cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mass spectra of some syn‐ and anti‐aromatic aldoximes

The mass spectra of eight pairs of geometric isomers of aromatic oximes and four other single aromatic oximes are reported. The loss of H2O, HO and HCN are major fragmentations from the molecular ion of all the benzaldoximes studies; however, the loss of HCN from the molecular ion did not occur in the oximes of 9-phenanthraldehyde, 1-naphthaldehyde and 2-naphthaldehyde. The halogen substituted benzaldoximes eliminate HCNO and H2CNO forming an additional fragmentation pathway from the molecular ion. In general, variations were found for each pair of syn- and anti-oximes but no consistent patterns could be found in the spectra for all the syn-isomers versus all of the anti-isomers. The geometric isomerism of four oximes previously reported in the literature have been established for the first time as anti-m-bromobenzaldoxime, syn-9-phenanthraldoxime, syn-1-naphthaldoxime and syn-2-naphthaldoxime. Three new oxime acetates were prepared and their mass spectra are discussed.
An Electrostatic Probe Technique for Determining the Effectiveness of Plasma Alleviants

A theory is derived for a new electrostatic probe technique for determining the depletion of electrons in a plasma due to the introduction of an electron-attaching gas. The technique makes use of the positive ion saturation currents and the difference of floating potential. No negative species saturation current measurement is made. The technique is implemented in such a way that all complicated chemical kinetics associated with the electron-attaching gas and plasma are avoided. The utility of the technique was demonstrated in an arcjet experiment in which a readily measurable change in probe floating potential was observed, an indication that the local electron density had been significantly reduced by electron attachment to form negative ions. The arcjet was found to provide a satisfactory flow field for investigation of the effectiveness of various electrophilic gases.
Effects of Evidence on Attitudes: Is Polarization the Norm?:

A 1979 study by Lord, Ross, and Lepper has been widely cited as showing that examination of mixed evidence on a topic leads to polarization of attitudes The polarization phenomenon, we suggest, in fact encompasses two distinct change patterns—a shift from an initially moderate to a more extreme position (regarded here as genuine polarization) and a shift from an initially neutral to a moderate position (which might better be termed “articulating a position”) The findings reported here indicate that genuine polarization is a real but infrequent outcome of exposure to mixed evidence In addition, we offer data in support of the view that the effective component of such interventions is simply cognitive engagement, rather than exposure to new evidence
Classification Of Multi-Classed Stochastic Images Buried In Additive Noise

The Optimal Correlation Filter for the discrimination or classification of multi-class stochastic images buried in additive noise is designed. We consider noise in images as the (K+1)th class of stochastic image so that the K-class with noise problem becomes a problem of (K+1)-classes: K-class without noise plus the (K+1)th class of noise. Experimental verifications with both low frequency background noise and high fre-quency shot noise show that the new filter design is reliable.© (1987) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Side‐chain free aromatic polyimides containing anthracene units via Diels‐Alder precursors

Side-chain free aromatic polyimides are expected to possess extraordinary mechanical properties and stability because of strong primary and secondary bonding forces. However, their low solubility makes it difficult to characterize, process, and obtain high molecular weight polymers. We have prepared highly stable thin films of side-chain free aromatic polyimides from soluble Diels–Alder (DA) precursors. Heating the films of the precursors above 215°C induced retro-DA reaction, which converted the precursors to the fully aromatic polyimides. The solid-state retro-DA reactions were monitored by attenuated total reflection Fourier transformed infrared (ATR-FTIR) and UV-Vis spectrometry. A critical issue for utilizing precursor chemistry in polymer synthesis is that it may result in porous and/or deformed materials. In this work, profilometry and atomic force microscope (AFM) were applied to study the surface and volume change. Our results showed that smooth and pin-hole free films were obtained after the thermal treatment, while the volume decreased with a percentage close to the weight loss caused by the retro-DA reaction. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009
CoSearch: a system for co-located collaborative web search

Web search is often viewed as a solitary task; however, there are many situations in which groups of people gather around a single computer to jointly search for information online. We present the findings of interviews with teachers, librarians, and developing world researchers that provide details about users' collaborative search habits in shared-computer settings, revealing several limitations of this practice. We then introduce CoSearch, a system we developed to improve the experience of co-located collaborative Web search by leveraging readily available devices such as mobile phones and extra mice. Finally, we present an evaluation comparing CoSearch to status quo collaboration approaches, and show that CoSearch enabled distributed control and division of labor, thus reducing the frustrations associated with shared-computer searches, while still preserving the positive aspects of communication and collaboration associated with joint computer use.
Financial Reporting Differences Under SFAS 125

SFAS 125 was fully effective after December 31, 1997. The main issues covered by the standard are transfers and servicing of financial assets and recognition of liabilities. This article focuses on the differential financial statement effects and ratio impact of recording transfers as sales versus as secured borrowings. An example illustrates the income and ratio manipulation possibilities afforded by the standard.
The Incompatibility of Living Systems: Characterizing Growth-Induced Incompatibilities in Expanded Skin

Skin expansion is a common surgical technique to correct large cutaneous defects. Selecting a successful expansion protocol is solely based on the experience and personal preference of the operating surgeon. Skin expansion could be improved by predictive computational simulations. Towards this goal, we model skin expansion using the continuum framework of finite growth. This approach crucially relies on the concept of incompatible configurations. However, aside from the classical opening angle experiment, our current understanding of growth-induced incompatibilities remains rather vague. Here we visualize and characterize incompatibilities in living systems using skin expansion in a porcine model: We implanted and inflated two expanders, crescent, and spherical, and filled them to 225 cc throughout a period of 21 days. To quantify the residual strains developed during this period, we excised the expanded skin patches and subdivided them into smaller pieces. Skin growth averaged 1.17 times the original area for the spherical and 1.10 for the crescent expander, and displayed significant regional variations. When subdivided into smaller pieces, the grown skin patches retracted heterogeneously and confirmed the existence of incompatibilities. Understanding skin growth through mechanical stretch will allow surgeons to improve-and ultimately personalize-preoperative treatment planning in plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Current Clinical Trials on the Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in the Pediatric Population

Common treatment options for deep vein thrombosis and venous thromboembolism in the pediatric population include unfractionated heparin, low molecular weight heparin, and warfarin. Other alternatives are bivalirudin, argatroban, and fondaparinux. Warfarin is the only approved oral option, but an oral agent without frequent monitoring would be optimal for pediatric patients. Thus, there is an increasing need for new anticoagulation options in this population. None of the current direct oral anticoagulants have FDA-approved indications and dosing in children. The two classes of DOACs and the drugs they are comprised of are factor Xa inhibitors (rivaroxaban, apixaban, edoxaban) and direct thrombin inhibitor (dabigatran). Off-label usage of these agents is largely based on adult doses. By far, rivaroxaban and dabigatran have the most published data and ongoing trials in pediatric patients compared to edoxaban and apixaban. After evaluating the current literature available on these agents, it is, however, still too early to make any definitive recommendations on their usage in this special population.
Chirality in Mixed Nematic and Cholesteric Liquid Crystals

A mechanism is discussed explaining the different types of pitch-concentration dependences encountered in chiral mesophases. Addition of a low concentration of a chiral compound to a nematic produces a mesophase in which pitch is initially inversely proportional to concentration, but as the concentration increases, three different types of behavior occur: (a) the pitch slowly saturates as it approaches that of the pure chiral (cholesteric) compound; (b) the pitch decreases to a minimum pitch value (MPV) and then increases again to that of the pure cholesteric; (c) the pitch decreases to a MPV, increases to infinity and then decreases again to that of the pure cholesteric. This type of “compensation” which usually occurs only when a right-handed and left-handed cholesteric are mixed, is reported here for a mixture of choles-teryl-2(2-ethoxyethoxy) ethyl carbonate and the nematic N-p-methoxy-benzylidene-p-n-butylaniline. Thus, starting from a pure cholesteric, pitch may either increase or decrease upon adding a non-chiral solute. The common mechanism involves the induced circular dichroism (ICD) in the non-chiral compound caused by the helical arrangement of the chiral mesophase, which may be of the same or opposite sign as the ICD. The pitch of the pure cholesteric compound, the structure of the non-chiral compound and its affinity to ICD are important in determining which type of spectral behavior is observed.
Plasma growth-hormone response to glucocorticoids in diabetics.

SummaryPlasma human growth-hormone (HGH) response to hypoglycemia was studied in normals, maturity-onset diabetics, and insulin-dependent diabetics. Interpretation of the response is valid only when equated to comparable levels of glucose. Hospitalized and nonhospitalized normals, although showing comparable basal HGH levels after 1 hr of rest, show significantly different responses to insulin. When hospitalized normals are used as controls, the maturity-onset diabetic group show a significantly higher peak response to a comparable degree of hypoglycemia.Glucocorticoid administered as a single high dose every other day produces a significant lowering of the basal HGH levels and of the response to hypoglycemia in the insulin-dependent diabetic group.
Effect of Annealing on the Structure of Buried SiO2 Layers Formed By Elevated Temperature High Dose Oxygen Implantation

Oxygen has been implanted into Si wafers at high doses and elevated temperatures to form a buried SiO2 layer for use in silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures. Substrate heater temperatures have been varied (300, 400, 450 and 500°C) to determine the effect on the structure of the superficial Si layer through a processing cycle of implantation, annealing, and epitaxial growth Transmission electron microscopy was used to characterize the structure of the superficial layer. The structure of the samples was examined after implantation, after annealing at 1150°C for 3 hours, and after growth of the epitaxial Si layer. There was a marked effect on the structure of the superficial Si layer due to varying substrate heater temperature during implantation. The single crystal structure of the superficial Si layer was preserved at all implantation temperatures from 300 to 500°C. At the highest heater temperature the superficial Si layer contained larger precipitates and fewer defects than did wafers implanted at lower temperatures. Annealing of the as-implanted wafers significantly reduced structural differences. All wafers had a region of large, amorphous 10 to 50 nm precipitates in the lower two-thirds of the superficial Si layer while in the upper third of the layer there were a few threading dislocations. In wafers implanted at lower temperatures the buried oxide grew at the top surface only. During epitaxial Si growth the buried oxide layer thinned and the precipitate region above and below the oxide layer thickened for all wafers. There were no significant structural differences of the epitaxial Si layer for wafers with different implantation temperatures. The epitaxial layer was high quality single crystal Si and contained a few threading dislocations. Overall, structural differences in the epitaxial Si layer due to differences in implantation temperature were minimal.
Vasoconstriction in bovine vasculature induced by the tall fescue alkaloid lysergamide.

Treatment of bovine lateral saphenous vein (cranial branch) and dorsal metatar- sal artery with lysergamide (lysergic acid amide), an alkaloid in abundance in tall fescue, resulted in vasoconstriction similar to that previously shown for the ergot alkaloids ergonovine and ergotamine. Prein- cubation of tissues with lysergamide resulted in partial inhibition of the contractile response induced by the selective adrenergic agents phenylephrine and BHT-920 (P < .05), indicating partial agonist or antagonist activity of lysergamide at these receptors. Bovine vessels were strongly contracted by serotonin, and the response was markedly inhibited ( P < .01) when tissues were preincubated with lysergamide. Studies with selective serotonergic agents indicated that lysergamide may have predilection for serotonin- 2 receptors (5-HT2). Thus, lysergamide by itself has vasoconstrictor activity and acts as a partial agonist or antagonist at adrenergic and serotonergic receptors. Further studies are needed to establish the exact receptor effects of lysergamide. However, it is evident that this important alkaloid found in tall fescue infested with the endophytic fungus Acremonium coenophialum should be given consideration in studies designed to alleviate the fescue toxicosis syndrome in cattle.
Increased Expression of System xc- in Glioblastoma Confers an Altered Metabolic State and Temozolomide Resistance.

Glioblastoma multiforme is the most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in adults. Several studies have shown that glioma cells upregulate the expression of xCT (SLC7A11), the catalytic subunit of system x_c^-, a transporter involved in cysteine import, that modulates glutathione production and glioma growth. However, the role of system x_c^- in regulating the sensitivity of glioma cells to chemotherapy is currently debated. Inhibiting system x_c^- with sulfasalazine decreased glioma growth and survival via redox modulation, and use of the chemotherapeutic agent temozolomide together with sulfasalazine had a synergistic effect on cell killing. To better understand the functional consequences of system x_c^- in glioma, stable SLC7A11-knockdown and -overexpressing U251 glioma cells were generated. Modulation of SLC7A11 did not alter cellar proliferation but overexpression did increase anchorage-independent cell growth. Knockdown of SLC7A11 increased basal reactive oxygen species (ROS) and decreased glutathione generation resulting in increased cell death under oxidative and genotoxic stress. Overexpression of SLC7A11 resulted in increased resistance to oxidative stress and decreased chemosensitivity to temozolomide. In addition, SLC7A11 overexpression was associated with altered cellular metabolism including increased mitochondrial biogenesis, oxidative phosphorylation, and ATP generation. These results suggest that expression of SLC7A11 in the context of glioma contributes to tumorigenesis, tumor progression, and resistance to standard chemotherapy.
Interpolation of incompletely and non-uniformly sampled survey data for buried radioactive point source detection

At the US Army's test sites, fired penetrators made of Depleted Uranium (DU) have been buried under ground and become hazardous waste. The first step for the detection and mitigation of DU contamination is surveying a site. Typically a survey is performed in an incomplete and non-uniform manner, causing difficulties for the subsequent detection techniques. In this research, we study how to interpolate such survey data into a uniform grid. We derive an inverse distance covariance matrix A, to map an incomplete and non-uniform sample vector v into g. We demonstrate that the information contained in A and g can be used for interpolation through linear Kriging, to yield a uniform grid. We verify the effectiveness of this approach through simulation experiments.
Sarcopenia, obesity, and mortality in US adults with and without chronic kidney disease

Introduction In predialysis chronic kidney disease (CKD), the association of muscle mass with mortality is poorly defined, and no study has examined outcomes related to the co-occurrence of low muscle mass and excess adiposity (sarcopenic obesity). Methods We examined abnormalities of muscle and fat mass in adult participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999–2004. We determined whether associations of body composition with all-cause mortality differed between participants with CKD compared to those without. Results CKD modified the association of body composition with mortality ( P = 0.01 for interaction). In participants without CKD, both sarcopenia and sarcopenic obesity were independently associated with increased mortality compared with normal body composition (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.44, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07–1.93, and HR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.26–2.13, respectively). These associations were not present among participants with CKD. Conversely, obese persons had the lowest adjusted risk of death, with an increased risk among those with sarcopenia (HR = 1.43, 95% CI = 1.05–1.95) but not sarcopenic-obesity ( P = 0.003 for interaction by CKD status; HR = 1.21, 95% CI = 0.89–1.65), compared with obesity. Discussion Sarcopenia associates with increased mortality regardless of estimated glomerular filtration rate, but excess adiposity modifies this association among persons with CKD. Future studies of prognosis and weight loss and exercise interventions in CKD patients should consider muscle mass and adiposity together rather than in isolation.
A case study of bicycle theft on the Washington DC Metrorail system using a Routine Activities and Crime Pattern theory framework

This article employs Routine Activities and Crime Pattern theories to explore the factors that lead to increased risk of bike theft, focusing on Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority Metrorail (Metro) property. Utilizing the Metro bike census and other data, we use negative binomial regression analysis to model the relationship between bike thefts and various station- and neighborhood-level risk factors that can either create or close off opportunities for bike thefts. The findings indicate that bike thefts around Metro stations are positively influenced by the number of targets, as measured by the number of bikes per station, and the presence of likely offenders, as measured by the volume of auto-related larcenies. Stations that have greater guardianship, as measured by the number of nearby businesses, are less likely to experience bike theft. The implications of these findings for theory, methodological considerations, and crime prevention are discussed. We suggest that bike racks can be placed in locations with greater informal guardianship, and discuss ways our findings can inform traditional interventions such as bike locking campaigns.
In Search of UX Translators: Analyzing Researcher-Practitioner Interactions on Twitter

Interest in the nature of HCI practice has increased in the past decade, particularly in relation to the role and existence of "translators" that may bridge the gap between research and UX practice. At present, there is insufficient research to appropriately define and identify the activities of translators, and we hope to provoke additional interest in this area by documenting the UX-focused interactions on Twitter. In this work-in-progress, we identified and visualized interactions among a stratified set of UX practitioners and practitioner-academic hybrids on Twitter, analyzing their interactions to understand what relationships and roles may exist. We found few potential translators, and none from a primarily academic perspective. We identify implications and provocations from this visualization and Twitter analysis approach for future practice-led research.
Gene methylation biomarkers in sputum as a classifier for lung cancer risk

// Shuguang Leng 1 , Guodong Wu 1 , Donna M. Klinge 1 , Cynthia L. Thomas 1 , Elia Casas 1 , Maria A. Picchi 1 , Christine A. Stidley 2 , Sandra J. Lee 3 , Seena Aisner 4 , Jill M. Siegfried 5 , Suresh Ramalingam 6 , Fadlo R. Khuri 6 , Daniel D. Karp 7 and Steven A. Belinsky 1 1 Lung Cancer Program, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM, USA 2 Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA 3 Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA 4 Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA 5 Department of Pharmacology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA 6 Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA 7 MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA Correspondence to: Steven A. Belinsky, email: sbelinsk@LRRI.org Keywords: gene methylation, lung cancer risk, biomarker, CT screening Received: March 14, 2017 Accepted: June 05, 2017 Published: July 15, 2017 ABSTRACT CT screening for lung cancer reduces mortality, but will cost Medicare ~2 billion dollars due in part to high false positive rates. Molecular biomarkers could augment current risk stratification used to select smokers for screening. Gene methylation in sputum reflects lung field cancerization that remains in lung cancer patients post-resection. This population was used in conjunction with cancer-free smokers to evaluate classification accuracy of a validated eight-gene methylation panel in sputum for cancer risk. Sputum from resected lung cancer patients (n=487) and smokers from Lovelace (n=1380) and PLuSS (n=718) cohorts was studied for methylation of an 8-gene panel. Area under a receiver operating characteristic curve was calculated to assess the prediction performance in logistic regressions with different sets of variables. The prevalence for methylation of all genes was significantly increased in the ECOG-ACRIN patients compared to cancer-free smokers as evident by elevated odds ratios that ranged from 1.6 to 8.9. The gene methylation panel showed lung cancer prediction accuracy of 82–86% and with addition of clinical variables improved to 87–90%. With sensitivity at 95%, specificity increased from 25% to 54% comparing clinical variables alone to their inclusion with methylation. The addition of methylation biomarkers to clinical variables would reduce false positive screens by ruling out one-third of smokers eligible for CT screening and could increase cancer detection rates through expanding risk assessment criteria.
A Longitudinal Study of Diffusion Tensor Imaging in ALS Patients (S36.004)

OBJECTIVE: To assess changes in white matter tracts integrity in ALS patients and controls, early and at 6 months using DTI. BACKGROUND: The role of DTI in Amyotrophic Lateral sclerosis is not clearly understood, prior studies were hindered by their small sample size and provided conflicting results they also focused on the diagnostic value of DTI. The use of DTI as a marker of disease progression has not been investigated. DESIGN/METHODS: 12 patients with ALS and 12 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. ALSFRS-R, FVC and manual muscle testing were performed at baseline and at 6 months. Patients and controls underwent two structural MRI scans at baseline and at 6 months that included a high resolution T1 and a DTI scan. RESULTS: All ALS patients exhibited a significant DTI abnormalities at baseline and at 6 months. The area of corticospinal tract caudal to the thalamus bilaterally exhibited the most significant lower FA value at baseline. However the anisotropy for this region did not exhibit a significant change at 6 months. The change in FA correlated with the change in FVC. For the area where ALS patients showed a significant difference from control, there was a difference in radial but not in axial diffusivity suggesting that disrupted myelin tracts may be at the root of the drop in FA noted in the patients. CONCLUSIONS: DTI seems to be a sensitive tool for detecting early corticospinal tract degeneration and may help establish early diagnosis in ALS patients, however longitudinal analysis did not reveal significant change in FA values overtime. It seems that upper motor neuron damage in ALS happen very early on. DTI could be used as a surrogate marker of UMN degeneration but may not be a good marker of disease progression. Getting repeated scans in ALS patients is limited by the patient functional decline. Disclosure: Dr. Ajroud-Driss has nothing to disclose. Dr. Mansour has nothing to disclose. Dr. Herrmann has nothing to disclose. Dr. Casey has nothing to disclose. Dr. Allen has nothing to disclose. Dr. Sufit has nothing to disclose. Dr. Heller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Siddique has nothing to disclose. Dr. Apkarian has nothing to disclose.
Chromosomal Evolution in Rodents

The order Rodentia, composed of 1687 recent species belonging to 43 families and 354 genera, occupies a wide range of habitats throughout the world (Anderson and Jones, 1967). Rodents have been classified within three suborders: the Sciuromorpha, Myomorpha, and the Hys-tricomorpha, although the validity of suborders has been questioned (Wood, 1958). The various gross morphological features characterizing these groups, as well as the families and genera of rodents, are presented in several recent publications (Walker, 1964; Anderson and Jones, 1967). An invaluable taxonomic reference that described species and subspecies of North American rodents is the publication by Hall and Kelson (1959).
Short-range biological standoff detection system (SR-BSDS)

Fibertek is currently under contract to the US Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD to develop a multi-wavelength lidar system. Under this effort, Fibertek will deliver a system that is capable of detecting the presence of biological aerosols. The SR-BSDS has successfully demonstrated the ability to detect and track a biological aerosol cloud while discriminating between biological and non-biological aerosols and hard targets. The SR-BSDS is an active standoff detection system with both ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) capability. The UV wavelengths can provide near real time detection and ranging of a particulate cloud with demonstrated discrimination capability. Recent enhancements to the IR capability extended the cloud detection range and acquisition capability as well as providing an autonomous operation mode of operation. The SR-BSDS can be operated in one of two modes, manual or autonomous. In the manual mode the operator selects the desired scan field of view, resolution, wavelength, and degree of pulse coadding, then instructs the system to start scanning. The system will monitor its own performance and display information to the operator to indicate proper operation. The system will monitor cloud data and warn the operator when the sensor is aimed at an aerosol of interest. If a biological cloud of interest is found, an audible alarm will sound, and the operator can examine cloud imagery while the system continues to automatically monitor and track all clouds in the field-of-view. The scanning parameters can also be changed easily upon aerosol detection, if desired. In the autonomous mode, the operator selects the desired scan field of view. The system automatically scans for aerosol clouds with the IR beam. This is accomplished in a rapid, single pulse laser firing mode. Once a cloud with specified characteristics is acquired, the system automatically switches over to an UV beam for discrimination interrogation. System status, data and discrimination interrogation results will be transmitted over a wireless modem to a Command Post. All the above will continue to operate without additional operator intervention. The autonomous operation feature was recently demonstrated at Dugway Proving Ground in July of 1999. Field testing to date, both at Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD and Dugway Proving Ground, UT in 1998 and 1999 successfully demonstrated the system's detection, discrimination, scanning functions and autonomous operation. With the initial field testing and system demonstration testing successfully complete, emphasis is on several areas of enhancements in preparation for additional DPG testing and system delivery for field implementation in 2000.
Deferred lesion failure in diabetes: A truly bad actor.

DM patients with stenoses whose FFR > 0.80 have a relatively high 14% rate of deferred lesion failure (i.e., revascularization or MI). IDDM and prior revascularization were independent predictors of deferred lesion failure FFR predicts outcomes, but is a less effective predictor in diabetics due to diffuse atherosclerosis microvascular disease.
People's Judgments of Human and Robot Behaviors: A Robust Set of Behaviors and Some Discrepancies

The emergence of robots in everyday life raises the question of how people explain the behavior of robots---in particular, whether they explain robot behavior the same way as they explain human behavior. However, before we can examine whether people»s explanations differ for human and robot agents, we need to establish whether people judge basic properties of behavior similarly regardless of whether the behavior is performed by a human or a robot. We asked 239 participants to rate 78 behaviors on the properties of intentionality, surprisingness, and desirability. While establishing a pool of robust stimulus behaviors (whose properties are judged similarly for human and robot), we detected several behaviors that elicited markedly discrepant judgments for humans and robots. Such discrepancies may result from norms and stereotypes people apply to humans but not robots, and they may present challenges for human-robot interactions.
Microstructures and mechanical properties of a welded CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy

The response of the CoCrFeMnNi high-entropy alloy to weld thermal cycles was investigated to determine its applicability as an engineering structural material. Two processes were used: high-energy-...
A literary approach to Afro-Sino relations: Ufrieda Ho’s Paper Sons and Daughters: Growing Up Chinese in South Africa and Ken N. Kamoche’s Black Ghosts

AbstractThe Afro-Sino engagement supports the study of international relations beyond the framework of a West-centric narrative. Ken Kamoche’s fictionalisation of African immigrants in China, and Ufrieda Ho’s narration of the vicissitudes of Chinese communities in South Africa, contemplate the consequence of the Africa–Asia engagement on the human condition. While the attendant political apparatuses in the African continent and China laud the mutual benefits of engagement, Kamoche and Ho, by focusing on issues of transmigration, displacement and belonging, identity-formation, and so forth expose the acute Sinocentrism and Afrocentrism that impede the seamless establishment of migrant communities in both geopolitical spaces. The principal objectives of this essay involve a close reading of Kamoche and Ho’s novels to focus on the non-state participants of the Afro-Sino relations, and to discuss the emerging transnational, migrant literature that is at once African and Chinese. Ultimately, this essay suggest...
Target recognition with adaptive waveforms in cognitive radar using practical target RCS responses

In this paper, we utilize high-fidelity electromagnetic-simulated RCS responses in a cognitive radar (CRr) platform performing target recognition. Previous works used arbitrarily generated target responses consisting of a few frequency resonances which are distinct across different targets. However, realistic target responses contain rich frequency components characterized by physical scattering centers of the target. It is therefore imperative to build on prior works by considering practical target responses. We utilize an improved waveform design technique known as probability-weighted energy (PWE) over classical spectral variance methods such as probability-weighted spectral variance (PWSV). Our results showed an improvement in classification performance of SNR and mutual information (MI)-based waveforms used in conjunction with PWE and PWSV update methods over receiver-adaptive wideband pulsed waveform using a CRr platform. In this work, we also consider a more complex case where the target's azimuth angle has some deviation such that the response from that target is not deterministic but rather from an ensemble of different responses as dictated by aspect angle uncertainty.
Non-Uniform Sub-Nyquist Optical Sampling by Acousto-Optic Delay Modulation

This paper presents an optical sampler based on the combination of a mode-locked laser and external acousto-optic delay modulator, and demonstrates its use in a non-uniformly subsampled photonic link. Delay modulation of the laser's uniformly spaced pulse sequence produces a non-uniformly spaced optical pulse train, which subsequently sub-samples the microwave input of the photonic link. Using this non-uniform sub-sampler, microwave frequencies spanning a range exceeding 200 Nyquist zones are aliased to a single zone, with modulation sidebands added that uniquely identify the input frequency. This enables wideband spectral folding and frequency disambiguation, using a single sampler that is based on a high-stability pulsed laser.
The Mood of the Moment

This chapter evokes the atmosphere that attended the birth of French theory in Paris in the 1960s. The intensities of political action and the ambitions of political theory fed upon each other and both thought and action resorted to extremes. Thanks to the legacy of structuralism, theory was focused on “culture,” on the symbolic and the ideological—and the effect was to dramatize the undoing of the modern bourgeois subject. A collaboration between Lacan and Althusser offered a newly linguified Freud and Marx to the creators of French theory and the object of their thought became an “unconscious” that was at once psychological and social. A story of Tel Quel is told and we are introduced to the names we have been waiting for—Barthes, Foucault, Derrida—and also get a sense of the furiously competitive race for recogntion as a radical innovator that Philippe Sollers presided over as editor of that decisively influential publication. The early career of Julia Kristeva at Tel Quel sheds light on why textuality (“writing”) became the leading “power idea” of that movement. If cultural politics was to be a politics, thinkers still committed to some form of Marxism realized that language had somehow to be materialized.
Farewell to the Felonry

Bastard. Idiot. Imbecile. Pauper. Felon. These terms, medieval in origin, have served as formal legal designations and also the brands of substantial social stigma. As legal designations, the terms marked persons for different sorts of membership in a political community. The rights and privileges of these persons could be restricted or denied altogether. Today, most of these terms have been abandoned as labels for official classifications. But the terms felon and felony remain central to American criminal law, even after other developed democracies have formally abolished the felon/felony category. “Felony” has connotations of extreme wickedness and an especially severe crime, but the official legal meaning of felony is a pure legal construct: any crime punishable by more than a year in prison. So many and such disparate crimes are now felonies that there is no unifying principle to justify the classification. And yet, the designation of a crime as a felony, or of a person as a felon, still carries great significance. Even beyond the well-documented “collateral” consequences of a felony conviction, the classification of persons as felons is central to the mechanics of mass incarceration and to inequality both in and out of the criminal justice system. American law provides the felonry—the group of persons convicted of felonies—a form of subordinate political membership that contrasts with the rights and privileges of the full-fledged citizenry. The felon should go the way of the bastard, into the dustbins of legal history. If that outcome seems unlikely, it is worth asking why a category long known to be incoherent should be so difficult to remove from the law. This Article examines felony in order to scrutinize more broadly the conceptual structure of criminal law. Criminal laws, and even their most common critiques and arguments for reform, often appeal to the same naturalistic understanding of crime and punishment that gives felon its social meaning. When we imagine crime as a natural, pre-legal wrong and the criminal as intrinsically deserving of suffering, we displace responsibility for the law’s burdens from the community that enacts the law and the officials that enforce it. To bid farewell to the felonry could be a first step toward reclaiming responsibility for our criminal law.
Functional Microdomains in Heart's Pacemaker: A Step Beyond Classical Electrophysiology and Remodeling.

Spontaneous beating of the sinoatrial node (SAN), the primary pacemaker of the heart, is initiated, sustained, and regulated by a complex system that integrates ion channels and transporters on the cell membrane surface (often referred to as “membrane clock”) with subcellular calcium handling machinery (by parity of reasoning referred to as an intracellular “Ca2+ clock”). Stable, rhythmic beating of the SAN is ensured by a rigorous synchronization between these two clocks highlighted in the coupled-clock system concept of SAN timekeeping. The emerging results demonstrate that such synchronization of the complex pacemaking machinery at the cellular level depends on tightly regulated spatiotemporal signals which are restricted to precise sub-cellular microdomains and associated with discrete clusters of different ion channels, transporters, and regulatory receptors. It has recently become evident that within the microdomains, various proteins form an interacting network and work together as a part of a macromolecular signaling complex. These protein-protein interactions are tightly controlled and regulated by a variety of neurohormonal signaling pathways and the diversity of cellular responses achieved with a limited pool of second messengers is made possible through the organization of essential signal components in particular microdomains. In this review, we highlight the emerging understanding of the functionality of distinct subcellular microdomains in SAN myocytes and their functional role in the accumulation and neurohormonal regulation of proteins involved in cardiac pacemaking. We also demonstrate how changes in scaffolding proteins may lead to microdomain-targeted remodeling and regulation of pacemaker proteins contributing to SAN dysfunction.
Proteins and Clinical Mass Spectrometry: A Fairy Tale?

In clinical diagnostics, proteins are part of the wide array of biochemical markers used to distinguish healthy from diseased individuals. Typically, an individual's molecular measurement is compared to the population's distribution and a set threshold defines risk, treatment, or therapy. In this era of precision medicine, however, molecular measurements that define function or interaction have become more and more important to capture the dynamics of disease and define targeted treatments. In understanding the network of failing and functioning pathways that define the body's roadmap of health and disease, proteins play a key role. Proteins are involved in almost any process in the human body and these can be associated to functions and regulatory pathways that are either a signature for disease onset or a target for therapeutic intervention. Moreover, proteins respond to environmental influences and possess a disease specificity represented in the multitude of isoforms and posttranslational modifications with potentially unique functionality (1). To capture the protein's diversity and its unique function(s), mass spectrometry (MS)2 is often pictured as the “knight in shining armor.” For clinical protein assays, MS can overcome common issues associated with clinical immunoassays, such …
Hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia as biochemical markers of disease in companion rabbits

BACKGROUND Inflammation has important effects on lipid metabolism, but the relationship between hyperlipidemia, inflammation, and disease remains unknown in rabbits. While rabbits are sensitive to dietary hypercholesterolemia, the etiology of hyperlipidemia when fed non-atherogenic diets is uncertain. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine the association between hypercholesterolemia and patient characteristics, diseases, and select CBC and biochemistry analytes in rabbits, and to measure plasma lipoprotein lipid fractions in rabbits with inflammatory and other diseases. METHODS Complete blood count and plasma biochemistry data, including total cholesterol concentrations, were evaluated in 531 companion rabbits. Lipoprotein cholesterol fractions (non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [non-HDLc] and high-density lipoprotein [HDLc]) and triglycerides were measured using a colorimetric enzymatic assay in archived plasma from a subset of 267 rabbits. Rabbits were categorized by age, sex, spay/neuter status, breed, diet status (fed atherogenic dietary components or not), the organ system affected by disease, and the pathologic process. RESULTS Cholesterol was associated with fibrinogen (P = 0.01), globulins (P < 0.01), and heterophil (P < 0.01) concentrations. Adjusting for diet, rabbits with severe infection or sepsis (odds ratio [OR] = 13.25, 95% CI = 5.83-30.12), renal failure (OR = 14.42, 95% CI = 5.69-36.54), and hepatopathy (OR = 8.55, 95% CI = 3.55-20.62) had increased risks of hypercholesterolemia. Increased non-HDLc and triglyceride concentrations were also associated with these three disease states (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS Hyperlipidemia is associated with biochemical and CBC markers of inflammation, and with severe infection or sepsis, renal failure, and hepatopathy. Independent of diet, increased cholesterol, non-HDLc, and triglycerides are indicators of disease in companion rabbits.
Analysis of the role of a writing-to-learn assignment in student understanding of organic acid–base concepts

Acid–base chemistry is a foundational topic that is taught in courses across the chemistry curriculum. Students often have difficulty distinguishing between the different theories of acid–base chemistry—Bronsted–Lowry and Lewis acid–base chemistry—and applying these two definitions correctly in unfamiliar scenarios. To help students learn these definitions and be able to apply them, an acid–base Writing-to-Learn assignment was developed and evaluated. The Writing-to-Learn assignment involved a three-step process where students constructed an initial draft in response to a writing prompt, participated in peer review, and made revisions based on peer review feedback, before submitting a final draft. This process is informed by sociocultural theory applied to writing, which states that student learning of concepts increases through engagement with their peers’ work and receiving peer feedback on their own writing. To test the efficacy of the acid–base writing assignment, an external assessment, comprised of conceptual questions related to acid–base chemistry and students’ confidence when responding to them, was administered in two groups; a treatment group who completed the Writing-to-Learn assignment, and a comparison group who completed a separate assignment. Additionally, students who completed the Writing-to-Learn assignment were interviewed about their experiences. Regression analysis revealed that students in the treatment group had a greater increase in their conceptual understanding and confidence as compared to the students in the comparison group. The results demonstrate the students could successfully write about the Bronsted–Lowry and Lewis acid–base models separately, but were less successful with connecting these two concepts together in their writing. These results demonstrate the efficacy of Writing-to-Learn as an approach for promoting conceptual learning of acid–base chemistry.
INTERMACS 3 and 4 Patients Have Excellent Outcomes after Complete Sternal-Sparing HeartMate 3 Implantation

Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate early outcomes for INTERMACS Profile 3 and 4 patients implanted with the complete sternal-sparing Heartmate 3 surgical technique. Methods Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data was performed on 53 consecutive patients implanted with left ventricular assist devices between February and September 2018 at a single institution. Patients were excluded if they were enrolled in a study requiring full sternotomy (3 patients), underwent pump exchange (5 patients), or were implanted with the HeartWare device (4 patients). Early clinical outcomes and survival at 30-days were evaluated for all INTERMACS Profile 3 and 4 patients. Results Of the 41 total patients, 18 (44%) were INTERMACS 3 or 4 at time of implantation and were included in this study. All patients underwent complete sternal-sparing HeartMate3 implantation with no conversions to full sternotomy. Average age was 54.6 ±16.1 years and 67% were male (Table). One patient (6%) returned to the operating room for bleeding. No patients required RVAD support. Median intubation time was 16 [IQR=7-34] hours. Median intensive care unit and hospital length of stay were 3 [IQR=2-4] days and 14 [IQR=12-18] days, respectively. One patient (6%) was readmitted within 30-days for gastrointestinal bleeding. Thirty-day survival was 100% (18/18). Conclusion In our single center experience, complete sternal-sparing HeartMate 3 implantation of INTERMACS 3 and 4 patients is safe with a low complication rate and excellent perioperative outcomes. Multicenter studies are required to further validate this less invasive surgical technique.
Rehabilitation After Acute MI

Cardiac rehabilitation as practiced today is a synthesis of exercise training, risk factor modification, psychosocial support, and education for the purpose of facilitating readaptation to normal life via improved functional performance and coronary heart disease risk factors.
SLC27 family of fatty acid transporters (version 2019.4) in the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology Database

Fatty acid transporter proteins (FATPs) are a family (SLC27) of six transporters (FATP1-6). They have at least one, and possibly six [4, 11], transmembrane segments, and are predicted on the basis of structural similarities to form dimers. SLC27 members have several structural domains: integral membrane associated domain, peripheral membrane associated domain, FATP signature, intracellular AMP binding motif, dimerization domain, lipocalin motif, and an ER localization domain (identified in FATP4 only) [2, 8, 9]. These transporters are unusual in that they appear to express intrinsic very long-chain acyl-CoA synthetase (EC 6.2.1.- , EC 6.2.1.7) enzyme activity. Within the cell, these transporters may associate with plasma and peroxisomal membranes. FATP1-4 and -6 transport long- and very long-chain fatty acids, while FATP5 transports long-chain fatty acids as well as bile acids [7, 11].