cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Do antenatal parasite infections devalue childhood vaccination

On a global basis, both potent vaccine efficacy and high vaccine coverage are necessary to control and eliminate vaccine-preventable diseases. Emerging evidence from animal and human studies suggest that neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) significantly impair response to standard childhood immunizations. A review of efficacy and effectiveness studies of vaccination among individuals with chronic parasitic infections was conducted, using PUBMED database searches and analysis of data from the authors' published and unpublished studies. Both animal models and human studies suggest that chronic trematode, nematode, and protozoan infections can result in decreased vaccine efficacy. Among pregnant women, who in developing countries are often infected with multiple parasites, soluble parasite antigens have been shown to cross the placenta and prime or tolerize fetal immune responses. As a result, antenatal infections can have a significant impact on later vaccine responses. Acquired childhood parasitic infections, most commonly malaria, can also affect subsequent immune response to vaccination. Additional data suggest that antiparasite therapy can improve the effectiveness of several human vaccines. Emerging evidence demonstrates that both antenatal and childhood parasitic infections alter levels of protective immune response to routine vaccinations. Successful antiparasite treatment may prevent immunomodulation caused by parasitic antigens during pregnancy and early childhood and may improve vaccine efficacy. Future research should highlight the varied effects that different parasites (alone and in combination) can have on human vaccine-related immunity. To optimize vaccine effectiveness in developing countries, better control of chronic NTDs may prove imperative.
On the “missing” deep-hole strength in 115Sn

Abstract Evidence is found for a “new” deep hole component in 115Sn extending to about 18 MeV excitation and containing most likely 1 f 5 2 strength in addition to 2p strength. With this new component, a better definition of the “background” is possible. All of the combined 1 g 9 2 , 2 p 1 2 , 2 p 3 2 sum rule strength can be accounted for with the inclusion of the new component and the additional overall strength due to the reduced background.
Glioblastoma multiforme of the conus medullaris with holocordal spread

Glioblastoma multiforme of the conus medullaris is rare. It spreads both locally to contiguous structures and also by cerebrospinal seeding. The disease is aggressive and the ultimate prognosis is dismal. We report a case of conus medullaris glioblastoma multiforme with involvement of the holocord. In spite of excision of the conus medullaris tumor followed by radiation, the disease continued to progress rapidly. We discuss the rarity of the disease and the related literature with regard to treatment modalities.
Comparative studies on the metabolism of shallow-water and deep-sea marine fishes. I. White-muscle metabolism in shallow-water fishes

Maximal rates of oxygen consumption in vitro have been measured under standardized conditions at three test temperatures (5°, 15°, and 25°C) on minced preparations of white muscle from 39 species of shallow-water marine teleost fishes. These fishes came from four different geographic areas, two with cool average water-temperatures (near 15°C: coastal southern California, Galapagos Islands) and two with warm average water-temperatures (near 25°C: Hawaiian Islands; Bermuda). The group includes species covering much of the range of variation to be found among the teleosts with respect to five additional variables: phylogenetic position, type of environment, body weight, activity level, and growth stage. The purpose of the work is to provide part of a base line of tissue-metabolism data on shallow-water fishes for comparison with similar results from deep-sea species. Major conclusions from statistical analyses of the results are: four groups of shapes of oxygen-uptake rate versus temperature curves exist: normal, flat, dipped and peaked. Over 50% of curves are normal. Intra-group differences, contributing significantly to the total variance of the results at given test temperatures, are: cool versus warm average environmental temperatures primarily for epipelagic species; epipelagic versus non-epipelagic environments; very active species versus all others; juvenile stages versus adults. In each case, the subgroup first mentioned shows higher muscle oxygen-uptake rates than the other subgroup. Variables not contributing significantly to the total variance are phylogenetic position and body weight. Physiological and ecological implications of these results are discussed.
Heat transfer and lateral particle migration in suspension flow through a convergent channel

Abstract The migration of particles across fluid streamlines has been observed to occur in a variety of suspension flows. This lateral particle migration can either heat or cool suspension depending upon the differences in the specific heat capacities of the fluid and solid phases, and the direction of migration with respect to the lateral temperature gradient. Rigid spheres and rodlike particles migrate toward the toward the wall in the creeping flow of a Newtonian fluid through a convergent channel. The temperature drop across a convergent channel is calculated and shown to be negligibly small for the injection molding of a polymer composite.
TGFBR2 and BAX mononucleotide tract mutations, microsatellite instability, and prognosis in 1072 colorectal cancers.

Background Mononucleotide tracts in the coding regions of the TGFBR2 and BAX genes are commonly mutated in microsatellite instability-high (MSI-high) colon cancers. The receptor TGFBR2 plays an important role in the TGFB1 (transforming growth factor-β, TGF-β) signaling pathway, and BAX plays a key role in apoptosis. However, a role of TGFBR2 or BAX mononucleotide mutation in colorectal cancer as a prognostic biomarker remains uncertain.
The efficacy, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of inactivated influenza virus vaccines

Influenza is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Currently available inactivated influenza virus vaccines are safe and effective in preventing influenza. Substantial health benefits are seen across all age and risk groups. Studies assessing the economic benefits of vaccination suggest that vaccination is highly cost effective and in many cases cost saving among the elderly. Influenza vaccination has also been associated with significant economic benefits in younger adults and children. Additional health economic studies from developing countries and from tropical/subtropical regions will be vitally important for better understanding of the global burden of influenza and potential benefits of vaccination.
A boundary integral method for propagation problems in integrated optical structures

A boundary integral method is presented for the study of wave propagations in waveguiding structures that are considered difficult for the beam propagation method (BPM). We have demonstrated with 2-D simulations, that structures of large angle bends and arbitrary reflections can be easily modeled without excessive computational demand. This method provides a powerful tool for analyzing radiation loss, scattering, crosstalk and other characteristics in complex integrated photonic devices. >
Lose your mother: a journey along the Atlantic slave route by, Sadiyia Hartman, New York, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007

270pp., $25.00 (paperback), ISBN 978‐0‐374‐27082‐7 Lose Your Mother is the captivating, but disquieting memoir of Saidiya Hartman’s travels along slave routes in Ghana – from Elmina Castle on the A...
Identification Without Exogeneity Under Equiconfounding in Linear Recursive Structural Systems

This chapter obtains identification of structural coefficients in linear recursive systems of structural equations without requiring that observable variables are exogenous or conditionally exogenous. In particular, standard instrumental variables and control variables need not be available in these systems. Instead, we demonstrate that the availability of one or two variables that are equally affected by the unobserved confounder as is the response of interest, along with exclusion restrictions, permits the identification of all the system’s structural coefficients. We provide conditions under which equiconfounding supports either full identification of structural coefficients or partial identification in a set consisting of two points.
Nutritional assessment of patients with schizophrenia: A preliminary study

The prevalence of obesity in the United States population is increasing, and similar trends can be observed among schizophrenia patients. No thorough examination of the actual nutritional composition of the diet of schizophrenia patients in the United States has been carried out. We therefore employed a 24-hour diet recall in 146 schizophrenia outpatients to gather information on different nutritional variables, such as total caloric intake and total fat, protein, carbohydrate, cholesterol, and fiber content. Data were subsequently compared to data for the general population collected in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Schizophrenia patients as a group ate more food when compared to NHANES III subjects, but the relative percentages of calories derived from fat, protein, and carbohydrates were not found to be different. Therefore, it is unlikely that schizophrenia patients make dietary choices different from those of people in the general population. Instead, schizophrenia patients seem to eat more of the same food.
Multistep Resistance Selection and Postantibiotic-Effect Studies of the Antipneumococcal Activity of LBM415 Compared to Other Agents

LBM415 is a peptide deformylase inhibitor active against gram-positive bacterial species and some gram-negative species. In multiselection studies, LBM415 had low MICs against all Streptococcus pneumoniae strains tested, regardless of their genotype, and selected resistant clones after 14 to 50 days. MIC increases correlated with changes mostly in the 70GXGXAAXQ77 motif in peptide deformylase. The postantibiotic effect of LBM415 ranged from 0.3 to 1.4 h.
Combination Therapy for Combating Brain Tumor Stem Cells

Copyright: © 2012 Ray SK. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The most common and malignant brain tumor is glioblastoma, which lets the patient live only for a few months and hardly for a year or longer after the diagnosis [1]. It keeps growing due to presence of brain tumor stem cells (BTSC), also called glioblastoma stem cells (GSC), which can be considered as the seeds for growth and regrowth of the tumor [2]. Complexity of a malignant brain tumor requires that it must be controlled by the application of multimodality treatments. Diagnosis of every malignant brain tumor is a new puzzle that challenges us for finding an appropriate strategy for its treatment. At present, discovery of BTSC is probably the most important piece in the complexity of malignant brain tumor. Even a small number of BTSC or GSC, left behind after surgery and therapy, can continuously replicate and regrow the tumor. After surgery, sequential combination of radiotherapy and chemotherapy is frequently used for combating the growth of glioblastoma. But various studies indicate that most of the BTSC remain radioresitant or chemoresistant and replicate to regrow the tumor [3,4]. Thus, designing an appropriate combination therapy for completely eradicating the BTSC and thereby the malignant brain tumor itself is now one of the biggest challenges to basic scientists and clinical neuro-oncologists.
Thromboembolism and Antithrombotic Therapy in Congestive Heart Failure

The incidence of thromboembolic events in unselected patients with class II-III congestive heart failure is 1.6-3.5% per year. Marked limitation of exercise capacity and the presence of echocardiographic left ventricular thrombus appear to be associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism. Several studies have reported that anticoagulant therapy does not eliminate the occurrence of thromboembolism. Because the benefit and risks of anticoagulant therapy in patients with congestive heart failure have not been examined in controlled studies, it is difficult to make well-founded recommendations.
Word Processing for LD College Students

A community college program that has helped LD students with written expression problems meet the writing demands of college
Gene expression in the rat supraoptic nucleus induced by chronic hyperosmolality versus hyposmolality

Magnocellular neurons of the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system play a fundamental role in the maintenance of body homeostasis by secreting vasopressin and oxytocin in response to systemic osmotic...
Bilateral time-scaling for control of task freedoms of a constrained nonholonomic system

We explore the control of a nonholonomic robot subject to additional constraints on the state variables. In our problem, the user specifies the path of a subset of the state variables (the task freedoms X/sub P/), i.e. a curve X/sub P/(s) where s/spl isin/[0,1] is a parameterization that the user chooses. We control the trajectory of the task freedoms by specifying a bilateral time-scaling s(t) which assigns a point on the path for each time t. The time-scaling is termed bilateral because there is no restriction on s(t), the task freedoms are allowed to move backwards along the path. We design a controller that satisfies the user directive and controls the remaining state variables (the shape freedoms X/sub R/) to satisfy the constraints. Furthermore, we attempt to reduce the number of control switchings, as these result in relatively large errors in our system state. If a constraint is close to being violated (at a switchings point), we back up X/sub P/ along the path for a small time interval and move X/sub S/ to an open region. We show that there are a finite number of switching points for arbitrary task freedom paths. We implement our control scheme on the Mobipulator and discuss a generalization to arbitrary systems satisfying similar properties.
Bis[N-alkyl-NN-di(2-pyridylmethyl)amine]zinc(II) perchlorates display cis-facial stereochemistry in solid state and solution

N-Alkyl-N,N-di(2-pyridylmethyl)amines are ligands commonly used by supramolecular chemists in molecular recognition and sensing applications. The metal coordination complexes of these ligands, in particular those with 2:1 (ligand:metal) molar ratio, have not been sufficiently characterised in solution. In this work, bis[N-alkyl-N,N-di(2-pyridylmethyl)amine]zinc(II) perchlorates are characterised in both solid and solution phases, using X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy, respectively. Only the cis-facial stereoisomer is observed. Density functional theory calculations support the thermodynamic preference for this stereochemistry, as in one representative case the gas phase energy of the cis-facial configuration is lower than those of the trans-facial and meridional configurations by 4.0 and 4.5 kcal/mol, respectively.
People's Spaces: Familiarization, Subject Formation and Emergent Spaces in Colombo:

In between and besides official plan-making, ordinary people produce more quantity and variety of spaces than the authorities and professionals. They both adapt to and adjust extant spaces for their daily activities and cultural practices, thus producing lived spaces out of abstract space. Yet we know very little about these basic space-making processes. This article aims to acknowledge and `understand' the processes of familiarizing space employed by ordinary people to create milieus that can support their everyday activities and cultural practices. Relying on subjects' vantage points of critique, it examines the space-making processes of four social actors in late 19th-century Colombo, then Ceylon, now Sri Lanka.
INFLUENCE OF SALINITY ON THE FORM OF ASTEROCYTIS IN PURE CULTURE1

SUMMARY The growth form of an isolate of Asterocytis ornata in pure culture changed from filamentous in a full-strength seawater medium to a unicellular or bicellular form closely resembling the genus Chroothece in a medium of quarter-strength seawater. The alga did not grow in media of lower salinities, or in media in which seawater was replaced by KCl, NaCl, or CaCl2. The formation of filaments from single cells could not be attributed to osmolarity. The controlling factors seemed to be the concentrations of cations, notably Na+ and Mg++. However, the filaments produced experimentally in a defined medium, were never as extensively developed as those occurring in seawater, an indication that further studies should be done. The occurrence of the Asterocytis form, in freshwater habitats remains to be explained. There may be distinct physiological races, if not true species, within the genus.
Creating Classroom Environments That Address the Linguistic and Cultural Backgrounds of Students with Disabilities: An Asian Pacific American Perspective

Significant changes in the public school population throughout the United States are influenced by the increasing numbers of immigrants who enter the country annually. It is estimated that in the next 50 years the U.S. population will become exceedingly more ethnically diverse than it is at present. Immigrants from Asian and Pacific Rim countries are emigrating to the United States more rapidly than any other group. We discuss the impact of increased numbers of Asian and Pacific Islander students in the context of special education. In particular, we focus on the changing demographics of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the overall U.S. population and on the importance of designing and delivering special education services that address their diverse cultural and linguistic characteristics, culturally and linguistically relevant instructional practices, and parental involvement.
Below-ground causes and consequences of woodland shrub invasions: a novel paired-point framework reveals new insights.

Summary 1. Confirming the impacts of invasive plants is essential for prioritizing management efforts, but is challenging, especially if impacts occur below-ground and over long periods as hypothesized for woodland shrub invasions. 2. For this reason, we developed a novel ‘paired-point’ framework capable of detecting the below-ground impacts of slow-growing invasive plants from short-term data sets in an investigation into the below-ground consequences of European buckthorn Rhamnus cathartica L. (hereafter buckthorn) invasions into Chicago-area woodlands. We measured differences between the members of 97 pairs of buckthorn-invaded and buckthorn-free points in 10 below-ground response variables (RVs) that buckthorn is hypothesized to alter (listed below). We then modelled these differences (DRVs) in response to the severity of the invasion found at each invaded point. A relationship (linear or nonlinear) between a DRV and severity, that is slope 6 0, suggests a buckthorn-induced change. An intercept (value of DRV where severity = 0) different from zero suggests a pre-existing difference. 3. Relating differences to an invasion gradient rather than simply noting their presence provided evidence that the higher levels of moisture, pH, total C, total N, NH þ � N and Ca 2+ in invaded soils pre-date and possibly promote invasion (particularly Ca 2+ ) and that neither earthworm biomass nor soil C : N ratios are associated with buckthorn invasion, all of which suggest buckthorn to be less of a ‘driver’ of below-ground change than hypothesized. We did, however, find evidence that buckthorn establishes in areas having greater leaf litter mass and higher rates of decomposition, and then proceeds to accelerate decomposition further and to alter spring soil NO � � N levels. 4. Synthesis and applications. Our findings suggest that decisions regarding regional buckthorn management should be less driven by concerns about buckthorn’s below-ground impacts and that greater consideration of how variation in below-ground factors relates to invader establishment is needed, rather than simply assuming this variation to be invaderinduced. This latter consideration can help to design better targeted monitoring programmes, limiting the further spread of woodland invaders. These insights illustrate the utility of the paired-point framework both for investigating below-ground causes and consequences of slow-growing invasive plants and for guiding the management of these invasions.
Hybrid silicon/molecular FETs: a study of the interaction of redox-active molecules with silicon MOSFETs

Redox-active molecular monolayers were incorporated in silicon MOSFETs to obtain hybrid silicon/molecular FETs. Cyclic voltammetry and FET characterization techniques were used to study the properties of these hybrid devices. The redox-active molecules have tunable charge states, which are quantized at room temperature and can be accessed at relatively low voltages. The discrete molecular states were manifested in the drain current and threshold voltage characteristics of the device, confirming the presence of distinct energy levels within the molecules at room temperature. This study demonstrates the modulation of Si-MOSFETs' drain currents via redox-active molecular monolayers. The single-electron functionality provided by the redox-active molecules is ultimately scalable to molecular dimensions, and this approach can be extended to nanoscale field-effect devices including those based on carbon nanotubes. The molecular states coupled with CMOS devices can be utilized for low-voltage, multiple-state memory and logic applications and can extend the impact of silicon-based technologies.
The Political Life of Nature

century in provocative ways. The subject matters are recognizable under the rubric of cultural studies: attention to the politics of representation, questions about the reproduction of power, and an interest in public debates and contestations over identity. By extension, the role of the media in everyday life and the production of common sense remind one of the invigorating and enduring debates over the meaning of ideology, particularly those early discussions that drew sustenance from the ideas of Antonio Gramsci
Early melanoma detection: nonuniform dermoscopic features and growth.

Abstract Background: Dermoscopy alone is not sufficient to detect all early melanomas. Total body photos reveal growth of melanomas but also reveal growth of melanocytic nevi. Objective: We set out to determine whether a simplified algorithm on the basis of nonuniform dermoscopic features combined with growth noted from baseline total body photos targeted the early melanocytic neoplasms most likely to be malignant. Methods: Lesions removed during follow-up of patients with total body photographs were reviewed and 169 melanocytic lesions were identified for which both gross clinical and dermoscopic photos were available. The images were evaluated separately by 3 academic dermatologists, without knowledge of the given pathologic diagnosis, for uniformity (consistent gradient of features from center to edge) and change (specifically, that which could indicate melanoma growth in normal skin or within a nevus). Results: Using a minimum of 2 out of 3 agreement for uniformity and change, 12 of 16 melanomas (including all 5 superficially invasive tumors) were graded as nonuniform and changed. The 4 melanomas not included in this category were in situ. The predicted odds of melanoma for lesions scored as both nonuniform and changed was 4.06 ( P > .0195). If 3 out of 3 agreement was used, the odds ratio increased to 6 ( P > .0010). Conclusion: An algorithm on the basis of dermoscopic nonuniformity and change suggestive of growth as determined by total body photography segregates melanocytic neoplasms most likely to be malignant. (J Am Acad Dermatol 2003;48:663-71.)
Kinematics of hyper-redundant robot locomotion with applications to grasping

Simple schemes for analyzing the kinematics of hyper-redundant robot locomotion over solid terrain are considered. These schemes are based on the concepts of amplitude varying and traveling wave gaits, which are idealized models of inchworm and caterpillar locomotion. The kinematics of these gaits is formulated for hyper-redundant robots of both constant and variable length for locomotion over both flat and irregular terrain. Hyper-redundant locomotion concepts are applied to a novel grasping and fine manipulation scheme based on a grasping wave. >
Alzheimer's Associated β-Amyloid Protein Inhibits Influenza A Virus and Modulates Viral Interactions with Phagocytes

Accumulation of β-Amyloid (βA) is a key pathogenetic factor in Alzheimer's disease; however, the normal function of βA is unknown. Recent studies have shown that βA can inhibit growth of bacteria and fungi. In this paper we show that βA also inhibits replication of seasonal and pandemic strains of H3N2 and H1N1 influenza A virus (IAV) in vitro. The 42 amino acid fragment of βA (βA42) had greater activity than the 40 amino acid fragment. Direct incubation of the virus with βA42 was needed to achieve optimal inhibition. Using quantitative PCR assays βA42 was shown to reduce viral uptake by epithelial cells after 45 minutes and to reduce supernatant virus at 24 hours post infection. βA42 caused aggregation of IAV particles as detected by light transmission assays and electron and confocal microscopy. βA42 did not stimulate neutrophil H2O2 production or extracellular trap formation on its own, but it increased both responses stimulated by IAV. In addition, βA42 increased uptake of IAV by neutrophils. βA42 reduced viral protein synthesis in monocytes and reduced IAV-induced interleukin-6 production by these cells. Hence, we demonstrate for the first time that βA has antiviral activity and modulates viral interactions with phagocytes.
Kruppel-like factor 2 suppresses mammary carcinoma growth by regulating retinoic acid signaling

The transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) displays anticarcinogenic activities but the mechanism that underlies this activity is unknown. We show here that KLF2 is markedly downregulated in human breast cancers and that its expression positively correlates with breast cancer patient survival. We show further that KLF2 suppresses tumor development by controlling the transcriptional activity of the vitamin A metabolite retinoic acid (RA). RA regulates gene transcription by activating two types of nuclear receptors: RA receptors (RARs), which inhibit tumor development, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ (PPARβ/δ), which promotes tumorigenesis. The partitioning of RA between these receptors is regulated by two carrier proteins: cellular retinoic acid-binding protein 2 (CRABP2), which delivers RA to RARs, and fatty acid-binding protein 5 (FABP5), which shuttles ligands to PPARβ/δ. We show that KLF2 induces the expression of CRABP2 and RARγ and inhibits the expression FABP5 and PPARβ/δ thereby shifting RA signaling from the pro-carcinogenic FABP5/PPARβ/δ to the growth-suppressing CRABP2/RAR path. The data thus reveal that KLF2 suppresses tumor growth by controlling the transcriptional activities of RA.
The Dark Side of Altruism in the Context of Patent Incentives: Are You Really Here for Me? Taking Off the Rose-Colored Glasses

Intellectual property rights exist to create self-renewing incentive structures that continually replenish the push for product improvement and innovation investment. This Paper turns the traditional analysis on its head by considering tort-like liability of patent holders for victims of product defects, specifically, robotic medical devices. Robotic surgical devices, or da Vinci robots, are gaining popularity in the medical community – despite, and perhaps due to, the novelty of remote surgical technology. However, the complexity lies not in the application of tort law to the United States patent system. The uncertain fit of tort law within patent law will remain for future discussion. In fact, the liability treated in this Paper is identified as tort-like, precisely to avoid the clumsy applicability of tort law to patent holders. Rather, the recent expansion in geographic scope of patient care – via wireless control, or disintermediation – creates the situation this Paper seeks to illuminate: A physician operating from California using a patented stint-placement in complex heart surgery on a patient in Guam, is sued when the stint-placement malfunctions and ruptures. The patient lives but, due to loss of blood to the brain, will live out the remainder of her life with significant neurological damage. In this case, who makes this patient whole? This Paper concludes by considering the difficultly involved when contemplating tort-like liability for injured patients, assuming robotic surgical malfunction.
The need for research in broadening participation

In addition to alliances created for broadening participation in computing, research is required to better utilize the knowledge they have produced.
Expression, purification and crystallization of an atypical class C acid phosphatase from Mycoplasma bovis.

Class C acid phosphatases (CCAPs) are 25–30 kDa bacterial surface proteins that are thought to function as broad-specificity 5′,3′-nucleotidases. Analysis of the newly published complete genome sequence of Mycoplasma bovis PG45 revealed a putative CCAP with a molecular weight of 49.9 kDa. The expression, purification and crystallization of this new family member are described here. Standard purification procedures involving immobilized metal-ion affinity chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography yielded highly pure and crystallizable protein. Crystals were grown in sitting drops at room temperature in the presence of PEG 3350 and HEPES buffer pH 7.5 and diffracted to 2.3 A resolution. Analysis of diffraction data suggested a primitive monoclinic space group, with unit-cell parameters a = 78, b = 101, c = 180 A, β = 92°. The asymmetric unit is predicted to contain six molecules, which are likely to be arranged as three dimers.
Copper limits: human agency.

The News Focus story “The coming copper peak” (R. A. Kerr, 14 February, p. [722][1]) points out that the timing of any production peak depends on a dynamic interplay of geology, economics, and technology. Another crucial factor is human agency. Resource owners and producers are not automatons,
Modeling the viscosity of polydisperse suspensions: Improvements in prediction of limiting behavior

The present study develops a fully consistent extension of the approach pioneered by Farris [“Prediction of the viscosity of multimodal suspensions from unimodal viscosity data,” Trans. Soc. Rheol. 12, 281–301 (1968)] to describe the viscosity of polydisperse suspensions significantly improving upon our previous model [P. M. Mwasame, N. J. Wagner, and A. N. Beris, “Modeling the effects of polydispersity on the viscosity of noncolloidal hard sphere suspensions,” J. Rheol. 60, 225-240 (2016)]. The new model captures the Farris limit of large size differences between consecutive particle size classes in a suspension. Moreover, the new model includes a further generalization that enables its application to real, complex suspensions that deviate from ideal non-colloidal suspension behavior. The capability of the new model to predict the viscosity of complex suspensions is illustrated by comparison against experimental data.
Airway resistance studies in bronchial asthma

Abstract 1.1. Airway resistance has been measured by means of a body plethysmograph and in normal subjects found to be 1.25 ± .22 cm. H 2 O per L. per sec. 2.2. Airway resistance in patients with bronchial asthma ranged between 2.0 and 9.6 cm. H 2 O per L. per sec. 3.3. Resistance values above the normal range were found in patients with bronchial asthma who had neither signs nor symptoms of their disease at the time tested. 4.4. Airway resistance in asymptomatic patients ranged between 2.0 and 5.5 cm. H 2 O per L. per sec. Resistance in symptomatic patients ranged between 4.3 and 9.6 cm. H 2 O per L. per sec. 5.5. Nebulized isoproterenol produced a significant reduction of airway resistance in both groups. 6.6. Poor correlation was found between airway resistance and first-second vital capacity.
The Globalization of Ayahuasca Shamanism and the Erasure of Indigenous Shamanism

Ayahuasca is a hallucinogenic plant mixture used in a ceremonial context throughout western Amazonia, and its use has expanded globally in recent decades. As part of this expansion, ayahuasca has become popular among westerners who travel to the Peruvian Amazon in increasing numbers to experience its reportedly healing and transformative effects. Drawing from ethnographic fieldwork in and around the area of Iquitos, Peru, the epicenter of ayahuasca tourism, this paper focuses on some of the problematic aspects of western engagement with indigenous spiritual traditions. This engagement is usually based on idealized and romanticized notions of indigenous shamanism and an inability to digest its less palatable aspects, such as sorcery. Through ethnographic examples and ethnohistorical evidence, I show that the romanticization indigenous peoples is not benign. In fact, this one-sided romantic image hides the complexity of indigenous peoples’ situations by erasing the injustices that they have experienced and continue to experience. I propose a more holistic approach to ayahuasca shamanism that views indigenous peoples not living in a fictitious harmony with nature but as people embedded in larger struggles and facing important challenges not the least of which is the recent commercialization of indigenous spirituality.
Asymptomatic cerebral embolism and atrial fibrillation ablation: what price victory?

Radiofrequency catheter ablation of symptomatic arrhythmias has enjoyed unprecedented growth during the past 2 decades. This has been attributed to its high success rate in the treatment of a variety of arrhythmias with a discrete ablation target and the low complication rate observed in these procedures.1,2 Initial investigators performing radiofrequency catheter ablation were fortunate that the lesions created with this energy source were small and discrete. It was difficult to cause excessive collateral injury. Early recognition of the problem of sudden electric impedance rise and coagulum formation3 led to a number of strategies and technologies to minimize this occurrence. In contrast to supraventricular tachycardia ablation, catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation has pushed the limits of our ablation technologies and has shifted the ratio of efficacy to risk in an unfavorable direction.4 Aggressive ablation with extensive linear ablation, ablation of complex fractionated atrial electrograms, and empirical isolation (debulking) of the posterior left atrial wall5 have improved procedural success in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. But with a greater volume of myocardial injury and a greater surface area of disrupted left atrial endocardium from the ablation, it is not surprising that procedure-related complications, especially embolic complications, are more prevalent. Article see p 473 The initial observations of the appearance of new asymptomatic cerebral embolism (ACE) lesions on diffusion-weighted MR imaging scans after radiofrequency catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation were striking6,7 but should not have been unanticipated. The ACE lesions observed are attributed to cerebral microembolism and have been widely reported after procedures, such as cardiopulmonary bypass,8 carotid artery stenting,9 and trans aortic valve replacement.10 The fact that ACE lesions have not been reported previously with radiofrequency ablation either has been because of good fortune or simply …
Office endoscopy--when, why, what, and how.

Nasal endoscopy provides the rhinologist with unparalleled visualization with brilliant illumination of the nasal cavity, which permits more accurate diagnosis of nasal conditions. The authors present their rationale for using diagnostic endoscopy in the office practice of rhinology. The equipment requirements and technical considerations are fully explained. Endoscopy also serves as an excellent teaching tool and source of photodocumentation.
Trauma Prevention Activities for the Elderly

This review examines existing evidence-based literature in the field of geriatric trauma prevention. It is intended to provide a summary of current recommended injury prevention activities for the elderly and for the healthcare providers and system. Where evidence-based literature does not exist, the author will offer expert advice as to measures to be used and studied. Evidence-based literature is scarce in the field of geriatric injury prevention. However, there are several reviews from the Cochrane Collaboration and several national trauma organizations providing guidance for preventing geriatric falls and motor vehicle crashes. Suicide and elder abuse are less well studied in the elderly. Screening and education programs make sense here and interventions need to be studied. Though there is not much robust literature on reducing injury in the elderly, providers can find guidance from this review and the references used to create it.
Bullying as a Disability in Public Elementary and Secondary Education

Forty-six states have enacted anti-bullying statutes, 36 of which explicitly reach cyberbullying. The statutes typically amend the state education act to require public school districts to adopt written anti-bullying policies, teach prevention curricula, discipline bullies, and cooperate with law enforcement when bullying turns criminal. By acting in such unison, the state legislatures have articulated a national consensus that school bullying inhibits learning by substantially disrupting or interfering with the educational mission, and by compromising victims’ physical or emotional security. School authorities may feel greater incentive and capacity to enforce the emerging state legislation if they view actual and virtual bullying as acts that saddle victims with a disability that inhibits learning. This article discusses two reasons why likening bullying victimization to an educational disability makes sense. First, face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying impose on student victims the sort of educational deprivation that the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) addresses in the disabilities arena. Second, today’s belated public sensitivity to school bullying victims resembles the belated public sensitivity to students with disabilities that led to passage of the IDEA in 1975. It is no longer acceptable public policy to turn back the clock to the pre-IDEA approach that overlooked the needs of disabled schoolchildren for decades. We understand more now about these children’s needs than we understood then, and the IDEA tips the scales in favor of maintaining disabled children in the mainstream of American society. Similarly, it is no longer acceptable public policy to turn back the clock to the pre-1990s approach that overlooked the needs of bullied school children for decades. We understand more now about these children’s needs than we understood then, and the states’ near-universal embrace of anti-bullying legislation tips the scales in favor of protecting bullied children in school.
Mtr4/ZFC3H1 protects polysomes through nuclear RNA surveillance.

Recent progress in high-throughput RNA-sequencing techniques has led to the realization that the human genome is transcribed much more pervasively than previously appreciated, and that large fracti...
Invited Keynote Talk: Set-Level Analyses for Genome-Wide Association Data

High-throughput genotyping platforms allow the investigation of hundreds of thousands of markers at a time, and this has led to a growing number of genome-wide association studies in which the entire human genome is mined for genes involved in etiology of complex traits. This approach for discovery of genetic risk factors has yielded promising results, but most of the analyses have focused on single marker tests. In general, a method of analysis that uses the markers as if they are biologically unrelated throws away all the information contained in the structure of the genome.
Inferring causes during speech perception.

Abstract One of the central challenges in speech perception is the lack of invariance: talkers differ in how they map words onto the speech signal. Previous work has shown that one mechanism by which listeners overcome this variability is adaptation. However, talkers differ in how they pronounce words for a number of reasons, ranging from more permanent, characteristic factors such as having a foreign accent, to more temporary, incidental factors, such as speaking with a pen in the mouth. One challenge for listeners is that the true cause underlying atypical pronunciations is never directly known, and instead must be inferred from (often causally ambiguous) evidence. In three experiments, we investigate whether these inferences underlie speech perception, and how the speech perception system deals with uncertainty about competing causes for atypical pronunciations. We find that adaptation to atypical pronunciations is affected by whether the atypical pronunciations are seen as characteristic or incidental. Furthermore, we find that listeners are able to maintain information about previous causally ambiguous pronunciations that they experience, and use this previously experienced evidence to drive their adaptation after additional evidence has disambiguated the cause. Our findings revise previous proposals that causally ambiguous evidence is ignored during speech adaptation.
Seizures, Antiepileptic Drugs, and CKD.

There are 2 major categories of patients with seizures and chronic kidney disease (CKD): patients who develop acute symptomatic seizures in the setting of CKD and patients with epilepsy who at some point develop CKD. The incidence of uremic seizures with kidney failure is ∼10%. These seizures are often nonconvulsive and may mimic uremic encephalopathy. Recognition and management of such situations may be challenging for treating physicians who are non-neurologists. Furthermore, practitioners caring for patients with seizures with or without an established diagnosis of epilepsy in the setting of CKD frequently encounter challenges in the selection, loading, titration, and maintenance of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) due to potentially altered pharmacokinetics of the AEDs. We review the pathophysiology of uremia, uremic seizures, and other neurologic complications of kidney failure; management approaches to the treatment of such complications; the relevant mechanisms of action and pharmacokinetics of AEDs with their use in CKD; and in particular, the management of AEDs in patients requiring hemodialysis therapy.
NGOs and Health Reporting in Tanzania

This study examines the role of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in shaping health reporting in Tanzania. Drawing on in-depth interviews with representatives from NGOs cited in HIV/AIDS-relate...
Characterization of nano-scale oxides in austenitic stainless steel processed by powder bed fusion

Abstract Nano-scale MnSiO3 Rhodonite particles were observed in 316L stainless steel fabricated by selective laser melting (SLM). These oxide particles act as Zener-pinning particles providing dragging force to retard grain growth, and enhance strength through the comparison of Hall-Petch effects between SLM 316L and commercial wrought 316L under 1200 °C isothermal heat treatment. The metastable Rhodonite particles were observed to in-situ convert to stable MnCr2O4 Spinel particles at 1200 °C, as predicted by computational thermodynamics. This work introduces nano-scale oxides, which are normally detrimental inclusions, as a new type of particle for grain refinement and strengthening through their refinement in additive manufacturing.
Introduction to Numerical Simulation System

Historically, numerical simulations of the MOS device have been tried first to understand the device operation in the subthreshold and saturation regions. In 1969, Barron [1.1] from Stanford University simulated a MOSFET transistor using a finite-difference method to study the subthreshold conduction and saturation mechanism. Vandorpe [1.2] also simulated and modeled the saturation region with the finite-difference program in 1972. After the self-aligned silicon gate technology was invented, the MOSFET device dimensions were reduced. This reduction prompted more numerical simulations to study the short-channel and narrow width effects. Mock and Kennedy [1.3] from IBM developed a finite-difference program. Hachtel [1.4] also from IBM developed the first finite-element device simulation program. Barnes [1.5] from University of Michigan also developed a finite-element device simulation program for GaAs MESFETs. Most of the programs mentioned above were developed as research tools rather than for the general user(design tools). More stress had been put on the development of a stable and fast algorithm and the implementations of the physical mechanisms rather than on the user interface.
Auswirkungen der Antigen-Antikörperreaktion in vivo: Allergie und Gewebsschädigung

Immunphanomene sind sehr wichtig zum Schutz vor Infektions-krankheiten und zu deren Uberwindung. Sie konnen aber auch fur viele Reaktionen verantwortlich sein, die sich schadlich auf den Organismus auswirken. Dazu gehoren die allergischen Reaktionen, dem Laien vertraut durch Krankheiten wie Heufieber, Asthma oder Poison ivy 1-Uberempfindlichkeit. Der Begriff Allergie oder Uberempfindlichkeit bezeichnet eine veranderte immunologische Reaktionsfahigkeit meist einer an sich harmlosen Substanz gegenuber, wodurch diese dem Betroffenen schaden kann. Eine derartig veranderte Reaktionsfahigkeit kann nach dem Kontakt mit einem Antigen auftreten (induzierte Uberempfindlichkeit oder Allergie), oder sie tritt ohne jeglichen bekannten Kontakt in Erscheinung (spontane Allergie).
Increasing AI Project Effectiveness with Reusable Code Frameworks: A Case Study Using IUCBRF.

Instructors’ ability to assign artificial intelligence programming projects is limited by the time the projects may require. This problem is often exacerbated by the need for students to develop significant system infrastructure, requiring them to spend time addressing issues which may be orthogonal to the AI course’s core pedagogical goals. This paper argues that such problems can be alleviated by basing coding assignments on paradigm-specific frameworks, collections of reusable code designed to be extended and applied to a variety of specific problems. In addition, frameworks can provide a basis for further student research or application of projects to real-world domains, providing additional motivation. This paper illustrates the application of a framework-based approach to teaching case-based reasoning (CBR), introducing the Indiana University Case-Based Reasoning Framework (IUCBRF), discussing its design, and presenting sample exercises that take advantage of the framework’s characteristics.