cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Combined Effects of Contaminant Desorption and Toxicity on Risk from PAH Contaminated Sediments

A strong inverse correlation was observed between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) mass fraction desorbed, a surrogate measure of bioavailability, and relative carcinogenicity, as quantified by potency equivalency factors (PEFs), for two study sediments from the New York/New Jersey Harbor estuary. Because compounds with the highest toxicity, such as dibenz(a,h)anthracene and benzo(a)pyrene (BAP), also tended to be the least rapidly and least extensively desorbed, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) default guidance may dramatically overestimate risk from exposure to PAH-contaminated soils or sediments. A "relative risk index" (RRI) was developed to account for the combined effects of compound-specific bioavailability and toxic potency in estimating excess cancer risk. Using this approach, estimated excess cancer risk may be diminished by as much as a factor of 159 times versus default EPA guidance. Also, the hierarchy of estimated risk between study sediments and among treatment fractions of study sediments differed using the two approaches, implying that the default approach may inaccurately determine site clean-up priorities. The percentage contribution of each potentially carcinogenic priority PAH to total excess cancer risk was computed under various scenarios. In each case, the contribution of BAP to total excess cancer risk was remarkably invariable, for example, ranging from 48% to 52% in one sediment, and 44% to 54% in the other, over four different exposure durations. These results suggest that BAP may be an excellent indexing compound for gauging relative exposure risk across sediments. Other important contributors to total excess cancer risk were benz(a)anthracene and dibenz(a,h)anthracene. Together, these three compounds comprised nearly 90% of total excess cancer risk from all PAHs in every scenario. This integrated RRI approach may enable regulators to more accurately gauge relative risks and make more informed sediment management decisions.
Percolation in a Thin Ply Of Unidirectional Composite

A unidirectional composite is modeled as a two-dimensional cartesian square lattice of infinite width and finite thickness. Circular fiber cross sections, each contained completely within a lattice square and touching on all four sides, are placed at random within the lattice according to the fiber volume fraction. Percolation, in this system, is shown to be very sensitive to the lattice thickness. To be regarded as infinitely thick a lattice must be at least 150 fiber diameters across, and for a typical ply thickness of 20 fiber diameters the critical fiber fraction for percolation is shifted by 26% from the infinite lattice value of 0.46 to a smaller value of 0.34.
Conditional inactivation of PDCD2 induces p53 activation and cell cycle arrest

PDCD2 (programmed cell death domain 2) is a highly conserved, zinc finger MYND domain-containing protein essential for normal development in the fly, zebrafish and mouse. The molecular functions and cellular activities of PDCD2 remain unclear. In order to better understand the functions of PDCD2 in mammalian development, we have examined PDCD2 activity in mouse blastocyst embryos, as well as in mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). We have studied mice bearing a targeted PDCD2 locus functioning as a null allele through a splicing gene trap, or as a conditional knockout, by deletion of exon2 containing the MYND domain. Tamoxifen-induced knockout of PDCD2 in MEFs, as well as in ESCs, leads to defects in progression from the G1 to the S phase of cell cycle, associated with increased levels of p53 protein and p53 target genes. G1 prolongation in ESCs was not associated with induction of differentiation. Loss of entry into S phase of the cell cycle and marked induction of nuclear p53 were also observed in PDCD2 knockout blastocysts. These results demonstrate a unique role for PDCD2 in regulating the cell cycle and p53 activation during early embryonic development of the mouse.
Potential relationships among myocardial stiffness, the measured level of myocardial backscatter ("image brightness"), and the magnitude of the systematic variation of backscatter (cyclic variation) over the heart cycle.

Abstract Background In a number of recently published studies comparing measurements from patients with those from control subjects, a decreased magnitude of the systematic variation of backscattered energy over the heart cycle (cyclic variation) is accompanied by an increased level of overall myocardial backscatter (calibrated myocardial image brightness) when measured at a specific phase of the heart cycle (eg, end systole or end diastole). The goal of this study was to investigate whether this observation is consistent with predictions based on a model of the mechanisms of cyclic variation incorporating changes in relative intracellular and extracellular acoustic impedance over the heart cycle. Methods A previously described 3-component Maxwell-type model of muscle mechanics representing cardiac cell mechanical behavior was utilized to predict the systematic variation in the relative acoustic impedance differences between intracellular and extracellular elastic properties over the heart cycle and hence the observed magnitude of cyclic variation and overall myocardial scattering level. Predictions were obtained for a series of specific values of relative intracellular and extracellular acoustic impedance. Results Results indicate that the predicted magnitude of cyclic variation can be directly related to the overall myocardial backscatter level. For example, specific changes in the acoustic impedance (stiffness properties) of the extracellular matrix without any change in the intracellular acoustic impedance result in predicted values of −43.5 dB, −38.5 dB, and −33.5 dB for end-diastolic myocardial backscatter levels with corresponding values of 5.0 dB, 2.5 dB, and 1.3 dB for the predicted magnitude of cyclic variation, respectively. Conclusion This study suggests that observed decreases in the magnitude of cyclic variation with concomitant increases in the measured overall myocardial backscatter level are consistent with predictions from a model based on the relative acoustic impedance differences between intracellular and extracellular elastic properties over the heart cycle. These results suggest that ultrasonic backscatter measurements may provide a noninvasive approach for assessing some relationships among myocardial stiffness, degree of fibrosis, and contractile performance.
Effects of project documents on product usability: a study of writing in software projects

We designed and piloted a technical communications course for software engineering majors offered concurrently with the upper level project course in software design. A third of the design course students jointly enrolled in the writing class. One goal of the collaborative courses was to use writing to improve the quality and usability of students' software. We studied the effects of writing on students' user centered beliefs and design practices and on the usability of their products through surveys, document analyses, expert reviews, and user test results. When possible, we compared the usability processes and products of teams who took and did not take the writing class. Our findings show that the synergy resulting from this interdisciplinary approach effectively sensitized students to user centered design, instilled in them a commitment to it, and helped them develop usable products.
Robust code for constrained optimization

Introduction E ASON and Fenton and Pappas have evaluated the performance of eighteen optimization codes for solving nonlinear programming problems. All codes were applied to ten problems having inequality constraints, and the results were used to rank the codes in terms of generality and efficiency. Of the eighteen codes, five used information concerning derivatives or derivative approximations; the best of these five codes solved only half of the problems under a specified set of test conditions. As a result, the gradient-based codes ranked low in terms of performance. Among the recent advances in gradient-based methods have been the development of a variety of augmented Lagrangian methods (also called multiplier methods) which were originally introduced' for equality constrained problems, but have since been generalized in various ways to account for inequality constraints as well. One of these generalizations led to the development of an algorithm and a FORTRAN code LPNLP which has proved to be very efficient in solving a variety of test problems and application problems; a method using gradient approximations with LPNLP has been evaluated in Ref. 8. In contrast to conventional gradient-based penalty function methods, the augmented Lagrangian methods do not require in general that penalty weights approach infinity as the solution progresses. The purpose of this Note is to present the results of applying LPNLP to the ten problems cited in Ref. 1. The results show that LPNLP compares favorably with the best of the codes tested in Refs. 1 and 3. Of interest are problems of the form
Programmable Reinforcement Learning Agents

This dissertation examines the use of partial programming as a means of designing agents for large Markov Decision Problems. In this approach, a programmer specifies only that which they know to be correct and the system then learns the rest from experience using reinforcement learning. In contrast to previous low-level languages for partial programming, this dissertation presents ALisp, a Lisp-based high-level partial programming language. ALisp allows the programmer to constrain the policies considered by a learning process and to express his or her prior knowledge in a concise manner. Optimally completing a partial ALisp program is shown to be equivalent to solving a Semi-Markov Decision Problem (SMDP). Under a finite memory-use condition, online learning algorithms for ALisp are proved to converge to an optimal solution of the SMDP and thus to an optimal completion of the partial program. This dissertation then presents methods for exploiting the modularity allows an agent to ignore aspects of its current state that are irrelevant to its current decision, and therefore speeds up reinforcement learning. By decomposing representations of the value of actions along subroutine boundaries, optimality, i.e., optimality among all policies consistent with the partial program. These methods are demonstrated on two simulated taxi tasks. Function approximation, a method for representing the value of actions, allows reinforcement learning to be applied to problems where exact methods are intractable. Soft shaping is a method for guiding an agent toward a solution without constraining the search space. Both can be integrated with ALisp. ALisp with function approximation and reward shaping is successfully applied on a difficult continuous variant of the simulated taxi task. Together, the methods presented in this work comprise a system for agent design that allows the programmer to specify what they know, hint at what they suspect using soft shaping, and leave unspecified that which they don't know; the system then optimally completes the program through experience and takes advantage of the hierarchical structure of the specified program to speed learning.
Molecular cloning of a diverged homeobox gene that is rapidly down-regulated during the G0/G1 transition in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Abstract Adult vascular smooth muscle cells dedifferentiate and reenter the cell cycle in response to growth factor stimulation. Here we describe the molecular cloning from vascular smooth muscle, the structure, and the chromosomal location of a diverged homeobox gene, Gax, whose expression is largely confined to the cardiovascular tissues of the adult. In quiescent adult rat vascular smooth muscle cells, Gax mRNA levels are down-regulated as much as 15-fold within 2 h when these cells are induced to proliferate with platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) or serum growth factors. This reduction in Gax mRNA is transient, with levels beginning to rise between 8 and 24 h after mitogen stimulation and returning to near normal by 24 to 48 h. The Gax down-regulation is dose dependent and can be correlated with the mitogen's ability to stimulate DNA synthesis. PDGF-AA, a weak mitogen for rat vascular smooth muscle cells, did not affect Gax transcript levels, while PDGF-AB and -BB, potent mitogens for these cells, were nearly as effective as fetal bovine serum. The removal of serum from growing cells induced Gax expression fivefold within 24 h. These data suggest that Gax is likely to have a regulatory function in the G0-to-G1 transition of the cell cycle in vascular smooth muscle cells.
Making Meaning: The Creative Component in Qualitative Research

Findings in qualitative research are often wondrous and exciting, expounding new knowledge and perceptions previously unknown. Qualitative research requires the researcher to ponder and reflect on the data collected so as to find the meaning within. Helping researchers learn how to perform this step is not well discussed in the qualitative literature, yet this is one of the more crucial components of this type of research. In this article, the incubation, the meaning-making phase of qualitative research, is discussed in relation to the experiences of five researchers who have used traditional processes, models, metaphors, plays, pastiche, poetry, and quilt making and design to help them make meaning.
Ultraviolet photodissociation enhances top-down mass spectrometry as demonstrated on green fluorescent protein variants.

Ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) is a compelling fragmentation technique with great potential to enhance proteomics generally and top-down MS specifically. In this issue, Cannon et al. (Proteomics 2014, 14, 1165–1173) use UVPD to perform top-down MS on several sequence variants of green fluorescent protein and compare the results to CID, higher energy collision induced dissociation, and electron transfer dissociation. As compared to the other techniques UVPD produces a wider variety of fragment ion types that are relatively evenly distributed across the protein sequences. Overall, their results demonstrate enhanced sequence coverage and higher confidence in sequence assignment via UVPD MS. Based on these and other recent results UVPD is certain to become an increasingly widespread and valuable tool for top-down proteomics.
Simultaneous tensor subspace selection and clustering: the equivalence of high order svd and k-means clustering

Singular Value Decomposition (SVD)/Principal Component Analysis (PCA) have played a vital role in finding patterns from many datasets. Recently tensor factorization has been used for data mining and pattern recognition in high index/order data. High Order SVD (HOSVD) is a commonly used tensor factorization method and has recently been used in numerous applications like graphs, videos, social networks, etc.In this paper we prove that HOSVD does simultaneous subspace selection (data compression) and K-means clustering widely used for unsupervised learning tasks. We show how to utilize this new feature of HOSVD for clustering. We demonstrate these new results using three real and large datasets, two on face images datasets and one on hand-written digits dataset. Using this new HOSVD clustering feature we provide a dataset quality assessment on many frequently used experimental datasets with expected noise levels.
A light sheet confocal microscope for image cytometry with a variable linear slit detector

We present a light sheet confocal microscope (LSCM) capable of high-resolution imaging of cell suspensions in a microfluidic environment. In lieu of conventional pressure-driven flow or mechanical translation of the samples, we have employed a novel method of fluid transport, redox-magnetohydrodynamics (redox-MHD). This method achieves fluid motion by inducing a small current into the suspension in the presence of a magnetic field via electrodes patterned onto a silicon chip. This on-chip transportation requires no moving parts, and is coupled to the remainder of the imaging system. The microscopy system comprises a 450 nm diode 20 mW laser coupled to a single mode fiber and a cylindrical lens that converges the light sheet into the back aperture of a 10x, 0.3 NA objective lens in an epi-illumination configuration. The emission pathway contains a 150 mm tube lens that focuses the light onto the linear sensor at the conjugate image plane. The linear sensor (ELiiXA+ 8k/4k) has three lateral binning modes which enables variable detection aperture widths between 5, 10, or 20 μm, which can be used to vary axial resolution. We have demonstrated redox-MHD-enabled light sheet microscopy in suspension of fluorescent polystyrene beads. This approach has potential as a high-throughput image cytometer with myriad cellular diagnostic applications.
The nutrient sensor OGT in PVN neurons regulates feeding

Maintaining energy homeostasis is crucial for the survival and health of organisms. The brain regulates feeding by responding to dietary factors and metabolic signals from peripheral organs. It is unclear how the brain interprets these signals. O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) catalyzes the posttranslational modification of proteins by O-GlcNAc and is regulated by nutrient access. Here, we show that acute deletion of OGT from αCaMKII-positive neurons in adult mice caused obesity from overeating. The hyperphagia derived from the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the hypothalamus, where loss of OGT was associated with impaired satiety. These results identify O-GlcNAcylation in αCaMKII neurons of the PVN as an important molecular mechanism that regulates feeding behavior.
Hydrogen NMR of H2-TDF-D2O clathrate.

The three-component clathrate H 2 -TDF-D 2 O offers hydrogen storage at lower pressure, but with reduced weight fraction of H 2 , compared to H 2 -H 2 O clathrate. In H 2 -TDF-D 2 O, H 2 resides exclusively and singly in the small cages of structure II, allowing the rotational behavior of H 2 in this nominally uniform environment to be probed. Here we report NMR measurements of the H 2 line shape and relaxation times T 1 , T 2 , and T 1ρ . The principal differences in the results, compared to the H 2 -D 2 O binary system, are the dips in T 2 and T 1ρ near 28 K due to thermally activated reorientation of TDF molecules, line-narrowing and decreases in T 2 and T 1ρ near 175 K due to D 2 O reorientations and diffusion, and the apparent absence of H 2 diffusion between small cages.
Eczematous Hypersensitivity from Aqueous Vitamin K Injection

Hypoprothrombinemic states are commonly treated with injectable vitamin K. Cutaneous vitamin K hypersensitivity can manifest as eczematous or sclerodermoid lesions and historically has been related to the use of fat-soluble vitamin K1. We present a case of warfarin-induced hypoprothrombinemia treated with aqueous vitamin K1, which resulted in the appearance of eczematous vitamin K1 hypersensitivity.
Morrey-Besov Spaces and Besov Capacity

Here, we make a brief visit to the theory of Besov spaces, Besov capacity, and the Morrey-Besov analogue of Theorem 7.1 (i) - the Sobolev inequality for the Morrey-Besov setting. In fact, we shall say that a function u(x) satisfies the Morrey-Besov condition if \(u \in L^{p}(\mathbb{R}^{n}),\;1 \leq p <\infty\) and $$\displaystyle{ \bigg[\int _{\mathbb{R}^{n}}\bigg(\int _{Q}\vert \Delta _{t}^{k}\;u(x)\vert ^{p}\;dx\bigg)^{q/p}\vert t\vert ^{-(n+\alpha q)}\;dt\bigg]^{1/q} \leq A_{ 0}\;\vert Q\vert ^{(1-\lambda /n)/p}, }$$ (14.1) for each cube \(Q,\;1 \leq q 0\). Here \(\Delta _{t}^{k}\;u(x)\) is defined inductively, as the k-th order difference operator $$\displaystyle\begin{array}{rcl} \Delta _{t}^{1}\;u(x)& =& u(x + t) - u(x) {}\\ \Delta _{t}^{2}\;u(x)& =& \Delta _{ t}^{1}\Delta _{ t}^{1}\;u(x),\mbox{ etc}. {}\\ \end{array}$$
Must Politics Be War? In Defense of Public Reason Liberalism

Many think that politics is essentially an arena of strategic confrontation where parties struggle to defeat their opponents. Partisans of all stripes divide people into the good and the bad — religious or rational, capitalist or worker, patriot or traitor, 1% or 99%, hateful or tolerant — and see politics as the means to victory. My book claims that this understanding of politics is mistaken. I develop an account of social order where moral and political disagreement can proceed while preserving moral peace, where people can see those they disagree with, not as targets to be defeated, but as potential friends and neighbors who can cooperate to advance the diverse and divergent ends of each. In particular, liberal political institutions can create and preserve a moral peace among persons. Indeed, the best feature of liberal democratic institutions is the capacity to facilitate peaceful disagreement among moral agents through the use of publicly recognized rights and decision-making rules, containing conflict within the bounds of peaceful, respectful relationships. The liberalism most alive to the need for moral peace is contemporary public reason liberalism, with its emphasis on the justification of coercive law to multiple reasonable points of view. The version of public reason liberalism I expound explains how politics need not be war.
Influence of serum antibody on occurrence of Streptococcus zooepidemicus in the nasopharynx of weanling foals

Abstract Streptococcus zooepidemicus (Sz) is a tonsillar commensal of horses that opportunistically invades the respiratory tract of weanling foals causing purulent rhinitis and tracheobronchitis. Ten weanling foals in an isolated herd with a history of Sz-associated respiratory disease in recent years were immunized with recombinant proteins SzPNC78, endopeptidase, and hyaluronidase prior to weaning to determine the effect of serum antibodies on populations of nasopharyngeal Sz and mucopurulent nasal discharges. Levels of serum antibodies to all three proteins were significantly ( P ≤ .01) increased compared to levels in 10 nonimmunized control foals at weaning (day 0). Numbers of Sz in nasopharyngeal washes of control foals were initially higher on day 35 than in washes of immunized foals. However, this difference was not maintained, and counts in washes of both groups were similar over the following 7 weeks. By day 104 postweaning, Sz was no longer detected in washes of six foals in each group. Streptococcus zooepidemicus (ST-45) expressing a specific protective protein (SzP) phenotype dominated from days 35 to 104 in both groups. A second clone, ST-10, was detected intermittently in five immunized and two control foals. Mucopurulent nasal discharges of seven immunized and eight control foals on days 78 and 85 were associated with counts of Sz that ranged as high as 10 6 colony-forming units/mL and with significantly increased levels of SzP-specific IgG in washes. Increase in specific IgG but not IgA was temporary suggesting transudation through inflamed mucosa. This increase was generally greater in washes of immunized (mean enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay optical density [ELISA OD] = 1.73) than control (mean ELISA OD = 1.08) foals suggesting a benefit of systemic immunization may be therapeutic by enhancing clearance of Sz following inflammation provoked by local invasion.
Implementing and evaluating a student success initiative (SSI) to support enhanced and active learning in a merchandising mathematics course

ABSTRACTIn an effort to improve student learning, a series of active learning strategies were implemented to complement the lecture-based instructions in a merchandising mathematics course. Among the active learning opportunities, a peer mentor programme called student success initiative (SSI) was introduced. One-way analysis of variance and qualitative focus group data revealed that active learning participation significantly enhanced final grade outcomes for students who self-identify as challenged with mathematics content and participated in SSI. Class attendance and homework completion were the most effective active learning strategies for all students in the class. Students reacted positively to their peer mentoring experiences in SSI, and overall, to the availability of activities that enabled them to learn actively in the course.
Testing the Relationship Between Social Anxiety Schemas, Mindfulness Facets, and State and Trait Social Anxiety Symptoms

The current study evaluated the extent to which facets of trait mindfulness moderate the relationship between social anxiety schemas and responses to a social anxiety stressor task. We also evaluated whether specific trait mindfulness facets uniquely predicted state stressor responding and trait social anxiety symptoms, controlling for social anxiety schemas and other mindfulness facets. Participants’ (N = 235; 70.6% female) social anxiety schemas were assessed by a measure of early maladaptive schemas. Participants also engaged in a speech task, following which behavioral avoidance (speech time) and self-reported desired avoidance and state anxiety were assessed. Results were analyzed using structural equation modeling and indicated that mindfulness facets were not a significant moderator of the relation between schemas and behavioral avoidance. However, results suggested that specific mindfulness facets function as unique predictors of responses to a social anxiety stressor and trait anxiety symptoms, above and beyond social anxiety schemas and other facets of mindfulness. Interestingly, results indicated that the Describe facet of mindfulness was the most robust predictor of state stressor responding. Given their differential prediction of social anxiety symptoms, results highlight the importance of individually evaluating the unique components of mindfulness, as opposed to testing mindfulness as a unified construct.
Impact of Hearing Loss and Amplification on Performance on a Cognitive Screening Test.

Background There have been numerous recent reports on the association between hearing impairment and cognitive function, such that the cognition of adults with hearing loss is poorer relative to the cognition of adults with normal hearing (NH), even when amplification is used. However, it is not clear the extent to which this is testing artifact due to the individual with hearing loss being unable to accurately hear the test stimuli. Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to examine whether use of amplification during cognitive screening with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) improves performance on the MoCA. Secondarily, we investigated the effects of hearing ability on MoCA performance, by comparing the performance of individuals with and without hearing impairment. Study sample Participants were 42 individuals with hearing impairment and 19 individuals with NH. Of the individuals with hearing impairment, 22 routinely used hearing aids; 20 did not use hearing aids. Data collection and analysis Following a written informec consent process, all participants completed pure tone audiometry, speech testing in quiet (Maryland consonant-nucleus-consonant [CNC] words) and in noise (Quick Speech in Noise [QuickSIN] test), and the MoCA. The speech testing and MoCA were completed twice. Individuals with hearing impairment completed testing once unaided and once with amplification, whereas individuals with NH completed unaided testing twice. Results The individuals with hearing impairment performed significantly less well on the MoCA than those without hearing impairment for unaided testing, and the use of amplification did not significantly change performance. This is despite the finding that amplification significantly improved the performance of the hearing aid users on the measures of speech in quiet and speech in noise. Furthermore, there were strong correlations between MoCA score and the four frequency pure tone average, Maryland CNC score and QuickSIN, which remain moderate to strong when the analyses were adjusted for age. Conclusions It is concluded that the individuals with hearing loss here performed less well on the MoCA than individuals with NH and that the use of amplification did not compensate for this performance deficit. Nonetheless, this should not be taken to suggest the use of amplification during testing is unnecessary because it might be that other unmeasured factors, such as effort required to perform or fatigue, were decreased with the use of amplification.
Utilising dynamic simulation in design, development, and optimisation of a centrifugal-powered transmission apparatus

The use of the centrifugal force and its wide range of applications in industry and end-user products have been recently investigated and reported. Additionally, different physical mechanisms using the centrifugal power transmission have been developed and tested. Owing to the high cost for developing such mechanisms, dynamic simulation has been used to study the design factors and to evaluate the optimised mechanism. This paper presents the results of an investigation that uses dynamic simulation to test the behaviour of a mechanism under an imposed motion or force for both two and four gears design models. Additionally, it illustrates the correlation between factors such as rotation speed and the generated torque in different design models. Product design, development, and test are presented as well.
Prioritizing coastal ecosystem stressors in the Northeast United States under increasing climate change

Abstract Coastal and marine ecosystems around the world are under threat from a growing number of anthropogenic impacts, including climate change. Resource managers, researchers, policy makers, and coastal community planners are tasked with identifying, developing, and monitoring strategies to reduce or reverse the ecological, economic and social impact of environmental stressors. These individuals must make decisions about how to prioritize and allocate finite resources to address these issues, all under conditions of significant uncertainty about which of these stressors to address. This paper presents the results of a survey and workshop designed to rank the impact of a series of stressors on four components of the marine and coastal ecosystems of the Northeast United States. The methodology described here – expert elicitation supplemented by workshop deliberations – proved to be relatively cost-effective, time-efficient, and informative for identifying priority stressors for the ecosystem components under consideration, both now and in the future.
Environmental Fate of 14C Radiolabeled 2,4-Dinitroanisole in Soil Microcosms.

2,4-Dinitrosanisole (DNAN) is an insensitive munitions component replacing conventional explosives. While DNAN is known to biotransform in soils to aromatic amines and azo-dimers, it is seldom mineralized by indigenous soil bacteria. Incorporation of DNAN biotransformation products into soil as humus-bound material could serve as a plausible remediation strategy. The present work studied biotransformation of DNAN in soil and sludge microcosms supplemented with uniformly ring-labeled 14C-DNAN to quantify the distribution of label in soil, aqueous, and gaseous phases. Electron donor amendments, different redox conditions (anaerobic, aerobic, sequential anaerobic–aerobic), and the extracellular oxidoreductase enzyme horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were evaluated to maximize incorporation of DNAN biotransformation products into the nonextractable soil humus fraction, humin. Irreversible humin incorporation of 14C-DNAN occurred at higher rates in anaerobic conditions, with a moderate increase when pyruvate was ad...
Limb Salvage Versus Amputation in Conventional Appendicular Osteosarcoma: a Systematic Review.

The overall survivorship in patients with appendicular osteosarcoma has increased in the past few decades. However, controversies and questions about performing an amputation or a limb salvage procedure still remain. Using three peer-reviewed library databases, a systematic review of the literature was performed to evaluate all studies that have evaluated the outcomes of appendicular osteosarcoma, either with limb salvage or amputation. The mean 5-year overall survivorship was 62% for salvage and 58% for amputation (p > 0.05). At mean 6-year follow-up, the local recurrence rates were 8.2% for salvage and 3.0% for amputation (p > 0.05). Additionally, at mean 6-year follow-up, the rate for metastasis was 33% for salvage and 38% for amputation (p > 0.05). The revision rates were higher with salvage (31 vs. 28%), and there were more complications in the salvage groups (52 vs. 34%; p > 0.05). Despite the heterogeneity of studies available for review, we observed similar survival rates between the two procedures. Although there was no significant statistical difference between rates of recurrence and metastasis, the local recurrence rate and risk of complications were higher for limb salvage as compared to amputation. Cosmetic satisfaction is often higher with limb salvage, whereas long-term expense is higher with amputation. Overall, current literature supports limb salvage procedures when wide surgical margins can be achieved while still retaining a functional limb.
How Do Different Levels of AU4 Impact Metacognitive Monitoring During Learning with Intelligent Tutoring Systems

We investigated how college students’ (n = 40) different levels of action unit 4 (AU4: brow lowerer), metacognitive monitoring process use and pre-test score were associated with metacognitive monitoring accuracy during learning with a hypermedia-based ITS. Results revealed that participants with high pre-test scores had the highest accuracy scores with low levels of AU4 and use of more metacognitive monitoring processes, whereas participants with low pre-test scores had higher accuracy scores with high levels of AU4 and use of more metacognitive monitoring processes. Implications include designing adaptive ITSs that provide different types of scaffolding based on levels of prior knowledge, use of metacognitive monitoring processes, and emotional expressivity keeping in mind that levels of emotions change over time, and therefore must be monitored to provide effective scaffolding during learning.
Some Problems in Combinatorial Geometry

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the problems in combinatorial geometry. Combinatorial geometry is a blending of principles from the areas of combinatorics and geometry. The subject deals with combinations and arrangements of geometric objects and with discrete properties of these objects. The chapter discusses the concepts of packing, covering, coloring, folding, symmetry, tiling, partitioning, and decomposition. Combinatorial geometry includes aspects of topology, graph theory, number theory, and other disciplines. The theory of combinatorial geometries can be considered as a combinatorial analog (c.a.) of linear algebra: the prime example of a c.a. is a subset of projective space, with the ordinary linear span as the closure, but some of the most interesting examples have no representation whatsoever as points in projective space.
Electrogenic Ion Pumping in Nervous Tissue

Publisher Summary The inside of nerve cells, like that of animal cells generally, is relatively richer in potassium and poorer in sodium ions than the external bathing medium. This distribution is important for the generation of an action potential, the sodium and potassium ions running down their electrochemical gradients in response to a complex set of permeability changes in the nerve membrane. If the nerve fiber is to be of permanent use to the animal, the resulting disturbance in the steady-state distributions of sodium and potassium ions must clearly be reversed. This demands the intervention of an energy-requiring process because the potassium ions must move into and the sodium ions out of the cell against their electrochemical potentials. An inwardly directed potassium pump would be inadequate because this would make the inside of the cell electrically positive whereas experiment shows that the inside is electrically negative. The distribution of potassium, sodium, and chloride in muscle requires an active extrusion of sodium ions. This process could occur in one of two ways: (1) the sodium ions could be extruded alone by an electrogenic process that transfers a net electrical charge across the membrane or (2) the outwardly directed sodium extrusion could be tightly coupled to an inwardly directed potassium uptake
Plasma Reactor Modeling

Plans to introduce pilot lines for 300 mm processing are in progress. The IC technology is simultaneously moving towards 0.18 µm and 0.15 µm linewidths. The convergence of these two trends places unprecedented stringent demands on processes and equipments. The challenges faced by equipment manufacturers are enormous. Their dual role in the IC business involves design and development of new generation equipment and development and demonstration of processes compatible with their reactors. More than ever, computational modeling is called upon to play a complementary role in equipment and process design. The pace in hardware/process development needs a matching pace in software development: an aggressive move towards developing “virtual reactors” is desirable and indeed essential to reduce design cycle and costs. This goal has three elements: reactor scale model, feature level model, and database of physical/chemical properties. With these elements coupled, the complete simulation package should function as a design aid in a TCAD environment.
Regularity of the Density of States for Stochastic Jacobi Matrices: A Review

In this paper, we will discuss stochastic Jacobi matrices which are operators on l 2 (Z υ ). Indicate elements of this Hilbert space by u(n) with nZv.
Strain Analysis of CdTe on InSb Epitaxial Structures Using X-ray-Based Reciprocal Space Measurements and Dynamical Diffraction Simulations

The structural properties of CdTe layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (001) InSb substrates were assessed using high-resolution x-ray scattering methods. Triple-axis diffraction measurements and dynamical diffraction theory were employed to determine the strain in the epitaxial layer and at the interface for CdTe layer thicknesses of 1.0 μm and 1.8 μm. Reciprocal space maps were generated around the 004, 115, 224 and 335 reciprocal lattice points (RLP). An alignment procedure is described which ensured all reflections were aligned to the same zone axes. (335) reflections exhibited greater sensitivity to strain relaxation than (115) reflections due to a larger in-plane component; so these were used to better determine the strain state of the layers. Both of our 1.0-μm and 1.8-μm thick samples exhibited no relaxation, showing that pseudomorphic layers formed. Additionally, interference oscillations in the (004) ω:2θ scan of the 1.0-μm CdTe sample were observed. These oscillations were replicated through dynamical diffraction simulations by including a ∼1-nm highly strained interfacial layer. These results are consistent with an earlier electron microscopy study that detected a similar strained layer at a defect-free CdTe/InSb interface. The CdTe lattice parameter and Poisson ratio are determined to be 0.648201 ± 0.000002 nm and 0.408, respectively.
Soft Tissue Sarcomas of the Extremities in Children: Special Considerations

Soft tissue sarcomas account for approximately 20% of all pediatric solid tumors, the majority of them being rhabdomyosarcoma. Rhabdomyosarcoma is ubiquitous and has had different histologic types. The treatment and outcome vary by site, histology, and completeness of resection. Nonrhabdomyocarcoma soft tissue sarcomas are uncommon and heterogenous, and the outcomes vary by size.
Orexin 2 receptor stimulation enhances resilience, while orexin 2 inhibition promotes susceptibility, to social stress, anxiety and depression

Knockdown of orexin/hypocretin 2 receptor (Orx2) in the basolateral amygdala (BLA) affects anxious and depressive behavior. We use a new behavioral paradigm, the Stress Alternatives Model (SAM), designed to improve translational impact. The SAM induces social stress in adult male mice by aggression from larger mice, allowing for adaptive decision-making regarding escape. In this model, mice remain (Stay) in the oval SAM arena or escape from social aggression (Escape) via routes only large enough for the smaller mouse. We hypothesized intracerebroventricular (icv) stimulation of Orx2 receptors would be anxiolytic and antidepressive in SAM-related social behavior and the Social Interaction/Preference (SIP) test. Conversely, we predicted that icv antagonism of Orx2 receptors would promote anxious and depressive behavior in these same tests. Anxious behaviors such as freezing (both cued and conflict) and startle are exhibited more often in Stay compared with Escape phenotype mice. Time spent attentive to the escape route is more frequent in Escape mice. In Stay mice, stimulation of Orx2 receptors reduces fear conditioning, conflict freezing and startle, and promotes greater attention to the escape hole. This anxiolysis was accompanied by activation of a cluster of inhibitory neurons in the amygdala. A small percentage of those Stay mice also begin escaping; whereas Escape is reversed by the Orx2 antagonist. Escape mice were also Resilient, and Stay mice Susceptible to stress (SIP), with both conditions reversed by Orx2 antagonism or stimulation respectively. Together, these results suggest that the Orx2 receptor may be a useful potential target for anxiolytic or antidepressive therapeutics.
Narrative Resources amid Unspeakable Grief: Teens Foster Connection and Resilience in Family Storytelling

An active relational practice of hope requires that individuals connect and communicate with one another in attempt to deal with despair and imagine an inhabitable future. For families grieving the...
Danger ahead: watch out for indirect comparisons!

We have entered an exciting new era of anticoagulation—with multiple new oral anticoagulants becoming available for use as potential replacements for warfarin, the vitamin K antagonist that has been the only oral agent available for 50 years! The most prominent of the indications for
The proximal experience of awe.

Research on awe has grown exponentially in recent decades; however, few studies have considered whether awe-inspiring experiences also inspire other emotions. In two studies, we explored whether interventions targeting awe also evoke other discrete emotions. Additionally, we considered two constructs that may be associated with increases in each emotion—self-relevant thoughts and connectedness. In Study 1, we manipulated awe in virtual reality and examined the potential effects of a prototypical awe experience—a spacewalk accompanied by an audio clip of Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot. In Study 2, we manipulated awe with a video depicting scenes of Earth from outer space paired with the same audio clip. Across both studies, a prototypical awe experience was associated not only with awe, but with compassion, gratitude, love, and optimism, along with connectedness and self-relevant thoughts. Furthermore, we found that increases in self-relevant thoughts and connectedness in response to the awe induction predicted increases in each emotion evoked and vice-versa. These findings suggest that experiences that are commonly considered awe-inspiring—such as viewing a picturesque landscape—may be more appropriately conceptualized more broadly as self-transcendent. More work is needed to determine whether the documented benefits of awe may be more appropriately interpreted as the benefits of self-transcendent emotions.
Effect of Decision Rules for Lot Quality Assurance Sampling on an Assessment of Micronutrient Program Coverage

Lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) is a sampling method that assesses small areas to determine if key goals of public health programs have been met. LQAS was used to monitor a new micronutrient ...
Fuzzy Knowledge-Based Architecture for Learning and Interaction in Social Robots.

In this paper, we introduce an extension of our presented cognitive-based emotion model [27][28]and [30], where we enhance our knowledge-based emotion unit of the architecture by embedding a fuzzy rule-based system to it. The model utilizes the cognitive parameters dependency and their corresponding weights to regulate the robot's behavior and fuse their behavior data to achieve the final decision in their interaction with the environment. Using this fuzzy system, our previous model can simulate linguistic parameters for better controlling and generating understandable and flexible behaviors in the robots. We implement our model on an assistive healthcare robot, named Robot Nurse Assistant (RNA) and test it with human subjects. Our model records all the emotion states and essential information based on its predefined rules and learning system. Our results show that our robot interacts with patients in a reasonable, faithful way in special conditions which are defined by rules. This work has the potential to provide better on-demand service for clinical experts to monitor the patients' emotion states and help them make better decisions accordingly.
Proanthocyanidin Metabolism, a mini review

There is emerging evidence suggesting that consumption of beverage and food rich in polyphenol may offer protective effects against various neurodegenerative, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. Proanthocyanidins (PACs) are one of the most abundant polyphenol in human diets, but also one of the least absorbed polyphenol mostly due to their size and structure com- plexity. PACs or condensed tannins are oligomers and polymers of monomeric unit flavan-3-ol (+)-catechin or (−)-epicatechin. To date, the absorption and metabolism of PACs are still remains largely unknown. The aim of this mini review was to highlight the absorption and metabolism of PACs, their effect in the gut and sample preparation for analysis. Ultimately, the potential bioactivities derived from the interaction between PACs metabolites and the gut microbiota warrants further investigation.
Breast journal 2020 special issue: Post-mastectomy radiation: Tracking changes in the standard of care over 25 years.

This is an invited review article, tracking the changes in the indications and use of post-mastectomy radiation over the last 25 years. While radiation after mastectomy has been in use for decades, several key prospective randomized trials published in recent years have changed and strengthened role of this modality. This manuscript will track the milestones over the last three decades.
Multi-Tier Network Performance Analysis Using a Shotgun Cellular System

Abstract--- This paper studies the carrier-to-interference ratio (CIR) and carrier-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (CINR) performance at the mobile station (MS) within a multi-tier network composed of M tiers of wireless networks, with each tier modeled as the homogeneous n-dimensional (n-D, n=1,2, and 3) shotgun cellular system, where the base station (BS) distribution is given by the homogeneous Poisson point process in n-D. The CIR and CINR at the MS in a single tier network are thoroughly analyzed to simplify the analysis of the multi-tier network. For the multi-tier network with given system parameters, the following are the main results of this paper: (1) semi-analytical expressions for the tail probabilities of CIR and CINR; (2) a closed form expression for the tail probability of CIR in the range [1,infinity); (3) a closed form expression for the tail probability of an approximation to CINR in the entire range [0,infinity); (4) a lookup table based approach for obtaining the tail probability of CINR, and (5) the study of the effect of shadow fading and BSs with ideal sectorized antennas on the CIR and CINR. Based on these results, it is shown that, in a practical cellular system, the installation of additional wireless networks (microcells, picocells and femtocells) with low power BSs over the already existing macrocell network will always improve the CINR performance at the MS.