cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Historical Overview of Research in Supported Employment: Implications for the Next Decade

A goal of this paper is to overview the nature of research methodology used in studies of supported employment and to discuss implications for the next decade of supported employment research. Because of the similarities between the two initiatives, a methodological framework or cycle developed to analyze research on transition was used as the organizer for this overview of supported employment.
Protein-Protein Interaction Network Alignment by Quantitative Simulation

We adapt a network simulation algorithm called quantitative simulation (QSim) for use in the alignment of biological networks. Unlike most network alignment methods, QSim finds local matches for one network in another, making it asymmetric, and takes full advantage of different edge types. We use QSim to simulate a protein-protein interaction (PPI) network from D. melanogaster using a PPI network from S. cerevisiae, and compare QSim's alignment to those from other methods using Gene Ontology (GO) biological process annotations as proxies for correct alignment matches. The best cross-species protein matches obtained from QSim have a higher agreement in GO biological process annotations than those from either BLAST or an alternative network alignment algorithm.
Role of PI3K and AKT specific isoforms in ovarian cancer cell migration, invasion and proliferation through the p70S6K1 pathway

Ovarian cancer is the leading cause of death from gynecological malignancy for women. The amplification of the PI3K catalytic subunit (p110alpha) and the lost function of PTEN are frequently detected in ovarian cancer cells. PI3K plays an important role in tumorigenesis. To specifically inhibit PI3K activity in ovarian cancer cells, we constructed small interfering RNA (siRNA) against p110alpha. The expression of p110alpha siRNA significantly decreased cell migration, invasion, and proliferation compared to the siSCR control cells. The expression of p110alpha siRNA induced CDK inhibitor p27(KIP1) levels, and decreased levels of cyclin D1, CDK4, and phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein. PI3K transmits the mytogenic signal through AKT. AKT has three isoforms in the cells: AKT1, AKT2 and AKT3. We found that inhibition of AKT1 is sufficient to affect cell migration, invasion, and proliferation. Expression of AKT1 siRNA had a similar effect as p110alpha siRNA in the cells. We showed the roles of specific PI3K and AKT isoforms in the cells, which are important to understanding the mechanism of PI3K/AKT signaling in ovarian cancer cells. Both p110alpha and AKT1 siRNA-expressing cells decreased the activation of p70S6K1. Inhibition of p70S6K1 activity by its siRNA also decreased cell migration, invasion, and proliferation associated with the induction of p27(KIP1) levels, and with the inhibition of cell cycle-associated proteins including cyclin D1, CDK2, and phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein. This study demonstrates the important role of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/p70S6K1 pathway in cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in ovarian cancer cells by using siRNA-mediated gene silencing as a reverse genetic method.
Improved cotyledonary node method using an alternative explant derived from mature seed for efficient Agrobacterium-mediated soybean transformation.

The utility of transformation for soybean improvement requires an efficient system for production of stable transgenic lines. We describe here an improved cotyledonary node method using an alternative explant for Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated soybean transformation. We use the term “half-seed” to refer to this alternative cotyledonary explant that is derived from mature seed of soybean following an overnight imbibition and to distinguish it from cotyledonary node derived from 5–7-day-old seedlings. Transformation efficiencies using half-seed explants ranged between 1.4 and 8.7% with an overall efficiency of 3.8% based on the number of transformed events that have been confirmed in the T 1 generation by phenotypic assay using the herbicide Liberty® (active ingredient glufosinate) and by Southern analysis. This efficiency is 1.5-fold higher than the cotyledonary node method used in our laboratory. Significantly, the half-seed system is simple and does not require deliberate wounding of explants, which is a critical and technically demanding step in the cotyledonary node method.
Internet Addiction: A Logotherapeutic Approach

Internet addiction (IA) is both the most rapidly growing addiction and the least understood addiction (Watson, 2005). For counselors, treatment issues surrounding the disease are also growing. At the forefront is the lack of understanding concerning treatment protocol to manage the challenging recovery and maintenance stages after IA behavior has been controlled. The authors discuss Viktor Frankl's logotherapy as an effective approach to treating IA.
Microwave Imaging in Layered Media: 3-D Image Reconstruction From Experimental Data

A prototype microwave imaging system for imaging 3-D targets in layered media is developed to validate the capability of microwave imaging with experimental data and with 3-D nonlinear inverse scattering algorithms. In this experimental prototype, the transmitting and receiving antennas are placed in a rectangular tub containing a fluid. Two plastic slabs are placed in parallel in the fluid to form a five-layer medium. The microwave scattering data are acquired by mechanically scanning a single transmitting antenna and a single receiving antenna, thus avoiding the mutual coupling that occurs when an array is used. The collected 3-D experimental data in the fluid are processed by full 3-D nonlinear inverse scattering algorithms to unravel the complicated multiple scattering effects and produce 3-D digital images of the dielectric constant and conductivity of the imaging domain. The image reconstruction is focused on the position and dimensions of the unknown scatterers. Different dielectric and metallic objects have been imaged effectively at 1.64 GHz.
Photovoltaic module model accuracy at varying light levels and its effect on predicted annual energy output

Models to predict photovoltaic (PV) module power output are constantly improving, yet many are tuned to maximize accuracy at high irradiance, which has the potential to introduce errors when predicting energy output with other operating conditions. Correct power estimation under lower light conditions is very important, particularly in cloudy climates or when an array is non-optimally oriented, as is often the case with building-mounted or building-integrated PV systems. Newer CEC and IEC standards require manufacturers to provide data on module performance under a variety of operating conditions, and the purpose of this study is to explore the potential of these new data to improve model accuracy for different PV technologies. This study examines the accuracy of the commonly used, CEC-Wisconsin single diode five parameter PV model, comparing its predicted power output to measured and empirical model datasets over a range of incident irradiance levels and temperatures. The same comparisons are also performed for a modified, seven parameter version of this model, which includes the use of low irradiance data to assign values to the extra parameters. Results of this work further understanding of model misprediction at low irradiance and its impact on estimation of annual energy production. At medium-low irradiance (<500 W/m2), the original model is found to overpredict power output by as much as 15% for crystalline modules when compared with the datasets, and even more for thin film modules. The modified model brings the power overprediction down to ∼5% or less for most cases. Annual simulations are performed comparing the predicted energy output of the original and modified models to that of the datasets. The modified model shows a significant improvement in accuracy of annual energy prediction, especially for cloudy climates and situations where the array has a non-optimal tilt or orientation
STRATUS: Assembling Virtual Platforms from Device Clouds

There is an increasing number of network-enabled computing devices in homes and offices, driven by continued improvements in device capabilities and network connectivity. By exploiting the virtualization technologies that have begun to pervade even the mobile domain, these devices -- hardware components, such as displays, input devices, disks, or processors, can be decoupled from the physical platforms on which they reside to form a resource pool or device cloud. By drawing on the composite resources of device clouds, applications can leverage the heterogeneity present in the cloud to exploit hardware/device differences in terms of power consumption, computational speeds, display sizes, or the presence of certain accelerators, and can take advantage of software diversity in terms of the different operating environments and applications that efficiently operate on individual devices. This paper implements and evaluates the concept of device clouds, in which virtual execution platforms dynamically composed from sets of devices are built for applications, using automated methods that are based on simple policies. Experimental results identify the basic overheads associated with device clouds and their use, and demonstrate the advantages of dynamically constructed virtual platforms rather than individual machines, both in terms of improvements in system properties like power usage and improvements in user experiences for media delivery and play out.
Impact of extreme exercise at high altitude on oxidative stress in humans

Exercise and oxidative stress research continues to grow as a physiological subdiscipline. The influence of high altitude on exercise and oxidative stress is among the recent topics of intense study in this area. Early findings indicate that exercise at high altitude has an independent influence on free radical generation and the resultant oxidative stress. This review provides a detailed summary of oxidative stress biochemistry as gleaned mainly from studies of humans exercising at high altitude. Understanding of the human response to exercise at altitude is largely derived from field-based research at altitudes above 3000 m in addition to laboratory studies which employ normobaric hypoxia. The implications of oxidative stress incurred during high altitude exercise appear to be a transient increase in oxidative damage followed by redox-sensitive adaptations in multiple tissues. These outcomes are consistent for lowland natives, high altitude acclimated sojourners and highland natives, although the latter group exhibits a more robust adaptive response. To date there is no evidence that altitude-induced oxidative stress is deleterious to normal training or recovery scenarios. Limited evidence suggests that deleterious outcomes related to oxidative stress are limited to instances where individuals are exposed to extreme elevations for extended durations. However, confirmation of this tentative conclusion requires further investigation. More applicably, altitude-induced hypoxia may have an independent influence on redox-sensitive adaptive responses to exercise and exercise recovery. If correct, these findings may hold important implications for athletes, mountaineers, and soldiers working at high altitude. These points are raised within the confines of published research on the topic of oxidative stress during exercise at altitude.
Speaking the Language of Evil

In this essay the author combines a discussion of public discourse about evil with contentions about the nature of evil in crime and punishment. With respect to public discourse, Professor Pillsbury argues that for strategic and substantive reasons liberals should learn to use the language of evil. Although subject to a variety of serious abuses, talk about evil is needed for powerful moral argument. It is also important to recognize the reality of evil in the world. With respect to crime, the author contends that our concept of violent wrongdoing should expand beyond the most deliberate forms of wrongdoing to include instances of moral indifference. These are cases where the harm doer displays basic lack of concern for the fundamental interests of the persons harmed. Examples are given both in homicide and rape. The discussion of evil in punishment focuses on harsh mandatory sentences in United States, notably the Three Strikes law in California. The author argues that this law's insistence that life sentences be imposed without consideration of the individual offender or the particulars of the offense, but only the offender's criminal record, mandates a form of moral indifference and so leads to cruel punishment.
Coaching intercultural communication in a serious game

We consider the use of virtual humans and an intelligent tutoring system (ITS) for the teaching of cultural social conventions. Learning occurs in a serious game that requires the learner to establish trust and reach agreements with virtual characters of a different culture. Our tutoring system provides culturally focused learning support during and after the meetings with these virtual characters. In a study intended to determine the effectiveness of the ITS, we found that guidance provided during meetings seemed to improve learners’ understandings of culturally-related “phases” in meetings (e.g., when to talk about business) as well as greater success in an unsupported posttest meeting, but with no overall increase in cultural understanding when compared with learning in passive and unguided conditions.
A Comparison of International Faculty Members’ Perceptions of Shared Governance

Shared governance has multiple dimensions of implementation in higher education, ranging from stakeholder input through trustee involvement to students and staff holding positions of representative power to have input into decision making. It has historically been a hallmark of higher education. The current study was developed to extend the Miller and Lu findings and specifically examining mainland Chinese faculty who are resident faculty in their homeland. The findings can have significant impact on understanding the global academy and how faculty perceive their role in higher education.
Suggestions for Removing Politics from the Olympic Games

(1978). Suggestions for Removing Politics from the Olympic Games. Journal of Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 49, No. 3, pp. 73-73.
On the role of indeterminism in libertarian free will

In a recent paper in this journal, “How should libertarians conceive of the location and role of indeterminism?” Christopher Evan Franklin critically examines my libertarian view of free will and attempts to improve upon it. He says that while Kane's influential [view] offers many important advances in the development of a defensible libertarian theory of free will and moral responsibility … [he made] “two crucial mistakes in formulating libertarianism” – one about the location of indeterminism, the other about its role – “both of which have helped fan the flame of the luck argument”. In this paper, I respond to Franklin's criticisms, arguing that, so far from making it significantly more difficult to answer objections about luck and control, as he claims, giving indeterminism the location and role I do makes it possible to answer such objections and many other related objections to libertarian free will. A central theme of this paper will emerge in my responses: In order to make sense of freedom of will ...
Differences in adhesion receptor expression between immature and older platelets and red blood cells of neonates and adults.

PurposeTo examine the hypothesis that reticulated platelets and reticulocytes show elevated adhesion receptor expression compared with mature cells in both adult and neonatal cells.MethodsFlow cytometry was used to examine laminin, fibronectin (VLA-6), and thrombospondin (glycoprotein IV [GPIV]) exp
Density gradient ultracentrifugation of rubella virus.

SummaryThe buoyant density of rubella virus HA was determined to be 1.23 in Cs2SO4. A density of 1.33 was obtained in CsCl. Rubella virus HA, either Tween-80. ether-treated or untreated, and infectivity could not be separated on sucrose by rate zonal or density gradient techniques. These activities also could not be separated on CsCl and Cs2SO4 density gradients. The banding density of rubella virus HA preparations was unaffected by the type of cell culture used for antigen production; neither the passage level nor the strain of virus altered the point at which rubella virus HA banded in CsCl.
Responses of Captive Common Vampires to Cold and Warm Environments

When exposed to a cold environment (3°–5°C) common vampires quickly respond by increasing their food consumption and muscular activity. Both functions return promptly to normal levels when the ambient temperature is again raised. During relatively brief periods of cold exposure the animals remain normally alert and responsive, showing no evidence of induced torpor. They die, however, from within a few hours to three days when they are continuously exposed to temperatures of 3°–5°C. The great individual variation in the tolerance of cold observed among the experimental animals may indicate a capacity for physiological acclimation in captive specimens; nevertheless, the vampire's inability to withstand prolonged periods of cold exposure undoubtedly places a physiological limitation on its capacity to extend its range into more temperate latitudes. Collectively the observations suggest that the vampire bat is homeothermic. It raises its heat production by increasing metabolism and muscular activity when exposed to cold. Incidental observations upon vampires in warm environments indicate that the upper critical environmental temperature lies in the range of 27°–30°C.
FASCIA LATA TRANSFER TO THE ERECTOR SPINAE FOR THE TREATMENT OF FLEXION-ABDUCTION CONTRACTURES OF THE HIP IN PATIENTS WITH POLIOMYELITIS AND MENINGOMYELOCELE: EVALUATION OF RESULTS.

Twenty patients with hip-flexion contractures related to the residua of poliomyelitis and nine patients with similar contractures secondary to meningomyelocele were treated by transferring the fascia lata to the erector spinae muscle. In many of these patients, tight structures anterior to the hip were released concomitantly. The operation was found to be an effective procedure for relief of hip flexion and abduction deformity and of lumbar lordosis. This relief appeared to be permanent. Better results were obtained when the fascia lata transfer to the erector spinae was combined with an anterior release at the hip. Most patients with dislocated or subluxated hips were improved and their hips became more stable. No significant degree of improvement was observed in the extensor or abductor power of the hip. Few of the patients were able to discard any part of their braces or their crutches. The operation appeared to produce a dynamic fasciodesis. Relief of hip-flexion contracture, stabilization of the hip, and relief of lumbar lordosis resulted in a better stance and easier gait. The operation was as effective in patients with meningomyclocele as in those with residua of poliomyclitis.
Association of Bacteriuria and Pyuria During Intermittent Catheterization after Spinal Cord Injury

AbstractBecause patients on intermittent catheterization often suffer asymptomatic bacteriuria it is important to know how serious such a colonization may be. We followed 156 hospitalized spinal cord injury subjects on intermittent catheterization. Daily bacterial cultures were performed. When bacteriuria was detected bacterial cultures and uncentrifuged urinary leukocytes were quantified. Gram-positive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus epidermidis and Streptococcus faecalis, produced minimal white cell response, even in high colony counts. However, gram-negative and fungal organisms elicited significant pyuria. Analysis of pyuria in conjunction with urine cultures may serve as a clinical guide to treatment of significant bacteriuria.
Abstract 1965: CRISPR/cas9, an innovative genomic tool to knock down microRNA

MicroRNAs are a set of small and non-coding RNA molecules showing the “master” role in regulation of coding-gene expression at the post-transcriptional/translational levels. Several methods have been developed for microRNA loss-of-function study, such as antisense inhibitors and sponges; however, their robustness, specificity, and stability cannot be highly satisfied with the increased demand on microRNA functional research. CRISPR/cas9 system is emerging as a novel genome editing tool that has been exclusively studied in coding-genes knockdown, but its indication in microRNA research has not been explored yet. In this project, we clone CRISPR/cas9 constructs with designated single guide RNAs targeting biogenesis processing sites of the selected microRNAs, miR-200b and miR-17. Our results demonstrate that CRISPR/cas9 can robustly reduce the expression of these microRNAs up to 96%. More significantly, our data support high specificity and low off-target effect of CRISPR/cas9 in editing microRNA genes. Given this feature, it possesses an advantage to knockdown microRNAs in same family or with highly conserved sequences superior to antisense inhibitors and sponges. In addition, for the first time, we demonstrate the long term stability of microRNA knockdown phenotype by CRISPR/cas9 in both in vitro and in vivo models. In conclusion, we develop a novel method by adapting CRISPR/cas9 system to downregulate microRNA expression, which shows improved robustness, specificity, and stability than the previously established methodologies. Citation Format: Hong Chang, Bin Yi, Ruixia Ma, Hongyou Zhao, Yaguang Xi. CRISPR/cas9, an innovative genomic tool to knock down microRNA. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1965.
A new concept for accelerator driven transmutation of nuclear wastes

A new concept for an accelerator-driven transmutation system is described. The central feature of the concept is generation of intense fluxes of thermal neutrons. In the system all long-lived radionuclides comprising high-level nuclear waste can be transmuted efficiently. Transmutation takes place in a unique, low material inventory environment. Presently two principal areas are being investigated for application of the concept. The first is associated with cleanup of defense high-level waste at DOE sites such as Hanford. The second, longer term area involves production of electric power using a coupled accelerator-multiplying blanket system. This system would utilize natural thorium or uranium and would transmute long-lived components of high-level waste concurrently during operation. 5 refs., 5 figs.
Product Evolution through Technology Insertion - The AN/UGC-74B(V)3

Technology insertion into existing terminals offers improved performance which can be easily introduced and maintained in the military inventory. The process of technology insertion when properly done prevents premature obsolescence and offers the logistics benefits of reliability, maintainability, and supportability. The development of the AN/UGC-74B(V)3 Communications Terminal with a dot matrix printer and the AN/UGC-74C(V)3 Communications Terninal with the dot matrix printer and a removable bubble memory are discussed as examples of technology insertion. Also discussed are future technology insertion benefits and possibilities.
Treating Scars in the Auricle Region

This article provides a review of the surgical and nonsurgical options available to manage a variety of auricular scars. The basics of wound healing are discussed in addition to the etiology of keloids and the cauliflower ear. Many auricular scars can be revised with scar excision techniques, but separate discussions for the treatment of keloids and the cauliflower ear are provided. The management plan for auricular scarring requires appropriate patient counseling regarding the risk of recurrence in keloids, regrowth of scar tissue in cauliflower ears, scar hypertrophy at the line of closure, widening of the scar, and persisting ear contour deformities.
Agricultural adaptation to drought in the Sri Lankan dry zone

Droughts affect more people than any other natural disaster. Drought severity is not merely a function of precipitation; it emerges from a web of interrelations between human and natural systems. The impacts of drought are equally complex, shifting across temporal scales, economic sectors, and regions. Even in regions with similar hydroclimatic characteristics, there is tremendous variation in the effects of drought. This study combines satellite imagery, geospatial data, and qualitative data to identify the multi-scalar factors that drive variations in agricultural responses to drought. We analyzed eleven years of remotely sensed imagery to identify agricultural areas in which cultivation occurred during an extreme drought in Sri Lanka. We visited a subset of these communities and conducted interviews with officials and farmers to identify the factors that influenced agricultural adaptation. Results suggest that though structural factors such as infrastructural capacity and physical environment significantly affect agricultural adaptation, dynamic factors such as local control of water supply, perceived risk, community cohesion, and farmer experience explain significant variation in the adaptive capacity of agricultural systems.
Abstract 236: Autocrine regulation of stress-induced cytotoxic Alu RNA expression in TNBC cells

Proceedings: AACR 106th Annual Meeting 2015; April 18-22, 2015; Philadelphia, PA Breast tumor cells are often subject to various forms of proteotoxic stress in their microenvironment mainly presented by the stromal cells. We found that the highly aggressive breast cancer cells of the triple negative subtype (TNBC) are significantly more tolerant to environmental stress than the non-aggressive breast cancer cells. Major objective of the research presented here is to understand the mechanism of induction of cytotoxic Alu RNA in the stressed breast cancer cells and how the TNBC cells pacify this non-coding RNA-mediated cytotoxicity. We present evidence that stress-induced activation of HSF1 in the breast cancer cells stimulate the RNA polymerase III-mediated transcription of Alu RNA genes in these cells resulting in induction of severe cytotoxicity and apoptosis of these cells. Highly aggressive stress-tolerant TNBC cells secrete the matrix metalloprotease MMP1 which activates the G-protein coupled receptor PAR1 on their cell surface. Activation of PAR1 through the Galpha-q/PIPLC/PIP3 pathway raises the cytosolic concentration of Ca2+ thereby activating the Ca2+-dependent protease mu-calpain. Mu-calpain then proteolytically degrades the RNA polymerase III transcription factor TFIIIC110 at the PES sequence. As TFIIIC110 is required for the transcription of Alu RNA genes, its degradation ameliorates stress-induced elevation of Alu RNA and thus its cytotoxicity. We propose that inhibition of MMP1, PAR1 or mu-calpain in the TNBC cells will prevent this pacification mechanism promoting stress-induced demise of these cells. This research is supported in part by NIH/NCI grant 1R21CA181920-01 to GC. Citation Format: Ashutosh Singhal, Smita Mishra, Gautum Chaudhuri. Autocrine regulation of stress-induced cytotoxic Alu RNA expression in TNBC cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 236. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-236
Effects of damaging hydrogeological events on people throughout 15 years in a Mediterranean region

Abstract. Damaging Hydrogeological Events (DHE) are defined as rainy periods during which landslides and floods can damage people. The paper investigated the effects of DHE on people living in Calabria (southern Italy) in the period 2000–2014, using data coming from the systematic survey of regional newspapers. Data about fatalities , people injured and people involved (not killed neither hurt) were stored in the database named PEOPLE, made of three sections: (1) event identification, (2) victim-event interaction, (3) effects on people. The outcomes highlighted vulnerability factors related to gender and age: males were killed more frequently (75 %) than females (25 %), and fatalities were older (average age 49 years) than injured (40.1 years) and involved people (40.5 years). The average ages of females killed (67.5 years), injured (43.4 years) and involved (44.6 years) were higher than the same values assessed for males, maybe indicating that younger females tended to be more cautious than same-age males, while older females showed an intrinsic greater vulnerability. Involved people were younger than injured people and fatalities, perhaps because younger people show greater promptness to react in dangerous situations. In the study region, floods caused more fatalities (67.9 %), injured (55 %) and involved people (55.3 %) than landslides. Fatalities and injuries mainly occurred outdoor, especially along roads, and the most dangerous dynamic was to be dragged by flood, causing the majority of fatalities (71.4 %). These outcomes can be used to strengthen the strategies aimed at saving people, and to customise warning campaigns according to the local risk features and people's behaviour. The results can improve the understanding of the potential impacts of geo-hydrological hazards on the population and can increase risk awareness among both administrators and citizens.
Surface Deformation with Simultaneous Contact Area Measurement for Soft Transparent Media due to Spherical Contact

We present a method to measure surface deformations between a steel sphere and a flat PDMS surface. A sphere was chosen as the specimen to ensure the resulting deformation measurement can be compared to known theoretical models. A 36 mm diameter steel sphere was pressed into contact against flat, transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) sheets with a constant load rate controlled by an Instron testing machine. The modulus of the PDMS samples range from 241 kPa to 2.1 MPa. A digital image correlation technique was used to measure the surface deformation of the PDMS with increasing applied load.
War versus peace: does military officer quality adjust?

ABSTRACTIn this study, we demonstrate the quantity–quality trade-off between the size of the U.S. military force and the quality of its junior military leaders. We employ a difference-in-differences methodology and compare measures of job performance before and after to show that in periods of military force expansion, the average quality of U.S. Marine officers decline; the converse holds in times of relative peace. This has implications for both military effectiveness and understanding labour market dynamics.
Constitutionalism, Moral Skepticism, and Religious Belief

A theme that emerges from many current philosophical writings on constitutionalism is a certain uneasiness with respect to the idea that the basic function of a constitution is to protect fundamental moral rights of citizens. Representatives of the Critical Legal Studies Movement are openly contemptuous of this idea—rejecting it as either covert subjective ideology or as outright nonsense. Even those sympathetic to and supportive of the idea, however, do not exhibit the kind of supreme confidence in it that was once common. Ronald Dworkin, known as the most prominent contemporary defender of the view that the U.S. Constitution exists to protect the inherent dignity of persons, has in his most recent book Law’s Empire moved toward a more relativistic account of such matters—still confident that this document exists to protect “our” basic conventional political morality but less confident than he used to appear that this is the same as protecting an objective set of natural or basic human rights—moral rights that persons have regardless of the particular cultural conventions under which they live. Even John Rawls, with each new essay, appears more relativistic in his account of morality and of law to the degree that law depends upon or enshrines morality.1
What is Rightbreathe and why is it needed

Darush Attar-Zadeh explains why a website and app called RightBreathe can help clinicians select the correct inhaler for their patient as part of a shared decision-making process
Evaluating evapotranspiration estimation methods in APEX model for dryland cropping systems in a semi-arid region

Abstract Evapotranspiration (ET), is a major component of the hydrologic budget and therefore it requires accurate estimation. The Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX), a hydrologic and water quality model developed for evaluating the effect of agricultural production management practices on the environment. It has five different methods to simulate ET. The objectives of this study were to: determine the impact of using different ET methods in APEX on sensitive ET parameters in semi-arid environments, determine reasonable range of values for sensitive parameters, and compare performance of these methods using multiple criteria. ET and crop yield data measured in the Lysimeter fields located in the USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory, Bushland, Texas were used to calibrate and validate the model. Results indicated that selection of statistical model performance measure and ET method affects the number of sensitive parameters and parameter rank. The number of sensitive parameters remained relatively stable among ET simulation methods but there was large variability in parameter sensitivity ranks. It is also important that users carefully choose appropriate statistical measure to use depending on the goals of their study. With the exception of maximum rainfall intercept, exponent coefficient rainfall, SCS index coefficient, rain intercept coefficient, and root growth soil strength, all methods had similar ranges of values for the sensitive parameters. In general there were no large differences in the performance of ET methods. However, Penman-Monteith method simulated ET relatively better than the other methods, which may be explained by the fact that it is a physically-based method with many weather variables whose data was available for the study area. However, the study findings indicate that the other ET methods can provide satisfactory results in regions with limited weather data.
Biochemistry of Respiration

The word respiration, in a biochemical sense, is used here to refer to the processes of “dark” respiration, which may occur in the light and dark, i.e., glycolysis and the oxidative pentose phosphate pathway, the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle, and mitochondrial electron transport and oxidative phosphorylation. Respiration involves several tens of reactions, each catalyzed by a different enzyme. The whole process of respiration involves the catabolism of sugar, or other substrates, the production of CO2, and the consumption of O2. It should be emphasized that there are many potential substrates for respiration and many metabolic pathways that branch from and converge upon what is here called respiration. Dissecting out a part of plant metabolism and assigning it a respiratory role in isolation from the rest is not necessarily justifiable. Such a dissection is, however, convenient, and the flux of carbon through respiratory pathways probably exceeds any other (excepting photosynthesis) in plant cells. One final introductory note is that animal, microbe, and plant respiration are similar but not identical in all aspects, although some biochemical details and concepts applied to plant respiration are derived from studies with animal and microbial tissues. Detailed outlines of the state of knowledge of the biochemistry of higher plant respiration can be found in, for example, Davies (1980, 1987), Hall et al. (1982), Goodwin & Mercer (1983), Douce (1985), Douce & Day (1985), and Moore & Beechey (1987).
Selective Sentinel Lymphadenectomy for Malignant Melanoma, Merkel Cell Carcinoma, and Squamous Cell Carcinoma

To date, selective sentinel lymphadenectomy (SSL) should be considered a standard approach for staging patients with primary invasive melanoma greater than or equal to 1 mm. It is imperative that the multidisciplinary team master the techniques of preoperative lymphoscintigraphy, intraoperative lymphatic mapping, and postoperative pathologic evaluation of the sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs). An SLN is defined as a blue, “hot” and any subsequent lymph node greater than 10% of the ex vivo count of the hottest lymph node. Any enlarged or indurated lymph node in the nodal basin should be excised. Frozen sections are not recommended. For extremity melanoma, delayed SSL may be performed. Preoperative lymphoscintigraphy for extremity melanoma may be done the night before so that the surgery can be scheduled as the first case of the following day. Every surgeon who uses blue dye should be aware of the potential adverse reaction to isosulfan blue and treatment for such a potential fatal reaction. A complete lymph node dissection is done if the SLN is found to be positive. Elective lymph node dissection (ELND) should not be done if an SSL can be performed as a staging procedure. SSL has further been applied to stage the nodal basin for Merkel cell carcinoma and high-risk squamous cell carcinoma. It is important for investigators involved with the SSL to follow the clinical outcome of these patients, so that the role of SSL can be further defined.
Recent Results in the Theory of Machine Scheduling

The state of the art of deterministic machine scheduling is reviewed. Emphasis is placed on efficient, i. e. polynomial-bounded, optimization algorithms. A few of the more significant NP-hardness results are highlighted, and some open problems are mentioned.
Rethinking the memory hierarchy for modern languages

We present Hotpads, a new memory hierarchy designed from the ground up for modern, memory-safe languages like Java, Go, and Rust. Memory-safe languages hide the memory layout from the programmer. This prevents memory corruption bugs and enables automatic memory management. Hotpads extends the same insight to the memory hierarchy: it hides the memory layout from software and takes control over it, dispensing with the conventional flat address space abstraction. This avoids the need for associative caches. Instead, Hotpads moves objects across a hierarchy of directly addressed memories. It rewrites pointers to avoid most associative lookups, provides hardware support for memory allocation, and unifies hierarchical garbage collection and data placement. As a result, Hotpads improves memory performance and efficiency substantially, and unlocks many new optimizations.
Speed Ripple Cancellation in a Rolling Piston Compressor via a Nonlinear Adaptive Speed Controller

The common refrigeration cycle requires a compressor unit to transition the working gas from low to high pressure. In applications where noise and vibration mitigation are desired there is motivation to achieve high fidelity speed regulation. This speed control is made difficult by the fact that as the gas is compressed it exerts a highly nonlinear force against the compressor piston. Though this effect is common to all compressors, the present work considers a rolling piston type rotary compressor. A nonlinear controller is proposed which utilizes the known geometries of a rolling piston compressor, as well as the thermodynamic properties of the working gas, to develop an adaptive load torque observer. This observer acts as a feedforward term in the control input to effectively cancel out the speed ripple induced by the load torque. This design is motivated by a Lyapunov-based stability analysis which proves that the combined controller and observer scheme reduces speed error to zero asymptotically. Simulation results provide further validation.
Differentiating the Effects of Climate Change-Induced Temperature and Streamflow Changes on the Vulnerability of Once-Through Thermoelectric Power Plants

Thermoelectric power plants with once-through cooling systems generated 30% (∼300 GW) of U.S. electricity in 2016. Factors that reduce once-through cooling capacity and thus power output are environmental regulations, warming surface waters, and drought. The latter two may become more frequent as global climate changes. Previous research indicates that reduction in power plant capacity caused by environmental regulations can be significant while that by surface water warming is minor. Here, we address the effect of droughts on power output, which until now has remained conflated with temperature impacts. We do this using a widely used electricity generation model alongside hourly operational and meteorological data for 52 once-through plants located across the U.S. The effect of drought on plant output is examined for different water-availability and temperature scenarios, with and without regulations on plant water discharge. We find that if surface waters warm 3 °C and river discharges drop 20%, droughts would account for ≤20% of total capacity reduction depending on the plant, warming surface waters ≤2.3%, and environmental regulations up to 80%. This suggests that maintaining environmental regulations will require the continued conversion of plant cooling systems from once-through to recirculating, and mitigating climate impacts will require more stringent drought-specific watershed management.
RNA-Seq reveals new DELLA targets and regulation in transgenic GA-insensitive grapevines

Gibberellins (GAs) and their regulator DELLA are involved in many aspects of plant growth and development and most of our current knowledge in the DELLA-facilitated GA signaling was obtained from the studies of annual species. To understand GA-DELLA signaling in perennial species, we created ten GA-insensitive transgenic grapevines carrying a DELLA mutant allele (Vvgai1) in the background of Vitis vinifera ‘Thompson Seedless’ and conducted comprehensive analysis of their RNA expression profiles in the shoot, leaf and root tissues. The transgenic lines showed varying degrees of dwarf stature and other typical DELLA mutant phenotypes tightly correlated with the levels of Vvgai1 expression. A large number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in the shoot, leaf and root tissues of the transgenic lines and these DEGs were involved in diverse biological processes; many of the DEGs showed strong tissue specificity and about 30% them carried a DELLA motif. We further discovered unexpected expression patterns of several key flowering induction genes VvCO, VvCOL1 and VvTFL1. Our results not only confirmed many previous DELLA study findings in annual species, but also revealed new DELLA targets and responses in grapevine, including the roles of homeodomain transcription factors as potential co-regulators with DELLA in controlling the development of grapevine which uniquely possess both vegetative and reproductive meristems at the same time. The contrasting responses of some key flowering induction pathway genes provides new insights into the divergence of GA-DELLA regulations between annual and perennial species in GA-DELLA signaling.
Critical Assessment of Surveys in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: A Systematic Review.

Background Surveys are a fundamental research tool used in the field of plastic surgery. Although inherent biases within surveys have been recognized, the extent to which this problem exists in the plastic surgery literature remains unknown. The authors aim to (1) determine the extent to which common survey biases occur in plastic surgery surveys and (2) identify areas of improvement for survey researchers. Methods The authors conducted a systematic review of surveys in the plastic surgery literature from 1997 to 2017. After applying their inclusion and exclusion criteria, two reviewers examined a total of 199 studies containing a survey. A modified checklist based on the published literature was used to determine the presence, type, and severity of biases in plastic surgery surveys. Results The mean percentage of biased questions in each survey was 24 percent. The most common biases were moderate- (12 percent) and low-impact biases (10 percent). Specifically, the most common biases were forced choice questions (6 percent), horizontal responses (6 percent), and double-barreled questions (1 percent). Only 13 percent of the articles that fit the authors' inclusion criteria contained a full-length survey. Conclusions Although surveys in plastic surgery do not contain high-impact biases, the authors have identified areas of improvement for surveys used in this specialty. The authors found that the surveys contain biases in question structure and the survey design, which can be improved through minor revisions to the question stem or responses. Moreover, journals should require researchers to submit a full-text survey for research transparency.
Does Self-Efficacy and Team Leader Equity Matter for Older Workers' Mental Health?

Background and objectives Prolonged working life is not necessarily associated with good mental health. Despite the importance of healthy working life in later years, little research has been conducted on predictors of mental health in the workplace among older workers. This study aimed to investigate how personal (self-efficacy) and team (leader equity) factors are associated with older workers' mental health through work engagement. Research design and methods We analyzed responses of 508 U.S. workers aged 50 years and older from the Age and Generations Study data using structural equation modeling. Results Results showed that perceived self-efficacy was a strong predictor of mental health. Also, work engagement was a powerful mechanism for promoting older adults' mental health; engagement partially mediated the relationship between perceived self-efficacy and mental health, and fully mediated the relationship between team leader equity and mental health. Discussion and implications The findings highlight how important it is for employers to invest in human capital development, suggesting human resource programs should focus on strategies that target older adults' engagement through tailored self-efficacy programs and inclusive leadership training programs. Such attempts would contribute to enhancing the mental health of older workers.
Globalizing HRD Academic Practice: Developing a Global Mindset for Teaching and Research:

The ProblemAs a result of the domination of U.S.- and U.K.-centric approaches to human resource development (HRD), current academic practices often reside in ethnocentric content-related silos, whi...
Assessment of an Invasive Tropical Sponge on Coral Reefs in Hawai‘i1

Sponges are ecologically important components of many marine ecosystems and are abundant benthic fauna on coral reefs. Mycale grandis is an alien invasive sponge found on many partially degraded shallow water coral ecosystems in Hawai‘i. Mycale grandis is known to compete spatially with dominant native reef building coral such as Montipora capitata and Porites compressa. Since its appearance in the late 1990s, M. grandis has established itself in a number of coral reef ecosystems around the main Hawaiian Islands. Within south Kāne‘ohe Bay, sponge coverage in 2014–2017 ranged from 2.1% on fringing reefs to 32.3% within the mangrove habitat along the northern edge of Coconut Island, which is similar to coverage found in 2006–2007 surveys. Sponges are prolific filter feeders and pump seawater for the dual purpose of obtaining resources and removing metabolic wastes, and thus process large amounts of water in their environment. Mycale grandis pumps 0.0027 L seawater s–1 L–1 sponge, equivalent to 115 times its own volume per day. These pumping rates were combined with biomass estimates, depth, and circulation parameters in south Kāne‘ohe Bay to show that M. grandis can cycle a substantial amount of the overlying water column and therefore has the potential to influence the biogeochemistry of overlying reef water in south Kāne‘ohe Bay.