cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of Poly-p-oxyperfluorobenzylene and Related Polymers. A Novel Synthesis of the Monomer 2,3,5,6-Tetrafluoro-4-trifluoromethylphenol.

The synthesis and polymerization of 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-trifluoromethylphenol (heptafluoro-p-cresol) is described. The polymer, poly-p-oxyperfluorobenzylene (polyperfluoro-p-benzylene oxide), is probably formed through the perfluoro-p-quinonemethide intermediate obtained by the intramolecular loss of either hydrogen fluoride or a metal fluoride. The polymer has a structure analogous to that reported for the polymer derived from p-trifluoromethylphenol under similar conditions. In the course of the synthesis of the monomer, heptafluoro-p-cresol, a novel synthetic method was discovered. The synthesis consists in the prior preparation of 1-t-butoxy-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-trifluoromethylbenzene and its subsequent thermal decomposition into the isobutylene and the desired cresol. Similarly, N-t-butyl-2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-trifluoromethylaniline undergoes a similar liquid phase pyrolysis into isobutylene and 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-trirluoromethylaniline. However, during the course of this pyrolysis, practically all of the aniline undergoes polymerization with the concomitant loss of hydrogen fluoride. The polymer is formed by the same mechanism operative in the thermal polymerization of p-heptafluorocresol except that additional quantities of hydrogen fluoride can be eliminated from the - NHCF2 - segments of the polymer chain thereby introducing - N = CF - units into the polymer backbone. Other t-butyl derivatives were synthesized and their thermal decomposition studied. Several possible mechanisms for the decomposition of these t-butyl compounds are considered.
Regional Nodal Radiotherapy in Early-Stage Breast Cancer: Where Are We in 2016?

The goal of locoregional treatment in early-stage breast cancer patients is to eradicate residual locoregional microscopic disease in order to maximize locoregional control, to minimize seeding of distant metastatic sites, and ultimately to improve overall survival. Recently published landmark randomized trials demonstrate that the addition of regional nodal radiotherapy to breast conserving therapy or mastectomy in node positive or high-risk node negative women not only improves locoregional control but also decreases distant metastasis with a trend towards improved overall survival with a favorable toxicity profile. Certain node-positive early-stage breast cancer patients, however, have low rates of axillary recurrence and high rates of breast cancer-specific survival even with sentinel lymph node excision alone without axillary lymph node dissection. Herein, we review the recent developments in regional nodal management and reconcile the apparent conflict between the surgical and radiotherapy literature. In this context, we provide guidance as to the patients appropriate for regional nodal radiotherapy in 2016 and highlight important treatment considerations to minimize long-term toxicity.
Neurotics Can't Focus: An in situ Study of Online Multitasking in the Workplace

In HCI research, attention has focused on understanding external influences on workplace multitasking. We explore instead how multitasking might be influenced by individual factors: personality, stress, and sleep. Forty information workers' online activity was tracked over two work weeks. The median duration of online screen focus was 40 seconds. The personality trait of Neuroticism was associated with shorter online focus duration and Impulsivity-Urgency was associated with longer online focus duration. Stress and sleep duration showed trends to be inversely associated with online focus. Shorter focus duration was associated with lower assessed productivity at day's end. Factor analysis revealed a factor of lack of control which significantly predicts multitasking. Our results suggest that there could be a trait for distractibility where some individuals are susceptible to online attention shifting in the workplace. Our results have implications for information systems (e.g. educational systems, game design) where attention focus is key.
A Case Report of a Poorly Differentiated Neuroendocrine Carcinoma Diagnosed in the Bone Marrow

Poorly differentiated neuroendocrine tumors are uncommon tumors of the GI tract and often diagnosed without the identification of the primary site. Here, we describe a case of poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma of unknown primary that is diagnosed by bone marrow biopsy. A68-year-old male patient presented with worsening back pain, hypercalcemia, anemia, and altered mental status. Initially, imaging favored multiple myeloma. However, a bone marrow biopsy revealed morphologic and immunohistochemical features of neuroendocrine origin.
Lung epithelial cell-released nitric oxide protects against PMN-mediated cell injury

A calcium-independent type II nitric oxide (NO) synthase has been localized in lung epithelial cells; however, the function of NO. released by epithelial cells is unclear. We hypothesized that epithelial-derived NO may affect the interactions between polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) and the alveolar epithelium and studied PMN adhesion and cytotoxicity to lung epithelial cells. A dose- and time-dependent production of NO. by L2 cells can be induced by a mixture of inflammatory mediators (cytomix) containing lipopolysaccharide, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and interferon-gamma. Increased NO. production by L2 cells was associated with decreased 51Cr release by the epithelial cells after they were incubated with activated PMN. Addition of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine or oxyhemoglobin reversed the protective effects of cytomix, suggesting that increased NO. production by L2 cells was responsible for the decreased 51Cr release. However, PMN adhesion and intercellular adhesion molecule-1, a major adhesion molecule involved in PMN adhesion to epithelium, were increased by cytomix. We conclude that NO. released by lung epithelial cells was involved in protecting epithelial cells from PMN-mediated cytotoxicity. NO.-mediated protection of lung epithelial cells occurred in spite of PMN adhesion being increased, suggesting that reduced adhesion is not required for NO.-mediated inhibition of PMN cytotoxicity.
Continuous Processing of Polymerizing Fluids IV: Continuous Mechanism in a Channel of a Screw-Extruder

Reactive extrusion of polymers (REX) is an integrated engineering operation that may combine, completely or partially, the traditionally separated steps of the polymer macromolecule formation, compounding, mixing, devolatilization, shaping and the product structuring into a single engineering operation carried out in a screw extruder as developed over the years for conventional polymer processing. The advantages associated with REX are in substantial reduction of the manufacturing time, energy savings as typically the remelting and often the solvent recovery steps are eliminated, in lower capital investment and in the potential direct feed-back between the polymer mechanical properties and the process conditions.
Electric grid hardening and resiliency: part II, real-time modelling and simulation

This paper addresses and provides methodologies for use of real-time simulators in hardening existing or designing new robust transmission systems. Authors' methodology focuses on modelling and simulation of a system in two time domains to include “steady state” of the system when the transients from the system equipment have settled and to include “electromagnetic transients” that are present in relays, transformers, transmission lines, and generators when the transmission system is exposed to fault energy. Planning for robust electric grids using dynamic models and real-time response of equipment to system disturbances are addressed. Modelling and simulation of electromagnetic dynamics of static VAR compensator (SVC) and protective relays under independent pole operation (IPO) are described as examples of hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation performed at University of New Orleans Power and Energy Research Laboratory. They present modelling of transmission lines, transformers, generators, and relays for HIL simulation of existing or new electric grids for improving robustness – hardening – and resiliency of the grid. While the methodology and removal of technical barriers in modelling for real-time simulation are tested on small-scale test systems and on part of the real-size electric grid in the Gulf Coast region, it may be implemented for studying other power systems.
Kierkegaard and Nietzsche

Kierkegaard and Nietzsche of course never met and never could have met: Nietzsche was a boy eleven years old growing up in Naumburg in the east of Germany when Kierkegaard died in his native Copenhagen in 1855. Nor did Nietzsche read Kierkegaard. By the end of Nietzsche’s life, it is true, Kierkegaard was becoming known in Germany. In 1879 Georg Brandes published in German his Literary Character-Sketch on Kierkegaard.1 Some years later, in 1888, the year before the onslaught of Nietzsche’s madness, Brandes called the work of Kierkegaard to Nietzsche’s attention, but it was too late for Nietzsche to acquire and read any of Kierkegaard’s writings.2
Computer Simulation of Tumor Treating Fields

Tumor treating electric fields or TTFields are emerging as a new treatment modality for cancer, and its first FDA-approved use is in glioblastoma patients. TTFields are alternating electric fields at 200 kHz continuously delivered by the Optune device to the scalp of patients. Preclinical experiments have shown that they interfere with dividing cancer cells as they undergo metaphase-to-anaphase transition in mitosis and, specifically, they disrupt α/β tubulin and septin proteins that have high dipole moments. However, the visualization of TTFields in the brain and therefore treatment verification require complex computational simulation and modeling of electromagnetic wave propagation, which entails added difficulties due to the different conductivity and relative permittivity values of various intracranial tissues and cavities. The procedure requires segmenting tissue structures as seen on the MRI, generating a 3-dimensional mesh for each segmented volume, and importing the composite mesh into a finite element solver of Maxwell’s equations. In turn, the finite element analysis process involves the identification and application of material parameters to different segmented tissue types, specification of appropriate boundary and initial conditions, as well as identification of the best fit solution for the electric field distribution, all of which are dependent on the transducer array layout as generated by proprietary NovoTAL computer software. Ultimately, the precise visualization of the TTFields in the glioblastoma and adjacent brain tissues may enable neuro-oncologists and physicist to improve TTField delivery in the brain.
Visual Motion: Cellular Implementation of a Hybrid Motion Detector.

Summary Visual motion detection in insects is mediated by three-input detectors that compare inputs of different spatiotemporal properties. A new modeling study shows that only a small subset of possible arrangements of the input elements provides high direction-selectivity.
Measuring Volume Change Caused by Calcium Oxychloride Phase Transformation in a Ca(OH)2-CaCl2-H2O System

Calcium oxychloride has been reported to form in cementitious materials when calcium chloride (CaCl2) solutions react with calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2]. In this study, Ca(OH)2 is mixed with CaCl2 solutions with concentrations of 5 %, 10 %, 15 %, 20 %, 25 %, and 30 % by weight, using a 1:1 M ratio of Ca(OH)2 to CaCl2. The Ca(OH)2-CaCl2 solution mixtures are subject to a cooling and heating cycle. Volume change is measured to quantify the phase transformation associated with calcium oxychloride. Low-temperature differential scanning calorimetry (LT-DSC) is used to construct a phase isopleth, which is used to quantify the phase transformation associated with calcium oxychloride. Hysteresis is observed in the volume-change measurement during the cooling–heating cycle. In a temperature range of 50°C to 0°C, the formation of calcium oxychloride is complete for the 20 %, 25 %, and 30 % CaCl2 solutions. The liquidus temperatures at which calcium oxychloride is expected to form from LT-DSC during heating match those from the volume-change measurements.
Thermal response construction in randomly packed solids with graph theoretic support vector regression

Abstract Material discontinuities and heterogeneities are very common in engineering systems. The thermal response of such systems to heating and cooling is strongly dependent upon the thermal resistance found at the interfaces. Due to difficulties in modeling thermal resistances between different solid objects of a constituent system or assembly, an alternative approach is proposed in this work. In this paper, the dynamic flow of heat through multiple solid objects within a system is predicted by a machine learning model that uses a graph theoretic diffusion kernel. To demonstrate this approach, a randomly packed assembly of cylindrical rods was selected to represent a network of solids where heat transfer rates are largely governed by contacts and/or gaps between the solids. This assembly of cylindrical rods represents a network of solids with unknown interconnecting thermal resistances. Each rod represents a node in the network. The cylindrical rods were assembled in a quartz tube with axis aligned parallel to each other and the tube. The assembly was heated to temperatures up to 1200 K, and then cool-down experiments were conducted. An infra-red (IR) camera and IR transparent ports in the high temperature experimental facility were used to obtain time dependent, high-fidelity thermographic data for training and validation purposes. In particular, the temperature information from an ‘outer’ set of rods, i.e., directly cooled by contact with an external surface, was used for generating training data. This data was then used to train the models for predicting the thermal response of ‘inner’ rods of graphite, quartz and alumina materials. The network of ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ rods touching each other was used to construct a graph. A Support Vector Regression (SVR) model was trained using a diffusion kernel obtained from this graph’s Laplacian matrix. The regression models were used to predict the thermal response in different materials, sizes and networks. When trained with the optimal thermographic data, the RMS error magnitudes from these model predictions were consistently below 3%.
Introduction to the Special Issue on Clinical Neuropsychology of Movement Disorders

The special issue on the clinical neuropsychology of movement disorders provides an overview for the non-subspecialist clinical neuropsychologist and other clinical neuroscientists of the neuropsychological features, assessment and treatment of Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementias, atypical parkinsonian disorders (corticobasal syndrome, progressive supranuclear palsy, and multiple system atrophy), Huntington's disease, dystonia, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Additionally, articles provide overviews of neuropsychological and ethical issues related to deep brain stimulation and a discussion of non-pharamcologic and non-invasive treatment of cognitive dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. A search of PubMed using neuropsycholog* and parkinson* as search terms indicates that the number of articles dealing with neuropsychology of parkinsonian disorders has more than doubled in each of the past three decades (1990-99:269 entries, 2000-09:575 entries, 2010-17:967 entries). This rapid growth of research makes a special issue on the topic very timely.
LEGO-based Active Learning Exercises for Teaching Software Development: (Abstract Only)

LEGO is a construction toy familiar to many students. Creating software, regardless of scale, is often similar to building with tangible objects, such as houses or bridges--an analogy that is often used in the classroom. In this workshop, we will show how to use LEGO bricks as a surrogate representing the lines of code, software objects, or other artifacts in the process of constructing software systems. LEGO-based analogies and case studies enacted as hands-on exercises for student teams help develop a better understanding of the underlying concepts, while keeping students deeply engaged in the course material. This workshop is intended for faculty teaching undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on software development, software engineering, and related concepts. This workshop will also benefit other educators looking for ways to supplement their courses with engaging and playful hands-on activities aimed to strengthen the teamwork, oral communication, problem solving, and design skills of students. We will practice several hands-on LEGO-based activities during the workshop. Specific topics of these activities will include change management and object-oriented interfaces, as well as activities specific to the phases of software development. Workshop participants will learn about other LEGO-based activities that focus on a broad range of topics including requirements engineering, architectural design, and software dependability. A laptop is not required for this workshop. This work is supported in part by the National Science Foundation Awards 1611905, 1709244 and a 2015 ACM SIGCSE Special Project grant. For more information visit http://www.cs.ccsu.edu/~stan/sigcse2018/
Structure of the LPS O-chain from Fusobacterium nucleatum strain MJR 7757 B.

Abstract Fusobacterium nucleatum is an anaerobic bacterium found in the human mouth where it causes periodontitis. It was also found in colorectal cancer tissues and is linked with pregnancy complications, including pre-term and still births. Cell surface structures of the bacterium could be implicated in pathogenesis. Here we report the following structure of the lipopolysaccharide O-chain of F. nucleatum strain MJR 7757 B:where Lac is (R)-1-carboxyethyl (lactic acid residue); all monosaccharides are in the pyranose form. ManNAc4Lac, analogue of N-acetylmuramic acid, is found for the first time in natural sources.
The detection and characterization of weak seismic waves using optical fiber Bragg grating sensor

In the field of earthquake seismology, a new class of seismic wave has emerged that is associated with episodic tremor and slow-slip activity at tectonic plate boundaries. In order to detect and characterize these weak seismic waves, a high dynamic range optical sensor capable of remotely measuring minute displacements over a broad frequency range is being developed. The optical fiber Bragg grating sensor system is compact and inexpensive, and is well suited for collecting real-time data from remote sites deep underground within boreholes. A PZT mechanical vibration transducer simulates the small displacements created by a mechanical sensor’s response to the tremor. Low-frequency waveforms in the 1–20 Hz band are used to drive the PZT actuator. Stable detector output demonstrates optical sensor sensitivity to vibrational displacements less than 400 nm without using any digital filtering of the output signal.
Thermoelectric performance of silicon with oxide nanoinclusions

ABSTRACTSilicon nanoparticles produced via a plasma-based technique have been sintered into bulk nanostructured samples. These samples have micron-sized crystalline domains and contain well-dispersed oxide nanoinclusions. We have compared the thermoelectric performance of such structure to that of a control sample produced by sintering ball-milled silicon powders. The control sample has lower precipitate density and is composed of nanograins. Despite the stark difference in nanostructure, both samples have comparable thermal conductivity, and the sample with nanoinclusions has higher power factor and ZT. This result confirms that grain size engineering is not the only promising route to achieving improved thermoelectric performance.
Multiple supernumerary teeth in a likely syndromic individual from prehistoric Illinois.

Abstract Objective This paper reports the first published case of a prehistoric human with five or more supernumerary teeth. Such cases are often neglected in paleopathology, in part due to a gap between the medicodental and anthropological literature leading to the view in anthropology that supernumerary teeth are curious anomalies rather than pathologies. Design Reconstruction and pathological description of the skeletal remains were performed according to standard osteological protocols. Each supernumerary tooth was categorized based on its morphology, location, and orientation. The dental characteristics of the individual were compared to published norms for incidences of syndromic and non-syndromic supernumerary teeth and a differential diagnosis was subsequently performed. Results Six supernumerary teeth and one deciduous tooth were identified. Additionally, the individual suffered from impacted teeth, dilacerated roots, and extensive sutural anomalies (including retention of the metopic suture into adulthood and an unusually high number of sutural bones). The morphology and location of the supernumerary teeth, in conjunction with the suite of other symptoms, are highly unusual among non-syndromic patients and therefore are indicative of a complex genetic disorder. Conclusions The individual reported here almost certainly suffered from a genetic disorder or syndrome resulting in extensive dental and sutural abnormalities. Despite a lack of post-cranial involvement, a tentative diagnosis of Cleidocranial Dysplasia was made on the basis that mutations in the RUNX2 gene may cause the dental symptoms without any pathology of the clavicle.
Evaluating NextCloud as a File Storage for Apache Airavata

Science gateways enable researchers from broad communities to access advanced computing and storage resources. The researchers analyze large amounts of data using the compute resources and the generated results, usually files are saved in the storage. Consider a scenario where a researcher has large output data files of historically run experiments on an external server. If the researcher wants to move the data to the gateway storage, then the only way to do it is through data transfer. This task would be cumbersome and time consuming. The paper discusses an approach through which historic or any data existing on a different server or in a cloud storage (Google Drive) or in an object storage (Amazon S3) can be ingested into the existing gateway without actually transferring it to the server. We discuss about a software called NextCloud and how it can be used as a gateway storage by integrating it with Apache Airavata. Airavata currently uses local file storage to store user related data files. On the client side, Airavata clients use different protocols like HTTP and SFTP for file transfer. NextCloud is an open source file share and communication platform that provides a common file access layer through its universal file access to different data sources. Integrating NextCloud with Airavata could solve the problem of providing unified file transfer API across all the Airavata clients. As NextCloud supports various external storages, its integration with Airavata would also enable the data ingestion and importing large data from different storage sources to Airavata.
Fetal alcohol exposure and mammary tumorigenesis in offspring: role of the estrogen and insulin-like growth factor systems.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders affect a significant number of live births each year, indicating that alcohol consumption during pregnancy is an important public health issue. Environmental exposures and lifestyle choices during pregnancy may affect the offspring’s risk of disease in adulthood, leading to the idea that a woman’s risk of breast cancer may be pre-programmed prior to birth. Exposure of pregnant rats to alcohol increases tumorigenesis in the adult offspring in response to mammary carcinogens. The estrogen and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) axes occupy central roles in normal mammary gland development and breast cancer. 17-β estradiol (E2) and IGF-I synergize to regulate formation of terminal end buds and ductal elongation during pubertal development. The intracellular signaling pathways mediated by the estrogen and IGF-I receptors cross-talk at multiple levels through both genomic and non-genomic mechanisms. Several components of the E2 and IGF-I systems are altered in early development in rat offspring exposed to alcohol in utero, therefore, these changes may play a role in the enhanced susceptibility to mammary carcinogens observed in adulthood. Alcohol exposure in utero induces a number of epigenetic alterations in non-mammary tissues in the offspring and other adverse in utero exposures induce epigenetic modifications in the mammary gland. Future studies will determine if fetal alcohol exposure can induce epigenetic modifications in genes that regulate E2/IGF action at key phases of mammary development, ultimately leading to changes in susceptibility to carcinogens.
Selective Area Epitaxial Growth of Stretchable Geometry AlGaN-GaN Heterostructures

We report on the selective area epitaxy (SAE) of AlGaN/GaN microstructures in stretchable geometric patterns. We have investigated dependence of Al incorporation, lateral/sidewall growth profile and electrical properties of SAE heterostructures on Al/Ga source ratio and mask material. We observe higher Al incorporation along with improvement in heterointerface between the SAE layers with an increase in Al to Ga ratio. AlGaN composition, crystal quality and electrical properties of SAE AlGaN/GaN microstructures are shown to be affected by the choice of mask material. Low resistivity in the range of 0.12–0.35 mΩ cm was measured in these heterostructures. Two terminal current–voltage measurements showed 3–5× higher current density in SAE AlGaN/GaN microstructure devices compared to conventional planar High electron mobility transistor (HEMT). A detailed secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) profiling on SAE structures showed dependency of unintentional n-type dopants on the mask material.
The Financial Burden of Cancer: Financial Ratio Analysis

Using nine biannual waves (1998–2014) from the Health and Retirement Study, this study employed fixed-effects models to estimate the relationship between cancer and changes in financial status, measured by liquidity, solvency, and investment ratios. Results show that cancer survivors in the initial stage of cancer care increased their emergency fund equivalent to 15 days of living expenses, along with an increase in their debt to asset ratio by 0.8%, and a decrease of investment asset to net worth ratio by 0.4%. Furthermore, two additional years of post-cancer care and rehabilitation lead to an increase of five more days in emergency cash need and a decrease in investment asset to net worth ratio by 0.3%.
Leak, fistula, sepsis, sinus, portal vein thrombosis

Abstract The creation of an ileal pelvic pouch is a complex procedure. While many perioperative complications are possible, surgery specific complications may include a pouch leak, fistula, abscess with sepsis, anastomotic sinus, and portal vein thrombosis. In this chapter, each of these are individually discussed along with evaluation and treatment options.
Rekindling the flame

In 2016, physicists at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) suffered a major setback. Their one remaining large fusion reactor, the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX), suffered a crippling breakdown after a 5-year, $94 million upgrade. It was a body blow to a lab that was already staggering. In the 1980s, PPPL ran multiple machines, employed nearly 1300 people, and led the worldwide quest to harness fusion, the energy source of the Sun. Today, PPPL employs 560 people, and NSTX sits idle 3 years after breaking down. Yet things may be looking up for the lab. After years of reviews, PPPL researchers expect to start to rebuild NSTX in April. And 1 year ago, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine urged the United States to prepare to build a prototype power plant, smaller and cheaper than ITER, the $25 billion international fusion reactor under construction in France. PPPL would likely play a leading role in building that power plant. Perhaps most important, in 2018 PPPL hired a new lab director. Steven Cowley, a strapping 60-year-old Englishman with a shock of silver hair and a knighthood, already has a plan to diversify the lab9s work, grow its staff, and start to build things again.
Penetration Through Slots in Cylindrical Cavities Operating at Fundamental Cavity Modes

In this article, we examine the coupling into an electrically short azimuthal slot on a cylindrical cavity operating at fundamental cavity modal frequencies. We first develop a matched bound formulation through which we can gather information for maximum achievable levels of interior cavity fields. Actual field levels are below this matched bound; therefore, we also develop an unmatched formulation for frequencies below the slot resonance to achieve a better insight on the physics of this coupling. Good agreement is observed between the unmatched formulation, full-wave simulations, and experimental data, providing a validation of our analytical models. We then extend the unmatched formulation to treat an array of slots, found again in good agreement with full-wave simulations. These analytical models can be used to investigate ways to mitigate electromagnetic interference and electromagnetic compatibility effects within cavities.
Factors Affecting International Border Crossing Delays Based Upon a Rich Bluetooth Dataset

The international border between Western New York and Southern Ontario presents a unique geographic and transportation challenge, with three key border crossing points servicing the demand of 10 million passenger trips and 1.5 million freight trips annually. The objectives of this were twofold. The first objective was to utilize a newly available real-time border crossing delay information, collected through a new blue-tooth reader system, to study the relationship between the presence of delays and the inclement weather factors, and to validate how certain temporal factors can affect these delays. The second objective was to research how these same factors can influence the magnitude of delays when they occur. To this end, both binary logit and regression based models were developed, validated and their results were mined for insights that that can, not only, lead to better prediction and management of delays at these crossings, but also can be applied to other international border crossings. Among the many insights derived from the study are that delays of passenger cars are 65% more likely to occur during the summer, 41% more likely on days surrounding holidays, and 19% more likely during the day. In terms of weather impacts, passenger cars were 24% more likely to experience delays when visibility was poor and 44% more likely when temperatures were below freezing. For trucks, delay was more likely when visibility was impaired, temperatures were below freezing, and when wind speeds were high.
Localization of NPFxD motif-containing proteins in Aspergillus nidulans

Abstract During growth, filamentous fungi produce polarized cells called hyphae. It is generally presumed that polarization of hyphae is dependent upon secretion through the Spitzenkorper, as well as a mechanism called apical recycling, which maintains a balance between the tightly coupled processes of endocytosis and exocytosis. Endocytosis predominates in an annular domain called the sub-apical endocytic collar, which is located in the region of plasma membrane 1–5 μm distal to the Spitzenkorper. It has previously been proposed that one function of the sub-apical endocytic collar is to maintain the apical localization of polarization proteins. These proteins mark areas of polarization at the apices of hyphae. However, as hyphae grow, these proteins are displaced along the membrane and some must then be removed at the sub-apical endocytic collar in order to maintain the hyphoid shape. While endocytosis is fairly well characterized in yeast, comparatively little is known about the process in filamentous fungi. Here, a bioinformatics approach was utilized to identify 39 Aspergillus nidulans proteins that are predicted to be cargo of endocytosis based on the presence of an NPFxD peptide motif. This motif is a necessary endocytic signal sequence first established in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, where it marks proteins for endocytosis through an interaction with the adapter protein Sla1p. It is hypothesized that some proteins that contain this NPFxD peptide sequence in A. nidulans will be potential targets for endocytosis, and therefore will localize either to the endocytic collar or to more proximal polarized regions of the cell, e.g. the apical dome or the Spitzenkorper. To test this, a subset of the motif-containing proteins in A. nidulans was tagged with GFP and the dynamic localization was evaluated. The documented localization patterns support the hypothesis that the motif marks proteins for localization to the polarized cell apex in growing hyphae.
Construction of nursing quality evaluation index system in Neurology Department in children′s hospital

Objective To explore indexes supposed to be covered in nursing quality evaluation in Neurology Department in children′s hospital. Methods Through literature review and expert interviews, basic framework on the evaluation index system of nursing quality in neurology department was preliminarily established. Formal expert consultation questionnaire was formed by combining pre-investigation by self-designed questionnaire and expert opinion. With Delphi method, a two-round questionnaire survey was done to 21 experts for their opinion and argument on indexes of several levels, settings of entries, etc. of the preliminarily-constructed evaluation standard system. Basing on opinions of the experts, evaluation indexes of nursing quality were set up, with index weight determined by analytic hierarchy process. Results Evaluation indexes of nursing quality were set up after the two-round investigation. The index system had three levels, with three first class indexes, eleven second class indexes and forty-nine third class indexes. After the two-round consultation, cooperation index of the index system was 0.306 1. The authority coefficient of experts was 0.835 7. Return rates of the two-round consultation were 87.50% and 100.00%, with 72.86% of the experts bringing up opinions. Index weight of various levels was determined by analytic hierarchy process, with Yaahp 0.6.0; CR value of index of various levels was all less than 0.10. Conclusions A relatively reasonable evaluation index system of nursing quality has been preliminarily established. Key words: Children; Nursing quality; Evaluation index; Analytic hierarchy process; Delphi method; Weight
Preparation of a clickable monomer compatible with automated PNA synthesis

Abstract A propargyl-containing Fmoc-protected thymine monomer was synthesized for possible use in the pre- or post-functionalization of PNA oligomers via click chemistry. The monomer should be suitable for incorporation in normal automated solid phase PNA synthesis. The synthesis is suitable for the preparation of gram-quantities of monomers and uses reductive amination as the key step.
Centering Loss and Grief: Positioning Schools as Sites of Collective Healing in the Era of COVID-19

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, everyday life was fundamentally transformed. Schools and small businesses were forced to shut down. Individuals were encouraged to wear masks in public settings, “shelter-in-place” orders were implemented across several cities and states, and social distancing became a routine practice. Some lost their jobs and livelihood, while others lost the day-to-day physical connection with colleagues and friends, as their “work-life” had shifted to home. To be certain, the variety of losses that people individually and collectively experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic is quite vast—ranging from small, seemingly inconsequential losses (like the freedom to get a haircut) to more considerable and painful losses (like the loss of life). It is important to note that these losses overlapped with other crises that were fomenting across the nation at the same time—for example, the rise of the white supremacist movement, Black Lives Matter, anti-Asian racism, and draconian immigration enforcement, amongst others. These other pandemics also produced losses, such as the loss of civil rights, crackdowns on civic participation, and fundamental violations of basic human rights and civil liberties. In this paper, we discuss the “losses” we are currently experiencing as a nation and the need for school leaders to pay attention to the range of losses people are experiencing in their daily lives. We draw particular attention to those losses compounded by intersecting historical oppressions that disproportionately impact historically marginalized students, families, and communities. We also (re)imagine the transformation of schools to sites of collective healing that work to humanize the collective experience by anchoring actions in resistance, love, collective well-being, hope, and solidarity with and alongside teachers, students, families, and communities. © Copyright © 2021 Castrellon, Fernandez, Reyna Rivarola and Lopez.
Detecting and Rescuing Stalled Ribosomes

Ribosomes that stall inappropriately during protein synthesis harbor proteotoxic components linked to cellular stress and neurodegenerative diseases. Molecular mechanisms that rescue stalled ribosomes must selectively detect rare aberrant translational complexes and process the heterogeneous components. Ribosome-associated quality control pathways eliminate problematic messenger RNAs and nascent proteins on stalled translational complexes. In addition, recent studies have uncovered general principles of stall recognition upstream of quality control pathways and fail-safe mechanisms that ensure nascent proteome integrity. Here, we discuss developments in our mechanistic understanding of the detection and rescue of stalled ribosomal complexes in eukaryotes.
Adenosine in Retinal Vasculogenesis and Angiogenesis in Oxygen-Induced Retinopathy

Adenosine is a ubiquitous molecule produced predominantly by catabolism of adenosine triphosphate. Levels of this nucleoside increase dramatically with ischemia and elevated tissue activity. Adenosine induces angiogenesis in tumors and wound healing and upregulates VEGF production in several cell types, including endothelial cells. The source of adenosine in most tissues appears to be the ectoenzyme 5’ nucleotidase, which is hypoxia inducible. 5’ nucleotidase expression is prominent during retinal vascular development in the innermost processes of Muller cells, and levels of its product, adenosine, are high in inner retina during retinal vascular development in postnatal dog. One of the adenosine receptors, A2A, is present on angioblasts and on endothelial cells of formed blood vessels during canine retinal vascular development. These observations suggest that adenosine is important in retinal vascular development.
Defining Security Metrics

When an organization establishes a set of metrics, the organization can get a realistic baseline, or view, of how it performs at a point in time. Future metrics then determine whether performance improves with new controls. Thus, metrics are a way for security organizations to regularly monitor how well security controls, the security organization, and the organization as a whole are performing relative to security goals.
Charting a dataspace: lessons from lewis and clark

A dataspace system (DSS) aims to manage all the data in an enterprise or project, be it structured, unstructured or somewhere between. A fundamental task in deploying a DSS is discovering the data sources in a space and understanding their relationships. Charting these connections helps prepare the way for other DSS services, such as cataloging, search, query, indexing, monitoring and extension. In this, the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, it is enlightening to look back at the problems and issues they encountered in crossing an unfamiliar territory. Many challenges they confronted are not that different from those that arise in exploring a new dataspace: evaluating existing maps, understanding local legends and myths, translating between languages, reconciling different world models, identifying landmarks and surveying the countryside. I will illustrate these issues and possible approaches using examples from medication vocabularies and gene annotation.
Recognition of E. coli tRNAArg by arginyl tRNA synthetase

Escherichia coli tRNAArg was digested with ribonuclease T1 under restrictive conditions in order to dissect a minimum number of diester bonds. The number of diester bonds cleaved and their locations were determined by phosphorylation of the newly formed 5' hydroxyl groups with [32P] ATP and polynucleotide kinase. There was complete loss of aminoacylation of tRNAARg when two diester bonds were cleaved at the anticodon. However, this material retained the specific properties of synthetase recognition. Two fragments were derived by further digestion of this tRNA. One 19 nucleotide-long fragment derived from the 3' end of tRNAArg and another 18 nucleotide-long fragment derived from the 5' end of the molecule were required to maintain the properties of the specific recognition by the arginyl tRNA synthetase in the absence of the rest of the structure including the anticodon.
Peptide-Based and Polypeptide-Based Hydrogels for Drug Delivery and Tissue Engineering

Bio-inspired materials chemistry is an interdisciplinary field in which biological functions and structures are used as inspirations to construct a wide variety of new synthetic materials and devices. Peptide sequences that provide structural, mechanical, chemical, or biological function can be borrowed from nature and fused into synthetic poly(amino acid) chains without replicating the entire natural biomolecular sequence. Supramolecular self-assembly of such rationally designed peptidic sequences is emerging as a promising route to novel biofunctional materials. This chapter highlights recent progress in bio-inspired peptide and polypeptide hydrogels that have potential biomedical and pharmaceutical applications. The focus is on synthetic or biosynthetic poly(amino acid) hydrogels based on α-helical coiled-coils, β-sheets, dipeptides, peptide amphiphiles, elastin-like peptides, and on hybrids of organic polypeptides or polymers functionalized with peptides.
Tapered leaky-wave ultrawide-band microstrip antenna

Previous wideband or ultrawideband antennas have been bulky such as horn, helical and log periodic antennas. Conventional microstrip antennas are planar, conformal and inexpensive but have narrow frequency bandwidths. It is extremely desirable to have antennas with all the advantages of microstrip antennas and large bandwidths. The proposed wideband planar leaky-wave microstrip antenna provides such a need.
Orthogonal full diversity space-time block coding based on transmit channel state information for 4 Tx antennas

In this paper we consider the design of space-time block codes to benefit from multiple antennas at the emitter and possibly at the receiver. Theory of orthogonal designs has shown that such codes can not simultaneously be orthogonal, of rate 1, with full diversity order, for more than 2 transmit antennas. We propose in this paper to exploit channel state information available at the emitter to overcome this limitation and we describe a new rate 1 coding scheme with full diversity for 3 or 4 transmit antennas. This scheme is an orthogonal one thanks to transmit weights, which allow to use a simple linear receiver having optimal performance. The performance of the code is assessed by simulations in the 5 GHz OFDM-based WLAN environment (HIPERLAN/2). The practical interest of such approach is finally discussed.
Application of Sensory Evaluation in Wine Making

This chapter is designed to provide a general background about sensory evaluation to individuals in the wine industry. It is intended as a general review of sensory evaluation, not a comprehensive resource, but will provide adequate information to help the reader understand the importance of sensory evaluation in the wine industry. The reader is referred to the references mentioned in this chapter for publications that will provide complete information about sensory evaluation implementation and operation.
On-Orbit Thermal Performance and Model Correlation of the Fast Auroral Snapshot Explorer

The Fast Auroral SnapshoT explorer (FAST) spacecraft, the second of NASA's Small Explorer (SMEX) series of scientific satellites, was launched on August 21, 1996 by a Pegasus XL launch vehicle. Due to slightly higher than expected temperatures during early orbit operations, an extensive thermal model correlation effort was undertaken to understand and characterize FAST's thermal performance in order to properly orient the spacecraft's attitude during its mission. FAST's thermal design and the on-orbit thermal model correlation and resolution are described. Finally, the correlated model's predictions are compared with nine months of flight data.
Same words, different meanings: are basic IS/IT concepts our self-imposed Tower of Babel?

This article began as a response to an exchange of letters concerning the need for more vs. less user participation in IS projects. It grew into an exploration of whether and how ten 1999 CAIS articles use basic IS/IT terms with different meanings and connotations related to the different perspectives of their authors. The article characterizes differences between an IT perspective and a business perspective and categorizes the ten articles accordingly. It then presents numerous quotes from the articles to illustrate differences across the articles in terms of their use of eight basic concepts: system, user, stakeholder, IS project, implementation, reengineering, requirements, and solution. To help understand the differences and their significance, the article makes extensive use of distinctions between work systems, information systems, and projects. When applied to the articles these distinctions raise questions such as whether the term “system” refers to a work system, information system, or software, and whether the term “user” refers to hands-on users, people who receive information, or managers whose organizations use information systems. An underlying theme throughout is that the lack of conscious attention to the meaning of basic terms and points of reference may be a significant impediment to effective communication and to our ability to make sense out of research findings and even journalistic anecdotes about what seemed to work or not work in particular situations.
Influence of poly(ethylene oxide) brushes on the rheological properties of MgO colloidal suspensions in water

A combined experimental and multiscale simulation study of the influence of polymer brush modification on interactions of colloidal particles and rheological properties of dense colloidal suspensions has been conducted. Our colloidal suspension is comprised of polydisperse MgO colloidal particles modified with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) brushes in water. The shear stress as a function of shear rate was determined experimentally and from multiscale simulations for a suspension of 0.48 volume fraction colloids at room temperature for both bare and PEO-modified MgO colloids. Bare MgO particles exhibited strong shear thinning behavior and a yield stress on the order of several Pascals in both experiments and simulations. In contrast, simulations of PEO-modified colloids revealed no significant yielding or shear thinning and viscosity only a few times larger than solvent viscosity. This behavior is inconsistent with results obtained from experiments where modification of colloids with PEO brushes formed by adsorption of PEO-based comb-branched chains resulted in relatively little change in suspension rheology compared to bare colloids over the range of concentration of comb-branch additives investigated. We attribute this discrepancy in rheological properties between simulation and experiment for PEO-modified colloidal suspensions to heterogeneous adsorption of the comb-branch polymers.