cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The challenge of learning for sustainability: A prolegomenon to theory

A core question of sustainability science asks how and why human agents learn to deal effectively with complex problems. “Learning” refers to the process by which actors assimilate information and update their cognitions and behavior accordingly. Successful learning plays a vital role in our ability to achieve sustainability, and yet this process is poorly understood. Commonly-employed perspectives on learning tend to differentiate along two dimensions: the mechanism of learning (social versus individual learning) and the properties of the information being learned (empirical versus normative knowledge). This yields four ideal types of learning that correspond to a central challenge of learning for sustainability. An integrated framework that transcends all of these perspectives is needed. Such a framework is proposed here, and includes four essential features: the structure of internal belief systems, the role of social networks in shaping knowledge, the role of knowledge in shaping networks, and the role of individual experience in the learning process. This framework is introduced as a prolegomenon (a preface to more detailed and exhaustive theoretical development) to facilitate the development of better theories and empiricallytestable models of learning for sustainability.
A theoretical framework for quantification of cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2) using PET/MR

2017 Objectives CMRO2 quantification using 15O-O2 PET requires separate cerebral blood flow (CBF) and volume (CBV) measurements and arterial catheterization to determine whole blood and plasma input functions. We develop a theoretical framework for CMRO2 estimation by combining kinetic models used for PET and MRI to examine the feasibility of a novel single step PET/MR. Methods A multi-compartment kinetic model is used to examine the effects of various physiologic parameters and sources of variability on CMRO2 estimation. CBF, CBV, and dural venous sinus oxygen saturation (arterial spine labeling, dynamic susceptibility contrast, and T2-relaxation-under-spin-tagging) are combined with dynamic PET data and blood sampling to estimate regional CMRO2. Accuracy was determined by systematically or randomly varying the underlying physiological parameters and simulating PET and MR responses. A detailed model of blood oxygenation dependent (BOLD) signal was used to simulate task specific modulation of brain activity. Results Our theoretical analysis suggests that systematic modality specific differences in CBF, CBV, and OEF measurements cancel out in CMRO2 estimation. The recirculating labeled water and arterial input function can be estimated from venous blood sampling combined with noninvasive measures (dural sinus venous saturation, total CBF, and arterial and venous blood pool tracer activity), eliminating the need for arterial catheterization. A calibrated BOLD methodology is described for measuring task specific modulations of CMRO2 and neurovascular coupling, as well as quantifying the venous blood volume fraction. Conclusions CMRO2 is an important physiologic quantity. However, measuring CMRO2 using PET requires complicated steps not practical in most clinical settings. No reliable technique for measuring absolute CMRO2 using MRI exists. The advent of PET/MR makes it possible to measure CMRO2 more efficiently, less invasively, and with markedly less radiation than PET alone. Research Support UCSD radiology & center for fMRI
The Political Incorporation of Muslims in America: The Role of Religiosity in Islam

Previous scholars have argued that Islam as a religion and a culture is incompatible with liberal, democratic American values. Not only is Islam inconsistent with the West, but it poses a direct conflict according to some scholars. This viewpoint has been popularized in American and European media and by government officials who declare fundamentalist Muslims as enemies of freedom and democracy. However, there is no evidence that the grounds of conflict are based on religious ideology. Are the most devout Muslims really opposed to political incorporation in the U.S., or are other traditional non-religious factors such as socioeconomic status and acculturation more important in understanding political alienation? To date, nearly every study of Islam and Western values has been qualitative, anecdotal or philosophical in nature, leaving most questions unanswered, at least empirically. Using a unique national survey of Muslim Americans, we find that more religiously devout Muslims are significantly more likely to support political participation in America - in contrast to prevailing wisdom. We conclude that there is nothing inconsistent with Islam and American democracy, and in fact, religiosity fosters support for American democratic values.
Afro-Cuban Counterpoint: Re-envisioning Race, Representation and Resistance in the Hip-Hop Feminist Imaginary

In this research I draw from personal communications and interviews of hip-hop activists Las Krudas as well as lyrics, images and commentaries by other CUHHM raperas featured in Cuba’s Movimiento hip-hop magazine (2008). I first investigate why Cuban hip-hop feminists problematize misrepresentations of blackness in the cultural imaginary and examine how raperas of African descent use performance to revise popular notions of womanhood and sexuality on their own terms. I then reflect on the symbolic ways these performances enrich contemporary theorizations of black feminism; described as afrofeminismo (Afro-feminism) as it pertains to Latin America and the Hispanic Caribbean. In my analysis of hip-hop afrofeminista expression, I identify the resistance motif as a common thread linking contemporary black feminist cultural production throughout the African diaspora. Collectively, these artists’ counter-hegemonic messages reject the act of passing for white through repressive beauty practices. Instead, raperas consciously abandon colonial ideologies through the re-inscription of their bodies as sites of Afro-centric pride, beauty, strength, social agency and autonomy. They display visual vocabularies of resistance to blanqueamiento (the colonial ideology of racial whitening) by integrating Afro-centric body art, dress and adornment into their aesthetic presentation and musical expression. Through the act of challenging influential discourses such as blanqueamiento, Afro-Cuban women re-envision ethno-racial identity on their own terms and claim agency in their representation within the cultural imaginary. My research situates afrofeminista resistance discourse within a transnational Afro-diasporic narrative.
Event Analysis as an Approach to Community Study

nomic facts or are correlates of such facts. Assuming that the former is the case, one previous suggestion'3 that these items be discarded in favor of items reflecting economic values which permit inter-community comparisons (e.g., rental values) seems questionable and perhaps unnecessary. Finally, it should be pointed out explicitly that the test of scale analysis has demonstrated only that, in two diverse cities, the ISC appears to measure a single variable. This conclusion must be accepted with great caution in view of the limitations of the scales obtained. Tentatively, it might be hypothesized that scalability will be demonstrated in most or all cities for which ISC data are available. Such a finding would, of course, not provide solutions for problems involving the conceptualizations, reliability of generalizations, value orientations, etc., which attend Warner's approach. The test of scalability merely offers assurance that the ISC itself possesses a logical foundation in that its several items seem to reflect a unidimensional sociological variable. 13 Hatt, "Stratification in the Mass Society," loc. cit.
Prevalence and Prognosis of Intracerebral Abscess

Of 386 patients treated for intracerebral abscess at Children’s Hospital, Boston between 1981 and 2000 and identified from databases, 55 had the diagnosis confirmed by cranial imaging or autopsy reports.
Have They Proven that Mycobacteria Are Present “in the Mist?”

In the December 2009 issue of Microbe (page 545), Marcia Stone discusses the recent paper by Feazel et al. (“Opportunistic pathogens enriched in showerhead biofilms,” Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106:16393–16399, 2009) concerning the suggested presence of Mycobacterium avium in waters derived from showerheads, in an article entitled “Mycobacteria in the mist.” It is noted in this article that these organisms are “strongly enriched” in waters from the showerhead environment, that “microbial communities” were being studied, and that that the paper authors “relied on metagenomics, using amplified ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, to identify organisms.” A review of the original PNAS paper suggests that none of these conclusions can be supported. Bulk extraction approaches were used to recover nucleic acids from the natural microbial assemblages used in these analyses. No evidence has been provided that would relate the recovered sequences to microbes, more specifically to in situ active microbes, the “microbial community,” or to make it possible to “identify organisms.”
Semen says: assessing the accuracy of adolescents' self-reported sexual abstinence using a semen Y-chromosome biomarker.

Objective Researchers often assess condom use only among participants who report recent sexual behaviour, excluding participants who report no recent vaginal sex or who did not answer questions about their sexual behaviour, but self-reported sexual behaviour may be inaccurate. This study uses a semen Y-chromosome biomarker to assess semen exposure among participants who reported sexual abstinence or did not report their sexual behaviour. Methods This prospective cohort study uses data from 715 sexually active African–American female adolescents in Atlanta, surveyed at baseline, 6 months and 12 months. Participants completed a 40 min interview and were tested for semen Y-chromosome with PCR from a self-administered vaginal swab. We predicted Y-chromosome test results from self-reported sexual behaviour using within-subject panel regression. Results Among the participants who reported abstinence from vaginal sex in the past 14 days, 9.4% tested positive for semen Y-chromosome. Among item non-respondents, 6.3% tested positive for semen Y-chromosome. Women who reported abstinence and engaged in item non-response regarding their sexual behaviour had respectively 62% and 78% lower odds of testing positive for Y-chromosome (OR 0.38 (0.21 to 0.67), OR 0.22 (0.12 to 0.40)), controlling for smoking, survey wave and non-coital sexual behaviours reported during abstinence. Conclusions Adolescents who report sexual abstinence under-report semen exposure. Research should validate self-reported sexual behaviour with biomarkers. Adolescents who engage in item non-response regarding vaginal sex test positive for semen Y-chromosome at similar rates, which supports the practice of grouping non-respondents with adolescents reporting abstinence in statistical analysis. Trial registration number NCT00633906.
Sunshine’s Shadow: Overbroad Open Meetings Laws as Content-Based, Distinct from Campaign Finance Disclosure Laws, and Constitutionally Suspect

In this Article, Professor Mulroy discusses “strict” open meetings laws applicable in many states to local legislators — laws which restrict substantive discussion of government business even among two or three legislators (far short of a quorum) outside a properly noticed public meeting, and/or which contain no exceptions for sensitive, privacy-invasive topics which might legitimately warrant private deliberation at early stages. Such laws are surprisingly common and broad, and stand in stark contrast to the lack of such restrictions applicable to most state legislators and all federal legislators. Drawing on a novel Fifth Circuit case criticizing such laws, Prof. Mulroy’s prior Tennessee Law Review Article had argued that such laws are overbroad speech restrictions. This new Article draws on a new Fifth Circuit case upholding such laws, and analyzes two relatively new arguments in the defense of such laws. First, this Article argues that such strict “sunshine” laws cannot be defended by analogizing them to campaign finance disclosure laws upheld in the Supreme Court’s Citizens United case and its progeny, because the government interests justifying such disclosure laws do not apply with equal force to strict sunshine rules. In so doing, it discusses the 2014 Supreme Court decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. Second, it argues that such laws are properly analyzed as “content-based” speech restrictions triggering “strict scrutiny” constitutional review. In so doing, the Article discusses the 2014 Supreme Court decision in McCullen v. Oakley. It synthesizes the surprisingly muddled Supreme Court guidance on when to analyze a speech restriction as content-based, criticizes part of the current doctrine on this question, and argues for a straightforward “purely facial” approach which always treats a law as content-based if the law’s application turns on the content of the speech involved. Along the way, it explains many of the counterintuitive, harmful effects of overbroad sunshine laws, including their tendency to chill discussion, hinder compromise, force inappropriate disclosure of sensitive information, breed widespread noncompliance and contempt for the law, and transfer power from legislators to unelected staff and lobbyists.
Strategies for communicating the value and limitations of endocrine tests.

The major function of most clinical laboratories is to support physicians in the diagnosis and management of their patients. Several strategies for improving communication between the laboratory and clinicians are suggested, with a special emphasis on the reporting of parathyroid and thyroid function test results.
Cataract surgery in the setting of severe pathologic myopia with high axial length: use of pars plana lensectomy and vitrectomy

Cataract surgery in patients with pathologic myopia and high axial length can be challenging for a variety of reasons, including imprecise intraocular lens calculations in eyes with posterior staphylomas and intraoperative complications such as suprachoroidal hemorrhage, posterior capsular rupture, and retinal tears. Although most surgeons recommend standard phacoemulsification and preservation of the posterior capsule in these cases, an alternative approach presented in this series entails the removal of the lens through the pars plana and removal of formed vitreous during the concurrent procedure.
Cohesive layer models for predicting delamination growth and crack kinking in sandwich structures

There are potentially two types of fracture that sandwich structures with strong and stiff facing sheets and lightweight cores are liable to suffer. These are the delamination growth at the face-sheet core interface and crack kinking into the sandwich core, respectively. The paper proposes computational models to simulate these failure mechanisms. The models employ the cohesive layer concept and are so constructed as to ensure that the crack advance is controlled by the critical value of strain energy release rate in mode I fracture. Of these, the first model can treat only delamination along a predetermined plane and is designated as CLD (cohesive layer delamination model). The performance of this model is thoroughly investigated in the light of experimental results. The influence of the key parameters of the model, viz. the thickness of the cohesive layer and the strength and stiffness of the cohesive layer material, have been studied. It is found that the model, as developed in this study, is fairly robust and is not sensitive to changes in parameters other than the critical strain energy release rate. The second model can track crack growth which is not predetermined in its direction. This it does by identifying the element in which the maximum principal tensile stress exceeds a critical value; once a crack is nucleated, the stress across the crack is relieved so that the right amount of energy is released when the crack is fully developed - much in the same manner as in a cohesive layer model. This model is designated as CLDK (Cohesive Layer Delamination and Kinking) model as it deals with interfacial delamination and crack kinking- whichever is the preferred mode of fracture. Experimental results of three sandwich specimens, viz. bottom restrained beams with 0° and −10° tilt angle, respectively, and a compressed beam, were used for comparison. The results indicate that the both the models are able to capture the initiation and track the growth of the interfacial delamination. The CLDK model is capable in addition to track the crack kinking into the core, and its subsequent return to the face sheet-core interface.
Effects of age and non‐oropharyngeal proprioceptive and exteroceptive sensation on the magnitude of anticipatory mouth opening during eating

To best prevent and treat eating/swallowing problems, it is essential to understand how components of oral physiology contribute to the preservation and/or degradation of eating/swallowing in healthy ageing. Anticipatory, pre-swallow motor movements may be critical to safe and efficient eating/swallowing, particularly for older adults. However, the nature of these responses is relatively unknown. This study compared the magnitude of anticipatory mouth opening during eating in healthy older (aged 70-85) and younger (aged 18-30) adults under four eating conditions: typical self-feeding, typical assisted feeding (being fed by a research assistant resulting in proprioceptive loss), sensory loss self-feeding (wearing blindfold/headphones resulting in exteroceptive loss) and sensory loss assisted feeding (proprioceptive and exteroceptive loss). Older adults opened their mouths wider than younger adults in anticipation of food intake under both typical and most non-oropharyngeal sensory loss conditions. Further, the loss of proprioceptive and exteroceptive cues resulted in decreased anticipatory mouth opening for all participants. Greater mouth opening in older adults may be a protective compensation, contributing to the preservation of function associated with healthy ageing. Our finding that the loss of non-oropharyngeal sensory cues resulted in decreased anticipatory mouth opening highlights how important proprioception, vision, and hearing are in pre-swallow behaviour. Age- and disease-related changes in vision, hearing, and the ability to self-feed may reduce the effectiveness of these pre-swallow strategies.
Validity in Evaluation Utilization

At this stage, validity is about if and how evaluation results are used, to what extent consequent decisions are in line with conclusions, and how much evaluation results address values to which major stakeholders (or audiences) subscribe. The major form of validity affected at this stage is consequential validity, meaning the extent to which information needs and priorities of major stakeholders are addressed by evaluation results, and the likelihood of use. In this chapter, preconditions for and assumptions about consequential validity are discussed. These factors relate to both the quality of evaluation implementation, as well as the program and organizational setting in which evaluation is conducted and used.
Archaeological Testing Within the Southeast Corner of the Plaza at Mission Espada, San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas

In October 1990, pursuant to a contract with the National Park Service, the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, initiated test investigations in the southeast interior corner of the Mission Espada compound. The study focused on examining structural foundations and determining the depth of Mexican and Spanish colonial ground surfaces in the area. Colonial period foundations were discovered under the south wall, as well as the probable original construction period surface and footing trench. 'IWentieth-century foundations were found in the unit excavated under the east wall. These likely continue south to the north wall of the room where the bastion is located.
Museums and 3D Printing: More Than a Workshop Novelty, Connecting to Collections and the Classroom

EDITOR'S SUMMARY A typical museum visitor views an artwork for about half a minute, but 3D scanning and printing technology can help provide a more meaningful experience. Several museums have invited audiences to hands-on 3D scanning and printing events, encouraging them to engage with museum pieces more deeply, creating 3D photo files and ultimately constructing 3D printed models of the pieces that can be manipulated and interacted with in new ways. The ARTLAB+ program in Washington, D.C., and the Parachute Factory in New Mexico are examples of makerspaces focusing on hands-on activities with cutting edge technologies including 3D printers for a variety of users. A special exhibit on 3D technology at the British Museum and Samsung Digital Discovery Center enabled visitors to recreate museum pieces with computer-aided design technology, 3D pens and 3D printing. A resource list describes additional projects and information sources.
Visualizing firewall configurations using created voids

Security configuration files are created and edited as text files. These files are the essential definition and control of the behavior of security devices. Despite their significant size, complexity, and the possibility of interaction between entries, no visually sophisticated tools exist that explicitly capture and visualize problematic interactions between rules to aid in the comprehension and modification of configuration files. Our initial work on the direct visualization of firewall configurations showed the limitations of visualizing just the range of packets that can be accepted. To visually capture the interactions between rules, we introduce the concept of a "created void." Created voids capture the information about destructive interactions between rules in a firewall ruleset, where an overlap between a deny rule prevents that packet from reaching an accept rule later in the ruleset. We present a lossless five-dimensional visualization of the convex solid decomposition of the set of acceptable packets from a firewall configuration, augmented with visual representations of created voids. This interactive visualization is embedded in a simple firewall ruleset editor, allowing the user to investigate the effect of changes in the ruleset.
Development of New Positron Emission Tomography Radiotracer for BET Imaging

The bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) inhibitors have been extensively studied for tumor treatment in the past few years. Recently, BET-containing proteins have been reported to play a key role in brain functions, such as learning and memory. BET proteins have also been shown to be a potential therapeutic target for substance abuse disorders. Development of a molecular probe for noninvasive imaging will elucidate the distribution and functional roles of BET in the living subject and accelerate medical research and drug discovery in this domain. Herein, we describe the synthesis and pilot imaging of a novel BET imaging agent, [11C]MS417. Our imaging results demonstrate that this probe has moderate brain uptake, good specificity, good selectivity, and appropriate kinetics and distribution. [11C]MS417 is an ideal lead compound for further optimization of clinical BET PET radiotracer tools and MS417 could be used as a blood-brain-barrier-penetrant compound for preclinical research.
Cerium silicate-based thin-film apatites: high conductivity and solid oxide fuel cell application

We report on the intermediate-temperature synthesis (973 K) and operation (<750 K) of Ce4.67(SiO4)3O-based thin-film oxy-apatites. The apatite thin films show the high conductivity of ~0.05–0.5 S/cm and excellent stability in reducing atmosphere (<10−17 atm), which makes promising these materials as anodes for intermediate-temperature solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) application. The proto-type SOFCs implementing single-layer apatite and apatite/Pt bilayer anodes were fabricated and the resulting performance (e.g., peak power density of ∼5 mW/ cm2 at 748 K) presents notable feasibility of ZCS-based oxy-apatite anodes for thin-film SOFC devices.
Structure and content of affective associations with health behaviours: Is the behaviour 'good OR bad' or 'good AND bad'.

Objective: The feelings and emotions individuals associate with health-related behaviours influence engagement in those behaviours. However, the structure and the content of these affective associations have not been examined. The studies reported here examined competing hypotheses about the structure (unidimensional or bidimensional) and content (generalised affect or specific emotions) of affective associations with two health-related behaviours: physical activity and fruit/vegetable consumption.Design: For each behaviour, participants (fruit and vegetable consumption n = 149; physical activity n = 199) completed an assessment of the association of 40 positive and 51 negative affect concepts with the behaviour.Main outcome measures: Ratings of affective associations with each behaviour.Results: Confirmatory factor analyses comparing unidimensional and bidimensional affect structure models showed that the structure of individuals’ affective associations was bidimensional for both behaviours – positive an...
A Tribute to Louise L. Sloan (1898–1982)

Louise L. Sloan, known affectionately by her school-girl nickname of ‘Sloanie’, was personally and professionally known and respected by vision scientists and clinicians throughout the world. Her multifaceted career, spanning nearly 50 years at the Wilmer Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, pioneered and shaped the now-maturing subdiscipline of clinical vision research. I first met Louise Sloan in 1973 at the Second Symposium of the International Research Group on Colour Vision Deficiencies in Ediburgh; I was a graduate student and she was about to enter her ’second retirement’after directing the Wilmer Laboratory of Physiological Optics for 44 years. I regret that I could not have known her during her most active years, but I have been fortunate to be at the Wilmer and benefit from her guidance during her final years. Many important evenings were spent in Sloanie’s kitchen engaged in animated and enthusiastic discussion, catalyzed by her favorite liqueurs, experiences for which I am grateful and richer.
Electroanalytical Assessment of the Effect of Ni:Fe Stoichiometry and Architectural Expression on the Bifunctional Activity of Nanoscale NiyFe1–yOx

Electrocatalysis of the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was assessed for a series of Ni-substituted ferrites (NiyFe1–yOx, where y = 0.1 to 0.9) as expressed in porous, high-surface-area forms (ambigel and aerogel nanoarchitectures). We then correlate electrocatalytic activity with Ni:Fe stoichiometry as a function of surface area, crystallite size, and free volume. In order to ensure in-series comparisons, calcination at 350 °C/air was necessary to crystallize the respective NiyFe1–yOx nanoarchitectures, which index to the inverse spinel structure for Fe-rich materials (y ≤ 0.33), rock salt for the most Ni-rich material (y = 0.9), and biphasic for intermediate stoichiometry (0.5 ≤ y ≤ 0.67). In the intermediate Ni:Fe stoichiometric range (0.33 ≤ y ≤ 0.67), the OER current density at 390 mV increases monotonically with increasing Ni content and increasing surface area, but with different working curves for ambigels versus aerogels. At a common stoichiometry within this r...
Power Hardware in the Loop testing of a PV micro-inverter

In this paper, the use of Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) is presented for analyzing, testing, and characterizing a commercial single-phase grid-tied PV micro-inverter in a laboratory environment. The PHIL set-up used is composed of a real-time system (RTS), device (micro-inverter) under test (DUT), four-quadrant amplifiers for grid simulation, solar array simulator (SAS), and data acquisition hardware and software. Using this set-up, the micro-inverter operation was tested against manufacturer claims of performance, IEEE 1547, and additional operating conditions so to fully characterize the device.
Learning Knowledge of Agency

In this paper, we will study the theoretical foundations for operationalizing an agent’s knowledge of agency – that is an agent’s knowledge of its own actions and their effects in a dynamic environment. Our main concern will be to develop theoretical foundations and algorithms which will enable a grounded knowledge of agency; these will be empirically evaluated in future work.Our approach will employ ideas from enactive cognition [27] and predictive coding [8]. Specifically, we will equate learning knowledge of agency with making successful predictions about the expected sensory feedback that will result from specific actions.
Dialysis Access Intervention

End-stage renal disease (ESRD) affects over half a million Americans and the prevalence is increasing as the population ages. Hospitalizations for dialysis access and its associated problems cost over a billion dollars per year. Dialysis access is the lifeline for patients with ESRD, yet durable long-term outcomes are difficult to achieve.
Mammographic Screening: Impact on Survival

Publisher Summary This chapter proposes two methods in order to estimate the actual effect of screening on the cancer death rate. One of the methods is a Computer Simulation Model of Cancer Growth and Detection, which can estimate the impact of various patterns of screening use, particularly various screening intervals, on the cancer death rate. Another method is the Size Only Equation, which can estimate the risk of cancer death from data on tumor size. The simulation method makes it possible to estimate the expected survival rates for both individuals and the population as a whole (estimated for all women, including those not using screening). The simulation provides values for the benefit of screening, in terms of “Cancer Free Years of Life Saved” per mammogram or per woman, for example, the simulation results reveal that the American Cancer Society recommendation of yearly screening from age 40 should be a highly effective strategy, yielding a populationwide 88% chance of breast cancer survival, which corresponds to ∼66% populationwide reduction in death. Less intensive patterns of screening yield lower levels of breast cancer survival. Analysis of the sizes of the cancer seen in the screening populations of women of various ages suggests that screening should be effective in this group, in terms of bringing cancer to medical attention at smaller, and thus less lethal, sizes. Calculations made with the Size Only Equation with data on the size of the cancers seen in the women who never used screening indicates that these women could expect a 25% breast carcinoma death rate.
The Chemisorption Bond

The understanding of the chemisorption bond between an adsorbate and the surface of an extended solid requires the marriage concepts familiar in quantum chemistry and in solid state physicsl. The quasi localized nature of the bond is complemented by the continuum nature of the one-electron spectrum in such systems. As in other areas of quantum chemistry and solid state physics, a number of techniques of varying reliability are available, with the computational effort required to obtain a given level of accuracy increasing rapidly as this level is increased. General questions, such as “how localized is the chemisorption bond?” are easily answered in a qualitative sense, yet the reliable prediction of bond energies as a function of the nuclear coordinates is difficult at present. The situation concerning one-electron spectra is intermediate between these two extremes.
Allergische Obstruktion der oberen Atemwege

Hintergrund Die Obstruktion der oberen Atemwege durch eine schwere Allergie oder Anaphylaxie kann bei Kindern zu Hypoxie und damit zu einem akut lebensbedrohlichen Ereignis fuhren. Vor allem Kinder unter 5 Jahren sind immer haufiger von Nahrungsmittelallergien betroffen und konnen neben anderen allergischen Symptomen bis hin zur Anaphylaxie eine Obstruktion der oberen Atemwege erleiden. Kofaktoren, die dies begunstigen, sind allergischen Disposition und Asthma bronchiale.
Whole Soybeans for Market Lambs

The use of nonprocessed soybeans as a protein supplement in market lamb diets was investigated using N balance-digestion and feedlot trials. The N balance-digestion trial was a 4  4 Latinsquare design using four Dorset  Finn wethers (mean wt 34.5 kg). Treatments were: 0% soybean meal: 100% whole soybean; 50% soybean meal: 50% whole soybean; 75% soybean meal: 25% whole soybean; and 100% soybean meal: 0% whole soybean as protein supplements added to a diet based on orchardgrass hay, ground oats and ground corn. During each of four periods, wethers were fed at 4% of body weight for 14 d of dietary adaptation followed by 7 d of total urine and feces collection during whic h 90% of dry matter consumed during the adaptation was fed. Apparent digestibilities of dry matter, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and N, and ruminal fluid ammonia concentrations were not affected by treatment, but dry matter intake was less (P .05) for the lambs fed diets containing varying proportions of whole soybeans; however, values tended to be lower for the 100% whole soybean diet. Serum urea N was higher (P<.05) for the 50% whole soybean treatment than for the 0 and 25% whole soybean treatments. A randomized complete block design was used to evaluate the effects of whole soybeans on average daily gain using 48 crossbred ram and ewe lambs (mean initial wt 22.7 kg). Twenty-four lambs were fed diets containing soybean meal or whole soybeans as the protein supplement. Lambs were fed at 4% of mean pen weight (dry matter basis). The feedlot trial results indicated that lambs receiving soybean meal as the protein supplement had higher (P<.01) average daily gains (.27 kg/d) than lambs receiving whole soybeans (.23 kg/d). Results are interpreted to indicate that whole soybeans can replace soybean meal as a protein supplement but growth rates may be less. (Key Words: Lambs, Digestion, Feedlots, Soybean Oilmeal, Soybeans.)
Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Using Fluorogenic Enzyme Substrates

The past decade of antimicrobial susceptibility testing has witnessed the gradual departure from disc diffusion testing to technologies which offer quantitation, a greater spectrum of antimicrobials, semiautomation, computer assistance, and rapidity of data generation. Economic and clinical pressures will undoubtedly continue to encourage the development of rapid systems with low labor intensity. Historically, the endpoint in the majority of conventional assays has been direct recognition of growth and the inhibition thereof in a broth or agar matrix in the presence of varying concentrations of antimicrobial agents. This presentation will describe the application of a novel mechanism for the recognition of microbial growth using fluorogenic enzyme substrates to the flexibility and economy of microtiter plate methodology for quantitative antimicrobial susceptibility results.
Fire effects on a fire-adapted species: response of grass stage longleaf pine seedlings to experimental burning

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) seedlings have a morphological “grass stage” that is considered to be an adaptation to frequent surface fire regimes. However, fire can kill longleaf pine seedlings and thus may play an important role in longleaf pine regeneration dynamics. We used a prescribed burn simulation tool designed to treat individual grass stage longleaf pine seedlings with controlled delivery of fire treatments and then measured survival and growth responses through two growing seasons. Naturally regenerated grass stage longleaf pine seedlings were randomly selected from three size classes and each assigned one of four treatments (Control, no treatment; Clip, mechanical needle removal; LB, a low-temperature burn treatment; or HB, a high-temperature burn treatment) in both the dormant season (January) and the growing season (May). Seedlings greater than 15 mm root collar diameter had greater than 0.5 probability of survival after the first growing season in the HB treatment, regardless of the season of treatment application, and seedlings across all sizes had greater than 0.6 probability of survival in the LB treatment after the first growing season. The growing season treatment application resulted in additional mortality during the second growing season, across all seedling size classes, which was not observed in the dormant season application. Burning reduced root collar growth through two growing seasons, likely due to needle mortality and the subsequent prioritization of growth to needle production rather than to root or stem growth. Our results suggest that the interplay between seedling size and fire intensity likely contributes to the success of longleaf pine natural regeneration and that seedling size should be considered when scheduling the first burn following planting of longleaf pine seedlings.
The Washington State Merged Longitudinal Administrative Database

This paper describes a uniquely comprehensive database constructed from merged state administrative data. State Unemployment Insurance (UI) systems provide an important source of data for understanding employment effects of policy interventions but have also lack several key types of information: personal demographics, non-earnings income, and household associations. With UI data, researchers can show overall earnings or employment trends or policy impacts, but cannot distinguish whether these trends or impacts differ by race or gender, how they affect families and children, or whether total income or other measure of well-being change. This paper describes a uniquely comprehensive new administrative dataset, the Washington Merged Longitudinal Administrative Database (WMLAD), created by University of Washington researchers to examine distributional and household economic effects of the Seattle $15 minimum wage ordinance, an intervention that more than doubled the federal minimum wage. WMLAD augments UI data with state administrative voter, licensing, social service, income transfer, and vital statistics records. The union set of all individuals who appear in any of these agency datasets will provide a near-census of state residents and will augment UI records with information on age, sex, race/ethnicity, public assistance receipt, and household membership. In this paper, we describe 1.) our relationship with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services that permits this data access and allows construction of this dataset using restricted personal identifiers; 2.) the merging and construction process, including imputing race and ethnicity and constructing quasi-households from address co-location; and 3.) planned benchmarking and analysis work.
A Chaperone Lid Ensures Efficient and Privileged Client Transfer during Tail-Anchored Protein Targeting

Molecular chaperones play key roles in maintaining cellular proteostasis. In addition to preventing client aggregation, chaperones often relay substrates within a network while preventing off-pathway chaperones from accessing the substrate. Here we show that a conserved lid motif lining the substrate-binding groove of the Get3 ATPase enables these important functions during the targeted delivery of tail-anchored membrane proteins (TAs) to the endoplasmic reticulum. The lid prevents promiscuous TA handoff to off-pathway chaperones, and more importantly, it cooperates with the Get4/5 scaffolding complex to enable rapid and privileged TA transfer from the upstream co-chaperone Sgt2 to Get3. These findings provide a molecular mechanism by which chaperones maintain the pathway specificity of client proteins in the crowded cytosolic environment.
Time-Dependent Addition of Neuronal and Schwann Cells Increase Myotube Viability and Length in an In Vitro Tri-culture Model of the Neuromuscular Junction

The neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is a specialized chemical synapse between motor neurons and muscle fibers that enables voluntary movement of somatic muscle. Study of NMJ physiology and pathology has used various animal models and cell lines to recapitulate critical features of neuromuscular disease and increase our understanding of NMJ disruption. In vitro co-culture platforms have also been used to evaluate NMJ development using different combinations of motor neurons (MNs), glial Schwann Cells (SCs), skeletal muscle (SKM) cells, and biomaterials to advance translation of regenerative therapies. In this report, we use a compartmentalized, microfluidic platform to develop a novel, tri-culture model of the three cell types that comprise the NMJ: SKM cells, MNs, and SCs. Results illustrate the reproducible differentiation of SKM myotubes with increased viability and length following the time-dependent addition of neuronal and glial cells as introduced in vivo. The data points to Schwann Cells as key players to stabilize and maintain in vitro NMJ models that will aid development and testing of emerging therapies for neuromuscular dysfunction. Schwann cells (SCs) of the peripheral nervous system are essential to the development and function of the NMJ. Although recent evidence has revealed the significant roles of these glia in NMJ remodeling and regeneration, SCs have been largely overlooked in NMJ culture models. This project used a compartmentalized microfluidic platform to isolate and add each cellular component of the NMJ in a time-dependent manner to facilitate cellular interaction and stabilization. Results demonstrate that the time-dependent addition of SCs increased the viability and differentiated length of skeletal myotubes observed in vitro. Our contributions will aid the development of microfluidic, tri-culture models that utilize primary and stem-like cells to develop functional in vitro models with which to test and evaluate emerging regenerative NMJ therapies.
A Digital Baron for a Digital Age: Chris Hughes and Neoliberalism’s Ascendancy in Journalism

This article examines news media coverage surrounding Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes’s purchase of the magazine The New Republic in March 2012 in order to reveal the ways in which media narrative...
Machine learning-based adaptive model identification of systems: Application to a chemical process

Abstract Many of the existing offline system identification methods cannot completely comprehend the dynamics of an evolving complex process without relying on impractically large data sets. As a solution to this, a systematic procedure capable of identifying and predicting the nonlinear dynamics on the fly promises to provide a useful representation of the process model. Motivated by this, an adaptive model identification framework that relies on the methods of sparse regression and feature selection is presented in this work. The proposed method is a three-step procedure: (1) identifying potential functions from a candidate library using recently developed Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamics (SINDy), (2) updating coefficients of the identified model using ordinary least-squares regression, (3) selecting the most important features using stepwise regression. The proposed algorithm is implemented as follows. Initially, a baseline model is identified offline using SINDy, and as a new data becomes available, the subsequent online steps are triggered based on a pre-specified tolerance to further update the model. Such an adaptive identification scheme facilitates in perceiving the model structure using a less amount of data than its offline counterpart, SINDy. To highlight its significance, the dynamics of a continuous stirred tank reactor is identified using the proposed adaptive method and is compared with a model identified using SINDy alone.
David Oliver: Covid-19—recriminations and political point scoring must wait

Now is surely not the time for premature post mortems on our response to covid-19, for party political point scoring, or for reheating of historical resentments. Nor is it the time for attacks on officials and managers trying to solve problems as best they can. In the war on the global covid-19 pandemic, responses in the NHS and wider public policy are changing at a pace more like time lapse photography than our usual peacetime decision and communications cycle. The virus threatens our health and will hospitalise or kill many. The repurposing of health services to deal with it will marginalise many people with other important, life limiting needs. For months, it will transform the jobs of people in frontline healthcare and other key public services. It will leave millions of self-employed, contract, or salaried workers in a whole range of industries with serious financial problems and will devastate many sectors. Beyond national boundaries, governments of every …
Masks, Politics, Culture and Health.

Edited by Jacquelyn H. Flaskerud, RN, PhD, FAAN School of Nursing, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA Janna Lesser, RN, PhD School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science...
The Evolutionary Conservation of Escherichia coli Drug Efflux Pumps Supports Physiological Functions

Bacteria harness an impressive repertoire of resistance mechanisms to evade the inhibitory action of antibiotics. One such mechanism involves efflux pump-mediated extrusion of drugs from the bacterial cell, which significantly contributes to multidrug resistance. Intriguingly, most drug efflux pumps are chromosomally encoded components of the intrinsic antibiotic resistome. In addition, in terms of xenobiotic detoxification, bacterial efflux systems often exhibit significant levels of functional redundancy. Efflux pumps are also considered to be highly conserved; however, the extent of conservation in many bacterial species has not been reported and the majority of genes that encode efflux pumps appear to be dispensable for growth. These observations, in combination with an increasing body of experimental evidence, imply alternative roles in bacterial physiology. Indeed, the ability of efflux pumps to facilitate antibiotic resistance could be a fortuitous by-product of ancient physiological functions. Using Escherichia coli as a model organism, here we evaluated the evolutionary conservation of drug efflux pumps and we provide phylogenetic analysis of the major efflux families. We show the E. coli drug efflux system has remained relatively stable and the majority (∼80%) of pumps are present in the core proteome. This analysis further supports the importance of drug efflux pumps in E. coli physiology. In this review, we also provide an update on the role of drug efflux pumps in the detoxification of endogenously synthesized substrates and pH homeostasis. Overall, gaining insight into drug efflux pump conservation, common evolutionary ancestors and physiological functions, could enable strategies to combat these intrinsic and ancient elements.