cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Genomic Tag Hypothesis: Modern Viruses as Molecular Fossils of Ancient Strategies for Genomic Replication, and Clues Regarding the Origin of Protein Synthesis

Although tRNA is best known as a component of the translation apparatus, tRNA and tRNA-like molecules also play key roles-either as template or as primer-in a wide variety of replicative processes. These processes include replication of single-stranded RNA viruses of bacteria, plants, and possibly mammals; replication of duplex DNA plasmids of fungal mitochondria; replication of retroviral and pararetroviral genomes; and replication of modem chromosomal telomeres. Consider the following two obvious examples. First, the 3' end of many eubacterial and plant single-stranded RNA viruses resembles the "top half' (acceptor stem/loop) of tRNA, with a stem/loop structure immediately followed by the 3' terminal sequence CCA. This tRNA-like structure functions as the template for initiation of RNA replication. In fact, some of these tRNA-like structures are so similar to bona fide tRNA that they can be aminoacylated by the corresponding aminocyl-tRNA synthetases. Second, the replication of most retroviral RNA genomes begins with annealing of a mature tRNA to the primer binding site on genomic RNA; reverse transcriptase then uses the tRNA as primer to copy the RNA genome into the first strand of DNA. Thus in each case tRNA or a
We Can’t Eat the Food Surplus

“Charity begins at home.” Well-meaning people might think that just putting this idea to work would best rid us of the surplus food.
Appendix B: Review of Tensors

Electrical Engineering/Electromagnetics Waves and Fields in Inhomogeneous Media A Volume in the IEEE Press Series on Electromagnetic Waves Donald G. Dudley, Series Editor ".it is one of the best wave propagation treatments to appear in many years." Gerardo G. Tango, CPG, Consulting Seismologist-Acoustician, Covington, LA This comprehensive text thoroughly covers fundamental wave propagation behaviors and computational techniques for waves in inhomogeneous media. The author describes powerful and sophisticated analytic and numerical methods to solve electromagnetic problems for complex media and geometry as well. Problems are presented as realistic models of actual situations which arise in the areas of optics, radio wave propagation, geophysical prospecting, nondestructive testing, biological sensing, and remote sensing. Key topics covered include: * Analytical methods for planarly, cylindrically and spherically layered media * Transient waves, including the Cagniard-de Hoop method * Variational methods for the scalar wave equation and the electromagnetic wave equation * Mode-matching techniques for inhomogeneous media * The Dyadic Green's function and its role in simplifying problem-solving in inhomogeneous media * Integral equation formulations and inverse problems * Time domain techniques for inhomogeneous media This book will be of interest to electromagnetics and remote sensing engineers, physicists, scientists, and geophysicists. This IEEE Press reprinting of the 1990 version published by Van Nostrand Reinhold incorporates corrections and minor updating. Also in the series. Mathematical Foundations for Electromagnetic Theory by Donald G. Dudley, University of Arizona at Tucson This volume in the series lays the mathematical foundations for the study of advance d topics in electromagnetic theory. Important subjects covered include linear spaces, Green's functions, spectral expansions, electromagnetic source representations, and electromagnetic boundary value problems. 1994 Hardcover 264 pp ISBN 0-7803-1022-5 IEEE Order No. PC3715 About the Series The IEEE Press Series on Electromagnetic Waves consists of new titles as well as reprints and revisions of recognized classics that maintain long-term archival significance in electromagnetic waves and applications. Designed specifically for graduate students, practicing engineers, and researchers, this series provides affordable volumes that explore electromagnetic waves and applications beyond the undergraduate level.
Evaluating the Impact of SA 8000 Certification

SA 8000, along with other types of certification standards and corporate codes of conduct, represents a new form of private governance of working conditions, initiated and implemented by companies, labor unions, and non-governmental activist groups. Whether these codes represents a substantive or merely symbolic approach to governing working conditions is the subject of an ongoing debate, which to date has been dominated by philosophical and political discourse due to a lack of systematic evaluation. Very little empirical evidence is available to indicate whether these codes legitimately distinguish adopting companies and factories as providing better working environments (e.g., health and safety, freedom of association, fair pay practices) and whether these codes have affected their business outcomes (e.g., staff turnover and absenteeism, product defect rates, sales growth). In this book chapter, we review the existing evaluations of other private codes governing workplace conditions, including the Ethical Trading Initiative's Base Code, Nike's code of conduct, and Fair Trade. We then describe several key elements of program evaluation that are becoming standard practice in other domains, which we believe should be incorporated in future evaluation studies of these codes. We emphasize the importance of examining performance over time, comparing adopters to non-adopters, and incorporating strategies to overcome selection bias. Evaluations that meet the highest methodological standards are critical to inform the debates about this new form of private governance, and to highlight opportunities for improvement in their standards and monitoring procedures.
Abstract TP390: Ethnic and Regional Disparities in Access to Endovascular Embolectomy for Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background: Endovascular stroke treatment volume has significantly increased in recent years. Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database in 2008 demonstrates an association between improved outcomes and centers that perform substantial procedural volume (>10/year). Few reports have described demographics of patient populations or centers performing mechanical thrombectomy. Methods: We collected data from the 2008 NIS database for patients hospitalized for ischemic stroke, and those undergoing mechanical clot retrieval. Patients were characterized by ethnicity, payment source, and regional hospital variables of population density and median zipcode wealth. Patients were evaluated for admission and treatment at substantial thrombectomy volume centers. Results: Approximately 1.1 million patients were hospitalized for acute stroke, with 2749 patients receiving mechanical thrombectomy in 2008. Asian patients received the highest frequency of intervention (0.39%) with Blacks and Native Americans receiving the lowest (0.18%, 0.17%). Patients from zipcodes with highest median wealth most frequently received intervention (0.29%, p 1 million were most often admitted to centers with substantial endovascular procedural volume (all, p Conclusion: Native Americans and Blacks received the lowest frequency of thrombectomy for acute ischemic stroke. Whites, individuals residing in wealthy and high population density regions were more often admitted to centers performing substantial procedural volume. Among patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy, Whites were more often treated at substantial volume centers than Hispanics, Blacks or Asians. Though noted correlations may be multi-factorial, socioeconomic factors may predict admission and treatment in high volume procedural centers.
Discrimination by Ovipositing Boll Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Against Previously Infested Hampea (Malvaceae) Flower Buds

The low occurrence of multiple oviposition punctures in flower buds of Hampea nutricia indicated an avoidance of already infested buds by female boll weevils. This behavior was confirmed by observations which showed that individual weevils inspected buds before oviposition and rejected them if a puncture plugged with frass was encountered. Free-choice tests showed that females preferred uninfested buds for oviposition over either infested buds or buds implanted with a frass plug taken from an infested bud. Forcing weevils to oviposit in infested buds greatly decreased egg production.
Spiritual Tourism and Frontier Esotericism at Mount Shasta, California

Mount Shasta City, California (pop. 3300) is the gateway to this region’s major attraction, a 14,179 foot volcano that is a sacred site for tourists seeking spiritual ascension, a mystical practice rooted in the Theosophical Society and the Saint Germain Foundation and the post-1950s associational offshoots of these traditions. Analysing 150 years of pilgrim narratives in the Mount Shasta Collection of the College of Siskiyous library, this study charts spiritual tourism and the central role pilgrims play in the foundation and promotion of key esoteric associational groups and concepts in the United States. Pilgrim accounts of encounter and ascent at Mount Shasta effectively create and reaffirm its sacred status. Spiritual tourists transmit and ascribe new metaphysical meanings to the mountain using an ever-expanding repertoire of cosmic attributes and esoteric signifiers.
Phase selection and site-selective distribution by tin and sulfur in supertetrahedral zinc gallium selenides.

Doping is among the most important methods to tune the properties of semiconductors. For dense phase semiconductors, the distribution of dopant atoms in crystal lattices is often random. However, when the size of semiconductors becomes increasingly smaller and reaches the extreme situation as is the case in chalcogenide supertetrahedral clusters, different chemically distinct sites (e.g., corner, edge, face, and core) occur, which can dramatically affect the doping chemistry at different sites and also spatial assembly of such clusters into covalent superlattices. In this work, we use the Zn–Ga–Se supertetrahedral clusters and their frameworks as the model system to examine the doping chemistry of Sn4+ and S2– in the Zn–Ga–Se clusters. A series of selenide clusters (undoped supertetrahedral T4-ZnGaSe, S-doped T4-ZnGaSeS, Sn-doped T4-ZnGaSnSe, and dual S- and Sn-doped T4-ZnGaSnSeS) have been prepared with various levels of Sn- and S-doping and with different superlattice structures (OCF-1, -5, -40, and -42...
Examining the relationship between leadership decision making styles and personality type within the department of defense

EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEADERSHIP DECISION MAKING STYLES AND PERSONALITY TYPE WITHIN DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Antoine L. Prince, Sr. Old Dominion University, 2015 Director: Charles B. Daniels Leadership is perhaps the single most important function within the Department of Defense. While the old cliche “everyone is a leader regardless of position” may hold moral meaning, personnel in leadership positions are key. Under the umbrella of leadership is decision making. What leadership is to an organization, decision making is to leadership. Yet, despite this knowledge, unsound decisions are readily conducted. There are various theories as to why this holds true, one of which is personality type. Research, shows, though, that there is a limited amount of relevant knowledge to determine if there is, in fact, a significant statistical relationship between personality type and (leadership) decision making style, specifically within the Department of Defense. The primary purpose of this study is to evaluate leadership personnel in the Department of Defense environment to determine if there is a direct relationship between the dominant mental functions of preferred individual personality types and decision making styles. This study may support Carl Jung’s personality theory to which states that a person’s core personality (mental preference) remains constant throughout his/her lifetime. Findings show that there is a strong correlation between the mental functions of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and the decision making styles of the Decision Style Inventory. When observing as a unit, S/T personality types showed preference toward behavioral and directive decision making styles; S/F personality type showed preference with the behavioral decision making style; and N/T showed preference toward the analytical decision style. Neither the N/F personality function nor the conceptual decision style showed strong preference. This result may be due to the lack of sample size for each component. Specific findings show that particular MBTI functions displayed correlation with specific decision making styles. There were correlations with both the sensing and intuition functions with the directive decision making style. There were also very strong correlations with the thinking and feeling functions with the behavioral decision style. Moreover, the thinking mental function showed correlation with the analytical decision style as well. The results from this research is important because they can provide organizations with the knowledge to understand how individual personality types can influence individual leadership decision making styles.
Studies on the Power Metering Problem for Grid-connected New Energy

The development and utilization of new energy has become an important measure to ensure energy security and achieve sustainable development.Based on the characteristics of new energy power generation,focus on the accuracy,reliability and economy of power metering system,this paper analyzes the power metering problem for grid-connected new energy.On this basis,kinds of power metering solutions have been proposed for both of low voltage and high voltage grid-connected new energy.The characteristics of solutions have been analyzed.
Neurocognitive Correlates of Successful Treatment of PTSD in Female Veterans.

Background: The influence of psychotherapy on neurocognition in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has not been examined methodically. This is despite evidence that pre-treatment learning and memory has been associated with treatment success and that executive function theories emphasize weak executive functions (especially inhibition/switching) are associated with PTSD. Objectives: To determine (1) if higher pre-treatment learning/memory, inhibition/switching, or both predict treatment success; and (2) if treatment success is associated with specific improvement in inhibition/switching and not learning/memory or working memory, another aspect of executive function. Methods: Pre-treatment neurocognition and neurocognitive changes (inhibition/switching, learning/memory, working memory) were examined in female veterans with PTSD. They were evaluated before and after 16-weeks of group psychotherapy for PTSD that included three counterbalanced modules (cognitive restructuring therapy, exposure therapy, skills training) with fidelity checks for therapist adherence. Results: Only pre-treatment learning/memory predicted better treatment outcome. Treatment success was associated with improvement in inhibition/switching only, even after controlling for mild traumatic brain injury, and changes in depressive symptoms, working memory, and learning/memory. Conclusions: Our finding that learning/memory predicted treatment success is consistent with previous studies. We extended these studies by showing that the effect was restricted to learning/memory, which is contrary to the executive function theory of PTSD. In contrast, the fact that only inhibition/switching significantly improved with better treatment success is consistent with its potential importance in maintaining PTSD symptoms. Future research should determine whether inhibition/switching abilities are a risk for development and maintenance of PTSD or whether such abilities have a broader reciprocal relationship with PTSD symptom change. (JINS, 2016, 22, 643–651)
Measurement of internal loss, injection efficiency, and gain for continuous-wave semipolar (202̄1̄) III-nitride laser diodes

We present advances in the performance and characterization of semipolar (2021) III-nitride laser diodes. These include a high yield facet formation process giving highly vertical and smooth facets (<1 ° from vertical and roughness 2.0 nm) produced by chemically assisted ion beam etching (CAIBE), leading to threshold currents as low as 3 kA/cm2 and threshold voltages as low as 5.5 V for continuous wave laser diodes. Also, we present the experimental measurement of internal loss (9 cm−1), injection efficiency (73%), and gain. The measured internal loss value shows good agreement with a calculated value of 9.5 cm−1, enabling a breakdown of contributions of each layer to the total loss of the laser and identifying routes to new improvements.
Simulations of the magnetospheres of accreting millisecond pulsars

Accreting pulsars power relativistic jets, and display a complex spin phenomenology. These behaviours may be closely related to the large-scale configuration of the star's magnetic field, shaped by its interaction with the surrounding accretion disc. Here we present the first relativistic simulations of the interaction of a pulsar magnetosphere with an accretion flow. Our axisymmetric simulations treat the magnetospheric, or coronal, regions using a resistive extension of force-free electrodynamics. The magnetic field is also evolved inside the disc, which is a defined volume with a specified velocity field and conductivity profile, found using an alpha-disc model. We study a range of disc alpha-parameters, thicknesses, magnetic Prandtl numbers, and inner truncation radii. We find that a large fraction of the magnetic flux in the pulsar's closed zone is opened by the intrusion of the disc, leading to an enhancement of the power extracted by the pulsar wind and the spin-down torque applied to the pulsar. In our simulations, most of the spin-down contribution to the stellar torque acts on open field lines. The efficiency of field-line opening is high in the simulations' long-term quasi-steady states, which implies that a millisecond pulsar's electromagnetic wind could be strong enough to power the observed neutron-star radio jets, and may significantly affect the pulsar's spin evolution.
La Venta de los Siete Secretos en el "Quijote" (I.16-17): Cide Hamete Benengeli y Jalal ad-Din Muhamad Rumi

espanolTomando como punto de partida la fabula de la liebre y el leon en la obra de Jalal ad-Din Muhamad Rumi, se desvelan aqui siete secretos que se esconden en la venta en la primera parte del Quijote. Sebastian de Cova-rrubias define el secreto como «todo lo que esta encubierto y callado» y lo localiza en «lugar secreto donde no concurre gente». Pareceria entonces que la venta, sitio al que concurren muchos viajeros, seria un lugar totalmente opuesto al secreto. Pero Cervantes comprende muy bien que, siendo espacio donde se entrecruzan tantas personas, puede servir para esconderse o para esconder el secreto a plena vista; y para pasar el secreto de uno a otro. Ya que la venta en el Quijote es un sitio donde se pueden esconder y revelar tantos secretos, aqui solo se estudiaran los que se hallan en los capitulos 16 y 17. Cuatro son secretos que nos hacen reir y nos apartan de la verdad; y tres los que directamente ocultan algo casi innombrable. EnglishTaking as a point of departure the fable of the lion and the hare by Jalal ad-Din Muhamad Rumi, this essay seeks to discover seven secrets that are hidden at the inn in the first part of Don Quijote. Sebastian de Covar-rubias defines a secret as «anything that is hidden or silenced» and places it in «a secret location where few people are found». It would seem, then, that the inn, a place always filled with travelers, would be a place inimical for secrets. But Cervantes understands quite well that, being a space crisscrossed by so many people, it can be an ideal location to hide or to hide a secret in plain sight; and also to pass on a secret to one person to another. Since the inn is a place where so many secrets can be hidden and revealed, this essay will focus on chapters 16 and 17. Four secrets will make us laugh and will turn us away from the truth; while three will hide something almost unnamable.
Dormancy and cold hardiness transitions in winegrape cultivars Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Cold injury is a major cause of economic loss in winegrapes (Vitis vinifera L.) grown at high latitudes. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between dormancy and cold hardiness transitions in two cultivars with differing freeze tolerance (Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon). Cold hardiness was measured by differential thermal analysis, and a bud forcing bioassay was used to measure the stage and depth of dormancy. Canes were sampled from field-grown grapevines in Parma, ID at periodic intervals during two consecutive winters. Both cultivars transitioned into endodormancy each year in September when day length was ~12.5 hr. Cold acclimation in both cultivars occurred each year in October during endodormancy and steadily increased during ecodormancy to a max hardiness in December. Effective temperatures for release from endodormancy were lower for Chardonnay (−3°C) than for Cabernet Sauvignon (3°C), and, each year, Chardonnay transitioned to ecodormancy earlier than Cabernet Sauvignon. From October to December, Chardonnay buds were more cold hardy than Cabernet Sauvignon buds. The number of days to budbreak under forcing conditions increased steadily during endodormancy and decreased during ecodormancy. Resistance to deacclimation during ecodormancy was inversely related to the level of bud cold hardiness and the duration of time in ecodormancy, suggesting that the mechanisms that impart hardiness may interact with those involved in resumption of growth. Results from this study show that the influence of autumn weather events on dormancy and cold hardiness transitions can affect vulnerability to subsequent cold injury and have important implications under global climate change. Differences between cultivars in dormancy and cold hardiness transitions can be used to improve cultivar and site selection.
Contextual Autocomplete: A Novel User Interface Using Machine Learning to Improve Ontology Usage and Structured Data Capture for Presenting Problems in the Emergency Department

Objective To determine the effect of contextual autocomplete, a user interface that uses machine learning, on the efficiency and quality of documentation of presenting problems (chief complaints) in the emergency department (ED). Materials and Method We used contextual autocomplete, a user interface that ranks concepts by their predicted probability, to help nurses enter data about a patient9s reason for visiting the ED. Predicted probabilities were calculated using a previously derived model based on triage vital signs and a brief free text note. We evaluated the percentage and quality of structured data captured using a prospective before-and-after study design. Results A total of 279,231 patient encounters were analyzed. Structured data capture improved from 26.2% to 97.2% (p<0.0001). During the post-implementation period, presenting problems were more complete (3.35 vs 3.66; p=0.0004), as precise (3.59 vs. 3.74; p=0.1), and higher in overall quality (3.38 vs. 3.72; p=0.0002). Our system reduced the mean number of keystrokes required to document a presenting problem from 11.6 to 0.6 (p<0.0001), a 95% improvement. Discussion We have demonstrated a technique that captures structured data on nearly all patients. We estimate that our system reduces the number of man-hours required annually to type presenting problems at our institution from 92.5 hours to 4.8 hours. Conclusion Implementation of a contextual autocomplete system resulted in improved structured data capture, ontology usage compliance, and data quality.
(In)compatibility of Islam and Capitalism: A Historical Perspective

The second chapter deals with the debates on (in)compatibility of Islam and capitalism, as a background for the discussion on the Islamic capitalism and Islamic democracy in Turkey. It mainly argues that there is not a unified position among the Muslim and non-Muslim scholars and intellectuals with regard to the question of (in)compatibility of Islam and capitalism. While most of the Muslim scholars advocate that Muslims should be active players in the global market along with fusion of modernity and Islam, most of the non-Muslim scholars propose that Islam and capitalism are two incompatible modes of existence.
When does CEO endorsement of sales & marketing leaders help firms? The role of heavy marketing emphasis

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of CEO endorsement (measured by the presence of a CEO quotation in a press release) of sales and marketing leaders on firm performance when the organization has a heavy marketing emphasis. Our study on over 800 appointment announcements shows that enhanced expectations raised by the CEO's endorsement of sales and marketing leaders suffer a mismatch with high customer relationship turbulence due to changes in the sales and marketing organization. We find that CEO endorsement of sales and marketing appointment announcements at firms with a heavy marketing emphasis hurts firm performance in the year-end. The findings also reveal that CEO endorsement hurts in both the immediate and year-end horizons, since CEO endorsement as a measure of internal, firm-level assessment has the perception of being uninformed and subjective. Extant research has studied the impact of appointment announcements on firm performance, while neglecting the role of CEO endorsement. Thus, this study has implications for the appointment of sales and marketing leaders who under certain conditions could enhance the expectations of the firm's continued existence in a market. Theoretically, we contribute by developing a field at the intersection of research related to sales and marketing managerial succession, endorsements and corporate announcements. We emphasize the role of a new construct - CEO endorsement - on firm performance given a heavy marketing emphasis context.
Calcineurin Enhances mRNA Stability of Acetylcholinesterase During Muscle Differentiation in C2-C12 Cells

Differentiation from myoblasts to myotubes in mouse C2-C12 cell line results in increased expression of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), primarily due to stabilization of the mRNA (Fuentes and Taylor, Neuron 1993). Regulation of intracellular calcium plays an important role in the message stabilization process (Luo et al., JBC 1994). In a search for the calcium-sensitive pathway(s) responsible for AChE mRNA stabilization, we found that treatment of differentiating C2-C12 muscle cells with cyclosporine A (CsA), an immunosuppressive agent that inhibits calcium/calmodulin dependent phosphatase calcineurin after its binding to intracellular cyclophilin A, resulted in dose- and time-dependent increases of AChE mRNA and protein levels. The increased expression appeared primarily due to increased stability of the AChE mRNA because transcriptional rate of the gene did not change after the treatment. The CsA action is specific and not due to alteration of muscle differentiation because treated cells displayed normal muscle cell morphology and expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR). Treatment with inactive analog of CsA, cyclosporine H, or another immunosuppressant, FK506, neither of which binds to cyclophilin A, was without effect. In addition, the CsA action is associated with muscle differentiation, rather than an early event of differentiation triggered by CsA treatment, because CsA treated cells displayed normal rate of AChE expression in CsA free medium during further differentiation. Furthermore, the CsA action was not due to arresting the cells in G0 phase because treatment with CsA before induction of terminal differentiation did not increase AChE expression. In an effort to identify the cellular mediator of the CsA action, we round that expression levels of cyclophilin A were similar in myoblasts and myotubes.
Physicochemical Diversity Among Barberry (Berberis vulgaris L.) Fruits from Eastern Anatolia

Wild edible fruits have been gaining much interest more recently because of their better biochemical content and widely use in ethno medicine treating common disease such as cold, fever and other medicinal claims are now supported with sound scientific evidences. In this study, diversity of some important physicochemical characteristics (plant growth habit, fruit shape, fruit color, fruit weight, pulp ratio, soluble solid content, total phenolics, total anthocyanin, antioxidant activity, sugars, organic acids) of fruits from fourteen promising barberry ( Berberis vulgaris L.) selections grown in Erzurum province in Turkey were investigated. Significant differences were observed between the studied genotypes for most of the physicochemical parameters. Fruit weight and pulp ratio were found between 0.102 (25ERZ5) and 0.342 g (25ERZ7) and 60.81% (25ERZ2) and 75.41% (25ERZ11). Total phenolic and anthocyanin content ranged from 2281 (25ERZ5) to 3462 (25ERZ7) as mg GAE per liter fruit juice and 360 to 874 mg as cyanidin-3-glucoside per liter fruit juice. Glucose and fructose were found to be dominant sugars in all barberry accessions analyzed.
Social Media Celebrity Endorsements Effect on Generation Z's Purchase Intentions

Although the Generation Z cohort is larger than Generation Y, limited marketing research has been conducted on best practices in marketing to this generation. Limited studies have examined celebrity endorsements through social media and their effect on actual purchases. This study attempts to determine whether celebrity endorsements on social media effects the buying behavior of Generation Z through an online survey developed to measure consumer's trustworthiness of celebrity endorsements, brand purchase intentions and purchase intentions for a celebrity endorsed product on social media.. The findings revealed Generation Z is following celebrities on social media and buying products they endorse on social media. These results are similar to Wei and Lu (2013) who found that a celebrity endorsement online evoked more action from the consumer than did online customer reviews. Therefore, celebrity endorsements on social media have been found an effective form of marketing to evoke action/purchase decisions from Generation Z.
Moral Testimony and Moral Understanding

In this paper I argue against the charge that dependence on moral testimony is at odds with good moral agency, and moral specifically with the ideal of having moral understanding and using it to make moral judgments. My argument has four main strands. First, I contend that one of the grounds that is often adduced for the value of moral understanding—namely, that it is important for justifying ourselves to others—does not offer an adequate basis for criticizing dependence on moral testimony. Second, I show how dependence on moral testimony is not incompatible with moral understanding. Third, I argue that, in fact, dependence on moral testimony can be an important avenue for achieving moral understanding. Fourth, and finally, I contend that moral understanding is not always an ideal we have sufficient reason to seek. If my arguments are successful, they provide new resources for a defense of dependence on moral testimony.
Minimally Invasive Direct Coronary Artery Bypass for the management of Anomalous Left Coronary Artery from the Right Coronary Sinus.

Objective: Anomalous left coronary artery from the right coronary sinus (ALCA) is a known cause of sudden death. Surgical correction is recommended for all patients with interarterial course. We describe 2 patients who underwent surgical correction through an off pump- minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) approach with good short and mid-term results.
Early Life Exposure to Bisphenol A and Breast Neoplasia

Excess estrogen exposure in developing individuals increases the risk of developing breast cancer later in life. This excess estrogen can originate from high levels of maternal endogenous estrogens or from exposure to exogenous endocrine disrupting compounds that mimic estrogen actions. One of those ­compounds is the ubiquitous bisphenol A or BPA, a chemical that has been found in over 90% of the American population tested and that mimics the actions of estradiol both in vitro and in vivo. The breast is a target organ for both estradiol and BPA. In this chapter we will discuss the effects of BPA on the developing mammary gland and its long-lasting consequences on the organ’s health, and we will argue that prenatal and early life exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals contributes to the increased incidence of breast cancer observed during the last decades.
Infection and Drug-Induced Antiphospholipid Antibodies

Our observations, and those from others, give further support to our hypothesis that “autoimmune aPL” may be generated by immunization with products from bacteria or viruses after incidental exposure or infection. We also were able to generate APS-like syndrome in a strain of mice susceptible to autoimmunity, indicating that other factors are likely to be involved, such as genetic predisposition. Furthermore, not all aPL generated were pathogenic. Based on the clinical experience and on the numerous reports indicating presence of aPL in large number of infectious diseases, it may be expected that not all aPL produced during infection will be pathogenic. A limited number aPL induced by certain viral/bacterial products would be pathogenic in certain genetically predisposed individuals. Further studies to identify the agents responsible for induction the pathogenic aPL are needed. Identification of those bacterial and/or viral agents may help finding strategies for the prevention of production of aPL “pathogenic” antibodies. Alternatively, free peptides may be used to induce tolerance against aPL production or to abrogate their pathogenic effects.
A Portable and Visual Electrobiochemical Sensor for Lactate Monitoring in Sweat

We report a novel paper-based sensing strategy based on microbial electrochemical activities, in which a reusable voltage meter integrated with a read-out LED display monitors a self-powered transducing signal from a disposable paper-based sensing strip for lactate monitoring in sweat. This sensor strip self-produced an electrochemical potential difference when electricity-producing bacterial cells (or exoelectrogens) oxidized the biodegradable organic substrate, lactate, and transferred electrons to an electrode. Because the harvested electrons were based on their electrochemical energy conversion and were proportional to the lactate concentration, the voltage output through an external resistor could be used as a transducing signal for lactate monitoring in sweat. The output signal was easily readable with an inexpensive digital multimeter, which could be repeatedly connected to the disposable sensing strip. The LED display showed a linear range of output voltage at 0.0 ~ 40.0 mM lactate concentration (R2 =0.977) with a 100kΩ resistor. Thus, our new sensing system holds great promise in designing portable and low-cost sensors for point-of-care and daily applications.
Comorbidity of drug abuse treatment

Research has suggested that comorbidity, the concurrence of substance abuse disorders with other psychiatric disorders, may have prognostic value and important implications for the treatment of substance abuse. Knowledge of the prevalence of comorbid disorder is important because it will enable treatment services to be appropriately configured and designed for clinical drug treatment populations. The form and duration of comorbidity may be influenced by a variety of factors, which include the class of drug being abused, the duration of drug use, the individual sensitivity to drug effects, and whether the drug effects are acute or due to withdrawal or residual conditions. This paper addresses three important scientific questions: (1) What is the prevalence of comorbid disorders in a drug abuser population? (2) What is the stability of psychiatric diagnoses in a drug abuser population? (3) Does the existence of a comorbid disorder influence the outcome of drug abuse treatment?
A Hybrid Cache Architecture for Meeting Per-Tenant Performance Goals in a Private Cloud

The in-memory cache system is an important component in a cloud for the data access performance. As the tenants may have different performance goals for data access depending on the nature of their tasks, effectively managing the memory cache is a crucial concern in such a shared computing environment. Two extreme methods for managing the memory cache are unlimited sharing and complete isolation, both of which would be inefficient with the expensive storage complexity to meet the per-tenant performance requirement. In this paper, we present a new cache model that incorporates global caching (based on unlimited sharing) and static caching (offering complete isolation) for a private cloud, in which it is critical to offer the guaranteed performance while minimizing the operating cost. This paper also presents a cache insertion algorithm tailored to the proposed cache model. From an extensive set of experiments conducted on the simulation and emulation settings, the results confirm the validity of the presented cache architecture and insertion algorithm showing the optimized use of the cache space for meeting the per-tenant performance requirement.
A Study of the Fracture Behavior of Unindirectional Fiber- Reinforced Composite Using Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) Interferometry

The feasibility of using Coherent Gradient Sensing (CGS) interferometry for studying the fracture behavior of unidirectional fiber-reinforced composites is investigated in this paper. First, the solution for the deformation field surrounding the tip of a crack in an orthotropic material is summarized. Specifically, the most singular term in the asymptotic expansion is explicitly presented. Then, the quantities that relate to the CGS measurements are derived in terms of the spatial position, stress intensity factors, and material constants. Based on these results, synthetic CGS fringe patterns are plotted numerically, and the effects of material anisotropy and crack-tip mixity on the shape of CGS fringe pattern are investigated. In addition, a finite difference interpretation of CGS fringes caused by the finite spacing of the CGS diffraction gratings is taken into account in the simulation. Finally, the initiation fracture toughness and the subsequent resistance curve behavior of a particular unidirectional graphite/epoxy composite are measured using the CGS method. The optically measured stress intensity factors compare successfully to values obtained from the load measurements and the available analytical solutions.
How to Interpret Metal Ions in THA.

Abstract Background Modern total hip arthroplasty has seen an unfortunate increase in proportional implant failures secondary to adverse local tissue reactions (ALTRs) secondary to wear of metal-on-metal (MoM) bearings and mechanically assisted crevice corrosion (MACC) related to corrosion at implant junctions and tapers. The purpose of this study is to describe the appropriate choice of metal ion testing and evaluation of those levels to identify failed total hip arthroplasty implants containing cobalt and chromium. Methods When presented with an arthroplasty of concern, the surgeon must determine what metal ion levels to obtain and then incorporate those levels into a treatment algorithm. Patients with painful hip arthroplasties are evaluated for chromium and cobalt by obtaining whole blood and synovial metal levels. Results Synovial fluid cobalt had the highest correlation with ALTR compared with the other tests, with a threshold of 19.75 ng/ml, with a specificity of 89%, if the cobalt-to-chromium ratio is greater than 1.4 ng/ml in a metal on polyethylene hip, with a sensitivity of 95%. Conclusion The interpretation of whole blood metal ions is a key component of the algorithm in treating the symptomatic hip arthroplasty but is not to be used in a vacuum.
Specialty Substance Use Disorder Treatment Admissions Steadily Increased In The Four Years After Medicaid Expansion.

The Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion provided insurance coverage to many low-income adults with substance use disorders, but it is unclear whether this led to more people receiving treatmen...
A very short history of the Estonian film archive

The idea of systematic film preservation first emerged in Estonia in the late 1920s, a little more than a decade after the establishment of an independent nation state in 1918. In 1929, Peeter Pari...
Matrix Deformation with Ectopic Cells Induced by Rotational Motion in Bioengineered Neural Tissues

The brain's extracellular matrix (ECM) is a dynamic protein-based scaffold within which neural networks can form, self-maintain, and re-model. When the brain incurs injuries, microscopic tissue tears and active ECM re-modelling give way to abnormal brain structure and function including the presence of ectopic cells. Post-mortem and neuroimaging data suggest that the brains of jet pilots and astronauts, who are exposed to rotational forces, accelerations, and microgravity, display brain anomalies which could be indicative of a mechanodisruptive pathology. Here we present a model of non-impact-based brain injury induced by matrix deformation following mechanical shaking. Using a bioengineered 3D neural tissue platform, we designed a repetitive shaking paradigm to simulate subtle rotational acceleration. Our results indicate shaking induced ectopic cell clustering that could be inhibited by physically restraining tissue movement. Imaging revealed that the collagen substrate surrounding cells was deformed following shaking. Applied to neonatal rat brains, shaking induced deformation of extracellular spaces within the cerebral cortices and reduced the number of cell bodies at higher accelerations. We hypothesize that ECM deformation may represent a more significant role in brain injury progression than previously assumed and that the present model system contributes to its understanding as a phenomenon.
Intrinsic Signal Optical Imaging (ISOI): State-of-the-Art with Emphasis on Pre-clinical and Clinical Studies

Intrinsic signal optical imaging (ISOI) remains one of the most exciting functional imaging techniques for functional mapping. It is routinely employed for basic research and has also been slowly adopted in recent years in preclinical and clinical research.
Reply to Festenstein

The pragmatic political liberal in my conception approaches the political realm as an arena within which the boundaries of reasonableness, and thus of legitimate state action, are worked out through public inquiry over time. I therefore hold that the political liberal claim that public policies must be publicly justified does not mean that the policies in question must be shown to be immune to reasonable disagreement, but rather that they be shown to be reasonable candidates for public inquiry. While I have doubts about the attractiveness and viability of ‘Deweyan’ democracy as a political program, I think that it is a reasonable candidate for public action in this sense.
Numerical Solutions of Bivariate Nonlinear Integral Equations with Cardinal Splines

The main objective of this work is to develop an efficient technique for solving bivariate linear or nonlinear Volterra integral equations. The method is based upon the cardinal spline functions on small compact supports. We express the known and unknown functions as linear combinations of translations of the spline functions. The integral equation is reduced to a system of algebra equations. Since the coefficient matrix for the algebraic system is nearly triangular. It is relatively straightforward to solve for the unknowns and an approximation of the original solution with high precision is achieved. Comparisons are made between our schemes and other techniques proposed in recent papers, and the improvement of our method is demonstrated with several numerical examples.
Seamen, Semen, and Virility: Leaky Homophones on Land and at Sea

Within research into the early modern maritime world and the contemporary treatment of sex and sexual expression in both Europe and America two terms continuously emerge and often appear linked: se...
Developmental Venous Anomalies are a Genetic Primer for Cerebral Cavernous Malformations

Abstract Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) are a neurovascular anomaly that may occur sporadically in otherwise healthy individuals, or be inherited by autosomal dominant mutations in the genes that encode the proteins of the CCM signaling complex (KRIT1, CCM2, or PDCD10)1–4. CCMs have long been known to follow a genetic two-hit model where lesion formation is initiated by somatic mutations resulting in biallelic loss of a CCM complex gene5–8. Recent studies have shown that somatic mutations in MAP3K3 and PIK3CA also contribute to CCM pathogenesis9–11; however, it remains unclear how these mutations contribute to sporadic versus familial cases. Here we show that somatic mutations in MAP3K3 are mutually exclusive with mutations in CCM complex genes and that mutations in MAP3K3 contribute to sporadic, but not familial CCM. Using single-nucleus DNA sequencing, we show that co-occurring MAP3K3 and PIK3CA mutations are present within the same clonal population of cells. Furthermore, we identify PIK3CA mutations in CCM-associated developmental venous anomalies (DVA). It has long been known that sporadic CCM often develop in the vicinity of a DVA. However, the underlying cause of this association is unknown12–14. In this first report of the molecular pathology of CCM-associated DVA, we find that the identical PIKC3A mutation is found in both the DVA and its associated CCM, but that an activating MAP3K3 mutation appears only in the CCM. These results support a mechanism where DVA develop as the result of a PIK3CA mutation, creating a region of the brain vasculature that functions as a genetic primer for CCM development following acquisition of an additional somatic mutation.