cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Laser ablation cell sorting in scanning cytometry

Flow cytometry has been an important tool for automated cells sorting. However, the lack of good sensitivity prevents it from being used for rare events sorting; furthermore, fragile cells, anchorage-dependent cells, and clump forming cells cannot be sorted this way. A fully automated, high-speed scanning cytometer with autofocus and image segmentation is capable of accurately locating contaminant cells in a monolayer cell population. A laser ablation system was incorporated into the cytometer to negatively sort out the unwanted cells by applying a focused, ultra-short laser pulse (sub-micron diameter, pulse duration = 4 nsec, wavelength - 500 nm) to each targeted cell. Due to the high power density (approximately 1010 W/cm2) that was present at the focal point, disruptive mechanical forces were generated and were responsible for the kill. Fluorescently stained NIH-3T3 fibroblast cells were used as a model contaminant target ells in an unstained NIH-3T3 population to determine the identification-kill effectiveness. The contaminant cells were stained with the fluorochrome CellTracker Blue CMAC, whereas the background cells were left intact. Ablation pulses were applied in frame-by-frame increment batches to the cell culture on the microscope. The negative sorting effectiveness was analyzed by automatically re-scanning the post-ablation cell culture in phase contrast and propidium iodide stained epi fluorescent fields to verify cell death.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Empowering Battered Women by Validating Their Decision-Making Skills -- The Role of Moral Development

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate levels of moral reasoning among a sample of battered women and compare them with a national normative sample. Method: The study involved collecting Defining Issues Test (DIT) data from 50 women (age, M = 33, SD = 10) beginning their stay at a shelter for battered women. Unlike the original method of assessing moral reasoning involving a lengthy interview, the DIT is a multiple-choice test. Consequently, it is easy to administer and score and, over the last 20 years, it has become the most widely used instrument for assessing moral reasoning. Results: Analysis indicated that the battered women comprising the sample were employing levels of moral reasoning comparable with the national normative sample. Conclusion: Implications of the findings for countering arguments that battered women are morally immature in the way in which they approach the stay/leave decision were explored and discussed.
Breaking the Silence in Alba Ambert’s “Porque Hay Silencio”: One Woman’s Journey

In Alba Ambert’s first novel, Porque hay silencio (1987), silence is both literal and symbolic. Blanca, Ambert’s main character, travels from childhood into adulthood as the narrative elements of theme, language and imagery portray a world rife with marginalization in which she is isolated, powerless, and thus voiceless. From Blanca’s earliest memories in Santurce, Puerto Rico, to her most recent stay in an insane asylum in Cambridge, Massachusetts; she struggles to endure a life in which she is continually silenced. Her efforts to establish her own identity within her family and within the world at large is set against the backdrop of an impoverished childhood in the Bronx and a cruel married life in Puerto Rico. Even her scholarship to Harvard University results in a cultural crisis that she suffers as a Latina in Massachusetts. This exploration of a woman’s journey to achieve empowerment amidst poverty, machismo and bigotry results eventually in a spiritual awakening that brings with it a fervent desire to change her destiny. She finds her voice, vowing to be silent no longer.
How defendants’ legal status and ethnicity and participants’ political orientation relate to death penalty sentencing decisions.

Increases in U.S. immigration and the growth in the Latino population highlight the importance of understanding the influence of ethnicity and legal status on participants’ decision-making. Furthermore, immigration is a politically charged topic, which suggests participants’ political orientation mi
Investigation of the effects of solutes on the grain boundary stress relaxation phenomenon

An experimental investigation of grain boundary stress relaxation in copper binary alloys with nickel, silicon, aluminum, and silver comprising the range 0.03 to 1 atomic pct solute has been carried out. Two stress relaxation peaks of grain boundary origin have been ascertained and studied. The energy of activation and peak temperature for both peaks have been determined as functions of solute content and type of solute. It is suggested that this technique can be used as a measure of adsorbability of solute at grain boundaries as a consequence of the saturation effects observed in the measured properties in the vicinity of 0.1 atomic pct solute.
Leukocyte Isolation from Brain, Spinal Cord, and Meninges for Flow Cytometric Analysis

A continual dialogue exists between the central nervous system (CNS) and immune system that contributes to neural homeostasis as well as protection from microbes, repair following damage, autoimmune disease, and neurodegeneration. Characterization of resident and peripherally derived leukocyte populations within the central nervous system can provide valuable information regarding how these cells contribute to steady-state and inflammatory conditions. Flow cytometry provides a method to conduct detailed multi-parameter analyses of immune cells isolated from various tissues. This protocol provides a method to isolate leukocytes from brain, spinal cord, and meninges for flow cytometric analysis and provides a basic framework for phenotyping these cells. © 2018 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Miscellaneous Model Components and Utility Functions

A Pyomo model is populated with modeling components that define model data, and with model structures like objectives and constraints. This chapter describes the Pyomo classes for modeling components that supplement the core components described in the previous two chapters. This chapter also includes a description of component indexing, including the specification of dynamic index sets. Finally, this chapter describes utility functions that simplify the formulation of Pyomo models.
Lucid Dreams In Tibetan Buddhism

Lucid dreaming is discussed in centuries-old Tibetan Buddhist texts. A simple definition that comes out of our present scientific studies is that lucid dreaming is “awareness of dreaming while in the dream state” (Gackenbach, 1980, p. 253). Traditional Tibetan religion and modern psychology are very diverse contexts for discussions of lucid dreaming. To show that the Tibetans are discussing the same subject that our contemporary dream researchers describe, I quote (in translation) a sample statement from a Tibetan text.
Suffixal Rivalry: a case study in Irish nominalisations

In this paper we will be concerned with the category of de-adjectival abstract nouns called Nomina Essendi (henceforth: NE) in Modern Irish. These nominalisations are usually defined as describing the state, fact or degree of being (adjective).1 For this reason the Irish nouns appear to correspond directly to English derivatives in -ness or -ity, although, as we shall see in Section 2, we will sometimes have occasion to translate phrases involving NE somewhat differently.
Introduction to the Economics of Health Care

The industrial organization of the health care industry has changed dramatically over the last decade, although the underlying economics of health care has remained the same. The industrial organization of health care is now dominated by the intervention of the health insuring organization or the managed care firm into the health care marketplace. The financing of health care services is increasingly performed by aggressive insuring organizations rather than by health insurers who passively pay the health care bill.
Retinal Degeneration in Usher Syndrome

Inherited retinitis pigmentosa (RP) in combination with deafness was reported in the 19th century (1,(2), but became known as Usher syndrome from a report by Charles Usher in 1914 (3). Usher syndrome is autosomal recessive (3) and responsible for more than half of the cases involving deafness and blindness (4). It affects about 1 in 23,000 within the United States (5). Estimates are slightly lower from Scandinavia at 1 in 29,000, and as high as 1 in 12,500 from Germany (6). Because the frequency of RP is 1 per 4000 persons (7), Usher syndrome accounts for about 17% of all cases of RP in the United States.
From Channel Selection to Strategy Selection: Enhancing VANETs Using Socially-Inspired Foraging and Deference Strategies

Dynamic spectrum access (DSA) has been hailed as a possible panacea for the “spectrum crunch,” drawing significant attention from researchers and industry alike. Here, we describe a novel system architecture for vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs) that relies on the DSA framework. In our system, nodes continuously and independently choose one of three strategies for channel selection. Two of these strategies are biosocially inspired, based on resource sharing behaviors known to have been prevalent in human societies over the course of their natural evolution. We view the strategy selection problem as an evolutionary game, proving that the only evolutionarily stable strategy is one in which all nodes utilize the same strategy that depends on the social characteristics of the nodes and the current channel conditions. Within our system, a specialized road side unit (RSU) continuously computes the game-theoretically optimal evolutionarily stable strategy and broadcasts this recommendation to all VANET nodes. Through ns-3 simulation experiments across a range of social characteristics and channel condition scenarios, we demonstrate that a significant and robust improvement in utility (from 3% to 136%) is achieved when a large fraction of VANET nodes adopt the RSU's recommendation. The approach represents a bold departure from previous research which sought to track and micromanage channel resources from a short-term perspective, to one that provides VANET nodes with long-term recommendations for channel access strategy , both optimized for throughput and robust against attempts at circumvention by deviant users.
A new approach for tubular structure modeling and segmentation using graph-based techniques

In this work, a new approach for tubular structure segmentation is presented. This approach consists of two parts: (1) automatic model construction from manually segmented exemplars and (2) segmentation of structures in unknown images using these models. The segmentation problem is solved by finding an optimal path in a high-dimensional graph. The graph is designed with novel structures that permit the incorporation of prior information from the model into the optimization process and account for several weaknesses of traditional graph-based approaches. The generality of the approach is demonstrated by testing it on four challenging segmentation tasks: the optic pathways, the facial nerve, the chorda tympani, and the carotid artery. In all four cases, excellent agreement between automatic and manual segmentations is achieved.
A Fuzzy Framework for System Diagnosis

Diagnosis of system problems relies on a variety of diverse data. The data can be composed of sensor data supplemented by a knowledge base of past problems. Difficulties arise when the data obtained from sensors is uncertain, imprecise, or appears to be contradictory. Further, the sensory data may conflict with potential diagnoses based upon past experiences. This research presents framework for system diagnosis using fuzzy linguistic variables represent sensory data and possible diagnoses based upon experience. A novel data fusion method for the fuzzy opinions is introduced. Additionally, the research develops an innovative procedure for ranking the fuzzy opinions to arrive at diagnosis. The technique first represents data in the form of fuzzy linguistic variables to accommodate diverse and conflicting data and opinions. The fuzzy representation accommodates the uncertainty and imprecision inherent in many sensors. Testing demonstrates that the framework provides accurate diagnosis of system faults.
Does the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease Predict Primary Graft Dysfunction?

Purpose The Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) has been used to assess risk in patients awaiting liver transplant. More recently, MELD has been applied to patients with end-stage heart disease and has been demonstrated to reveal patients at high risk for mortality after heart transplantation (HTx). It is not known whether MELD score can predict severe PGD as per the new ISHLT scale. Methods Between 2010 and 2017, we identified 25 heart transplant patients who developed severe PGD supported by ECMO. This group was compared to 670 patients who did not have PGD. The pre-transplant MELD score was calculated for each group to see if there was a correlation to PGD. Results The MELD score was similar between patients that developed PGD and those that did not develop PGD (see table). Characteristics of the two groups demonstrated that the MELD individual criteria revealed that pre-transplant creatinine and total bilirubin were higher in the No PGD group but did not result in a difference between group MELD scores. Conclusion The MELD score may predict poor outcome after HTx; however, it does not appear to be a predictor for PGD.
Characteristics of Daily E-Cigarette Use and Acquisition Means Among a National Sample of Adolescents.

Purpose:To examine the relationship between several e-cigarette-related characteristics and daily e-cigarette use among adolescent current users.Design:Secondary analysis of 2016 National Youth Tob...
A dataset of egg size and shape from more than 6,700 insect species

Offspring size is a fundamental trait in disparate biological fields of study. This trait can be measured as the size of plant seeds, animal eggs, or live young, and it influences ecological interactions, organism fitness, maternal investment, and embryonic development. Although multiple evolutionary processes have been predicted to drive the evolution of offspring size, the phylogenetic distribution of this trait remains poorly understood, due to the difficulty of reliably collecting and comparing offspring size data from many species. Here we present a dataset of 10,449 morphological descriptions of insect eggs, with records for 6,706 unique insect species and representatives from every extant hexapod order. The dataset includes eggs whose volumes span more than eight orders of magnitude. We created this dataset by partially automating the extraction of egg traits from the primary literature. In the process, we overcame challenges associated with large-scale phenotyping by designing and employing custom bioinformatic solutions to common problems. We matched the taxa in this dataset to the currently accepted scientific names in taxonomic and genetic databases, which will facilitate the use of these data for testing pressing evolutionary hypotheses in offspring size evolution. Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data (ISA-Tab format)
Association of functional and structural social support with chronic kidney disease among African Americans: the Jackson Heart Study

There is limited evidence on the relationship between social support and renal outcomes in African Americans. We sought to determine the association of social support with prevalent chronic kidney disease (CKD) and kidney function decline in an African American cohort. We also examined whether age modifies the association between social support and kidney function decline. We identified Jackson Heart Study (JHS) participants with baseline (Exam in 2000–2004) functional and structural social support data via the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL) and social network size questions, respectively. With ISEL as our primary exposure variable, we performed multivariable regression models to evaluate the association between social support and prevalent CKD [estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 30% decrease in eGFR over approximately 10 years). All models were adjusted for baseline sociodemographics, diabetes, hypertension, smoking status, and body mass index; models for eGFR decline and RRFD were additionally adjusted for eGFR and ACR. In models for eGFR decline, we assessed for interaction between age and social support. For secondary analyses, we replaced ISEL with its individual domains (appraisal, belonging, self-esteem, and tangible) and social network size in separate models as exposure variables. Of 5301 JHS participants, 4015 (76%) completed the ISEL at baseline. 843 (21%) had low functional social support (ISEL score < 32). Participants with low (vs. higher) functional social support were more likely to have lower income (47% vs. 28%), be current or former tobacco users (39% vs. 30%), have diabetes (25% vs. 21%) or CKD (14% vs. 12%). After multivariable adjustment, neither ISEL or social network size were independently associated with prevalent CKD, eGFR decline, or RRFD. Of the ISEL domains, only higher self-esteem was associated with lower odds of prevalent CKD [OR 0.94 (95% CI 0.89–0.99)]. The associations between social support measures and eGFR decline were not modified by age. In this African-American cohort, social support was not associated with prevalent CKD or kidney function decline. Further inquiry of self-esteem’s role in CKD self-management and renal outcomes is warranted.
Modeling ballistic phonon transport from a cylindrical electron beam heat source

Recent electron microscopy experiments have used focused electron beams as nanoscale heat sources or thermometers to enable high spatial resolution studies of heat transfer in nanostructures. When the electron beam radius is smaller than the heat carrier mean free path, Fourier’s law will underpredict the temperature rise due to electron beam-induced heating, motivating the development of subcontinuum models to interpret thermal electron microscopy measurements. Here, electron beam-induced heating of nonmetallic samples is modeled by applying a recently developed general solution of the governing Boltzmann transport equation (BTE) under the relaxation time approximation. The analytical BTE solution describes thermal phonon transport from a time-periodically heated cylindrical region in a homogeneous infinite medium. The BTE results show that ballistic phonon effects in this radial heat spreading scenario are more conveniently represented using a ballistic thermal resistance rather than an effective thermal conductivity. Calculations of this ballistic resistance for three semiconductors (Si, GaAs, and 3C-SiC) show that ballistic effects dominate the total thermal resistance to radial heat flow for typical STEM or SEM beam radii (<10 nm), indicating that the ballistic resistance could potentially be measured using thin-film electron beam heating experiments. However, combining the BTE solution with recent calorimetric measurements shows that the magnitude of the temperature rise remains negligibly small (<1 K) under typical electron microscopy conditions, even when considering these ballistic effects. These BTE modeling results can be used to quantify electron beam-induced heating or to design experiments probing ballistic phonon transport using electron beam heat sources.
Loss of region-specific glial homeostatic signature in prion diseases

Background. Chronic neuroinflammation is recognized as a major neuropathological hallmark in a broad spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer, Parkinson, Frontal Temporal Dementia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, and prion diseases. Both microglia and astrocytes exhibit region-specific homeostatic transcriptional identities, which under chronic neurodegeneration, transform into reactive phenotypes in a region- and disease-specific manner. Little is known about region-specific identity of glia in prion diseases. The current study was designed to determine whether the region-specific homeostatic signature of glia changes with the progression of prion diseases, and whether these changes occur in a region-dependent or universal manner. Also of interest was whether different prion strains give rise to different reactive phenotypes. Methods. To answer these questions, we analyzed gene expression in thalamus, cortex, hypothalamus and hippocampus of mice infected with 22L and ME7 prion strains using Nanostring Neuroinflammation panel at subclinical, early clinical and advanced stages of the disease. Results. We found that at the preclinical stage of the disease, region-specific homeostatic identities were preserved. However, with the appearance of clinical signs, region-specific signatures were partially lost and replaced with a neuroinflammation signature. While the same sets of genes were activated by both prion strains, the timing of neuroinflammation and the degree of activation in different brain regions was strain-specific. Changes in astrocyte function scored at the top of activated pathways. Moreover, clustering analysis suggested that the astrocyte function pathway responded to prion infection prior to activated microglia or neuron and neurotransmission pathways. Conclusions. The current work established neuroinflammation gene expression signature associated with prion diseases. Our results illustrate that with the disease progression, the region-specific homeostatic transcriptome signatures are replaced by region-independent neuroinflammation signature, which was common for prion strains with different cell tropism. The prion-associated neuroinflammation signature identified in the current study overlapped only partially with the microglia degenerative phenotype and the disease-associated microglia phenotype reported for animal models of other neurodegenerative diseases.
Membrane Anchoring of Hck Kinase via the Intrinsically Disordered SH4-U and Length Scale Associated with Subcellular Localization.

Src family kinases (SFKs) are a group of nonreceptor tyrosine kinases that are characterized by their involvement in critical signal transduction pathways. SFKs are often found attached to membranes, but little is known about the conformation of the protein in this environment. Here, solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), neutron reflectometry (NR), and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were employed to study the membrane interactions of the intrinsically disordered SH4 and Unique domains of the Src family kinase Hck. Through development of a procedure to combine the information from the different techniques, we were able produce a first-of-its-kind atomically detailed structural ensemble of a membrane-bound intrinsically disordered protein. Evaluation of the model demonstrated its consistency with previous work and provided insight into how SFK Unique domains act to differentiate the family members from one another. Fortuitously, the position of the ensemble on the membrane allowed the model to be combined with configurations of the multidomain Hck kinase previously determined from small-angle solution X-ray scattering to produce full-length models of membrane-anchored Hck. The resulting models allowed us to estimate that the kinase active site is positioned about 65 ± 35 A away from the membrane surface, offering the first estimations of the length scale associated with the concept of SFK subcellular localization.
On Connectedness of Discretized Sets

Constructing a discretization of a given set is a major problem in various theoretical and applied disciplines. An offset discretization of a set X is obtained by taking the integer points inside a closed neighborhood of X of a certain radius. In this note we determine a minimum threshold for the offset radius, beyond which the discretization of an arbitrary (possibly disconnected) set is always connected. The results hold for a broad class of disconnected subsets of \(\mathbb {R}^n\), and generalize several previous results.
Being ostracized versus out of the loop: Redundant or unique predictors of variance in workplace outcomes?

Based on the existing research, being excluded from information (i.e., being out of the loop) produces similar consequences as being ignored or excluded from activities. Consequently, one might wonder whether it is necessary to measure or study different types of exclusion in the workplace context, rather than just assessing a single type of exclusion. The current research investigated the associations between two types of workplace exclusion (i.e., being ostracized and being left out of the loop) and various workplace outcomes, with the purpose of determining whether these different types of exclusion predict unique or redundant variance in these workplace outcomes. In Study 1, we obtained better model fit when we assigned items measuring out-of-the-loop experiences at work to a different factor than items assessing experiences with ostracism at work. In Study 2, we observed that measuring employees' experiences with being out of the loop predicted unique variance in workplace outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction), above and beyond experiences with ostracism at work. Relative weight analyses suggested that both ostracism and out-of-the-loop experiences were equally important predictors of these outcomes. Together, these studies indicate that being ostracized and being left out of the loop may be distinct exclusion experiences and better predictions about workplace outcomes can be made by assessing both types of exclusion. On a practical level, measuring different types of exclusion may prove useful, because organizations may need to implement different interventions for addressing distinct types of exclusion.
Genomic Resources for Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola Races 5 and 8

Pseudomonas savastanoi pv. phaseolicola causes halo blight disease on Phaseolus vulgaris. Using a long-read DNA sequencing platform, we assembled the genome sequences for P. savastanoi pv. phaseoli...
Teaching Citizens: What Can NAEP Civics Tell Us about Active Learning in Civics?

In recent years, state policy makers have passed legislation to improve civics education in order to address the persistently low levels of youth civic engagement. However, there is considerable di...
Delay in Presentation to Hospital after Acute Stroke: A Multiethnic Population in New York City. (P1.084)

OBJECTIVE: To identify characteristics of acute stroke patients associated with late arrival to hospital. BACKGROUND: Treatment of stroke is highly time dependent. Time from symptom onset to hospital arrival or “onset-to-door time” (OTD) is a major factor in determining eligibility for IV TPA. Since the inception of Get with The Guidelines-Stroke (GWTG-Stroke) program, percentage of patients arriving within the time window have remained unchanged despite public health efforts. DESIGN/METHODS: OTD for stroke patients treated at a primary stroke center serving a multiethnic urban community in New York City from 2005 to 2013 were analyzed. Patients were excluded if stroke onset occurred within an institution (e.g. hospital, nursing home) and or if patient presented for evaluation after one week from onset. Utilizing data collected from GWTG-Stroke program, predictors of OTD beyond 4.5 hours were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: 2629 stroke patients were treated from January 2005 to December 2013. A total of 587 patients were excluded due to stroke onset within an institution and 101 patients due to presentation one week after stroke onset. Among the remaining 1941 patients, OTD was documented in 58[percnt] to be beyond 4.5 hours. Patients that were men (OR,1.29; 95[percnt] CI,1.07-1.58), with history of atrial fibrillation/flutter (OR,1.31; 95[percnt] CI,1.02-1.71), and experiencing TIA (OR,3.47; 95[percnt] CI,2.54-4.75) were significantly more likely to arrive within 4.5 hours. Conversely, diabetic patients were less likely to arrive within 4.5 hours (OR,0.63; 95[percnt] CI,0.50-0.78). Asian patients presented at rates similar to White patients while Black/African-American (OR,0.77; 95[percnt] CI,0.57-1.03) and Hispanic (OR,0.88; 95[percnt] CI,0.68-1.14) patients were marginally less likely to arrive on time. CONCLUSIONS: Factors associated with delay presentation in patients suffering acute stroke include non-white, female and presence of diabetes. Further studies and educational programs are needed to better understand and address these factors. Disclosure: Dr. Matos-Diaz has nothing to disclose. Dr. Liang has nothing to disclose. Dr. Walker has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lucido has nothing to disclose. Dr. Boniece has nothing to disclose.
Finding minimal sets of informative genes in microarray data

For a microarray dataset with attached phenotype information - which gives expression levels of various genes and a phenotype classification for each of a set of samples - an important problem is to find informative genes. These genes have high information content as attributes for classification, minimizing the expected number of tests needed to identify a phenotype. This study investigates the use of a heuristic method for finding complete sets of informative genes (sets that are sufficient for constructing a maximally discriminating classifier) that are as small as possible. These minimal sets of informative genes can be very useful in developing an appreciation for the data. Our method uses branch-and-bound depth-first search. Experimental results suggest that our method is effective in finding minimal gene sets, and the resulting classifiers have good performance in terms of classification accuracy.
Cervicothoracic nonterminal myelocystocele with mature teratoma

Nonterminal myelocystocele is a rare type of spinal dysraphism characterized by a closed defect with an underlying CSF-filled cyst, either contiguous with the central spinal canal or attached to the spinal cord by a fibrovascular stalk. The authors report the unusual case of a neonate with a prenatal diagnosis of cervicothoracic nonterminal myelocystocele who underwent postnatal surgical untethering of the lesion. Pathological analysis of the excised lesion revealed neuroglial tissue with an ependymal lining associated with a mature teratoma. Three months after surgery, the patient has normal lower-extremity sensorimotor function and no evidence of bowel or bladder dysfunction. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of a patient with a nonterminal myelocystocele found to have an associated mature teratoma.
A review of coronectomy

Coronectomy or intentional partial odontectomy is a procedure whereby the root(s) of a lower third molar tooth that is deemed close to the inferior alveolar canal on radiographic imaging is left in-situ. Coronectomy is a relatively new procedure and to date there have only been a handful of publications that investigate its’ effectiveness as a treatment modality. As a result it is still not commonly practiced worldwide. However, coronectomy is gaining popularity as a risk reducing procedure. This article looks at nine most recent studies on coronectomy and reviews each paper with respect to treatment outcomes.
Mind, Mortality and Material Being

Many religiously minded materialist philosophers have attempted to understand the doctrine of the survival of death from within a physicalist approach. Their goal is not to show the doctrine false, but to explain how it can be true. One such approach has been developed by Peter van Inwagen. After explaining what I call the duplication objection, I present van Inwagen’s proposal and show how a proponent might attempt to solve the problem of duplication. I argue that the very features of the view that aid the proponent in responding to the duplication objection entails the possibility of an impossible state of affairs—that two distinct persons can at the same time be identical with the same bundle of material simples. The religiously minded materialist is caught between the horns of a dilemma. One’s view regarding human persons must be robust enough to account for personal identity over time, and so not fall to the duplication objection. At the same time, the view must not entail the possibility of two persons temporarily having complete coincident existence.
Determination of aristolochic acid I in botanicals and dietary supplements potentially contaminated with aristolochic acid I using LC-UV with confirmation by LC/MS: collaborative study.

An interlaboratory study was conducted to evaluate a method for the determination of aristolochic acid I, also known as aristolochic acid A, at levels >2.00 μg/g in botanical species and dietary supplements potentially contaminated with aristolochic acid I. Aristolochic acid I was extracted from various matrixes with aqueous acetonitrile. The amount of aristolochic acid I present was determined by liquid chromatography (LC) using an ultraviolet (UV) detector with confirmation by LC/mass spectrometry (MS). Thirteen blind duplicates were successfully analyzed by 10 collaborators, and aristolochic acid I was successfully confirmed in 1 blind duplicate by 8 collaborators. For repeatability, the relative standard deviation (RSDr) ranged from 1.72 to 16.3% and for reproducibility, the RSDR ranged from 5.42 to 19.8%. HorRat values were not applicable for 2 materials but varied from 0.7 to 1.8 for 11 materials. Each collaborating laboratory had calibration curves with correlation coefficients >0.998. In addition, all of the collaborators that conducted the confirmation were able to verify the identity of aristolochic acid I using LC/MS/MS (using either ion trap or triple quad).
20 MV/m accelerating gradient with heat treatment of a six cell, 1.5 GHz cavity for TESLA

In order to use superconducting RF accelerating structures in the construction of a high energy linear collider, the structures must be designed to meet specific goals. These include low peak surface electric fields, good higher order mode power extraction from the ends, maximum accelerating gradient and, above all, low cost per unit accelerating voltage. Such a structure has been designed, manufactured and tested. Preliminary results have been reported. The cavity was then mechanically braced with Niobium braces and then heat treated. The final test gave 20 MV/m accelerating field. Details of some difficulties encountered will also be presented at this time. >
THE EFFECTS OF PERSONAL MEANING AND CALLING ON ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

Research was conducted to empirically demonstrate the relationships between personal meaning, calling and organizational commitment in the context of spiritual leadership. Wong's Personal Meaning Profile was used to establish the various sources of personal meaning and identify those that predict calling. The results showed significant positive correlations between self‐transcendent personal meaning and calling. Further, calling was also positively correlated with organizational commitment and contrasted with work‐as‐job as a predictor of commitment. The study suggests that not all sources of personal meaning are predictive of calling, and that calling mediates the relationship between self‐transcendent personal meaning and organizational commitment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Developing Sexual Agency: Rethinking Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century Theories for the Twenty-First Century

Neo-liberal society asserts that adults should be independent and responsible for themselves, and that children and adolescents should be dependent on their parents. The earlier construction of the concept of adolescence makes this seem obviously true. Yet if we remember that “adolescence” was part of a project of gender, race, and class construction, it becomes easier to ask whether adolescence is a meaningful concept and a stage of life or whether it continues to be a component of an ideology that relies on the construction of “others.” In this chapter, I suggest that adolescence plays the latter role, and that although the naturalization of adolescence is particularly dangerous for groups like queer youth who are at the margins of society, it is dangerous for all young people because it limits sexual agency. This is particularly important because increasingly society requires that young people consider their futures not from the assumption that they will move into well-defined roles, but with the assumption that they will need to define new ways of relating.
Electrostatic and parallel-magnetic-field tuned two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transitions

The two-dimensional superconductor-insulator transition in disordered ultrathin amorphous bismuth films has been tuned both by electrostatic electron doping using the electric field effect and by the application of parallel magnetic fields. Electrostatic doping was carried out in zero and nonzero magnetic fields, and magnetic tuning was conducted at multiple strengths of electrostatically induced superconductivity. The various transitions were analyzed using finite size scaling to determine their critical exponent products. For the electrostatically tuned transition, the exponent product $\ensuremath{\nu}z=0.7\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1$, using data from intermediate temperatures down to $60\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mK}$. Here $\ensuremath{\nu}$ is the correlation length exponent and $z$ is the dynamical critical exponent. In the case of electrostatically tuned transitions in field, and the field-tuned transitions at various values of electrostatically induced superconductivity, scaling was successful with $\ensuremath{\nu}z=0.65\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.1$ from intermediate temperatures down to about 100 or $150\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{mK}$. The parallel critical magnetic field, ${B}_{c}$, increased with electron transfer as ${(\ensuremath{\Delta}n\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\Delta}{n}_{c})}^{0.33}$, and the critical resistance decreased linearly with $\ensuremath{\Delta}n$. However, at lower temperatures, in the insulating regime, the resistance became larger than expected from extrapolation of its temperature dependence at higher temperatures, and scaling failed. These observations imply that although the electrostatic and parallel magnetic-field-tuned superconductor-insulator transitions would appear to belong to the same universality class and to be delineated by a robust phase boundary that can be crossed either by tuning $\ensuremath{\Delta}n$ or $B$, in the case of the field-tuned transition at the lowest temperatures, some different type of physical behavior turns on in the insulating regime.
Models of satisfaction with benefits: Research implications based on the nature of the construct

Research interest in benefit satisfaction continues to increase. The following paper empirically examines demographic correlates of satisfaction with several common benefits. The differences which result support the consideration of benefit satisfaction as a multi-faceted construct separate from pay level satisfaction. Cautions are offered for future benefit related research.
Controlled rapid sequence induction and intubation - an analysis of 1001 children.

SummaryBackground Classic rapid sequence induction puts pediatric patients at risk of cardiorespiratory deterioration and traumatic intubation due to their reduced apnea tolerance and related shortened intubation time. A ‘controlled’ rapid sequence induction and intubation technique (cRSII) with gentle facemask ventilation prior to intubation may be a safer and more appropriate approach in pediatric patients. The aim of this study was to analyze the benefits and complications of cRSII in a large cohort. Methods Retrospective cohort analysis of all patients undergoing cRSII according to a standardized institutional protocol between 2007 and 2011 in a tertiary pediatric hospital. By means of an electronic patient data management system, vital sign data were reviewed for cardiorespiratory parameters, intubation conditions, general adverse respiratory events, and general anesthesia parameters. Results A total of 1001 patients with cRSII were analyzed. Moderate hypoxemia (SpO2 80–89%) during cRSII occurred in 0.5% (n = 5) and severe hypoxemia (SpO2 <80%) in 0.3% of patients (n = 3). None of these patients developed bradycardia or hypotension. Overall, one single gastric regurgitation was observed (0.1%), but no pulmonary aspiration could be detected. Intubation was documented as ‘difficult’ in two patients with expected (0.2%) and in three patients with unexpected difficult intubation (0.3%). The further course of anesthesia as well as respiratory conditions after extubation did not reveal evidence of ‘silent aspiration’ during cRSII. Conclusion Controlled RSII with gentle facemask ventilation prior to intubation supports stable cardiorespiratory conditions for securing the airway in children with an expected or suspected full stomach. Pulmonary aspiration does not seem to be significantly increased.
Activation of human erythrocyte, brain, aorta, muscle, and ocular tissue aldose reductase

Based upon kinetic, structural, and immunologic properties, we have demonstrated that human tissues have three major forms of aldo-keto reductases: aldose reductase (AR), and aldehyde reductases I (AR I) and II (AR II). The proposed subunit compositions are AR, alpha; AR I, alpha-beta; and AR II, delta. Only AR can effectively reduce glucose to sorbitol. The beta subunits in AR I alter the substrate specificity of AR and prevent conformational changes required for the activation of alpha subunits. Partially purified AR (by DE-52) from human erythrocytes expresses biphasic kinetics with glucose and glyceraldehyde. The enzyme can be activated with glucose + glucose-6-P + NADPH and is strongly inhibited by sorbinil, alrestatin, and quercetrin, and by ADP, 2,3DPG, 1,3DPG, and 3PGA. The activated enzyme expresses monophasic kinetics with substrates (Km glucose less than 1 mmol/L) and is less susceptible to inhibition by synthetic AR inhibitors and phosphorylated intermediates. The enzyme from human brain, aorta, muscle, and ocular tissues was also activated under similar conditions. Erythrocyte enzyme was activated by incubation of blood with 30 to 50 mmol/L glucose. In diabetic subjects with blood sugar levels higher than 250 mg%, almost all the erythrocyte enzyme exists in the activated form. As demonstrated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the increase in AR activity (in vivo and in vitro) was due to the activation of the enzyme and not to the de novo synthesis. In each case, the activation of the enzyme was confirmed by NADPH oxidation and the formation of proportionate amounts of sorbitol.
A model for the minimum cost configuration problem in flexible manufacturing systems

This paper presents a mathematical programming model to help select equipment for a flexible manufacturing system, i.e., the selection of the types and numbers of CNC machines, washing stations, load/unload stations, transportation vehicles, and pallets. The objective is to minimize equipment costs and work-in-process inventory cost, while fulfilling production requirements for an average period. Queueing aspects and part flow interactions are considered with the help of a Jacksonian-type closed queueing network model in order to evaluate the system's performance. Since the related decision problem of our model can be shown to be NP-complete, the proposed solution procedure is based on implicit enumeration. Four bounds are provided, two lower and two upper bounds. A tight lower bound is obtained by linearizing the model through the application of asymptotic bound analysis. Furthermore, asymptotic bound analysis allows the calculation of a lower bound for the number of pallets in the system. The first upper bound is given by the best feasible solution and the second is based on the anti-starshaped form of the throughput function.
A possible relationship between phytoalexin production in the cotton leaf and a phytotoxic response

Abstract A 10-day time-course study on the production of 2,7-dihydroxycadalene, 2-hydroxy-7-methoxycadalene, lacinilene C and lacinilene C 7-methyl ether in cotton leaves induced by cell-free mycelial extracts of Aspergillus flavus showed that the cadalenes and the lacinilenes accumulate in a cyclic fashion. The initial increase at 2 days is followed by a greater increase at 6 days after treatment. The location of these compounds was found predominately either in a 6 mm wounded, treated area or in a 3 mm area immediately surrounding the 6 mm treated area of the leaf. Lacinilene C and lacinilene C 7-methyl ether were both phytotoxic in a Lemna minor bioassay. Endogenous constituents produced by plant cell damage could have triggered the production of the cadalenes and lacinilenes observed.
A vector network analyzer-based near field scanner for MM-wave and THz receivers

Here we present the methodology and initial results for a new near-field antenna measurement system for sub-millimeter and terahertz receivers. The system is based on a 4-port VNA with two internal sources, which offers reduced complexity and cost when compared to previous systems.
Solution structure and DNA-binding properties of the phosphoesterase domain of DNA ligase D

The phosphoesterase (PE) domain of the bacterial DNA repair enzyme LigD possesses distinctive manganese-dependent 3′-phosphomonoesterase and 3′-phosphodiesterase activities. PE exemplifies a new family of DNA end-healing enzymes found in all phylogenetic domains. Here, we determined the structure of the PE domain of Pseudomonas aeruginosa LigD (PaePE) using solution NMR methodology. PaePE has a disordered N-terminus and a well-folded core that differs in instructive ways from the crystal structure of a PaePE•Mn2+• sulfate complex, especially at the active site that is found to be conformationally dynamic. Chemical shift perturbations in the presence of primer-template duplexes with 3′-deoxynucleotide, 3′-deoxynucleotide 3′-phosphate, or 3′ ribonucleotide termini reveal the surface used by PaePE to bind substrate DNA and suggest a more efficient engagement in the presence of a 3′-ribonucleotide. Spectral perturbations measured in the presence of weakly catalytic (Cd2+) and inhibitory (Zn2+) metals provide evidence for significant conformational changes at and near the active site, compared to the relatively modest changes elicited by Mn2+.
The effects of several gases (He, N2, N2O, and SF6) on gas trapping in excised lungs.

Abstract Rat lungs were ventilated in a saline filled plethysmograph with the trachea attached to a cannula extending through the chamber base. Because it was possible to conect the cannula to an anesthesia bag, the gases used to ventilate the lungs could easily be controlled. During the first part of the study, lungs were inflated-deflated at different rates for 10 cycles with one of four different gases (SF 6 , N 2 , He, or N 2 O). It was found that all gases were trapped at very ventilation rates. As the rates were increased, however, the amount of gas trapped in the lungs decreased at ventilation rates which were characteristic of each particular gas. Gas trapping decreased first in lungs ventilated with SF 6 ,then N 2 , He, and finally N 2 O. The amount of gas trapped in the lungs at a given inflation-deflation rate was related to the solubility of the gas divided by the square root of its molecular weight. During the second part of the study the effect of different mixtures of SF 6 and O 2 on the amount of gas trapped was examined. All the results indicated that diffusion of gases through liquid walls of menisci or bubbles that occlude the airways is responsible for trapped gas in excised lungs.