cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Power Lateral Silicon Carbide Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches and Investigation of Degradation Mechanisms

Several generations of high power, lateral, linear mode, intrinsically triggered 4H-SiC photoconductive semiconductor switch designs and their performance are presented. These switches were fabricated from high purity semi-insulating 4H-SiC samples measuring 12.7 mm × 12.7 mm × 0.36 mm and were able to block dc electric fields up to 370 kV/cm with leakage currents less than 10 μA without failure. Switching voltages and current s up to 26 kV and 450 A were achieved with these devices and ON-state resistances of 2 Ω were achieved with 1 mJ of 355 nm laser energy (7 ns FWHM). After fewer than 100 high power switching cycles, these devices exhibited cracks near the metal/SiC interface. Experimental and simulation results investigating the root cause of this failure mechanism are also presented. These results strongly suggest that a transient spike in the magnitude of the electric field at the metal/SiC interface during both switch closing and opening is the dominant cause of the observed cracking.
Assessment of the Cytotoxic Potential of Tecoma castanifolia (D. Don) Melch Flower Extract Against MCF-7 Cell Line

Objective: Bignoniaceae is a family having 100 genera of flowering plants. This family has many species with effective cytotoxic activity. One of its genuses, Tecoma contains 14 species and they are referred as trumpet trees. Tecoma species has various uses recorded in folk medicine and are being explored scientifically. Flowers of one of the species T.castanifolia is assessed for its potential. Method: Fresh and healthy flowers were collected and were cold extracted with solvents viz., chloroform, ethyl acetate and methanol; filtered through Whatmann No.1 filter paper and evaporated to dryness. The extracts were subjected to MTT assay against MCF-7 cell line. Result: The extraction yielded a gummy extract which were stored in a glass vial. The preliminary data shows that of the extracts tested the ethyl acetate extract has the highest cytotoxic activity in vitro against MCF-7 cell line. The 50% growth inhibition concentration of the ethyl acetate extract was obtained at 180μg/ml. Concluison: The study shows that the ethyl acetate extract has fair cytotoxicity and can be tested with other cell lines. Further, studies pertaining to their composition of phytochemicals etc need to be done.
Representation of Microstructure and Mechanical Behavior of Polycrystals

We review the group theoretical basis of the result that the observed mechanical behavior of a material can be represented by constitutive (differential) equations which govern the evolution of state variables and that these variables are even rank irreducible tensors. On the other hand microscopic observations of internal structure of a polycrystal produce functions that are defined on “curved” objects such as the unit sphere of directions or the set of distinct orientations of a cube, etc. We show, in terms of an example (the crystallite orientation distribution function for a macroscopically homogeneous polycrystal composed of grains of a cubic crystalline solid) that representations of such functions give rise to Fourier coefficients that are also irreducible tensors. The tensorial state variables will be related to these tensorial Fourier coefficients. A major problem of mechanics of materials is to develop methods that enable one, for a given material and for a given purpose, to extract tensorial state variables and the laws for their evolution from the knowledge obtained from the studies of the microstructure and behavior of the material.
High-Q Etchless Silicon Ring Resonators

We demonstrate high-Q silicon ring resonators fabricated by selective oxidation without any silicon etching. We achieve an intrinsic quality factor of 480,000 in 50 µm radii rings with ring losses of 0.9 dB/cm.
A Theoretical and Computational Analysis of Linear Free Energy Relations for the Estimation of Activation Energies

We present a theoretical and computational analysis to elucidate the relation of the Bronsted–Evans–Polanyi (BEP) and transition state scaling (TSS) correlations. We find that the TSS correlation is an approximation of the BEP correlation. The BEP correlation allows for the straightforward identification of homologous series via standard statistical tests and has better error properties than the TSS correlations. We find that the unit cell size used in the DFT calculations does not have a significant effect on the correlation parameters; however, the zero point energy correction does have a significant effect on the correlation parameters, especially for (de)hydrogenation reactions. We propose a method for using this information to estimate zero-point-energy-corrected activation energies without resorting to calculations of the zero point energy correction for every species. Finally, we find that BEP correlations derived for one parent molecule may be applicable to other molecules beyond the training set.
Nodal Non-Commutative Jordan Algebras

A finite dimensional power-associative algebra 𝒰 with a unity element 1 over a field J is called a nodal algebra by Schafer (7) if every element of 𝒰 has the form α1 + z where α is in J, z is nilpotent, and if 𝒰 does not have the form 𝒰 = ℐ1 + n with n a nil subalgebra of 𝒰. An algebra SI is called a non-commutative Jordan algebra if 𝒰 is flexible and 𝒰+ is a Jordan algebra. Some examples of nodal non-commutative Jordan algebras were given in (5) and it was proved in (6) that if 𝒰 is a simple nodal noncommutative Jordan algebra of characteristic not 2, then 𝒰+ is associative. In this paper we describe all simple nodal non-commutative Jordan algebras of characteristic not 2.
Marginal structural modelling of associations of occupational injuries with voluntary and involuntary job loss among nursing home workers.

Objectives Qualitative studies have highlighted the possibility of job loss following occupational injuries for some workers, but prospective investigations are scant. We used a sample of nursing home workers from the Work, Family and Health Network to prospectively investigate association between occupational injuries and job loss. Methods We merged data on 1331 workers assessed 4 times over an 18-month period with administrative data that include job loss from employers and publicly available data on their workplaces. Workers self-reported occupational injuries in surveys. Multivariable logistic regression models estimated risk ratios for the impact of occupational injuries on overall job loss, whereas multinomial models were used to estimate OR of voluntary and involuntary job loss. Use of marginal structural models allowed for adjustments of multilevel lists of confounders that may be time varying and/or on the causal pathway. Results By 12 months, 30.3% of workers experienced occupational injury, whereas 24.2% experienced job loss by 18 months. Comparing workers who reported occupational injuries to those reporting no injuries, risk ratio of overall job loss within the subsequent 6 months was 1.31 (95% CI 0.93 to 1.86). Comparing the same groups, injured workers had higher odds of experiencing involuntary job loss (OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.27 to 3.77). Also, compared with uninjured workers, those injured more than once had higher odds of voluntary job loss (OR 1.95; 95% CI 1.03 to 3.67), while those injured once had higher odds of involuntary job loss (OR 2.19; 95% CI 1.18 to 4.05). Conclusions Despite regulatory protections, occupational injuries were associated with increased risk of voluntary and involuntary job loss for nursing home workers.
The Industrial/Consumer Marketing Dichotomy: A Case of Insufficient Justification:

Academicians have traditionally acknowledged that industrial and consumer marketing are different. A fundamental question raised in this paper is whether the importance of these differences is suff...
Relation Between Size of Dose and Lipotropic Effect of Choline Chloride in Mice.

SummaryA 6-day method for the assay of lipotropic substances in the mouse is described. It is shown that a significant relation between the concentration of choline chloride added to a low choline-high fat diet and the lipotropic effect produced exists only at levels approaching the minimum effective dose, under the experimental conditions described.
Thallium magnetic resonance in superconducting Tl2Ba2Ca2Cu3O10+ delta.

Significant frequency shifts of the thallium nuclear-magnetic-resonance(NMR) spectrum have been observed in the super- conducting state of thehigh-temperature superconductor Tl/sub 2/Ba/sub 2/Ca/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 10+/delta//.Measurements at two different magnetic fields indicate thatthe origin of these shifts is mainly due to the field distribution associatedwith vortices in the mixed state. The spin-lattice relaxation measurements areconsistent with an anisotropic energy gap. The NMR linewidth variessignificantly with temperature and magnetic field, apparently inconsistent withthe BCS theory.
Vascular interactions of prostaglandins with thromboxane in kidneys of rats developing hypertension

We investigated the ability of the vasodilator prostaglandins E2 (PGE2) and I2 (PGI2) to counterbalance the vasoconstrictor action of thromboxane A2 (TxA2) in the rat renal vasculature during hypertension. In vivo measurements of renal blood flow (RBF) were made in 6-wk-old anesthetized spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats pretreated with indomethacin. The stable TxA2 agonist U-46619 was injected into the renal artery, and the magnitude and the kinetic parameters of the renal response were evaluated before and after continuous intrarenal infusion of a low dose of PGE2, viprostol (PGE2 analogue), PGI2, and iloprost (PGI2 analogue). The selected dose of vasodilator PGs did not affect arterial pressure and RBF. In the control period, the TxA2 agonist reduced RBF by 30% with a 90-s half time of recovery in both strains. Infusion of vasodilator PGs in young WKY significantly blunted the maximum vasoconstrictor effect of the TxA2 agonist and facilitated the recovery from vasoconstriction...
Cancer mortality among Mexican immigrants in the United States.

In 1980 there were more than 2 million Mexican-born immigrants living in the United States. Mortality statistics for 1979-81 indicate that the standardized mortality ratio for cancer among Mexican immigrants is 72 percent of that among all white males and 77 percent of that among all white females. The age-adjusted death rates of the Mexican-born population for cancers of the lung, colon, rectum, bladder, and breast are significantly lower: less than 60 percent of those for the entire U.S. white population. Excessive levels of cancers of the stomach, liver, and cervix occur among Mexican-born U.S. residents; age-adjusted rates for these sites exceed the rates among the total U.S. white population by more than 75 percent. These data, based on U.S. diagnostic practices, confirm that broad differences--twofold, for some cancer sites--exist between the cancer rates among immigrants from Mexico and other whites in the United States. The close correspondence between the mortality data presented in this study and comparable incidence data from another study indicates that differential survival does not explain the differences in cancer mortality among Mexican immigrants.
Special Needs Fathers: Til Death Do Us Part?

This article is a reflection of dilemma, hopes, and fears of a 65-year-old professional as he thinks about what will happen to his 29-year-old son R afflicted with autism—as he reaches the point of no longer being able to care for him, or dies. Replete with current literature research facts, it describes autism and the associated stigmas faced by both son and Special Needs Father (SNF). It depicts the son's medical history and the father's feelings and hurt in daily life and how the SNF copes with those feelings and hurt. The article is significant since there is little research about SNFs, and almost none on aging SNFs.
The Context: What’s Changing

Among the macro trends affecting global businesses are the rise of emerging markets, shifting demographics across and within countries, accelerating technological changes, continued globalization and trade, evolving organizational forms, and the changing nature of global assignments. Henson discusses the various organizational strategies used by firms to gain competitive advantage in light of these trends. Research indicates that one of these, the transnational strategy, will likely be the most viable for multinationals. Henson proposes several questions for organizations to assess the extent to which they are making progress toward implementing this strategy.
Automated essay evaluation software in English Language Arts classrooms

Automated Essay Evaluation (AEE) systems are being increasingly adopted in the United States to support writing instruction. AEE systems are expected to assist teachers in providing increased higher-level feedback and expediting the feedback process, while supporting gains in students' writing motivation and writing quality. The current study explored these claims using a quasi-experimental study. Four eighth-grade English Language Arts (ELA) classes were assigned to a combined feedback condition in which they received feedback on their writing from their teacher and from an automated essay evaluation (AEE) system called PEG Writingź. Four other eighth-grade ELA classes were assigned to a teacher feedback-only condition, in which they received feedback from their teacher via GoogleDocs. Results indicated that teachers gave the same median amount feedback to students in both condition, but gave proportionately more feedback on higher-level writing skills to students in the combined PEGź+źTeacher Feedback condition. Teachers also agreed that PEG assisted them in saving one-third to half the time it took to provide feedback when they were the sole source of feedback (i.e., the GoogleDocs condition). At the conclusion of the study, students in the combined feedback condition demonstrated increases in writing persistence, though there were no differences between groups with regard to final-draft writing quality. We compare the effects of combining teacher feedback with automated feedback.Teachers using automated feedback gave proportionately more higher-level feedback.The combined feedback condition was associated with greater student persistence.Automated feedback helped save time and effort without sacrificing writing quality.Combining automated teacher and automated feedback benefits teachers and students.
Frailty as Tested by Gait Speed is an Independent Risk Factor for Cirrhosis Complications that Require Hospitalization

Frailty as Tested by Gait Speed is an Independent Risk Factor for Cirrhosis Complications that Require Hospitalization
Unsteady flow structure and loading of a pitching low-aspect-ratio wing

High-fidelity simulations examine dynamic stall over a pitching aspect-ratio-two wing. Dynamic stall leads to an arch-type vortex which can sustain high lift. The arch vortex persists after pitch-up motion ceases. This results from the self-induced velocity of the combined vortex/image system.
The Asymmetric Influence of Attribute Displacement Performance on Customer Evaluation of Service Experiences: An Abstract

This chapter examines how the displacement performance (i.e., a positive or negative change from the prior time period) of service quality attributes influences customers’ service experiences. Random-effect GLS regression is applied to analyze this effect in a sample of over 50,000 observations from the post-transaction surveys of a Fortune 500 rental car company. Results confirm that displacement performance has a significant effect on customer experience evaluation, even after controlling for the influence of attribute positional performance (i.e., the static performance levels) and the customers’ prior overall service experience evaluation. Further analyses indicate that the displacement performance effect is stronger for some service quality attributes when there is a short time interval between service deliveries. Finally, the study shows that negative displacement performance has a greater influence on experience evaluation than positive displacement performance. The results imply that managers should manage displacement perceptions in order to enhance customer experiences.
Methylmercury Exposure Reduces the Auditory Brainstem Response of Zebra Finches ( Taeniopygia guttata )

Mercury contamination from mining and fossil fuel combustion causes damage to humans and animals worldwide. Mercury exposure has been implicated in mammalian hearing impairment, but its effect on avian hearing is unknown. In this study, we examined whether lifetime dietary mercury exposure affected hearing in domestic zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) by studying their auditory brainstem responses (ABRs). Zebra finches exposed to mercury exhibited elevated hearing thresholds, decreased amplitudes, and longer latencies in the ABR, the first evidence of mercury-induced hearing impairment in birds. Birds are a more appropriate model for the human auditory spectrum than most mammals because of similarities in frequency discrimination, vocal learning, and communication behavior. When mercury is considered in combination with other anthropogenic stressors such as noise pollution and habitat alteration, the hearing impairments we document here could substantially degrade avian auditory communication in wild birds.
Derrida y el pensamiento amazónico (La bestia y el soberano / el jaguar y el chamán)

Se propone aqui leer la deconstruccion de la soberania en el seminario de Jacques Derrida, La bestia y el soberano, a la luz del pensamiento amazonico, el cual sugiere que lo que vincula a la soberania con la animalidad no es necesariamente una comun exterioridad con respecto a la ley, sino capacidades compartidas por humanos y no-humanos que no son exteriores ni al lenguaje ni a la politica. En los textos chamanicos suramericanos emerge la relacion isonomica entre el jaguar y el chaman como expresion de una cosmopolitica en la cual se implican y se contienen mutuamente la soberania y la libertad, lo humano y lo no-humano, la vida y la no-vida, la ley y su exterioridad.
Investigating new activators for small-bandgap LaX3 (X = Br, I) scintillators

Abstract Luminescence and scintillation properties of Bi 3+ , Sb 3+ , and Eu 2+ -doped LaI 3 and LaBr 3 were explored. Out of the three dopants investigated, Eu 2+ was the most promising new activator for small-bandgap LaX 3 (X = Br, I) and was further studied in the mixed-halide LaBr 3−x I x . Crystals were grown from the melt using the vertical Bridgman method. LaBr 3 :Eu 2+ 0.5% (mol) had the most favorable scintillation properties with a light output of 43,000 ph/MeV and 6% energy resolution at 662 keV. Performance of LaBr 3−x I x :Eu 2+ worsened for most samples as iodide concentration was increased. Room-temperature scintillation of LaI 3 :Eu 2+ 0.1% and 0.5% was observed and is the first case of room-temperature emission reported for doped LaI 3 .
Human Action Classification Using Temporal Slicing for Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Artificial Neural Networks are a widely used computing system implemented for a wide variety of tasks and problems. A common application of such networks is classification problems. However, a significant amount of this research focuses on one and two-dimensional information, such as vectorized data and images. There is limited research performed on three-dimensional media such as video clips. This can be attributed to a lack of adequate resources, available training datasets, hardware constraints, and appropriate frameworks for implementing such networks. This paper attempts to provide an alternate methodology of feeding three-dimensional video data by preprocessing instead of directly inputting to a deep convolutional neural network. By taking sequential segments from multiple frames of a single video clip and combining them into a single image, the temporal dimension of the video can be encoded as a two-dimensional image. This process is called as temporal slicing and repeated for the entire spatial dimension of the video. The end result is spatio-temporal data encoded in a spatial format, which is then propagated through a convolutional neural network as image data. This method is less resource-intensive and is remarkably faster than pre-existing three-dimensional convolutional methods, while achieving significantly higher accuracy compared to the aforementioned network architectures.
Basic Knowledge of Tracheoesophageal Fistula and Esophageal Atresia.

Background:Tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF) and esophageal atresia (EA) are rare anomalies in neonates. Up to 50% of neonates with TEF/EA will have Vertebral anomalies (V), Anal atresia (A), Cardiac anomalies (C), Tracheoesophageal fistula (T), Esophageal atresia (E), Renal anomalies (R), and Limb an
"It's Just that Visceral": Eliciting Design Insight Using Beaded Representations of Online Course Structure

We explore an unconventional format for representing the structure of online courses-beaded representations. We used this format as a mediational tool to engage a design team in reflective discussion about the design of its courses. We discuss challenges associated with the design of "massive open online courses" (MOOCs) and position beaded representations within the context of human-computer interaction (HCI) literature on materiality, novel representational forms, and the use of boundary objects to support design teams. We describe the outcomes of a focus group session with design team members mediated by the beaded representations, which include: (1) discovery of curricular connections, (2) understanding of learner experience, (3) insights about the design process, and (4) reflection on the method.
Accuracy and Reliability of Autoregressive Parameter Estimates: A Comparison Between Person-Specific and Multilevel Modeling Approaches

This simulation study compares the person-specific (PS) and multilevel modeling (MLM) approaches in the accuracy and reliability of autoregressive (AR) parameter estimates when data are generated from a first-order AR model and the functional form of the analytic model is correctly specified. Influences of a variety of factors on accuracy and reliability are examined, including time series length, sample size, the distribution of the AR coefficients, and the variability of the AR coefficients. Neither sample size nor distribution has an effect on accuracy or reliability. MLM generally has better accuracy than PS at both the population level and the individual level. However, in MLM, individuals who deviate farther from the sample mean are modeled less accurately than individuals who are closer to the sample mean. The two approaches do not differ in the reliability of the AR estimates. For both approaches, higher variability in the AR coefficients is associated with higher reliability. Implications on modeling practices are discussed.
Theory of fluctuations in unsaturated masers.

We develop a theoretical framework for the interpretation of variability in astronomical masers, assumed here to result from the passage of a disturbance through a region of maser activity. The source of the disturbance is not explicitly identified, but is assumed to give rise to a small amplitude, wave-like perturbation in some physical property of the masing region to which the opacity or emissivity is sensitive. The resulting change in the output flux is dependent upon the properties of the masing material and upon the geometry of the masing region. Fluctuations of frequency w in the output flux must arise from Fourier components of the input perturbation at the same frequency. Spherical and cylindrical maser geometries are considered and perturbations traveling nearly parallel or nearly perpendicular to the maser axis are discussed. In particular, it is shown that fluctuation time scales may be smaller than the light crossing time for all maser dimensions if the wavevector of the perturbation is well aligned with the observer's line of sight and the perturbation wave is travelling at or near the speed of light.
Physiological Anatomy of the Retinal Vasculature

The retina has a dual blood supply; the retinal vasculature supplies only the inner retinal layers, while the choroidal vascular bed supplies the outer 130 μm. The main source of arterial supply to the inner retinal layers is by the central retinal artery and, in some eyes, also by the cilioretinal artery. Retinal venous drainage is by the central retinal vein. The retinal capillaries are usually arranged in two layers. In addition, in the region of temporal arcade of vessels there is a special set of capillaries, called the radial peripapillary capillaries. In the center of the fovea, there is an avascular zone. The retinal vasculature has a blood–retinal barrier and its blood flow is autoregulated.
Extracting Heuristics for Designing Sustainable Built Environments by Coupling Multiobjective Evolutionary Optimization and Machine Learning

Abstract In sustainable process design, computational optimization methods are often used to find a single or a set of Pareto optimal or near-optimal solutions. However, knowledge about what makes the solutions optimal can be more valuable as it can be formulated as heuristics for guiding future designs of similar systems. In this paper, we propose a methodology that couples multiobjective optimization and machine learning to extract design heuristics. The methodology has been demonstrated by a case study on sustainable residential system design. Potential heuristics for sustainable buildings include: 1) keep the house as warm as comfortable in the summer and as cold as comfortable in the winter; 2) place vegetable garden, shading trees, and rain water harvesting system around the house. This further indicates the benefits of the synergistic design between technologies and ecosystems. The approach of combining optimization with learning is general enough to be applied to other systems, ranging from local manufacturing processes to urban systems.
Halving warming with idealized solar geoengineering moderates key climate hazards

Solar geoengineering (SG) has the potential to restore average surface temperatures by increasing planetary albedo1–4, but this could reduce precipitation5–7. Thus, although SG might reduce globally aggregated risks, it may increase climate risks for some regions8–10. Here, using the high-resolution forecast-oriented low ocean resolution (HiFLOR) model—which resolves tropical cyclones and has an improved representation of present-day precipitation extremes11,12—alongside 12 models from the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP), we analyse the fraction of locations that see their local climate change exacerbated or moderated by SG. Rather than restoring temperatures, we assume that SG is applied to halve the warming produced by doubling CO2 (half-SG). In HiFLOR, half-SG offsets most of the CO2-induced increase of simulated tropical cyclone intensity. Moreover, neither temperature, water availability, extreme temperature nor extreme precipitation are exacerbated under half-SG when averaged over any Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Extremes (SREX) region. Indeed, for both extreme precipitation and water availability, less than 0.4% of the ice-free land surface sees exacerbation. Thus, while concerns about the inequality of solar geoengineering impacts are appropriate, the quantitative extent of inequality may be overstated13. High-resolution coupled climate model simulations suggest only 0.4% of the land surface will see exacerbated hydrological risks under solar geoengineering that halves warming, indicating that geoengineering-related risks may be overstated.
When Women Call the Cuts: the Marina Razbezhkina School of Documentary Film

In den letzten zehn Jahren hat Russland einen erheblichen Aufschwung in der Produktion unabhangiger Dokumentarfilme erlebt. Dieses Phanomen konnte einerseits mit der Suche der russischen liberalen Opposition nach Ausdrucksmoglichkeiten auserhalb staatlicher Kontrolle zusammenhangen und andererseits mit der Entwicklung digitaler Medienumgebungen, die es unabhangigen Dokumentarfilmen ermoglichten, zu einem machtigen Konkurrenten zu allgegenwartigen staatlichen Medien zu werden. Marina Razbezhkinas Schule des dokumentarischen Films, die 2018 ihr zehnjahriges Bestehen feiert, ist zur Hauptquelle der inoffiziellen Dokumentarfilmproduktion in Russland geworden und hat uber 100 von der Kritik gefeierte Filme produziert. Signifikant ist, dass etwa zwei Drittel der Schulerinnen und Schuler Frauen sind, was, wie ich vermute, die asthetischen Entscheidungen der Schule beeinflusst und sie mit der Diskussion einer geschlechtsspezifischen Perspektive in ihrer Arbeit in Verbindung bringt. Wahrend die Asthetik der Schule viele Bestandteile hat, die augenscheinlich mit dem Modus des beobachtenden Realismus und der feministischen Kultur in Verbindung stehen, argumentiere ich, dass gerade die Herangehensweise an die Montage auf neue Perspektiven des Dokumentarfilms in einer sich verandernden digitalen Umgebung hindeutet und Razbežkinas Schule als bedeutendes kulturelles und soziales Phanomen auszeichnet. Die Dokumentationen der Razbežkina-Schule weisen auf die Richtung hin, in der aus einer Konvergenz mehrerer Dokumentarfilme auf digitalen Plattformen einzelne Projekte zu einem dynamischen Medienereignis werden konnen, das mit den traditionellen Herangehensweisen an die Montage konkurriert und das Konzept der partizipativen Montage einfuhrt. Indem ich mehrere Dokumentarfilme, die von weiblichen Regisseuren kreiert wurden, untersuche, zeichne ich die Entwicklungslinie der Montagepraxis der Schule nach, die in eine einzige Einstellung in Polet puli / Flight of a Bullet (2017, Lettland, Russland) von Beata Bubenec mundet und zur Untersuchung neuer kollaborativer Mechanismen fur die Verbreitung und Prasentation von Dokumentarfilmen einladt. Ich untersuche auserdem die wesentlichen Elemente der Asthetik der Schule, das von Razbežkina eingefuhrte Konzept des horizontalen Filmemachens, ihre Beziehung zum Geschlechterdiskurs und ihre Vorlaufer sowie die sozialen, politischen und kulturellen Voraussetzungen, auf die sie sich stutzt.
Desempenho de cultivares de bananeira sob as condições edafoclimáticas de Ceres-GO

World banana production in 2017 was of 1136.92 million tons, and Brazil was the fourth largest producer in the world with 6.67 million tons. The objective of this work was to study the agronomic performance of five bananas cultivars under edaphoclimatic conditions in the region of Ceres, Goias (GO). The seedlings used were from in vitro propagation transplanted to plastic bags and placed in a screened coop for a period of 90days. After that, they were transplanted to the field at spacing of 3 m between rows and 2.5 m between plants. The experimental design was randomized blocks with five repetitions. The treatments were five bananas cultivars: BRS Conquista, Grand Naine, Maca Tropical, PA 94 01, and Prata-Ana. Each plot consisted of four banana families. The evaluated characteristics were: number of fruits per hand, number of fruits per bunch, fruit diameter, fruit length, fruit mass, set mass, number of bunch, hand mass, bunch mass, productivity per cycle and total productivity. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by the Tukey test at 5%. Prata-Ana provided the smallest number of fruits per hand. Grand Naine cultivar was superior to the cultivation in the region due to its productivity. The other obtained similar productive performance among themselves and inferior to Grand Naine. All banana cultivars have production potential for Ceres-GO.
Omniscale photoacoustic tomography from organelles to patients (Conference Presentation)

Photoacoustic tomography (PAT), in the forms of computed tomography or microscopy, provides in vivo functional, metabolic, molecular, and histologic imaging. PAT has the unique strength of high-resolution multiscale imaging across organelles, cells, tissues, organs in both animals and humans as well as small-animal organisms with consistent optical absorption contrast. The wavelength of the excitation laser can be broadly tuned to target various endogenous or exogenous molecules. PAT has the potential to empower omniscale biology and accelerate trans-scale clinical translation. Potential medical applications include imaging of the breast, brain, thyroid, muscle, joint, skin, vascular system, lymphatic system, prostate, esophagus, colon, cervix, bladder, and uterus.
Rights, Constitutions, Courts

1. Why entrench certain rights - certain rights of the sort we today call human rights - in a constitution, rather than solely in legislation? 2. We could sensibly entrench such rights in a constitution without empowering courts to enforce the rights. Albert Venn Dicey, in An Introduction to the Study of the Law of the Constitution (1885), wrote: “The restrictions placed on the action of the legislature under the French constitution are not in reality laws, since they are not rules which in the last resort will be enforced by the courts. Their true character is that of maxims of political morality, which derive whatever strength they possess from being formally inscribed in the constitution, and from the resulting support of public opinion.” Even if courts are not empowered to protect them (and, indeed, even if courts are so empowered), constitutionally entrenched human rights - qua “maxims of political morality” - can serve as shared, fundamental grounds of political-moral judgment in a political community. So, why empower courts to enforce - and therefore to interpret - constitutionally entrenched rights? 3. If the judiciary is to be empowered to enforce constitutionally entrenched rights, how great a power should it have? The power to have the last - the ultimate - word, overrulable only by constitutional amendment or by the judiciary itself? (I have called this the power of judicial ultimacy.) Or the power to have only the penultimate word, overridable by legislation? (I have called this the power of judicial penultimacy.) Or some even lesser power? We see the power of judicial ultimacy exercised in the United States, by the federal judiciary, and the power of judicial penultimacy exercised in (for example) Canada. We see an even lesser power exercised in the United Kingdom, under the Human Rights Act of 1998. 4. Given that, for better or worse, the U.S. Supreme Court exercises the power of judicial ultimacy, should it exercise that power deferentially, along the lines recommended by James Bradley Thayer in his classic essay “The Origin and Scope of the American Doctrine of Constitutional Law” (1893)? Or should it exercise the power nondeferentially? Should Thayerian deference be at least the default position - with exceptions for certain categories of cases? What categories? 5. What does it mean to “interpret” the Constitution. What should it mean? I address these five sets of questions - some at greater length than others - in this writing, which is drawn from my book, The Political Morality of Liberal Democracy (Cambridge University Press, 2010).
Agriculture is adapting to phenological shifts caused by climate change, but grassland songbirds are not.

Migratory birds time their migration based on cues that signal resource availability for reproduction. However, with climate change, the timing of seasonal events may shift, potentially inhibiting the ability of some species to use them as accurate cues for migration. We studied the relationship between phenological shifts and reproduction by long- and short-distance migratory songbirds-Bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) and Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis). Our study population breeds in hayfields and pastures in Vermont, USA, where farmers are also changing management activities in response to climate change. From 2002 to 2019, we monitored nest initiation dates to quantify correlations with environmental factors and the timing of nest initiation. We collected historical and projected precipitation and temperature data for the breeding grounds, and their respective wintering and stopover sites, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). We predicted that winter conditions experienced by the short-distance migrant, the Savannah Sparrow, but not the long-distance migrant, the Bobolink, would explain the timing and success of nesting, however that this timing would be misaligned with changes in agricultural practices by hay farmers. Nest initiation dates did not show significant directional change for either species, but did vary among years. Interannual variation in Savannah Sparrow nest initiation dates was best explained by the interaction between precipitation on the breeding grounds and average wintering site (Wilmington, North Carolina). For Bobolinks, interannual variation in nest initiation dates was best explained by the interaction between breeding ground precipitation and average temperature in their fall stopover site (Barquisimieto, Venezuela). However, first haying dates in Vermont advanced by ~10 days over 18 years. These results suggest that the conflict between the timing of hay harvests and grassland songbird reproduction will increase, further threatening population processes for these species, as early harvests notably decrease annual productivity.
Data driven covid-19 spread prediction based on mobility and mask mandate information

COVID-19 is one of the largest spreading pandemic diseases faced in the documented history of mankind. Human to human interaction is the most prolific method of transmission of this virus. Nations all across the globe started to issue stay at home orders and mandating to wear masks or a form of face-covering in public to minimize the transmission by reducing contact between majority of the populace. The epidemiological models used in the literature have considerable drawbacks in the assumption of homogeneous mixing among the populace. Moreover, the effect of mitigation strategies such as mask mandate and stay at home orders cannot be efficiently accounted for in these models. In this work, we propose a novel data driven approach using LSTM (Long Short Term Memory) neural network model to form a functional mapping of daily new confirmed cases with mobility data which has been quantified from cell phone traffic information and mask mandate information. With this approach no pre-defined equations are used to predict the spread, no homogeneous mixing assumption is made, and the effect of mitigation strategies can be accounted for. The model learns the spread of the virus based on factual data from verified resources. A study of the number of cases for the state of New York (NY) and state of Florida (FL) in the USA are performed using the model. The model correctly predicts that with higher mobility the cases would increase and vice-versa. It further predicts the rate of new cases would see a decline if a mask mandate is administered. Both these predictions are in agreement with the opinions of leading medical and immunological experts. The model also predicts that with the mask mandate option even a higher mobility would reduce the daily cases than lower mobility without masks. We additionally generate results and provide RMSE (Root Mean Square Error) comparison with ARIMA based model of other published work for Italy, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, Japan, and the UK. Our model reports lower RMSE than the ARIMA based work for all eight countries which were tested. The proposed model would provide administrations with a quantifiable basis of how mobility, mask mandates are related to new confirmed cases; so far no epidemiological models provide that information. It gives fast and relatively accurate prediction of the number of cases and would enable the administrations to make informed decisions and make plans for mitigation strategies and changes in hospital resources.
Detection of Blastomyces dermatitidis Antigen in Urine Using a Commercially Available Quantitative Enzyme Immunoassay.

Laboratory diagnosis of blastomycosis relies on a combination of methods, including antigen detection. We assessed the performance of analyte-specific reagents from Gotham Biotech (Portland, ME) for quantitative detection of Blastomyces dermatitidis galactomannan (GM) in urine using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) compared to the Blastomyces quantitative EIA from MiraVista Diagnostics (Indianapolis, IN). Residual urine from 232 unique patients previously tested by the MiraVista assay was evaluated using the Gotham EIA, which showed 97.4% (74/76), 100% (156/156), and 99.1% (230/232) positive, negative, and overall agreement, respectively. Correlation between the quantitative B. dermatitidis antigen levels by the Gotham and MiraVista EIAs was low (R2 = 0.20). Medical records were available for 36 of the 232 patients, among whom four had confirmed blastomycosis and both the Gotham and MiraVista EIAs were positive. Nine of these patients had histoplasmosis, and the Gotham and MiraVista EIAs yielded negative results in 44.4% (4/9) and 22.2% (2/9) of cases, respectively. Both assays were negative in the remaining 23 patients. After laboratory implementation of the Gotham EIA, chart reviews were performed on the first 50 unique patients (51 samples) tested by the assay in our hospital. Among these, 3/50 (6%) samples were positive by the Gotham EIA, including two samples from a patient with culture-confirmed blastomycosis and one from a patient with histoplasmosis (also positive by the MiraVista Blastomyces EIA). All remaining patients were negative by the Gotham EIA and had alternative diagnoses. Our findings show comparable performance between the Gotham and MiraVista quantitative EIAs for detection of B. dermatitidis GM in urine.
MO-FG-BRD-04: Real-Time Imaging and Tracking Techniques for Intrafractional Motion Management: MR Tracking

Intrafraction target motion is a prominent complicating factor in the accurate targeting of radiation within the body. Methods compensating for target motion during treatment, such as gating and dynamic tumor tracking, depend on the delineation of target location as a function of time during delivery. A variety of techniques for target localization have been explored and are under active development; these include beam-level imaging of radio-opaque fiducials, fiducial-less tracking of anatomical landmarks, tracking of electromagnetic transponders, optical imaging of correlated surrogates, and volumetric imaging within treatment delivery. The Joint Imaging and Therapy Symposium will provide an overview of the techniques for real-time imaging and tracking, with special focus on emerging modes of implementation across different modalities. In particular, the symposium will explore developments in 1) Beam-level kilovoltage X-ray imaging techniques, 2) EPID-based megavoltage X-ray tracking, 3) Dynamic tracking using electromagnetic transponders, and 4) MRI-based soft-tissue tracking during radiation delivery. Learning Objectives: 1. Understand the fundamentals of real-time imaging and tracking techniques 2. Learn about emerging techniques in the field of real-time tracking 3. Distinguish between the advantages and disadvantages of different tracking modalities 4. Understand the role of real-time tracking techniques within the clinical delivery work-flow
Stein beck's Cannery Row: The Gospel According to John

Written during World War II at a time when John Steinbeck was living in New York and was increasingly missing his beloved California, Cannery Row has long been a problematic novel. Initially excoriated by critics (as was most of what Steinbeck wrote after The Sea of Cortez ), the novel has been seen variously as a comic masterpiece, as an application of Steinbeck's nonteleological thinking, and as another of Steinbeck's adaptations of the Arthurian myth. What the novel has not been seen as is a statement of Steinbeck's theology. This is puzzling because Cannery Row is, except for East of Eden, the most biblical of all of Steinbeck's works. In this novel Steinbeck first carefully establishes a theological context and then, in no uncertain terms, outlines what that theology is. Steinbeck establishes a theological context very early in the novel, deliberately adopting a biblical tone. Chapter 2 begins,
Confronting physiology: how do infected flies die?

Summary Fruit fly immunology is on the verge of an exciting new path. The fruit fly has served as a strong model for innate immune responses; the field is now expanding to use the fruit fly to study pathogenesis. We argue here that, to understand pathogenesis in the fly, we need to understand pathology – and to understand pathology, we need to confront physiology with molecular tools. When flies are infected with a pathogen, they get sick. We group the events following infection into three categories: innate immune responses (defence mechanisms by which the fly attempts to kill or neutralize the microbe, some of which can themselves cause harm to the fly); microbial virulence (mechanisms by which the microbe evades the immune response); and host pathology (physiologies adversely affected by either the immune response or microbial virulence). We divide this review into sections mirroring these categories. The molecular study of infection in the fruit fly has focused on the first category, has begun to explore the second, and has yet to tap the full potential of the fly regarding the third.
Simultaneous purification of bovine prothrombin and factor X. Activation of prothrombin by trypsin-activated factor X.

Abstract A simple reproducible procedure has been developed for the large scale isolation of bovine factor X and prothrombin in highly purified states. Both proteins isolated by this method show a single component in four different electrophoretic systems. The specific activity of prothrombin obtained by this procedure is 1300 ± 100 NIH thrombin units per mg of prothrombin, whereas the specific activity of factor X is 90 ± 10 units of activated factor X (factor Xa) per mg of factor X, when assayed by the standard technique (Bachmann, F., Duckert, F., and Koller, F. (1958) Thromb. Diath. Haemorrh. 2, 24). The over-all yields of bovine prothrombin and factor X are 70 mg and 4.5 mg, respectively, per liter of starting plasma. The isolation procedure involves adsorption of factor X and prothrombin on to barium citrate, their elution from the barium citrate complex with EDTA, extensive dialysis against 0.02 m trisodium citrate and 0.9% sodium chloride, ammonium sulfate fractionation, diisopropylfluorophosphate treatment, and DEAE-cellulose chromatography. DEAE-cellulose chromatography in (sodium) citrate buffer at pH 6.0 effectively and completely separates prothrombin from factor X. Factor X is then further purified by DEAE-Sephadex chromatography. Both proteins are completely stable in 50% glycerol-H2O (v/v) at -20° for at least 18 months. The molecular weights of bovine prothrombin and factor X as determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis are 72,000 ± 4,000 and 56,000 ± 2,000, respectively. The molecular weight of native factor X, determined by sedimentation equilibrium, is 59,000 ± 2,000. Factor X protein is composed of two chains of 44,000 and 15,500 daltons as determined by gel filtration of the reduced and S-carboxymethylated protein in 6 m guanidinium chloride. Activation of factor X by trypsin insolubilized on polyacrylamide produced a trypsin-free factor Xa(factor Xa(trypsin)) with a maximum yield of 750 ± 50 units of factor Xa per mg of factor X, which is 8 times higher than the yield obtainable by the action of Russell's viper venom (RVV) on factor X. Activation of prothrombin by factor Xa(trypsin), has been carried out under conditions in which the possibility of thrombin contamination has been eliminated. The rate of the factor Xa(trypsin) catalyzed activation of prothrombin is accelerated 50-fold in the presence of Ca2+ and 90-fold in the presence of both Ca2+ and phospholipid. However, under all conditions studied, and all types of factor Xa (factor Xa(trypsin, RVV, citrate)) used, the products of prothrombin activation are the same and electrophoretically equivalent to those described previously by this laboratory (Mann, K. G., Heldebrant, C. M., and Fass, D. N. (1971) J. Biol. Chem. 246, 6106).