cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Smart and Connected Physiological Monitoring Enabled by Stretchable Bioelectronics and Deep-Learning Algorithm

Commercially available, wearable physiological monitors rely on rigid, multiple electronic components, coupled with aggressive adhesives and conductive gels, often causing discomfort and skin breakdown. Here, we introduce an all-in-one, wireless, stretchable bioelectronics platform for portable, real-time physiological monitoring and accurate classification biopotentials, including electrocardiograms (ECG), electroencephalograms (EEG), and electromyograms (EMG). The nanomembrane sensor and multi-layered electronic system is manufactured by integration of microfabrication techniques, aerosol jet printing of nanoparticles, photonic sintering, and hard-soft materials assembly. Strategic integration with hyperelastic elastomers allows the device to adhere and deform naturally with human body while maintaining the functionalities of the on-board electronics. Stretchable electrodes with optimized structures for intimate skin contact acquire high-quality biopotentials. Comparison of those signals with commercial systems captures the improved performance and significant noise reduction of the stretchable bioelectronics. Implementation of convolutional neural networks for real-time classifications of ECG, EMG, EEG and inertial measurement data demonstrates the feasibility for precise control of external systems. In vivo demonstrations with human subjects in various scenarios reveal the versatility of the device as both a health monitor with real-time cardiac monitoring and a viable human-machine interface.
Senators vs Santa’s Reindeer: 2020 Stock Picking Roundup

Given the concerns over informed stock trading by U.S. senators and congresspeople at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, we examine these legislators’ short term stock trading results during 2020. We find little evidence for market timing or stock selection ability. Both Senators’ and House Members’ stock selections underperform the S&P at the one month horizon and underperform a size-industry adjusted benchmark at the 3 and 6 month time frames. Returns to legislators’ purchases contrast with returns to the top stock picks from U.S. brokerage houses and stocks chosen by Santa’s Reindeer (Santa’s Village Jefferson NH). As a group the Reindeer outperform the S&P by 4.89 percent in a single month, or over 70 percent on an annualized basis. However reindeer exhibit herding behavior and a preference for momentum stocks.
Indefinite Detention: Chronotopes of Unfreedom in Mohamedou Ould Salahi’s Guantánamo Diary

Former Guantanamo detainee Mohamedou Ould Salahi’s memoir, Guantanamo Diary (2015, Restored Edition 2017), has been well received as a document of the “emergency” violence in the war on terror, with explicit testimony to a range of grave rights violations. In this essay, we show how the book also reveals overlaps between these techniques of torture and abuse, on one hand, and both Guantanamo’s deep colonial roots as well its reliance on “ordinary” prison procedures marked by racist brutality, on the other. “Indefinite Detention and Targeted Harm” builds on the Bakhtinian chronotope as a theoretical frame to explore a set of simultaneously competing and complementary spatio-temporal frameworks that ground and emerge through the text. Analyzing the overlapping and often conflicting temporal registers of “national emergency” and “imperialist history,” our reading of the memoir accounts for the narrative’s production of a post-torture, but not post-carceral, subjectivity, reminding readers that the everyday violence of the war on terror persists into the reading present even though the most egregious violence the text depicts has largely ended.
The Luquillo Experimental Forest: A Neotropical Example of the Interaction Between Forest Conservation and Long-Term Ecological Research

The origins of the Luquillo Long Term Ecological Research Program are traced through four historical trends that still influence research activity in Puerto Rico’s Luquillo Mountains: (1) A history of identifying lands for protection and their designation for public uses; (2) A history of governmental and non-governmental institutions acting with the foresight to pursue scientific research for the benefit of economic development and the will to support scientific activity; (3) The uninterrupted progression of scientific activity through projects and programs that cumulatively developed a knowledge base that supported succeeding projects and programs; (4) The excellence of the individual scientific talent that participated in research in this location over the last 200 years. These historical trends took place within the context of four time intervals: (1) Discovery and colonization of Puerto Rico (1493 to 1898); (2) The negotiation of the Paris Treaty in 1898, which transferred Puerto Rico to the United States of America and led to the Scientific Survey of Puerto Rico (1913 to 1957); (3) Development of tropical forestry and ecosystem-level research through the establishment of the USDA Forest Service Tropical Forest Experiment Station in 1939 and the funding of radio-ecological and ecological research by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy from 1963 to 1988 (1939 to 1988); (4) Funding of multiple research programs, including the Luquillo LTER, by the National Science Foundation (1989 to the present). This history demonstrates how advancing scientific understanding of tropical ecosystems benefited science, society, and the conservation of Neotropical natural resources.
Files of a Feather Flock Together? Measuring and Modeling How Users Perceive File Similarity in Cloud Storage

Prior work suggests that users conceptualize the organization of personal collections of digital files through the lens of similarity. However, it is unclear to what degree similar files are actually located near one another (e.g., in the same directory) in actual file collections, or whether leveraging file similarity can improve information retrieval and organization for disorganized collections of files. To this end, we conducted an online study combining automated analysis of 50 Google Drive and Dropbox users' cloud accounts with a survey asking about pairs of files from those accounts. We found that many files located in different parts of file hierarchies were similar in how they were perceived by participants, as well as in their algorithmically extractable features. Participants often wished to co-manage similar files (e.g., deleting one file implied deleting the other file) even if they were far apart in the file hierarchy. To further understand this relationship, we built regression models, finding several algorithmically extractable file features to be predictive of human perceptions of file similarity and desired file co-management. Our findings pave the way for leveraging file similarity to automatically recommend access, move, or delete operations based on users' prior interactions with similar files.
A meta-analysis of transcarotid versus transfemoral transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Background Carotid access has shown promise as an excellent delivery route for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). We aimed to compare outcomes of transcarotid (TC) and transfemoral (TF) TAVR by conducting a search and analysis of the best evidence in the literature to shed light on its safety and effectiveness. Methods The PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane library from inception to July 2020 were searched to identify articles reporting comparative data on TC versus TF approaches for TAVR. Patients' baseline characteristics and clinical outcomes were extracted from the articles and pooled for analysis. Results Five studies, including a total of 2470 patients, were included in the study with 1859 patients in the TF group and 611 patients in the TC group. The TC group had higher prevalence of peripheral vascular disease, while the patients in the TF group was older. Meta-analysis revealed that there was no significant differences between the two groups with regard to 30-day mortality (p = 0.09), stroke (p = 0.28), new dialysis (p = 0.58), major bleeding (p = 0.69), or pacemaker implantation (p = 0.44). The TF group had a higher incidence of vascular complications (3.9% vs. 2.3%; OR 2.22; 95% CI [1.13, 4.38]; p = 0.02). Conclusions Compared with the TF approach, TC-TAVR is associated with comparable procedural and clinical outcomes. Our analysis found a lower rate of vascular complication in TC access compared with TF access. This supports consideration of such an alternative access when there are concerns over the feasibility of TF access.
Fragment-based screening and hit-based substructure search: Rapid discovery of 8-hydroxyquinoline-7-carboxylic acid as a low-cytotoxic, nanomolar metallo β-lactamase inhibitor.

Metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs) are zinc-containing carbapenemases that inactivate a broad range of β-lactam antibiotics. There is a lack of β-lactamase inhibitors for restoring existing β-lactam antibiotics arsenals against common bacterial infections. Fragment-based screening of a non-specific metal chelator library demonstrates 8-hydroxyquinoline as a broad-spectrum nanomolar inhibitor against VIM-2 and NDM-1. A hit-based substructure search provided an early structure-activity relationship of 8-hydroxyquinolines and identified 8-hydroxyquinoline-7-carboxylic acid as a low-cytotoxic β-lactamase inhibitor that can restore β-lactam activity against VIM-2-expressing E. coli. Molecular modeling further shed structural insight into its potential mode of binding within the dinuclear zinc active site. 8-Hydroxyquinoline-7-carboxylic acid is highly stable in human plasma and human liver microsomal study, making it an ideal lead candidate for further development.
Geospatial Disparities in Access to Proton Therapy in the Continental United States

Proton therapy (PT) is an important component of therapy for select cancers, but no formal study of geospatial access to PT has been conducted to date. Population data for 320.7 million people in 32,644 zip codes were analyzed. Median travel time was 1.61 (IQR 0.67-3.36) hours for children and 1.64 (IQR 0.69-3.33) hours for adults. Significant variation in travel time to nearest PT center was observed between states. The West has a longer median travel time of 3.51 (IQR 1.15-7.13) hours when compared to the Midwest (1.70, IQR 0.79-2.69), South (1.60, IQR 0.61-3.12) and Northeast (1.04, IQR 0.57-2.01).
Attitudes and knowledge about palliative care among citizens of Croatia: a case study of two cities with and without established palliative care service

Introduction Due to the ageing of the population, consequent increase in the number of patients requiring palliative care is expected. The World Health Organization has highlighted palliative care as an especially relevant topic due to its effect with the psychosocial aspects of care, dignity and quality of life of individuals, as well as their families and caretakers. Numerous studies conducted worldwide point to a lack of awareness about palliative care, which can be a key obstacle to future development. The aim of this study was to examine attitudes and awareness about palliative care among citizens of a community where there are no specialized palliative care services and the citizens of a community where such services exist. Specific goals were to determine whether there is a difference in sensitivity towards palliative care in terms of age, gender and education between citizens of those two communities. Theory/Methods The study was conducted in March and April 2019. Study participants 400 citizens of Republic of Croatia older than 20 years; 200 citizens of the city of Koprivnica where there are no organized palliative care services, and 200 citizens of the city of Cakovec where such services are established. Participants were surveyed using an anonymous questionnaire “Attitudes and awareness about palliative care in the community”, which was designed for this purpose. Results We found a statistically significant gender difference; women participants had significantly higher proportion of correct answers about palliative care (p Conclusion Women, older participants, higher education, and being resident of a city with established palliative care services are associated with better knowledge and more positive attitudes towards palliative care. Lessons learned While some factors associated with knowledge and attitudes towards palliative care are not modifiable, it is worthwhile to know that having an established palliative care services may be associated with better knowledge and more positive attitudes of citizens towards palliative care. At the community level, knowledge, awareness and access to palliative care services should also be expanded to strengthen individuals, engage the community, and ultimately achieve the goals set out in international palliative care strategies. Limitations The survey was conducted in only two cities in Croatia. Suggestions for future research Conducting the same study in multiple cities would help in gaining more knowledge about knowledge and awareness about palliative care in Croatia.
Use of Histologic and Histochemical Assessments in the Prognosis of the Effects of Aquatic Pollutants

Application of histologic and histochemical techniques to the determination of effects of aquatic pollutants upon fish tissues is discussed. Definition of terms and techniques associated with appropriate preparation of tissue specimens are given. Illustrations include examples from control and altered tissues. A summary of our work with methyl mercuric chloride in channel catfish illustrates the use of both techniques in assessing the prognosis of the effects of aquatic pollutants upon fish tissues.
Linearly Bounded Reformulations of Unary Databases

Database reformulation is the process of rewriting the data and rules of a deductive database in a functionally equivalent manner. We focus on the problemof automatically reformulating a database in a way that reduces query processing time while satisfying strong storage space constraints. In this paper we consider one class of deductive databases -- those where all stored relations are unary. For this class of so-called unary databases, we show that the database reformulation problem is decidable if all rules can be expressed in nonrecursive datalog with negation; moreover, we show that for such databases there always exists an "optimal" reformulation. We also suggest how this solution for unary databases might be extended to the general case, i.e., to that of reformulating databases with stored relations of arbitrary arity.
Subcellular fractions from Tay-Sachs brains. Ganglioside, lipid, and protein composition and hexosaminidase activities

Abstract Subcellular fractions were prepared from brains obtained at post-mortem from patients with Tay-Sachs disease and age-related human control subjects. The isopycnic density of synapses from Tay-Sachs tissue was increased and that of lysosomes was decreased. The ganglioside content of each fraction from Tay-Sachs brain was elevated and the phospholipid and cholesterol contents were reduced, compared with similar density control fractions. Membranous cytoplasmic bodies (MCB's), in addition to high concentrations of ganglioside, contain several proteins, one of which is present in unusually high amounts and has a molecular weight of approximately 63,000. Hexosaminidase A activity was markedly reduced in each fraction from Tay-Sachs brain and the elevated hexosaminidase B was found primarily in the MCB fraction. To determine the effect of excess gangliosides on neural membranes, mixed gangliosides (0.05%) were added to homogenates of pig brain. The gangliosides were increased whereas the phospholipid and cholesterol content was reduced in synaptic membranes prepared from these homogenates. A hypothesis is presented which relates the altered buoyant density and lipid composition of membranes from Tay-Sachs brain to the detergent effect of accumulated gangliosides.
Celera Genomics: The Race for the Human Genome Sequence

The Human Genome Project always embodied multiple tensions, if not contradictions: public science and funding that seeded private sector initiatives, collaborative data sharing coexisting with competition and ownership, deliberative science and high-throughput technological production. The events leading to the early completion of the human genome sequence, involving the corporation Celera Genomics and the public International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium, illuminate in miniature the productive but at times volatile tensions of the public-cum-private efforts over 10 years to map and sequence the genomes of multiple organisms. Keywords: Human Genome Project; EST; shotgun sequencing strategies; patents; data management; political economy, cDNA
Trans-sulfuration in mammals. The methionine-sparing effect of cystine.

Abstract 1. Hepatic levels of cystathionine synthase and methionine-activating enzyme are significantly lower in rats fed a diet low in methionine and supplemented with cystine than in rats growing at the same rate while maintained on a diet adequate in methionine, with or without cystine supplementation. Cystathionase levels are also decreased, but to a smaller extent. Betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase is not affected. 2. The enzymatic activities which are lowered are restored toward normal by injections of l-methionine or l-homocysteine. 3. Methionine-activating enzyme and cystathionine synthase are inhibited in vitro by l-cystine. However, the decreased enzyme levels in the livers of rats fed the low methionine, cystine-supplemented diet cannot be attributed to either a dissociable inhibitor or cystine binding by the enzyme proteins. It seems likely that the cystine effect represents repression of enzyme synthesis. 4. The physiological meaning of these changes in enzymatic activity is briefly discussed. The changes are such that they may well explain the known "methionine-sparing" effect of cystine. 5. A possible application of these findings to the treatment of patients with homocystinuria due to cystathionine synthase deficiency is mentioned.
Formalizing the definition of meta-analysis in Molecular Ecology

Meta-analysis, the statistical synthesis of pertinent literature to develop evidence-based conclusions, is relatively new to the field of molecular ecology, with the first meta-analysis published in the journal Molecular Ecology in 2003 (Slate & Phua 2003). The goal of this article is to formalize the definition of meta-analysis for the authors, editors, reviewers and readers of Molecular Ecology by completing a review of the meta-analyses previously published in this journal. We also provide a brief overview of the many components required for meta-analysis with a more specific discussion of the issues related to the field of molecular ecology, including the use and statistical considerations of Wright's FST and its related analogues as effect sizes in meta-analysis. We performed a literature review to identify articles published as 'meta-analyses' in Molecular Ecology, which were then evaluated by at least two reviewers. We specifically targeted Molecular Ecology publications because as a flagship journal in this field, meta-analyses published in Molecular Ecology have the potential to set the standard for meta-analyses in other journals. We found that while many of these reviewed articles were strong meta-analyses, others failed to follow standard meta-analytical techniques. One of these unsatisfactory meta-analyses was in fact a secondary analysis. Other studies attempted meta-analyses but lacked the fundamental statistics that are considered necessary for an effective and powerful meta-analysis. By drawing attention to the inconsistency of studies labelled as meta-analyses, we emphasize the importance of understanding the components of traditional meta-analyses to fully embrace the strengths of quantitative data synthesis in the field of molecular ecology.
Viewing Angle and the Appearance of Superluminal Jets

The time history of BL Lacertae has shown clear evidence of changes in jet orientation both in the plane of the sky and in the angle to the line of sight (see Figure 1). Models based on transverse shocks in a relativistic flow quantitatively fit the polarization and flux density data well and permit one to determine parameters of the flow such as the bulk Lorentz factor and the angle of the flow to the line of sight (Hughes, Aller and Aller 1989). The orientation of the jet flow to the line of sight changed by approximately 6° between the early 1980 bursts and one in 1991. There have been comparable changes in the orientation of the jet on the plane of the sky. Such changes in jet orientation may be due to a helical flow pattern arising from precession or instability.
Markets and Majorities: The Political Economy of Public Policy

When markets work, finding the right economic policy is easy. Government must merely ensure their smooth functioning. But, as Steven M. Sheffrin shows, trouble starts when markets fail to work. Economic failure is too often compounded by political failure in the guise of clumsy partisan regulations. Applying his analysis to seven critical problems - health care, Social Security and Medicare, the environment, the liability crisis, international trade, monetary and international financial policy, and the deficit - Sheffrin pinpoints the market failures at the root of these problems and the heavy-handed regulatory regimes that have exacerbated them, and shows how innovative solutions, sensitive to both market and political failures, can solve them.
TRIAD: beyond isolated systems for development-in-the-large and programming-in-the-small

The following begins with a survey of current concerns in managing information and current shortcomings of various approaches to address these concerns. It is provided as the basis of the TRIAD research project. The TRIAD project has resulted in the specification and implementation of the mechanisms needed to build intelligent interfaces. It by no means attempts to model a single process, rather, TRIAD is a synthesis of AI, operating system, and software engineering techniques which allows any process to be modeled. TRIAD does not duplicate the functionality of existing software, it does, however, provide a uniform interface so that other software tools can communicate with the database and each other.
Effect of final state interactions on subthreshold K− production in heavy-ion collisions☆

Abstract The strangeness-exchange reaction π Y → K N gives a satisfactory explanation to the recent experimental data on subthreshold K− production in relativistic heavy-ion collisions if the final state interaction of K− with the nuclear matter is taken into account. In particular the effect of the Λ(1520) resonance is shown to be very important.
Strain‐Specific Proteins of Symbiont‐Containing Amoeba proteus Detected by Two‐Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis1

Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to compare the protein composition of normal (D strain) and symbiont-containing (xD strain) A. proteus. Over 500 different peptide spots could be identified on a typical gel of cytosol proteins. In addition to differences in a few minor peptides, one prominent polypeptide with an isoelectric point of about 5.5 and a molecular weight of about 29,000 was present in the cytoplasm of symbiont-containing amoebae and in the endosymbionts but not in D-strain amoebae. When endosymbionts were removed from xD-strain amoebae, the xD-specific polypeptide also disappeared, suggesting that it is produced by the endosymbionts.
The ABM controversy and the politics of the scientific community: Some implications for peace research

In an effort to encourage research into the possibilities of alternate agencies of change in American society, the author presents a case study of the political impact of the scientific community o...
Application of the crack-bridging model for fracture resistance (R-curve behaviour) to PMMA

The rising fracture toughness behaviour of PMMA was characterized using a crack-bridging model originally developed for coarse-grained alumina that predicts a mechanism for crack resistance from the bridging of unbroken grains behind the crack tip. Based on the published experimental observation of PMMA, the craze zone behind the crack tip was thought to be analogous to the effective grain-bridging zone in the model in which the fibrils in the craze zone were related to the restraining interfacial ligaments. Self-consistent results in terms of the model were obtained which indicates that the crack-bridging model can be used to account for the fibril-toughening mechanism in PMMA.
Neurosurgical emergency transfers to academic centers in Cook County: a prospective multicenter study.

OBJECTIVE: The absence of surgical subspecialty emergency care in the United States is a growing public health concern. Neurosurgery is a field lacking coverage in many areas of the country; however, this is generally thought to be of greater concern in rural areas. Because of decreasing numbers of neurosurgeons, medical malpractice, and liability concerns, neurosurgery coverage is becoming a public health crisis in urban areas. Our objective was to quantify neurosurgical emergency transfers to academic medical centers in Cook County, IL, including patient demographics, reasons for transfer, time lapse in transfer, and effects on patient condition. METHODS: Data on neurosurgery emergency transfers was gathered prospectively by all five of the academic neurosurgery departments in Cook County, IL, over a 2-month period. Patient demographics devoid of identifiers, diagnosis, transfer origin, time lapse of transfer, and patient condition at the time of transfer and at the receiving hospital were recorded. RESULTS: Two-hundred thirty emergent neurosurgical transfers occurred during the study period. The most common diagnoses were parenchymal intracerebral hemorrhage (33%) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (28%). Sixty-six percent of neurosurgical transfers to academic medical facilities originated at hospitals without full-time neurosurgery coverage. The mean time to transfer for all patients was 5 hours 10 minutes (standard deviation, 3 h 42 min; range, 1-20 h 12 min). A decline in Glasgow Coma Scale score was seen in 29 patients. A shortage of neurosurgical intensive care unit beds occurred on 55% of the days in the study. Only 19% of the emergency cases were related to cranial trauma, and only 3% of transfers came from Level 1 trauma centers. CONCLUSION: A combination of factors has led to decreases in availability of neurosurgical coverage in Cook County community hospital emergency departments. This has placed an increased burden on neurosurgical departments at academic centers, and, in some cases, delays led to a decline in patient condition. Eighty-one percent of the cases were not related to cranial trauma; thus, acute care trauma surgeons would be of little use. Coordinated efforts among local governments, medical centers, and emergency medical services to regionalize subspecialty services will be necessary to manage this problem. Language: en
Role of lipids in the Neurospora crassa membrane: III. Lipid composition and phase transition properties of the plasma membrane, and its components.

TheNeurospora crassa mutantslime, which lacks a cell wall, was used to determine the lipid composition and phase transition properties of the plasma membrane and its components. The lipid composition and phase transition properties of the plasma membrane were then compared to the same parameters of whole cell extracts ofNeurospora slime. Phospholipids extracted from whole cells and plasma membranes have similar fatty acid profiles, but differ somewhat in phospholipid base compositions. These differences in phospholipid base profiles were not sufficient to cause differences in the heat content (ΔH) or mid-point temperature of the phospholipids' gel-liquid crystal phase transitions as detected by scanning calorimetry. Phase transition temperatures and heat contents for plasma membrane and whole cell phospholipid extracts were −23.8 and −22.5°C and 0.3 and 1.7 cal/g, respectively. Commercially available phospholipids when mixed in the ratios of phospholipids found in whole cell and plasma membrane extracts yielded similar results: The “model” system of whole cell extract had a transition temperature of −22°C and ΔH=1.1 cal/g, compared to the “model” system for plasma membrane with a transition temperature of −21°C and ΔH=1.24 cal/g. The neutral lipid fraction of plasma membranes also exhibits endothermic activity in the calorimeter at temperatures below 0°C with a ΔH∼9 cal/g. Total lipid preparations (neutral+phospholipids) and freezedried plasma membranes scanned in excess water do not exhibit any endothermic events in the calorimeter. Neutral lipids probably interact with phospholipids to abolish the calorimetrically detectable phase transition of phospholipids. Whole cell and plasma membrane extracts are sufficiently similar in phospholipid base composition to permit the use of whole cell extracts as a model system for studying the effect of altered lipid composition on the physical properties of the phospholipids in theNeurospora crassa plasma membrane.
Evaluation of Hydronephrotic Damage using Nitroblue Tetrazolium

Summary A test for kidney viability, using nitroblue tetrazolium, has been evaluted in experimental hydronephroisis. A significant difference between control and kidney tissue obstructed for 6 weeks was observed.
Effect of molecular size and charge on biofilm sorption of organic matter

Abstract Packed-bed reactors were used to examine the effects of molecular size and charge on biofilm sorption of organic compounds selected for their similarity to the size and charge ranges of aquatic natural organic matter (NOM). In addition, the sorbate compounds were chosen for nonbiodegradability, which was verified by BOD tests. In experiments using uncharged NOM-surrogate compounds it was found that as sorbate molecular size increased, biofilm sorption decreased. Also, negatively charged NOM-surrogate compounds were found to be less well sorbed to biofilm than neutral molecules. Apparently biofilm sorption of small molecules is enhanced by diffusion of the sorbate into the porous biofilm matrix; whereas larger sorbate molecules probably accumulate at the biofilm-water interface because they are excluded from the biofilm pores. The observed decrease in biofilm sorption of anionic organic molecules compared to removal of neutral sorbates was thought to be the result of electrostatic repulsion between the negatively-charged sorbate and the negatively-charged biofilm particularly slowing diffusion of the sorbate molecules within the biofilm.
A Comparison of MIDI and ZIPI

With computer networks, in contrast, any device connected to the network can send and receive packets to and from any other device connected to the network. (Tanenbaum [1989] provides an excellent introduction to computer networks.) In Ethernet, for example, each device has only one plug, and a single cable connects the computer to the entire network, allowing it to talk to any device. In this respect, ZIPI is more like a computer network than like MIDI. Each ZIPI device has only one ZIPI plug, and a single ZIPI cable connects it to a hub. Any device connected to a hub can send packets to any other device connected to that hub. If multiple hubs are connected with ZIPI cables, than any device connected to any hub can talk to any other device on any hub. This means that musicians will never have to rewire their ZIPI studios unless they add or remove devices. If you want to use your ZIPI synthesizer as a keyboard controller one day and as a timbre module the next day, no wiring has to change. You never have to worry about the number of ZIPI outputs your computer has because connecting your computer's one ZIPI port to the hub will allow the computer to control any number of ZIPI synthesizers. You never have to build complicated wiring structures with in/out/thru because you do not have to think about which data will flow through which wire. This also means that all ZIPI communication can be two-way instead of one-way. A ZIPI controller can ask questions of a ZIPI synthesizer (e.g., to find out its capabilities), and the synthesizer can respond by sending a message back to the controller (Loy 1985).
The evaluation and application of wide bandgap power devices

Ab stract- T his paper presents an overview of wide bandgap (WBG) power devices. The development and challenges of silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) power devices are summerized. A comprehensive evaluation of the performance of different devices is conducted, including static characterization and dynamic switching related tests. The paper also demonstrates the application of WBG devices in power electronic circuits. The testing results are provided to show the performance of WBG devices in different aspects.
Breast self-examination beliefs: a descriptive study

Breast cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among American women. Evidence indicates that regular breast self-examination (BSE) may reduce breast cancer mortality by 18%, yet the majority of women do not practice it. This study used a decision model to examine the BSE-related characteristics, beliefs, and behaviors of 52 working women age 21 to 65 years (mean 44.05 yrs). Nearly 29% of the sample performed BSE. They were more likely than nonperformers to be white, to have a close relative who had breast cancer, and to believe that breast problems could be detected through BSE. Fears, particularly fear of cancer, were more likely to affect performers' than nonperformers' BSE decision. Nonperformers were more likely to think that the first symptom of breast cancer would be a sensation of some type, and that a healthy lifestyle protected them from the disease. They also were more likely to think reminders would encourage them to perform BSE. The most often reported sources of information about BSE were health care providers and friends or relatives.
Electromagnetic Induction and GPR Measurements for Creosote Contaminant Investigation

Multifrequency EM induction and GPR parallel dipole (co-pole) and orthogonal dipole (cross-pole) surveys were conducted to assist in the characterization of a former industrial site prior to it being remediated by the Ohio EPA and the U.S. EPA. The site has been a major concern to both agencies for the past decade due to high concentrations of creosote present in clay-rich surficial soils, resulting from many years of wood treating at the site. Information provided on the approximate extent of contamination at the site and the locations of several contaminant-filled structures determined through the use of quadrature phase EM data and cross-pole GPR data served as the basis for an efficient, comprehensive and cost-effective site remediation plan. Geophysical data interpretations were confirmed through exploratory trenching and soil sampling subsequent to the completion of this study. This study demonstrates the potential for mapping the extent and variation with depth of resistive compounds under circumst...
Latent class analysis of child behavior checklist anxiety/depression in children and adolescents.

ABSTRACT Objective Comorbidity of psychiatric problems such as anxiety and depression poses challenges to treatment and research. This study tested whether problem items from the Anxious/Depressed scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) can be separated into distinct anxiety and depression classes or are continuously distributed throughout a population. Method A CBCL was completed by a parent or guardian of each of 1,987 children and adolescents selected to represent nonreferred children in the United States, as well as by a parent or guardian of each of a demographically matched sample of 1,987 clinically referred children and adolescents. Problem items from the Anxious/Depressed scale of the CBCL were subjected to latent class analysis. Results Analyses revealed three levels of problem presentation in both samples. Children in the nonreferred sample were classified as having no problems, mild problems, or moderate anxiety/depression problems. Children and adolescents in the referred group were classified as having mild, moderate, or severe levels of problems. No pure anxiety or depression classes were found, only classes containing a mixture of both anxiety and depressive problems. Age, gender, and sample differences were found in class groupings, with nonreferred adolescent girls showing elevated levels of problems. Conclusions Results suggest that the comorbid conditions of anxiety and depression, as assessed by the CBCL anxiety/depression problem items, can be thought of as part of the same continuum of problems. Implications for assessment and treatment utilization are discussed.
Primitive actimoterigian fishes can synthesize ascorbic acid

Amphibians and reptiles evolved with the capacity to synthesize ascorbic acid. Some higher vertebrates, like bats, guinea pigs, primates, and humans have lost the microsomal enzyme gulonolactone oxidase, and in cases of ascorbic acid deficiency suffer from symptoms of scurvy. The question of whether the capacity to synthesize ascorbate is also present in lower vertebrates could throw light on the evolution of this pathway. In order to find out whether ascorbic acid synthesis took place in two primitive Actinopterigian fish, the paddlefish (Polydon spathula) and the white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) were fed with a scorbutogenic diet or diet(s) supplemented with a graded level of ascorbic acid. We found no growth depression nor external symptoms of scurvy, which would be pronounced in modern bony fishes (Teleostei) under similar conditions. The tissue level of ascorbate in both these primitive species indicated that vitamin C in intestine and liver is not depleted when fed a scorbutogenic diet. Gulonolactone oxidase activity was found in the kineys of the Actinopterigian fishes. Thus, I question the accepted evolutionary pathway for ascorbic acid biosynthesis in lower vertebrates and suggest that the modern bony fishes,Teleostei, lost their ability to express the gulonolactone oxidase genes after they had separated during the Silurian from their common ancestor with the coelacanths (Latimeria) and Dipnoi.
Aporia and the postsecular

The Politics of Postsecular Religion by Ananda Abeysekara provides a novel critical intervention within the growing debate on religion and the secular. It does this by exposing a limitation of the influential form of criticism known as ‘genealogical critique’ that has become popular in disciplines such as postcolonial studies, history of religions and anthropology. By grounding critical thought on the logic of aporia, it is possible to interrupt conventional forms of critique that merely recover or inherit the name, and thus to re-imagine political futures. The paper briefly demonstrates the applicability of aporetic logic by way of reference to the violent interdictions of modes of speech that were prevalent in pre-colonial India and which eventually enabled the Western category of ‘religion’ to take root in the minds of Indian elites in the late 19th and early 20th century.
Accelerated fluorine-19 MRI cell tracking using compressed sensing

Cell tracking using perfluorocarbon labels and fluorine-19 (19F) MRI is a noninvasive approach to visualize and quantify cell populations in vivo. In this study, we investigated three-dimensional compressed sensing methods to accelerate 19F MRI data acquisition for cell tracking and evaluate the impact of acceleration on 19F signal quantification. We show that a greater than 8-fold reduction in imaging time was feasible without pronounced image degradation and with minimal impact on the image signal-to-noise ratio and 19F quantification accuracy. In 19F phantom studies, we show that apparent feature topology is maintained with compressed sensing reconstruction, and false positive signals do not appear in areas devoid of fluorine. We apply the three-dimensional compressed sensing 19F MRI methods to quantify the macrophage burden in a localized wounding-inflammation mouse model in vivo; at 8-fold image acceleration, the 19F signal distribution was accurately reproduced, with no loss in signal-to-noise ratio. Our results demonstrate that three-dimensional compressed sensing methods have potential for advancing in vivo 19F cell tracking for a wide range of preclinical and translational applications. Magn Reson Med, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Multiple-Scattering Expansions for Nonrelativistic Three-Body Collision Problems. V. An Off-Shell Approach to the Faddeev-Watson Expansions

Explicit relations between the on-shell and off-shell three-body scattering and rearrangement-collision amplitudes are given. It is shown that the off-shell approach to the determination of the on-shell amplitudes is equivalent to the conventional method of taking on-shell matrix elements. As an example, the bare-potential term of the Faddeev-Watson multiplescattering expansion for rearrangement collisions is evaluated using the two alternative approaches.
Readmissions in the postoperative period following urinary diversion

Purpose Most analyses of complications after urinary diversion are restricted to the index admission. Given the complexity of these reconstructions, readmissions occur commonly. We sought to characterize the burden and impact of readmissions in the postoperative period following urinary diversion.
A systematic analysis of Decker's “A systematic analysis of diversion: Net widening and beyond”

Abstract A recent article, entitled “A Systematic Analysis of Diversion: Net Widening and Beyond,” carries on the tradition of condemning diversion by a labeling process rather than by a thorough analysis of consequences. In addition to objecting to the logical foundations of that article, this critique raises questions about the research design and statistical analyses upon which its results are based.
β1‐ and β2‐adrenoceptor responses in cardiomyocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells: comparison with failing and non‐failing adult human heart

Background and purpose: Characterization of human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CM) in relation to adult myocytes is essential for their future use in transplantation or as a model system. The β-adrenoceptor pathways, which are known to be effective early in hESC-CM development, are of major importance because of their control of rate and force of beating, arrhythmia generation and apoptosis/necrosis. We have therefore performed detailed pharmacological analysis of the β-adrenoceptor responses in developing hESC-CM. Experimental approach: hESC-CMs were differentiated from H7 ESCs and studied up to 79 days of differentiation. Rate of beating and time course of contraction and relaxation were measured in superfused preparations. Key results: Responses to the mixed β1- and β2-adrenoceptor agonist isoprenaline were evident from day 10 to day 79. Stability of the responses during an application, for repeated applications on the same experimental day and over the time of development, was determined. Concentrations for half-maximal response (12.9 nM) were similar to those from adult human heart, but closer to those obtained from failing rather than normal ventricle. Acceleration of both contraction and relaxation was quantitatively similar to that in adult ventricular myocytes, as was sensitivity to muscarinic inhibition. Use of specific antagonists showed that both β1- and β2-adrenoceptors contributed to contractile responses, as seen with adult myocytes. Conclusions and implications: These data show the compatibility of hESC-CM with adult human myocardium in terms of β-adrenoceptor response. The experiments described here also confirm the utility of the hESC-CM preparation for detailed pharmacological analysis. British Journal of Pharmacology (2008) 153, 751–759; doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0707619; published online 14 January 2008
Kinetic and spectroscopic requirements for the measurement of mesospheric ozone at 9.6 µm under non-LTE conditions

Radiative emission from transitions involving the vibration-rotation bands of ozone in the 9.6 µm spectral region is readily detected by limb-scanning instruments on orbiting satellites and such measurements are used to infer the ozone profile in the middle atmosphere. In the terrestrial mesosphere and lower thermosphere these transitions are predicted to depart from local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE). The occurrence of non-LTE complicates the interpretation of emission measurements in terms of the ozone abundance as the vibrational temperatures must be known a priori or calculated directly as part of the retrieval process. This in turn requires accurate knowledge of various kinetic and spectroscopic parameters used in a statistical equilibrium model to calculate the vibrational temperatures. Through detailed simulations of the forward and inverse retrieval problem we find that in order to achieve retrieved ozone concentrations accurate to 15% the collisional quenching rates must be known to better than 25% accuracy and that the distribution of energy within ozone upon recombination of O and O2 must be significantly improved. Collisional quenching rates are currently uncertain by more than a factor of 2.
Administration of Bone Marrow Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells into the Liver: Potential to Rescue Pseudoxanthoma Elasticum in a Mouse Model (Abcc6−/−)

Pseudoxanthoma elasticum (PXE) is a heritable ectopic mineralization disorder caused by loss-of-function mutations in the ABCC6 gene which is primarily expressed in the liver. There is currently no effective treatment for PXE. In this study, we characterized bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and evaluated their ability to contribute to liver regeneration, with the aim to rescue PXE phenotype. The MSCs, isolated from GFP-transgenic mice by magnetic cell sorting, were shown to have high potential for hepatic differentiation, with expression of Abcc6, in culture. These cells were transplanted into the livers of 4-week-old immunodeficient Abcc6⁻/⁻ mice by intrasplenic injection one day after partial hepatectomy, when peak expression of the stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) in the liver was observed. Fluorescent bioimaging analyses indicated that transplanted MSCs homed into liver between day 1 and 7, and significant numbers of GFP-positive cells were confirmed in the liver by immunofluorescence. Moreover, enhanced engraftment efficiency was observed with MSCs with high expression levels of the chemokine receptor Cxcr4, a receptor for SDF-1. These data suggest that purified MSCs have the capability of differentiating into hepatic lineages relevant to PXE pathogenesis and may contribute to partial correction of the PXE phenotype.
Cation radical chain cycloaddition polymerization: a fundamentally new polymerization mechanism

Cation radical chain cycloaddition polymerization, a fundamentally new addition polymerization method involving cation radical intermediates in each propagation step, is described and demonstrated. The cycloaddition reactions of appropriately constituted difunctional monomers, catalyzed by tris(4-bromophenyl)aminium hexachloroantimonate in dichloromethane solvent at 0 °C, is shown to afford polymers having average molecular weights of up to 150 000. Both cyclobutanation and Diels–Alder polymers were obtained in this way. The surprising efficiency of these polymerization reactions is believed to be the result of rapid intramolecular hole transfer from the site at which the hole is originally generated in the cycloaddition step to a reactive, terminal alkene moiety. Consequently, chain propagation is much more efficient than in the cycloadditions of corresponding monofunctional compounds, which necessarily involve intermolecular hole transfer. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Block copolymers containing a hydrophobic domain of membrane-lytic peptides form micellar structures and are effective gene delivery agents.

Endosomal release peptides have been incorporated in synthetic gene delivery formulations to increase transfection efficiencies. In this work, cationic copolymers containing sHGP, a membrane-lytic ...