cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
G-NEST: a gene neighborhood scoring tool to identify co-conserved, co-expressed genes.

Background: In previous studies, gene neighborhoods—spatial clusters of co-expressed genes in the genome—have been defined using arbitrary rules such as requiring adjacency, a minimum number of genes, a fixed window size, or a minimum expression level. In the current study, we developed a Gene Neighborhood Scoring Tool (G-NEST) which combines genomic location, gene expression, and evolutionary sequence conservation data to score putative gene neighborhoods across all possible window sizes simultaneously. Results: Using G-NEST on atlases of mouse and human tissue expression data, we found that large neighborhoods of ten or more genes are extremely rare in mammalian genomes. When they do occur, neighborhoods are typically composed of families of related genes. Both the highest scoring and the largest neighborhoods in mammalian genomes are formed by tandem gene duplication. Mammalian gene neighborhoods contain highly and variably expressed genes. Co-localized noisy gene pairs exhibit lower evolutionary conservation of their adjacent genome locations, suggesting that their shared transcriptional background may be disadvantageous. Genes that are essential to mammalian survival and reproduction are less likely to occur in neighborhoods, although neighborhoods are enriched with genes that function in mitosis. We also found that gene orientation and protein-protein interactions are partially responsible for maintenance of gene neighborhoods. Conclusions: Our experiments using G-NEST confirm that tandem gene duplication is the primary driver of non-random gene order in mammalian genomes. Non-essentiality, co-functionality, gene orientation, and protein-protein interactions are additional forces that maintain gene neighborhoods, especially those formed by tandem duplicates. We expect G-NEST to be useful for other applications such as the identification of core regulatory modules, common transcriptional backgrounds, and chromatin domains. The software is available at http://docpollard.org/software.html
Pin-to-hole spark discharge (PHD) plasma experimental characterization and modeling

Recently, cold pin-to-hole spark discharge (PHD) plasma was reported to be successfully applied for the treatment of a human patient with complicated ulcerous eyelid wounds [1]. Such treatment was essentially salvatory for patient's life: PHD plasma was shown to have "healing" and bactericidal effects, while other conventional medical treatments did not have an effect. In order to understand which components of spark plasma (and associated mechanisms) caused the observed biological effects, the discharge characterization is required. This will also allow optimization of the discharge and possibly finding new medical applications.
Our Continuing Struggle with the Idea that For-Profit Corporations Seek Profit

When a corporation’s ardor for profits leads it to take excessive risks that endanger the firm’s solvency, commentators react with shock and dismay. How can corporate managers be so blinded by the immediate prospect of profit that they would ignore what, in hindsight, seem like such obvious risks? Likewise, we rent our garments in anger and chagrin when energy companies take environmental shortcuts in drilling for oil or mining coal, surprised that profit-maximizing firms have been less than optimally protective of the environment and their workers, that they did not go beyond what was simply necessary to ensure that regulators allowed them to operate. Similarly, we anguish when the board of a venerable homeland corporate icon reacts receptively to a premium takeover bid from a foreign acquirer. How could the board sell out and undermine the traditional values the firm stands for? It cannot be that the long-term stockholders would put their desire for a onetime, short-term profit ahead of the continued independence of a nationally important institution? Although I am sympathetic to many of the sentiments and policy concerns that motivate these dismayed reactions, I confess to being weary of the naivete they manifest. More importantly, the continued failure of our societies to be clear-eyed about the role of the for-profit corporation endangers the public interest. Instead of recognizing that for-profit corporations will seek profit for their stockholders using all legal means available, we imbue these corporations with a personality and assume they are moral beings capable of being “better” in the long-run than the lowest common denominator. In this Essay, I identify some recent instances that reflect our continued inability to view the for-profit corporation with a gimlet eye. These examples track recurrent patterns. In the end, policy makers should not delude themselves about the corporation’s ability to police itself; government still has a critical role in setting the rules of the game.
Mental Health Policy: On Spending Other People's Money

“I passed my thallium test this week,” our neighbor announced. “But it cost two thousand dollars! I never would have had it done if the insurance didn't pay for it.” “That's a very expensive test, Ben,” said my wife. “But it's worth it. Now you know you'll live a long time!” “Moral hazard,” I muttered to my wife. We had been discussing that bit of econospeak, and this was a live example. Ben overheard me and grinned. “I know all about moral hazard,” he said. “No, you're thinking about immoral hazard,” I replied. “Moral hazard is what happens when you are spending someone else's money. Health economists and actuaries talk about it a lot.”
A Bayesian 3-compartment model for 99mTc-MAG3 clearance.

Because recent reports have questioned the traditional 2-compartment model for calculating tracer clearance after a single intravenous injection, a 3-compartment model was evaluated in this study. Methods: Bayesian statistics were used, which facilitated curve fitting by treating all subjects simultaneously. 99mTc-Mercaptoacetyltriglycine clearance data from 154 adults and 109 children were measured at several centers, typically 6–9 plasma samples spanning 5–90 min, and fitted by 2- and 3-compartment Bayesian models. Results: Clearance estimates were found to be systematically lower for the 3-compartment model than for the 2-compartment model. A single-sample procedure based on the 3-compartment model was found to eliminate most of the known discrepancy between formulas based on single-injection and continuous-infusion reference methods. Conclusion: A 3-compartment model led to lower and probably more accurate clearance estimates than the conventional 2-compartment model. A new single-sample method is presented, based on the 3-compartment model as reference standard.
Binding Bellwether Trials in Multidistrict Litigation and the Right to Jury Trial

Multidistrict litigation encompasses today a wide variety of litigations from mass torts to human rights violations. The increasing number of cases in multidistrict litigation has necessitated new mechanisms to save time and money. Bellwether trials or test trials offer federal judges the possibility to determine the outcome of future cases by subjecting sample representative case to jury trial. The result of the bellwether trial can be extrapolated and used in other proceedings. However, binding bellwether trials have been held to be unconstitutional as violating the Seventh Amendment to the US Constitution. Since the Cimino case in 1998, courts have been reluctant to make use of binding bellwether trials. This paper analyses the validity and constitutionality of binding bellwether trials by arguing that binding bellwether trials do not violate the right to jury trial under the Seventh Amendment, because complex civil litigation did not exist in 1791. Also, it analyzes the accurate methodology of sampling and extrapolation in order to achieve the most accurate sample trial. Lastly, the doctrine of collateral estoppel provides some guidance for validity of binding bellwether trials.
Intermolecular Interaction in Water Hexamer

The origin of the intermolecular interaction, especially the many-body interaction, in eight low-lying water hexamer structures (prism, cage, book-1, book-2, cyclic-chair, bag, cyclic-boat-1, and cyclic-boat-2) is unraveled using the localized molecular orbital energy decomposition analysis (LMO-EDA) method at the second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation (MP2) level of theory with a large basis set. It is found that the relative stabilities of these hexamer structures are determined by delicate balances between different types of interaction. According to LMO-EDA, electrostatic and exchange interactions are strictly pairwise additive. Dispersion interaction in these water hexamer structures is almost pairwise additive, with many-body effects varying from -0.13 to +0.05 kcal/mol. Repulsion interaction is roughly pairwise additive, with many-body effects varying from -0.84 to -0.62 kcal/mol. Polarization interaction is not pairwise additive, with many-body effects varying from -13.10 to -8.85 kcal/mol.
Imaging Fracture Anisotropic Flow Channeling Using GPR Signal Amplitude and Phase

Summary Flow in fractured rocks is highly heterogeneous and occurs along preferred pathways referred as flow channels. Conventional borehole hydraulic tests do not capture the heterogeneous flow properties of fractured rock. We present a field investigation of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) imaging of anisotropic channeled flow along a discrete fracture. Dipole-flow tests conducted in a five-spot well field allow control over the orientation of the hydraulic gradient. Multi-polarization, 3D GPR imaging is used in time-lapse mode to monitor dipole-flow saline tracer tests. The presence of saline tracer in the fracture results in reflected GPR signal amplitude increase and phase decrease relative to fresh water. Tracer flow channeling is assessed by comparing GPR imaging of the fracture containing fresh water (background) with east-west (E-W) and north-south (N-S) oriented dipole tracer tests. GPR signal amplitude and phase changes reveal that the EW dipole results in a direct and narrow channeled flow field of least resistance between boreholes. The N-S dipole causes a wider surface area of the fracture to be swept by the tracer suggesting poorer hydraulic connection than the E-W path. GPR imaging results of flow channeling are supported by hydraulic tracer tests conducted at the site. This work presents for the first time a) the use of GPR phase for imaging the spatial distribution of saline tracer in a fracture, and b) imaging in the field flow channeling changes in response to hydraulic gradient orientation
Physiological variation among Populus fremontii populations: short- and long-term relationships between δ13C and water availability

Different populations of widely distributed species can experience dramatically different climatic conditions that may influence physiological activity, specifically carbon assimilation and water use. Populus fremontii Wats. (Fremont cottonwood) populations are found near rivers of varying size along a precipitation gradient from New Mexico to northern California. Climatic differences among populations may lead to physiological differences because P. fremontii is sensitive to water availability. To assess physiological variation among populations, we collected foliage and wood samples from 13 populations that experience different precipitation and stream flow regimes and analyzed the samples for carbon isotope composition (delta13C). Wood delta13C served as a lifetime-averaged indicator of water-use efficiency (WUE), whereas foliage delta13C provided as an estimate of WUE during the growing season of collection. We found approximately 3.4 per thousand variation in delta13C among populations for both foliage (-31.1 to -27.9 per thousand) and wood (-28.3 to -24.7 per thousand). Wood delta13C was, on average, 2.8 per thousand more enriched than foliage. Some of the variation in wood delta13C can be explained by variation in elevation of the study sites. We constructed total precipitation and mean stream flow variables based on the length of the growing season at each study site and analyzed for a relationship between delta13C, precipitation and stream flow. A significant relationship between foliage delta13C and precipitation was found, but water availability did not explain a significant fraction of the variation in wood delta13C. The data suggest that water availability can account for some of the delta13C variation among populations but, given the large residual variances, other factors are important.
Control of the Boll Weevil by Mechanically Destroying Fallen Infested Cotton Squares

Replicated tests were conducted in 1966 in semi-isolated fields in Carroll County, Mississippi, to control Anthonomus grandis Boheman by mechanically destroying fallen infested cotton squares with a flail-type machine. Control in the flail-treated fields was compared with fields treated with ultra low volume (ULV) applications of azinphosmethyl at 0.125 lb/acre applied at 5-day intervals. Flail treatments were made until the machine damaged mature fruit on the plants. Thereafter, the flail fields were sprayed with ULV applications of azinphosmethyl at 0.125 lb/acre. Results indicated that the boll weevil can be controlled with a flail-type machine by destroying fallen infested squares as long as the machine can be operated in the field. However, when the plants become heavily fruited the machine damages the mature fruit. During the season the flail machine picked up an average of 95.3% of the squares that were on the ground.
Controlled drug release to cancer cells from modular one-photon visible light-responsive micellar system

We present a one-photon visible light-responsive micellar system for efficient, on-demand delivery of small molecules. Release is mediated by a novel class of photochromic material - donor-acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASAs). We demonstrate controlled delivery of small molecules such as the chemotherapeutic agent (paclitaxel) to human breast cancer cells triggered by micellar switching with low intensity, visible light.
Comparison of the fine structure of two human carcinomas

Various stages of human tumors transplanted to cortisone treated hamsters (1) have been examined in the electron microscope. These include a 9th generation bronchogenic carcinoma, strain A-42, and both early and late 13th generation squamous cell carcinomas of the penis, strain A-21.
Measuring global awareness interest development of engineering and information technology students

Engineers and information technology professionals often work in international settings or teams, as well as across diverse cultures in today's global economy. Ever expanding globalized society has required updates in organizational procedures and practices, especially for engineering and information technology organizations, to keep up with increasingly competitive and technology-oriented markets. Professional accreditation organizations (e.g., ABET, Inc.) also recognized that it is necessary to develop programs to prepare globally competent graduates. In this paper, our primary emphasis is on understanding students' interest in global awareness. As the theoretical framework, we use Model of Domain Learning (MDL) - a learning theory that has a three-pronged approach to the conceptualization of learning in a domain, covering interest, knowledge and strategic processing. Students' interest in a domain changes from situational to individual as they develop from novice to proficient in the domain. Therefore, we propose interest as an additional construct to measure students' global awareness. We developed an instrument to effectively measure students' global awareness development and engagement throughout their education. In this paper, we present our preliminary findings for the proposed global awareness interest assessment framework and also analyze factors affecting engineering and technology students' global awareness interest.
The Rise of Religious Extremism in the Middle East: A Triptych View?

This chapter explores why religious extremist is on the rise in the Middle East. It highlights how the Salafi’s textualization of faith has inadvertently enabled theocratic regimes to cement their dictatorships; creating a state of “religious cronyism”; before concluding that encouraging uncompromised adaptation of Sharia law cements the position of otherwise corrupted rulers. This chapter also discusses the interrelation between financing jihad and tax evasion. It finally explores how Salafi-Jihadist have succeeded in mischaracterizing criticism leveled against their violent means to achieve their political agenda as an attack on Islam per se; creating a form of “religious dilution.”
GABA Increases the Rate of Nitrate Uptake and Utilization in Arabidopsis Roots

GABA (4-aminobutyric acid) is a non-protein amino acid widely found in plant tissues that accumulates in response to various environmental stresses including heat, cold, drought, salinity, and anaerobic stress. Although there is limited information on its biological function in plants, some studies suggest that GABA acts as a carbon and/or nitrogen source in microorganisms, and it has been suggested that GABA metabolism under stress is related to excessive glutamate accumulation and/or cytoplasmic pH regulation. We found that exogenously applied GABA had an effect on root growth and development in Arabidopsis thaliana L. seedlings. This effect was modulated between inhibition of root elongation when seedlings were grown on full strength Murashige and Skoog salts (1/1X MS) to stimulation of root elongation when plants were grown on 1/8 strength MS salts (1/8X MS). When the concentration of single ions in MS salts was varied, the primary effect was found to be a direct interaction between GABA and the level of nitrate (NO3) in the growing medium. At NO3 concentrations below 40 mM, root growth was stimulated by the addition of GABA to the growth medium, whereas at concentrations above 40 mM NO3 addition of GABA to the growth medium inhibited root elongation. The uptake of NO; and tissue levels of nitrate were also investigated at high (40 mM NO3) and low (5 mM NO,) with and without GABA in the growing medium. In correlation with the growth results GABA promotes NO3 uptake at low NO3, while GABA inhibits NO3 uptake at high NO3. However, tissue levels of NO3 are increased by GABA at high NO3 while they are decreased by GABA at low NO3. These results can be interpreted to indicate that GABA produced during stress is capable of regulating NO3 uptake and metabolism during stress.
Molecular and Mesoscale Modeling of Proton Exchange Membranes

Significant research effort in recent years in the field of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells has been concerned with the development of electrolytes that will function at temperatures above 100 °C under low humidity conditions. Central to this effort has been the pursuit of understanding how protons move in the polymers presently used in these energy conversion devices over a range of external conditions. A complete grasp of the factors determining efficient proton transport has been thwarted largely due to the complexity of the morphology of the membrane, particularly when hydrated. The commonly employed PEMs are perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomers that when humidified take up water and phase separate on the nanoscale into hydrophilic and hydrophobic domains that probably have some long-range order but are far from the thermodynamic equilibrium of typical solids. Characterizing the local and long-range structure and connecting it with the transport properties has remained elusive despite extensive experimental studies. This chapter reviews the efforts to understand structure–property relationships over length scales from a few angstroms to tens of nanometers. Several distinct theoretical methodologies have been employed in the study of these polymers including electronic structure calculations and ab initio molecular simulations of systems involving no more than a few hundred atoms of the hydrated ionomers, all-atom classical molecular dynamics (CMD) simulations of several thousand atoms, coarse-grained classical simulations of several million atoms, and phenomenological models employing statistical mechanics.
Eye Opener to EtOH Ablation for Juxta-Cardiac Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is notoriously refractory to systemic chemotherapy, mandating an interventional approach. Mortality may be avoided by neutralizing rapidly growing tumors that approach the heart and major vessels. When the risk/benefit ratio of surgery is unacceptable, percutaneous ablation can achieve remarkable results. High volumes of flowing blood adjacent to the treatment area may impact the ability to reliably achieve an adequate ablation margin for modalities that rely on extreme temperatures to destroy malignant cells. Ethanol ablation is safe, efficacious, and unaffected by this "thermal sink" effect. This report describes a juxta-cardiac (JC) HCC in segment 4a measuring 35 × 26 mm, which exhibited rapid growth until it was abutting the pericardium and 7.5 mm from the chamber of the right ventricle (RV). Methods One 21-gauge needle was inserted using direct CT fluoroscopy into the center of the hepatic mass. In order to confirm the position of the needle, 0.5 mL of diluted Visipaque was injected. Then, under CT fluoroscopy guidance, a mixture of 1 mL of Ethiodol and 10 mL of 98% dehydrated alcohol was slowly injected into the mass. Results Repeat CT scan 1 month post-ablation demonstrated decreased arterial enhancement and dense Ethiodol throughout the tumor consistent with ablation. Tumor size decreased to 30 × 23 mm with a distance of 12.4 mm from the chamber of the RV. Conclusion Pericardial involvement or large vessels near the treatment area may limit the use of thermal ablation techniques for JC HCC. Percutaneous, intratumoral ethanol injection provides safe and effective alternative that is not subject to the "thermal sink" effect.
Structural basis for α-bungarotoxin insensitivity of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Abstract The ten types of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor α-subunits show substantial sequence homology, yet some types confer high affinity for α-bungarotoxin, whereas others confer negligible affinity. Combining sequence alignments with structural data reveals three residues unique to α-toxin-refractory α-subunits that coalesce within the 3D structure of the α4β2 receptor and are predicted to fit between loops I and II of α-bungarotoxin. Mutating any one of these residues, Lys189, Ile196 or Lys153, to the α-toxin-permissive counterpart fails to confer α-bungarotoxin binding. However, mutating both Lys189 and Ile196 affords α-bungarotoxin binding with an apparent dissociation constant of 104 nM, while combining mutation of Lys153 reduces the dissociation constant to 22 nM. Analogous residue substitutions also confer high affinity α-bungarotoxin binding upon α-toxin-refractory α2 and α3 subunits. α4β2 receptors engineered to bind α-bungarotoxin exhibit slow rates of α-toxin association and dissociation, and competition by cholinergic ligands typical of muscle nicotinic receptors. Receptors engineered to bind α-bungarotoxin co-sediment with muscle nicotinic receptors on sucrose gradients, and mirror single channel signatures of their α-toxin-refractory counterparts. Thus the inability of α-bungarotoxin to bind to neuronal nicotinic receptors arises from three unique and interdependent residues that coalesce within the receptor's 3D structure.
The first soldier: Hitler as military leader

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, one individual stood out as more responsible than any other for Germany’s military aggression—and, thus, for its subsequent catastrophic defeat, ...
3D Printing Latex: A Route to Complex Geometries of High Molecular Weight Polymers

Vat photopolymerization (VP) additive manufacturing fabricates intricate geometries with excellent resolution; however, high molecular weight polymers are not amenable to VP due to concomitant high solution and melt viscosities. Thus, a challenging paradox arises between printability and mechanical performance. This report describes concurrent photopolymer and VP system design to navigate this paradox with the unprecedented use of polymeric colloids (latexes) that effectively decouple the dependency of viscosity on molecular weight. Photocrosslinking of a continuous-phase scaffold, which surrounds the latex particles, combined with in situ computer-vision print parameter optimization, which compensates for light scattering, enables high-resolution VP of high molecular weight polymer latexes as particle-embedded green bodies. Thermal post-processing promotes coalescence of the dispersed particles throughout the scaffold, forming a semi-interpenetrating polymer network without loss in part resolution. Printing a styrene-butadiene rubber latex, a previously inaccessible elastomer composition for VP, exemplified this approach and yielded printed elastomers with precise geometry and tensile extensibilities exceeding 500%.
Impact of the Cathode Pt Loading on PEMFC Contamination by Several Airborne Contaminants

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with 0.1 and 0.4 mg Pt cm−2 cathode catalyst loadings were separately contaminated with seven organic species: Acetonitrile, acetylene, bromomethane, iso-propanol, methyl methacrylate, naphthalene, and propene. The lower catalyst loading led to larger cell voltage losses at the steady state. Three closely related electrical equivalent circuits were used to fit impedance spectra obtained before, during, and after contamination, which revealed that the cell voltage loss was due to higher kinetic and mass transfer resistances. A significant correlation was not found between the steady-state cell voltage loss and the sum of the kinetic and mass transfer resistance changes. Major increases in research program costs and efforts would be required to find a predictive correlation, which suggests a focus on contamination prevention and recovery measures rather than contamination mechanisms.
Early experiences with combined fellowship training in clinical informatics

Given the ubiquitous nature of information systems in modern health care, interest in the pursuit of formal training in clinical informatics is increasing. This interest is not restricted to generalists-informatics training is increasingly being sought by future subspecialists. The traditional structure of Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education subspecialty training requires completion of both clinical and clinical informatics fellowship programs, and understandably lacks appeal due to the time commitment required. One approach to encourage clinical informatics training is to integrate it with clinical fellowships in order to confer dual-board eligibility. In this perspective, we describe 3 successful petitions for combined training in clinical informatics in order to support other programs and the American Board of Preventive Medicine in establishing pathways for training subspecialists in clinical informatics.
An evaluation of restaurant noise levels and contributing factors.

According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, design trends in modern restaurants have the unintended consequence of excessive noise levels. Restaurant designs with open kitchens, wood ...
ECONOMIC PREREQUISITES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL AND CREDIT SYSTEM IN UKRAINE: SOCIO-HUMANITARIAN DISCOURSE IN CONTEXT OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION

The topic of the present paper is a search for the functional methods of bank management in the period of political and social transformation of society. The objective of the research is substantiation of the necessity for the government to have its own banks in order to exercise its functions and provide guarantees of stability in the state under the unfavorable conditions of a conflict of interests when the state is both the ‘regulator of the financial services market’ and the ‘bank owner’. The analysis conducted in the paper on the benefits and losses due to the state ownership of banks has shown: vulnerability of the Ukrainian banks to political pressure; lobbying for the interests of systemic commercial banks and their obtaining of preferences or special terms; excessive budget expenditures for capitalization of failing systemic banks. The experience of developed economies has been researched with an analysis of shortcomings, mistakes and prospects of state-owned bank management in different countries; banking market regulation methods and tools have been systematized. The paper focuses on the measure of nationalization, which was applied by many advanced countries; the impact of nationalizing important systemic banks is grounded, with an emphasis on the decisive role of nationalization in the transition period. It has been determined that many of the factors leading to bank nationalization are closely related to the problems of government regulation of the banking sector. A conclusion has been made that in many countries the mechanisms for corporate regulation of state- or community-owned property do not even exist or are underdeveloped, and therefore, the governments of these countries, having sufficient information and appropriately trained specialists, should be responsible for all the socio-economic processes in the state. These considerations should be translated into elaboration of a mechanism for corporate governance of strategic public property objects. A corporate governance reform involves creation of competent and independent supervisory boards that would minimize a possible impact of politicians and public officials on the operating activities of banks.
Open-shell donor–π–acceptor conjugated metal-free dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have drawn a significant interest due to their low production cost, design flexibility, and the tunability of the sensitizer. However, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the metal-free organic dyes is limited due to the inability of the dye to absorb light in the near-infrared (NIR) region, leaving a large amount of energy unused. Herein, we have designed new DSC dyes with open-shell character, which significantly red-shifts the absorption spectra from their counterpart closed-shell structure. A small diradical character (y < 0.10) is found to be beneficial in red-shifting the absorption maxima into the NIR region and broadening up to 2500 nm. Also, the open-shell dyes significantly reduce the singlet–triplet energy gaps (ΔEST), increase the total amount of charge-transfer to the semiconductor surface, reduce the exciton binding energy, and significantly increase the excited-state lifetimes compared to the closed-shell systems. However, the closed-shell dyes have higher injection efficiency with increased intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) character. Our study reveals the design rule for open-shell DSC dyes to be able to absorb photons in the NIR region, which can increase the efficiency of the solar cell device.
Personalized 3D exergames for in-home rehabilitation after stroke: a pilot study.

To describe a novel 3-dimensional (3D) exergames system and the results of a clinical feasibility study of stroke survivors needing in-home rehabilitation.The customisable Personalized In-home eXEr...
The dynamic implications of debt relief for low-income countries

The effects of debt relief on incentives to accumulate debt, consume, and invest are an important concern for donors and recipients. Using a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model of a small open economy with a minimum consumption requirement and an endogenous relief probability, we show that excessive debt accumulation is consistent with an anticipation of a future debt relief. Simulations of the calibrated model using 1982-2006 Ugandan data suggest that debt-relief episodes are likely to have only a temporary impact on the level of debt in low-income countries, while being associated with more consumption and less invesment. The long-run debt-to-GDP ratio is estimated to be about twice as high with debt relief than without it.
Credit, Morality, and the Small-Dollar Loan

Modern jurisprudence and regulation of small-dollar lending is centered on a consumer protection framework. State and federal agencies and regulators monitor lender behavior, policing fraudulent activity, lack of disclosure, or predation. However, for most of American history, the relevant legal framework relating to small-dollar lending was the law of Usury. This is due, in part, to Court decisions and legislative deregulation that made it difficult for states to enforce usury laws. However, the broader shift was ideological—from the Progressive era framework acknowledging small-dollar lending as a systemic problem to the general dominance of the neoliberal lens on the market that filtered interest rate through market competition. Usury laws, having been infused with moral and even religious overtones, seemed out of touch with the emphasis on “freedom of contract.” Regulating interest rates (i.e., setting prices) for small-dollar loans became anathema for a market-centric ideology. Yet, the tide has begun to turn, at least ideologically. This Article explores the legal and political evolution in lending regulation and offers suggestions on how to account for both systemic and moral concerns in small-dollar lending. The Article concludes with a proposal for a public banking option through postal banks.
Long tail metaphysics: The epistemic crisis and intellectual freedom:

In reaction to the epistemic crisis, efforts to restrict free expression and access to information have not only failed to preserve the truth, but sometimes also suppressed it. Libraries’ commitmen...
Ecological Psychology: Six Principles for an Embodied–Embedded Approach to Behavior

Publisher Summary A truly embodied-embedded approach to behavior promises a radical change in how scientists conceptualize cognitive agents (both biological and nonbiological) and how they proceed to understand the behavioral order of such agents, both empirically and theoretically. This chapter views that cashing in the promissory note requires that perceiving, acting and knowing be studied as emergent properties of an organism (O)–environment (E) system. The six principles described in the present chapter are proposed as an appropriate framework for that study. It presumes that the persistent application of the principles should enable cognitive and psychological science to repay the many loans of intelligence thus far accrued.
Management of obesity in Prader-Willi syndrome.

Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is associated with uncontrolled appetite and morbid obesity. Management of PWS is particularly challenging and requires the involvement of both the family and health-care providers, as well as the affected individual. In this Viewpoint the efficacy of the strategies currently used to control obesity in PWS is discussed.
Nested Periodic Matrices and Dictionaries: New Signal Representations for Period Estimation

In this paper, we propose a new class of techniques to identify periodicities in data. We target the period estimation directly rather than inferring the period from the signal’s spectrum. By doing so, we obtain several advantages over the traditional spectrum estimation techniques such as DFT and MUSIC. Apart from estimating the unknown period of a signal, we search for finer periodic structure within the given signal. For instance, it might be possible that the given periodic signal was actually a sum of signals with much smaller periods. For example, adding signals with periods 3, 7, and 11 can give rise to a period 231 signal. We propose methods to identify these “hidden periods” 3, 7, and 11. We first propose a new family of square matrices called Nested Periodic Matrices (NPMs), having several useful properties in the context of periodicity. These include the DFT, Walsh–Hadamard, and Ramanujan periodicity transform matrices as examples. Based on these matrices, we develop high dimensional dictionary representations for periodic signals. Various optimization problems can be formulated to identify the periods of signals from such representations. We propose an approach based on finding the least $l_{2}$ norm solution to an under-determined linear system. Alternatively, the period identification problem can also be formulated as a sparse vector recovery problem and we show that by a slight modification to the usual $l_{1}$ norm minimization techniques, we can incorporate a number of new and computationally simple dictionaries.
Rangeland Mismanagement in South Africa: Failure to Apply Ecological Knowledge

Chronic, heavy livestock grazing and concomitant fire suppression have caused the gradual replacement of palatable grass species by less palatable trees and woody shrubs in a rangeland degradation process termed bush encroachment in South Africa. G razing policymakers and cattle farmers alike have not appreciated the ecological role fire and native browsers play in preventing bush encroachment. Unpredictable droughts are common in South Africa but have deflected too much blame for bush encroachment away from grazing mismanagement. Bush encroachment is widespread on both black and white farms, although the contributing socioeconomic, cultural, and political forces differ. Managers at Madikwe Game Reserve have reintroduced fire and native game animals into a formerly overgrazed system in an attempt to remediate bush encroachment, with encouraging preliminary results. A bush control program is needed that educates cattle farmers about the ecological causes of bush encroachment and encourages the use of fire and native browsers as tools for sustainable grazing management.
Energy transport in solar flares: Implications for Ca XIX emission

Results of recent numerical calculations of the soft X-ray Ca XIX resonance line profile are reviewed. The calculations were based on three different energy transport models: nonthermal thick-target electron precipitation; thermal conduction; and electricfield acceleration. Predictions made by each of these models for the Ca XIX blueshift and nonthermal broadening are compared with observations obtained during the flare impulsive phase. Agreements and discrepancies between theory and observation are discussed.
Inhibitory effect of calcitonin gene-related peptide and calcitonin on opossum esophageal smooth muscle.

Abstract Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is widely distributed in the gastrointestinal nerves, including those of the esophagus. The present investigation was undertaken to examine the effect and the mechanism of action of CGRP on the lower esophageal sphincter and esophageal contractions. This peptide caused dose-dependent relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter. The D 50 for inhibitory effect of intraarterial CGRP on the sphincter was 5.0 × 10 −13 mol/kg. Calcitonin gene-related peptide is 3000 times more potent than calcitonin. The effect of CGRP on the lower esophageal sphincter was partially antagonized by tetrodotoxin or black widow spider venom. The inhibitory effect of CGRP on the sphincter appears to be exerted at two levels: (a) at the sphincteric smooth muscle, and (b) at the noncholinergic, nonadrenergic inhibitory neurons. Calcitonin gene-related peptide also exerts a potent inhibitory effect on the peristaltic contraction of the esophageal body in response to swallowing and vagal efferent stimulation. Using immunohistochemical studies we also showed the presence of CGRP-immunoreactive neurons within the myenteric ganglia of the esophagus. These studies suggest that CGRP may play an important role as an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the esophagus.
Belonging: Australians, Place and Aboriginal Ownership

Belonging: Australians, Place and Aboriginal Ownership. Peter Read. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 248 pp.
Sound reasons for silence: why do molluscs not communicate acoustically?

Many adaptively beneficial states of form, behaviour and physiology are absent in large parts of the evolutionary tree of life. Although the causes of these absences can never be fully known, insights into the possibilities and limitations of adaptive evolution can be gained by examining the conditions that would be necessary for the forbidden phenotypes to evolve. Here, the case of acoustic communication in molluscs is considered. The production of sound as a warning to predators or as a means to attract mates is widespread among arthropods and vertebrates, both on land and in water, but is unknown among molluscs, even though many derived clades of gastropods and cephalopods are characterized by internal fertilization and by the evolution of long-distance visual and chemical signalling. Many molluscs possess suitable hard parts – shell, operculum and jaws – for producing sound, but most shell-bearing molluscs lack the agility or aggression necessary to cope with high-activity enemies attracted to an acoustic beacon. Their evolutionary background, arising from the generally passive adaptations of molluscs and other animals with low metabolic rates, prevents selection favouring communication by sound, and indeed favours silence. Several clades of shell-bearing gastropods and cephalopods were identified in which sound production has the greatest potential to arise or to be discovered. © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100, 485–493.
By-the-wind-sailors from a Late Devonian foreshore environment in western Montana

Three remarkable fossil medusoid hydrozoans (Plectodiscus latinautilus n. sp.) with disc, topsail, and pendant tentacular appendages were recovered from the latest Late Devonian beds of the Sappington Member of the Three Forks Formation in the Gallatin Range, southwest Montana. This is the first velellid reported from a Paleozoic beach paleoenvironment. Top and underside patterns of these chondrophorine velellids display well-preserved casts and mold imprints in fine siltstone. Outlines of the circular disc and the profile of the wide sail and tentacular structures embedded in soft tissue can be recognized. These floating colonial animals were moved along the southeast shores of the Sappington Basin during a time of eustatic sea level lowering and regression in a tropical setting. Colonies were washed up on the upper beach where they were stranded in the bubbling swash left behind by the surf. The foreshore was constructed of tabular, planar cross-bedded, seaward-dipping, foreset accretionary beds which contain parallel laminations and lime-coated grains. Bedding is inclined 17? to 24? seaward.
Venezuela in the Eye of the Hurricane: Landing an Analysis of the Bolivarian Revolution

Lower-class politics is rudimentary and dense; it takes place in the neighborhood, in the community, in places of production. Rarely is it granted the "honor" of being called "politics" by the canonic texts; instead, it is referred to as daily life, conversation, gossip, rumor or local conflict.
The Concept of “Community” and the History of Early Christianity

Abstract The pervasive assumption that all Christian literature and history in the first one hundred years or so sprang from and mirrored communities inhibits historical explanation by social and psychological theory that is normal for the rest of the academy. A community in this sense is a highly coherent social formation with commonality in thought and practice. The idea that the Christian movement began with these communities derives from Christianity’s own myth of origins, but has been taken as historical reality. The myth can be traced to Paul, Acts and Eusebius.
Effects of cumulus clouds on microclimate and shoot-level photosynthetic gas exchange in Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa at treeline, Medicine Bow Mountains, Wyoming, USA

Abstract Here we describe the dynamic effects of cumulus clouds on microclimate and shoot-level photosynthetic gas exchange in saplings of two treeline conifer species—Picea engelmannii and Abies lasiocarpa. Measurements were made during both clear-sky and partly cloudy conditions (∼10–70% cumulus cloud cover) throughout the 2012 growing season within an alpine-treeline ecotone. Cumulus clouds generated dynamic fluctuations in photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), higher maximum PAR (>2500 μmol m−2 s−1), 2–4 fold increases in diffuse PAR, reduced daily mean and cumulative PAR, lower needle temperatures, and reduced leaf-to-air vapor pressure differences relative to clear-sky conditions. Onset of cloud-shade corresponded with declines in photosynthesis, needle temperatures, and evapotranspiration, which were proportional to cloud duration and opacity. Despite increased diffuse light and greater sunlight intensity during cloud-gaps, photosynthesis was never higher on partly cloudy days compared to clear days in either species, during cloud-gaps or cloud-shade. However, reduced transpiration paired with photosynthesis comparable with clear-sky levels during cloud-gaps resulted in greater instantaneous water use efficiency relative to clear-sky measurements. There was no apparent photoinhibition of photosynthesis reflected in gas exchange measurements in response to abrupt and dramatic changes in PAR levels caused by cumulus clouds. We conclude that cumulus clouds reduce instantaneous and daily carbon gain, although lower needle temperatures and associated reductions in transpirational water loss may alleviate daily and seasonal water stress, thereby enhancing carbon gain over the growing season.
Cell Surface Changes during Preimplantation Development in the Mouse

Scanning electron microscopy reveals microvilli on all preimplantation stages, indicates that their number and length may be dependent on embryo size, and provides examples of regional alterations in their number. Cellular adherence, as evidence by interactions of microvilli, migration of cellular processes, and junctional complexes, increases during development and is accompanied by changes in the shapes of cells and embryos. Cell surfaces bordering the blastocoel differ markedly from the outer cell surfaces of the embryo.
Controlled release herbicide formulations based on polymeric microspheres

Abstract A series of polymeric microsphere formulations were prepared and tested for their ability to control the release of an herbicide, Dicamba (DA; 3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid). Microspheres (MSs) were produced from ethyl cellulose (EtCell), polyarylsulfone (PS), or a combination of the two, in the desired size range of 20–40 μm by solvent evaporation or spray drying. Generally, PS MSs could be loaded with more DA (up to nearly 50 wt%) than could the EtCell MSs (maximum loading obtained was 23 wt%). EtCell MSs released DA at a greater rate than did comparable PS MSs under sonication and soil column irrigation release tests. The release rate of DA from the EtCell MSs could be controlled by using different viscosity grades (i.e., molecular weights) of EtCell: higher viscosity EtCell led to a lower DA release rate. The release rate of DA from MSs was also controlled by using a combination of EtCell with PS. Overall, MSs prepared from EtCell, PS or EtCell/PS show promise as controlled release formulations for herbicides.