cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MTPA (Mosher) amides of cyclic secondary amines: Conformational aspects and a useful method for assignment of amine configuration

Mosher's MTPA (methoxy(trifluoromethyl)phenylacetyl) technology is a well-known tool used to determine the absolute configuration of chiral alcohols and primary amines. The technique now has been extended to include secondary amines. A number of MTPA amide derivatives have been prepared from cyclic amines. Both piperidines and pyrrolidines have been studied. A detailed discussion of the conformational issues associated with both amide bond rotation and ring flipping is presented. The observed 1H NMR chemical shifts are correlated into a model that allows unambiguous determination of absolute configuration of cyclic secondary amines. While the presence of amide rotamers must be accounted for in the analysis, this is a relatively straightforward process that follows from detailed evaluation of coupling constant data and is often aided by COSY. The exceptionally large Δδ values observed for these MTPA amides make this a valuable and reliable method for assigning amine configuration.
CEO Bonus Pay, Tax Policy, and Earnings Management

In 1993, Congress passed Internal Revenue Code Section 162(m), which eliminated the tax deductibility of nonperformance‐based executive compensation over $1 million. Recent research indicates that, as intended, Code Section 162(m) has strengthened the link between executive pay and firm performance. Although 162(m) apparently has changed executive compensation in a way desired by Congress, we hypothesize that 162(m) has indirectly influenced the financial‐reporting process. Specifically, we hypothesize and find evidence to support the following: for numerous reasons associated with “qualifying” a compensation plan per Code Section 162(m), executives in firms that qualify their compensation plans receive relatively low pay when their firm's financial performance is extreme. Because these executives receive relatively low pay for extreme financial performance, an incentive exists to smooth reported earnings over time in order to maximize long‐term compensation. The relatively smooth earnings patterns that w...
A case study in the politics of free-market health care

Historically, most health occupations have developed legal and ethical restrictions on price advertising and other characteristics of "commercial" practice. Many of these regulations recently have come under critical scrutiny, on the grounds that they inhibit free-market health care delivery, thus keeping prices high, and productivity and innovation low. To help inform current health policy deliberations, we analyze the political history of anticompetitive regulations in one health occupation, optometry. Restrictions on commercial practice arose as a result of professional optometry's purge of commercial elements in the 1930s. Optometry's success in achieving commercial-practice restrictions at the state level was determined by the economic structure of the ophthalmic goods and services industry in each state in the 1930s, and by the political resources and organization of the competing interest groups. Efforts to deregulate health occupations will precipate political conflict to the extent that economic interests are threatened. Opposition to deregulation will be based overtly on the grounds that quality of care will deteriorate, and a significant political investment by proponents of free-market health care will be required to overcome such opposition.
An improved iterative solution for method of moments problems in electromagnetics

The MoM formulation of Maxwell's equations leads to a large dense system of complex equations. An efficient approach is presented for the solution of large dense systems of linear equations arising in the integral equation formulation of electromagnetic problems. A three-step process is introduced in which the condition number of the matrix is first improved by equilibration, and then further enhanced by preconditioning. The initial guess for the iterative solution is generated by using an extrapolation technique. It is shown that the proposed approach considerably improves the computational efficiency of iterative solvers, e.g., CGNR and GMRES, even for poorly conditioned MoM matrices with a relatively small number of unknowns.
Magnetic trapping of molecules via optical loading and magnetic slowing.

Calcium monofluoride (CaF) is magnetically slowed and trapped using optical pumping. Starting from a collisionally cooled slow beam, CaF with an initial velocity of $\ensuremath{\sim}30\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$ is slowed via magnetic forces as it enters a 800 mK deep magnetic trap. Employing two-stage optical pumping, CaF is irreversibly loaded into the trap via two scattered photons. We observe a trap lifetime exceeding 500 ms limited by background collisions. This method paves the way for cooling and magnetic trapping of chemically diverse molecules without closed cycling transitions.
The Inequity of U.S. Estate Tax Consequences for Noncitizen Spouses and Expatriates and the Impact of the Proposed Exit Tax

In most cases, U.S. estate tax law permits assets passed to a spouse on death to be excluded from the tax net via the operation of the marital tax deduction. For individuals with noncitizen spouses, however, the law denies the marital deduction unless the assets are placed in a qualified domestic trust. The purpose of this arrangement is to prevent assets being lost to the estate tax system due to repatriation by the noncitizen spouse. The additional compliance costs imposed on noncitizen spouses regardless of whether they repatriate, stands in stark contrast to the regime faced by U.S. citizens who elect to relinquish their citizenship. The alternative tax system imposed on such former‐citizens offers considerable scope for both legitimate and illegitimate tax minimization. This paper proposes a greater alignment of these divergent systems, in light of the proposed exit tax legislation, both of which are designed to achieve the same objective of ensuring that wealth generated in the U.S. does not escape ...
Termination of reentrant propagation by a single extracellular stimulus in an atrial ring model

Cardiac reentry, the underlying mechanism of both tachycardia and fibrillation, is often terminated clinically with extracellular stimuli. We developed a one-dimensional mathematical model to find the probability that a short, randomly-timed extracellular stimulus would terminate reentry and to study the mechanisms responsible for termination. Our ring model consisted of 100 atrial cells, with the cell membrane represented mathematically by a model developed by Nygren et al. (1998). Stable reentry was established, and then a single extracellular stimulus with a pulsewidth of either 2.5 msec or 5.0 msec was applied through a cathode positioned over cell 25 and an anode over cell 50. Total delivered charge was kept constant. The timing of the stimulus was varied in 1.0 msec steps so as to sample one complete revolution of the reentering wavefront. The probability that the 2.5 mec stimulus would terminate reentry was 2.8%, 0.2% at the cathode and 2.6% at the anode. The probability of termination increased to 4.2% with the 5.0 msec stimulus (1.5% at the cathode and 2.7% at the anode). The anode was more significant than the cathode in terminating reentry, and the anodal mechanism was less sensitive to the stimulus pulsewidth.
Corporate Social Responsibility: Psychological, Person-Centric, and Progressing

Micro-CSR, or the psychological study of how corporate social responsibility (CSR) affects individuals, is gaining significant attention within industrial/organizational psychology and organizational behavior (IOOB). Although this research has the potential to offer insight into how CSR impacts individuals representing various stakeholder groups (e.g., consumers, shareholders), to date the term micro-CSR has generally been limited to describing research on employee responses to CSR initiatives. We argue that the taxonomic conscription of micro-CSR to employees alone exacerbates current friction within the field pertaining to the effects, utility, and importance of CSR. This review synthesizes the accruing research on employee-focused micro-CSR and summarizes current theories while addressing some of the concerns regarding CSR, particularly as it applies to other stakeholder groups. It repositions the study of CSR toward its ostensible ultimate purpose, reducing human suffering, and in doing so draws toget...
Implementing Student Information Systems.

Implementing an enterprise resource planning system is a complex undertaking. Careful planning, management, communication, and staffing can make the difference between a successful and unsuccessful implementation.
Regulation of leukemic cell adhesion, proliferation, and survival by β-catenin

In epithelial cells beta-catenin plays a critical role as a component of the cell-cell adhesion apparatus and as a coactivator of the TCF/LEF (T-cell transcription factor/lymphoid enhancer binding factor) family of transcription factors. Deregulation of beta-catenin has been implicated in the malignant transformation of cells of epithelial origin. However, a function for beta-catenin in hematologic malignancies has not been reported. beta-Catenin is not detectable in normal peripheral blood T cells but is expressed in T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells and other tumor lines of hematopoietic origin and in primary lymphoid and myeloid leukemia cells. beta-Catenin function was examined in Jurkat T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells. Overexpression of dominant-negative beta-catenin or dominant-negative TCF reduced beta-catenin nuclear signaling and inhibited Jurkat proliferation and clonogenicity. Similarly, these constructs inhibited proliferation of K562 and HUT-102 cells. Reduction of beta-catenin expression with beta-catenin antisense down-regulated adhesion of Jurkat cells in response to phytohemagglutinin. Incubation of Jurkat cells with anti-Fas induced caspase-dependent limited proteolysis of beta-catenin N- and C-terminal regions and rapid redistribution of beta-catenin to the detergent-insoluble cytoskeleton, concomitant with a marked decline in nuclear beta-catenin signaling. Fas-mediated apoptosis was potentiated by inhibition of beta-catenin nuclear signaling. The data suggest that beta-catenin can play a significant role in promoting leukemic cell proliferation, adhesion, and survival.
Reexamining Syphilis: An Update on Epidemiology, Clinical Manifestations, and Management

Objective:To review the epidemiology, clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of syphilis.Data Sources:Studies and reviews were abstracted from MEDLINE (1950–April 2007) using the search term syphilis. AN papers were cross-referenced to identify additional studies and reviews for inclusion.Study Selection and Data Extraction:Pertinent original research articles, review articles, and book chapters were evaluated.Data Synthesis:Syphilis is a spirochetal disease that has plagued mankind for centuries. Following a low incidence of syphilis in the US for the last 2 decades, rates are now increasing both in the US and other parts of (he world. Once acquired, syphilis can pass through 4 distinct stages of disease: primary syphilis. secondary syphilis, latent syphilis, and tertiary syphilis, with each stage being characterized by different symptoms and levels of infectivity. Diagnosis is made primarily by serologic assays with nontreponemal tests such as the Venereal Disease Research Laboratory and the Rapid ...
Effects and implications of file size/service time correlation on Web server scheduling policies

Recently, size-based policies such as SRPT and FSP have been proposed for scheduling requests in Web servers. SRPT and FSP are superior to policies that ignore request size, such as PS, in both efficiency and fairness, given heavy-tailed service times. However, a central assumption that is usually made in implementing size-based policies in a Web server is that the service time of a request is strongly correlated with the size of the file it serves. By collecting Web server trace data taken from the logs of modified Apache Web servers, this paper reveals that the correlation between service time and file size can be quite low, and shows how the performance of SRPT and FSP can be dramatically affected by the weak correlation via trace-driven simulations. In response, we propose and evaluate domain-based scheduling, a simple technique that better estimates connection times by making use of the source IP address of the request. Domain-based scheduling improves SRPT and FSP performance on Web servers, bringing the performance benefits of these scheduling polices even to those regimes where the correlation between file size and service time is low.
Modeling the blast response of structures using dissimilar materials.

Experiments have been conducted comparing the dynamic response of beam and cylinder prototype structures to the response of model structures which have been fabricated from an entirely different material than in the prototype structure. Tests were conducted in the dynamic, impulsive, and quasi-static loading realms for structures undergoing significant permanent deformation as well as some structures experiencing only elastic response. Results indicate that dissimilar material modeling techniques can be of great value in studying elastic and plastic dynamic response in complex structures, because they offer considerable freedom of choice of model materials.
A new sample mounting technique for room-temperature macromolecular crystallography

A new method for mounting protein crystals and other environmentally sensitive samples for room-temperature diffraction measurements is described. A crystal is retrieved using a microfabricated sample mount as recently reported, and the mount is inserted into a modified goniometer-compatible base. A transparent thin-wall polyester tube sealed at one end and filled with stabilizing liquid is then drawn over the crystal and sealed to the goniometer base. Compared with mounting using glass capillaries, this method can provide lower-background X-ray scattering, especially at higher resolutions; dramatically improved ease of crystal mounting with minimal chance of damage; accurate and reproducible crystal positioning relative to the goniometer base; improved crystal visibility and ease of alignment, especially for very small crystals; and compatibility with high-throughput approaches. Crystals can be rapidly screened and eliminated earlier in the data collection pipeline, and the cause of poor low-temperature diffraction can be diagnosed.
Maximizing Rewards in Wireless Networks with Energy and Timing Constraints for Periodic Data Streams

Power efficiency is an important design issue in mobile devices with limited power supplies. In this paper, we study a reward-based packet scheduling problem in wireless environments. We consider a general scenario in which a transmitter communicates with multiple receivers periodically. To guarantee timely transmission of data, each packet is associated with a delay constraint. The periodic data streams have different importance levels, power functions, and levels of data sizes. The more data a transmitter delivers, the more rewards it obtains. Our objective is to develop schemes that selectively transmit data streams of different data sizes at different transmission rates so that the system reward can be maximized under given time and energy constraints. We show that the problem is NP-hard and develop a dynamic programming algorithm for the optimal solution in pseudopolynomial time. A fast polynomial-time heuristic approach based on clustering of states in state space is presented to achieve close approximation. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the optimal solution and show that the proposed polynomial-time approach can achieve near-optimal results. Both approaches make a significant improvement over other approaches adapted from existing studies at a marginal runtime overhead.
Comparative immunogenicity of heat-killed and living oral Salmonella vaccines

CD-1 mice were vaccinated intragastrically or intramuscularly with one or two doses of 200 mug of heat-killed Salmonella enteritidis 5694. Control mice were vaccinated with sublethal doses of living S. enteritidis Se795. The mice were challenged intragastrically with approximately 10(6)S. enteritidis 5694 SM(R) 7 to 14 days later, and the growth of the challenge population in the liver, spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes, lungs, and intestine was measured quantitatively. Mice receiving two doses of heat-killed vaccine by mouth were able to delay the systemic emergence of a gastrically introduced salmonella infection by 1 to 2 days. The corresponding liver and spleen populations were slightly lower than those seen in the normal controls. On the other hand, mice receiving the living, attenuated vaccine (either intravenously or intragastrically) developed an effective anti-salmonella immunity against subsequent reinfection.
Experimental tests of the gravitational inverse-square law for mass separations from 2 to 105 cm.

We report two experiments which test the inverse-square distance dependence of the Newtonian gravitational force law. One experiment uses a torsion balance consisting of a 60-cm-long copper bar suspended at its midpoint by a tungsten wire, to compare the torque produced by copper masses 105 cm from the balance axis with the torque produced by a copper mass 5 cm from the side of the balance bar, near its end. Defining ${R}_{\mathrm{expt}}$ to be the measured ratio of the torques due to the masses at 105 cm and 5 cm, and ${R}_{\mathrm{Newton}}$ to be the corresponding ratio computed assuming an inverse-square force law, we find \ensuremath{\delta}\ensuremath{\equiv}(${R}_{\mathrm{expt}}$/${R}_{\mathrm{Newton}}$-1)=(1.2 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}7)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}4}$. Assuming a force deviating from an inverse-square distance dependence by a factor [1+\ensuremath{\epsilon} lnr(cm)], this result implies \ensuremath{\epsilon}=(0.5 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2.7)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}4}$. An earlier experiment, which has been reported previously, is described here in detail. This experiment tested the inverse-square law over a distance range of approximately 2 to 5 cm, by probing the gravitational field inside a steel mass tube using a copper test mass suspended from the end of a torsion balance bar. This experiment yielded a value for the parameter \ensuremath{\epsilon} defined above: \ensuremath{\epsilon}=(1\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}7)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}5}$. The results of both of these experiments are in good agreement with the Newton- ian prediction. Limits on the strength and range of a Yukawa potential term superimposed on the Newtonian gravitational potential are discussed.
Nonrecurrent primary basal cell carcinoma of the lower extremity with late metastasis.

background. Metastatic basal cell carcinoma (MBCC) is rare, with most cases of head and neck origin and from large multi-recurrent tumors. MBCC is very rare from lower extremities and even more rare from primary tumors that were small and treated without local recurrence. objective. This paper presents a case of MBCC in a 78-year-old woman who had previously undergone resection without local recurrence of a small lower extremity basal cell carcinoma. conclusion. MBCC can present atypically with site of origin on lower extremities, initial tumor size small, and nonrecurrence of the primary tumor site. The clinician should be aware of this as well as understand that prompt and aggressive surgical therapy to localized metastases may extend survival
MORALITY, SELF‐CONTROL, AND CRIME*

This paper offers evidence to specify further Self-Control Theory by investigating its predictive strength relative to morality and its interconnections with morality in accounting for criminal probability. Using random sample household survey data from Lviv, Ukraine, we confirm that self-control is an important predictor of criminal probabilities in an unusual cultural context. However, morality is also shown to be a strong independent predictor with strength that seems to exceed substantially that of self-control. In addition, taking morality into account significantly reduces the coefficients for self-control, sometimes eliminating them entirely, and morality shows little interaction with self-control in its predictions of the measures of criminal probability. The results suggest that the recently formulated Situational Action Theory, which features (weak) morality as the prime cause of criminal behavior and questions the relative importance of self-control, should be taken seriously. Overall, the results confirm the importance of self-control as a factor in misbehavior; yet, they also provide a mandate for greater attention to morality as a potent variable in understanding misconduct.
Distributed sensor placement with sequential particle swarm optimization

Sequential particle swarm optimization (S-PSO) is a modification of PSO suitable for high-dimensional optimization problems. S-PSO iteratively optimizes the objective function over randomly selected subspaces of the parameter search space instead of the entire parameter space at once as in standard PSO. This approach is advantageous since fewer particles are needed to solve the lower-dimension subproblems. S-PSO is applied to the distributed sonar sensor placement problem, where not only the dimensionality issue arises, but also the computational complexity of the objective function increases with the problem size. Simulations show that S-PSO outperforms standard PSO both in terms of convergence and computational efficiency.
An examination of the crystal structures present in nylon‐6 fibers

The variety of wide-angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) patterns exhibited by nylon-6 fibers with different fabrication histories is rationalized using a model comprising three limiting structures, viz., an α, a γ, and a pleated α structure. The γ and pleated α structures both have a single broad reflection in the range 2θ = 19° −25°, but differ in their annealing behavior. At 205° (in vacuo), the pleated α structure converts to the normal α structure by removal of the pleats, without breaking any hydrogen bonds. The γ structure, however, remains unchanged under this annealing condition since it is necessary to break all the hydrogen bonding in the structure to convert it to the α form. Different fabrication routes produce fibers which resemble the three ideal structures to varying extents. Fibers extruded at low speeds (and hence low spinline tension) resemble a mixed conventional α/pleated α structure with only a small γ component. Increasing the take-up speed (and hence the spinline tension) of the as-spun fiber, or in-line drawing of the low orientation fiber (without prior storage), increases the γ content. If drawing of the low orientation fiber takes place after several hours storage (off-line drawing), a largely α structure is produced. The intensity of the 020 reflection in the γ structure is shown to be very dependent on the degree of crystalline orientation in the sample.
Growth of Metropolitan Areas in the South

This paper attempts to identify some of the economiiic and demo-raphic factors responisible for the growth of southern metropolitan areas during the 1950's. Several basic patterns of relationships are established tentatively through application of the Simon-Blalock technique Of employing partial correlations in alternative models. Past metropolitan growth appears to operate both directly and indirectly through net migration and suburban growth to influelnce metropolitani growth. Increased famlily income acts indirectly on metropolitan growth throu-h income level and labor force growth. Past rates of growth also operate directly and indirectly through net migration and increased family incolmae. Finally, past rates of growth influence present growth through their influence on income level and increase in income.
Protectionism and Sovereign Investment Post Global Recession

Sovereign Wealth Funds (“SWFs”) have attracted significant attention over the past few years, as a result of their increasing role in global economy and their controversial minority investments in distressed financial and infrastructure companies in Western economies. Although SWFs provide important benefits to home, host, and global markets, they have been perceived by the Western mind as a growing threat to economic supremacy and national security. These mixed feelings, frequently driven by national protectionism, have prompted various Western attempts to block SWF cross-border investments through legislative reforms or ad-hoc protectionism of the executive branch. These governmental policies frequently violate international commitments in the international economic law arena and call for a closer look at the nature of such commitments and their respective implementation in the SWF environment. The paper will look at recent practices in Western countries that aim to block SWF investments in the context of the recent global recession and growing protectionism in trade and investment activity. It will propose ways to confront this protectionism by joint efforts of the funds, governments, the media, and the legal community.
Transparency for Whom? Impacts of Accountability Movements for Institutional Researchers and Beyond

To whom should higher education institutions provide data, and what is the impact of transparency on institutions?
Error Resilient and Energy Efficient MRF Message-Passing-Based Stereo Matching

Message-passing-based inference algorithms have immense importance in real-world applications. In this paper, error resiliency of a message passing based Markov random field (MRF) stereo matching hardware is explored and enhanced through the application of statistical error compensation. Error resiliency is of particular interest for subnanometer and postsilicon devices. The inherent robustness of iteration-based MRF inference algorithms is explored and shows that small errors are tolerable, while large errors degrade the performance significantly. Based on these error characteristics, algorithmic noise tolerance (ANT) has been applied at the arithmetic, iteration, and system levels. Introducing timing errors via voltage overscaling, at the arithmetic level, results show that the ANT-based hardware can tolerate an error rate of 21.3%, with performance degradation of only 3.5% at an overhead of 97.4%, compared with an error-free hardware with an energy savings of 39.7%. To reduce compensation complexity, iteration and system-level compensation was explored. Results show that, compared with arithmetic level, system-level compensation reduces overhead to 59%, while maintaining stereo matching performance with only 2.5% degradation with 16% additional power savings. These results are verified via FPGA emulation with timing errors induced within the message passing unit via relaxed synthesis.
Sexual Behaviors of U.S. Men by Self-Identified Sexual Orientation: Results From the 2012 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior.

Abstract Introduction Although a large body of previous research has examined sexual behavior and its relation to risk in men of diverse sexual identities, most studies have relied on convenience sampling. As such, the vast majority of research on the sexual behaviors of gay and bisexual men, in particular, might not be generalizable to the general population of these men in the United States. This is of particular concern because many studies are based on samples of men recruited from relatively “high-risk” venues and environments. Aims To provide nationally representative baseline rates for sexual behavior in heterosexual, gay, and bisexual men in the United States and compare findings on sexual behaviors, relationships, and other variables across subgroups. Methods Data were obtained from the 2012 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior, which involved the administration of an online questionnaire to a nationally representative probability sample of women and men at least 18 years old in the United States, with oversampling of self-identified gay and bisexual men and women. Results from the male participants are included in this article. Main Outcome Measures Measurements include demographic characteristics, particularly sexual identity, and their relations to diverse sexual behaviors, including masturbation, mutual masturbation, oral sex, vaginal sex, and anal sex. Behaviors with male and female partners were examined. Results Men of all self-identified sexual identities reported engaging in a range of sexual behaviors (solo and partnered). As in previous studies, sexual identity was not always congruent for gender of lifetime and recent sexual partners. Conclusion Patterns of sexual behaviors and relationships vary among heterosexual, gay, and bisexual men. Several demographic characteristics, including age, were related to men's sexual behaviors. The results from this probability study highlight the diversity in men's sexual behaviors across sexual identities, and these data allow generalizability to the broader population of gay and bisexual men, in particular, in the United States, which is a major advancement in research focused on individuals in a sexual minority.
Disruptive Computing

To expand e-commerce, we shouldn't try to fit computing technology into markets, but instead fit markets into technology. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/siTGPpNabHI is an audio recording of author David Alan Grier expanding on his Errant Hashtag column, in which he talks about the disruptive nature of computing and how expanding e-commerce shouldn't mean trying to fit computing technology into markets but instead fitting markets into technology.
Toxicity and Repellency of Potting Soil Treated with Bifenthrin and Tefluthrin to Red Imported Fire Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

The Lc 50 and LC 90 of bifenthrin in potting soil for female alates of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren, were 1.1 and 5.2 ppm, respectively. For tefluthrin, the Lc 50 and LC 90 were 8.5 and 19.0 ppm, respectively. These results may provide a basis for setting minimum residue levels for the enforcement of quarantine regulations. Pots filled with soil treated with either bifenthrin or tefluthrin at the label rate of 25 ppm were exposed to small colonies of S. invicta without alternative nesting sites. After 48 h, 6% of the bifenthrin-treated pots and 24% of the tefluthrin-treated pots were considered infested under quarantine standards. When exposure was lengthened to 2 wk, all pots were uninfested. Implications for the imported fire ant quarantine program are discussed.
How Many Interviews Are Enough to Identify Metathemes in Multisited and Cross-cultural Research? Another Perspective on Guest, Bunce, and Johnson’s (2006) Landmark Study:

There is much debate over the number of interviews needed to reach data saturation for themes and metathemes in qualitative research. The primary purpose of this study is to determine the number of...
A high-sucrose diet increases gluconeogenic capacity in isolated periportal and perivenous rat hepatocytes.

A high-sucrose (SU) diet increases gluconeogenesis (GNG) in the liver. The present study was conducted to determine the contribution of periportal (PP) and perivenous (PV) cell populations to this ...
Morrey Spaces On Complete Riemannian Manifolds

Because of the recent activity in Riemannian Geometry: solving nonlinear PDE that arise - specifically say the classic Gaussian curvature equation when prescribing a new metric via conformal change and similar questions in higher dimensions (see [AC]), or determining what properties of a non-compact manifold are needed to admit a Sobolev inequality/Sobolev embedding on that manifold, it seems like a good idea to extend our Morrey Theory to this setting. Specifically, one wants this refined Sobolev theory to again deal with the nature of singular sets, as in Chapter 16
Urodynamic Biofeedback: A New Therapeutic Approach for Childhood Incontinence/Infection (Vesical Voluntary Sphincter Dyssynergia)

AbstractA major cause of urinary incontinence and/or recurrent urinary infections in neurologically intact children is vesical voluntary sphincter/urogenital diaphragm dyssynergia and/or “strain” dyssynergia. These acquired or learned mechanisms are characterized by increased striated muscle tone during micturition, residual urine, daytime wetting and/or urinary infections. Generally, pharmacotherapy is prescribed and manipulated to achieve modification of these dysfunctions. Recently, urodynamic biofeedback has surfaced as a suitable therapeutic alternative. We selected 10 children, between 6½ and 16 years old, for biofeedback therapy because of age, intelligence, commitment and conviction to improve.Following inpatient biofeedback 8 of the 10 children demonstrated complete abatement of signs and symptoms in long-term surveillance (6 to 19 months after biofeedback), while 2 moderately improved. Our experience with biofeedback therapy demonstrated that all patients convert to synergistic voiding within 48...
Pederin, Psymberin and the Structurally Related Mycalamides: Synthetic Aspects and Biological Activities

Pederin, psymberin, and mycalamides are related members of a relatively new family of potent natural antiviral and antitumor compounds originally isolated from marine sponges in 1988. This natural family of chemicals is of great interest to medicinal chemists and biologists, stemming from its extremely low abundance in source organisms and strikingly potent biological activity. They have clearly emerged as promising new synthetic targets, and are the focus of quite an interdisciplinary approach to molecular characterization. In this chapter we review diverse synthetic approaches to this family of natural products that has been demonstrating remarkable biological activity. We discuss relevant history, biological origins with the latest information on source organisms and their hosts, in-depth synthetic approaches, and biological data supporting their potential as therapeutic compounds.
Neuroadaptive calibration of tactile sensors for robot skin

In this paper we present a novel automated neuroadaptive approach that can characterize pressure sensitive “skin” deployed on a robot. Both the safety and performance of future co-robots can be greatly enhanced by such sensorized skin, by measuring multiple contact forces with humans and the environment. A challenge that arises with robot skin is the task of calibration to achieve reliable measurements necessary for safe human-robot interaction. To this end, the traditional method of calibrating each sensor prior to its use is a tedious task, especially with inexpensive, miniaturized hardware that can experience material degradation with time. Therefore, we propose an adaptive strategy that learns the sensor array characteristics together with the unknown dynamics of both the robot and human during physical interaction. Convincing experimental results with deployed pressure skin sensors on a PR2 robot are presented to validate our approach.
Structural and dynamic properties of liquid tin from a new modified embedded-atom method force field

A new modified embedded-atom method (MEAM) force field is developed for liquid tin. Starting from the Ravelo and Baskes force field [Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 2482 (1997)], the parameters are adjusted using a simulated annealing optimization procedure in order to obtain better agreement with liquid-phase data. The predictive capabilities of the new model and the Ravelo and Baskes force field are evaluated using molecular dynamics by comparing to a wide range of first-principles and experimental data. The quantities studied include crystal properties (cohesive energy, bulk modulus, equilibrium density, and lattice constant of various crystal structures), melting temperature, liquid structure, liquid density, self-diffusivity, viscosity, and vapor-liquid surface tension. It is shown that although the Ravelo and Baskes force field generally gives better agreement with the properties related to the solid phases of tin, the new MEAM force field gives better agreement with liquid tin properties.
Preventing the Use of Deadly Force: The Relationship between Police Agency Policies and Rates of Officer-Involved Gun Deaths

Killings of civilians by police officers have become a matter of intense public concern in the United States. High-profile deaths, especially those of black citizens, have caused outrage and sparked the Black Lives Matter movement with calls for dramatic changes in how police agencies operate. However, little systematic research exists to answer questions about which policies should be ended or put in place to reduce these deaths. The authors leverage a large data set of gun deaths by police officers in the United States, combined with agency-level policy data and community demographic data, to examine whether certain policies are associated with lower or higher rates of officer-involved gun deaths. Findings show that one policy—the requirement that officers file a report when they point their guns at people but do not fire—is associated with significantly lower rates of gun deaths.
Die Innervation der Schilddrüse

Die Drusen mit innerer Sekretion nehmen im Rahmen des vegetativen Nervensystems eine besondere Stellung ein. Einerseits wirken ihre Produkte in der verschiedensten Weise verstarkend oder abschwachend auf die ErregungsVorgange in diesem Nervensystem, andererseits steht die Absonderung ihrer Sekrete in engem Abhangigkeitsverhaltnis zum vegetativen Nervensystem.
In situ mRNA isolation from a microfluidic single-cell array using an external AFM nanoprobe

We present an in situ mRNA extraction platform to quantify marker-genes' expression levels of single target cells within high-density microfluidic trapping arrays. This platform enables single-cell transcriptomic analysis to reveal in-depth information of cellular mechanisms and population heterogeneity. Although microfluidic technology enables the automation of single-cell sorting, trapping and identification, most developed microfluidic devices are closed off and prevent single-cell access by external analytical equipment. Besides, cell lysing is usually required for mRNA extraction. In our platform, cells are trapped individually in a microwell array sealed by a 1 μm-thick polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane, and a modified atomic force microscopy (AFM) probe-a dielectrophoretic nanotweezer (DENT)-penetrates through the membrane and extracts mRNA molecules from a single cell by dielectrophoresis. The single-cellular expression levels of 3 housekeeping genes from HeLa cells were analyzed quantitatively based on the quantification of the extracted mRNAs, and the probed cells remained viable when the applied alternating-current (AC) voltage was lower than 1.5 Vpp during mRNA probing. We also performed in situ mRNA isolation from a mixture of SK-BR-3 and U937 cells, mimicking a blood sample that underwent primary enrichment of circulating tumor cells (CTCs), and evaluated various marker-genes' expressions. This integrated platform combines the non-destructive and precise-control of a single-cell mRNA probe with sealed microfluidic systems' capability of upstream sample processing and downstream multifunctional analysis to enable a versatile and powerful tool for biomedical research.
Computed synchronization for multimedia applications

List of Figures. List of Tables. Preface. Acknowledgments. 1. Introduction. 2. Media, Multimedia, and Synchronization Models. 3. Multiple Media Correlation. 4. Algorithms for Multiple Media Correlation. 5. Parallel Text Alignment. 6. Text-To-Speech Alignment. 7. The Xtrieve System. 8. Applications and Future Work. Appendices. Index.
Superstitious Escape in the Albino Rat

5 albino rats were conditioned to escape from shock either on a FR 6 or a VR 6 schedule of reinforcement. Following escape conditioning, Ss were exposed to inescapable shock of 0.5 to 4.0 sec duration. The previously conditioned escape behavior was observed to persist during inescapable shock for 25 to 45 sessions. Short values of inescapable shock, when presented immediately after escape conditioning, resulted in higher response rates. Short durations of inescapable shock following exposure to longer shock values did not result in higher response rates for all Ss. The observed effects of shock durations on responding during inescapable shock are different from the effects of shock durations on shock-elicited aggression. This difference suggests that lever-pressing during inescapable shock is superstitious escape behavior and not aggression.
Experimental study of the effect of aging on fluid distribution in Middle Bakken cores

Abstract Formation wettability is a critical parameter when designing enhanced oil recovery (EOR) for field applications both in conventional and unconventional reservoirs. In this study, we only focused on one unconventional resource—the Bakken. Specifically, we conducted laboratory experiments in five uncleaned Middle Bakken cores with different initial fluid saturations to determine (1) where the fluids reside within the pores, and (2) the effect of aging on wettability change. The experimental protocol included hydrocarbon-saturation of three uncleaned cores with Bakken oil. The cores were aged at 180 °F and 2500 psi pressure for four weeks, and stored in crude oil for 1 year at ambient laboratory conditions (about 12 psi and 66 °F). Synthetic brine was then used to produce oil from the aged cores by spontaneous imbibition in Amott cell. Additional oil was produced from the cores using a high-speed centrifuge. For the remaining two uncleaned cores, synthetic brine was used to saturate them, and brine was replaced with oil using a centrifuge. The cores were stored in crude oil at ambient laboratory conditions for four months; then, oil recovery from the cores was measured in Amott cell. NMR measurements were conducted on the cores after each fluid saturation/de-saturation experiment to determine the effect of aging time and temperature on the core wettability and fluid distribution in the pores. Also, porosity and permeability of cleaned twin cores were measured at several net confining stresses. The experimental results indicated that hydrocarbon-saturated cores become slightly more oil-wet than brine-saturated cores. NMR measurements indicated that brine resides in smaller pores and as a brine film on grains regardless of aging time, and the core fluids re-distributed with time indicating a strong rock-fluid interaction. Finally, the analysis of oil production indicated the preponderance of chemical osmosis over imbibition as the mechanism of oil displacement in formations with high brine salinity.
Effect of obesity on outcomes in patients undergoing implantation of continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of obesity on outcomes after continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (CF-LVAD) implantation. A single-center retrospective analysis was performed on 526 chronic heart failure patients who were implanted with the HeartMate II CF-LVAD (n = 403) or HeartWare HVAD (n = 123) between November 2003 and March 2016. Patients were stratified into 4 groups based on BMI: underweight ( 30 kg/m2, n = 153, 33.5%). The underweight group was excluded because of its small sample size. Records were reviewed to determine the incidence of postoperative complications and survival. Survival at 1, 6, 12, and 24 months were similar among normal-weight (91.3, 84.4, 76.3, and 67.6%), overweight (90.4, 80.8, 76.5, and 69.6%), and obese patients (90.7, 74.7, 65.3, and 61.3%, p = 0.24). Additionally, obesity was not a significant predictor of mortality in Cox proportional hazard models (hazard ratio 0.98, 95% confidence interval 0.766–1.277, p = 0.13). These findings suggest that appropriately selected obese patients receive similar survival benefit from CF-LVADs compared to non-obese patients, and obesity should not serve as a contraindication to CF-LVAD implantation.
Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma after Pirfenidone Use: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION Pirfenidone was approved in 2014 for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Pirfenidone inhibits several factors such as tissue growth factor-β and platelet-derived growth factor, leading to decreased epithelial and fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis. The drug improves progression-free survival and is well tolerated, with minimal side effects. However, data on its long-term effects are lacking. CASE PRESENTATION We present a rare case in which an undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma developed in a 59-year-old man with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who was treated with pirfenidone for more than a year. DISCUSSION Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma, also known as malignant fibrous histiocytoma, is a soft-tissue sarcoma arising from fibroblasts. The disease presents in the extremities and the trunk of elderly patients, and rarely in the retroperitoneum. Surgical excision is the mainstay of treatment; however, recurrence is common in the form of lung and lymph node metastases. In this report we review this rare malignancy and highlight the need for postmarketing longitudinal studies to determine additional adverse effects in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who are on pirfenidone therapy.
Creative Learning: Paradox or Possibility in China's Restrictive Preservice Teacher Classrooms?.

This case study focuses on creativity and collaboration in preparing Chinese preservice teachers. The research question was “Can aspiring Chinese teachers discover creativity where encouraged and u...
Program-specific practices and outcomes for high school mentors and their mentees

Abstract We conducted secondary analyses of program evaluation data involving six high school (HS) mentoring programs. All programs used one-on-one matches but differed in a) how mentors were recruited (voluntary vs. mandated due to class requirement), b) how mentees were referred (individual student referral vs. whole class participation), and c) the goals of mentoring (e.g., improved peer relationships, academic achievement). Variability in program practices suggested three program types or clusters: voluntary mentor/individual student referral/limited goals (Vol/Ind/Ltd), voluntary mentor/whole class referral/peer relationship goals (Vol/Whl/Per), and mandatory mentor/whole class referral/academic achievement goals (Mnd/Whl/Acd). Child, mentor, and teacher data collected pre- and post-mentoring were available for 253 mentor-mentee matches. Results revealed significant differences for mentees across program types: Children matched with HS mentors in Vol/Ind/Ltd and Mnd/Whl/Acd programs had similar outcomes and fared significantly better than mentees in Vol/Whl/Per programs. For mentors, those in mandatory mentoring programs (Mnd/Whl/Acd) reported significantly lower levels of academic, community, and diversity engagement compared to HS mentors in voluntary programs. Discussed are the implications these findings have for program practices involving HS mentors.
Approach For Risk Identification And Assessment In A Manufacturing System

Abstract The growing number of sensors in production systems increases the availability of data for a manufacturing system. This data can be employed to recognize process related, operative risks during the production process more precisely and estimate the risk level of a factory. This renders the possibility to reduce possible risks, like machine breakdown or tool failure, even before their occurrence. We therefore present an approach of risk identification of a production system based on sensor induced events from the shop floor and a possible evaluation scheme of such risks. The described case study demonstrates the feasibility of the approach.