cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
WE-DE-BRC-01: TG-100 Overview

This SAMs Therapy Educational Course will introduce participants to the tools recommended by TG 100 for use in the development of a risk-based Quality Management Program. The Course will start with an Overview of the background and rationale behind the TG 100 initiative, from which its charge was developed. After setting the scene, four 15 minute presentations will introduce the principal components of the soon to be published Report of TG 100. These are Process Mapping, Failure Modes and Effects Analysis, Fault Tree Analysis and the development of a QA/QM risk-based Program. There will be time for two short exercises based on Failure Modes and Effects Analysis and a Discussion before the SAMs questions which will conclude the session. Learning Objectives: 1. To appreciate the underlying philosophy of the TG 100 initiative. 2. To gain a brief overview of the principal risk-based tools recommended by TG 100. 3. In an informal workshop format, to explore, at an introductory level, the use of risk analysis as proposed by TG 100 as a prelude to the development of a Quality Management Program.
The Problem of the Development of Higher Mental Functions

The history of the development of the higher mental functions is a field in psychology that has never been explored. Despite the enormous importance of studying the processes in the development of higher mental functions for proper understanding and logical elucidation of all aspects of the child’s personality, no precise boundaries of this field have yet been established, neither has a formulation of basic problems or tasks confronting researchers been methodologically realized nor has an appropriate method of investigation been devised; no elements of a theory or at least of a working hypothesis, have been set up or developed that might aid a researcher in thinking through and tentatively explaining facts and observed patterns discovered in the process of his work.
Peace-Focused Policy for Social Education

Visions are catalysts for change that policy facilitates. People with a vision embodied in education policy use the recommended strategies. Selection and usage of standards that support their visions are contemporary responses to policy. Contextually, responsive usage ofpolicy can reflect critical analysis of the prescribed instruction. Social reconstructionism and cognitive constructivism are two theories that underlie policy responses and progressive pedagogy. State policies that recommend instruction in conflict management or social and emotional literacy demonstrate visions of peace. This chapter provides a case example of progressive state policies along with Standards for Peace Education.
The Karen and the Politics of Conversion

The history this essay explores confirms the claim that a combination of political backdrop, social change, tribal religion, and cross-cultural appropriation of the gospel has positively contributed to religious conversion among the ethnic Karen in Burma from their primal religion to Christianity. This essay further contends that Christianity has protected the Karen from Burman coercion and assimilation, continued to differentiate them from the Burman, and will likely protect them from Burman aggression and absorption in the future, proving the historical truth that the fate and future of the Karen are tightly bound up with Christianity. It is also observed that the Karen would have been assimilated into the religion, culture, language, and ethnicity of the Burman had they refused to convert from their ancestral religion to Christianity.
Abstract 1589: Investigation of circulating tumor cells from head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy: A pilot study

Background: Circulating tumor cell (CTC) enumeration provides prognostic information in patients with metastatic breast, prostate, colorectal and lung cancer. However, the effect of radiation therapy (RT) on CTCs in patients with primary head and neck malignancies has not been explored. The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine how CTCs, as measured by a novel cell capture technique, respond to RT in patients with head and neck cancer. Methods: A total of a 16 patients undergoing definitive radiation for primary, non-metastatic head and neck cancer were enrolled in this pilot study. Peripheral blood was collected at 5 time points, including at baseline prior to starting RT, at the first week, mid-point and final week during treatment, and at least 4 weeks after completion of RT. Quantification of CTCs was performed with a novel device that used a biomimetic combination of three cancer cell-specific antibodies (aEpCAM, aHer-2, and aEGFR) immobilized through poly(amidoamine) dendrimers and E-selectin, which respectively induce concurrent stationary binding and dynamic cell rolling of the tumor cells. Results: CTCs were successfully detected in all patients before the start of radiation (100%), including patients with HPV/p16 positive or negative tumors. The novel CTC device yielded up to a 4-fold enhancement in capture efficiency relative to the aEpCAM-functionalized surface. The average CTC count in patients before RT was 386 CTCs per mL (range, 18 to 1134 CTCs per mL), significantly higher than the average CTC count of 90 CTCs per mL after the completion of radiation (range, 5 to 393 CTCs per mL). All but one patient demonstrated a decrease in measured CTCs at sequential time points during the course of RT. The patient with an elevation in CTCs during RT had residual metastatic carcinoma detected after left level II selective cervical neck dissection, which was performed 12 weeks post-RT due to persistent radiographic lymph nodal abnormality. At a median follow-up of 1.5 months, no patient has had a local or distant failure. Conclusions: We have demonstrated that our novel technology can affectively capture CTCs in head and neck cancer patients. Importantly, our pilot data shows CTCs decrease over the course of RT, suggesting CTCs can be a predicative biomarker for radiotherapy response. Further study will investigate associations between CTC kinetics and clinical outcomes. Citation Format: Michael J. Eblan, Ja Hye Myung, Joseph M. Caster, Bhishamjit S. Chera, Seungpyo Hong, Andrew Z. Wang. Investigation of circulating tumor cells from head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy: A pilot study. [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 1589. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1589
Caenorhabditis elegans as a model to study the impact of exposure to light emitting diode (LED) domestic lighting.

ABSTRACTThis study aimed to investigate the biological impact of exposure on domestic light emitting diodes (LED) lighting using the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model. Nematodes were separately exposed to white LED light covering the range of 380–750 nm, blue light at 450 nm and black light at 380–420 nm for one life cycle (egg to adult) with dark exposure as the control. Each light range induced stress to the nematode C. elegans such as reducing the number of the hatched eggs and/or delayed the maturation of the hatched eggs to the adult stage. In addition, it lowered or prevented the ability of adults to lay eggs and impaired the locomotion in the exposed worms. The observed type of biological stress was also associated with the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) as compared to nematodes grown in the dark. It is concluded that the blue light component of white LED light may cause health problems, and further investigation is required to test commercial brands of white LEDs ...
Transport and replication dynamics of diffusion processes in networked systems

In this paper we present a modelling paradigm motivated by the physical phenomenon of heat diffusion. The diffusion equation, or heat equation, in physics describes the dynamics of dissipation of heat in 3-dimensional solid bodies and many similar phenomena such as the dissipation of agents in solvents. We find that the mathematical structure governing some important types of network flows is paradigmatically equivalent to diffusion, with conceptual differences imposed by the role of the underlying network, which is a discrete graph as opposed to a continuous material body. In modelling network flows, the 3-dimensional second order partial differential equation that mathematically represents heat (and other) diffusion processes decomposes to systems of particularly coupled ordinary differential equations. The solutions of these systems of ordinary differential equations describe the evolution of network flow. The particular ways the equations are coupled are dictated by the graph structure that forms the topology of the network. Of particular interest are the behaviours of scale-free and Granovetter-type networks. In the framework presented here we can model link strength by a conductivity factor (or function, if it changes in time), and observe a "clustering in the short term, convergence in the long term" behaviour of Granovetter and scale-free networks. Corresponding results are obtained for important regular and Watts-Strogatz-type "small world" networks.
Variation across individuals and items determine learning outcomes from fast mapping

An approach to learning words known as "fast mapping" has been linked to unique neurobiological and behavioral markers in adult humans, including rapid lexical integration. However, the mechanisms supporting fast mapping are still not known. In this study, we sought to help change this by examining factors that modulate learning outcomes. In 90 subjects, we systematically manipulated the typicality of the items used to support fast mapping (foils), and quantified learners' inclination to employ semantic, episodic, and spatial memory through the Survey of Autobiographical Memory (SAM). We asked how these factors affect lexical competition and recognition performance, and then asked how foil typicality and lexical competition are related in an independent dataset. We find that both the typicality of fast mapping foils, and individual differences in how different memory systems are employed, influence lexical competition effects after fast mapping, but not after other learning approaches. Specifically, learning a word through fast mapping with an atypical foil led to lexical competition, while a typical foil led to lexical facilitation. This effect was particularly evident in individuals with a strong tendency to employ semantic memory. We further replicated the relationship between continuous foil atypicality and lexical competition in an independent dataset. These findings suggest that semantic properties of the foils that support fast mapping can influence the degree and nature of subsequent lexical integration. Further, the effects of foils differ based on an individual's tendency to draw-on the semantic memory system.
Towards a Comprehensive Concurrency Control Mechanism for Object-Oriented Databases

Object-Oriented databases are becoming increasingly popular in business. Issues such as query optimization, analysis and design techniques, and concurrency control have been addressed as they pertain to the relational model but have not been addressed as they apply to the object-oriented model. This paper includes the framework development and description of a concurrency control mechanism named O2C2 which is specifically designed for an object-oriented database. O2C2 is a lockâ€“based concurrency control mechanism that forms the basis of this research. A description of database concurrency control and object-oriented database precepts are presented to provide a basis for a comprehensive framework for concurrency control in object-oriented databases. The theory is developed along four specified dimensions which are the hierarchical level dimension, the data type dimension, the composite or complex objects dimension and transaction type dimension. Additionally, a comprehensive list of rules is given that are crucial to an object-oriented database concurrency control mechanism. The rules are given to provide a basis not only for the O2C2 mechanism, but for any object-oriented database concurrency control mechanism. The O2C2 mechanism is then presented after which a discussion ensues about the possible transaction types in order to demonstrate the robustness of the mechanism.
Completely Regular Designs of Strength One

We study a class of highly regular t-designs. These are the subsets of vertices of the Johnson graph which are completely regular in the sense of Delsarte l2r. In l9r, Meyerowitz classified the completely regular designs having strength zero. In this paper, we determine the completely regular designs having strength one and minimum distance at least two. The approach taken here utilizes the incidence matrix of (t+1)-sets versus k-sets and is related to the representation theory of distance-regular graphs l1, 5r.
The Future of Financial Planning and Counseling: An Introduction to Financial Therapy

The purpose of this chapter is fourfold. First, the chapter defines what is generally meant when practitioners and researchers talk about financial planning and counseling as a field of study and practice. Second, the process and theoretical underpinnings of financial planning and counseling are discussed. Third, a review of the historical development of marriage and family therapy is presented. Last, a new emerging field of study, namely, financial therapy is introduced. Specifically, financial therapy is defined and reviewed. An overview of the history and theoretical development of financial therapy is also provided. The chapter concludes with a discussion on how assessment of tools and techniques can be useful to practitioners, researchers, clinicians, and educators in the field of financial therapy, and how assessment can help this new discipline find grounding and gain respect among already established fields.
Network Throughput and Reliability: Preventing Hazards and Attacks Through Gaming—Part I: Modeling

By facilitating activity flows, infrastructure networks such as transportation, telecommunication and power grids are essential to the economy, quality-of-life and security of a society. However, as evidenced in recent historical events such as the collapse of the Minneapolis Highway Bridge and attacks on a country’s defense-information infrastructure, a network is only useful if it is reliable, secure, and functioning properly. In other words, it has to be devoid of unexpected failures due to natural/technological disasters and outside attacks. A stochastic network, characterized by arcs (links) and nodes that can fail unexpectedly, is proposed to mimic such unpredicted interruptions. Through such a stochastic-network model, we identify tactics to prevent disruptions caused by natural/technological hazards and hostile tampering. Strategically, we can also advance public-policy options by determining an appropriate budget needed not only to maintain our infrastructure, but also to guard against adversarial attacks. The latter are accomplished by imputing the value of network security scientifically based on the cost of disrupting economic and noneconomic transactions, rather than using traditional cost accounting.
Multi-layer temperature-responsive hydrogel for forward-osmosis desalination with high permeable flux and fast water release

Abstract The development of forward-osmosis (FO) desalination is significantly restricted by the lack of suitable draw agents for both high permeable flux and fast release of water. To address this bottleneck, a multi-layer temperature-responsive hydrogel based on poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co‑sodium acrylate) (P(NIPAAm-co-SA)) was developed. The drawing layer had a high concentration of SA for high osmotic pressure in the FO process. The releasing layer had no SA to preserve the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of P-NIPAAm for fast water release. The multi-layer hydrogel yielded a high capacity of water absorption and high permeable flux due to the ionic drawing layer, which were comparable to that of the uniform P(NIPAAm-co-SA) hydrogels. Compared to the uniform hydrogels without LCST phase transition for the fast release of water, the releasing layer in our design preserved the LCST which facilitated the release of water as a result of inter-layer water transport from the drawing to the releasing layers. Such an effect allowed the further enhancement of water release by using the intermittent dewatering strategy and reduction of energy consumption. It was also found that reducing the gradient of SA concentration along the water transport path also improved the dewatering ratio as a result of promoting this inter-layer water transport.
People Over Pandas: Taiwan’s Engagement of International Human Rights Norms with Respect to Disability

Taiwan’s early law (1980) regarding disability presumed a medical model—i.e., seeing disability as an individual problem rather than a societal responsibility. Facing considerable discrimination and inspired by the social model embodied elsewhere, including in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), citizen activists, including disabled persons organizations, have pressed for legislative reform. Following the earlier support of the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou for incorporation of the United Nations Human Rights Covenants into domestic law (owing to Taiwan’s being barred from formal accession), the Legislative Yuan in 2014 passed a bill designed to incorporate the CRPD into Republic of China (R.O.C) law. That measure not only retained all key provisions of the CRPD but also called on the Executive Yuan to conduct a comprehensive review of existing legal measures for compliance and pro-actively to engage persons with disabilities in implementing the new law, while also establishing innovative reporting and monitoring mechanisms intended to parallel the requirements of the CRPD. Much progress has been achieved but serious challenges remain regarding discrimination, especially with respect to employment and reasonable accommodations, while some scholars have questioned the suitability of a highly individual-focused rights-based model for Taiwanese society. Disabled persons organizations continue to play an active role both in policy and legal advocacy and in seeking to educate the public more broadly about disability.
Use of anti-CRISPR protein AcrIIA4 as a capture ligand for CRISPR/Cas9 detection.

Abstract The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex is an RNA-guided DNA-nuclease that is part of the bacterial adaptive immune system. CRISPR/Cas9 RNP has been adapted for targeted genome editing within cells and whole organisms with new applications vastly outpacing detection and quantification of gene-editing reagents. Detection of the CRISPR/Cas9 RNP within biological samples is critical for assessing gene-editing reagent delivery efficiency, retention, persistence, and distribution within living organisms. Conventional detection methods are effective, yet the expense and lack of scalability for antibody-based affinity reagents limit these techniques for clinical and/or field settings. This necessitates the development of low cost, scalable CRISPR/Cas9 RNP affinity reagents as alternatives or augments to antibodies. Herein, we report the development of the Streptococcus pyogenes anti-CRISPR/Cas9 protein, AcrIIA4, as a novel affinity reagent. An engineered cysteine linker enables covalent immobilization of AcrIIA4 onto glassy carbon electrodes functionalized via aryl diazonium chemistry for detection of CRISPR/Cas9 RNP by electrochemical, fluorescent, and colorimetric methods. Electrochemical measurements achieve a detection of 280 pM RNP in reaction buffer and 8 nM RNP in biologically representative conditions. Our results demonstrate the ability of anti-CRISPR proteins to serve as robust, specific, flexible, and economical recognition elements in biosensing/quantification devices for CRISPR/Cas9 RNP.
Lagenorhynchus obliquidens (Pacific white-striped porpoise)

The karyotypes were donated by Dr. Deborah A. Duffield, Riverside, California. They were prepared from lymphocyte cultures. Pairing is arbitrary and the X chromosome is only visually identified.
Association of Hyperchloremia With Unfavorable Clinical Outcomes in Adults With Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Objective:Hyperchloremia is associated with worsened outcomes in various clinical situations; however, data are limited in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The purpose of this study was t...
The impact of thermal properties on performance of phase change based energy storage systems

Abstract Phase change materials (PCMs) are used commonly for thermal energy storage and thermal management. Typically, a PCM utilizes its large latent heat to absorb and store energy from a source. The rate of energy stored (W) and energy storage density (J/m3) over a certain time period are both important performance parameters of a phase change based energy storage system. While significant experimental research has been carried out to improve thermal conductivity of PCMs, there is a lack of theoretical understanding of how thermal conductivity and other thermophysical properties affect these performance parameters. This paper presents a theoretical heat transfer model to predict the rate of energy storage and energy storage density as functions of PCM thermal properties. Using perturbation method based techniques, expressions for these parameters are derived for two geometries, first for a simplified assumption of constant temperature at the source-PCM interface, and then for a more realistic scenario of time-dependent interface temperature. Results indicate that while increasing thermal conductivity results in improvement in rate of energy stored, the energy storage density does not change for a Cartesian system and actually decreases for cylindrical system. This shows that using a high thermal conductivity PCM may not be ideal when energy must be stored compactly because while this increases the total energy absorbed, it also results in greater rate of melting, which reduces the energy storage density. Results also provide guidelines for material selection for phase change based energy storage systems. For example, a trade-off in the choice between materials of disparate thermal properties is identified in terms of whether the rate of energy stored or energy storage density is paramount. Differences in the performance of Cartesian and cylindrical systems is investigated. Theoretical results presented in this work highlight various performance trade-offs related to the thermal properties of the PCM and help understand the impact of thermal conductivity enhancement on phase change energy storage performance.
Risk-Based Newborn Drug Testing in a Setting With a Low Prevalence of Maternal Drug Use.

OBJECTIVES: Our objective in this study was to determine the predictive value of an institutional risk-based newborn drug-testing tool for detecting maternal drug use during pregnancy. METHODS: For 5.5 months, the umbilical cords of all newborns born at the study institution were collected and analyzed at a national reference laboratory. In the context of usual clinical care, the decision to perform newborn drug testing is based on an institutional risk assessment tool. For the cohort without clinical indication for testing, cords were deidentified during the study period. Chart review was not performed. Study data were compared with a national data set during the same time period and to previous institutional data. RESULTS: We tested 857 newborns, 257 of which had 1 or more identified risk factors. There were no drugs or drug metabolites that were significantly more common in the cohort without risk factors than in the clinical cohort. Alprazolam, methamphetamine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone were all significantly more commonly found in the risk-identified cohort. Amphetamine, methamphetamine, and cocaine were not detected in umbilical cords from any of the 600 newborns that would not have been identified for testing. Tetrahydrocannabinol (1.0%; n = 6) was the only illegal substance in the institution’s state that would not have been detected. CONCLUSIONS: Performing universal newborn drug testing in the study population would have identified an additional 6 newborns who were exposed prenatally to tetrahydrocannabinol out of 600 who were additionally tested. In areas with a low prevalence of maternal drug use, universal testing may not be cost-effective.
Association of Mild Echocardiographic Pulmonary Hypertension With Mortality and Right Ventricular Function.

Importance Current guidelines recommend evaluation for echocardiographically estimated right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP) greater than 40 mm Hg; however, this threshold does not capture all patients at risk. Objectives To determine if mild echocardiographic pulmonary hypertension (ePH) is associated with reduced right ventricular (RV) function and increased risk of mortality. Design, Setting, and Participants In this cohort study, electronic health record data of patients who were referred for echocardiography at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, from March 1997 to February 2014 and had recorded estimates of RVSP values were studied. Data were analyzed from February 2017 to May 2019. Exposures Mild ePH was defined as an RVSP value of 33 to 39 mm Hg. Right ventricular function was assessed using tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE), and RV–pulmonary arterial coupling was measured using the ratio of TAPSE to RVSP. Main Outcomes and Measures Associations of mild ePH with mortality adjusted for relevant covariates were examined using Cox proportional hazard models with restricted cubic splines. Results Of the 47 784 included patients, 26 758 of 47 771 (56.0%) were female and 6040 of 44 763 (13.5%) were black, and the mean (SD) age was 59 (18) years. Patients with mild ePH had worse RV function compared with those with no ePH (mean [SD] TAPSE, 2.0 [0.6] cm vs 2.2 [0.5] cm;P Conclusions and Relevance Mild ePH was associated with RV dysfunction and worse RV–pulmonary arterial coupling in a clinical population seeking care. Future studies are needed to identify patients with mild ePH who are susceptible to adverse outcomes.
Perspectives, Questions, and Epistemic Value

Many epistemologists endorse true-belief monism, the thesis that only true beliefs are of fundamental epistemic value. However, this view faces formidable counterexamples. In response to these challenges, we alter the letter, but not the spirit, of true-belief monism. We dub the resulting view “inquisitive truth monism”, which holds that only true answers to relevant questions are of fundamental epistemic value. Which questions are relevant is a function of an inquirer’s perspective, which is characterized by his/her interests, social role, and background assumptions. Using examples of several different scientific practices, we argue that inquisitive truth monism outperforms true-belief monism.
RNA helicase DDX21 mediates nucleotide stress responses in neural crest and melanoma cells.

The availability of nucleotides has a direct impact on transcription. The inhibition of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase (DHODH) with leflunomide impacts nucleotide pools by reducing pyrimidine levels. Leflunomide abrogates the effective transcription elongation of genes required for neural crest development and melanoma growth in vivo1. To define the mechanism of action, we undertook an in vivo chemical suppressor screen for restoration of neural crest after leflunomide treatment. Surprisingly, we found that alterations in progesterone and progesterone receptor (Pgr) signalling strongly suppressed leflunomide-mediated neural crest effects in zebrafish. In addition, progesterone bypasses the transcriptional elongation block resulting from Paf complex deficiency, rescuing neural crest defects in ctr9 morphant and paf1(alnz24) mutant embryos. Using proteomics, we found that Pgr binds the RNA helicase protein Ddx21. ddx21-deficient zebrafish show resistance to leflunomide-induced stress. At a molecular level, nucleotide depletion reduced the chromatin occupancy of DDX21 in human A375 melanoma cells. Nucleotide supplementation reversed the gene expression signature and DDX21 occupancy changes prompted by leflunomide. Together, our results show that DDX21 acts as a sensor and mediator of transcription during nucleotide stress. Santoriello, Sporrij et al. show that the progesterone receptor associates with RNA helicase DDX21 during nucleotide depletion, promotes its binding on chromatin and rescues efficient transcription in melanoma cells.
Kinetics of antibody responses dictate COVID-19 outcome

Recent studies have provided insights into innate and adaptive immune dynamics in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Yet, the exact feature of antibody responses that governs COVID-19 disease outcomes remain unclear. Here, we analysed humoral immune responses in 209 asymptomatic, mild, moderate and severe COVID-19 patients over time to probe the nature of antibody responses in disease severity and mortality. We observed a correlation between anti-Spike (S) IgG levels, length of hospitalization and clinical parameters associated with worse clinical progression. While high anti-S IgG levels correlated with worse disease severity, such correlation was time-dependent. Deceased patients did not have higher overall humoral response than live discharged patients. However, they mounted a robust, yet delayed response, measured by anti-S, anti-RBD IgG, and neutralizing antibody (NAb) levels, compared to survivors. Delayed seroconversion kinetics correlated with impaired viral control in deceased patients. Finally, while sera from 89% of patients displayed some neutralization capacity during their disease course, NAb generation prior to 14 days of disease onset emerged as a key factor for recovery. These data indicate that COVID-19 mortality does not correlate with the cross-sectional antiviral antibody levels per se , but rather with the delayed kinetics of NAb production.
Investigating the satisfaction of Cairo casual-dining restaurants architectural atmospherics and its influences on the users’ behavioral intentions: On-site survey

Abstract This study aims to understand the influence of architectural atmospheric elements of restaurants (AAER) on users’ satisfaction and users’ visiting behaviors intentions (UVBI), the study sample consists of 160 users randomly selected in 7 casual-dining restaurants in Cairo, the survey technique was utilized, the survey questions formed 4 main hypotheses and 22 sub- hypotheses. To define the (AAER) an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was utilized then a two-step approach was used: (i).The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), (ii). The structural equation model (SEM) was utilized to test the hypothetical relationships and the proposed Good-model-fit. Chi-square, spearman testes conducted to examine the study hypotheses, (SEM) results showed that users’ satisfaction has positive significance on all (AAER), ambient lighting and sitting & furniture, dinning artworks, are the most influential on visitor satisfaction, there is a correlation between satisfaction with (AAER) and the desire to visit the restaurant again and stay longer.
Improvement of Reconstruction Algorithm of AFM Scanning Images

Atomic force microscope(AFM) images contain distortions induced by the finite size of the tip.Reconstruction of the images allows one to remove the influence of tip shape and analyze the image at the nano-scale.However there are a lot of errors in the reconstruction of the image using blind tip evaluation,and these errors can be eliminated with the new method proposed in the paper based on pre-estimation of the tip.This method builds the tip model based on the zoning of the probe shape,and reconstructs the image by deconvolution of the tip model in order to obtain close to real surface of the sample.This paper gives steps of the algorithm in detail.The simulation and experimental results show that the errors from reconstructing AFM image are reduced,and the reconstructed image can present more surface information of the sample.
Measuring Youth Empowerment: An Item Response Theory Analysis of the Sociopolitical Control Scale for Youth

Sociopolitical control (SPC) has been identified as a key element of the intrapersonal component of psychological empowerment. The Sociopolitical Control Scale (SPCS) is a widely used measure and has been modified for use among youth (SPCS-Y). In light of the emerging interest in SPC among youth within community-based research, this study applied item response theory (IRT) to examine the psychometric properties of the SPCS-Y and to explore a brief version. Data were collected between 2006 and 2013 from a convenience sample of high school students (N = 1,808), located in a midsized, economically disadvantaged urban community in the northeastern United States. Findings indicate that the two subscales, leadership competence, and policy control, were unidimensional and items functioned well. Most items functioned particularly well at low and moderate levels of the construct, but a few were able to capture higher levels of the construct. Based on our IRT analyses of the performance of items on the subscales, we selected items to create a brief version of the SPCS-Y (BSPCS-Y) and performed structural equation modeling for further examination. Results provide empirical evidence to support the reliability and validity of the SPCS-Y and suggest a brief version based on high-performing items is possible.
Effects of the noncoding subgenomic RNA of red clover necrotic mosaic virus in virus infection.

In recent years, a new class of viral noncoding subgenomic (ncsg)RNA has been identified. This RNA is generated as a stable degradation product via an exoribonuclease-resistant (xr) RNA structure, which blocks the progression of 5'→3' exoribonuclease on viral RNAs in infected cells. Here, we assess the effects of the ncsgRNA of red clover necrotic mosaic virus (RCNMV), called SR1f, in infected plants. We demonstrate: (i) absence of SR1f reduces symptoms and decreases viral RNA accumulation in Nicotiana benthamiana and Arabidopsis thaliana plants; (ii) SR1f has an essential function other than suppression of RNA silencing; and (iii) the cytoplasmic exoribonuclease involved in mRNA turnover, XRN4, is not required for SR1f production or virus infection. A comparative transcriptomic analysis in N. benthamiana infected with wildtype RCNMV or an SR1f-deficient mutant RCNMV revealed that wt RCNMV infection, which produces SR1f and much higher levels of virus, has a greater and more significant impact on cellular gene expression than the SR1f-deficient mutant. Upregulated pathways include plant hormone signaling, plant-pathogen interaction, MAPK signaling, and several metabolic pathways, while photosynthesis-related genes were downregulated. We compare this to host genes known to participate in infection by other tombusvirids. Viral reads revealed a 10 to 100-fold ratio of positive to negative strand, and the abundance of reads of both strands mapping to the 3' region of RCNMV RNA1 support the premature mechanism of synthesis for the coding sgRNA. These results provide a framework for future studies of the interactions and functions of noncoding RNAs of plant viruses. IMPORTANCE Knowledge of how RNA viruses manipulate host and viral gene expression is crucial to our understanding of infection and disease. Unlike viral protein-host interactions, little is known about the control of gene expression by viral RNA. Here we begin to address this question by investigating the noncoding subgenomic (ncsg)RNA of red clover necrotic mosaic virus (RCNMV), called SR1f. Similar exoribonuclease-resistant RNAs of flaviviruses are well-studied, but the roles of plant viral ncsgRNAs, and how they arise, are poorly understood. Surprisingly, we find the likely exonuclease candidate, XRN4, is not required to generate SR1f, and we assess the effects of SR1f on virus accumulation and symptom development. Finally, we compare the effects of infection by wildtype RCNMV vs an SR1f-deficient mutant on host gene expression in Nicotiana benthamiana, which reveals that ncsgRNAs such as SR1f are key players in virus-host interactions to facilitate productive infection.
The Making of a German Constitution: A Slow Revolution

Introduction: Transforming the Reich: Toward a New Political History of Modern Germany Chapter I: Prelude to Modern Germany: Iurisdictio and the German Idea of Sovereignty Chapter II: Toward a Modern Nation: Friedrich Karl von Savigny and the Growth of Modern Legal Politics Chapter III: Images of the Gemeinwesen: The Germanists and the Growth of German Customary Law Constitutionalism Chapter IV: Undermining Absolutism: The Path of Legalism and Constituting the Nation 1848-1879 Chapter V: A Century of Promise: Eheliches Guterrecht, Women's Wealth and Independence in Nineteenth Century Germany Chapter VI: The Last Bastion: The Burgerliches Gesetzbuch and the Transformation of German Society Chapter VII: Discontent in the Burgerliche Republic: Exclusion and Popular Resentment 1900-1933 Chapter VIII: Conclusion: The German Idea of Revolution: Some Final Thoughts
Which Way Out of Egypt? Physical Geography Related to the Exodus Itinerary

The Exodus narrative is rich with geographic references that are properly understood in the context of the ancient landscape of the eastern Nile Delta and adjacent Sinai Peninsula. Changes in the physical geography of the region reflect dynamic interactions between the Nile river system, the Mediterranean Sea, and tectonics of the Red Sea rift system. Coordinating field geology, archaeological sites, digital topography, and satellite imagery with Geographic Information Technology resulted in a map depicting the physical geography of the area of interest during the Bronze Age. The map reveals different positions of the Mediterranean coastline with associated lagoons and the existence of Pelusiac Nile distributaries, lakes, and wetlands. The restored geography constrains the path of the ancient “Ways of Horus,” the militarized coastal road between Egypt and the land of the Philistines, but also provides a plausible map of the region that is described in the Exodus texts.
Total Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Ipomoeassin F and Its Unnatural 11R-Epimer

Ipomoeassin F, a macrolide glycoresin containing an embedded disaccharide, possesses potent in vitro antitumor activity with an unknown mechanism of function. It inhibits tumor cell growth with single-digit nanomolar IC50 values, superior to many clinical chemotherapeutic drugs. To facilitate translation of its bioactivity into protein function for drug development, we report here a new synthesis for the gram-scale production of ipomoeassin F (3.8% over 17 linear steps) from commercially available starting materials. The conformation-controlled subtle reactivity differences of the hydroxyl groups in carbohydrates were utilized to quickly construct the disaccharide core, which, along with judicial selection of protecting groups, made the current synthesis very efficient. The same strategy was also applied to the smooth preparation of the 11R-epimer of ipomoeassin F for the first time. Cytotoxicity assays demonstrated the crucial role of the natural 11S configuration. In addition, cell cycle analyses and ap...
Analysis of the spectrum of the single integral equation for scattering from dielectric objects

It has been shown that scattering from a dielectric body can be computed using a single unknown and a set of cascaded equations, viz., the single integral equation (SIE) (Glisson, A.W., 1984). We have carried out a detailed analysis to reveal the underlying mathematics of the operator. We have proved that the SIE formulation is a well conditioned integral equation, and with effortless modification, a resonance-free combined source single integral equation (CSIE) formulation is derived. Results have been obtained using the CSIE and it has been implemented using the Nystrom method.
Dynamic Effects of Airborne Water Droplets on Air-Sea Interactions: Sea-Spray and Rain

Abstract : We anticipate that this research will lead to an improved understanding of water droplet mediated air-sea fluxes with implications in basic research, satellite or land-based remote sensing of the ocean surface, electromagnetic communication, military surveillance, and weather forecasting. We foresee that this work will become the initial stages of a long-term effort involving further development of theoretical work, and laboratory and field experiments.
A sociofunctional approach to prejudice at the polls: are atheists more politically disadvantaged than gays and Blacks?

Prejudice against atheists is pervasive in the United States. Atheists lag behind virtually all other minority groups on measures of social acceptance. The sociofunctional approach suggests that distrust is at the core of anti-atheist prejudice, thus making it qualitatively different than prejudice against other disadvantaged groups. Accordingly, this research examined political bias against atheists, gays, and Blacks and the affective content accompanying such biases. Results indicated that atheists suffered the largest deficit in voting intentions from Christian participants, and this deficit was accompanied by distrust, disgust, and fear, thereby suggesting that the affective content of anti-atheist prejudice is both broader and more extreme than prejudice against other historically disadvantaged groups. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed.
Fast, Exact Synthesis of Gaussian and nonGaussian Long-Range-Dependent Processes

1/f noise and statistically self-similar random processes such as fractional Brownian motion (fBm) and fractional Gaussian noise (fGn) are fundamental models for a host of real-world phenomena, from network traffic to DNA to the stock market. Synthesis algorithms play a key role by providing the feedstock of data necessary for running complex simulations and accurately evaluating analysis techniques. Unfortunately, current algorithms to correctly synthesize these long-range dependent (LRD) processes are either abstruse or prohibitively costly, which has spurred the wide use of inexact approximations. To fill the gap, we develop a simple, fast (O(N log N) operations for a length-N signal) framework for exactly synthesizing a range of Gaussian and nonGaussian LRD processes. As a bonus, we introduce and study a new bi-scaling fBm process featuring a “kinked” correlation function that exhibits distinct scaling laws at coarse and fine scales.
Photochemical production of ethylene from methionine and its analogues in the presence of flavin mononucleotide.

In the presence of flavin mononucleotide and light, methionine is nonenzymatically oxidized to carbon dioxide, formic acid, ethylene, methyl disulfide, and ammonia. Tracer studies indicate that these products arise, respectively, from carbon atoms 1, 2, 3, and 4, methylmercapto, and amino groups of methionine. It is suggested that the first photochemical reaction is the oxidation of methionine to methional, ammonia, and carbon dioxide, followed by the degradation of methional to ethylene and other products. The optimal pH for ethylene production by this reaction is about 8.5, and the reaction velocity is directly proportional to the concentration of flavin mononucleotide and methionine. Ethylene production is greatly inhibited by Cu++, paramagnetic ions, and various phenolic compounds. Flavin mononucleotide can be replaced by riboflavin. Methional and α-keto-γ-methylmercaptopropionic acid are the most effective precursors of ethylene. Structural requirements for ethylene precursors were studied, and a mechanism accounting for ethylene production from methionine is described.
Affective disorder. IV. Mania

Summary In this paper 31 patients with a diagnosis of manic depressive, manic are matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status with 31 patients with a diagnosis of manic depressive, depressed. The study shows that hospitalized manics contain a higher percentage of men than hospitalized depressives and the manics are hospitalized at an earlier age. It is also noted that the first symptoms are seen at an earlier age. There were no significant differences in the family histories of manics and depressives. Turning to the clinical picture of mania, cuphoria, overactivity and push of speech were seen in almost all patients studied. Objective confusion was seen in 18 of the 31 (58 per cent) patients. Eighteen of 24 patients (58 per cent), in whom information about depressive symptoms was recorded, reported a depression immediately preceding the onset of the mania. Special attention was given to those patients who exhibited schizophrenic symptomatology in their index admission. Seven patients with passivity feelings were personally interviewed approximately 2 years after their index admission. It was found that in none had classical schizophrenia with deterioration developed. Their cases histories are presented.
Pemetrexed: A multitargeted antifolate agent with promising activity in solid tumors

Pemetrexed disodium (ALIMTA, LY231514 (MTA)) is a novel multitargeted antifolate, that inhibits at least three enzymes involved in folate metabolism and DNA synthesis. These enzymes are thymidylate synthase, dihydrofolate reductase, and glycinamide ribonucleotide formyltransferase. This agent has shown broad antitumor activity in phase II trials in a wide variety of solid tumors, including non-small cell lung cancer, breast, colon, pancreas, bladder, head and neck, and cervical carcinomas, and is undergoing randomized phase III studies. MTA has also shown promising activity in a broad range of tumors in combination with other active agents such as gemcitabine and cisplatin. The clinical pharmacology, toxicity and clinical activity of MTA are reviewed in this report.
Immunoreactivity of 111In and 131I fibrin-specific monoclonal antibody used for thrombus imaging.

Abstract Immunoreactivity of radiolabeled F(ab′) 2 fragment of anti-fibrin T2G1s monoclonal antibody was determined by affinity chromatography using fibrin-coated Sepharose. This preparation is useful for thrombus detection in vivo by gamma camera imaging, provided a high percentage of immunoreactivity is retained after labeling. For 111 In labeling, DTPA/F(ab′) 2 molar ratios were varied from 1000 to 6600/1, with little effect on immunoreactivity. Immunoreactivity of the F(ab′) 2 fragment, labeled with imaging doses of 131 I and 111 In, remained high and ranged from 81% to 89%. Equilibrium binding analysis determined the affinity constants of 111 In- or 125 I-labeled T2G1s and its F(ab′) 2 and Fab fragments, to be equivalent ( K d ∼ 3 × 10 −8 M). This suggests that only one binding domain of T2G1s binds to fibrin even though there are two antigenic sites/mol of fibrin.
Transformations of 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane under Methanogenic Conditions

Abiotic and biotic transformations of 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane (TeCA) under methanogenic conditions were studied. TeCA degradation started without lag with municipal digester sludge. 1,1,2-Trichloroethane (1,1,2-TCA), trans-1,2-dichloroethene (tDCE), and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cDCE) were products of biotic transformation, while trichloroethene (TCE) resulted from abiotic degradation. TCE was further transformed to cDCE, vinyl chloride (VC), and ethene. Ethene, VC, and tDCE were the persistent products of TeCA transformations. With the same municipal digester sludge culture, 1,1,2-TCA was removed and converted to 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA) and VC. 1,2-DCA partially degraded, resulting in chloroethane and ethene formation. Reductive dechlorination, dichloroelimination, and dehydrochlorination simultaneously took place during the degradation of TeCA. Dichloroelimination and dehydrochlorination played important roles in the removal of TeCA and 1,1,2-TCA under methanogenic conditions.