cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nitric Oxide Activates the PI3Kinase-Akt Pathway in Human Melanoma Cells

Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer in the US, where the incidence rate is increasing faster than any other cancer. Growing evidence suggests that activation of the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt pathway plays a significant role in melanoma tumorigenesis and progression. Our previous report presented the protein expression of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), particularly the isoform of iNOS, in proximately 60% of advanced melanoma patients’ tumor cells, and its presence significantly associated with poor prognosis. In this present study, we investigated the role of nitric oxide (NO) in PI3K-Akt pathway activation in human melanoma cells, using both conditions of extracellular NO donor exposure as well as intracellular iNOS expression. Three consistent assay results showed that multiple concentrations and time points of NO exposure activates the PI3K-Akt pathway as determined by Akt Ser 473 phosphorylation, Akt kinase activity, and Akt signaling network targets in a phosphorylation-array scan. Concurrently, biotin-switch assay was employed to test for NO-dependent post-translational modifications, and revealed that the tumor suppressor and major PI3K negative regulator, PTEN, was S-nitrosated. Post-translational modification of PTEN attenuates its phosphatase activity and is likely to contribute to the unregulated Akt pathway activation. Our findings have provided one mechanistic insight into the multifaceted role of NO supporting the growth and survival of human melanoma.
Trump and a Populist Tax Agenda

In this article, the authors argue that President Trump should urge Congress to institute a carryover tax basis rule for marketable securities applicable upon death.
Fear of an Alien Planet: Public Functions and Framings of Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life

This paper explores popular representations of extraterrestrial intelligent life in their cultural context. How does the cultural environment affect these representations? How does the political economy of the mass media industry shape these representations? With Edward Said’s Orientalism (1976) as a guide, I will examine a sampling of commercially produced and globally marketed television and film content featuring extraterrestrial intelligent life – that is, “aliens.” Why are aliens such a common subject on television and in film? What do these make-believe aliens do, and mean, for viewers? I posit that these popular representations provide arm’s-length, safe encounters with the Other. These encounters may feed our yen for the new and different. On the other hand, and perhaps at the same time, they may be a manifestation of our fear of it. In fictional encounters with alien invaders, humans tend to end up exterminating the would-be exterminators. Post-Cold War, post-9/11, post-Gulf Wars I and II, in the 21st Century of Terror, the Western world has identified a new enemy, and it is anybody “different.” While bigotry, racism, sexism and xenophobia are not socially acceptable in Western “society,” they are all operative in contemporary culture. In the real world, vilifying and abusing people because of their origin, skin color, appearance, or beliefs is taboo. In the make-believe world of mass-media science fiction movies and “infotainment” TV, however, it is not only all right but encouraged. There, extraterrestrial intelligent life is routinely slaughtered en masse to save the (Western) world.
Microscopic origins of hydrodynamic transport in the type-II Weyl semimetal WP 2

A microscopic understanding of hydrodynamic transport in Dirac and Weyl semimetals has remained elusive in theoretical descriptions and experimental measurements. We investigate the structure and microscopic properties of transport in ${\mathrm{WP}}_{2}$, a type-II Weyl semimetal exhibiting hydrodynamic transport. Here, we characterize the nature of the microscopic properties of ${\mathrm{WP}}_{2}$ as a function of temperature through ab initio calculations of the relevant scattering processes, including electron-phonon and electron-electron lifetimes, and provide equivalent calculations for copper as a point of reference. Additionally, we present an approach to calculate phonon drag, a mechanism invoked in recent experiments, through predictions of a phonon-mediated electron-electron lifetime. We show that the resistivity is very well described by the electron-phonon interaction alone, indicating ${\mathrm{WP}}_{2}$ exhibits conventional metallic electrical behavior in which strong electron-electron correlations do not play a significant role. After establishing the zone-averaged behavior of the calculated lifetimes, we further investigate specific features of the spatial distribution of the electron-phonon lifetime across the Fermi surfaces of ${\mathrm{WP}}_{2}$ to study possible scattering channels involved in hydrodynamic transport and quantify the degree of lifetime anisotropy in electron and hole pockets. This description of microscopic dynamics in ${\mathrm{WP}}_{2}$ prompts additional investigation of specific scattering channels and indicates the importance of phonon interactions in understanding connections between transport in hydrodynamic materials and strongly correlated systems including unconventional metals.
A behavioral economic analysis of media multitasking: Delay discounting as an underlying process of texting in the classroom

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the decision making process underlying texting in the classroom from a behavioral economic perspective. A sample of 136 undergraduate students completed a novel delay-discounting task involving a hypothetical scenario in which, after receiving a text message, they rated their likelihood of replying to the text message immediately versus waiting until the class is over to reply. The scenario presented several delays (ranged from 1 to 75 min) under two cell-phone-policy conditions (with and without a policy that banned in-class cell phone use). Participants also completed a behavioral assessment of impulsivity with a delay-discounting task involving hypothetical money and a self-reported assessment of the dispositional trait of impulsivity. The results show that the decrease in the likelihood of waiting to reply as a function of the delay was well described by a hyperboloid delay-discounting function. The rates of discounting were greater for students who self-reported higher frequencies of texting in the classroom as well as under the condition without the cell phone policy. Students who self-reported higher frequencies of texting in the classroom were more impulsive in both behavioral and self-reported measures of impulsivity. These results support the conclusion that the decision making underlying texting in the classroom can be well characterized using the delay-discounting paradigm and that texting in the classroom is fundamentally an impulsive choice, and that a behavioral economic approach is useful for investigating the decision-making process underlying texting in the classroom, and potentially other forms of media multitasking.
A Reminder from the Past

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay's first paragraph. "Nearly forty-six years ago to the day, Martin Luther King Jr. accepted the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in trying to eradicate African American discrimination by using non-violence. Dr. King accepted this prize whilst racial injustice was still prominent in the United States. He did this with the hope that someday people would find a way to live along side each other in peace. “If this [peace] is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” Although there have been many strides against discrimination and hatred, both remain prominent not only in the United States, but around the world exponentially." This diversity vision is available in Verbum: http://fisherpub.sjfc.edu/verbum/vol8/iss1/18
EDUCATING FOR CAPABILITY FOR INCLUSIVE WELL-BEING

In the short time that it will take you, the reader, to read to the bottom of this page, countless numbers of people across the world will die of starvation. A very high proportion of them will be infants and young children. Even as you read on, many millions of others will be suffering from such acute under-nutrition and/or malnutrition that they will soon fall victim to one fatal infectious disease or another. And even as I type the following words into the computer in front of me, an unforgivably large percentage of the total human population on earth is suffering the unbearable pain and disabling effects of acute hunger. From a technical perspective, this is a very difficult situation to explain, and certainly, to justify. In this era of hi-tech scientific agriculture, of the transnational flow of goods and services and ‘global free trade’, and of the world wide web of available information, such circumstances seem both inexcusable and, technically at least, essentially preventable. From such a perspective, poverty and hunger are functions of scientific ignorance. Once people come to understand the nature of science, and learn about its application in modern agricultural technologies, then, so the argument goes, more food could be grown, economic production could flourish, poverty can be alleviated and hunger could be a thing of the past. This could even be true in those parts of the world where conditions of soil, climate and water, etc., are less than optimal for food production, where conditions, either temporarily or permanently do not allow particular people access to secure and sustainable sources of food in their own locale, then the issue simply becomes one of distribution from locations elsewhere, where food could be grown in surplus amounts. Either way the solution, from this perspective, comes down to better education in the sciences and technologies of food production and distribution. At base, the issue of what we might call the agri-food system, is thus merely a matter of matching the physical needs for food on the one hand with the means to both produce and distribute it on the other. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that, for the foreseeable future at least, there is more than sufficient production and distribution capacities on the planet to supply food to every one of its six billion inhabitants on a sustainable basis. With so many hundreds of millions of human beings suffering from food deprivation across the world, however—and with so many nations apparently unable to assure their citizens a secure and sustainable source of food—the situation is clearly much more complex than the technical picture alone would indicate: For if it were otherwise, the problem would not exist at all.
DNA Strand Bias During O6-Methylguanine Mutagenesis

One of the common characteristics of chemical carcinogens and mutagens is their ability to form covalent products with DNA known collectively as adducts. Misreplication or misrepair of DNA adducts can lead to mutations, which in turn can act as the genetic precursors of cancer and other genetic diseases. A problem in contemporary cancer biology has been to discern the mechanisms by which DNA adducts lead to mutations. This problem is complicated by the fact that DNA damaging agents usually form not one, but many DNA lesions. As a result, it is a challenging task to assess the relative contributions of individual DNA adducts to the biological endpoint of mutation.
STIM1 and STIM2 Mediate Cancer-Induced Inflammation in T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is commonly associated with activating mutations in the NOTCH1 pathway. Recent reports have shown a link between NOTCH1 signaling and intracellular Ca2+ homeostasis in T-ALL. Here, we investigate the role of store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) mediated by the Ca2+ channel ORAI1 and its activators STIM1 and STIM2 in T-ALL. Deletion of STIM1 and STIM2 in leukemic cells abolishes SOCE and significantly prolongs the survival of mice in a NOTCH1-dependent model of T-ALL. The survival advantage is unrelated to the leukemic cell burden but is associated with the SOCE-dependent ability of malignant T lymphoblasts to cause inflammation in leukemia-infiltrated organs. Mice with STIM1/STIM2-deficient T-ALL show a markedly reduced necroinflammatory response in leukemia-infiltrated organs and downregulation of signaling pathways previously linked to cancer-induced inflammation. Our study shows that leukemic T lymphoblasts cause inflammation of leukemia-infiltrated organs that is dependent on SOCE.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin abolishes circadian regulation of hepatic metabolic activity in mice.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) activation is reported to alter the hepatic expression of circadian clock regulators, however the impact on clock-controlled metabolism has not been thoroughly investigated. This study examines the effects of AhR activation on hepatic transcriptome and metabolome rhythmicity in male C57BL/6 mice orally gavaged with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) every 4 days for 28 days. TCDD diminished the rhythmicity of several core clock regulators (e.g. Arntl, Clock, Nr1d1, Per1, Cry1, Nfil3) in a dose-dependent manner, involving either a ≥ 3.3-fold suppression in amplitude or complete loss of oscillation. Accordingly, protein levels (ARNTL, REV-ERBα, NFIL3) and genomic binding (ARNTL) of select regulators were reduced and arrhythmic following treatment. As a result, the oscillating expression of 99.6% of 5,636 clock-controlled hepatic genes was abolished including genes associated with the metabolism of lipids, glucose/glycogen, and heme. For example, TCDD flattened expression of the rate-limiting enzymes in both gluconeogenesis (Pck1) and glycogenesis (Gys2), consistent with the depletion and loss of rhythmicity in hepatic glycogen levels. Examination of polar hepatic extracts by untargeted mass spectrometry revealed that virtually all oscillating metabolites lost rhythmicity following treatment. Collectively, these results suggest TCDD disrupted circadian regulation of hepatic metabolism, altering metabolic efficiency and energy storage.
2019 John Charnley Award: Increased risk of prosthetic joint infection following primary total knee and hip arthroplasty with the use of alternative antibiotics to cefazolin: the value of allergy testing for antibiotic prophylaxis.

Aims The aims of this study were to characterize antibiotic choices for perioperative total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) prophylaxis, assess antibiotic allergy testing e...
Bi-Directional Social Status of Behaviorally Disordered and Nonhandicapped Elementary School Pupils.

Sociometric ratings assigned by and to behaviorally disordered and nonhandicapped elementary school students were compared. For this comparison, 22 resource room, school-identified behaviorally disordered pupils, who attended at least two regular classes during portions of the school day, were matched with an equal number of nonhandicapped classmates in three schools. The How I Feel Toward Others was administered in 20 regular physical education classrooms enrolling behaviorally disordered students. Results indicated that behaviorally disordered subjects, in comparison to matched nonhandicapped ones, assigned higher social rejection to their peers, and received far less acceptance and more rejection from them. Furthermore, the behaviorally disordered and nonhandicapped comparison groups did not differ significantly in assigned acceptance or assigned and received familiarity among their same- and opposite-sex classmates. These findings are discussed with regard to the need for examining the classroom socia...
Sensory Features in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)—Core Characteristic or Comorbid Factor?

Date Presented 04/06/19 There has been a lasting debate over whether sensory features are a core characteristic or comorbid phenomenon of ASD. This study explores whether sensory reactivity (hyper and hypo reactivity) may be a distinguishing characteristic of ASD. Understanding these phenotypic characteristics of ASD can help inform personalized OT intervention for sensory features as well as aid in early diagnosis. Primary Author and Speaker: Carly Rosenthal Additional Authors and Speakers: Roseann Schaaf, Rachel Dumont, Rachel Kim, Margaret Ryan, Lauren Santoro, Taylor Sivori Contributing Authors: Judith Ross
Lead chlorides in paint on a Della Robbia terracotta sculpture

Materials in the paint layers of an early 16th-century painted and glazed terracotta sculpture by Giovanni della Robbia, Pieta, were identified. The presence of the rare lead chloride salts cotunnite (PbCl2) and challacolloite (KPb2Cl5) was confirmed using Raman spectroscopy and electron backscatter diffraction. The well-formed habit of large crystals of challacolloite indicates slow growth from solution. The stability and potential pathways for the in situ formation of lead chloride compounds are discussed. The presence of lead chloride phases in the Pieta indicates the conditions of high chloride ion concentrations (i.e., activities) and/or low pH led to the alteration of the pigment lead white (hydrocerussite, 2PbCO3·Pb­(OH)2). This work highlights the role of ion transport in the alteration of materials in cultural heritage objects, emphasizes the importance of considering the role of treatments and environmental factors in changes in materials, and reinforces our awareness of the ongoing chemistry occurring in works of art.
An Overview of MEMS Microsystems

Chapter 2 provides a foundation for future chapters and begins with a review of the transduction mechanisms most commonly used in the implementation of MEMS microsensors and microactuators. Among the transduction effects covered includes piezoresistive; capacitive; piezoelectric; tunneling; magnetic; photoconduction; thermoelectric; electrostatic; thermal; shape-memory alloy; and others. The differences between a processing step; a process module; a process sequence; and a process technology are then described. The concept of batch fabrication is explained including the significant benefits that are derived from the use of this manufacturing method. Some of the important distinguishing characteristics of MEMS fabrication compared to IC manufacturing are reviewed, and reasons why MEMS is both more interesting and challenging compared to IC manufacturing are given. Specifically it is noted that MEMS design is very interesting since the number of device types and potential application areas is enormous. Nevertheless, MEMS implementation usually involves significant customization of both the design and the process sequence, and therefore the device designer often does not have much prior knowledge to leverage from. Lastly, a review of some of the basics about semiconductor materials, which are heavily used in MEMS manufacturing, is provided. Miller indices are explained as part of this discussion.
CHAPTER 3 – ARRANGEMENT

Publisher Summary The most common arrangement of the heading words in a concordance is alphabetical. Arrangement in the order of the English alphabet seems preferable as English-speakers learn the order at an early age and as the order has remained static in English for hundreds of years. Concordances so arranged are the most generally and most readily accessible. Foremost amongst the trouble-making characters a concordance editor must deal with are hyphens. These are associated with two distinct areas of difficulty. The first is authorial inconsistency, which from text to text produces a melange of forms such as “home made,” “home-made,” and “homemade.” Publishers' house style may also be responsible for some of such inconsistency. Another expedient is to insert rather than suppress hyphens in non-hyphenated compounds. Therefore, in the Cornell Blake concordance, the “HW corn-field,” “corn field” stands before the entries for both hyphenated and unhyphenated forms listed together. However, insertion, unlike suppression which may be automatic, must be an editorial function.
Exact variance of von Neumann entanglement entropy over the Bures-Hall measure

The Bures-Hall distance metric between quantum states is a unique measure that satisfies various useful properties for quantum information processing. In this work, we study the statistical behavior of quantum entanglement over the Bures-Hall ensemble as measured by von Neumann entropy. The average von Neumann entropy over such an ensemble has been recently obtained, whereas the main result of this work is an explicit expression of the corresponding variance that specifies the fluctuation around its average. The starting point of the calculations is the connection between correlation functions of the Bures-Hall ensemble and those of the Cauchy-Laguerre ensemble. The derived variance formula, together with the known mean formula, leads to a simple but accurate Gaussian approximation of the distribution of von Neumann entropy of finite-size systems. This Gaussian approximation is also conjectured to be the limiting distribution for large dimensional systems.
RAAS Inhibition Provides Improvement in 1 Year Mortality Post LVAD Implantation

Purpose Advances have allowed left ventricular assist devices (LVAD) to be used with greater success, however, optimal medical management of LVAD patients remains unclear. Methods We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study at the University of Florida to evaluate 1-year outcomes of mortality and major adverse events in LVAD recipients. All recipients of a continuous flow LVAD between April 2005 and November 2019 were included (n=293). Demographic data, pre-operative laboratory values and medication use on discharge were collected. Patients were followed up to one year post-implantation or to time of death, transplant, or pump exchange. Cox hazards-proportional regression analysis was performed to test predictors of mortality and major adverse events of INTERMACS major bleeding and thromboembolic events . Results Patients were followed up for a median time of 12 months. Mortality occurred in 16% (n=48). There was a trend to lower mortality with time, with a HR of 0.91 for every additional year across our study period (p=0.017). On univariate analysis, predictors of a higher mortality were older age, male sex, white race, ischemic cardiomyopathy and elevated serum creatinine, while predictors of a lower mortality were use of an ACEI/ARB/ARNI on discharge and use of an aspirin dose greater than 325mg. In a multivariable model including all these variables, only older age independently predicted a higher mortality (HR 1.06 for each additional year, p-value Conclusion Addition of an ACE/ARB/ARNI to LVAD recipients may lead to an overall reduction in one-year mortality. Older age is associated with worse outcomes of mortality and major bleeding events.
UHF RFID Channel Emulation Testbed for Wireless IoT Systems

We propose an ultra high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID, 902–928 MHz in the US) channel emulation testbed that is capable of simultaneously emulating unique wireless channels. The proposed system can potentially be an invaluable tool in the design and validation of RFID-based Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and systems. Emulation of ray-tracing-based wireless channels enables the evaluation of inherently difficult and complex radio frequency (RF) scenarios, particularly in situations when in-person experimentation is not feasible or desirable ( e.g., during a pandemic or in a critical care facility). Furthermore, the emulation testbed is able to generate a large amount of sensor data in a limited time period. Machine learning techniques used in wireless IoT can be greatly enhanced by a large amount of data extracted from the emulation of dynamic and challenging environments. The proposed multi-channel emulation testbed is therefore a valuable solution for experimentation on real hardware and a convenient tool for pre-clinical-trial system validation.
Supporting Black, Indigenous, and Students of Color in Learning Environments Transformed by COVID-19

This article sheds light on the challenges that Black, Indigenous, and students of color in the U.S. face in dealing with uncertainties and prejudice caused by the worldwide pandemic. It provides recommendations on culturally relevant, responsive, and sustaining teaching strategies based on the cultural competence model (Pedersen, 1994; Sue, 2001; Sue et al., 1992;) and curriculum reframing. Teachers of Black, Indigenous, and students of color around the world will find this article particularly useful because there are limited research-based recommendations applicable to schools in the U.S. and around the world.
Food Sovereignty as Anti-Colonial Resistance: Culinary Reappropriation of Poppy Seeds in Bengal

Throughout the nineteenth century, British exploitation of arable Bengali land for exportation of the cash crop opium contributed to famines that displaced staples of pre-colonial Bengali cuisine. From poppy seeds, a residual by-product of opium production, the Bengali people established a new dish, posto, to survive the famine and revitalize their food culture. Through this case study, we elucidate the compelling connection between food and memory. Community collaboration in the recipe making and editing process, an effort spearheaded by Bengali women, transformed posto’s initial memory of historical trauma to one of comfort and nostalgia. To evidence this claim, we conduct a qualitative analysis of the poppy seed’s influence in diverse contemporary Bengali media. In existing literature, culinary decolonization is commonly visualized as the restoration of traditional foodways, but this literature does not account for other modes of overcoming colonial oppression through food. To address this gap, we present a novel mechanism, “culinary reappropriation,” by which indigenous populations, most notably Bengal, appropriated colonial goods into their foodways and repudiated colonial power dynamics.
Prolidase deficiency in an infant with an incidental finding of methaemoglobinaemia.

A 4-week-old boy presented to the hospital with symptoms of diarrhoea and vomiting initially thought to be due to cow’s milk allergy. He was discharged with extensively hydrolysed formula. The patient represented with worsening of symptoms with metabolic acidosis and was screened and treated for sepsis. However, his condition deteriorated further and he developed methaemoglobinaemia. He was transferred to the high dependency unit and was given two doses of methylene blue. Further investigations were carried out, including rapid trio exome sequencing, which identified a homozygous pathogenic Peptidase D (PEPD) variant (c.978G>A, p.(Trp326*)). This was consistent with a diagnosis of prolidase deficiency.
A Review of Research on Learning Sets and Transfer of Training in Mental Defectives

Publisher Summary The chapter reviews the research on learning sets (LS) and transfer of training in mental defectives. Wide variations in procedures have characterized LS research in mental defectives. The chapter examines some of these variations to develop a meaningful frame of reference within which individual studies may be compared. While the major focus is on the object-quality LS, many of the same considerations apply to other LS procedures as well. The chapter discusses some of the procedural factors that need to be considered when evaluating individual LS studies. Transfer of training, as a phenomenon, occupies a position of centrality in almost all types of learning exhibited by human organisms. The chapter presents studies that were concerned with evaluating the effects of some form of training on performance on a conceptual learning problem. Investigations of transposition phenomena and investigations of the effects of transfer on perceptual motor learning in retardates have been minimal. The chapter describes the present status and future directions of LS research and transfer of training in mental defectives.
Model‐Based Reasoning in Distributed Cognitive Systems

This paper examines the nature of model‐based reasoning in the interplay between theory and experiment in the context of biomedical engineering research laboratories, where problem solving involves using physical models. These “model systems” are sites of experimentation where in vitro models are used to screen, control, and simulate specific aspects of in vivo phenomena. As with all models, simulation devices are idealized representations, but they are also systems themselves, possessing engineering constraints. Drawing on research in contemporary cognitive science that construes cognition as occurring in a complex distributed system comprising people and artifacts, I argue that reasoning with model systems is a constraint satisfaction process involving co‐construction, manipulation, and revision of mental and physical models.
Nursing Home Quality and Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Management Practices

Objectives: To measure pressure ulcer quality indicator (QI) scores and to describe the self-reported skin integrity assessment, pressure ulcer risk assessment, and pressure ulcer prevention and treatment practices in long-term care facilities (LTCFs). Design: Retrospective analysis of a large data set and comparative survey. Setting: LTCFs in Missouri. Participants: Three hundred sixty-two LTCFs participated in the survey. Three hundred twenty-one facilities had pressure ulcer QI scores between April 1 and September 30, 1999. Measurements: Pressure ulcer QI scores, Pressure Ulcer Prevention & Treatment Practices Survey. Results: The mean±standard deviation pressure ulcer QI score was 10.9±6.2%, with a risk-adjusted score of 15.7±8.9% for high-risk residents and 3.1±3.6% for low-risk residents. Minimizing head-of-bed elevation to less than 30° was used by fewer than 20% of facilities. More than 40% of facilities used a risk assessment tool that was not evidence based. Fewer than 13% of facilities used the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidelines. No relationship was found between the number of prevention strategies (P=.892) or the number of treatment strategies (P=.921) and the pressure ulcer QI scores. Conclusion: Valid and reliable pressure ulcer risk assessment tools are seriously underused. Evidence-based pressure ulcer prevention and treatment guidelines appear to be rarely implemented. This study provides a basis for developing educational and quality improvement programs and future research related to pressure ulcer prevention and treatment in LTCFs.
Why environmental quality indices

Science and technology in general, and professionalism in particular, are under attack in our great nation. The average American citizen is confused and confounded by purported scientific rationales that mix philosophy, politics, and opportunism with the analysis of factual research data. That confusion turns to disgust, and then rejection, when the public listens to professionals trained in our best institutions of higher learning and with similar long-term experience who come forth with diametrically opposed conclusions and recommendations from an analysis of environmental research data. Unfortunately, there appears to be a growing conviction among the American populace that it is extremely difficult if not impossible to get the unvarnished truth from the scientific community. As a consequence, professionalism is being downgraded in direct proportion to the inability of the public to guess which scientist has the right answer. Nowhere is there a better example of this phenomenon and dilemma than in an analysis of the current environmental—ecological revolution. In February, 1969, the National Wildlife Federation commissioned the Gallup Organization to survey public opinion on environmental degradation.1 Gallup found that the majority of Americans were either somewhat or deeply concerned about the deteriorating quality of living brought about by the fouling of our own nests.
A temporal policy for trusting information

In making a decision, an agent requires information from other agents about the current state of its environment. Unfortunately, the agent can never know the absolute truth about its environment because the information it receives is uncertain. When the environment changes more rapidly than sources provide information, an agent faces the problem of forming its beliefs from information that may be out-of-date. This research reviews several logical policies for evaluating the trustworthiness of information; most importantly, this work introduces a new policy for temporal information trust assessment, basing an agent's trust in information on its recentness. The belief maintenance algorithm described here values information against these policies and evaluates tradeoffs in cases of policy conflicts. The definition of a belief interval provides the agent with flexibility to acknowledge that a belief subject may be changing between belief revision instances. Since the belief interval framework describes the belief probability distribution over time, it allows the agent to decrease its certainty on its beliefs as they age. Experimental results show the clear advantage of an algorithm that performs certainty depreciation over belief intervals and evaluates source information based in information age. This algorithm derives more accurate beliefs at belief revision and maintains more accurate belief certainty assessments as belief intervals age than an algorithm that is not temporally-sensitive.
Static Response of a Strand

Figure 3.1 shows the configuration and cross section of a loaded simple straight strand. The strand consists initially of a straight center wire of radius, R1, surrounded by m2 helical wires (six wires are actually shown) of wire radius, R2. It will be assumed, for the present, that the center wire is of sufficient size to prevent the outer wires from touching each other. This is generally the case, since it tends to minimize the effect of friction in the bending of a strand. Hence, the initial radius of the helix of an outside wire is given by the expression $$ {r_2}\,\, = \,\,{R_1}\,\, + \,\,{R_2}. $$ (3.1) An expression will now be derived to determine the minimum value of R1 so that the outside wires will not be touching each other.
Experimenting With Managing The Digital Enterprise Open Courseware In The AIS Course

The experience of an AIS professor over two semesters in using an open courseware site, Managing the Digital Enterprise is discussed. To keep this experiment from supplanting existing course requirements, integration with Webboard technology facilitated the efficient use of class time. Initial instructional design flaws related to random scheduling of online assignments and assessment concerns were overcome the following semester. In addition to describing the courseware site and companion instructors guide, informal student feedback is provided.
Surgical Management of Pituitary Apoplexy

This chapter reviews the surgical management of pituitary apoplexy. The pathogenesis of pituitary apoplexy is thought to be related to the peculiarities of blood supply to the region of the sella turcica. As a clinically nonfunctioning benign pituitary adenoma slowly enlarges, it can compress its own blood supply, resulting in either ischemic or hemorrhagic infarction of the substance of the pituitary tumor. The natural history of pituitary apoplexy can be favorable if the hemorrhage or infarction is contained and the acute symptoms spontaneously subside. The patients may return to a baseline state of relatively mild hypopituitarism and have no further difficulty with vision. Adjunctive medical therapy can be recommended specifically for patients with prolactin secreting pituitary tumors wherein continued bromocriptine treatment may be in order so that serum prolactin remains in the normal range. Pituitary apoplexy represents a significant and diagnostic therapeutic challenge. This uncommon condition can mimic many other medical emergencies and its consideration in the differential diagnosis, particularly in patients with acute visual loss, is essential. Prompt and appropriate management can lead to an excellent outcome for most patients suffering from this unusual and difficult problem.
Making Sense of the Master

Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism contained the seeds of a tension with the spreading localist tendencies of the Southern Song. How, then, did it make its way into the minds of local elites? By examining the thought of Wang Bo (1197-1274), this article shows the ways in which Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism was interpreted in and reconciled with local contexts—how it was “localized.” First, Wang understood Zhu Xi’s major texts with the literary and historical sensitivity of Wuzhou scholarship, eventually challenging their ultimate authority through using his own local tradition. Second, he called into question the viability of Zhu’s local economic activism, thus speaking for the general economic interests of non-official, local elites like himself. Wang Bo’s “localized” Neo-Confucianism may have been a significant lapse from Zhu’s doctrine, but it was precisely such lapses that expanded its scope, making it possible for many more thinkers at the time to embrace it. Le neo-confucianisme de Zhu Xi contenait en germe une tension avec les tendances localistes qui se repandaient sous les Song du Sud. Comment des lors ­parvint-il a s’imposer aux esprits parmi les elites locales? En examinant la pensee de Wang Bo (1197-1274), cet article met en evidence les differentes facons dont le neo-confucianisme de Zhu Xi a ete interprete dans des contextes locaux et ­comment il a pu etre reconcilie avec eux — comment il a ete “localise”. Pour com­mencer, Wang, qui comprenait les principaux textes de Zhu Xi a travers la sensibilite litteraire et historique de l’ecole de Wuzhou, finit par en contester l’autorite ultime en se basant sur sa propre tradition locale. Il mit par ailleurs en doute la viabilite des formes d’activisme economique local preconisees par Zhu Xi, en quoi il parlait au nom des interets economiques generaux de l’elite locale non bureaucratique dont il etait un representant. Si le neo-confucianisme “local” de Wang Bo a pu s’ecarter significativement de la doctrine de Zhu Xi, ce sont precisement de tels ecarts qui ont elargi la portee de celle-ci, permettant a l’epoque a un nombre beaucoup plus grand de penseurs d’y adherer.
Serotonin and dreaming

Many clinical anecdotes and an experimental study have reported intensification of dreaming by the selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). However, no published neurochemical dream model invokes serotonin as a dream-promoting neuromodulator or accounts for serotonergic dream enhancement. An experimental study of normal volunteers showed that, although SSRI treatment decreased dream recall frequency, several subject-rated dream-intensity measures were greater during steady-state drug administration compared with pre-drug baseline and early drug treatment. Additionally, such subject-rated dream intensity as well as dream report length and judge-rated bizarreness were greater during acute discontinuation than during pre-drug baseline and drug administration periods. Nightcap ambulatory monitor data showed increased REM latency during treatment and increased REM density during acute discontinuation, indicative of SSRI-induced REM suppression and REM rebound following drug discontinuation, respectively. The bulk of pharmacological evidence suggests that drugs that enhance serotonergic neurotransmission lighten sleep. Sleep-disruptive effects of SSRIs are accompanied by electroencephalographic and electromyographic signs of brain activation, abnormally prominent eye movements in NREM sleep, and REM rebound following drug discontinuation. Explanations of SSRI-induced dream intensification suggested by these findings include, respectively, generalized brain activation during sleep, enhanced NREM dreaming, and within-night REM rebound. Additional clues as to potential causes of serotonergic dream enhancement are provided by: (i) the cellular pharmacology of hallucinogens that act on 5-HT 2A receptors, (ii) the phenomenological and functional neuroimaging effects of serotonergic hallucinogens, and (iii) putative neurophysiological mechanisms of lesionrelated complex hallucinosis.
CO2 geological storage: hydro-chemo-mechanical analyses and implications

The injectivity of CO 2 and the integrity of the reservoir-caprock system are affected by CO 2 invasion, water-CO 2 -mineral reactions, and ensuing mineral dissolution and precipitation. We identify different zones around an injection well and investigate the effects of these hydro-chemo-mechanical interactions. Geochemical analyses combine a comprehensive mass balance formulation with chemi- cal calculations using published equations and PHREEQC. This analysis framework is used to assess near-well, pool, and far-fi eld conditions, and to determine species concentrations, pH, changes in brine density, and changes in mineral and fl uid volume in the reservoir. Results show that the brine density may increase by as much as 1.2% and can sustain convective fl ow of CO 2 dissolved brine; the characteristic time scale for convection can be as short as a few years in some permeable formations currently being considered for storage. The precipitation of secondary minerals near the injection well increases the mineral volume by a maximum of 5%, yet, only a minor decrease in CO 2 permeability is anticipated. Dissolution may result in unsupported caprock (the span should not exceed 20% of the caprock thickness to prevent failure), and may cause compaction-driven shear failure of the reservoir. Finally, the analysis of lateral capillary trapping shows that the CO 2 pool is only a few meters thick in leveled caprock interfaces and in the absence of geometric traps. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd CO
Current Trends And Future Considerations Of Higher Education In Business

Graduate programs in business, while still highly regarded, are under increased scrutiny by both business academics and the corporate world. There is growing evidence that graduate business programs are not responsive to the needs of the business community. The complexity and global nature of business today requires that schools must provide their graduates with not only traditional managerial skills, but also skills relating to the interpersonal and conceptual. These essential skills include the ability to team build, to effectively communicate ideas, and to embrace cultural diversity. To remain relevant and viable, business schools must assess not only their teaching, but also the content of their research. Their focus should be on establishing criteria of excellence that benefits not the business school or faculty, but rather those that hire their graduates. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of the basic assumptions of graduate business education today, and provide recommendations for enhancing its relevance in today’s complex business environment. Perspectives that influence these trends are analyzed and include the changing mission of graduate programs in business as well as the debate over specialization versus integration of graduate business courses.
The iron chelator Dp44mT inhibits the proliferation of cancer cells but fails to protect from doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Purpose The iron chelator Dp44mT is a potent topoisomerase IIα inhibitor with novel anticancer activity. Doxorubicin (Dox), the current front-line therapy for breast cancer, induces a dose-limiting cardiotoxicity, in part through an iron-mediated pathway. We tested the hypothesis that Dp44mT can improve clinical outcomes of treatment with Dox by alleviating cardiotoxicity.
Critical broadening of the EPR line width in MnF2

Abstract The EPR line width in MnF2 was investigated in the range 68°K to 380°K. The results are fit by the empirical relation ΔH = A(T - Tc)-γ + ΔH(∞), where ΔH(∞) equals the constant high temperature line width. For H|C γ  = 1.17 ± 0.03 with Tc ⋍ TN and for H⊥C γ⊥ = 1.20 ± 0.03 with Tc = T⊥ = 66.2 ± 0.2°K.
Design and operation of a negative-index parallel-plate metamaterial

We discuss the design and modeling challenges for a negative index (NI) metamaterial realized with patterned parallel-plate technology. The proposed negative-index metawaveguide (NIMW) is composed of a stack of plates with etched-out complementary split ring resonators (CSRRs), supporting a backward-wave transverse-magnetic (TM) mode in a given frequency range. The NIMW operational frequency is below the cutoff frequency of the TM mode in a uniform parallel-plate waveguide, inducing an effective negative permeability. The CSRR inclusions provide a strong resonance within the frequency band, inducing an effective negative permittivity. We present an optimized unit cell design, offering moderately broad bandwidth of operation. We also discuss the anisotropic nature of this metamaterial configuration and ways to significantly reduce it within the NI band.
Three-dimensional material flow analysis of asymmetric hollow extrusions

Abstract All tube manufacturing processes induce some degree of eccentricity, as a result of the particular extrusion technique, combined with imperfect control of the process parameters. An eccentric tube is identified when the difference between the maximum wall thickness minus the minimum thickness is greater than zero. This is a typical problem for higher melting point materials including Zr, Cu, Ti and Fe and their alloys, where porthole die arrangements cannot be used. The major causes of tube eccentricity in extrusion have been analyzed in the past, and conclusions based on the results for stainless steel tubing are available in the literature. An additional degree of complexity is introduced when the extrusion profile is hollow and asymmetric. To study the complex flow through these dies, the physical modeling technique has been implemented, with the objective to optimize homogeneous flow within the billet in front of the extrusion die, and to correct for extrudate curvature. This is accomplished by examining the impact of general parameters of direct extrusion through non-axisymmetric hollow dies.
Genetic and environmental interactions

Cancer may result from a multistage process occurring over a long period of time. Presumably, initial and progressive stages of carcinogenesis may be modified by both genetic and environmental factors. Theoretically, genetic factors may alter susceptibility to the carcinogenic effects of an environmental agent at the initial exposure due to variation in metabolism of the carcinogen or variation in specific target cell response to the active carcinogen, or during the latent phase due to numerous factors that might increase the probability of tumor expression, including growth-promoting factors or immunodeficiency states. Observed genetic and environmental interactions in carcinogenesis include an association between genetically determined inducibility of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase and smoking-related cancers, familial susceptibility to certain environmental carcinogens, an association between hereditary disorders of mutagenesis and carcinogenesis, and enhancement of tissue-specific, dominantly inherited tumor predisposition by radiation. Multiple primary tumors occur frequently in genetically predisposed individuals. Specific markers for susceptibility must be sought in order that high-risk individuals be identified and appropriate measures taken for early cancer detection or prevention. Study of the nature of the genetically determined susceptibility and interactions with environmental agents may be revealing in the understanding of carcinogenesis in general.