami phononic structure a novel and effective device for waveguiding applications across a range of frequencies.
A 1 → ρ π and ρ → 2 π Decays

An analysis of the ${A}_{1}$ and the $\ensuremath{\rho}$ decays is made using current algebra, partial conservation of axial-vector currents, and dispersion relations; the pions are treated as "soft" in the sense ${K}^{2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ instead of $K\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$ which is usually assumed.
Overcoming Blockages on the Road to World Class Supply Management SM

Today, the single most critical supply chain issue is the failure of virtually all members of virtually all supply chains to embrace “World Class Supply ManagementSM”. The term “Supply Management” describes the process responsible for continuously improving the design, development, and management of an organization’s supply system in order to maximize the bottom line. As we know, this supply chain extends from the ultimate customer (the end user) back to Mother Earth. A firm’s supply system includes all functions, both internal ones and key suppliers, involved in the identification and fulfillment of needs for materials, equipment, and services in an optimized fashion allowing us to satisfy our role in our supply chain. The term “World Class” is a subjective phrase referring to a handful of operations which are regarded as the best of the best. Continuous improvement makes the term “World Class” an ever moving target.
Indigenous "Africans" and transnational "Pan-Netherlanders": past and present in the "re-construction" of post-1994 Afrikaner identity.

This article explores two strategies to “re-imagine” Afrikaner identity in a post-apartheid South Africa in which white Afrikaners, once politically and culturally dominant, have become increasingly marginalized. One, using the early meaning of “Afrikaner” as “African”, claims “indigenous” status, pressing for limited autonomy as an African “tribe,” championing language rights for all Afrikaans-speakers regardless of color, or embracing a larger “African” identity, even joining the ruling African National Congress (ANC). The other seeks to rebuild old links, broken under apartheid, to Flemish and especially Dutch cousins, joined in a pan-Netherlandic community. The article explores how, although in recent times the parochial and essentialist “official” Afrikaner nationalist understanding of Afrikaner “ethnogenesis” had stressed its shaping by the “original” “white” settlers’ struggles with Africans and British latecomers, denying multiracial ancestry and even downplaying broader, European (particularly Low Country) influences, a closer examination shows that that this narrower model long contended with more multicultural and transnational approaches. The evolution of these rival views of Afrikaner identity and responses from the Low Countries and some ANC leaders to these alternative models suggest that such ethnic “re-construction” could help recast Afrikaner self-definition in promising contemporary yet historically grounded terms, provided in the case of pan-Netherlandism that it is not hijacked by the extreme Right, but instead presents Afrikaners as a bridge between Europe and Africa.
ARQ for Interference Packet Networks

In multi-user wireless packet networks interference is the throughput bottleneck. Users become aware of the interference pattern via feedback and use this information for contention resolution and for packet retransmission. We consider networks with spatially correlated wireless links, and we develop an opportunistic automatic repeat request function for these networks. We prove the optimality of our protocol using an extremal rank-ratio inequality for spatially correlated channels.
NanoLog: a nanosecond scale logging system

NanoLog is a nanosecond scale logging system that is 1-2 orders of magnitude faster than existing logging systems such as Log4j2, spdlog, Boost log or Event Tracing for Windows. The system achieves a throughput up to 80 million log messages per second for simple messages and has a typical log invocation overhead of 8 nanoseconds in microbenchmarks and 18 nanoseconds in applications, despite exposing a traditional printf-like API. NanoLog achieves this low latency and high throughput by shifting work out of the runtime hot path and into the compilation and post-execution phases of the application. More specifically, it slims down user log messages at compile-time by extracting static log components, outputs the log in a compacted, binary format at runtime, and utilizes an offline process to re-inflate the compacted logs. Additionally, log analytic applications can directly consume the compacted log and see a performance improvement of over 8x due to I/O savings. Overall, the lower cost of NanoLog allows developers to log more often, log in more detail, and use logging in low-latency production settings where traditional logging mechanisms are too expensive.
Shoot the Gun Inside: Doubt and Feminist Epistemology in Video Games

This study uses an autoethnograhic approach to examine the role of doubt as a feminist knowledge lens. I argue that the experiences of designing, executing, and writing a research study with myself at the center produced a unique insight into how doubt shapes and filters not only gameplay for some women, but also the very process of creating new knowledge claims. This chapter blends narratives of experience with commentary based in feminist theory to comment on the benefits and drawbacks of doubt as an epistemological phenomenon. Placed into the context of current video game and academic cultures, the study asks us to reconsider what it means for women and marginalized groups to doubt themselves and others.
Proposal for a New Stereochemically Informative Nonproprietary Drug Naming System.

The stereochemical aspects of drugs are generally recognized as fundamentally important influencers of drug action and disposition. Nevertheless, the nonproprietary names of the vast majority of stereochemically relevant therapeutic agents in the USP Dictionary of United States Adopted Names (USAN) and International Drug Names and in the WHO Drug Information listings provide no information on the stereochemical aspects. In view of the importance of stereochemistry in drug action and disposition, it is desirable to have a nonproprietary drug nomenclature system that provides basic information on the stereochemical identity and composition of drugs. The USP Dictionary of USAN and International Drug Names, the WHO Drug Information listings, and the chemical literature were examined for stereochemical information on drugs as a basis for proposing a new stereochemically informative nonproprietary drug name system. A new system of stereochemically informative nonproprietary nomenclature system was designed that provides a “flag” alerting to the presence of stereochemical elements in the drug structure and includes basic information on the stereoisomerism of the drug. One of five prefixes would be added to the name: [dex]- (dextrorotatory single chiral stereoisomer); [lev]- (levorotatory single chiral stereoisomer); [rac]- (racemic mixture); [uni]-, (single achiral stereoisomer); and [mix]-, (mixture of stereoisomers other than racemic). The proposed system would be useful in the various domains of drug information, therapy, and research.
Role of the Innate Immune System in the Development, Progression, and Therapeutic Response of Bladder Cancer

Effector cells from the innate immune system are capable of cellular killing, recruitment and priming of adaptive cells. As the role of the tumor microenvironment in the control and elimination of cancer continues to be elucidated, interest has grown in understanding how the innate immune system can be harnessed to increase tumor immune infiltration and improve cancer therapeutics. Measurements of cytokines levels in urinary-based assays have shown the relevance of the bidirectional activation pathway between the innate and adaptive immune systems in patients with bladder cancer, underscoring the key role of innate immunity in priming and directing the antitumor response. PATIENT SUMMARY: Systemic and intravesical immunotherapies are currently available for bladder cancer. However, these agents are effective only in a subset of patients. We consider how integration of scientific breakthroughs on innate immunity may open a new window of potential therapeutic targets that could increase the efficacy of available agents.
Inhibition of MICA and MICB Shedding Elicits NK-Cell–Mediated Immunity against Tumors Resistant to Cytotoxic T Cells

Resistance to cytotoxic T cells is frequently mediated by loss of MHC class I expression or IFNγ signaling in tumor cells, such as mutations of B2M or JAK1 genes. Natural killer (NK) cells could potentially target such resistant tumors, but suitable NK-cell-based strategies remain to be developed. We hypothesized that such tumors could be targeted by NK cells if sufficient activating signals were provided. Human tumors frequently express the MICA and MICB ligands of the activating NKG2D receptor, but proteolytic shedding of MICA/B represents an important immune evasion mechanism in many human cancers. We showed that B2M- and JAK1-deficient metastases were targeted by NK cells following treatment with a mAb that blocks MICA/B shedding. We also demonstrated that the FDA-approved HDAC inhibitor panobinostat and a MICA/B antibody acted synergistically to enhance MICA/B surface expression on tumor cells. The HDAC inhibitor enhanced MICA/B gene expression, whereas the MICA/B antibody stabilized the synthesized protein on the cell surface. The combination of panobinostat and the MICA/B antibody reduced the number of pulmonary metastases formed by a human melanoma cell line in NOD/SCID gamma mice reconstituted with human NK cells. NK-cell-mediated immunity induced by a mAb specific for MICA/B, therefore, provides an opportunity to target tumors with mutations that render them resistant to cytotoxic T cells.
Infected Dacron Patch Following Carotid Endarterectomy

The patient presented with a draining sinus in the right neck following right carotid endarterectomy with Dacron patch grafting. She underwent carotid resection with interposition of a greater saphenous vein (non-reversed) graft from the mid common carotid artery to proximal internal carotid artery. Interposition vein graft stenosis developed which required carotid stenting. The patient subsequently developed asymptomatic stent thrombosis. Sinus in the neck healed following interposition vein grafting in 3 weeks.
Words matter: Translanguaging in medical communication skills training.

Medical communication across languages is gaining attention as the multilingual character of local, regional, and national populations across the world continues to grow. Effectively communicating with patients involves not only learning medical terminology, but also understanding the community’s linguistic practices, and gaining the ability to explain health concepts in patient-centered language. Language concordance between physicians and patients improves patient outcomes, but methods to teach communication skills for physicians are usually limited to the majority or official language. For example, in U.S. medical schools increased demand for physician skills in other languages, such as Spanish, has resulted in renewed academic discourse about best practices in teaching practical communication skills for physicians. In language education, translanguaging is an approach that integrates and validates multilingual individuals’ real use of language, which often includes non-standard words, regionalisms, and mixed influences from multiple languages, such as Spanglish or Chinglish. Efforts to improve medical language concordance by teaching a second language to medical students would benefit from an understanding of patient-centered communication strategies, such as is supported by translanguaging. Teaching effective communication skills to physicians should evolve and engage with the fluid linguistic attributes of culturally and linguistically diverse patient populations. In this eye opener, we first introduce the translanguaging perspective as an approach that can increase attention to patient-centered communication, which often includes spontaneous practices that transcend the traditional boundaries of named languages, and then present examples of how translanguaging can be implemented in medical education in order to sustainably enhance equity-minded patient-accessible medical communication.
Palliative Care Consultation Reduces Heart Failure Transitions: A Matched Analysis.

Background Palliative care supports quality of life, symptom control, and goal setting in heart failure (HF) patients. Unlike hospice, palliative care does not restrict life‐prolonging therapy. Thi...