cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of Global NOx Sources on the Northern Latitudes

Nitrogen oxides (NOx), through their control of tropospheric ozone production, play a major role in determining the global reactivity of the atmosphere. The concentration of these oxides varies by as much as a factor of 1000 between continental source regions and remote locations and fluctuates significantly with season at high latitudes. While NOx levels appear to be rather low (<50 pptv) away from local sources, high levels of PAN, an important reservoir for NOx, have been measured at the surface in the winter polar regions [Barrie and Bottenheim, 1991] and in the free troposphere north of 30°N [Singh, Salas and Viezee, 1986]. Furthermore, our recent global chemical transport model (GCTM) study finds PAN to be the major reactive nitrogen species in the northern latitudes [Kasibhatla et al., 1992].
Predicting posttransplantation infection risk with gene polymorphisms.

Background & Aims: Infection is the primary cause of death after liver transplantation. Mannose binding lectin (MBL) is a recognition molecule of the lectin pathway of complement and a key component of innate immunity. MBL variant alleles have been described in the coding region of the MBL gene, which are associated with low MBL serum concentration and impaired MBL structure and function. The aims of our study were to establish the role of the liver in production of serum MBL and to evaluate the effect of MBL variant alleles on the susceptibility to infection after liver transplantation. Methods: We investigated 49 patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation. MBL exon 1 and promoter polymorphisms were determined in patients and in liver donors. MBL serum concentration was determined before and during 1 year after transplantation. The incidence of clinically significant infections during this period was assessed. Results: Transplantation of MBL wildtype recipients with donor livers carrying MBL variant alleles resulted in a rapid and pronounced decrease of serum MBL levels. This serum conversion was associated with the disappearance of high molecular weight MBL. No indication for extrahepatic production of serum MBL could be obtained. The presence of MBL variant alleles in the MBL gene of the donor liver, but not in the recipient, was associated with a strongly increased incidence of clinically significant infections after transplantation. Conclusions: Serum MBL is produced by the liver under strong genetic control. After liver transplantation, the MBL genotype of the donor liver is a major risk determinant for life-threatening infections.
Distributed computing using autonomous objects

Most existing distributed systems are structured as statically compiled processes communicating with each other via messages. The system's intelligence is embodied in the processes, while the messages contain simple, passive pieces of information. This is referred to as the communicating objects paradigm. In the autonomous objects paradigm, a message has its own identity and behavior. It decides at runtime where it wants to propagate and what tasks to perform there; the nodes become simply generic interpreters that enable messages to navigate and compute. In this scenario, an application's intelligence is embodied in and carried by messages as they propagate through the network. The autonomous objects paradigm is more flexible than the communicating objects paradigm because it allows developers to change the program's behavior after it has started to run. We based our system, MESSENGERS, on autonomous objects, and intended it for the composition and coordination of concurrent activities in a distributed environment. It combines powerful navigational capabilities found in other autonomous objects based systems with efficient dynamic linking mechanisms supported by some new programming languages, like Java.
Taphonomic bias and the evolutionary history of the family Cidaridae (Echinoderamata; Echinoidea)

The class Echinoidea apparently originated during the Ordovician Period and diversified slowly through the Paleozoic Era. The clade then mushroomed in diversity beginning in Late Triassic time and continued expanding into the present. Although this evolutionary history is generally accepted, the taphonomic overprint affecting it has not been explored. To gain a more accurate perception of the evolutionary history of the group, I have compared the diversity history of the family Cidaridae (Echinodermata: Echinoidea) with the preservational style of fossil type species using literature-derived data. The Cidaridae apparently originated in Middle Triassic time and diversified slowly through the Neocomian (Early Cretaceous). Diversity was maintained through the remainder of the Cretaceous and Tertiary Periods, reflecting the diversity history of the subclass. Characterization of the preservational style of type fossil material for the family revealed the following breakdown of preservational states: 60% of species were described on the basis of disarticulated skeletal material, primarily spines; 20% based on intact coronas denuded of spines, apical system, Aristotle's lantern and peristomial plates; 10% based on large coronal fragments; and 10% based on other skeletal elements. This distribution may represent the effect of a disarticulation threshold on the condition of echinoid carcasses before final burial and suggests that preservation of intact specimens may be very unlikely. For cidaroids, previous work has suggested that this threshold is likely to be reached after 7 days of decay.Comparison of the diversity history of the Cidaridae with the preservation data reveals that characteristic patterns of taphonomic overprint have affected the group since its origination in Middle Triassic time, and the nature of that overprint has changed over time: the early diversity history of the group is characterized by occurrences of fragmented fossil material, with spines predominant; further radiation of the group in mid-Jurassic time coincided with an increase in modes of preservation, ranging between exceptionally well-preserved material and disarticulated skeletal elements. Finally, type material is more rarely described from younger stratigraphic intervals (Miocene–Pleistocene) and consists predominantly of disarticulated skeletal elements and coronal fragments larger than an interambulacrum in size. Intact, denuded coronas are noticeably lacking.The number of type species of Cidaridae described in each stratigraphic interval has not been consistent during post-Paleozoic time. Middle Triassic, Malm (Upper Jurassic), Senonian (Upper Cretaceous) and Eocene series yielded significantly (α = .05) higher numbers of type specimens per million years, while the Lias (Lower Jurassic), Dogger (Mid-Jurassic), Lower Cretaceous and Paleocene yielded significantly (α = .05) lower numbers of type specimens per million years. This may be the result of a combination of taxonomic, sampling, and geographical biases.
Electrochemical Aspects of Mass Spectrometry: Atmospheric Pressure Ionization and Ambient Ionization for Bioanalysis

This MiniReview details the evolution and present state of combined electrochemical (EC) and atmospheric pressure sampling/ionization mass spectrometric (MS) techniques, with an emphasis on biologically relevant investigations. Particular attention is paid to how innate EC processes can be exploited to gain additional information about an analyte, and how these effects influence experimental design. A general overview of EC-MS techniques underscores the complementary nature of the two techniques.
Modeling stationary lithium-ion batteries for optimization and predictive control

Accurately modeling stationary battery storage behavior is crucial to pursuing cost-effective distributed energy resource opportunities. In this paper, a lithium-ion battery model was derived for building-integrated battery use cases. The proposed battery model aims to balance speed and accuracy when modeling battery behavior for real-time predictive control and optimization. To achieve these goals, a mixed modeling approach incorporates regression fits to experimental data and an equivalent circuit to model battery behavior. The proposed battery model is validated through comparison to manufacturer data. Additionally, a dynamic test case demonstrates the effects of using regression models to represent cycling losses and capacity fading. A proof-of-concept optimization test case with time-of-use pricing is performed to demonstrate how the battery model could be included in an optimization framework.
Actuation-Assisted Localization of Distributed Camera Sensor Networks

External calibration of a camera sensor network to determine the relative location and orientation of the nodes is essential for effective usage. In prior research, cameras, identified by controllable light sources, utilized angular measurements among themselves to determine their relative positions and orientations. However, the typical camera's narrow field of view makes such systems susceptible to failure in the presence of occlusions or nonideal configurations. Actuation assistance helps to overcome such limitations by broadening each camera's view. In this chapter we discuss and implement a prototype system that uses actuation to aid in the external calibration of camera networks. We evaluate our system using simulations and a testbed of Sony PTZ cameras and MicaZ nodes, equipped with Cyclops camera modules mounted on custom pan-tilt platforms. Our results show that actuation assistance can dramatically reduce node density requirements for localization convergence.
Juvenile hormone and parental care in subsocial insects: implications for the role of juvenile hormone in the evolution of sociality

Juvenile hormone (JH) has both gonadotropic and non-gonadotropic roles in eusocial insects. There is controversy over whether the non-gonadotropic role is novel, related specifically to social evolution, or is a second conserved role. Study of subsocial insects suggests that when JH is non-gonadotropic, the specific associations of high JH, low vitellogenin, suppressed ovarian development and elevated metabolism may parallel those in workers of eusocial insects. This suggests that a more fundamental understanding of JH in insect biology is required.
Percutaneous Management of Enterocutaneous Fistulae and Abscess–Fistula Complexes

Abscess–fistula complexes and enterocutaneous fistulae are due to postoperative, spontaneous, and inflammatory etiologies. Conservative, percutaneous, endoscopic, and surgical treatment options are available options. Interventional radiologists have an array of different treatment strategies, often starting with percutaneous drainage of associated intra-abdominal abscesses. This review article details different percutaneous management strategies, focusing on percutaneous catheter strategies for abscess-fistula complexes along with tract closures strategies for enterocutaneous fistulae.
Maternal sex-type, child's sex, and infant affect expression

iv INTRODUCTION 1 Statement of Problem 6 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 8 Sex Differences and Gender 8 Sex Differences and Gender-Role Stereotypes 11 Theoretical Approaches and the Dialectic Model 18 Dialectical Model 20 Parent-Child Interaction 22 The Study of Mother-Infant Relationships 27 The Strange Situation 29 Sex-Typing 30 Language Development 39 Language-Affect Relationship 4 3 Genderlect 4 8 The Development of Emotions 50 Perspectives: Jamesian and Schachter-Singer 50 Parent-Child Interaction and the Development of Emotions 52 Differences in Emotional Expressiveness 53 Biological Differences 55 Biology and Behavior 56 METHOD 60 Subjects 60 Measures 61 Instruments 61 Parent Information Questionnaire 61 Personal Attributes Questionnaire 62 Scoring Manual for the Mother-Child Interaction Study 62 Procedure 63 Materials 68 Videotapes 69 Coding 69 Reliability 69 Infant Affect 70 Maternal Emotional Availability 70 Affect Change Scores 72 Hedonic Tone 73 Data Analysis 73
Methods of Mathematical Proof

The basic elements of mathematics are“undefinables”(Subsection 3.1.1). Since every new piece of terminology is defined in terms of old pieces of terminology, we must begin with certain terms that have no definition.
Retroviral-like elements, suppressor genes and regulatory evolution

Evidence that retroviral-like transposable elements (RLEs) have played a significant role in regulatory evolution is summarized. It is proposed that suppressor genes are maintained in populations by natural selection as a defense against the unyielding mutational pressure presented by recurring RLE insertion mutants. The fortuitous long-term consequence of naturally occurring suppressor genes is the maintenance of hidden RLE mediated regulatory variation in populations. It is hypothesized that this hidden variation may be released during periods of forced inbreeding (e.g., genetic bottlenecks or founding events) resulting in the sudden emergence of new regulatory phenotypes.
Optimization and heat integration of hollow fiber based thermal swing adsorption process for CO2 capture from flue gas

Abstract This work studies the optimization of a hollow fiber contactor operated in a rapid temperature swing adsorption (RTSA) mode for CO 2 capture from flue gas. A hollow fiber contactor enables rapid heat and mass transfer and an efficient heat integration whereby parasitic loads on power plants can be reduced significantly compared to the traditional thermal swing adsorption processes. In this paper we employ a dynamic optimization strategy to predict the optimal operating conditions of a hollow fiber RTSA process for different process design objectives. The objective function considered was to maximize the feed throughput of the process with constraints for the required CO 2 purity and recovery. Furthermore, the external heat and cold utilities must be minimized. The optimization requires a dynamic heat integration i.e. redistributing the hot and cold stream outlet between different parts of a cycle which is challenging and unconventional. This has been performed using a binary decision variable which switches the outlet water stream between hot and cold tanks. We also show that a multi- objective optimization approach can be employed to determine the optimal trade-off between heat duty and process throughput. Optimization was performed using a single discretization approach within gPROMS.
Density Functional Theory and Experimental Studies of the Molecular, Vibrational, and Crystal Structure of Bis-Oxadiazole-Bis-Methylene Dinitrate (BODN)

Density function theory (DFT) and experimental characterization of energetic materials play important roles in understanding molecular structure–property relations and validating models for their predictive capabilities. Here, we report our modeling and experimental results on the molecular, vibrational, and crystal structure of energetic bis-oxadiazole-bis-methylene dinitrate (BODN) obtained by molecular DFT (M-DFT) at the B3LYP- 6-31G** level, crystal DFT (C-DFT) using the Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof functional optimized with norm-conserving pseudopotentials, X-ray diffractometry, infrared and Raman spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Both models predict well the experimental bond lengths, bond angles, and torsion angles of BODN. The C-DFT lattice constant values are in excellent agreement with those determined experimentally, with unit cell length and angle values differing by less than 1.2 and 0.7%, respectively. BODN presents van der Waals O···H and O···C bifurcated intramolecular contacts and s...
Patient Engagement and Attitudes Toward Using the Electronic Medical Record for Medical Research: The 2015 Greater Plains Collaborative Health and Medical Research Family Survey.

Background: Electronic health records (EHRs) are ubiquitous. Yet little is known about the use of EHRs for prospective research purposes, and even less is known about patient perspectives regarding the use of their EHR for research. Objective: This paper reports results from the initial obesity project from the Greater Plains Collaborative that is part of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute’s National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORNet). The purpose of the project was to (1) assess the ability to recruit samples of adults of child-rearing age using the EHR; (2) prospectively assess the willingness of adults of child-rearing age to participate in research, and their willingness (if parents) to have their children participate in medical research; and (3) to assess their views regarding the use of their EHRs for research. Methods: The EHRs of 10 Midwestern academic medical centers were used to select patients. Patients completed a survey that was designed to assess patient willingness to participate in research and their thoughts about the use of their EHR data for research. The survey included questions regarding interest in medical research, as well as basic demographic and health information. A variety of contact methods were used. Results: A cohort of 54,269 patients was created, and 3139 (5.78%) patients responded. Completers were more likely to be female (53.84%) and white (85.84%). These and other factors differed significantly by site. Respondents were overwhelmingly positive (83.9%) about using EHRs for research. Conclusions: EHRs are an important resource for engaging patients in research, and our respondents concurred. The primary limitation of this work was a very low response rate, which varied by the method of contact, geographic location, and respondent characteristics. The primary strength of this work was the ability to ascertain the clinically observed characteristics of nonrespondents and respondents to determine factors that may contribute to participation, and to allow for the derivation of reliable study estimates for weighting responses and oversampling of difficult-to-reach subpopulations. These data suggest that EHRs are a promising new and effective tool for patient-engaged health research. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): NA
Endoscopic Orbital Decompression for Thyroid Eye Disease

Orbital decompression may be required for patients with thyroid eye disease (TED) who have not responded to medical therapy. The endoscopic transnasal approach to the medial and inferior orbital walls is an excellent surgical option for the vast majority of patients. This article will cover the latest developments in endoscopic management of thyroid eye disease while reviewing the pathophysiology of the disease, patient selection, proper surgical technique, postoperative outcomes, and complications. Endoscopic surgeons have modified the technique over the past several years in order to reduce the incidence of certain complications, in particular diplopia. The implementation of “balanced” decompression, along with preservation of orbital struts and/or periorbital slings, has improved postoperative outcomes. Endoscopic orbital decompression remains a safe and effective surgical option for TED best applied in conjunction with inferior and lateral approaches. Working closely with the oculoplastics team to effect a balanced decompression most often yields the best outcomes.
167 : Investigating the mechanism of TLR signaling crosstalk in mouse macrophages

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are important pathogen-recognition receptors in innate immune sensing and are also important for initiating adaptive immunity. While the signaling of individual TLR pathways has been intensively studied, less is known about how innate immune cells integrate the combined TLR inputs presented by a typical microorganism. Based on the observation that certain TLR ligand combinations can induce synergistic production of cytokine mediators, we are using a combination of gene expression analysis and siRNA screening to identify the cellular components that regulate the signaling crosstalk between TLR pathways. We carried out gene expression profiling in bone marrow-derived macrophages stimulated with either poly (I:C) (TLR3 ligand), R848 (TLR7 ligand), or both ligands combined. We identified genes that were synergistically induced under dual TLR stimulation, including IL-6, IL-10, IL-1 α , IL-1 β , haptoglobin, lipocalin 2, and SOCS3. Synergy at the mRNA level was observed as early as 2 h. Based on these data, over 200 synergy factor candidates were picked and subjected to RNAi screening. In a pilot screening of known TLR pathway genes, knock-down of TLR3 pathway-specific components led to a loss of synergy in the secretion of IL-6 and IL-12p40, which validated the effectiveness of the screening protocol. We predict that the described approach will identify important mediators in TLR signaling crosstalk, and shed light on the regulation of late cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-12p40. This study was supported by the Intramural Research Program of NIAID, NIH.
Primary Aneurysmal Bone Cyst of the Thoracic Spine: A Pediatric Case Report

Background To date, only a few documented cases exist of complete or near-complete paraplegia of the lower extremities following collapse of a vertebral body secondary to an aneurysmal bone cyst. We describe the preceding symptoms associated with this catastrophic event along with surgical management and recovery. Case Description A previously healthy, 13-year-old girl had experienced months of ongoing back pain with associated posture change. After collapsing at home in the bathroom, she was brought in by emergency medical services and presented to the neurosurgery service with an American Spinal Injury Association A spinal cord injury. Imaging revealed a collapsed T4 vertebral body including expanded and fluid-filled posterior elements and severe kyphotic spine angulation resulting in cord compression corresponding to her sensory and motor deficits. She underwent emergent surgery for spinal cord decompression with a T2-T4 laminectomy, transpedicular tumor resection, and T1-7 instrumented fusion. The patient tolerated the procedure well postoperatively. At 9 months after the event, she is ambulating independently without the use of crutches or a cane and has regained full strength for all muscle groups of her lower extremities. Conclusions The unique combination of back pain and posture change symptoms in an otherwise healthy pediatric patient should heighten clinical suspicion for a possible aneurysmal bone cyst of the spine when formulating a differential diagnosis. Additionally, despite the clinical severity at presentation, patients may still experience significant recovery following expeditious surgical intervention.
Priority Populations Toolkits: Enhancing researcher readiness to work with priority populations.

The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences has called for more comprehensive research with priority populations to reduce disparities and for the development of additional resources to assist researchers in implementing these recommendations. Here we report the development and initial evaluation of five Priority Populations Toolkits, which are resources developed by the University of Illinois Center for Clinical and Translational Science to meet these goals. Three aims guide the content: increasing knowledge, facilitating communication, and improving research design. Materials were curated from scientific literature reviews and Internet searches and revised iteratively. Analytics and user surveys provide information about usage. In 22 months, 387 unique users accessed the toolkits. The top reason for usage was to improve research recruitment. Comprehensive toolkits for working with priority populations show promising potential for increasing knowledge and readiness to work with underrepresented populations. Further toolkit development and evaluation of effectiveness are warranted.
Spacecraft Attitude Regulation in Low Earth Orbit Using Natural Torques

This paper presents a control algorithm for three axis attitude regulation of a 2U CubeSat by means of gravity gradient and atmospheric torques. The inertia tensor of the spacecraft is modified to keep the spacecraft in a gravity gradient stable configuration. A Lyapunov-based control law acts simultaneously to improve the pitch angle regulation performance using atmospheric torque.
Long-lived metabolic enzymes in the crystalline lens identified by pulse-labeling of mice and mass spectrometry

The lenticular fiber cells are comprised of extremely long-lived proteins while still maintaining an active biochemical state. Dysregulation of these activities has been implicated in diseases such as age-related cataracts. However, the lenticular protein dynamics underlying health and disease is unclear. We sought to measure the global protein turnover rates in the eye using nitrogen-15 labeling of mice and mass spectrometry. We measured the 14N/15N-peptide ratios of 248 lens proteins, including Crystallin, Aquaporin, Collagen and enzymes that catalyze glycolysis and oxidation/reduction reactions. Direct comparison of lens cortex versus nucleus revealed little or no 15N-protein contents in most nuclear proteins, while there were a broad range of 14N/15N ratios in cortex proteins. Unexpectedly, like Crystallins, many enzymes with relatively high abundance in nucleus were also exceedingly long-lived. The slow replacement of these enzymes in spite of young age of mice suggests their potential roles in age-related metabolic changes in the lens.
SPLICE PATTERNS OF ADENOVIRUS AND ADENOVIRUS-SV40 MOSAIC RNA'S

Publisher Summary This chapter examines splice patterns of adenovirus and adenovirus-SV40 mosaic RNAs. In cells lytically infected with adenovirus, four separate early gene blocks are transcribed before the onset of viral DNA synthesis. During the course of mapping the transcripts by electron microscopy, it has been discovered that the early viral mRNAs are composed of nucleotide sequences that are not contiguous on the template DNA. The early mRNAs give rise to RNA/DNA duplex structures that are interrupted at specific locations by loops of intervening DNA. The cut-and-splice model predicts that the nuclear precursor RNAs contain internal sequences that are absent from cytoplasmic mRNAs. This chapter presents experimental results that support the notion that intervening sequences are incorporated in nuclear precursor RNA during primary transcription of early adenovirus gene blocks and that they are removed during formation of cytoplasmic messenger RNA. The chapter also presents a study that deals with adenovirus-SV40 mosaic messenger RNAs specified by the nondefective hybrid virus Ad2+ND4.
Using an iTouch to Teach Core Curriculum Words and Definitions: Efficacy and Social Validity

Media scholars have long recognized the interaction between the medium that conveys the information and the information that is conveyed. This study examined the relative impact of different low- and high-tech instructional mediums (e.g., flashcards and the iTouch) on the acquisition of general education content-referenced sight words and definitions by students with significant cognitive disabilities. Results indicated that most of the students (three of the four students in the study) preferred high-tech instructional mediums during preference assessments prior to instruction. There was an increase in the tolerance for massed trials for preferred instructional mediums, but it was not meaningful. In spite of these data, there was minimal difference in the rates of skill acquisition or the social validity of the instructional mediums.
FETCH: A deep-learning based classifier for fast transient classification

With the upcoming commensal surveys for Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), and their high candidate rate, usage of machine learning algorithms for candidate classification is a necessity. Such algorithms will also play a pivotal role in sending real-time triggers for prompt follow-ups with other instruments. In this paper, we have used the technique of Transfer Learning to train the state-of-the-art deep neural networks for classification of FRB and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) candidates. These are convolutional neural networks which work on radio frequency-time and dispersion measure-time images as the inputs. We trained these networks using simulated FRBs and real RFI candidates from telescopes at the Green Bank Observatory. We present 11 deep learning models, each with an accuracy and recall above 99.5% on our test dataset comprising of real RFI and pulsar candidates. As we demonstrate, these algorithms are telescope and frequency agnostic and are able to detect all FRBs with signal-to-noise ratios above 10 in ASKAP and Parkes data. We also provide an open-source python package FETCH (Fast Extragalactic Transient Candidate Hunter) for classification of candidates, using our models. Using FETCH, these models can be deployed along with any commensal search pipeline for real-time candidate classification.
Comparison of spray catheter with "spray-as-you-go" technique for airway anesthesia during flexible bronchoscopy - A randomized trial.

Background: Administration of local airway anesthesia is the principal determinant of procedural comfort during flexible bronchoscopy. However, the ideal method of administration is still unknown. In this study, we compared lignocaine administration using a spray catheter (SC) with “spray-as-you-go” technique. Methods: Patients undergoing bronchoscopy were randomized to receive airway anesthesia with 2% lignocaine through the SC (SC group) or “spray-as-you-go” technique through the working channel (WC group). The primary outcome parameter was cough count, and the secondary outcome parameters compared were need for sedation, operator-rated procedural satisfaction and cough, and patient-rated comfort on a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Results: One hundred and thirty patients were randomized with comparable baseline parameters. The median (interquartile range [IQR]) cough count was 28 (19, 37) in the WC group and 15 (9, 23) in the SC group (P
Wind Erosion on Mars Exposes Ideal Targets for Sample Return

The Mars 2020 rover will land in Jezero crater, characterize the local geology, and collect samples to be sent back to Earth. Ionizing radiation at the martian surface degrades the complex organic ...
Age Gradient in Women’s Crime: The Role of Welfare Reform:

We investigate how welfare reform in the U.S. in the 1990s shaped the age gradient in women’s property crime arrests. Using Federal Bureau of Investigation data, we investigated the age-patterning ...
QP2: Challenges Treating Severe Oral Mucositis Pain in Patients at High Risk for Aspiration

Background: Mucositis is one of the most common adverse reactions encountered in patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapies, particularly in the head and neck region. It is associated ...
Politics as Method/Method as Politics Part Two: Organizational Concepts

By building on the interpretations of the multiple uses of the word organic from the previous chapter, to specify forms of embeddedness, this chapter focuses on the relationship between the sociological concept from Gramsci’s work, organica, and Gramsci’s political/organizational concept “organic centralism.” It argues that in order to better understand a strategic conjuncture, or the social composition of movements mobilizing in a conjuncture, the sociological concept organica, which is a Gramscian approach to the analysis of class and strata, needs to be thought of in terms of the varieties of political and organizational possibilities contained within the concept “organic centralism.” Organic centralism is a concept that combines conceptions of prefigurative politics with horizons of a future politics. The prefiguration of politics is connected to a political horizon through an organizational form. This chapter illustrates the variety of ways that the prefigurative and the potential are connected by pedagogy, struggle, political participation, and political organization. In addition, the chapter looks at different organizational concepts that mediate the relationship between class, strata, pedagogy, and political strategy in order to better understand how to analyze the balance of political forces within a conjuncture.
Genetics of Type 2 Diabetes: Opportunities for Precision Medicine: JACC Focus Seminar

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is highly prevalent and is a strong contributor for cardiovascular disease. However, there is significant heterogeneity in disease pathogenesis and the risk of complications. Enormous progress has been made in our ability to catalog genetic variation associated with T2D risk and variation in disease-relevant quantitative traits. These discoveries hold the potential to shed light on tractable targets and pathways for safe and effective therapeutic development, but the promise of precision medicine has been slow to be realized. Recent studies have identified subgroups of individuals with differential risk for intermediate phenotypes (eg, lipid levels, fasting insulin, body mass index) that contribute to T2D risk, helping to account for the observed clinical heterogeneity. These "partitioned genetic risk scores" not only have the potential to identify patients at greatest risk of cardiovascular disease and rapid disease progression, but also could aid patient stratification bridging the gap toward precision medicine for T2D.
The Surgical Technique of Mini Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy.

The mini percutaneous nephrolithotomy (mini-PCNL) has become a versatile tool to remove kidney stones >2 cm, lower pole stones >1 cm, renal stones previously unresponsive to shockwave therapy or in...
What Are the Differences between Two Environmental Films Sampled 1 km Apart

Environmental films are atmospheric materials that passively deposit and form coatings on most outdoor surfaces. Film heterogeneity in the chemical makeup and physical form often makes understandin...
Hydrological shifts and tree growth responses to river modification along the Apalachicola River, Florida

Shifts in the hydrologic regime of Florida’s Apalachicola River have been attributed to anthropogenic changes throughout its watershed, including local dam construction. To assess impacts of those shifts on floodplain forests, we reconstructed tree growth using dendrochronology and compared these trends with hydrological and climatic variables. Comparisons of stream-gage data before and after dam construction on the Apalachicola River revealed statistically significant mean declines in annual average stage. Mean minimum annual stages, rise rates, and fall rates also decreased, while hydrograph reversals increased. Growth in four tree species correlated strongly with site-specific inundation parameters. A wetter climate in the two decades following dam construction and fine-scale fluctuation of the hydrograph may have set the stage for positive growth releases. Logging and hurricane wind throw events may have also contributed. However, drier conditions in the last two decades are now exacerbated by stage-d...
Effect of Nystatin on the Metabolism of Xylitol and Xylose by Pachysolen tannophilus

Ethanol production from xylitol by resting cells of Pachysolen tannophilus was increased 40-fold in the presence of nystatin, amphotericin B, and filipin, a group of antifungal agents that alter the permeability of the plasma membrane. Furthermore, these agents had little or no effect on ethanol formation from xylitol or xylose by the cell extract. During xylose metabolism, nystatin caused the intracellular xylitol to leak out into the medium at a 23-fold-faster rate but did not affect overall xylose utilization and CO(2) evolution. These observations explain the rate of xylitol utilization by cell extract being higher than that by whole cells (J. Xu and K. B. Taylor, Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 59:231-235, 1993) as well as the relative inability of P. tannophilus to utilize xylitol to support significant ethanol production and cell growth.
Should Campaign Donors Be Identified

In the campaign finance debate, the only proposed measure that enjoys broad support is a requirement that all candidates disclose their contributors' identities. However, such disclosure would probably do little to deter quid pro quo corruption; instances of donation-induced "influence" (i.e., "face time") that could be proven under such a regime are legal, and voters have taken little interest in them historically, while vote-buying and other illegal actions would not be proven by the disclosures. A better approach may be a regime of contributor anonymity in which donors must funnel their contributions to campaigns through blind trusts. Such a regime would deprive the candidate of a vital piece of knowledge that enables corruption: the knowledge that a supposed donor actually fulfilled his promise to contribute a large amount of money. What is more, such a regime would be less restrictive on donors' free speech rights and their "right to spend."
Union Campaigns as Countermovements: Mobilizing Immigrant Workers in France and the United Kingdom

In this article, we compare recent innovative union campaigns: the ‘sans papiers’ campaign in France and the ‘Justice for Cleaners’ campaign in the United Kingdom, both based on a sustained grass-roots mobilization of immigrant workers. Rather than focusing on the ‘usual suspect’ explanatory factors, such as contrasting national settings, union power structures or traditions, our cross-national comparison highlights important underlying similarities in unions' strategic responses to a growing precarious immigrant workforce. In the absence of established channels of representation, both unions decided to act like social movements fighting for social protection. Using Polanyi's framework, we view both case studies as examples of countermovements against heightened levels of global liberalization and precarious employment.
The Probability of War, 1816–1992

What factors increase the probability that a pair of states might go to war is the focus of this study. Six hypotheses, derived from the steps to war explanation, are tested by comparing pairs of states that go to war with each other at least once in their history (from 1816 to 1992) with those that do not. It is found that as two states take the various steps to war that have been posited, the higher their probability of going to war. States whose relations are dominated by territorial disputes have a higher probability of having had a war if both sides have had outside allies, have had recurring territorial disputes, have been engaged in an enduring rivalry, and have had an arms race. As each of these factors becomes present, the probability of war progressively increases. Pairs of states whose relations are dominated by nonterritorial disputes also have their probability of war increased if these factors are present, but at a lower level. Of the various factors that increase the probability of war, outside politically relevant alliances seem to have the weakest impact.
Overview on transflective liquid crystal displays

In this paper, transflective liquid crystal displays is overviewed and a simulation program based on the 2/spl times/2 extended Jones matrix method is developed to simulate the viewing angle of both T-mode and R-mode.
Assessing Developmental Education Policies

This paper reviews the results of a research study designed to assess the effectiveness of the policies governing the developmental education program at a comprehensive community college. The major issues addressed in the study are required remediation of skill-deficient students, enrollment in college-level courses by skill-deficient students, and differing policies for skill-deficient students depending on the extent of deficiency. The results point to guidelines for designing or revising policies governing developmental education programs. A recently implemented student tracking system was used to conduct this comprehensive and in-depth analysis of student enrollment patterns, persistence, and performance.
Rivers, blood and transportation networks.

The search for a theory to explain why the metabolic rate of mammals is proportional to the 3/4-power of body mass (Kleiber's law) has recently focused on the nutrient distribution network formed by arteries and capillaries. Banavar et al.1 argue that the law follows from the intrinsic properties of an outward-directed network. But careful analysis of their arguments reveals two implicit assumptions that may not be generally correct. Unless these assumptions are valid for mammalian circulation, these arguments cannot satisfactorily explain Kleiber's empirical relationship.
Probabilistic assessment of model-based clustering

Finite mixtures provide a powerful tool for modeling heterogeneous data. Model-based clustering is a broadly used grouping technique that assumes the existence of the one-to-one correspondence between clusters and mixture model components. Although there are many directions of active research in the model-based clustering framework, very little attention has been paid to studying the specific nature of detected clustering solutions. In this paper, we develop an approach for assessing the variability in classifications carried out by the Bayes decision rule. The proposed technique allows assessing significance of each assignment made. We also apply the developed instrument for identifying influential observations that have impact on the structure of the detected partitioning. The proposed diagnostic methodology is studied and illustrated on synthetic data and applied to the analysis of three well-known classification datasets.
Las colonias fronterizas

Este articulo examina el rapido crecimiento de las comunidades irregulares que son habitadas por poblacion de escasos recursos, predominantemente hispana, localizadas en areas desincorporadas de lado norteamericano de la frontera Mexico-Estados Unidos durante la decada de los ochenta. Alrededor de 175 o 200 mil personas actualmente viven en estas llamadas "colonias", mismas que frecuentemente estan aisladas de las areas urbanas cercanas y sin disponer de acceso adecuado a los servicios publicos basicos tales como agua, drenaje y transporte publico. La inmigracion de mexicanos a los Estados Unidos y la escasez de viviendas a precios modicos estan identificados como los factores principales en la creacion de estas comunidades. El Paso, Texas es utilizado como caso para el estudio de la dinamica social, politica y economica del crecimiento de las "colonias". En este articulo se llega a la conclusion de que seran necesarias inciativas innovadoras, principalmente locales, para minimizar las consecuencias potenciales negativas del desarrollo irregular de anillos de pobreza alrededor de las areas urbanas ubicadas en el lado norteamericano de la frontera.
The Fuld Object-Memory Evaluation: Development and Validation of an Alternate Form

The Fuld Object-Memory Evaluation (FOME) uses multisensory (tactile, visual, and verbal) encoding of objects for assessing memory, with particular clinical and research application in older adults. This preliminary study reports the first known psychometric data on the development of an alternate form of the FOME. Data were drawn from 102 independent-living older adults participating in a larger clinical trial. Seventy participants completed three versions of the shortened administration of the FOME, and comparability of forms was established by significant, moderate intraclass correlation coefficients for immediate and delayed recall scores. Reliable change indexes indicate the new alternate form performs well, with minimal practice or learning effects. Evidence of convergent and discriminant validity was documented using the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, category fluency task, and North American Adult Reading Test. Normative data are provided stratified by age for participants completing at least one of three time points (n = 96). Results of this preliminary study provide evidence for the comparability and construct validity of a new alternate form of the FOME with prior forms. An additional well-validated form of the FOME has practical implications for serial testing often required in clinical practice and research design.
Simulation of anticipatory responses in classical conditioning by a neuron-like adaptive element

A neuron-like adaptive element is described that produces an important feature of the anticipatory nature of classical conditioning. The response that occurs after training (conditioned response) usually begins earlier than the reinforcing stimulus (unconditioned stimulus). The conditioned response therefore usually anticipates the unconditioned stimulus. This aspect of classical conditioning has been largely neglected by hypotheses that neurons provide single unit analogs of conditioning. This paper briefly presents the model and extends earlier results by computer simulation of conditioned inhibition and chaining of associations.
Direct Dynamics Study of Hydrogen-Transfer Isomerization of 1-Pentyl and 1-Hexyl Radicals

The rate constants of three intramolecular hydrogen-transfer isomerization reactions, namely, 1-4 isomerization of the 1-pentyl radical and 1-4 and 1-5 isomerizations of the 1-hexyl radical, are calculated using variational transition state theory with multidimensional tunneling, in particular by using canonical variational theory (CVT, which is the version of variational transition state theory in which the transition state dividing surface is optimized for a canonical ensemble) with small-curvature tunneling (SCT) for the transmission coefficient. The required potential energy surfaces were obtained implicitly by direct dynamics employing interpolated variational transition state theory with mapping (IVTST-M) and variational transition state theory with interpolated single-point energies (VTST-ISPE). Single-level direct dynamics calculations were performed for all of the reactions by IVTST-M using M06-2X/MG3S or M08-HX/cc-pVTZ+ potential energy surfaces or both. The stationary points of 1-4 isomerizatio...
Communication, education, and creativity

Abstract Communication, education, and creativity are conceptually related through a general systems approach. Each phenomenon is viewed as a transactional process. Implications are drawn for facilitating the development of more creative student behaviors in the education system.
Research Guidelines for Digital Computer-Controlled Systems for Checkout and Fault Isolation

The past decade has seen a tremendous increase in the complexity and capability of aerospace and weapons systems. However maintenance philosophy and checkout procedures have not kept pace. The maintenance procedures have been evolving slowly through three major phases: a. Manual Maintenance Procedures b. Serially Programmed Automatic Test Equipment c. Computer-Controlled Automatic Test Equipment In the latter case a small but highly capable general-purpose digital computer is used as the controller for the Automatic Test Equipment. Once a general standardized programmed set of stimuli and measuring instruments is incorporated in a computer-controlled automatic test system, one need only modify the program in the Automatic Test Equipment system memory rather than develop a new set of test equipment for each new system under test. Much of the basic feasibility work has already been completed for such computer controlled Automatic Test Equipment. This is summarized along with discussion of remaining problem areas. Of especial importance is the dependence of program details on the level of tests to be performed; e.g. overall system checkout or isolation of fault to subsystem, assembly, chassis, module, or component. It is shown that while the program details differ, the same test philosophy can be applied.
Energy Distribution and Redistribution and Chemical Reactivity. The Generalized Delta Overlap-Density Method for Ground State and Electron Transfer Reactions: A New Quantitative Counterpart of Electron-Pushing1

A new approach to prediction of organic reactions and understanding of the electron flow involved in the reaction mechanisms is presented. The method developed permits comparison of electronic stru...