cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Short-Term Effects of Ketamine and Isoflurane on Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction in an Experimental Swine Model

Background. General anesthesia is an essential element of experimental medical procedures. Ketamine and isoflurane are agents commonly used to induce and maintain anesthesia in animals. The cardiovascular effects of these anesthetic agents are diverse, and the response of global myocardial function is unknown. Methods. In a series of 15 swine, echocardiography measurements of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were obtained before the animals received anesthesia (baseline), after an intramuscular injection of ketamine (postketamine) and after inhaled isoflurane (postisoflurane). Results. The mean LVEF of an unanesthetized swine was 47 ± 3%. There was a significant decrease in the mean LVEF after administration of ketamine to 41 + 6.5% ( 𝑃 = 0 . 0 0 3 ). The addition of inhaled isoflurane did not result in further decrease in mean LVEF (mean LVEF 38 ± 7.2%, 𝑃 = 0 . 2 2 ). Eight of the swine had an increase in their LVEF with sympathetic stimulation. Conclusions. In our experimental model the administration of ketamine was associated with decreased LV function. The decrease may be largely secondary to a blunting of sympathetic tone. The addition of isoflurane to ketamine did not significantly change LV function. A significant number of animals had returned to preanesthesia LV function with sympathetic stimulation.
MAGNITUDE ESTIMATION WITH AND WITHOUT RE‐SCALING

. Analysis of variance was applied to 3,107 magnitude estimations (ME) obtained upon 173 panelists (16 panels) evaluating the areas of 18 geometric figures. As Butler et al. (1987) pointed out, if a full ANOVA is applied to the values transformed to logarithms, there is no need to re-scale, i.e., normalize the values as is usually done. In fact, even with re-scaling, total variability is not accounted for adequately unless all the sources of variation are partitioned out in the analysis. Under some circumstances, re-scaling is needed: some laboratories re-scale to the arithmetic mean, others to the geometric one. The error was somewhat greater when the data were re-scaled to the arithmetic mean. The residuals of the ME values transformed to logarithms conformed essentially to a normal distribution. Kurtosis was greater, 5.30; otherwise the distribution was close to a log normal one. The average coefficient of variation was <10%.
The Relationship between Admission Criteria and Fieldwork Performance in a Masters-Level OT Program: Implications for Admissions

Occupational therapy (OT) graduate programs strive to produce an effective OT workforce with competent and engaged OT practitioners. Admission into OT graduate programs is an increasingly competitive process, with most programs having more applicants than spaces available. Programs need to select applicants that will be the most successful in meeting graduation requirements, including both academic and clinical components. This pilot study was designed to examine the relationship between admission criteria and fieldwork (FW) performance. The study utilized a retrospective analysis with a convenience sample of 108 students with complete data from a private university in the Midwest. Independent variables of Graduate Record Examination (GRE) subscale scores (GRE-verbal, GRE-quantitative, and GRE-written) and undergraduate Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) were included. The dependent variable was level II FW performance, as measured by the AOTA Fieldwork Performance Evaluation (FWPE). Results of this study found a significant correlation between CGPA and FWPE scores for level IIA FW experiences, and a significant correlation between GRE-written and FWPE scores for level IIB FW experiences. Regression models for FW IIB indicated that GRE-written was a significant predictor of FWPE scores for the FW IIB experience. This pilot study provides information that may be utilized during OT admission processes.
On the relations between intelligent backtracking and failure-driven explanation-based learning in constraint satisfaction and planning

Abstract The ideas of intelligent backtracking (IB) and explanation-based learning (EBL) have developed independently in the constraint satisfaction, planning, machine learning and problem solving communities. The variety of approaches developed for IB and EBL in the various communities have hither-to been incomparable. In this paper, I formalize and unify these ideas under the task-independent framework of refinement search, which can model the search strategies used in both planning and constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). I show that both IB and EBL depend upon the common theory of explanation analysis—which involves explaining search failures, and regressing them to higher levels of the search tree. My comprehensive analysis shows that most of the differences between the CSP and planning approaches to EBL and IB revolve around different solutions to: (a) how the failure explanations are computed; (b) how they are contextualized (contextualization involves deciding whether or not to keep the flaw description and the description of the violated problem constraints); and (c) how the storage of explanations is managed. The differences themselves can be understood in terms of the differences between planning and CSP problems as instantiations of refinement search. This unified understanding is expected to support a greater cross-fertilization of ideas among CSP, planning and EBL communities.
Advanced Thermal Interface Materials

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used to dissipate thermal energy from a heat-generating device to a heat sink via conduction. The growing power density of the electronic device demands next-generation high thermal conductivity and/or low thermal resistance TIMs. This paper discusses the current state-of-art TIM solutions, particularly fusible particles for improved thermal conductivity. The paper will address the benefits and limitations of this approach, and describe a system with unique filler morphology. Thermal resistance and diffusivity/conductivity characterization techniques are also discussed.
Designing Web-based interactive learning environments for problem-based learning

Problem-based learning is a pedagogical strategy that centers learning activities around the investigation and development of solutions to complex and ill-structured authentic problems. A number of difficulties occur when implementing such approaches in schools. To address these difficulties, a software tool called INDIE was built to create Web-based interactive learning environments where students can run simulated experiments, analyze test results, form rationales, and construct arguments to support or refute possible hypotheses. This paper focuses on how INDIE supports problem-based learning by creating an authentic environment that incorporates important aspects in real life, providing tools to help students perform problem-solving and receive coaching and critiquing, providing support for instructors to assess student understanding and provide feedback, and using an interface that allows open-ended inquiry and exploration. We present preliminary results showing Corrosion Investigator, a learning environment delivered by INDIE, to be beneficial for both the students and teacher in a class.
Oscillations in supercoiling drive circadian gene expression in cyanobacteria

The cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 exhibits oscillations in mRNA transcript abundance with 24-h periodicity under continuous light conditions. The mechanism underlying these oscillations remains elusive—neither cis nor trans-factors controlling circadian gene expression phase have been identified. Here, we show that the topological status of the chromosome is highly correlated with circadian gene expression state. We also demonstrate that DNA sequence characteristics of genes that appear monotonically activated and monotonically repressed by chromosomal relaxation during the circadian cycle are similar to those of supercoiling-responsive genes in Escherichia coli. Furthermore, perturbation of superhelical status within the physiological range elicits global changes in gene expression similar to those that occur during the normal circadian cycle.
Spatial and temporal variability in factors affecting mesozooplankton dynamics in Chesapeake Bay: Evidence from biomass size spectra

Zooplankton biomass in Chesapeake Bay was estimated with an optical plankton counter mounted on a towed body (Scanfish). Normalized zooplankton biomass size spectra were calculated for three Bay regions three times a year across 4 yr. Zooplankton biomass was maximum during April, and the zooplankton size at peak biomass was large compared with July and October. The variability of the normalized zooplankton biomass size spectrum in April was related to freshwater input, a proxy for nutrient loading, lower temperatures, and salinities. The normalized zooplankton biomass size spectrum showed little interannual variability in July, and the curvature of the biomass size spectrum was reduced. The lack of variability in July normalized zooplankton biomass size spectra was related to gelatinous zooplankton and fish predators. Normalized zooplankton biomass size spectra in October were similar to April and had the lowest total zooplankton biomass. October normalized zooplankton biomass size spectra were affected by gelatinous predators in the upper Chesapeake Bay and by fish predators in the middle to lower Chesapeake Bay. Food limitation did not appear to affect normalized zooplankton biomass size spectra because measured particulate carbon concentrations were always in excess of estimated maintenance food concentrations. The ratio of phytoplankton biomass to zooplankton biomass was higher than in other aquatic systems and was consistent across the year. The zooplankton biomass-to-fish biomass ratio varied seasonally, with April samples having the highest ratios and October the lowest. The normalized zooplankton biomass size spectra in Chesapeake Bay have more negative, and a wider range of, linear regression slopes than other aquatic systems. Normalized zooplankton biomass size spectra in Chesapeake Bay were influenced by climatologically driven variation in the densities of predators and prey. The variability of the normalized zooplankton biomass size spectrum was indicative of a highly eutrophic ecosystem.
Context dependent substitution biases vary within the human genome

Background: Models of sequence evolution typically assume that different nucleotide positions evolve independently. This assumption is widely appreciated to be an over-simplification. The best known violations involve biases due to adjacent nucleotides. There have also been suggestions that biases exist at larger scales, however this possibility has not been systematically explored. Results: To address this we have developed a method which identifies over- and under-represented substitution patterns and assesses their overall impact on the evolution of genome composition. Our method is designed to account for biases at smaller pattern sizes, removing their effects. We used this method to investigate context bias in the human lineage after the divergence from chimpanzee. We examined bias effects in substitution patterns between 2 and 5 bp long and found significant effects at all sizes. This included some individual three and four base pair patterns with relatively large biases. We also found that bias effects vary across the genome, differing between transposons and non-transposons, between different classes of transposons, and also near and far from genes. Conclusions: We found that nucleotides beyond the immediately adjacent one are responsible for substantial context effects, and that these biases vary across the genome.
How Violence Killed an American Labor Union

The article focuses on a foundational case from 1806 in which a labor union was crushed. Relying on Robert Cover’s seminal insights about legal violence, the article extends Cover's insights to argue that violence is a process involving a multitude of actors the effects of whose actions are experienced by vulnerable defendants like organized labor throughout the lawmaking process. Violence as a process includes the legislature, judge, jury, and the lawyers.
A Multiparametric Imaging of Cellular Coenzymes for Monitoring Metabolic and Mitochondrial Activities

Reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FADH2) are electron carriers that play important roles in a wide range of metabolic activities and mitochondrial functions in eukaryotic cells. NADH and FAD are naturally fluorescent with distinct illumination/emission wavelengths for selective detection. Their autofluorescence is also sensitive to protein binding and local environment. As a result, these intracellular coenzymes have potential as intrinsic biomarkers for a noninvasive imaging of metabolic activities and oxidation–reduction reactions in living cells either in vitro, ex vivo, or in vivo. This chapter highlights recent findings of these coenzymes as natural biomarkers of metabolic and mitochondrial activities with an emphasis on a multiparametric imaging approach.
A Novel Electronic Medical Record–Based Workflow to Measure and Report Colonoscopy Quality Measures

When I was in private practice, pulling adenoma detection rates (ADRs) by physician was easy. In 2007, we developed a method to calculate ADRs, which was a bit cumbersome but effective, and we began tracking them by physician. We provided every partner with his or her ADR as part of a package of quarterly performance metrics. By 2009, we had incorporated endoscopy and pathology into our electronic medical record (EMR) so ADR analysis became automatic. This allowed us to begin publishing our results on our website and ultimately in peer-reviewed journals (Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2009;7:1335–1340 and Gastroenterology 2015;149:952–957). I then moved to an academic medical center where the enterprise-wide EMR (Epic) did not interface with either our endoscopy reporting software or pathology results, and all hope of routine ADR measurement vanished. Everyone working in similar situations can relate to my frustration. In this month’s Road Ahead column, Leiman and colleagues provide a straightforward method to extract ADRs from an Epic EMR. While this still requires physician input, it helps those of us in large health systems measure what is important in our ongoing efforts to reduce the incidence of colon cancer.
A Cognitive Architectural Account of Two-Channel Speech Processing

An important application of cognitive architectures is to provide human performance models that capture psychological mechanisms in a form that can be “programmed” to predict task performance of human-machine system designs. While many aspects of human performance have been successfully modeled in this approach, accounting for multi-talker speech task performance is a novel problem. This paper presents a model for performance in a two-talker task that incorporates concepts from the psychoacoustic study of speech perception, in particular, masking effects and stream formation.
RESEARCH ARTICLE: Explaining Innovation: The Environmental Protection Agency, Rule Making, and Stakeholder Engagement

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been considered one of the most innovative federal agencies in the nation, and the agency recently has employed a new stakeholder engagem...
Uptake and reutilization of surfactant phospholipids by type II cells of isolated perfused lung

To investigate the role of type II alveolar cells in surfactant uptake and reutilization while cells are in situ, the combination of isolated perfused rat lung and type II cell isolation has been used. After an equilibration period, isolated perfused rat lungs received an intratracheal injection of labeled rat surfactant or a labeled bovine-derived preparation, and the perfusion continued. At time intervals less than or equal to 3 h, lungs were lavaged and type II cells isolated. Freshly isolated cells from perfused lungs were highly viable as judged by trypan blue exclusion and by linear incorporation of labeled leucine into trichloroacetic acid precipitable protein during perfusion. After cell isolation, total phospholipid or phosphatidylcholine was extracted from cells. Incorporation of surfactant phosphatidylcholine label into cellular phosphatidylcholine was shown to be linear with time whether lungs received natural rat surfactant or bovine-derived surfactant preparation. Uptake of natural surfactant from alveoli into type II cells was approximately three times greater than uptake of bovine-derived material. Results of administration of 0.5 mumol surfactant phospholipid or 2.0 mumol were similar except that administration of 2.0 mumol of natural rat surfactant caused uptake to become saturated at 1 h of perfusion. An increase in cell-associated phosphatidylcholine occurred whether results were expressed on basis of cellular DNA or specific activity of cellular phosphatidylcholine. Majority of administered surfactant label remained lavage fluid associated at 3 h, whereas remainder was associated with isolated cells or debris from cell preparation. Little label was detected in perfusion medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Dependence of Muscle Moment Arms on In Vivo Three-Dimensional Kinematics of the Knee

Quantification of muscle moment arms is important for clinical evaluation of muscle pathology and treatment, and for estimating muscle and joint forces in musculoskeletal models. Moment arms estimated with musculoskeletal models often assume a default motion of the knee derived from measurements of passive cadaveric flexion. However, knee kinematics are unique to each person and activity. The objective of this study was to estimate moment arms of the knee muscles with in vivo subject- and activity-specific kinematics from seven healthy subjects performing seated knee extension and single-leg lunge to show changes between subjects and activities. 3D knee motion was measured with a high-speed stereo-radiography system. Moment arms of ten muscles were estimated in OpenSim by replacing the default knee motion with in vivo measurements. Estimated inter-subject moment arm variability was similar to previously reported in vitro measurements. RMS deviations up to 9.0 mm (35.2% of peak value) were observed between moment arms estimated with subject-specific knee extension and passive cadaveric motion. The degrees of freedom that most impacted inter-activity differences were superior/inferior and anterior/posterior translations. Musculoskeletal simulations used to estimate in vivo muscle forces and joint loads may provide significantly different results when subject- and activity-specific kinematics are implemented.
Inter-pregnancy interval and adverse outcomes: Evidence for an additional risk in health disparate populations

AbstractObjective: Short interpregnancy interval (IPI), <18 months between pregnancies, is a potential cause of adverse delivery and birth outcomes, and may be a particular issue among those with other risks. Our goal was to examine IPI and delivery/infant complications in Tennessee.Methods: Birth certificate/vital records data included 101,912 women with a previous delivery. IPI groups (<6, 6–12, 12–18, 18–60 months) were compared on outcomes.Results: Thirty-nine percent of the deliveries had IPI <18 months, 9% were <6 months, rates 11% and 27% higher than nationally. Women with IPI <18 months were younger, lower educated with lower income, had higher BMIs, and were more likely to be unmarried, smokers, and have begun prenatal care later (p < .001). In adjusted analyses, IPI <18 months predicted elevated risk for precipitous labor, low-birth weight, preterm delivery, NICU admission, and infant mortality, with effects strongest for IPI <6 months. Finally, risks related to IPI <6 months were substantially ...
Effect of Volume Expansion on Phosphate Transport in Uremic Dogs

Functional adaptation for renal phosphate transport in chronic renal failure has generally been considered to be mainly the result of secondary hyperparathyroidism (1, 2). On the other hand, it has also been reported that uremic animals can maintain phosphate homeostasis in the absence of parathyroid glands (3). Our present clearance and micropuncture studies were designed to re-evaluate the role of parathyroid hormone (PTH) in phosphate adaptation of uremic remnant kidney dogs.
Investigation of an advanced concurrent 44/60-GHz dual-band phased array for communications and sensing

A millimeter-wave 16-element 44/60-GHz concurrent dual-band phased-array front end capable of two-dimensional scanning with orthogonal polarizations for wireless communications and sensing has been investigated. Simulated results of the phased array front end show its concurrent performance at 44 and 60 GHz. In the receive (RX) mode, it has noise figure of 7.3/7.1 and 7.4/7.2 dB at the radiating elements and total array gain of 9.9/14.1 and 7.8/11.7 dB for the horizontal (H)/vertical (V) polarization at 44 and 60 GHz, respectively. In the Transmit (TX) mode at 44 and 60 GHz, it achieves a radiated power of 14.7 and 13.8 dBm at each antenna element and total gain of 21.4 and 10.4 dB for H- or V-polarization, respectively. The phased array also achieves ultra-high isolations of 75/73 dB and 120/118 dB at 44/60 GHz from TX to RX for H- and V-polarization, respectively.
Complex Coacervation: Chemically Stable Fibers Electrospun from Aqueous Polyelectrolyte Solutions

In this study, we provide the first demonstration that aqueous complex coacervates can be electrospun into chemically robust polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) fiber mats. PECs form due to electrostatic complexation between oppositely charged polymers. Here, we exploit the ability of salt to plasticize PECs, thus enabling the electrospinning of solid fibers. Electrospinning solutions were composed of a pair of strong polyelectrolytes, poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid, sodium salt) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) using potassium bromide as the plasticizing salt. We systematically investigated the effect of salt concentration and electrospinning apparatus parameters on fiber formation. Electrospun PEC fiber mats were stable over a wide range of pH values, ionic strength conditions, and many organic solvents. This study demonstrates that the electrospinning of aqueous complex coacervates can generate chemically robust, free-standing PEC fiber mats while circumventing the reliance on organic solvents, the ch...
Biological Age, Not Chronological Age, Is Associated with Late-Life Depression.

Background The pathophysiology of late-life depression (LLD) is complex and heterogeneous, with age-related processes implicated in its pathogenesis. This study examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between depressive symptoms and a baseline multibiomarker algorithm of biological age (BA) that aggregates indicators of inflammatory, metabolic, cardiovascular, lung, liver, and kidney functioning. Method Data were analyzed from 2,776 men and women from the prospective observational Health Aging and Body Composition Study, who had both evaluable chronological age (CA) and BA. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Results A covariate-adjusted regression model showed that BA (B = 0.03, p = .0471) but not CA (B = -0.01, p = .7185) is associated with baseline CES-D scores. The mean baseline BA for individuals with a CES-D ≥ 10 was 1.28 years greater than in those with a CES-D < 10. Comparatively, there is only a 0.05-year difference in mean CA between the two depression groups. A covariate-adjusted longitudinal model found that baseline BA predicts CES-D score at follow-up (B = 0.04, p = .0058), whereas CA does not (B = 0.03, p = .4125). Additionally, an older BA significantly predicted a CES-D ≥ 10 (B = 0.02, p = .032) over a 10-year period. Conclusions A multibiomarker index of an older adult's BA outperformed their CA in predicting subsequent increased and clinically significant depressive symptoms. This result supports the evolving view of LLD as a brain disorder resulting from deleterious age-associated changes across numerous physiological systems.
Quantum Coherent Excitation Energy Transfer by Carotenoids in Photosynthetic Light Harvesting.

It remains an open question whether quantum coherence and molecular excitons created by delocalization of electronic excited states are essential features of the mechanisms that enable efficient light capture and excitation energy transfer to reaction centers in photosynthetic organisms. The peridinin–chlorophyll a protein from marine dinoflagellates is an example of a light-harvesting system with tightly clustered antenna chromophores in which quantum coherence has long been suspected, but unusually it features the carotenoid peridinin as the principal light absorber for mid-visible photons. We report that broad-band two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy indeed reveals the initial presence of exciton relaxation pathways that enable transfer of excitation from peridinin to chlorophyll a in <20 fs, but the quantum coherence that permits this is very short-lived. Strongly coupled excited-state vibrational distortions of the peridinins trigger a dynamic transition of the electronic structure of the system ...
Isothermal Formation of Martensite at Subzero. Temperatures in a high chromium steel

Isothermal formation of martensite occurs in the range of −65° to −197°C and is always preceded by some athermal transformation. By rapid cooling the isothermal, but not the athermal, component of transformation can be suppressed. Stabilization against isothermal transformation can be induced by cycling from below M, to room temperature.
ED Glucose and WBC Count as Predictors of Abnormal Head CT in Elderly TBI Patients (P05.204)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the cut- off values for ED glucose and WBC count that predicts abnormal head CT in elderly TBI patients (≥55 years). BACKGROUND: Lab values as predictors of abnormal head CT findings in TBI aren9t researched well. DESIGN/METHODS: This is an observational chart review of consecutive elderly patients (≥55 years) who came to the ED department of a tertiary care hospital in North Central Florida with a TBI.Outcome variable was any abnormality on head CT scan(extracalvarial swelling,fracture of skull,and/or intracranial bleeding).Predictors were alteration of consciousness(AOC),post-traumatic amnesia(PTA),loss of consciousness(LOC),seizure, and vomiting after TBI.ED glucose and WBC count levels were also predictors. RESULTS: The cohort included 424 patients.Positive AOC and PTA are individual predictors of abnormal head CT.Also, increased ED glucose and WBC are predictors of abnormal head CT. The glucose level was divided in 2 groups (≤130 mg/dl and >130 mg/dl), and WBC count was divided in 2 groups (≤14000/cu mm and >14000 cu/mm). After division, individuals with higher WBC and glucose values are associated with higher likelihood of getting abnormal head CT. Two separate logistic regression models were developed to see the predictive effects of higher WBC and higher Glucose values on getting abnormal head CTs in presence of AOC,PTA,and age. Higher glucose group(>130 mg/dl) is associated with higher chances of abnormal head CT(p=0.01, OR=2.19) when controlling for age, AOC and LOC. The same is true for higher WBC levels (p=0.0002, OR=8.43). In presence of AOC, PTA and glucose>130 m/d, 95% patients had abnormal head CT, while 100% patients with AOC,PTA,and WBC>14000/cu mm had abnormal head CT. CONCLUSIONS: In our cohort, in elderly TBI patients (≥55 years), the increased values of ED glucose (>130 mg/dl) and WBC count (>14000/cu mm) are highly predictive of abnormal head CT in presence of AOC and PTA, regardless of severity or mechanism of injury. Disclosure: Dr. Bodhit has nothing to disclose. Dr. Daneshvar has nothing to disclose. Dr. Patel has nothing to disclose. Dr. Elie-Turenne has nothing to disclose. Dr. Miller has nothing to disclose. Dr. Stead has nothing to disclose.
Supreme Court of India legalizes passive euthanasia

Recently, India joined a select group of countries worldwide such as Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Switzerland and the states of Oregon and Washington in the United States in legalizing the administration of passive euthanasia.
ACE-Cost: acquisition cost efficient classifier by hybrid decision tree with local SVM leaves

The standard prediction process of SVM requires acquisition of all the feature values for every instance. In practice, however, a cost is associated with the mere act of acquisition of a feature, e.g. CPU time needed to compute the feature out of raw data, the dollar amount spent for gleaning more information, or the patient wellness sacrificed by an invasive medical test, etc. In such applications, a budget constrains the classification process from using all of the features. We present, Ace-Cost, a novel classification method that reduces the expected test cost of SVM without compromising from the classification accuracy. Our algorithm uses a cost efficient decision tree to partition the feature space for obtaining coarse decision boundaries, and local SVM classifiers at the leaves of the tree to refine them. The resulting classifiers are also effective in scenarios where several features share overlapping acquisition procedures, hence the cost of acquiring them as a group is less than the sum of the individual acquisition costs. Our experiments on the standard UCI datasets, a network flow detection application, as well as on synthetic datasets show that, the proposed approach achieves classification accuracy of SVM while reducing the test cost by 40%-80%.
Current progress and future challenges in rare-earth-free permanent magnets

Abstract Permanent magnets (PM) are critical components for electric motors and power generators. Key properties of permanent magnets, especially coercivity and remanent magnetization, are strongly dependent on microstructure. Understanding metallurgical processing, phase stability and microstructural changes are essential for designing and improving permanent magnets. The widely used PM for the traction motor in electric vehicles and for the power generator in wind turbines contain rare earth elements Nd and Dy due to their high maximum energy product. Dy is used to sustain NdFeB's coercivity at higher temperature. Due to the high supply risk of rare earth elements (REE) such as Dy and Nd, these elements are listed as critical materials by the U.S. Department of Energy and other international institutes. Other than Dy, finer grain size is also found to have effect on sustaining coercivity at higher temperature. A proper control of phase stability and microstructures has direct impact on mitigating REE supply risk. Compared to rare earth PMs, non-rare earth (non-RE) PMs typically have lower maximum energy products, however, given their small supply risks and low cost, they are being intensively investigated for less-demanding applications. The general goal for the development of non-RE PMs is to fill in the gap between the most cost-effective but low performing hard ferrite magnet and the most expensive but high performing RE PMs. In the past five years great progress has been made toward improving the microstructure and physical properties of non-RE PMs. Several new candidate materials systems were investigated, and some have showed realistic potential for replacing RE PMs for some applications. In this article, we review the science and technology of various types of non-RE materials for PM applications. These materials systems include Mn based, high magnetocrystalline anisotropy alloys (MnBi and MnAl compounds), spinodally decomposing alloys (Alnico), high-coercivity tetrataenite L10 phase (FeNi and FeCo), and nitride/carbide systems (such as α" based, high saturation magnetization Fe16N2 type phase and Co2C/Co3C acicular particle phase). The current status, challenges, potentials as well as the future directions for these candidates non-RE magnet materials are discussed.
Bcl2-Expressing Quiescent Type B Neural Stem Cells in the Ventricular–Subventricular Zone Are Resistant to Concurrent Temozolomide/X-Irradiation

The ventricular-subventricular zone (V-SVZ) of the mammalian brain is a site of adult neurogenesis. Within the V-SVZ reside type B neural stem cells (NSCs) and type A neuroblasts. The V-SVZ is also a primary site for very aggressive glioblastoma (GBM). Standard-of-care therapy for GBM consists of safe maximum resection, concurrent temozolomide (TMZ), and X-irradiation (XRT), followed by adjuvant TMZ therapy. The question of how this therapy impacts neurogenesis is not well understood and is of fundamental importance as normal tissue tolerance is a limiting factor. Here, we studied the effects of concurrent TMZ/XRT followed by adjuvant TMZ on type B stem cells and type A neuroblasts of the V-SVZ in C57BL/6 mice. We found that chemoradiation induced an apoptotic response in type A neuroblasts, as marked by cleavage of caspase 3, but not in NSCs, and that A cells within the V-SVZ were repopulated given sufficient recovery time. 53BP1 foci formation and resolution was used to assess the repair of DNA double-strand breaks. Remarkably, the repair was the same in type B and type A cells. While Bax expression was the same for type A or B cells, antiapoptotic Bcl2 and Mcl1 expression was significantly greater in NSCs. Thus, the resistance of type B NSCs to TMZ/XRT appears to be due, in part, to high basal expression of antiapoptotic proteins compared with type A cells. This preclinical research, demonstrating that murine NSCs residing in the V-SVZ are tolerant of standard chemoradiation therapy, supports a dose escalation strategy for treatment of GBM. Stem Cells 2019;37:1629-1639.
Other Situations Involving Group Matrices

This chapter sketches various situations in which the tools described in this book have appeared. They are: 1. The characterization of those class functions on a group which are group characters. 2. The use of group matrices in the theory of group rings. 3. The application of group matrices to the theory of cogrowth of groups. 4. Work of Poincare on differential equations. 5. The connection between factors of the group determinant and Chern classes. 6. The appearance of the group matrix as a Gram matrix for tight frames with a symmetry group, which have appeared in the theory of wavelets. 7. The theory of 3-manifolds. 8. Control theory and electrical engineering. 9. The algebra defined by considering the k-classes under multiplication.
In Their Own Best Interest: A History of the U.S. Effort to Improve Latin Americans. By Lars Schoultz. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2018. Pp. 392. $35.00.)

Lars Schoultz's Their Own Best Interest is an analysis of US policy toward Latin America from the late‐nineteenth century into our twenty‐first century, with a focus on efforts to “uplift” the regi...
Electoral Participation in Iran’s Parliamentary Politics: Between Two Competing Explanations

The paper uncovers determinants of turnout in Iran by studying the role of institutional and socio-economic variables in parliamentary politics since the 2000s. The paper argues that Iran’s electoral system has dichotomized the pattern of participation between center and periphery. The dynamic of participation in the center stems primarily from national shifts in the factional rule. However, in provincial peripheries, Iran’s electoral system promotes the personal particularistic demands of voters in the MP-citizen linkage. In this environment, the discretionary power of local state machinery over the daily lives of provincial citizens lays the ground for the role of local bureaus to influence participation. This argument draws on statistical analysis of parliamentary turnout and the study of several Iranian newspapers and official reports. The findings of the paper suggest a new mechanism by which institutional settings may shape the pattern of participation more generally.
Dysregulated lipid and fatty acid metabolism link perfluoroalkyl substances exposure and impaired glucose metabolism in young adults.

Abstract Background Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) exposure is ubiquitous among the US population and has been linked to adverse health outcomes including cardiometabolic diseases, immune dysregulation and endocrine disruption. However, the metabolic mechanism underlying the adverse health effect of PFASs exposure is unknown. Objective The aim of this project is to investigate the association between PFASs exposure and altered metabolic pathways linked to increased cardiometabolic risk in young adults. Methods A total of 102 young adults with 82% overweight or obese participants were enrolled from Southern California between 2014 and 2017. Cardiometabolic outcomes were assessed including oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) measures, body fat and lipid profiles. High-resolution metabolomics was used to quantify plasma exposure levels of three PFAS congeners and intensity profiles of the untargeted metabolome. Fasting concentrations of 45 targeted metabolites involved in fatty acid and lipid metabolism were used to verify untargeted metabolomics findings. Bayesian Kernel Machine Regression (BKMR) was used to examine the associations between PFAS exposure mixture and cardiometabolic outcomes adjusting for covariates. Mummichog pathway enrichment analysis was used to explore PFAS-associated metabolic pathways. Moreover, the effect of PFAS exposure on the metabolic network, including metabolomic profiles and cardiometabolic outcomes, was investigated. Results Higher exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was associated with higher 30-minute glucose levels and glucose area under the curve (AUC) during the OGTT (p Conclusions Increased lipolysis and fatty acid oxidation could contribute to the biological mechanisms linking PFAS exposure and impaired glucose metabolism among young adults. Findings of this study warrants future experimental studies and epidemiological studies with larger sample size to replicate.
Impact of COVID-19 on Recovered Athletes Returning to Competitive Play in the NBA “Bubble”

Background:The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has had far-reaching implications for the world of professional sports. The National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended active regular season p...
Stochastic Modeling of an Infectious Disease, Part III-B: Analysis of the Time-Nonhomogeneous BDI Process and Simulation Experiments of both BD and BDI Processes

In Section 1, we revisit the partial differential equation (PDE) for the probability generating function (PGF) of the time-nonhomogeneous BDI (birth-and-death-with-immigration) process and derive a closed form solution. To the best of our knowledge, this is a new mathematical result. We state this result as Proposition 1. We state as Corollary 1 that the negative binomial distribution of the time-homogeneous BDI process discussed in Part I extends to the general time-nonhomogeneous case, provided that the ratio of the immigration rate to the birth rate is a constant. In section 1.2, we take up the heuristic approach discussed by Bartlett and Bailey (1964), and carry it out to completion by arriving at the solution obtained above,. In Section 2, we present the results of our extensive simulation experiments of the time-nonhomogeneous BD process that was analyzed in Part III-A and confirm our analytic results. In Section 3, we undertake similar simulation experiments for the BDI process that is analyzed in Section 1. As we discuss in Section 4, our stochastic model now seems more promising and powerful than has been heretofore expected. In Appendix B, a closed form solution for the M(t)/M(t)/infinity queue is obtained, as a special case of this BDI process model.
Early Holocene Adaptations of the Santa Barbara Channel

The previous three chapters summarized faunal and artifactual data from three early archaeological sites of the western Santa Barbara coast. As we will see, the variability evident in these sites appears to reflect different aspects of a broader adaptation by early maritime hunter-gatherers. The data provide a unique opportunity to examine the structure of an early Holocene coastal adaptation, as well as variation in the settlement and subsistence patterns of early Millingstone groups. In this chapter, I take a more detailed look at the variability among Santa Barbara Channel sites dating earlier than about 7,500 years ago.
Making Sense of Dreaming

Dreaming An Introduction to the Science of Sleep. J. Allan Hobson. Oxford University Press, New York, 2002. 180 pp. $22, £11.99. ISBN 0-19-280304-2. Building on findings from basic brain research, lab studies of sleep, clinical studies of sleep and dreams, and his records of his own dreams, Hobson explores the mechanisms and functions of dreams and sleep.
Using Established Medical Criteria to Define Disability: A Proposal to Amend the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) prohibits discrimination in employment, public services, and public accommodations against individuals with disabilities. The threshold question, however, of who is an individual with a disability has proven to be more complicated, contentious, and confusing than any of the ADA's drafters ever could have imagined. The law does not prohibit all discrimination based on disability, and it does not prohibit discrimination against all individuals with disabilities. Instead, it prohibits disability-based discrimination against a subset of individuals with disabilities who have "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits" the individual in one or more major life activities.javascript:void(0);
Factors in neonatal resistance to anoxia. III. Potentiation by narcosis of the effects of hypothermia in the newborn guinea pig.

Abstract The influence of narcosis by pentobarbital sodium upon the ability of neonatal guinea pigs to resist asphyxia was analyzed with the following results: 1. 1. Narcotized animals tolerated lower temperatures before gasping commenced and recovered from temperatures which were lethal to untreated controls. 2. 2. T.O.D. (time of death) experiments showed that pentobarbital produced prolongations of survival time in the asphyxiated state from 17 per cent at 40° C. to 101 per cent at 15.5° C. 3. 3. When the narcotized animals were removed from the asphyxiation chamber at the time of death of the nonnarcotized littermate controls, most of the narcotized animals at warmer temperatures recovered spontaneously; all of those at the two lower temperatures recovered. The majority of narcotized and cooled animals recovered from exposure twice as long as was lethal for warm, nonnarcotized littermates. 4. 4. Comparison of survival times of animals narcotized before cooling with those narcotized afterward indicated that struggling of the conscious animal in ice water did not affect its resistance to asphyxia. 5. 5. Chlorpromazine was found to be less effective than pentobarbital at normothermic temperatures, and when the two were combined neither showed evidence of potentiating the effects of the other. 6. 6. Oxygen consumption measurements showed that pentobarbital produced depression in oxygen uptake both at high and at low body temperatures, which correlated well with the previously determined degree of prolongation of survival of asphyxiated animals at these temperatures. 7. 7. Studies utilizing contrast radiography showed that at 15° C. there was severe arterial vasoconstriction in controls, but not in narcotized animals. These suggest that one important means by which the resistance of animals narcotized with pentobarbital is enhanced at low temperatures may be the prevention of vasoconstriction at temperatures in the neighborhood of 15° C.
Cloud Computing Technologies and Applications

In a nutshell, the existing Internet provides to us content in the forms of videos, emails and information served up in web pages. With Cloud Computing, the next generation of Internet will allow us to “buy” IT services from a web portal, drastic expanding the types of merchandise available beyond those on e-commerce sites such as eBay and Taobao. We would be able to rent from a virtual storefront the basic necessities to build a virtual data center: such as CPU, memory, storage, and add on top of that the middleware necessary: web application servers, databases, enterprise server bus, etc. as the platform(s) to support the applications we would like to either rent from an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) or develop ourselves. Together this is what we call as “IT as a Service,” or ITaaS, bundled to us the end users as a virtual data center.
Interaction in Online Learning Environments: A Review of the Literature

This article reviews research related to the construct of interaction in the educational technology and distance education literature. The review is limited to higher education and includes theories and empirical research that inform the construct of online interactions. Conceptual and operational definitions of interaction are categorized from three frameworks emerging from the review: interaction as an instructional exchange, interaction as computer-mediated communication, and interaction as a social/psychological connection. Gaps in the research are identified and similarities that inform practice in designing and teaching in online learning environments are presented to provide linkages from research to practice.
Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

A lot of people wonder how Chinese parents raise such stereotypically successful kids. They wonder what Chinese parents do to produce so many math whizzes and music prodigies, what it's like inside the family, and whether they could do it too. Well, I can tell them, because I've done it...Amy Chua's daughters, Sophia and Louisa (Lulu) were polite, interesting and helpful, they were two years ahead of their classmates in maths and had exceptional musical abilities. But Sophia and Lulu were never allowed to attend a sleepover, be in a school play, choose their own extracurricular activities, get any grade less than an A, and not be the #1 student in every subject (except gym and drama). And they had to practice their instruments for hours every day, as well as in school breaks and on family holidays. The Chinese-parenting model certainly seemed to produce results. But what happens when you do not tolerate disobedience and are confronted by a screaming child who would sooner freeze outside in the cold than be forced to play the piano? In Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua relates her experiences raising her children the 'Chinese way', and how dutiful, patient Sophia flourished under the regime and how tenacious, hot-tempered Lulu rebelled. It is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. It's also about Mozart and Mendelssohn, the piano and the violin, and how they made it to Carnegie Hall. It was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how you can be humbled by a thirteen-year-old. Witty, entertaining and provocative, this is a unique and important book that will transform your perspective of parenting forever.
A high speed, segmented, SRAM based FPGA architecture for the masses

Intel's FLEXlogic FPGA family is a segmented architecture, SRAM-based family with on-chip non-volatile memory. The architecture is quick to learn and easy to use for designers with standard PLD experience. Devices are organized into configurable function blocks (CFBs). Each CFB can be configured as a PLD block or as a bank of SRAM. CFBs configured as PLD blocks include advanced features that provide significant design flexibility and high integration. Truly predictable timing simplifies the design and simulation process. The inherent speed of the FLEXlogic FPGA family together with its selectable 3.3 V or 5 V I/O allows it to be used in areas where existing FPGA architectures cannot operate. The iFX780, the first member of the family, illustrates the architecture.