cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Timing Is Everything: Implications for Metabolic Consequences of Sleep Restriction

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a complex disease driven by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In recent years, several lines of evidence suggest that circadian disruption and sleep loss contribute to disease pathogenesis. Epidemiologic studies indicate that shift work is associated with an increased risk of T2D (1,2). Shift work is a prime example of circadian disruption, altering the timing of light exposure, meals, activity, and sleep. In many ways, the shift workers serve as early indicators, or “canaries in a coal mine,” of the long-term consequences of the circadian disruption experienced by a much broader segment of the population. A number of studies have concluded that genetic variation in melatonin receptors (notably expressed in pancreatic β-cells) is associated with impaired insulin secretion and increased risk for T2D (3,4). Similarly, genetic variation in the genes responsible for the generation of circadian rhythms has been linked to metabolic, endocrine, and behavioral changes that could push a patient toward development of T2D (5,6). This type of population study has been complimented by laboratory studies demonstrating that short duration of sleep adversely impacts glucose tolerance (7,8). More recently, laboratory studies where healthy participants were exposed to circadian misalignment using a forced desynchrony protocol provided causative evidence for a deleterious impact on diabetes risk and cardiovascular function (9,10). Sleep and circadian disruption have even been found to hinder the …
Activation of a Gi protein in digitonin/cholate-solubilized membrane preparations of mouse sperm by the zona pellucida, an egg-specific extracellular matrix.

Mammalian sperm possess guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (G proteins) that are involved in signal transduction pathways leading to zona pellucida (ZP)-mediated acrosomal exocytosis. We have previously examined ZP-G protein dynamics in mouse sperm homogenates, as well as cell-free membrane preparations, and our data support the existence of ZP receptor-G protein complexes in sperm membranes. However, the composition of this complex has not been identified due to experimental limitations of the membrane preparations. In the present study, a detergent-solubilized preparation from mouse sperm membranes that retained the signaling properties of cell homogenates and cell-free membrane preparations was developed using buffers containing digitonin and cholate. GTPγS, a poorly hydrolyzable analogue of GTP, bound to these solubilized preparations in a specific and concentration-dependent fashion that reached saturation at 100 nM. Incubation of this solubilized membrane preparation with heat-solubilized ZP resulted in an increase in specific GTPγS binding in a concentration-dependent manner, with a maximal response at 4-6 ZP/μl. Mastoparan (50 μM) increased GTPγS binding to levels similar to that seen with solubilized ZP. Mastoparan plus ZP stimulated GTPγS binding to the same extent as mastoparan or ZP alone. Pertussis toxin completely inhibited ZP-stimulated GTPγS binding and decreased mastoparan-stimulated GTPγS binding by 50–60%. Purified ZP3, the ZP component that possesses quantitatively all of the sperm binding and acrosomal exocytosis-inducing activities of the intact ZP, stimulated GTPγS binding to an extent similar to that of solubilized ZP. The properties of this solubilized membrane preparation are similar to those found in the cell homogenates and cell-free membrane preparations, suggesting that the components involved in ZP3-mediated signal transduction are effectively solubilized and are responsive to the ZP3 ligand. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Can neutrino-induced photon production explain the low energy excess in MiniBooNE?

Abstract This report summarizes our study of Neutral Current (NC)-induced photon production in MiniBooNE, as motivated by the low energy excess in this experiment [A.A. Aquilar-Arevalo et al., MiniBooNE Collaboration, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98 (2007) 231801; A.A. Aquilar-Arevalo et al., MiniBooNE Collaboration, Phys. Rev. Lett. 103 (2009) 111801]. It was proposed that NC photon production with two anomalous photon- Z boson-vector meson couplings might explain the excess. However, our computed event numbers in both neutrino and antineutrino runs are consistent with the previous MiniBooNE estimate that is based on their pion production measurement. Various nuclear effects discussed in our previous works, including nucleon Fermi motion, Pauli blocking, and the Δ resonance broadening in the nucleus, are taken into account. Uncertainty due to the two anomalous terms and nuclear effects are studied in a conservative way.
Genomic tools for the analysis of genetic diversity

We now understand that many different types of DNA structural polymorphisms contribute to functional diversity of plant genomes, including single nucleotide polymorphisms, insertions of retrotransposons and DNA transposons, including Helitrons carrying pseudogenes, and other types of insertion–deletion polymorphisms, many of which may contribute to the phenotype by affecting gene expression through a variety of mechanisms including those involving non-coding RNAs. These polymorphisms can now be probed with tools such as array comparative genomic hybridization and, most comprehensively, genomic sequencing. Rapid developments in next generation sequencing will soon make genomic sequencing of germplasm collections a reality. This will help eliminate an important difficulty in the estimation of genetic relationships between accessions caused by ascertainment bias. Also, it has now become obvious that epigenetic differences, such as cytosine methylation, also contribute to the heritable phenotype, although detailed understanding of their transgenerational stability in crop species is lacking. The degree of linkage disequilibrium of epialleles with DNA sequence polymorphisms has important implications to the analysis of genetic diversity. Epigenetic marks in complete linkage disequilibrium (LD) with DNA polymorphisms do not add additional diversity information. However, epialleles in partial or low LD with DNA sequence alleles constitute another layer of genetic information that should not be neglected in germplasm analysis, especially if they exhibit transgenerational stability.
Defining Incident Chronic Kidney Disease in the Research Setting The ARIC Study

2) low and declining (� 25%) eGFR; 3) an increase in serum creatinine (� 0.4 mg/dL) at 3- or 9-year follow-ups; and 4) CKD-related hospitalization or death. From these definitions, they identified 1,086, 677, 457, and 163 cases, respectively. There was relatively good agreement among definitions 1–3, but definition 4 identified mostly different cases. Risk factor associations were consistent across definitions for hypertension and lipids. Diabetes showed weaker associations with definition 1 (incidence rate ratio ¼ 1.5, 95% confidence interval: 1.2, 1.7) than with definition 4 (incidence rate ratio ¼ 6.3, confidence interval: 4.4, 8.9). Associations with gender differed in direction and magnitude across definitions. Case definition can impact relative risk estimates for CKD risk factors. cohort studies; diagnostic techniques and procedures; incidence; kidney diseases
Computing blocking probabilities in multiclass wavelength-routing networks with multicast calls

We present an approximate analytical method to compute efficiently the call-blocking probabilities in wavelength-routing networks with multiple classes of both unicast and multicast calls. Our approach involves the following steps. We start with an approximate solution to a linear single-class unicast network which we developed earlier. Next, all classes of calls on a particular route are aggregated to give an equivalent single-class model. We then extend the path decomposition algorithms that we have developed for single-class networks to handle mesh networks with multiple classes of calls. We show how to use these path decomposition algorithms to decompose large networks with multicast paths into smaller subsystems with only linear paths, which, in turn, are solved by the product-form approximation algorithm. We also consider a state-dependent Poisson arrival process for multicast calls which is more accurate in capturing the behavior of these calls.
Signaling through C5a receptor and C3a receptor diminishes function of murine natural regulatory T cells.

Thymus-derived (natural) CD4+ FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (nT reg cells) are required for immune homeostasis and self-tolerance, but must be stringently controlled to permit expansion of protective immunity. Previous findings linking signals transmitted through T cell–expressed C5a receptor (C5aR) and C3a receptor (C3aR) to activation, differentiation, and expansion of conventional CD4+CD25− T cells (T conv cells), raised the possibility that C3aR/C5aR signaling on nT reg cells could physiologically modulate nT reg cell function and thereby further impact the induced strength of T cell immune responses. In this study, we demonstrate that nT reg cells express C3aR and C5aR, and that signaling through these receptors inhibits nT reg cell function. Genetic and pharmacological blockade of C3aR/C5aR signal transduction in nT reg cells augments in vitro and in vivo suppression, abrogates autoimmune colitis, and prolongs allogeneic skin graft survival. Mechanisms involve C3a/C5a-induced phosphorylation of AKT and, as a consequence, phosphorylation of the transcription factor Foxo1, which results in lowered nT reg cell Foxp3 expression. The documentation that C3a/C3aR and C5a/C5aR modulate nT reg cell function via controlling Foxp3 expression suggests targeting this pathway could be exploited to manipulate pathogenic or protective T cell responses.
Effect of electrode surface roughness on the breakdown jitter of a nanoparticle-infused dielectric oil spark gap switch

Electrode surface roughness is generated over the lifetime of an oil spark gap by high-temperature arc discharges during normal circuit operation. These electrode pits and spikes create macroscopic electric field enhancements allowing electrons to initiate breakdown at lower switch voltages. Nanoparticles with a high dielectric constant are thought to polarize and interact with these enhancements to smooth the electric field profile on the electrode surface, thus reducing the spurious low-voltage breakdowns generated by local field maxima.
Paper: Inferential control applications

In high-order, long-dead-time processes, inferential control systems will generally outperform conventional feedback control systems. To implement inferential control the user must know how to •-tune the inferential controller on line, •-avoid control degradation due to saturation of the control effort, •-smooth manual-automatic switching, •-design a cascade control system. In addition, the user should be able to determine whether the benefits of inferential control justify its selection over a PID control system. This report presents ways to meet these requirements and applies the methods to an industrial autoclave plant and to a laboratory heat exchange system.
The buzz: supporting extensively customizable information awareness applications

Increasingly abundant access to data and cheaper display technology costs are creating an exciting opportunity to create new information awareness tools that can present information calmly through peripheral and ambient interfaces. These tools offer the potential to help people better manage their attention and to avoid information overload. Different people, however, have distinct information needs, and customizing these systems is often difficult. Existing interfaces typically provide too coarse or too fine a granularity of customization, resulting in tools that are too rigid or too difficult to configure. We present an extensively customizable information awareness system, The Buzz, that supports end users, tinkerers, and developers at using, modifying, creating, and sharing powerful and flexible customizations. These customizations are powerful in the sense that the user can control abstract behaviors of the system, and flexible in the sense that the complexity of the customization can vary with the power needed to express it. We further chart the broader information awareness customization space through the lens of existing customizable information tools. Through this analysis, we show that this system provides more extensive customization capabilities than other customizable awareness applications, without requiring significant programming.
SOUND RADIATION FROM A TWO- DIMENSIONAL SCARF INLET USING THE NOISE PREDICTION CODE TBIEM2D

Used as a passive noise control measure for aeroengines, the scarf inlet is designed to direct sound away from noise sensitive regions. Current analytical models for studying radiation from scarf inlets apply ray acoustics methods to scattering by semi-infinite ducts. This approach is restricted to the high or low frequency limits and predictions yield qualitative results only. A computer program, TBEEM2D, based on a boundary integral equation formulation, has been developed for calculating the noise radiated from 2-D finite length ducts. By using simple sound generating sources in the presence of a uniform, subsonic, axial inflow, TBEEM2D calculates radiated noise patterns forward and aft, and in both near and far fields. The code is valid at all computationally feasible frequencies. Calculations with TBIEM2D extend the ray acoustics findings by showing that the scarf inlet is effective at redirecting noise for a wide range of frequency and inflow Mach number. Results also indicate that the scarf inlet can alter significantly the internal acoustic field. This phenomenon, not addressed completely by the ray acoustics theories, can have significant impact on the relative strengths of the radiated modes.
Preclinical and Clinical Chemotherapy Response Monitoring with Diffuse Optical Technologies

We will present initial data demonstrating that Spatial Frequency-Domain Imaging (SFDI) can be used to inform clinical translation by tracking chemotherapy-induced changes of both endogenous and exogenous optical markers of chemotherapy response in preclinical models.
American Liberal-Intellectual Attitudes toward the Soviet Union

ment of sociology. One college has even established a department of social work administration, and another university has a social welfare administration section in the department of sociology. But as a matter of fact, the main interest of students is still in sociology rather than in social work and social administration. Now, with the majority of sociology professors, courses in social work or social administration may be regarded only as vocational training for the students of sociology, but not as the sole purpose of the department.
The Chromosome Numbers of Six Species of Formicine Ants

Little work has been done on the chromosomes of ants. The 1st paper dealing specifically with ant chromosomes is that of Whelden and Haskins (1953). After 10 years of extensive cytological studies on various developmental stages in Formicidae, including 19 species representing 6 subfamilies, they concluded that the haploid chromosome number throughout the family is constant and is 5. Later studies by Hauschteck (1961, 1962), Imai (1966), Imai and Yosida (1965), Kumbkarni (1965), and Peacock et al. (1954) showed that the haploid chromosome numbers in ants range from 4 to 27. However, none of the authors reported a haploid number of 5.
Improvement and application of ammonia washing copper removal process

On the traditional technology of chemical cleaning for utility boiler,ammonia washing and decoppering was necessary after acid pickling,and then treated with phosphate when copper content of water wall tube was higher than 5%.In this study,establishment and optimization of cleaning scheme in a power plant were introduced.Although copper content was over 15% in the water-cooling wall,the cleaning effect was very well by improvement of washing thchnology.Not only removing copper was achieved,and occurrence of copper plating was prevented,but also scale removal rate was up to 97% and corrosion rate was about 1.14 g/(m2·h).In new technology,quantity of desalted water was lower and step of phosphate treatment was cancelled.
Analysis on High Voltage Circuit Breaker Electrical Life Diagnosis Method

Several methods to diagnose the electrical life of SF_6 HV circuit breaker are introduced.The several common-used methods are analyzed in emphasis.The character and applicable scope of each method are summed up.Through the contrast and analysis of 2 curves referred in N_s-I_s life curve,equivalent law of arcing chamber ablation with representative test data is found out. The circuit breaker electrical life diagnosis policy applicable to be applied in project is given.The significance,application prospect and encountered problems are pointed out.
Accountability and Desert

In recent decades, participants in the debate about whether we are free and responsible agents have tended with increasing frequency to begin their papers or books by fixing the terms “free” and “responsible” in clear ways to avoid misunderstanding. This is an admirable development, and while some misunderstandings have certainly been avoided, and positions better illuminated as a result , new and interesting questions also arise. Two ways of fixing these terms and identifying the underlying concepts have emerged as especially influential, one that takes the freedom required for responsibility to be understood in terms of accountability and the other in terms of desert . In this paper, I start by asking: are theorists talking about the same things, or are they really participating in two different debates? Are desert and accountability mutually entailing? I tentatively conclude that they are in fact mutually entailing. Coming to this conclusion requires making finer distinctions among various more specific and competing accounts of both accountability and desert. Ultimately, I argue, that there is good reason to accept that accountability and desert have the same satisfaction conditions.
Bearbeiten von Listen

Die Liste ist die fundamentale Datenstruktur, die in Mathematica benutzt wird, um Objekte zu gruppieren. Mathematica stellt eine umfangreiche Menge von eingebauten Funktionen zur Verfugung, mit denen man Listen in mannigfacher Weise bearbeiten kann. Es gibt sowohl einfache Operationen, mit denen man innerhalb der Liste einzelne Elemente verschieben kann, als auch komplizierte, die es erlauben, Funktionen auf Listen anzuwenden. In diesem Kapitel werden wir einige der vielen Operationen vorfuhren, mit denen man Listen bearbeiten kann.
Sex Differences in Context Fear Generalization and Recruitment of Hippocampus and Amygdala during Retrieval

Anxiety disorders are commonly associated with increased generalization of fear from a stress- or trauma-associated environment to a neutral context or environment. Differences in context-associated memory in males and females may contribute to increased susceptibility to anxiety disorders in women. Here we examined sex differences in context fear generalization and its neural correlates. We observed stronger context fear conditioning and more generalization of fear to a similar context in females than males. In addition, context preexposure increased fear conditioning in males and decreased generalization in females. Accordingly, males showed stronger cFos activity in dorsal hippocampus during memory retrieval and context generalization, whereas females showed preferential recruitment of basal amygdala. Together, these findings are consistent with previous research showing that hippocampal activity correlates with reduced context fear generalization. Differential competition between hippocampus and amygdala-dependent processes may thus contribute to sex differences in retrieval of context fear and greater generalization of fear-associated memory.
Children with disabilities and trajectories of parents' unsecured debt across the life course

Prior research shows that having a child with a disability is economically burdensome for parents but we know little about whether this burden extends to unsecured debt. In this study, we examine the link between having a child with a disability that manifests between birth and age 4 and subsequent trajectories in unsecured household debt. We have three key findings. First, we find that having a child with an early-life disabling health condition is associated with a substantial increase in indebtedness in the years immediately following the child's birth, and that this association persists net of a range of potential confounders. Second, we find that parents do not quickly repay this debt, such that parents of a child with a disabling health condition have different trajectories of unsecured debt across the life course than do parents of children without a disabling health condition. Third, we find that the association between early-life child disability and debt is stronger for more severe conditions, such as those that require ongoing medical treatment. The results of this study are informative for understanding an important aspect of economic functioning-indebtedness-for parents of children with disabilities, as well as the causes and correlates of rising unsecured debt in the U.S.
The symphony of smell: a role for electrical synapses

Rhythmic electrical activities are ubiquitous in the brain and inextricably tied to neural circuit operations. Macroscopic oscillations in extracellular voltage – the local field potential (LFP) – are commonly observed and span a wide frequency spectrum (∼1.5 – 100 Hz). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
Comprometimento Organizacional. Um Estudo de Caso sobre os Empregados de uma Empresa do Ramo Contábil

O comprometimento organizacional caracteriza-se pelas trocas entre empresa e colaborador. E o vinculo existente entre ambos. O presente estudo objetiva identificar o tipo de comprometimento organizacional de uma empresa do ramo contabil. A metodologia aplicada utiliza questionario de natureza quantitativa baseada em escala Likert e avalia tres aspectos do modelo conceitual de Mayer e Allen (1991): afetivo, instrumental e normativo. Os resultados revelam que 60% dos colaboradores estao normativamente comprometidos, sentem obrigacao em permanecer na empresa, porem, contribuem de forma positiva com o trabalho devido aos beneficios e possibilidade de crescimento profissional. Os comprometidos afetivamente correspondem a 48% dos respondentes. Estes tem maior comprometimento com a empresa, pois identificam-se com seus valores e crencas. Ja os comprometidos instrumentalmente totalizam 39%, onde a perda do emprego resultaria em prejuizos para suas vidas. Assim sendo e necessario explorar recursos motivacionais que garantem a retencao e satisfacao profissional dos colaboradores na empresa.
Simulating producer responses to selected chinese rare earth policies

Abstract This study explores the effects of Chinese rare earth stockpiling, environmental taxation, and improvements in recovery rates on rare earth markets. It uses a Stackelberg model with a leading producer (legal Chinese producers) and two sequential followers (illegal Chinese producers and the Mount Weld mine in Australia), each producing multiple rare earths. The model is parameterized for the production and prices of separated rare earth oxides (REOs) from ore. Counterfactuals involving Chinese policies are compared to the no-policy, business-as-usual (BAU) scenario. The five counterfactuals are: (1) further Chinese State Reserve Bureau (SRB) stockpiling of neodymium, (2) further SRB stockpiling of dysprosium, (3) an environmental tax on the production of legal Chinese rare earths, (4) increased recovery rates of neodymium at legal Chinese operations, and (5) increased recovery rates of dysprosium also at legal Chinese operations. The BAU scenario and five counterfactuals are run with (a) four different levels of reference illegal Chinese production and (b) with and without the Chinese production quota, yielding 48 total outcomes (6×4×2). The first finding is that any SRB stockpile purchase increases the price of the stockpiled REO and increases legal Chinese ore production. However, given co-production, increased ore production involves more production of all REOs, and the prices of non-stockpiled REOs decrease. Thus if the stockpiled REO represents a large (small) portion of illegal Chinese and Mount Weld revenue, then illegal Chinese producers and the Mount Weld mine will increase (decrease) their production. An environmental tax decreases legal Chinese production, increases production by illegal Chinese producers and Mount Weld, and increases prices of all REOs. Increased legal Chinese recovery rates lead to increased legal Chinese production, decreased production by illegal Chinese producers and Mount Weld, and decreased REO prices. Increased levels of reference illegal Chinese production (a) exacerbate the policy-driven production increases or dampen production reductions of illegal producers and (b) conversely, for legal Chinese producers, reduce policy-driven production increases and further increase production reductions.
Understanding thermally activated plastic deformation behavior of Zircaloy-4

Abstract Understanding micromechanics of plastic deformation of existing materials is essential for improving their properties further and/or developing advanced materials for much more severe load bearing applications. The objective of the present work was to understand micromechanics of plastic deformation of Zircaloy-4, a zirconium-based alloy used as fuel cladding and channel (in BWRs) material in nuclear reactors. The Zircaloy-4 in recrystallized (at 973 K for 4 h) condition was subjected to uniaxial tensile testing at a constant cross-head velocity at temperatures in the range 293 K–1073 K and repeated stress relaxation tests at 293 K, 573 K, and 773 K. The minimum in the total elongation was indicative of dynamic strain aging phenomenon in this alloy in the intermediate temperature regime. The yield stress of the alloy was separated into effective and athermal components and the transition from thermally activated dislocation glide to athermal regime took place at around 673 K with the athermal stress estimated to be 115 MPa. The activation volume was found to be in the range of 40 b3 to 160 b3. The activation volume values and the data analyses using the solid-solution models in literature indicated dislocation-solute interaction to be a potential deformation mechanism in thermally activated regime. The activation energy calculated at 573 K was very close to that found for diffusivity of oxygen in α-Zr that was suggestive of dislocations-oxygen interaction during plastic deformation. This type of information may be helpful in alloy design in selecting different elements to control the deformation behavior of the material and impart desired mechanical properties in those materials for specific applications.
Cloud transactions adhere to strict policy consistency for improved performance

In distributed transactional systems deployed over some massively decentralized cloud servers, access policies are typically replicated. Interdependencies and inconsistencies among policy versions can affect performance, throughput, and accuracy, which can increase the transaction failure rate and cause long delays. Thus, policy and user credential inconsistencies need to be addressed. Several stringent levels of policy consistency constraints and enforcement approaches to guarantee the trustworthiness of transactions on cloud servers are proposed. However, there are performance issues associated with the policies proposed while retrieving the latest policy versions present in various cloud servers. In this paper, first, we define a look-up table in which the policy versions used for authorization is stored and updated on a regular basis and this information can be easily retrieved by the transaction manager. Next, we use the concept of "Tree-Based Consistency" approach to maintain a tree structure of the servers where a data item is replicated. By integrating look-up table for policy versions and the consistency tree based approach, finally, we propose an enhanced version of Two-Phase Validation Commit (2PVC) protocol integrated with the Paxos commit protocol to increase the number transaction commits with reduced or almost the same performance overhead (transaction execution time) without affecting accuracy and precision, but reducing the number of transaction aborts in comparison with a most recent work.
The Milky Way: July-August

There are some amateur astronomers who believe the north part of the Milky Way is the most spectacular (see Complete Star Chart 2.1). The star clouds of Sagittarius are justifiably some of the most wonderful and awe-inspiring regions that can be observed, but before you grab hold of your binoculars and make a mad dash outside, there is of course another side to this. For those lucky astronomers who live in, say, southern Europe or the southern United States, and those who are very fortunate to live in equatorial regions, then these skies will provide views and scenes you are unlikely to ever forget. Those of us however who live in northern Europe and Canada have to deal with the unfortunate fact that Sagittarius will always lie close to the horizon and sometimes when we read about the amazing sights that await observers in this region of the sky and then try to see them, we are often left with a sense of disappointment. The only advice I can offer is this; these regions are truly spectacular, so try to observe with an unobstructed horizon, and with dark skies. If this is not possible, book a holiday to a location where the skies are clear and Sagittarius is at the Zenith. You will never forget it!
Processing Sense Information

If a person responds to a stimulus and then must respond to a second stimulus shortly afterward, the second response is often different from the first one, even if the two stimuli are identical. One explanation of this is that the first stimulus, in its neural representation, has not been “cleared through the nervous system” before a response must be made to the second stimulus. Since neural transmission of the first stimulus is not complete, the person is not optimally ready to process the second stimulus. The trace of the first stimulus persists, so to speak, leaving the responder either relatively refractory to subsequent stimulation or responsive but in a different way.
Molecular Organization in Amphiphilic Aggregates

Molecular organization within the hydrocarbon cores of micelles, bilayers, and other amphiphilic aggregates depends on i) intramolecular structure: the continuity and flexibility of the chains, and ii) the balance of intermolecular forces. Attractive exchange interactions are responsible for the differential solubilities of polar heads and hydrocarbon tails in water, But dispersion forces among aliphatic hydrocarbons are isotropic; steric repulsive forces are required to induce the anisotropy responsible for internal structure,
Of Hierarchies, Cultures of No Culture, Ontology, Protocols, and Anecdotes: (Re-writing) Women and Science

In this chapter I rely on the work of Sharon Traweek, Karen Barad, and VInciane Despret to demonstrate the long tradition of feminism not only critiquing traditional modes of science but also feminism offering different ways of studying and analyzing science. I end the chapter with Despret and Isabella Stenger’s book Women who make a Fuss to argue that feminism is changing the institutions where science is done and therefore how science is done.
Tracing the history of Japanese commerce and consumption from the Genki to the Heisei era

Commerce enables the flourishing of cities. This article reviews three books on the evolution of commercial activities in Japan; including, a samurai’s account, a foreign concession’s window, and t...
Counting Single Redox Molecules in a Nanoscale Electrochemical Cell.

We report the use of a Pt bipolar electrochemical nanocell and fluorescence to detect single redox molecules. A Pt nanocell is formed by depositing a Pt particle at a nanopipet orifice which separates the inside pipet volume from the bulk solution. Highly fluorescent resorufin molecules are generated on the inner Pt surface and optically detected and counted due to unique properties of the nanocell. First, the pipet is horizontally positioned on a microscope allowing one to examine a 6-μm distance from the electrode/solution interface. Second, the resazurin/resorufin molecules are confined inside a 100 nm pipet resulting in a very high signal/background ratio in fluorescence detection. Third, the small pipet size confines the motion of the redox molecules increasing the probability of transient molecular adsorption on the quartz walls. This, along with the longer diffusion distance increases the chance of fluorescence detection. The ability to count single redox molecules allows us to estimate the detecti...
Corporations and the environment: A new perspective

The author presents the results of a pilot study which explored the voluntary support given by seven Pittsburgh multinationals to environmental goals and objectives through their foundations and operations. While much of the information is national in scope, the findings have international significance. Fundamental common key factors and patterns were identified which already have and will continue to guide most corporate international environmental activities. As interest grows in developing cooperative undertakings with the corporate community, it is important for environmental organizations, government, and academia to understand these patterns. Based on the findings and on suggestions by corporate representatives, recommendations are given as to how support of the goal of creating sustainable societies by the corporate and environmental communities can be improved and increased.
Children’s exposures to lead and cadmium: FDA total diet study 2014-16

Children are at potential risk for adverse effects from lead and cadmium exposures due to the effects of these elements on developing brains. Children's dietary exposures to lead and cadmium were estimated based on lead and cadmium concentration data from FDA's Total Diet Study (TDS) and on food consumption data from What We Eat In America (WWEIA), the food survey portion of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Study (NHANES). Estimated mean exposures vary based on age range (1-3 y, 4-6 y, or 1-6 y) and on substitution scenarios for values below the limit of detection (non-detects = 0; non-detects = limit of detection; hybrid approach). Estimated mean lead exposures range from 1 to 3.4 µg/day, with major contributions from grains, fruit, dairy, and mixtures (e.g. hamburgers, pizza, lasagna, soups). Estimated mean cadmium exposures range from 0.38 to 0.44 µg/kg bw/day, with major contributions from grains, mixtures, and vegetables. Estimated children's lead exposures declined slightly since 2004-08, but cadmium exposures did not decline. No safe level has been identified for lead exposures, and toxicologic reference values for cadmium range from 0.1 to 0.83 µg/kg bw/day. The data on lead and cadmium exposures, and on contributors to exposures, will inform research and regulatory priorities on mitigation of exposures to lead and cadmium.
Overview of Prognostics and Health Management for Landing Gear Maintenance

Latest military and civil aircraft programs have substantively advanced Diagnostics, Prognostics and Health Management technology concepts into an integrated systems approach that can enhance aircraft reliability and passenger safety. The aircraft landing gear shock absorber is a critical system and to enhance its reliability, a health monitoring system can be introduced to detect loads which can impact its structural integrity, functional and performance degradation, operational incidents, impending failures and provide advance warning for proactive maintenance actions. A number of health monitoring schemes have been proposed which check the condition of landing gear shock strut components but these do not provide a systems level coverage and analysis for the different failure modes which a landing gear can experience. With the rapid advances in sensor accuracy, design technology and data communication, a prognostics and health monitoring system design can detect diverse functional and operational failure conditions, support maintenance activities and ensure higher aircraft operational availability.
Red Cloud and Aristotle: campus clouds and federations

Campus cloud resources represent significant resources for research computing tasks, with the caveat that transitioning to cloud contexts and scaling analyses is not always as simple as it might seem. We detail Red Cloud, Cornell's campus research cloud, and some of the work undertaken by the Center for Advanced Computing (CAC) to help researchers make use of cloud computing technologies. In 2015, Cornell CAC joined with two other universities to develop the Aristotle Cloud Federation, composed of separate campus cloud resources and data sources, supporting a range of science use cases. We discuss the lessons learned from helping researchers leverage both of these science cloud resources as well as leveraging other research cloud infrastructure and transitioning to public cloud.
Seiberg-Witten geometry of four-dimensional N =2 SO-USp quiver gauge theories

We apply the instanton counting method to study a class of four-dimensional $\mathcal{N}=2$ supersymmetric quiver gauge theories with alternating SO and USp gauge groups. We compute the partition function in the $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}$-background and express it as functional integrals over density functions. Applying the saddle point method, we derive the limit shape equations which determine the dominant instanton configurations in the flat space limit. The solution to the limit shape equations gives the Seiberg-Witten geometry of the low energy effective theory. As an illustrating example, we work out explicitly the Seiberg-Witten geometry for linear quiver gauge theories. Our result matches the Seiberg-Witten solution obtained previously using the method of brane constructions in string theory.
Engaged learning in a computer science course

This paper describes the problem of student passivity in class and how can it be addressed by taking advantage of the classroom response system technologies to engage their attention during the class, make them participate in their learning process and provide them and the instructor with immediate feedback on their understanding of the concepts presented. While the use of this technology provides a rapid and simple method for assessing in real time the understanding of the students and organizing their responses, a major part of the work involves developing sets of conceptual questions, rather than algorithmic ones, to be deployed and discussed in class. These sets of questions and the current response technology provide a hierarchy of concepts that pose understanding problems, thus allowing the instructor to map the progress of students in real time and respond accordingly.
Associations between prenatal diet quality and gestational weight gain.

Background:Improving prenatal diet quality may promote appropriate gestational weight gain (GWG).Aim:To examine relationships between dietary quality in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy...
Municipal wastewater sludge as a renewable, cost-effective feedstock for transportation biofuels using hydrothermal liquefaction.

Abstract U.S. municipal wastewater contains approximately 160 trillion Btu/y of influent chemical energy, but very little is recovered and utilized nationwide. Hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) is a thermochemical process that converts biomass into a biocrude intermediate that can be upgraded to a variety of liquid fuels. HTL provides an opportunity to enhance energy recovery at wastewater treatment plants by transforming underutilized municipal wastewater solids into a renewable, cost-effective feedstock for transportation biofuels. In this study, we estimate total national economic sludge feedstock supply by performing discounted cash flow analyses at >15,000 U.S. wastewater treatment facilities to assess the net present value of 30-year HTL investments, with comparison to wider adoption of anaerobic digestion (AD). This analysis is the first to model HTL technology deployment across the real-world fleet of wastewater treatment plants. Analyses indicate treatment facilities ≥17 ML/d (4.6 million gal/d) could supply 9.77 Tg/y of dry solids feedstock to economically produce 3.67 GL/y of biocrude intermediate, thereby increasing energy, environmental, and financial sustainability of sludge treatment while reducing disposal costs and operational and environmental risk.
The QT Interval in Patients With the Turner Syndrome.

Patients with the Turner syndrome (TS) often have longer QT intervals compared with age-matched peers although the significance of this remains unknown. We sought to determine the degree, frequency and impact of QTc prolongation in patients with TS. A chart review of all patients with an electrocardiogram (ECG) and genetically proven TS was performed. Medications at the time of the ECG were reviewed and QTc calculated. Medications were classified according to QTc risk using www.crediblemeds.com . ECG parameters were compared with an age, gender, and cardiac lesion-matched control group. Over the 10-year period of review, 112 TS patients with a mean age of 34 ± 25 years underwent 226 ECGs. At least 1 QTc prolonging medication was prescribed in 81 (74%) patients. Longer QTc interval correlated with absence of y chromosomal material (p = 0.01), older age (p 460 msec (2.8% vs 2.6%, p = 0.9). In conclusion, despite frequent use of QT-prolonging medications, ventricular arrhythmias are rare in TS.
A HIGH-RESOLUTION SURVEY OF H I ABSORPTION TOWARD THE CENTRAL 200 pc OF THE GALACTIC CENTER

We present an H I absorption survey of the central 250 pc of the Galaxy. Very Large Array observations were made at 21 cm in the DnC and CnB configurations and have a resolution of ~15'' (0.6 pc at the Galactic center (GC) distance) and a velocity resolution of ~2.5 km s–1. This study provides H I data with high spatial resolution, comparable with the many high-resolution observations which have been made of GC sources over the past 10 years. Here we present an overview of the H I absorption toward ~40 well-known continuum sources and a detailed comparison of the ionized, atomic, and molecular components of the interstellar medium for the Sgr B, Radio Arc, and Sgr C regions. In these well-known regions, the atomic gas appears to be closely correlated in both velocity and distribution to the ionized and molecular gas, indicating that it resides in photodissociation regions related to the H II regions in the GC. Toward the majority of the radio continuum sources, H I absorption by the 3 kpc arm is detected, constraining these sources to lie beyond a 5 kpc distance in the Galaxy.
Fever dreams: W. E. B. Du Bois and the racial trauma of COVID-19 and lynching

In 1899, diphtheria claimed the life of W. E. B. Du Bois’s son, Burghardt. How can Burghardt’s death help us to understand the racialized consequences of the present coronavirus pandemic? This arti...
Neighborhood Characteristics and Cardiovascular Biomarkers in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: the Baltimore Memory Study.

Neighborhood greenness has been linked to better cardiovascular health, but little is known about its association with biomarkers related to cardiovascular risk. Adverse neighborhood conditions, such as disorder and socioeconomic disadvantage, are associated with higher cardiovascular biomarker levels, but these relationships may differ in neighborhoods with more greenness. This study evaluated cross-sectional associations of validated measures of neighborhood greenness, disorder, and socioeconomic disadvantage with cardiovascular biomarkers in middle-aged and older adults living in Baltimore City. The sample included 500 adults, aged 57–79 years, enrolled in the Baltimore Memory Study and living in Baltimore City during 2009–2010. Multi-level log-gamma regressions examined associations between the three neighborhood characteristics and seven cardiovascular biomarkers. Models additionally evaluated the effect modification by neighborhood greenness on associations of neighborhood disorder and socioeconomic disadvantage with the biomarkers. Adjusting for covariates and neighborhood greenness, greater neighborhood disorder was associated with higher C-reactive protein (exp β = 1.21, SE = 0.11, p = 0.035) and serum amyloid A (exp β = 1.28, SE = 0.12, p = 0.008), while greater neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with higher tumor necrosis factor alpha (exp β = 1.24, SE = 0.12, p = 0.019). Higher neighborhood greenness was associated with lower soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, accounting for disorder (exp β = 0.70, SE = 0.10, p = 0.010) and socioeconomic disadvantage (exp β = 0.73, SE = 0.10, p = 0.025). There was no evidence of effect modification among neighborhood characteristics. The findings suggest that neighborhood effects on cardiovascular health may be mediated through cardiovascular biomarker levels, and that socioeconomic disadvantage, disorder, and greenness may each be important features of neighborhoods.
Cyborg Modes of Agency: Affordances of Automation and Modelling

This chapter investigates the ways in which digital technologies are implicated in the ways in which we conceive of INITIATING directed action in and on public space. Digital technologies afford the automatization of processes and the abdication of initiative and action to algorithmic agents. Locative games superimpose their “game logic” onto the spatial and semiotic geography of physical cities and the motivational patterns that influence public behavior, cultivating modes of automatized public behavior that affects the behavioral norms of public life. Digital technologies are also increasingly involved in the processes by which we generate our cognitive models of the urban environment and, therefore, in the ways in which we conceive of imperatives for action.
Elevated nutrient content in host plants parasitized by swamp dodder (Cuscuta gronovii): evidence of selective foraging by a holoparasitic plant?

This study considers nutrient content of hydrophytic host populations (Impatiens capensis and Justicia americana) and their obligate holoparasite, Cuscuta gronovii. Comparisons of mineral content i...
An open source desktop post-editing tool

We present a simple user interface for post-editing that presents the user with the source sentence, machine translation, and word alignments for each sentence in a test document (Figure 1). This software is open source, written in Java, and has no external dependencies; it can be run on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows. This software was originally designed for monolingual post-editors, but should be equally usable by bilingual post-editors. While it may seem counter-intuitive to present monolingual post-editors with the source sentence, we found that the presence of alignment links between source words and target words can in fact aid a monolingual post-editor, especially with regard to correcting word order. For example, in our experiments using this interface (Schwartz et al., 2014), post-editors encountered some sentences where a word or phrase was enclosed within bracketing punctuation marks (such as quotation marks, commas, or parentheses) in the source sentence, and the machine translation system incorrectly reordered the word or phrase outside the enclosing punctuation; by examining the alignment links the post-editors were able to correct such reordering mistakes.