cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Online versus Face-to-Face Instruction: Analysis of Gender and Course Format in Undergraduate Business Statistics Courses

With the dramatic increase of online business degree programs, the question of the effectiveness of online courses has been front and center. Do these once primarily face-to-face courses successfully transfer to online-only formats without losing student productivity? Do the new formats still reach students, and is it reflected in final grades? Research was focused on evaluating the efficacy, measured by student performance, of undergraduate business statistics courses taught online classes, as compared to traditional, face-to-face classes and web- enhanced courses. Are there differences in how male and female students perform in both class formats?Performance in the classroom is traditionally measured by the grades, namely the final grade. This study looked at the impact of online learning facilities in a course with traditionally difficult content for undergraduates with regard to gender. Results found that students overall performed better in face-to-face business statistics courses than in online. When gender was analyzed, the final grade for female students were significantly decreased from face-to-face to online courses, as compared to male students, whose grades were not significantly different in the two course formats.
Modulation of Ca2+ Currents by Various G Protein-Coupled Receptors in Sympathetic Neurons of Male Rat Pelvic Ganglia

Zhu, Yu and Jerrel L. Yakel. Modulation of Ca2+ currents by various G protein-coupled receptors in sympathetic neurons of male rat pelvic ganglia. J. Neurophysiol. 78: 780–789, 1997. The modulation...
Effect of atrial natriuretic factor on renal function in rats with nephrotic syndrome.

This study was designed to evaluate the renal effects of atrial natriuretic factor [ANF(8-33)] in rats with aminonucleoside (AMN)-induced nephrotic syndrome. AMN (100 mg/kg iv) was administered to adult female rats either 2 (AMN 2, n = 7), 4 (AMN 4, n = 7), 6 (AMN 6, n = 7), or 14 (AMN 14, n = 6) days before clearance experiments; untreated (UNT, n = 7) animals served as controls. During clearance experiments, rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium. Protein excretion rates were similar between UNT and AMN 2 but increased stepwise in AMN 4, AMN 6, and AMN 14 rats. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was similar in UNT and AMN 2, lower in AMN 4 and AMN 14, and lowest in AMN 6 rats. Basal sodium excretion (UNaV) was not different among the five groups. An ANF primer (1.0 micrograms/kg iv) plus a constant infusion (0.1 micrograms.kg-1.min-1) for 1 h produced a significantly lower increase in UNaV in AMN 2 and AMN 14 than in UNT and was not natriuretic or diuretic in AMN 4 or AMN 6 rats. The ANF-induced increase in UNaV was similar between AMN 2 and AMN 14 rats. ANF had no effect on the GFR in any group. A higher ANF bolus (5.0 micrograms/kg iv) was then infused. This ANF bolus increased UNaV only in UNT and AMN 2 rats. Finally, a bolus of furosemide (4.0 mg/kg iv) was given; UNaV increased similarly in UNT, AMN 2, and AMN 14, and to a lesser extent in AMN 4 and AMN 6 rats. Thus, there is an attenuated natriuretic and diuretic response to ANF in rats with AMN-induced nephrotic syndrome. This altered responsiveness to ANF may contribute to the sodium and water retention characteristic of this disorder.
Psychometric Evaluation of the HIV Disclosure Belief Scale: A Rasch Model Approach

This study provides psychometric assessment of an HIV disclosure belief scale (DBS) among men who have sex with men (MSM). This study used baseline data from a clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of an HIV serostatus disclosure intervention of 338 HIV-positive MSM. The Rasch model was used after unidimensionality and local independence assumptions were tested for application of the model. Results suggest that there was only one item that did not fit the model well. After removing the item, the DBS showed good model-data fit and high item and person reliabilities. This instrument showed measurement invariance across two different age groups, but some items showed differential item functioning between Caucasian and other minority groups. The findings suggest that the DBS is suitable for measuring the HIV disclosure beliefs, but it should be cautioned when the DBS is used to compare the disclosure beliefs between different racial/ethnic groups.
Exchange Rate Appreciation, International Competitiveness And Purchasing Power Parity: The Shiomi Company Of Japan

In 2011 the ongoing appreciation in the yen against the US$ led Japanese firm Shiomi to consider relocating its production facilities outside of Japan. As a prelude to making this decision, Shiomi commissioned an evaluation of the historical impact of the yen’s appreciation on Japanese competitiveness. This evaluation is the basis for two important lessons in international financial management. First, it is the real exchange rate, rather than the nominal exchange rate, that determines the relative cost competitiveness of countries. Second, in accordance with the rules of purchasing power parity, the historical evaluation showed that higher inflation in the U.S. relative to Japan caused the ratio of Japanese to U.S. prices to fall at roughly the same rate as the yen’s appreciation against the US$. Thus the long-term appreciation in the yen had little impact on Japanese competitiveness. Students are asked to assess the relocation decision in light of the post-case data on exchange rates and consumer prices supplied in the case. The case is appropriate for use in an international financial management or international economics course.
Confinement-Induced Resonances

Abstract Confinement-induced resonances (CIRs) arise when particle scattering takes place in the presence of an external potential that spatially confines the motion of the particles. One finds that for some combinations of the values of the parameters governing the collision—the scattering energy, the parameters that govern the confining potential, and the parameters that govern the interatomic potential—the scattering cross section reaches the unitary limit: this is CIR. We provide details on one paradigmatic case of CIR and review the types of CIRs that have so far been studied theoretically and, more recently, experimentally. The rich variety of examples suggests that CIRs arise under generic confining conditions and that therefore we should expect to continue encountering new examples of them.
A sea of potential: The politics of global ocean observations

Abstract The Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) is creating a new understanding of the world ocean. With a vast and heterogeneous network of sensors, it converts the ocean's properties into flows of information, creating a “data double” of a dynamic sea. This view of the ocean underlies not only international geopolitics but also more broadly emergent modes of government. This paper analyzes changing strategies for governing global ocean observations to better understand the shifting coconstitution of nature, technology, and politics. In particular, I inquire into the GOOS's recent developments, which indicate a new conception of the ocean as a space of potentiality. I argue that this emergent understanding poses problems for our conventional political analytics, particularly that of biopolitics. To account for this shift, I draw on and extend Elizabeth Povinelli's offering of geontopolitics, which identifies a departure from the fundamental distinctions between life and nonlife made by biopolitics, seeing instead the potential for unpredictable changes not only in human subjects but also in geophysical systems and the contemporary planetary environmental conditions they shape. Emphasizing how geontopolitics both names a new mode of government and signifes its limits, Povinelli suggests three figures, following Foucault's four figures of biopolitics. I conclude by suggesting the world ocean as a fourth figure of geonotopolitics, as that which is so imbricated with life as to be indistinct from it. Throughout, I maintain that like Foucault's figures of biopolitics, the world ocean must be understood as inseparable from the knowledge relations that make it legible.
Megakaryocyte/Platelet-Restricted FVIII Expression Using a Platelet Factor 4 Promoter: Determination of Activation State and In Vivo Efficacy during Thrombocytosis.

Ectopic delivery of coagulation factor VIII (FVIII) to megakaryocytes (Mk) represents a viable approach for localized tenase generation by effectively concentrating the FVIIIa/FIXa enzyme-cofactor complex onto the negatively-charged phospholipid surface of activated platelets. While phenotypic correction has been demonstrated using hemophilia A (FVIII−/−) murine models in vivo, the activation state of platelet FVIII (pFVIII), optimal promoter choice, and phenotypic correction in the setting of a thrombocytotic stimulus remain unestablished. Preliminary microarray experiments using human platelets (N=5) demonstrated that the Mk-specific platelet factor 4 (PF4) transcripts were among the most abundant, prompting use of the 1.1 Kb PF4 promoter for Mk/platelet-restricted expression of human B-domain-deleted (hBDD) FVIII within the background of an exon 17-deleted mouse model of hemophilia A (PF4/hBDD/FVIII−/−). A chromogenic tenase assay using gel-filtered platelets from PF4/hBDD/FVIII−/− mice confirmed the presence of functional FVIII equivalent to 73 mU·1x109 platelets·mL−1 (N = 10 mice). In contrast, FVIII was not detectable in PF4/hBDD/FVIII−/− plasma (assay sensitivity
A Poetics Introduction, Mostly

Like the notion of “postmodernism,” there’s a kind of enigma to the notion of “poetics.” Forms often undermine the Aristotelian notion of fair game, fair play, of what Leonard Orr writes of as “Aristotelian novels” versus “non-Aristotelian” ones; of a seemingly corporeal harmony for Socrates. Just as we are left pondering Brian McHale’s question “whose postmodernism is it anyway?” when he writes “we can discriminate among constructions of postmodernism, none of them any less ‘true’ or less fictional than the others, since all of them are finally fictions. To work on the notion of a poetics is to work on a disputational system of erecting monomyths in order to destroy them.”
Energy Conservation in Collisional Broadening

Electron-phonon coupling is central to semiconductor transport simulation. It is often treated in the simple Fermi’s Golden Rule formulation, but even at modest fields, such as those commonly present in modern semiconductor devices, finite state lifetime effects become important. Such effects are treated formally by including self-energy in the scattering formulation [1, 2]. In order to make the problem more tractable, especially for efficient Monte Carlo simulation, various simplifying assumptions are made. The most common form is to assume a Lorentzian distribution. This assumption is well justified by perturbation theory, and is simple to calculate and implement. In the limit of infinite state life-time, it collapses to the energy-conserving delta function of the Fermi’s Golden Rule. On the other hand, when non-zero broadening is present, energy is no longer conserved, and this has been noted in some cases to lead to accumulated broadening [3]. Such accumulation of energy can lead to non-physical results and push the electron energy distribution into the hot electron regime. Our goal is to explore the reasons for this accumulation of energy and propose remedies which can be implemented in standard simulation tools.
"A Space for You to Be Who You Are": An Ethnographic Portrait of Reterritorializing Indigenous Student Identities.

ABSTRACTThis article explores the discourse practices of an Indigenous, community-based charter school and its efforts to create space for Indigenous both/and identities across rural–urban divides. The ethnographic portrait of Urban Native Middle School (UNMS) analyzes the discourse of making ‘a space for you’, which brings together rural and urban youth to braid binary constructs such as Indigenous and western knowledge, into a discourse of Indigenous persistence constraining contexts of schooling. We use the concept of ‘reterritorialization’ to discuss the significance of UNMS’s community effort to create a transformative space and place of educational opportunity with youth. The local efforts of this small community to reterritorialize schooling were ultimately weakened under the one-size-fits-all accountability metrics of No Child Left Behind policy. This ethnographic analysis ‘talks back’ to static definitions of identity, space and learning outcomes which fail to recognize the dynamic and diverse in...
An emerging role for the lateral habenula in aggressive behavior

Inter-male aggression is an essential component of social behavior in organisms from insects to humans. However, when expressed inappropriately, aggression poses significant threats to the mental and physical health of both the aggressor and the target. Inappropriate aggression is a common feature of numerous neuropsychiatric disorders in humans and has been hypothesized to result from the atypical activation of reward circuitry in response to social targets. The lateral habenula (LHb) has recently been identified as a major node of the classical reward circuitry and inhibits the release of dopamine from the midbrain to signal negative valence. Here, we discuss the evidence linking LHb function to aggression and its valence, arguing that strong LHb outputs to the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) are likely to play roles in aggression and its rewarding components. Future studies should aim to elucidate how various inputs and outputs of the LHb shape motivation and reward in the context of aggression.
Mathematical and numerical problems of some wave phenomena appearing in magnetic plasmas

This dissertation investigates mathematical and numerical aspects of some wave phenomena appearing in magnetic plasmas. In order to model a probing technique for fusion plasmas, called reflectometry, a particular form of Maxwell's equations is studied. In the model, the dielectric tensor presents vanishing eigenvalues and diagonal terms. The study of the dispersion relation evidences two kinds of phenomena: cut-offs and resonances if the wave number goes either to zero or to infinity. Part I of the thesis gathers the theoretical results. The main novelty consists in the definition of a resonant solution. Indeed, because of a smooth vanishing sign-changing coefficient, the solution may be singular: one of its components may be non-integrable. However, using a limit absorption principle, a resonant solution is explicitly obtained by studying the integrable solutions of the regularized system plus a limiting process. The theoretical expression of the singularity is validated by numerical tests concerning the regularized system as the regularizing term goes to zero. Part II focuses on the numerical results. It includes the design of a new numerical method adapted to smooth coefficients. The method is based on the Ultra Weak Variational Formulation but requires specific shape functions, designed as local approximations of the adjoint equation. The convergence analysis of the method is performed in one dimension, for two dimensions the design procedure and the interpolation property of the shapes functions are detailed. The resulting high order method numerically tackles the approximation of cut-offs while the approximation of resonant solutions is still very challenging.
Hierarchical Scanning Data Structure for Additive Manufacturing

Abstract In additive manufacturing, the digital information of required object model is transferred to additive manufacturing (AM) machine using a technology-independent de facto file format called STL. The approximation of the actual object surface employing STL file causes loss of geometrical and topological information and introduces error to the digital model. This may also limit the manufacturing repeatability between AM machine and processes. This research focuses on building a common data generation platform directly from the commonly used parametric surface model (B-rep). The generic data structure named as Hierarchical Scanning Data Structure (HSDS) is proposed in this research. HSDS will store the actual digital scanning information systematically and sequentially. A common application program interface (API) platform is also proposed in this research, which can access the HSDS and generate machine readable file for different existing AM control systems. The data stored in HSDS can be retrieved remotely and be used by different existing AM controller supporting the cloud/cyber manufacturing process and ensure the platform-independent object repeatability. The proposed framework is implemented with examples and results are compared with the existing system.
Neuronal Precursor Migration in Ex Vivo Brain Slice Culture

Neuronal migration during fetal brain development is a well-coordinated process between the migrating neurons and their substrates, the basal processes of the radial glial cells (RGCs). The progeny-progenitor relationship between the migrating neurons and the RGCs in the developing fetal brain may make interpretations of the results difficult, because the variable in question may affect both the RGCs and the migrating neurons in different ways. A transplantation assay combining migrating cells and the scaffolding tissue from two different sources may circumvent this issue. We developed an ex vivo brain slice transplantation assay that allows recording of migrating neurons in real time.
Characterization of a novel, papain‐inducible murine model of eosinophilic rhinosinusitis

Background Eosinophilic chronic rhinosinusitis (ECRS) is a disease characterized by eosinophilic inflammatory infiltrate and a local type 2 cytokine milieu. Current animal models fail to recapitulate many of the innate and adaptive immunologic hallmarks of the disease, thus hindering the development of effective therapeutics. In the present study, mice were exposed intranasally to the cysteine protease papain, which shares functional similarities with parasitic proteases and aeroallergens, to generate a rapidly inducible murine model of eosinophilic rhinosinusitis. Methods C57BL/6 mice were intranasally instilled with 20 μg papain or heat-inactivated papain (HP) on days 0-2 and days 7-10, and then euthanized on day 11. Nasal lavage fluid (NALF) was analyzed to quantify eosinophils and inflammatory cytokine secretion. Sinonasal tissue was sectioned and stained for goblet cells or homogenized to analyze cytokine levels. Serum samples were assayed for immunoglobulin E (IgE) by enzyme-linked immunoassay. Sinonasal mucosal tissue was dissociated and analyzed by flow cytometry. Results Compared with HP treatment, papain induced significant eosinophilia in NALF, goblet cell hyperplasia, innate and adaptive immune cell infiltration, type 2 cytokine production, and IgE responses. Flow cytometric analysis of sinonasal tissues revealed significant inflammatory cell infiltration and interleukin-13-producing cell populations. Conclusion In this study, we demonstrated that the cysteine protease papain induces allergic sinonasal eosinophilic rhinosinusitis and resembles T-helper 2 cell inflammation and innate immune characteristics of ECRS. This model permits further study into the molecular mechanisms underlying ECRS pathology and provides a model system for the evaluation of potential pharmacologic interventions.
The detectability of young galaxies

Possibilities for detecting primaeval galaxies are reviewed. The best prospects for detection are giant elliptical galaxies, in a stage of rapid star formation about 1010 years ago. These primaeval galaxies would probably be quasi-stellar in angular size. They could have easily detectable magnitudes if the most luminous stage occurs at red shifts z < 5, and if internal dust does not absorb most of the ultraviolet-visual light. Although it is not clear whether very young giant elliptical galaxies have yet been found, excess populations of blue galaxies in clusters (discovered by Butcher & Oemler) and in the field (discovered by Kron) are almost certainly in early stages of active star formation.
Brain Energy Metabolism in Hepatic Encephalopathy

The symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy caused by portacaval shunting (pes) or chronic liver dysfunction in man range from very subtle subclinical abnormalities of intellectual and motor function to coma. Even in the absence of serious symptoms brain function is compromised and is more sensitive than normal to metabolic stresses and sedating pharmacological agents (Hoyumpa et al., 1979; Zieve, 1979).
Lignocellulose Biodegradation in Composting

Plant-derived material, i.e., lignocellulosic biomass, makes up a major proportion of the initial mass in a typical composting operation. Such biomass plays some key roles as the mixture is being converted to prepare a useful soil amendment. For instance, the lignocellulosic component can provide bulking, can help to balance the C:N elemental composition, and serves as the main source of energy for the bacterial processes that go on during composting. This chapter reviews recent research helping to clarify these roles and to explain the underlying mechanisms. Recent studies have highlighted the importance of bacterial communities, as well as the succession in the composition of those communities during the different thermal phases of composting. Progress also has been made in understanding the flows of heat resulting from metabolism, aeration, and chemical changes in the compost mixture. Advances have been reported in the chemical analysis of compost, revealing details of chemical transformations occurring during the decomposition and stabilization of compost. The lignin component in a compostable mixture provides chemical building blocks that give rise to humic acids and other substances that resist further biodegradation and allow mature compost to retain water and bind minerals. Based on the literature one can conclude that composting, especially when lignocellulosic materials are employed under suitable conditions, is an environmentally responsible, relatively mature technology that can be expected to receive increasing research attention in the future.
Medical Ethics in Disasters

Disasters frequently create demands that outstrip available existing medical and societal resources. This may be particularly problematic for giving medical care, because disasters may destroy the infrastructures necessary to both provide patients care and keep new health problems from emerging. Disaster may, for example, not only strike care providers and hospital facilities directly; they may decimate communities’ capacities to provide food to the population and carry out critical waste disposal services. All these effects may be most important to policymakers and care providers deciding triage priorities during disasters. Referring to just these two examples, food and waste disposal services, for instance, care providers should treat first not only other care providers, who can, then, take care of others, but food preparers and waste disposal personnel, likewise, to save the most lives. These two examples are just a few among many that warrant priority for this same reason.
The Role of Civil Resistance in Bolivia’s 1977-1982 Pro-Democracy Struggle

Despite being the poorest and least developed country in South America, Bolivia was the first to emerge from the period of military dictatorships that dominated the continent from the mid-1960s into the 1980s. This article examines the role of civil resistance in that country’s seemingly improbable early end to military rule, noting how a broad coalition of unions, intellectuals, the Catholic Church, and opposition parties succeeded in bringing down a series of military leaders, eventually ushering in elected civilian governance. Despite the pro-democracy movement’s successful defeat of the dictatorship of Hugo Banzer in 1978, it took more than four years, three general elections, five presidents and several coups d’etat before full electoral democracy was restored. This article responds to questions of how the movement was able to persist, grow, and maintain largely nonviolent discipline in the face of severe repression, shifting alliances, and internal divisions, and how the movement helped lay the groundwork for more recent radical changes in Bolivian politics. The article illustrates other critical factors in the movement’s success: the willingness to avoid armed struggle, the country’s rich tradition of mass-based civil resistance and defiance of central authority, and grassroots democratic relations.
Accounting for measurement error in analyzing data

Accounting for measurement error, whether the measurement error distribution parameters are known or not, is easily done using Bayesian inference and thereby improves analyses of data.
Surgical Treatment of Chronic Subdural Hematoma: Predicting Recurrence and Cure.

Background Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common neurosurgical condition, especially among elderly patients. Here we have analyzed our institutional experience with surgical management of CSDH. We aimed at identifying predictors of hematoma recurrence and cure, and the respective time course. Methods Pertinent data were collected from all 208 patients (136 males; median age, 78 years) treated for unilateral CSDH in our department from 2014 to 2016 after exclusion of cases with CSDH following previous head surgery or missing postoperative imaging. Pre- and postoperative neuroimaging studies were subjected to computer-assisted volumetric analyses. CSDH composition and anatomy were assessed using a modified Nakaguchi classification. Results A total of 67.8% of the patients presented with neurologic deficits, and 51.4% were at least on 1 anticoagulant agent. Burr hole trephinations were performed in 94.7%. The median residual hematoma volume was 35.0 mL (44.1 mL including air). Surgical recurrences were seen in 17.8%. The median time to repeat surgery was 17 days, and 91.9% of recurrences occurred within 60 days. Recurrence rates varied between 36.4% (separated or trabecular subtypes and postoperative CSDH volume ≥35.0 mL) and 3.7% (all other subtypes and postoperative CSDH volume Conclusions Postoperative CSDH volume and the Nakaguchi classification subtypes proved the most powerful predictors of recurrence, cure, and the time to recurrence and cure. Although our results demonstrate the important impact of CSDH volume, composition, and anatomy, they also show that other so far unknown factors play a significant role as well.
Knowledge-Based Dynamic Capabilities and Competitive Advantage – Data Analysis and Interpretations

The chapter discusses the results of pre-testing as well as presents the descriptive and inferential statistical data analysis of the present study. The chapter ensures the adequacy of survey response and gives the background of the respondents by analyzing the demographic profiles. This is followed by data purification and analysis by using descriptive statistics. For the purpose of ensuring the application of multivariate techniques for analyzing data, the survey responses have been screened to ensure normality, linearity, homoscedasticity and multicollinearity. A panoply of research techniques like correlation, regression, analysis of variance, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling have been used to analyze the data. Thereafter, the results of these techniques are presented in a meaningful manner to arrive at relevant conclusions. Interpretations have been done under three broad themes namely Knowledge-Management Process Capabilities, Higher-Order Dynamic Capabilities and Competitive Advantage.
Abstract CT055: Microdose induced oxaliplatin-DNA adducts as a predictive biomarker of response in colorectal cancer

Background Combination 5-FU and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) is standard therapy for colorectal cancer (CRC) in neoadjuvant, adjuvant, and metastatic settings. However, oxaliplatin neuropathy is the main dose-limiting toxicity that often necessitates dose reduction or discontinuation before progression. Prediction of oxaliplatin sensitivity in tumor cells would be valuable for dose optimization to maximize anti-tumorigenic effect and limit sensory neuropathy. Oxaliplatin functions via the formation of covalent drug-DNA adducts which ultimately inhibit cell replication and promote apoptosis. Detection of these drug-DNA adducts could serve as a biomarker of oxaliplatin efficacy. We therefore hypothesized that drug-DNA adduct levels induced by sub-therapeutic "diagnostic microdoses" are proportional to those induced by therapeutic doses and are predictive of tumor responses. Methods The feasibility of this predictive diagnostic microdosing approach was assessed in CRC cell culture and a pilot clinical trial of six CRC patients. Four CRC cell lines were cultured with therapeutically relevant (100 µM) or diagnostic microdose (1 µM) concentrations of [14C]oxaliplatin. The C-14 label enabled quantification of oxaliplatin-DNA adduct levels with accelerator mass spectrometry, an ultrasensitive isotope analysis technique. Adduct formation was correlated with oxaliplatin cytotoxicity as measured by the MTT viability assay. In a pilot clinical trial (NCT02569723), six CRC patients received an intravenous diagnostic microdose containing [14C]oxaliplatin prior to treatment and a second [14C]oxaliplatin dose during FOLFOX chemotherapy. Adduct levels from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), used as surrogates for tumor cells, were correlated to mean tumor volume change of evaluable target lesions. Results Drug-DNA adduct levels were linearly proportional between microdoses and therapeutically relevant concentrations in cell culture (R2 = 0.91, p Conclusion Diagnostic microdosing with oxaliplatin is feasible and is predictive of oxaliplatin sensitivity in CRC patients. Citation Format: Justin Chen, May Cho, Maike Zimmermann, Thomas Semrad, Chun-Yi Wu, Aiming Yu, Chong-Xian Pan, Paul T. Henderson, Edward J. Kim. Microdose induced oxaliplatin-DNA adducts as a predictive biomarker of response in colorectal cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr CT055.
Interstitial fluid flow under the microscope: is it a future drug target for high grade brain tumours such as glioblastoma?

IFF is the movement of fluid in the spaces between cells in tissue or interstitial space. In the brain, this space consists of a network of extracellular matrix co-mingled with a dense, process-ric...
Mobility Model Characteristics

The salient characteristics of mobility models of mobile nodes in mobile ad hoc networks are described. We have described how the different mobility models are grouped, although different methods can be used to classify them. The overall criteria for formulations of a mobility model are explained. The mobility parameters and impact of the mobility models on the communications protocols over the MANET are briefly summarized.
Understanding the genetics of asthma and implications for clinical practice.

ABSTRACTAsthma is one of the most common heritable diseases globally, with variable clinical expression and response to treatment that is attributed to underlying genetic differences. Hundreds of loci on multiple chromosomes are associated with asthma. Although routine genetic screening is not recom
Effects of Finish Rolling Temperature on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Low Silicon Containing Phosphorus TRIP Steel

The microstructure and mechanical properties of different finishing temperatures for hot rolled low silicon containing phosphorus TRIP steel were investigated using a laboratory hot rolling mill.The results show that when finishing temperature is decreased from 900 to 790 ℃,the volume fraction of ferrite is increased;the volume fraction of bainite is decreased;and the volume fraction of retained austenite has no evident changes.When finishing temperature are 900 and 820 ℃,bainite is used as matrix microstructure.Lower temperature deformation enhances the transformation rate of austenite to ferrite,also the fine,uniform and equiaxed ferrite grains can be obtained as matrix microstructure,the average ferrite grain size is about 4.5 μm,and the dislocations is observed in matrix,when finishing temperature is decreased to 790 ℃.Compared with other kind of processes,the steels have excellent mechanical properties when finishing temperature is 790 ℃:ultimate tensile strength,elongation and yield/strength ratio are 825 MPa,21.5% and 0.64 respectively.
1930 Fluctuation in numbers and genotypes

Abstract Ford and Ford (1930) make an early and interesting suggestion that population cycles may be linked to the appearance of new genetic variants.
Improving the efficiency of G0W0 calculations with approximate spectral decompositions of dielectric matrices

Recently, it was shown that the calculation of quasiparticle energies using the G0W0 approximation can be performed without computing explicitly any virtual electronic states, by expanding the Green function and screened Coulomb interaction in terms of the eigenstates of the static dielectric matrix. Avoiding the evaluation of virtual electronic states leads to improved efficiency and ease of convergence of G0W0 calculations. Here, we propose a further improvement of the efficiency of these calculations, based on an approximation of density-density response functions of molecules and solids. The approximation relies on the calculation of a subset of eigenvectors of the dielectric matrix using the kinetic operator instead of the full Hamiltonian, and it does not lead to any substantial loss of accuracy for the quasiparticle energies. The computational savings introduced by this approximation depend on the system, and they become more substantial as the number of electrons increases.
The Quest to Improve the Human Condition: The First 1 500 Articles Published in Journal of Business Ethics

In 1999, the Journal of Business Ethics published its 1 500th article. This article commemorates the journal's quest "to improve the human condition" (Michalos, 1988, p. 1) with a summary and assessment of the first eighteen volumes. The first part provides an overview of JBE, highlighting the journal's growth, types of methodologies published, and the breadth of the field. The second part provides a detailed account of the quantitative research findings. Major research topics include (1) prevalence of ethical behavior, (2) ethical sensitivities, (3) ethics codes and programs, (4) corporate social performance and policies, (5) human resource practices and policies, and (6) professions – accounting, marketing/sales, and finance/strategy. Much remains to be done.
Matching Collinear and Transverse Momentum Dependent Observables in the CSS Formalism

We report on the improved Collins-Soper-Sterman (iCSS) formalism presented in, in particular for the case of polarized observables, such as the Sivers effect in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering. We also outline how this study can be extended beyond leading order to address the matching of collinear PDFs to transverse momentum integrated TMDs.
Does Emergency General Surgery (EGS) Hospital Volume Contribute to Improved Outcomes

This review outlines the current state of the literature regarding the effect of hospital emergency general surgery (EGS) volume on patient- and hospital-based outcomes. Recent evidence suggests that higher volume centers offer superior performance with respect to in-hospital mortality, a phenomenon that becomes more pronounced with increasingly complex or high-risk operations. High-quality studies have demonstrated that hospital EGS volume is correlated with lower in-patient mortality. This finding has been demonstrated across individual EGS operations with increasing case complexity requiring higher volumes to demonstrate improved outcomes. There remains a knowledge gap in determining what specific factor of volume, such as surgeon volume or system experience or possibly a combination of the two, best explains the observed improvement in outcomes.
Configural Effects of Job Demands and Resources on Exhaustion

Research on the effects of job demands and resources on exhaustion has largely adopted a variable-centered perspective to test the main and interactive effects of individual demands and resources. ...
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality and neighborhood characteristics in Chicago

Abstract Purpose To describe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality in Chicago during the spring of 2020 and identify at the census-tract level neighborhood characteristics that were associated with higher COVID-19 mortality rates. Methods Using Poisson regression and regularized linear regression (elastic net), we evaluated the association between neighborhood characteristics and COVID-19 mortality rates in Chicago through July 22 (2514 deaths across 795 populated census tracts). Results Black residents (31% of the population) accounted for 42% of COVID-19 deaths. Deaths among Hispanic/Latino residents occurred at a younger age (63 years, compared with 71 for white residents). Regarding residential setting, 52% of deaths among white residents occurred inside nursing homes, compared with 35% of deaths among black residents and 17% among Hispanic/Latino residents. Higher COVID-19 mortality was seen in neighborhoods with heightened barriers to social distancing and low health insurance coverage. Neighborhoods with a higher percentage of white and Asian residents had lower COVID-19 mortality. The associations differed by race, suggesting that neighborhood context may be most tightly linked to COVID-19 mortality among white residents. Conclusions We describe communities that may benefit from supportive services and identify traits of communities that may benefit from targeted campaigns for prevention and testing to prevent future deaths from COVID-19.
Adaptive Control for Linearizable Systems Using On-Policy Reinforcement Learning

This paper proposes a framework for adaptively learning a feedback linearization-based tracking controller for an unknown system using discrete-time model-free policy-gradient parameter update rules. The primary advantage of the scheme over standard model-reference adaptive control techniques is that it does not require the learned inverse model to be invertible at all instances of time. This enables the use of general function approximators to approximate the linearizing controller for the system without having to worry about singularities. The overall learning system is stochastic, due to the random nature of the policy gradient updates, thus we combine analysis techniques commonly employed in the machine learning literature alongside stability arguments from adaptive control to demonstrate that with high probability the tracking and parameter errors concentrate near zero, under a standard persistency of excitation condition. A simulated example of a double pendulum demonstrates the utility of the proposed theory.
Review of Mohamed Elewa Badar, The Concept of Mens Rea in International Criminal Law

In The Concept of Mens Rea In International Criminal Law: The Case for a Unified Approach, Mohamed Badar makes an important contribution to the literature through a comprehensive review of mens rea law in many of the world’s national legal systems and at international criminal courts and tribunals. Professor Badar demonstrates that in all of these contexts, theorists, legislators, and judges have struggled mightily to identify the appropriate mental states to justify the infliction of punishment. He also illuminates the historical trajectory of the concept beginning as far back as the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi.
The effects of tip distribution policies: Servers’ keeping vs sharing/pooling tips affects tippers’ sentiments but not tip-giving

Abstract The U.S. Department of Labor recently loosened regulations about who can and cannot participate in tip-sharing and/or pooling and there is interest among restaurateurs and others in expanding use of these policies as a way to reduce front and back-of-house pay differences, so understanding their impact on servers and customers is of practical as well as theoretical value. Accordingly, an online, hypothetical scenario experiment was conducted to examine the effects of different tip distribution policies on consumer sentiment and tipping. Results indicated that consumers (especially those intrinsically motivated to tip) prefer servers to keep their individual tips, rather than share or pool their tips with others, but that tip distribution policies have no effect on the tip amounts that people say they would leave. These findings suggest that: (i) altruistic and reciprocity motives for tipping are primarily directed toward service workers directly interacting with the consumer, (ii) consumers do not see the dilution of severs’ tips under tip-sharing and tip-pooling (vs tip-keeping) as effecting the future-service or social-esteem that any given tip will buy, (iii) tip sharing and pooling may decrease customer satisfaction and re-patronage, and (iv) there is little reason for policy makers to fear that tip-sharing and tip-pooling (vs tip-keeping) will adversely affect tip revenues.
Ethylene oligomerization on Ni2+ single sites within lacunary defects of Wells Dawson polyoxometalates.

Oligomerization of light olefins has become an essential step to convert gaseous olefins to liquid fuels and value-added chemicals. Here, we report that the synthesis and application of nickel single sites isolated on Wells Dawson polyoxometalate defects as stable and regenerable catalysts for ethylene oligomerization.
27. Biological matter in isochoric systems

Most of the research in biology deals with biological systems under thermodynamic conditions of variable volume and constant pressure; either atmospheric pressure or hyperbaric pressure or hypobaric pressure. These are the conditions that exist on the planet Earth. Interest in astrobiology and the possibility of life on other systems, such as the ice moons of Jupiter and Saturn, was the original motive behind our study of the thermodynamics of life in a constant volume environment, isochoric; as in the fluid layer between the ground and the thick layer of ice surrounding moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Fundamental and later applied studies on isochoric systems of ice and water, have revealed that at the interface between ice and water, the isochoric systems behave differently from isobaric systems, with possible applications in preservation of biological systems at below atmospheric freezing temperatures. This presentation will review the thermodynamics of isochoric systems with physiological relevant compositions, the effects of isochoric cooling on nucleation and vitrification, the interaction between antifreeze proteins and ice under isochoric conditions and previously unpublished data on isochoric preservation of cells and organs (heart).
Computational studies of π–π interactions in dimers of heterosubstituted sumanenes

A computational study of dimers of heterosubstituted sumanenes has been carried out using a dispersion-corrected density functional theory method. In the heterosubstituted systems, the three bridging CH2 groups of sumanene have been replaced by O, NH, and S. For each dimer system, two motifs, staggered and eclipsed forms, were considered. The most stable geometry was the staggered stacked concave–convex motif where one monomer was rotated by 60° from the eclipsed configuration. The calculated binding energies and equilibrium distances of the staggered concave–convex dimers are predicted to be 20.1 kcal/mol and 3.7 A for the parent sumanene molecule, 17.4 kcal/mol and 3.8 A, 12.3 kcal/mol and 3.7 A, and 16.6 kcal/mol and 3.7 A for the NH-, O-, and S-substituted analogs, respectively. The binding energies of the dimers have been analyzed in terms of dipole–dipole contributions, dispersion contributions, and C–H···π interactions.
Pregnant Women of Mexican Descent: Constructions of Motherhood

Past research related to pregnancy outcomes has tended to have a bio-medical focus. More recent research has begun to explore possible social and cultural influences on birth outcomes. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 28 pregnant women of Mexican descent in the Texas/Mexico border region to begin to describe the social and cultural contexts of pregnancy of women of Mexican ancestry. Participants' constructions surrounding pregnancy focused on the mother role. Goodness of fit between constructions of the mother role and women's lives and self-concepts resulted in positive or negative feelings about motherhood.
Generalized clustering conditions of Jack polynomials at negative Jack parameter α

We present several conjectures on the behavior and clustering properties of Jack polynomials at a negative parameter $\ensuremath{\alpha}=\ensuremath{-}\frac{k+1}{r\ensuremath{-}1}$, with partitions that violate the $(k,r,N)$- admissibility rule of [Feigin et al. [Int. Math. Res. Notices 23, 1223 (2002)]. We find that the ``highest weight'' Jack polynomials of specific partitions represent the minimum degree polynomials in $N$ variables that vanish when $s$ distinct clusters of $k+1$ particles are formed, where $s$ and $k$ are positive integers. Explicit counting formulas are conjectured. The generalized clustering conditions are useful in a forthcoming description of fractional quantum Hall quasiparticles.
Local tomography with nonsmooth attenuation

We continue investigation of local tomography with nonsmooth attenuation, which was proposed earlier by the author. Our main result is a new and simple characterization of the wave front of the local tomography function \(\tilde f_\Lambda ^{\left( \Phi \right)} \), which holds under fairly general conditions on the density function f and the attenuation coefficient μ.
Isotopic Abundances of Fe and Ni in Galactic Cosmic-Ray Sources

With a new instrument, designed to determine the isotopic composition of Galactic cosmic-ray nuclei, on board the Ulysses spacecraft, we report relative abundance measurements for 54Fe,55Fe,56Fe,57Fe,58Fe and 58Ni,59Ni,60Ni,62Ni in the overall energy range between ~200 and ~420 MeV nucleon-1. These measurements combine excellent mass resolution (σ ~ 0.28 amu at 56Fe) with good statistical significance (more than 6000 Fe events). The high mass resolution is achieved by utilizing solid-state, position-sensing detectors to measure—with less than 1° angular error—the trajectory of each nucleus entering the charged-particle telescope. The cosmic-ray source abundances are derived from the measurements using models for propagation from distributed sources in the Galaxy ("leaky-box" model), taking into account solar modulation during penetration of the heliosphere. Overall, except for 54Fe/56Fe and 57Fe/56Fe, we show that the principal Fe and Ni isotopic source ratios have values close to the solar system ratios derived from meteorites. In particular, we note that 58Fe and 62Ni display no evidence of neutron enrichment. We discuss the role of the predominantly electron-capture nuclide 54Mn, which decays mainly by β- in the cosmic rays, and contributes to the abundance of 54Fe measured in the solar system.