cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Porod scattering study of coarsening in immiscible polymer blends

Studies of immiscible blend compatibilization often involve laborious microscopy methods to characterize changes in the particle size distribution with time in the melt. Here we explore a simple alternative approach based on Porod scattering from the two-phase structure. Although micron-sized particles in immiscible polymer blends are too large to be fully characterized by small-angle scattering, Porod scattering measurements of the interfacial area combined with knowledge of the blend volume fraction allows determination of an average particle diameter from a single scattering measurement. This technique is illustrated in experiments monitoring coarsening of particle size in polystyrene/poly(methyl methacrylate) blends prepared either by melt blending or solid-state shear pulverization.
Obstruction-Induced Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling

Pulmonary obstruction occurs in many common forms of congenital heart disease. In this study, pulmonary artery (PA) banding is used as a model for pulmonary stenosis. Significant remodeling of the vascular bed occurs as a result of a prolonged narrowing of the PAs, and here we quantify the biophysical and molecular changes proximal and distal to the obstruction. Main and branch PAs are harvested from banded and sham rabbits and their mechanical properties are assessed using a biaxial tensile tester. Measurements defined as initial and stiff slopes are taken, assuming a linear region at the start and end of the J-shaped stress-strain curves, along with a transitional knee point. Collagen, elastin assays, Movat's pentachrome staining, and Doppler protocols are used to quantify biochemical, structural, and physiological differences. The banded main PAs have significantly greater initial slopes while banded branch PAs have lower initial slopes; however, this change in mechanical behavior cannot be explained by the assay results as the elastin content in both main and branch PAs is not significantly different. The stiff slopes of the banded main PAs are higher, which is attributed to the significantly greater amounts of insoluble collagen. Shifting of the knee points reveals a decreased toe region in the main PAs but an opposite trend in the branch PAs. The histology results show a loss of integrity of the media, increase in ground substance, and dispersion of collagen in the banded tissue samples. This indicates other structural changes could have led to the mechanical differences in banded and normal tissue.
Rhodopsin Arginine-135 Mutants Are Phosphorylated by Rhodopsin Kinase and Bind Arrestin in the Absence of 11-cis-Retinal †

Arginine-135, located at the border between the third transmembrane domain and the second cytoplasmic loop of rhodopsin, is one of the most highly conserved amino acids in the family of G protein-coupled receptors. The effect of mutation at Arg-135 on the ability of rhodopsin to undergo desensitization was investigated. Four mutants, R135K, R135Q, R135A, and R135L, were examined for their ability to be phosphorylated by rhodopsin kinase, to bind arrestin, and to activate the rod cell G protein, transducin (Gt). All of the mutants were phosphorylated, bound arrestin, and were able to activate Gt when reconstituted with 11-cis-retinal. Surprisingly, several of the mutants could be phosphorylated by rhodopsin kinase and could bind arrestin in the absence of 11-cis-retinal but were not able to activate Gt. These observations represent the first demonstration of a mutant G protein-coupled receptor that assumes a conformation able to interact with its G protein-coupled receptor kinase and arrestin, but not with...
Development Broadcasting in India and Beyond: Redefining an Old Mandate in an Age of Media Globalization

This study examines the fate of the development model of public broadcasting in the face of rapid global media commercialization. Using the Indian broadcaster Doordarshan as an example, the authors illustrate how a public media outlet with a development mandate has responded to new pressures and examine the consequences for development broadcasting in general. This inquiry challenges not only the strategies of this broadcaster but also some of the assumptions by media scholars regarding development broadcasting. The study concludes by advocating a new type of development broadcasting that establishes a distinct brand and plays a vital role in creating an informed citizenry.
Celecoxib reduced GI events more than diclofenac plus omeprazole in patients with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis

Source Citation Chan FK, Lanas A, Scheiman J, et al. Celecoxib versus omeprazole and diclofenac in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (CONDOR): a randomised trial. Lancet. 2010;3...
On the behavior of the group velocity for dispersion optimized finite-difference time-domain schemes

We have demonstrated the importance of the group velocity in the case of dispersion optimized FDTD schemes. Our observations constitute a very useful guideline for practical applications, where reliable FDTD results are required over a frequency bandwidth.
The Political Economy of Household Commodity Production in the Louisiana Shrimp Fishery

The Louisiana shrimp fishery is marked by the ownership and operation of vessels by familial households, an open-access management regime, and socially embedded inter-firm relationships among shrimpers, docks and processors. These elements of the contemporary fishery were constituted through historically and geographically specific processes of change in harvesting and processing technology, the social organization of labour processes and market exchanges, and the politics of fishery management in the state. These processes shaped producers' responses to a severe socio-economic crisis in the 2000s, a cost–price squeeze of collapsing shrimp prices and mounting production expenses. Shrimpers' households kept boats operating in the short term at the expense of living standards and intergenerational continuity, rising fuel prices and falling shrimp prices slashed shrimpers' income from harvesting wild shrimp, and business relations grew more distant, tenuous and conflictual as enterprises each sought their share of a much smaller surplus.
Insulin Secretagogues, Sulfonylurea Receptors and KATP Channels

ATP-sensitive K+ channels, termed K(ATP) channels, provide a link between cellular metabolism and membrane electrical activity in a variety of tissues. Channel isoforms have been identified and are targets for compounds that both stimulate and inhibit their activity resulting in membrane hyperpolarization and depolarization, respectively. Examples include relaxation of vascular smooth muscle and stimulation of insulin secretion. This article reviews the cloning, molecular biology, and structure of K(ATP) channels, with particular focus on the SUR1/K(IR)6.2 neuroendocrine channels that are important for the regulation of insulin secretion. We integrate the extensive pharmacologic structure-activity-relationship data on these channels, which defines a bipartite drug binding pocket in the SUR (sulfonylurea receptor), with recent structure-function studies that identify domains of SUR and K(IR)6.2, the channel pore, which are critical for channel assembly, for gating, and for the ligand-receptor interactions that modulate channel activity. The atomic structure of a sulfonylurea in a protein pocket is used to develop insight into the recognition of these compounds. A homology model of K(ATP) channels, based on VC-MsbA, another member of the ABC protein family, is described and used to position amino acids important for the action of channel openers and blockers within the core of SUR. The model has a central chamber which could serve as a multifaceted binding pocket.
Superpower Dispute Initiation: An Empirical Model of Strategic Behavior

A method is presented for empirically modeling simultaneous decisions using the estimation technique of bivariate probit. This technique is used to examine the directed dispute-initiation behavior of the superpowers during the Cold War. Power-transition concepts of satisfaction and rates of capability change can be used to explain directed dispute-initiation behavior. In particular, the international influence of the rival translates into a superpower's dissatisfaction, making dispute initiation by that superpower more likely, ceteris paribus. Additionally, a rapid strengthening of the challenger, ceteris paribus, increases the likelihood of dispute initiation in either direction. Changes in the hegemon's capabilities, though consistent with power-transition theory, have no effect on dispute-initiation behavior. These effects hold even while controlling for various domestic conditions in each country.
Charges, currents, and potentials in ionic channels of one conformation

Flux through an open ionic channel is analyzed with Poisson-Nernst-Planck (PNP) theory. The channel protein is described as an unchanging but nonuniform distribution of permanent charge, the charge distribution observed (in principle) in x-ray diffraction. Appropriate boundary conditions are derived and presented in some generality. Three kinds of charge are present: (a) permanent charge on the atoms of the protein, the charge independent of the electric field; (b) free or mobile charge, carried by ions in the pore as they flux through the channel; and (c) induced (sometimes called polarization) charge, in the pore and protein, created by the electric field, zero when the electric field is zero. The permanent charge produces an offset in potential, a built-in Donnan potential at both ends of the channel pore. The system is completely solved for bathing solutions of two ions. Graphs describe the distribution of potential, concentration, free (i.e., mobile) and induced charge, and the potential energy associated with the concentration of charge, as well as the unidirectional flux as a function of concentration of ions in the bath, for a distribution of permanent charge that is uniform. The model shows surprising complexity, exhibiting some (but not all) of the properties usually attributed to single filing and exchange diffusion. The complexity arises because the arrangement of free and induced charge, and thus of potential and potential energy, varies, sometimes substantially, as conditions change, even though the channel structure and conformation (of permanent charge) is strictly constant. Energy barriers and wells, and the concomitant binding sites and binding phenomena, are outputs of the PNP theory: they are computed, not assumed. They vary in size and location as experimental conditions change, while the conformation of permanent charge remains constant, thus giving the model much of its interesting behavior.
Reconciling two views of IR filamentation in air: Bessel beams or plasma-confined beams?

Filaments prepared by letting a beam collapse, or by launching a ≪ 200µm beam from vacuum to atmosphere, are compared. The two types of filaments show different properties, characteristics of different theories about their nature.
Enzymatic and structural insights for substrate specificity of a family of jumonji histone lysine demethylases

Combinatorial readout of multiple covalent histone modifications is poorly understood. We provide insights into how an activating histone mark, in combination with linked repressive marks, is differentially 'read' by two related human demethylases, PHF8 and KIAA1718 (also known as JHDM1D). Both enzymes harbor a plant homeodomain (PHD) that binds Lys4-trimethylated histone 3 (H3K4me3) and a jumonji domain that demethylates either H3K9me2 or H3K27me2. The presence of H3K4me3 on the same peptide as H3K9me2 makes the doubly methylated peptide a markedly better substrate of PHF8, whereas the presence of H3K4me3 has the opposite effect, diminishing the H3K9me2 demethylase activity of KIAA1718 without adversely affecting its H3K27me2 activity. The difference in substrate specificity between the two is explained by PHF8 adopting a bent conformation, allowing each of its domains to engage its respective target, whereas KIAA1718 adopts an extended conformation, which prevents its access to H3K9me2 by its jumonji domain when its PHD engages H3K4me3.
Temporal Responses of C. elegans Chemosensory Neurons Are Preserved in Behavioral Dynamics

SUMMARY Animals track fluctuating stimuli over multiple timescales during natural olfactory behaviors. Here, we define mechanisms underlying these computations in Caenorhabditis elegans. By characterizing neuronal calcium responses to rapidly fluctuating odor sequences, we show that sensory neurons reliably track stimulus fluctuations relevant to behavior. AWC olfactory neurons respond to multiple odors with subsecond precision required for chemotaxis, whereas ASH nociceptive neurons integrate noxious cues over several seconds to reach a threshold for avoidance behavior. Each neuron’s response to fluctuating stimuli is largely linear and can be described by a biphasic temporal filter and dynamical model. A calcium channel mutation alters temporal filtering and avoidance behaviors initiated by ASH on similar timescales. A sensory G-alpha protein mutation affects temporal filtering in AWC and alters steering behavior in a way that supports an active sensing model for chemotaxis. Thus, temporal features of sensory neurons can be propagated across circuits to specify behavioral dynamics.
Experimental Results on Crack Inversion

The work reported here is part of a program on flaw detection in turbine rotor components. The goal is to image or map non-surface breaking fatigue cracks near the bore hole surface of an aircraft engine disk with the aid of ultrasonic inversion techniques. Presented are results of inversion of both pitchcatch and pulse-echo data with the inversion technique discussed in detail in the companion paper [1].
FORTRAN source listing for simulating three-dimensional convergent beam patterns with absorption by the Bloch wave method.

The FORTRAN source code is given for a computer program that calculates the two-dimensional intensity distribution in convergent-beam transmission electron microdiffraction (CBED) patterns from perfect crystals. The program uses the eigenvalue or Bloch-ware method. It allows three-dimensional dynamical diffraction, and so includes all higher-order Laue zone effects without approximation. No symmetry reduction is included. The program accepts noncentrosymmetric or centrosymmetric crystal structures and allows absorption corrections to be included. It uses the “EISPACK” subroutines for the diagonalisation of a general complex matrix. Up to 100 CBED disks may be included. The code is also available via “Bitnet”.
Remote Sensing of Coastal and Ocean Currents: An Overview

Abstract KLEMAS, V., 2012. Remote sensing of coastal and ocean currents: an overview. Ocean currents influence the global heat transport; weather and climate; larval transport; drift of water pollutants; sediment transport; and marine transportation. As a result, oceanographers, coastal managers, and ships need up-to-date information on ocean and coastal currents. Arrays of current meter moorings can measure currents at local scales. Shore-based high-frequency radars are able to map coastal currents over a range of up to 200 km. Ocean drifters can be tracked to obtain circulation patterns over larger areas, but may take months to accomplish it. Only satellite remote sensors can determine currents synoptically over extensive ocean and coastal regions. Satellite altimetry is one of the essential remote-sensing techniques for monitoring dynamic ocean conditions, including surface currents, local wind speed, and significant wave height. Satellite altimetry measures sea surface heights, providing data on geost...
Enhanced synthesis of a Mr = 55,000 dalton peptide by senescent human fibroblasts

The secretory protein profiles of early and late passage cultures of human fibroblasts were compared using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. In comparison with early passage cell cultures (40-50% lifespan completed), late passage (greater than 80% of lifespan completed) cell cultures exhibited enhanced production of several peptides in the Mr range 55-60,000. One of those peptides had an apparent molecular weight of Mr = 55,000 and was constitutively present in the late passage cell conditioned medium. Late passage cell cultures synthesized the Mr = 55,000 peptide in the presence or absence of fetal bovine serum. Serum did not enhance its production by early passage cells. Further, production of the peptide was not induced in early passage cell cultures whose proliferation was arrested either by serum starvation or by contact inhibition. Pulse chase studies demonstrated that the peptide appears in the culture medium within 60 min of labeling. There was no evidence that it is derived via degradation of other proteins present either in early passage or late passage cell conditioned media. Further, the production of the 55,000 dalton peptide did not appear to be regulated by factors present in conditioned media. The peptide was detected in the conditioned media produced by late passage cultures of several different cell strains.
Untapped potential- choose wisely

Based on a personal perspective the author derived from a lecture at the American Public Health Association meeting about the power of a choice which can change the course of history, the author presehts a perspective on the choices made regarding ante-natal life and how this effects a loss in human potential and the global health repercussions that can result.
Compactly supported spherically symmetric potentials are uniquely determined by the phase shift of the s-wave

Abstract It is proved that a compactly supported (or decaying faster than any exponential) spherically symmetric potential is uniquely determined by the phase shift δ ( k ) known for all k ∈ ( a , b ), 0 ≤ a b δ ( k ) corresponds to the s -wave. No information about bound state energies and normalizing constants is assumed known.
Inhalational techniques in ambulatory anesthesia

In the current health care environment, anesthesia practitioners are frequently required to reevaluate their practice to be more efficient and cost-effective. Although IV induction with propofol and inhalational induction with sevoflurane are both suitable techniques for outpatients, patients prefer IV induction. Maintenance of anesthesia with the newer inhaled anesthetics (ie, desflurane and sevoflurane) provide for a rapid early recovery as compared with infusion of propofol (ie, TIVA), while allowing easy titratability of anesthetic depth. Titration of hypnotic sedatives using BIS monitoring may reduce the time to awakening and thereby may facilitate fast tracking (ie, bypassing the PACU) and reduce hospital stay. Inhalational anesthesia is associated with a higher incidence of PONV, but no differences have been demonstrated with respect to late recovery (eg, PACU stay and home readiness). Although clinical differences between desflurane and sevoflurane appear to be small, desflurane may be associated with faster emergence, particularly in elderly and morbidly obese patients. Balanced anesthesia with IV propofol induction and inhalation anesthesia with N2O for maintenance, and an LMA for airway management, may be an optimal technique for ambulatory surgery. Inhalational anesthesia may have an economic advantage over a TIVA technique.
Association of Serum Creatinine With Abnormal Hemodynamics and Mortality in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background— Renal dysfunction predicts mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. How renal dysfunction relates to hemodynamics and mortality in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) remain...
Solvent-induced formation of unidirectionally curved and tilted Si nanowires during metal-assisted chemical etching

We present a new approach for inducing the formation of unidirectionally slanted or curved silicon nanowires (SiNWs) via metal-assisted chemical etching by introducing various co-solvents to the etching solution. The effects of adding methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and acetonitrile to the HF–H2O2–H2O system are studied. It is demonstrated that simply by controlling the type and the amount of co-solvent, such wires can be fabricated over a large area and the wire curvature can be tuned.
Late onset problem drinking in older adults

After the first descriptions of late onset alcoholism in the early 1970s, no systematic attention followed for more than a decade. In the past 10 years, however, that has changed, and this report seeks to summarize recently acquired knowledge about late onset problem drinking, including the author's own work on this phenomenon. The incidence of new alcoholism cases does decline with age but remains appreciable into the late sixties. Samples of ageing alcoholics in treatment show that as many as ¼ to ⅔ of cases had onset after age 60. Risk factors for late onset alcoholism include female gender, higher socioeconomic status and (in some but not all studies) life stressors, but neither psychiatric comorbidity nor positive family history of alcoholism appears to contribute in a majority of cases. Compared to longstanding alcoholics, late onset cases tend to be milder and more circumscribed, and they may also fluctuate more, with an apparently high likelihood of spontaneous remission, at least over the short term. These characteristics have implications for the use of brief and informal interventions to prevent and reduce late onset problem drinking, but also suggest caution in interpreting the response of late onset cases to treatment in uncontrolled studies. Present knowledge of late onset alcoholism is fragmentary; more systematic clinical research on its characteristics and treatment is needed.
Pediatric Global Health Education: Past, Present, and Future

Recent outbreaks of diseases erroneously thought by many to be contained by borders or eliminated by vaccines have highlighted the need for proper training of all residents in global health. Beyond infectious diseases, all pediatricians should know how to care for other conditions in global child health, ranging from malnutrition to the nuances of care for immigrant and refugee children. The call for broader education for pediatric residents in global health has been increasing over the last decade, with all major pediatric organizations underscoring its importance in statement and action. Herein, the current status of global child health education in pediatric residency training in the United States is summarized, highlighting where it has been, where it is now, and where it should go next.
Natural Gas to Liquid Transportation Fuels and Olefins (GTL + C2_C4)

Abstract Co-production of liquid transportation fuels and olefins from a natural gas feedstock is investigated. A superstructure of alternatives is presented with multiple natural gas conversion routes, hydrocarbon production and upgrading methods, and olefins purification options. The superstructure, which is modeled as a mixed integer nonlinear optimization problem (MINLP), is solved to global optimality using a rigorous branch-and-bound framework. The co-production of fuels and olefins from natural gas is found to be profitable,and the net present value increases at higher olefins production levels.
Characterization of chiral tamoxifen analogs

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005 1219 Characterization of Chiral Tamoxifen Analogs Tamoxifen (TAM), a non-steroidal selective estrogen receptor modulator (SERM), is used for the treatment of estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancer. There are limitations however to its usefulness including a 4-fold increase of endometrial carcinoma associated with long term usage in postmenopausal women and the development of resistance. Based on these problems we have synthesized and evaluate a series of new chiral tamoxifen analogs. These stereo-selective chiral derivatives differ from TAM by replacement of the central double bond with a cyclopropyl moiety, introducing two chiral centers within the molecule. We hypothesize that novel chiral TAM analogs will demonstrate tissue specific activity through ER isotype (α and β) selectivity as well as inducing unique ligand-ER complex conformations. Our studies aim to direct the syntheses of future chiral TAM analogs by determining what effects altering the size, hydrophobicity and stereochemistry of a molecule have on its interaction with ER isotypes. Once characterized, these analogs are not only potential therapeutic agents, but become tools with which to assess SERM-ER interactions. Growth inhibitory properties were analyzed using MCF7-S (ER+ breast cancer cell line), its sublines TAM resistant MCF7/LCC2, Faslodex resistant MCF7/LCC9 (Brunner et al., Cancer Res. 57:3486, 1997) and the ER- breast cancer cell line BT-20. Cell growth was assessed using the sulforhodamine B colorimetric assay. Analog 99149 was found to be 3-fold more potent than TAM and 99148 (its enantiomer) using MCF7-S, while 02009 was found to be 2-fold more potent than TAM against resistant LCC2 cells. Isolated ER competitive binding data correlates ERα binding affinity with growth inhibitive activity in MCF7-S cells. Similar experiments performed with ERβ did not correlate with cell growth inhibitory activity. This suggests that ERα plays a vital role in SERM growth inhibitory activity in MCF7-S cells. Reporter plasmid XETL containing an estrogen response element (ERE) linked to a luciferase gene, enabled the evaluation of direct inhibition of ERE mediated gene expression. MCF7-S cells were transiently transfected with XETL and treated with 100nM of E2 and/or 2μM of TAM or analogs. Agent 99149 was found to be less potent than TAM in inhibiting ERE mediated transcription. This does not directly correlate with the growth inhibitory effects suggesting that the greater antiproliferative activity seen with 99149 may be due to drug effects other than inhibition of ERE gene expression. Structure-function relationships are being analyzed within a set of ten tamoxifen analogs. (This work is supported by NCI Student Training Grant CA09072-28)
PLANT EFFECTS AND MODELING RESPONSES TO UV-B RADIATION

Modeling plant responses to the environment began with pioneering efforts of de Wit (1965), which followed the development of computers suitable for the tasks and the numerical techniques required. In the USA, the earliest efforts with agronomic crops began with Duncan et al. (1967). These efforts have continued with a range of models of ecological system and agricultural crop models.
PRISM-Based Theory of Complex Coacervation: Excluded Volume versus Chain Correlation

Aqueous solutions of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes can undergo liquid–liquid phase separation into materials known as complex coacervates. These coacervates have been a subject of intense experimental and theoretical interest. Efforts to provide a physical description of complex coacervates have led to a number of theories that qualitatively (and sometimes quantitatively) agree with experimental data. However, this agreement often occurs in a degeneracy of models with profoundly different starting assumptions and different levels of sophistication. Theoretical difficulties in these systems are similar to those in most polyelectrolyte systems where charged species are highly correlated. These highly correlated systems can be described using liquid state (LS) integral equation theories, which surpass mean-field theories by providing information on local charge ordering. We extend these ideas to complex coacervate systems using PRISM-type theories and are able to capture effects not observable in tradi...
Abstract 1078: The efficacy of the PARP inhibitors olaparib and veliparib for prevention of breast cancer in a mouse model of BRCA1 deficiency.

Women with inherited mutations in a BRCA gene have a 65-85% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. Currently, “watchful waiting” or bilateral prophylactic mastectomy is offered to these high risk women, although they are ideal candidates for effective chemoprevention. Because BRCA proteins play crucial roles in homologous recombination, inhibiting base excision repair, the default pathway in BRCA-deficient cells, induces cell death in these cells but not in normal cells. PARP (poly ADP ribose polymerase) inhibitors block base excision repair, and PARP inhibitors such as olaparib and veliparib are being evaluated in clinical trials. However, these drugs have not been tested for their ability to prevent cancer. When conditional knockout (co) of BRCA1 is coupled with a mutation in p53, Brca1Co/Co;MMTV-Cre;p53+/− mice develop ER- mammary tumors by 6-10 months of age. In a pilot feeding study, female mice were fed olaparib (200 mg/kg diet) or veliparib (100 mg/kg diet) for 2 wks, and tissue levels averaged 40 nM and 100 nM in plasma and 20 nM and 100 nM in the mammary glands, respectively. When started in diet at 10 wks of age and fed continuously, both drugs significantly (P 14 mice/group). Although both drugs were well-tolerated at these doses, the lowest effective dose of a drug should be used for prevention. In a dose de-escalation study, mice were fed olaparib at 50-100 mg/kg diet. Both doses significantly (P 16 mice/group). Ongoing studies are testing whether olaparib induces apoptosis in the mammary glands and tumors of these mice. In summary, these studies demonstrate that the PARP inhibitors olaparib and veliparib are effective for delaying tumor development in BRCA1-deficient mice. Moreover, dose de-escalation and intermittent treatment are important new strategies that need to be developed for chemoprevention. Supported by Susan G. Komen for the Cure Citation Format: Karen T. Liby. The efficacy of the PARP inhibitors olaparib and veliparib for prevention of breast cancer in a mouse model of BRCA1 deficiency. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1078. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-1078
Optical Properties of the Products of α-Dicarbonyl and Amine Reactions in Simulated Cloud Droplets

Secondary organic aerosol makes up a significant fraction of the total aerosol mass, and a growing body of evidence indicates that reactions in the atmospheric aqueous phase are important contributors to aerosol formation and can help explain observations that cannot be accounted for using traditional gas-phase chemistry. In particular, aqueous phase reactions between small organic molecules have been proposed as a source of light absorbing compounds that have been observed in numerous locations. Past work has established that reactions between α-dicarbonyls and amines in evaporating water droplets produces particle-phase products that are brown in color. In the present study, the complex refractive indices of model secondary organic aerosol formed by aqueous phase reactions between the α-dicarbonyls glyoxal and methylglyoxal and the primary amines glycine and methylamine have been determined. The reaction products exhibit significant absorption in the visible, and refractive indices are similar to those ...
How to Assess Dermatology Resident Surgical Training: New Techniques

Dermatology surgery training is rapidly evolving with an ever increasing focus on resident procedural training. However, surgical training varies greatly between different residency programs. The ACGME requires dermatology training to ensure competency in the surgical treatment of skin disease. It is crucial that residents are provided with ample opportunities to hone their skills and with evaluative methods that are valid, reliable, and objective in order to identify potential resident weaknesses that can be addressed and improved upon to protect patient safety. Newer assessment methods used in other surgical subspecialties include the objective structured assessment of technical skill (OSATS), simulation, gaming, and learning assessments. Further studies are needed to evaluate these tools in dermatologic surgery to meet the need for developing objective and reliable assessment techniques as well as standardized surgical evaluation tools for dermatology residents.
Process Model Linking Daily Political Behavior and Affective Wellbeing: The Role of Gender

Despite significant improvement in women’s career outcomes, the continued gender gap makes it clear that barriers remain. One such barrier explored here is the impact of political behavior in organ...
Pragmatism and Ecological Conservation: The Ideas of John Dewey

Dewey rose to prominence when Theodore Roosevelt started the conservation movement. Accordingly, Dewey criticized business corporations that destroyed virgin lands, polluted rivers, and wasted valuable resources seeking immediate profit. Tying these criticisms to the ways people should think, Dewey contended that people would reduce the dangers of individualism, materialism, and conformity if they sought satisfaction within activities they wanted to pursue. Further, he wanted schools to teach students to think in ways that benefitted the students and the society.
Frozen in Time: A Fresh Look at the Law of the Sea and Why the United States Continues to Fight Against It

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ("UNCLOS") has been a contentious issue for the United States since its entry into force in 1982. Currently there are 167 State Parties to the Convention, yet the United States remains on the outside looking in. As Russia expands its Arctic activities and deep seabed mining becomes economically feasible, many are wondering what features of the treaty continue to prevent the United States from joining? By analyzing the latest round of Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearings on UNCLOS accession, this article examines this question.
Chopin Dreams: The Mazurka in C# Minor, Op. 30, No. 4

Abstract This article views Chopin9s Mazurka in C# Minor, op. 30, no. 4, as akin to a dream that is open to analysis from a Lacanian perspective. After a discussion of Jacques Lacan9s famous orders of subjectivity (the imaginary, the symbolic order, and the Real), the article turns to his idea that a symptom is a message from the Real that demands interpretation. As such, strange moments in Chopin9s Mazurka are like symptoms that require multiple interpretations in order to approach their hidden and overlapping meanings. The article proceeds to view Chopin9s Mazurka through nineteenth-century notions of Orientalism (alterity), nationalism (nostalgia), coming to life (the automaton), tuberculosis (the boundary of life and death), and the uncanny (fragmentation of the body/mind). But just as Lacan argued that we can never reach a final meaning for a symptom, the article concludes that there can be no transcendental signified for the various symptomatic moments in Chopin9s Mazurka. In the end, the Mazurka becomes what Lacan calls a sinthome, a form of subjectivity that is made up of the very symptoms that the subject strives to understand.
Rethinking Sigma’s Graphical Architecture: An Extension to Neural Networks

The status of Sigma’s grounding in graphical models is challenged by the ways in which their semantics has been violated while incorporating rule-based reasoning into them. This has led to a rethinking of what goes on in its graphical architecture, with results that include a straightforward extension to feedforward neural networks (although not yet with learning).
Transcendental Phenomenological Unbuilding to the Tactually, Visually and Auditorily Presented in Prespace

Because it critically incorporates most of the modern scientific and philosophic thought about space perception, the Kantian formulation of the intuition of space will serve, in what follows, as the central point of reference to the historical setting of the problem of space. That setting is important not just because its conflicting specifying assumptions motivate exercise of the phenomenological epoche. It is equally important because the setting requires that a phenomenological account of space establish a basis for distinguishing between kinaesthetic and other sensa-processes while at the same time tracing the ways in which the inherently prespatial acquires the “appearance” of the quasi-objective or objective space of the real world (cf. above, sections 27ff., 37). In its Kantian formulation, the historical setting would seem to require that a phenomenology of space begin with the second step of unbuilding reduction. But this requirement is not so much the demand that a certain reflective procedure be carried out to resolve a certain set of problems as it is that the very innermost possibility of the second step of unbuilding reduction be explored and its limits established.
A Response Model with a Fixed Number of Successive Observations

Since the k observations are not required to be successive, the demand that model FNOB places on the DM’s processing capability may be too stringent, especially if the DM does not keep a record of the values of the observations already taken or if the observation intervals are very short. This, for example, is the case in the psychophysical experiment to be discussed in Chapter 8. To reduce the DM’s cognitive load, or perhaps better account for the decision rule that some DMs may adopt, the present chapter proposes another decision rule based on a fixed number of successive observations.
Using an online quiz-based reinforcement system to teach healthcare quality and patient safety and care transitions at the University of California

Quality issue Implementing quality improvement (QI) education during clinical training is challenging due to time constraints and inadequate faculty development in these areas. Initial assessment Quiz-based reinforcement systems show promise in fostering active engagement, collaboration, healthy competition and real-time formative feedback, although further research on their effectiveness is required. Choice of solution An online quiz-based reinforcement system to increase resident and faculty knowledge in QI, patient safety and care transitions. Implementation Experts in QI and educational assessment at the 5 University of California medical campuses developed a course comprised of 3 quizzes on Introduction to QI, Patient Safety and Care Transitions. Each quiz contained 20 questions and utilized an online educational quiz-based reinforcement system that leveraged spaced learning. Evaluation Approximately 500 learners completed the course (completion rate 66-86%). Knowledge acquisition scores for all quizzes increased after completion: Introduction to QI (35-73%), Patient Safety (58-95%), and Care Transitions (66-90%). Learners reported that the quiz-based system was an effective teaching modality and preferred this type of education to classroom-based lectures. Suggestions for improvement included reducing frequency of presentation of questions and utilizing more questions that test learners on application of knowledge instead of knowledge acquisition. Lessons learned A multi-campus online quiz-based reinforcement system to train residents in QI, patient safety and care transitions was feasible, acceptable, and increased knowledge. The course may be best utilized to supplement classroom-based and experiential curricula, along with increased attention to optimizing frequency of presentation of questions and enhancing application skills.
Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) Abundance Model Improved With Relative Humidity and Precipitation-Driven Egg Hatching

We propose an improved Aedes aegypti (L.) abundance model that takes into account the effect of relative humidity (RH) on adult survival, as well as rainfall-triggered egg hatching. The model uses temperature-dependent development rates described in the literature as well as documented estimates for mosquito survival in environments with high RH, and for egg desiccation. We show that combining the two additional components leads to better agreement with surveillance trap data and with dengue incidence reports in various municipalities of Puerto Rico than incorporating either alone or neither. Capitalizing on the positive association between disease incidence and vector abundance, this improved model is therefore useful to estimate incidence of Ae. aegypti-borne diseases in locations where the vector is abundant year-round.
Obesity modulates diaphragm curvature in subjects with and without COPD.

Obesity is a common comorbidity of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and has been associated with worse outcomes. However, it is unknown whether the interaction between obesity and COPD ...
Spatio-Temporal Join on Apache Spark

Effective processing of extremely large volumes of spatial data has led to many organizations employing distributed processing frameworks. Apache Spark is one such open-source framework that is enjoying widespread adoption. Within this data space, it is important to note that most of the observational data (i.e., data collected by sensors, either moving or stationary) has a temporal component, or timestamp. In order to perform advanced analytics and gain insights, the temporal component becomes equally important as the spatial and attribute components. In this paper, we detail several variants of a spatial join operation that addresses both spatial, temporal, and attribute-based joins. Our spatial join technique differs from other approaches in that it combines spatial, temporal, and attribute predicates in the join operator. In addition, our spatio-temporal join algorithm and implementation differs from others in that it runs in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) application. The users of this functionality are assumed to be GIS analysts with little if any knowledge of the implementation details of spatio-temporal joins or distributed processing. They are comfortable using simple tools that do not provide the ability to tweak the configuration of the
Recovering Predictor-Criterion Relations Using Covariate-Informed Factor Score Estimates.

Although it is currently best practice to directly model latent factors whenever feasible, there remain many situations in which this approach is not tractable. Recent advances in covariate-informe...
The price of independence in simultaneous auctions

We present a computationally feasible method for predicting joint probability distributions over auction clearing prices, together with a bidding heuristic that exploits these price predictions. We demonstrate experimentally that our heuristic outperforms the state-of-the-art heuristic for bidding in simultaneous, second-price, sealed-bid (SimSPSB) auctions.
Abstract 3462: GM-CSF Mediated Proinflammatory State in Pulmonary Vascular Cells Enhanced by Reduced BMPR-II and Its Association With Vascular Lesions in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Background: Accumulating evidence indicates that inflammation is a necessary component of PAH in human as well as in animal models with haploinsufficinecy of BMPR-II. However, the mechanisms linking loss of BMPR-II with vascular inflammation and pulmonary vascular disease (PVD) are not well defined. TNF- α , a major pro-inflammatory cytokine, is known to increase GM-CSF, a chemokine important in the mobilization of endothelial progenitor and other stem cells to sites of injury. GM-CSF also induces vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation. We hypothesized that that loss of BMPR-II signaling enhances cytokine mediated GM-CSF production that is linked to the pathogenesis of PVD. Methods: we investigated TNF- α mediated GM-CSF production in pulmonary artery (PA) endothelial cell (EC) and PA SMC transfected with BMPR2 siRNA or control siRNA by ELISA and qRT-PCR. Translation efficiency of GM-CSF mRNA was determined by polysome analysis. We also assessed TNF- α and GM-CSF expression in lung tissues removed from patients with Idiopathic PAH(IPAH)(n=11) who had undergone lung transplantation and in unused donor control lungs (n=7) by immunohistochemistry. Results:. In both PA ECs and PA SMC, TNF- α significantly increased GM-CSF mRNA and secreted protein. When we pre-treated PA ECs with BMP-2 (10 and 100ng/ml) we documented a reduction in TNF- α stimulated GM-CSF expression (p α mediated GM-CSF secretion was significantly increased (p α expression was also apparent. Conclusions: Loss of BMPR-II appears to exaggerate the response to proinflammatory cytokines by enhancing translation of GM-CSF mRNA and we speculate that GM-CSF contributes to the pathogenesis of IPAH, by its ability to recruit progenitor cells and to induce SMC proliferation.
Fuel cell powered small unmanned aerial systems (UASs) for extended endurance flights

Small unmanned aerial systems (UASs) have been used for military applications and have additional potential for commercial applications [1-4]. For the military, these systems provide valuable intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and target acquisition (ISRTA) capabilities for units at the infantry, battalion, and company levels. The small UASs are light-weight, manportable, can be hand-launched, and are capable of carrying payloads. Currently, most small UASs are powered by lithium-ion or lithium polymer batteries; however, the flight endurance is usually limited less than two hours and requires frequent battery replacement. Long endurance small UAS flights have been demonstrated through the implementation of a fuel cell system. For instance, a propane fueled solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack has been used to power a small UAS and shown to extend mission flight time. The research and development efforts presented here not only apply to small UASs, but also provide merit to the viability of extending mission operations for other unmanned systems applications.
Hardness Variation in Driven Rivets for Bridge Evaluation

AbstractAnalysis and load rating of historic, riveted steel structures typically requires an assumption of rivet shear strength. The AASHTO Manual for Bridge Evaluation (MBE) provides rivet shear s...
Distribution of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) binding proteins in hepatocellular carcinoma with and without cirrhosis.

193Background: Circulating insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) significantly declines in patients (pts) with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), reflecting damaged hepatocytes. The bioav...
Bridges between Antimalarials and Synaptic Transmission.

Gephyrin-mediated clustering of GABAA and glycine receptors underlies fast inhibitory signaling at central synapses. In this issue of Neuron, Kasaragod et al. (2019) demonstrate that artemisinin antimalarial drugs bind to gephyrin at the same site where the receptor interaction occurs.