cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparing heat stress effects on male‐fertile and male‐sterile tomatoes

To separate the effects of heat stress on male and female reproductive tissues, male-sterile (MSs) and male-fertile tomatoes (MFs) were placed in growth chambers at 12 h day/12 h night temperatures of 28/22, 30/24 or 32/26 °C from flower appearance to seed maturation (daily mean temperatures of 25, 27 or 29 °C). Pollen from MFs was applied individually to MS flowers. As MFs were self-pollinated, heat stress was experienced by both male and female tissues. At growth temperatures of 29 °C fruit number, fruit weight per plant, and seed number per fruit were only 10%, 6·4% and 16·4%, respectively, compared with those at 25 °C. Heat stress also adversely affected fruitset in MSs, especially when experienced by donor pollen. No fruit at all developed on MSs receiving pollen produced at 29 °C, even when ovule development, pollen germination and subsequent embryo development all took place at 25 °C. Effects on fruitset in MSs were reduced if donor pollen had not experienced heat stress. MSs grown at 29 °C but receiving pollen developing at 25 °C produced 73% as much fruit (both on number and weight basis), had 40% as high fruitset and produced 87% of the seed per fruit as MSs grown at 25 °C. This use of male-sterile and male-fertile lines of tomato provides new evidence that impairment of pollen and anther development by elevated temperature will be an important contributing factor to decreased fruit set in tomato, and possibly other crops, with global warming.
Mutational spectrometry in animal toxicity testing

The microbial geneticists who pioneered the study of mutational spectra have shown us how rich a source of mutagen-specific information it can be for the pharmacologist and toxicologist. Contributions by physical chemists and molecular biologists have led to a practical means to observe mutation spectra directly from the DNA of cultured human cells and this review suggests that the same methodology may be applied successfully to the study of mutations and mutational spectra in tissues of experimental animals and humans. In toxicological testing, the new field of mutational spectrometry offers a previously unattainable level of sensitivity and specificity as well as new tools for dissecting mechanisms of pharmacologic and toxic action.
Insulin-like growth factor I prevents corticosteroid-induced diaphragm muscle atrophy in emphysematous hamsters.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I (rhIGF-I) could attenuate or prevent diaphragm (DIA) fiber atrophy with corticosteroid (CS) administrati...
Information contained in sensory nerve recordings made with intrafascicular electrodes

Multiunit recordings were made in anesthetized cats with chronically implanted intrafascicular electrodes over a period of six months. Neural signals recorded with these electrodes consisted of activity in sensory fibers innervating a variety of cutaneous mechanoreceptors. Mechanical stimuli were used to selectively activate individual nerve fibers, and the receptive field and receptor type were identified for each unit. Over a period of six months, there was a net shift in the recorded population, but the electrodes contained to provide a representative sample of the activity in the fascicle as a whole. The total number of units from which activity could be recorded remained roughly constant with time, and individual units persisted in the recordings for up to six months. These results indicate that intrafascicular electrodes could be used to sample information carried by individual somatosensory fibers on a long term basis. >
Micromechanical Movements of Chick Sensory Hair Bundles to Sinusoidal Stimuli

Hair cell receptor potentials have been examined in both mammalian inner and outer hair cells (Russell, Cody, & Richardson, 1986; Dallos, Santos-Sacchi, & Flock, 1982; Russell & Sellick, 1978) and in hair cells from vestibular and cochlear organs of non-mammalian vertebrates (Crawford & Fettiplace, 1981; Harris, Frishkopf & Flock, 1970; Hudspeth and Corey, 1977). The outer hair cell may be a special case (Russell, Cody & Richardson, 1986), but in all other hair cells intracellular recordings of the receptor potential clearly reveal the presence of an asymmetric response, characterized as having a saturating non-linearity. This receptor potential in non-mammalian hair cells was partially attributed to a rectification property of the hair cell membrane (Crawford & Fettiplace, 1981, Hudspeth & Corey, 1977). In mammalian inner hair cells the receptor potential is non-linear (Russell & Sellick, 1978) as with other hair cells, but the membrane properties appeared more linear (Russell, 1983; Russell, Cody & Richardson, 1986).
Towards Utilizing Fuzzy Self-Organizing Taxonomies to Identify Attacks on Computer Systems and Adaptively Respond

Several methods for doing intrusion detection have been developed over the years. However, most of these methods are based on crisp statistical techniques that measure deviation from a norm. Due to the wide range of attacks on computers, statistical methods are not always effective because they aggregate many system variables into a single mathematical measure. Instead, taxonomies of attack features based on the concepts of fuzzy logic can be utilized to classify attacks and build simple response rules based on local system variables. Taxonomies however require correct hierarchial construction from subtaxonomies of attack classifiers. An architecture that defines self organizing taxonomies based on fuzzy logic is therefore developed for future investigation.
Analysis and design of slow-wave structures using an integral equation approach

An integral equation formulation which yields dispersion characteristics for planar transmission lines on layered, lossy substrates is presented. Galerkin's procedure in the space domain is used, and the roots of the resulting characteristic equation provide the desired phase and attenuation constants. This method has been proved to be very accurate and efficient for studying lines on insulator-semiconductor substrates. It results in design equations which can be simply programmed on a personal computer. Numerical results are compared to those found in the literature for the MIS slow-wave structure. >
IMAGES OF BUREAUCRACY IN FINE ART: SALVADOR DALPS “AVERAGE BUREAUCRAT” AND GEORGE TOOKER'S “GOVERNMENT BUREAU”

Charles Goodsell and other scholars have drawn attention to the fact that images of bureaucracy in American popular and literary culture are uniformly negative, that there is a “metaphysical pathos” concerning the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of bureaucracy that results in very negative public opinion about public administrative agencies and government and politics in general. Attempts to explain this cultural bias have focused on the hyper-individualism of the creative personality and, more recently, on the idea that literary artists, journalists, many academic social scientists, and politicians are motivated by the requirements of their various careers to portray bureaucracy in a negative way. But this explanation does not really come to grips with the persistent and ubiquitous negativity found in the portrayals of bureaucrats and bureaucracies by artists in all genres at all levels of culture. In this research I have extended the reach of the examination of the arts and public administration to include two examples of 20th century fine art with explicitly bureaucratic subjects. A careful examination of these works suggests that something more profound than career enhancement may be at the base of the “artistic” vision of bureaucratic themes.
Phosphorus Utilization During Eimeria acervulina Infection in the Chick

Abstract Experimentally induced E. acervulina infection depressed both performance and tibia bone ash of chicks fed graded levels of phosphorus in a crystalline amino acid diet. Performance and tibia ash were at or near their maximum at .5% dietary phosphorus. Thus, it seems clear that .5% phosphorus was adequate to meet the phosphorus needs of either healthy or E. acervulina-infected chicks.
The Potential Employment Impact of Health Reform on Working-Age Adults With Disabilities

Programs serving people with disabilities create employment disincentives in the form of public health insurance that ties eligibility to an inability to work. In 2009, insurance coverage decreased...
SYNTHESIS OF BISTABLE PERIODIC STRUCTURES USING TOPOLOGY OPTIMIZATION AND A GENETIC ALGORITHM

A formulation for the automatic synthesis of two-dimensional bistable, compliant periodic structures is presented, based on standard methods for topology optimization. The design space is parametrized using nonlinear beam elements and a ground structure approach. A performance criterion is suggested, based on characteristics of the load-deformation curve of the compliant structure. A genetic algorithm is used to find candidate solutions. A numerical implementation of this methodology is discussed and illustrated using simple examples.
A laboratory study to determine the effect of pore size, surface relaxivity, and saturation on NMR T2 relaxation measurements

In this study, we present laboratory experiments investigating the effect of pore size and surface relaxivity ρ2 on the nuclear magnetic resonance response of variably saturated sands that relax both within and outside the fast diffusion regime. We measured the NMR response of sands with a range of grain sizes (129 to 753 μm), which resulted in samples with different pore sizes, and a range of iron concentrations (0.07% to 0.38%), which resulted in sands with different ρ2 values. The laboratory results showed that the relation between relaxation time and water saturation depended on the regime in which relaxation occurred. For samples relaxing in the fast diffusion regime (i.e., small pores and low surface relaxivity), the relation between relaxation time and water saturation was linear; for the remaining samples, the relation between relaxation time and saturation demonstrated a power-law relationship with an exponent greater than one. In addition, we performed numerical simulations based on common pore-filling mechanisms (i.e., capillary tubes or thin films). The numerical simulations did not predict the experimental results for the relative surface relaxation versus saturation trends. We conclude that, in addition to the diffusion regime in which relaxation occurs, the shape of the relaxation time versus saturation curve depends on the pore-filling mechanism, the value of ρ2, and the pore size. The dependence of NMR relaxation on the pore-filling mechanism of saturating porous media may complicate efforts to develop a relation between relaxation time and saturation for use in characterizing unsaturated porous media.
Two Types of Quidditism

According to structuralism, all natural properties are individuated by their roles in causal/nomological structures. According to quidditism, at least some natural properties are individuated in some other way. Because these theses deal with the identities of natural properties, this distinction cuts to the core of a serious metaphysical dispute: Are the intrinsic natures of all natural properties essentially causal/nomological in character? I'll argue that the answer is ‘no’, or at least that this answer is more plausible than many critics of quidditism have recognized. In section 1, I distinguish between two versions of quidditism. Bare quidditism holds that worlds with distinct properties and isomorphic structures must be qualitatively identical in the following sense: inhabiting one world would be indistinguishable from inhabiting the other. In contrast, qualitative quidditism allows such worlds to have qualitative differences. In section 2, I discuss an epistemological position that allows us to bett...
Mechanisms of Focused Ion Beam Implantation Damage and Recovery in Si

The ion current density in focused ion beam (FIB) systems, 0.1–10 A cm−2, is at least three orders of magnitude greater than that in commercial broad ion beam implanters. This large difference in ion current density is expected to strongly affect the damage recovery dynamics. In this work, we study the ion implantation damage and recovery of Si(100) substrates implanted with 1 × 1012–5 × 1015 Si cm−2 fluences of 60-keV Si2+ at normal incidence in a mass-selecting FIB. Additionally, damage and recovery in different broad ion beam implants of 60-keV Si+ were studied for a comparison. For recovering implantation damage, specimens were annealed for different times at 730–900°C in an ultra-high purity nitrogen ambient, and for characterizing damage and recovery, Raman spectroscopy at wavelengths 405 nm and 514 nm was carried out. Raman measurements comprised of measurements of crystalline Si (c-Si) peak height of the peak at 520 cm−1, and the peak shift relative to that of un-implanted reference Si. Our measurements of structural damage—calculated from the attenuation in the c-Si peak heights for the implants relative to that of unimplanted Si(100)—indicates that the FIB implantations lead to a greater as-implanted damage but also typically lead to a better recovery than that for the commercial broad-area implants. The underlying mechanisms for these observations are discussed.
Chloroplast Gene Transmission in Chlamydomonas somatic fusion products : Effects of pretreatment with isolated flagella.

In sexual crosses between the two mating types of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii the progeny normally only receive chloroplast genes from the mt+ parent. This pattern of inheritance is not seen following the rare mating events leading to the formation of vegetative diploids, or when the cells are fused using polyethylene glycol (PEG). Vegetative diploids usually carry chloroplast genes from both parents, and most of those that are uniparental carry the maternal parent's genes. In a PEG fusion the products are evenly divided among those uniparental for each of the parental chloroplast markers and those that are biparental. However, fusion in a sexual cross is usually preceded by the flagellaragglutination of the two mating types. When cells undergoing PEG fusion have been pretreated with isolated gametic flagella the transmission pattern in changed. If two mt+ cells were fused, and one of them had been pretreated with isolated mt− flagella, then the majority of the progeny carried chloroplast genes only from the treated parent. This suggests that the signal for the induction of the events leading to uniparental maternal inheritance is the agglutination between mt+ and mt− flagella that precedes cell fusion, and that the subsequent fate of chloroplast genes is controlled primarily by the mt+ parent.
Leiomyosarcoma of the skin : Treatment of 34 cases

background Leiomyosarcoma is a rare soft tissue sarcoma that is one of the least common malignant lesions found in the skin. objective We discuss the clinical, histopathologic, and prognostic factors related to superficial leiomyosarcoma from cases reported in the literature as well as from the Mayo Clinic experience from 1964 through 1994 with 34 patients. conclusions The vast majority of tumors were treated by excisional surgery with wide margins, but conceptually, Mohs' micrographic surgery should prove useful for the treatment of this tumor as it has with other skin cancers displaying contiguous growth.
Effects of rolling process on low temperature impact energy for a Q690 construction machinery steel

Influence of finishing rolling temperature and holding thickness on low temperature impact energy of a Q690 construction machinery steel was investigated,and the microstructure of the steel was observed by optical microscopy,scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy.The results show that the low temperature impact energy of the experimental steel increases significantly with decreasing finishing rolling temperature or increasing holding thickness.The impact energy for the steel at-20 ℃ is higher than 200 J when the finishing rolling temperature and holding thickness are lower than 850 ℃ and 45 mm,respectively.The microstructure is mainly acicular ferrite plus a small amount of granular bainite for the high impact energy steel,and the microstructure consists of mainly lath bainite and a small amount of granular bainite for the low impact energy steel.The resistance of crack propagation is weakened as the effective grain size increases,proportion of high angle grain boundaries is reduced and the size of M / A island becomes larger and therefore the impact energy decreases.
Looking at the Library Collections Budget: Budget as Story and Interrogating Narrative Frames

This article is a summary of the North Carolina Serials Conference presentation “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Collections Budget,” a discursive session that examined various methods of presenting library collections budgets. As libraries confront a changing library landscape and continuing budget challenges, we must review and rethink traditional ways of looking at serials and collections budgets. The way we organize budgets reflects our assumptions about business practices and informs decision making. Budgets frame the ways in which librarians and external audiences conceptualize the work of the library. Each method of presenting the collections budget has benefits and drawbacks, so libraries should pay close attention to the stories that budgets tell. Longstanding overarching themes conveyed by traditional presentations of library budgets are also examined.
Performance of Mueller-Hinton Agars Prepared by Three Different Manufacturers

Antimicrobic susceptibility tests were performed at seven weekly intervals on three lots of Mueller-Hinton agar from different manufacturers. Most antimicrobics demonstrated small but statistically significant differences in the sizes of the zones of inhibition. Such variation in the performance of Mueller-Hinton agars should be considered in the development of a quality control program.
Does Time Affect Patient Satisfaction and Health-Related Quality of Life After Reduction Mammoplasty?

Breast reduction surgery is often undertaken because of gross dissatisfaction with the appearance of one's breasts, psychosocial embarrassment, or physical discomfort. In 2013, a total of 62,611 women underwent reduction mammoplasty in the United States.1 While various outcomes instruments have been used to demonstrate the efficacy of reductive surgery in alleviating symptoms,2-5 only 4 studies have utilized the BREAST-Q,6-9 the current standard for procedure-specific patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in breast surgery. Patient satisfaction and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) are high at various postoperative time points after reduction mammoplasty.6,8 In the only prospective study utilizing the BREAST-Q for reduction mammoplasty, Coriddi et al7 found that breast reduction surgery significantly improved patients’ satisfaction with the appearance of their breasts, as well as their psychosocial, physical, and sexual well-being, as early as 6 weeks postoperatively compared with preoperative levels. Other studies have demonstrated high levels of patient satisfaction and HR-QOL but were not prospective and did not investigate how time from surgery impacts PROs.6,8 Utilizing a prospective cohort, our objective was to investigate whether time from reduction mammoplasty impacts patient satisfaction and HR-QOL. We hypothesize that patient satisfaction and HR-QOL will change during the postoperative period. With this information, surgeons and their staff will be better able to assist patients in managing their postoperative expectations.
Forum Shopping between Luxembourg and Strasbourg

On the 5th and 6th of May the European Court of Justice (ECJ) held a full Court hearing in Luxembourg concerning the agreement on the accession of the European Union (EU) to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). All 28 EU member states and all three EU institutions involved (Commission, Parliament and Council) pleaded to declare the agreement to be in conformity with the EU Treaties. However, some judges pointed to Protocol No 16 and worried about a potential “forum shopping“ between Luxembourg and Strasbourg which could endanger the autonomy of the EU legal order. This short article examines the impacts of Protocol No 16 and potential limits for its use under EU law.
Distributed solution of linear equations over unreliable networks

In this paper, we consider the problem of solving large scale systems of linear equations over a network of interconnected computing nodes. We assume the communication links among the nodes are randomly switching over time and model the intermittent communication with Bernoulli process. We propose an iterative algorithm to solve the problem based on a distributed optimization framework and the idea to use the last received information at each node. We provide convergence analysis of the algorithm and drive computational as well as analytical convergence conditions based on an intrinsic system decomposition and the application of singular perturbation and stochastic control theory. A numerical example verifies that the algorithm is robust to both stochastic link switches and additive uncertainties.
Gender Differences in Mobility Device Use Among U.S. Older Adults

OBJECTIVES: Research has shown greater mobility limitations among women than men. We aimed to examine (a) gender differences in the use of canes for mobility and (b) what factors contribute to these differences under the frameworks of the disablement model and the Theory of Planned Behavior. METHOD: Using National Health and Aging Trends Study data, we estimated hierarchical logistic regression models to predict the likelihood of cane use among older adults who completed performance-based measures (n = 5,503). We tested the interactions between gender and selected variables to further understand gender difference. RESULTS: In unadjusted analysis, 22% of women and 16% of men used canes. In models adjusted in steps for sociodemographics, health, physical impairments, capacity, psychosocial, and social environment factors, women were progressively less likely to use canes, significantly so at the last step. Suppression effect analyses showed the influence of living alone and receiving mobility help variables. Interaction analyses showed that women reporting poor health or balance were less likely to use canes; obese women were more likely. DISCUSSION: Significant gender differences exist in cane use among older community-living adults. FINDINGS suggest that health and function partly account for these differences. Future research is needed to understand social/cultural factors involved.© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: [email protected]/* */ Language: en
Seven Not-So-Easy Integrals

As I mentioned in the Preface, in 1697 John Bernoulli evaluated the exotic-looking integral $$ {\displaystyle {\int}_0^1{\mathrm{x}}^{\mathrm{x}}\mathrm{dx}}. $$
Complex Negative Regulation of TLR9 by Multiple Proteolytic Cleavage Events.

TLR9 is an innate immune receptor important for recognizing DNA of host and foreign origin. A mechanism proposed to prevent excessive response to host DNA is the requirement for proteolytic cleavage of TLR9 in endosomes to generate a mature form of the receptor (TLR9 471–1032 ). We previously described another cleavage event in the juxtamembrane region of the ectodomain that generated a dominant-negative form of TLR9. Thus, there are at least two independent cleavage events that regulate TLR9. In this study, we investigated whether an N-terminal fragment of TLR9 could be responsible for regulation of the mature or negative-regulatory form. We show that TLR9 471–1032 , corresponding to the proteolytically cleaved form, does not function on its own. Furthermore, activity is not rescued by coexpression of the N-terminal fragment (TLR9 1–440 ), inclusion of the hinge region (TLR9 441–1032 ), or overexpression of UNC93B1, the last of which is critical for trafficking and cleavage of TLR9. TLR9 1–440 coimmunoprecipitates with full-length TLR9 and TLR9 471–1032 but does not rescue the native glycosylation pattern; thus, inappropriate trafficking likely explains why TLR9 471–1032 is nonfunctional. Lastly, we show that TLR9 471–1032 is also a dominant-negative regulator of TLR9 signaling. Together, these data provide a new perspective on the complexity of TLR9 regulation by proteolytic cleavage and offer potential ways to inhibit activity through this receptor, which may dampen autoimmune inflammation.
Assessing viewer-centered and stimulus-centered spatial bias: The 3s spreadsheet test version 1.

ABSTRACTThe 3s Spreadsheet Test (3S Test) is a cancellation test with high stimulus density and low target-to-distractor ratio, to assess stimulus-centered and viewer-centered spatial neglect. Twenty-five stroke survivors with left-sided neglect and 68 age-matched healthy controls took the 3S Test. Patients also took the Apples Test, a validated cancellation test. No patient’s accuracy on the 3S Test was in the normal range. A total of 91.7% of the patients had an abnormal start; 52.6% of the patients took abnormally long time to complete the 3S Test. The 3S and Apples Tests agreed poorly on both the viewer-centered and stimulus-centered neglect classifications (κ = .25 and .05, respectively), but consistently identified 8 of the 25 patients (32%) as having both forms of neglect while each isolated form of neglect was present in one patient (4%). Lesion data were consistent with previous studies. These findings suggest that the 3S Test is a sensitive cancellation test for assessing viewer-centered and sti...
Non-interactive simulation of joint distributions: The Hirschfeld-Gebelein-Rényi maximal correlation and the hypercontractivity ribbon

We consider the following problem: Alice and Bob observe sequences Xn and Y n respectively where {(X i , Y i )}∞ i=1 are drawn i.i.d. from P(x, y), and they output U and V respectively which is required to have a joint law that is close in total variation to a specified Q(u, v). One important technique to establish impossibility results for this problem is the Hirschfeld-Gebelein-Renyi maximal correlation which was considered by Witsen-hausen [1]. Hypercontractivity studied by Ahlswede and Gacs [2] and reverse hypercontractivity recently studied by Mossel et al. [3] provide another approach for proving impossibility results. We consider the tightest impossibility results that can be obtained using hypercontractivity and reverse hypercontractivity and provide a necessary and sufficient condition on the source distribution P(x, y) for when this approach subsumes the maximal correlation approach. We show that the binary pair source distribution with symmetric noise satisfies this condition.
Abstract P3-04-21: Androgen receptor in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer is affected by SUMO

Resistance to tamoxifen is a major problem in treating women with estrogen receptor-positive (ERa+) breast cancer (BCa). Previous studies report elevated levels of the androgen receptor (AR) in tamoxifen-resistant (TamR) human mammary tumors. Inversely, in vitro overexpression of AR in ERa+-MCF-7 cells potentiates growth in the presence of tamoxifen. AR is a target for small ubiquitin like modifiers (SUMO) posttranslational modification (PTM). Prostate cancer (PCa) studies, show that SUMO-PTMs can have diverse effects on AR transcriptional activity, by modifying the AR itself or its co-regulators. SUMOylation regulates the AR9s interaction with chromatin and modulates its function in a gene selective manner. Although SUMO-1 inhibited the AR transcriptional activity, SUMO-3 strongly enhanced the transactivation of AR in LNCaP cells but negatively affected the AR transcriptional activity in primary prostate epithelial cells. On the other hand, SUMO modifications and its subsequent effects on the AR in breast tumors and in particular TamR-BCa is unknown. Our objective is to understand how SUMO-PTMs affect AR activity in TamR-BCa. Others report that high Ubc9, a SUMO E2 conjugating enzyme, correlates with with aggressive phenotypes of BCa and that PIAS3, a SUMO E3 ligase, expression increases in breast tumors. Consistently, we now report that global SUMO2/3-conjugation is enhanced while the full-length SUMO protease SENP7 (SENP7L) is reduced in TamR-BCa cells. Collectively, these observations would suggest reduced SUMO dynamics in TamR-BCa as compared to tamoxifen-sensitive (TamS) BCa cells. Unlike PCa cells that favor unmodified over SUMOylated AR, we report that AR SUMOylation is potentiated in TamR-BCa cells. Functionally, SUMOylation of AR augments its chromatin binding and enhances its transcriptional activity. Our results suggest that the level of unmodified to SUMOylated AR is dramatically altered with onset of TamR and drives a functionally distinct population of AR in TamR versus TamS BCa. Consistently these biochemical reactions that define protein diversity could have a major impact on drug resistance in BCa. Citation Format: Bahnassy S, Kumar S, Ren J, Frutiz G, Karami S, Bawa-Khalfe T. Androgen receptor in tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer is affected by SUMO [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-04-21.
Environmental Justice Policy, Intersectionality and Racial Context

The quest for environmental justice among communities of color is an ongoing process, bolstered by grassroots activism and the participation of women of color. In this paper, we examine agenda-setting of legislators of color in comparisons to their white counterparts with regard to environmental justice issues. We posit that because of past environmental injustices, legislators of color will be more likely to introduce bills related to the environment. We also posit that legislators who have large populations of people of color in their district will also be more likely to introduce such bills. We employ state legislative data to examine the sponsorship of bills related to the environment as a function of legislative groups. Our findings suggest that that the “environmental justice” movement began in the 1980s within communities of color has been acknowledged to some extent among female and elected officials of color in the form of sponsored legislation.
The ability of physical performance test and Karnofsky performance status to identify elderly cancer patients requiring a comprehensive geriatric assessment: A comparative study.

e20534 Background: The role of Physical Performance Test (PPT) as a screening tool for patients in geriatric oncology requiring a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) has not been studied so fa...
Medication management activities performed by informal caregivers of older adults.

Abstract Background Medication management is commonly performed by informal caregivers, yet they are often unprepared and ill-equipped to manage complex medication regimens for their older adult care recipients. In order to develop interventions that will enhance the caregiver's ability to safely and confidently manage medications, it is critical to first understand caregiver challenges and unmet needs related to medication management. Objectives To explore how informal caregivers manage medications for their older adult care recipients by identifying the activities involved in medication management and the tools or strategies used to facilitate these activities. Methods Four focus groups with caregivers of older adults were conducted with 5–9 caregivers per group. Participants were asked to describe the medication management activities performed and the tools or strategies used to facilitate these activities. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for themes using an inductive approach. Results Caregivers were commonly involved in 2 types of activities: direct activities requiring physical handling of medications such as obtaining medications, preparing pill boxes, and assisting with medication administration; and indirect activities that were more complex and required more of a cognitive effort by the caregiver, such as organizing and tracking medications, gathering information, and making treatment decisions. They utilized a variety of tools and strategies to support these medication management activities; however, these approaches often needed to be modified or personalized to meet the specific needs of their caregiving situation. Conclusions Informal caregivers play a vital role in ensuring safe and appropriate medication use by older adults. Medication management is complex and involves many activities that are supported through the use of a variety of tools and strategies that have been adapted and individualized to each specific caregiving scenario. Caregivers should be an important component of interventions that aim to improve medication use among older adults.
Continuous Light Absorption Photometer for Long-Term Studies

A new photometer for continuous measurements of aerosol light absorption coefficient, optimized for long-term studies of the climate-forcing properties of aerosols, is described. Measurements of the light attenuation coefficient are made at blue, green, and red wavelengths, with a detection limit of 0.02 Mm −1 and a precision of 4 % for hourly averages. The uncertainty of the light absorption coefficient is primarily determined by the uncertainty of the correction scheme commonly used to convert the measured light attenuation to light absorption coefficient, and ranges from about 20 % at sites with high loadings of strongly-absorbing aerosols up to 100 % or more at sites with low loadings of weakly-absorbing aerosols. Much lower uncertainties (ca. 40 %) for the latter case can be achieved with an advanced correction scheme.
Local foods systems and community economic development

Local food system development is a popular strategy employed by many communities in the pursuit of sustainable and equitable economic growth and development. This often includes a range of economic...
Mannose-based graft polyesters with tunable binding affinity to concanavalin A

Glycopolymers have been widely used to understand the interactions between carbohydrates and lectins, which facilitate the diagnosis and detection of disease and pathogens as well as the development of vaccines. While studies have been focused on the correlation of glycopolymer structure and their binding to lectins, graft-type glycopolyesters are uncommon. Herein, we report the design and synthesis of mannose-based graft polyesters by “grafting-from” method and investigate their interactions with Concanavalin A (Con A). As confirmed by 1H NMR spectroscopy and sulfuric acid-UV method, graft polyesters with different lengths of mannose graft were successfully synthesized. Our results from turbidimetry binding assay showed that graft polyesters with longer mannose graft exhibit higher initial binding rate (ki). Isothermal titration calorimetry measurements of these graft polyesters with Con A showed that polymers exhibit higher binding affinity (ka) with the number of side chain mannose. This study provides understanding of the interaction between Con A and mannose-based graft polyesters, which can be employed for the development of glycopolymeric therapeutics. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017, 55, 3908–3917
The Impact of Governmental Strategies on Black Political Discourse Groups: Voices Heard from the Black Panther Party to the Black Lives Matter Movement

This chapter presents a historical perspective on national strategies that have led to the rise of black political discourse groups. From police brutality to perceived inequities regarding civil rights, the USA is familiar with civil discourse in the form of social movements. Research suggests that national strategies against groups, such as brute police force, can serve as a catalyst for backlash. Specifically, the emergence of the domestic terrorist group the Black Panther Party from the Civil Rights movement and the collective group the Black Lives Matter movement will be addressed. Unwarranted use of violence and deaths of civilians at the hands of national groups make it easier for political discourse groups to utilize the sentiments of an already aggrieved population. The way in which the sentiments are utilized can mobilize individuals to join the discourse groups and justify collective behavior in response to the strategies. This chapter utilizes the social strain/relative deprivation and backlash theories as a framework to assess the impact of policies on collective action and the mobilization of contentious groups after a backlash in the USA. Factors of perceived social strain, such as police brutality, are exacerbated by the sense of injustice and inequality in a country operating on the principle of “justice for all.” This does not suggest that aggrieved collective groups become terrorists, but that political responses to aggrieved collective groups can result in a backlash in the form of collective political discourse groups.
Keynote: Building a nervous system for society: the 'new deal on data' and how to make health, financial, logistics, and transportation systems work

Most of the functions of our society are based on networks designed during the late 1800s, and are modelled after centralized water systems. The rapid spread of ubiquitous networks, and connected sensors such as those contained in smartphones and cars, allow these networks to be reinvented as much more active and reactive control networks - at the scale of the individual, the family, the enterprise, the city and the nation. This will fundamentally transform the economics of health, finance, logistics, and transportation. One key challenge is access to the personal data at scale to enable these systems to function more efficiently. In discussions with key CEOs, regulators, and NGOs at the World Economic Forum we have constructed a 'new deal on data' that can allow personal data to emerge as accessible asset class that provides strong protection for individuals. The talk will also cover a range of prototype systems and experiments developed at MIT, outline some of the challenges and growth opportunities, focusing on how this new data ecosystem may end up strongly promoting but also shaping the semantic web.
Ultraviolet Radiation Protection of a Naturally Colored Lightweight Cotton Fabric

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of perspiration, weathering exposure, and repeated laundering on ultraviolet radiation protection of a naturally colored cotton lightweight fabric that is suitable for summer clothing. The research design was a repeated measures experimental design with 2 perspiration (perspiration and no perspiration) x 3 weathering exposure (semi-tropical climate, semi-arid climate, and the standard textile testing condition), and repeated measures before and after each laundry cycle, up to 15 cycles. The findings showed that laundering without weathering increased the protection, whereas weathering significantly reduced the protection. The high humidity in the semi-tropical climate facilitated the decline of protection, but perspiration played a role in slowing down the reduction. The lowest Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) value after 15 laundering cycles was found in the specimen after the exposure to a hot and humid semi-tropical climate without perspiration treatment.
Demographics of Gay and Lesbian Adoption and Family Policies

This chapter explores demographic factors related to gay male and lesbian adoptions, and corresponding family policies. First, I provide background on adoption law and policy. This history and background will summarize the current state of law in the U.S., with a comparison to gay and lesbian adoption policy elsewhere in the world. The second half of the chapter draws on both survey and census data to examine policy issues surrounding same-sex adoption. I first examine the prevalence of adopted children in same-sex households in the United States, using census data. Next, I present survey data exploring the acceptance of same-sex adoptions, using two national surveys: The National Survey of Family Growth, Cycle 6 (2002) and the Evan Donaldson National Survey. These surveys sampled the informal acceptance of adoption for both placing agencies and the general female population of child-bearing age in the U.S.
On the Matter of Film

As film making and viewing increasingly become identified with digital media — storage in bits and invisible streams that manifest as cinematic experiences in our classrooms, theaters and living ro...
Loneliness in schizophrenia: Construct clarification, measurement, and clinical relevance

Loneliness is a highly prevalent experience in schizophrenia. Theoretical models developed in the general population propose that loneliness is tantamount to a feeling of being unsafe, is accompanied by enhanced environmental threat perception, and leads to poor physical, emotional, and cognitive functioning. Previous research has reported that loneliness is associated with poorer physical and emotional health in schizophrenia; however, few studies have directly compared loneliness and its correlates in persons with schizophrenia and non-psychiatric comparison subjects. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate similarities and differences in the construct of loneliness, the equivalency of the measurement of this construct, and similarities and differences in the pattern of external correlates of loneliness between schizophrenia and non-psychiatric comparison groups. The third version of the University of California, Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (UCLA-3) was administered to 116 individuals with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and 106 non-psychiatric comparison subjects. Additional clinical and positive psychological measures were collected, as well as demographic characteristics of the two groups. Multiple groups confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the UCLA-3 was best characterized by a bifactor model in which all items loaded on a general loneliness dimension as well as one of two orthogonal method factors reflecting item wording in both groups. Furthermore, the UCLA-3 exhibited invariant measurement of these latent constructs across groups. Mean levels of loneliness were nearly a standard deviation higher in the schizophrenia group. Nonetheless, the overall pattern and strength of correlates were largely similar across groups, with loneliness being positively associated with depression, anxiety, and perceived stress, and negatively correlated with mental well-being, happiness, and resilience. Subtle differences in correlates of age, optimism, and satisfaction with life were found. Overall, loneliness appears to be distinct from other schizophrenia-related deficits and operates similarly across schizophrenia and NC groups, suggesting that theoretical models of loneliness developed in the general population may generalize to schizophrenia.
REVERSIBILITY OF LOSS OF HOMING RECEPTOR EXPRESSION FOLLOWING ACTIVATION

The ability of lymphocytes to recirculate from peripheral blood to lymphoid tissue is necessary in order to maintain an effective immune response, irrespective of an antigen’s port of entry. Recirculation and homing to lymph nodes (LN) and Peyer’s patches (PP) is initiated by the binding of cells to specialized post-capillary high endothelial venules (HEV’s), followed by their passage through the vessel walls into the surrounding lymphoid tissue.
Isolation of Enterobacter sakazakii from Stable Flies, Stomoxys calcitrans L. (Diptera: Muscidae)

Enterobacter sakazakii is an opportunistic foodborne pathogen that causes meningitis, enterocolitis, and sepsis, primarily in immunocompromised infants. Previously, it was suggested that stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans, were a vector or reservoir of this pathogen. In our study, by means of a culturing approach combined with 16S rDNA PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism genotyping and sequencing, we screened 928 individual stable flies collected in Kansas and Florida. Two stable flies (0.2%) were positive for E. sakazakii. In addition, 411 (44%) stable flies carried bacteria-forming red colonies (presumably enterics) on a violet red bile glucose agar (mean count = 6.4 x 10(4) CFU per fly), and 120 (13%) stable flies carried fecal coliforms (mean count = 8.7 X 10(3) CFU per fly). Sequencing of 16S rDNA showed that enterics from violet red bile glucose agar were represented by several genera, including Escherichia, Shigella, Providencia, Enterobacter, Pantoea, Proteus, Serratia, and Morganella. Our study shows that stable flies carry bacteria typically present in animal manure (a developmental site of stable fly larvae), which indicates that the natural reservoir of E. sakazakii is the digestive tract or manure of domestic animals. The low prevalence of E. sakazakii associated with stable flies suggests that stable flies do not play a major role as a reservoir or vector of this pathogen.
Business executives sharing knowledge with inference engines: news from the ONTORULE project

The EC-funded ONTORULE project was started with the stated objective of realizing the old promise to give back to the business user the ownership and control over the business knowledge that is put to action in business applications. The project team identified several conditions that must be satisfied to achieve that objective, including: i) the separation of conceptual and operational knowledge at all levels; ii) the separation of the business representation of the knowledge, from its operationalization and from its implementation in business applications; iii) the provision of tooling to handle and manage the mapping between the different representations, the recombination of the different kinds of knowledge, and the inter-dependencies between all of them. This talk will present and discuss the progress made in ONTORULE and the results of the project to this point. All the public deliverables of the project are downloadable from the project web site, as well as technology prototypes, demonstrators, and a list of publications.
Correction to “Evolution, Challenges and Attributes of Near Micron Sized TaN Resistors for Mixed Signal IC Applications From a Lithography Perspective”

The abstract in [1] is incorrect. The word “photograph” was used in error rather than the more correct, “photo.” The abstract should read: In this paper, the evolution of various lithographic processes aimed at fabricating robust tantalum nitride (TaN) resistors in GaAs-based BiFET and BiHEMT technologies are discussed in detail. Such approaches include the common image reverse photo process (via amine poisoning) using a positive tone resist, the use of a chemically amplified negative tone resist, and also straight patterning of a positive tone resist. The aforementioned approaches were found to have their own unique challenges as it applied to printing robust TaN-based resistors approaching nearly a micron in width which is needed for high density mixed signal designs. We will explore many of these challenges in detail for the various lithography schemes.
Poor Queer Studies: Class, Race, and the Field

This study asks, What are the material conditions under which queer studies is done in the academy? It finds a longstanding association of queer studies with the well-resourced, selective colleges ...
Reducing Medication Administration Frequency in Veteran Community Living Centers.

Background:A quality improvement initiative of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) aims to reduce frequency of medication administration to Veterans per day. Medication administration practice...