cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impaired Patient-Reported Outcomes Predict Poor School Functioning and Daytime Sleepiness: The PROMIS Pediatric Asthma Study

Abstract Objective Poor asthma control in children is related to impaired patient-reported outcomes (PROs; eg, fatigue, depressive symptoms, anxiety), but less well studied is the effect of PROs on children's school performance and sleep outcomes. In this study we investigated whether the consistency status of PROs over time affected school functioning and daytime sleepiness in children with asthma. Methods Of the 238 children with asthma enrolled in the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Asthma Study, 169 children who provided survey data for all 4 time points were used in the analysis. The child's PROs, school functioning, and daytime sleepiness were measured 4 times within a 15-month period. PRO domains included asthma impact, pain interference, fatigue, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and mobility. Each child was classified as having poor/fair versus good PROs per meaningful cut points. The consistency status of each domain was classified as consistently poor/fair if poor/fair status was present for at least 3 time points; otherwise, the status was classified as consistently good. Seemingly unrelated regression was performed to test if consistently poor/fair PROs predicted impaired school functioning and daytime sleepiness at the fourth time point. Results Consistently poor/fair in all PRO domains was significantly associated with impaired school functioning and excessive daytime sleepiness (Ps Conclusions Children with asthma with consistently poor/fair PROs are at risk of poor school functioning and daytime sleepiness. Developing child-friendly PRO assessment systems to track PROs can inform potential problems in the school setting.
The Persistence of Utopia: Plasticity and Difference from Roland Barthes to Catherine Malabou

The theorizing of utopia is a persistent theme throughout several generations of the French continental tradition, and alongside the process theory of Alfred North Whitehead to a large degree recuperates the concept of utopia from its supposed dismissal by Marx and his intellectual descendants. Most recently, attention to the notion of plasticity, popularized (relatively speaking) by Catherine Malabou, extends speculation on utopian possibility. Compelled to answer to Marx’s denigration of utopia as fantasy, the tendency was (still is, for many) to compensate for the absence of a programmatic politics by stressing what is “useful” about utopian dreaming, and therefore where or how exactly a utopian text reveals or creates political drive, or motivates political action. In this essay, I argue that theorists have overlooked the use of utopia as not only the reproduction of difference, or what Malabou calls positive plasticity, but also as, therefore , a disruption; Malabou might prefer the term accident here. Tracing the concept of plasticity from Roland Barthes to Malabou, with a nod at Miguel Abensour, this essay teases out the links between a contemporary notion of plasticity to argue, simply put, that utopia is plastic . This plasticity of the concept ensures its political force. These links, obscured in the essay “Plastic,” Barthes makes only later in his writing. But for Malabou, plasticity underlies a principle of futurity and/as generativity, such that new forms, new meanings, new concepts emerge through difference. Utopia’s horizons of potentiality depend on difference, and on non-achievement. Finally, I argue that the persistence of utopia (Abensour) as a form of thinking is the most important, and political, effect of utopian plasticity.
Formation of quaternary centres by copper catalysed asymmetric conjugate addition to β-substituted cyclopentenones with the aid of a quantitative structure–selectivity relationship

A new asymmetric conjugate addition method was developed for β-substituted cyclopentenones to form quaternary centres using alkylzirconocene nucleophiles giving up to 97% yield and 92% ee. Key to the reaction's success was the design of suitable phosphoramidite ligands which was aided by a linear quantitative structure–selectivity relationship (QSSR). QSSR models were created from the ligand screening data (a total of 36 ligands) which revealed important electronic and steric requirements and led to the synthesis of more enantioselective ligands. DFT calculations of competing transition structures enable the interpretation of the electronic and steric terms present in the QSSR models.
How to Be a Political Social Change Mathematics Education Activist

Three sets of nomadic epistemological categories (Deleuze and Guattari) that coexist with other theoretical frameworks of mathematics education discourse and practice are used to suggest an approach to changing ourselves as mathematics educators through the ways that we think and act. The argument is that these reconceptualizing processes can change our worlds of possibility for mathematics education while allowing coexistence with more mainstream programs of research and practice: Arendt’s work, labor and action; Pitt’s youth leadership, voice and participation; and McElheny’s architectural, scientific, and artistic models. Such epistemological categories establish topologies, reconstructing subjectivities in the process—a tactic of alterglobal social movements that potentially politicize mathematics education: we change ourselves to change the world. Psychoanalytic responses to the terror of change, and the need to address the legacies of mathematics as a component of colonialism, are considered as components of broader social change.
Brussels: Pseudo-capital of Europe. Perspectives of Belgium’s global city in-themaking

A cross-section through the heart of the “European Union downtown” of Brussels begins at Rond-Point Schuman (Photos 10.1 and 10.2), once the center of European Institution implementation in the city. It ends at the integrated administration-business mega-project of the European Parliament, the Centre International du Congres (Photo 10.3), on the site of the old Leopold Brewery and opposite the Gare de Luxembourg (main railway station). Here the Berlaymont, Lucien de Vestel’s signature building of the European Commission, can be seen. The land on which the east wing of the 1920s Residence Palace constructed by Michel Polak stood, is now occupied by the 1995 modernist Council of Ministers building designed by Groupe Planning (Spapens 1997, pp. 143ff). As late as the late 1980s the demolition site lay idle as plainly landscaped green space in anticipation of the plans from the developers, the city, the region and the national government. An eclectic selection of row houses from the turn of the last century stands behind the massive new Council building, their rank interrupted by European Community-era mid-rise office buildings (Photo 10.4). Beyond the southern facade of the Council building lies open space. The long-promised residential units that were planned to balance out the rapid growth of office space are still unrealized. To the right, the Van Maerlant Abbey is festooned with a huge billboard advertising its availability to commercial real estate consumers. The growth coalition that has been transforming the quartier with great zeal since the mid-1980s had meant it to be a recreational facility for the executives of the European Union. A new policy intolerant of the Brussels “eurocracy” has forced a less exclusive future upon the Abbey. Directly across from the Avenue Belliard lies the Parc Leopold and the BeauxArts Museum of Natural History. Not much has changed here. On the other side of the hill near the Hermes-like bust statue of Leopold II, the southern anchor of the European Union’s building infrastructure comes into view: the bough of the ovalshaped Centre International du Congres and its parliament-like meeting hall’s vault soar over the park and the museum buildings (photo 10.3). The juxtaposition
Atomistic modeling of capillary-driven grain boundary motion in Cu-Ta alloys

Abstract Nanocrystalline Cu-Ta alloys are emerging as a new class of structural materials preserving the nano-scale grain size up to the melting point of Cu. This extraordinary structural stability is caused by the strong pinning of grain boundaries (GBs) by Ta nano-clusters precipitating from the unstable solid solution after mechanical alloying. Many aspects of the Ta stabilization effect remain elusive and call for further experimental and simulation work. In previous atomistic computer simulations of stress-driven GB migration [JOM 68, 1596 (2016)], the GB–cluster interactions in Cu-Ta alloys have been studied for several different compositions and GB velocities. The results have pointed to the Zener pinning as the main mechanism responsible for the grain stabilization. This paper extends the previous work to the motion of individual GBs driven by capillary forces whose magnitude is similar to that in real nanocrystalline materials. Both the impingement of a moving GB on a set of Ta clusters and the GB unpinning from the clusters are studied as a function of temperature and alloy composition. The results demonstrate a quantitative agreement with the Zener pinning model and confirm the “unzip” mechanism of unpinning found in the previous work. In the random Cu-Ta solid solution, short-circuit Ta diffusion along stationary and moving GBs leads to the nucleation and growth of new GB clusters, which eventually stop the GB motion.
Two Forms of Determinism

Philosophers are continually challenged to comprehend chance phenomena and probabilistic relationships. Those cases are especially intriguing in which we speak of chance or probability but can hardly attribute this manner of speaking to our being partially or totally ignorant of the situations in question. Those cases, then, can be taken to possess chance as an objective feature. In its intent, this paper is restricted to a discussion of such cases. Among objective chance relationships there is one kind which seems especially incomprehensible. These are stochastic relationships, i.e., chance relationships between consecutive states of physical systems. The existence of such relationships offends the common conviction that the temporal evolution or succession of states in physical systems is fully deterministic.
The efficacy of carbohydrate supplementation and chronic high- carbohydrate diets for improving endurance performance.

Carbohydrate (CHO) is the body's most limited fuel and the most heavily metabolized during moderate-intensity exercise. For this reason it is recommended that endurance athletes consume a high-CHO diet (8-10 g CHO . kg body weight-1 . day-1) to enhance training and performance. A review of the literature supports the benefits of CHO supplementation on endurance performance. The benefits of chronic high-CHO diets on endurance performance are not as clear. Recent evidence suggests that a high-CHO diet may be necessary for optimal adaptations to training. However, the paucity of date in this area precludes any concrete conclusions. The practicality of high-CHO diets is not well understood. The available evidence would indicate that a high-CHO diet is the best dietary recommendation for endurance athletes.
Learning Generalizable Robot Skills from Demonstrations in Cluttered Environments

Learning from Demonstration (LfD) is a popular approach to endowing robots with skills without having to program them by hand. Typically, LfD relies on human demonstrations in clutter-free environments. This prevents the demonstrations from being affected by irrelevant objects, whose influence can obfuscate the true intention of the human or the constraints of the desired skill. However, it is unrealistic to assume that the robot's environment can always be restructured to remove clutter when capturing human demonstrations. To contend with this problem, we develop an importance weighted batch and incremental skill learning approach, building on a recent inference-based technique for skill representation and reproduction. Our approach reduces unwanted environmental influences on the learned skill, while still capturing the salient human behavior. We provide both batch and incremental versions of our approach and validate our algorithms on a 7-DOF JACO2 manipulator with reaching and placing skills.
Uncertainty and context in GIScience and geography: challenges in the era of geospatial big data

Uncertainty and context pose fundamental challenges in GIScience and geographic research. Geospatial data are imbued with errors (e.g. measurement and sampling) and various types of uncertainty tha...
Blocking CCN2 Reduces Progression of Sensorimotor Declines and Fibrosis in a Rat Model of Chronic Repetitive Overuse.

Fibrosis may be a key factor in sensorimotor dysfunction in patients with chronic overuse-induced musculoskeletal disorders. Using a clinically relevant rodent model, in which performance of a high demand handle-pulling task induces tissue fibrosis and sensorimotor declines, we pharmacologically blocked cellular communication network factor 2 (CCN2; connective tissue growth factor) with the goal of reducing the progression of these changes. Young adult, female Sprague-Dawley rats were shaped to learn to pull at high force levels (10 min/day, 5 weeks), before performing a high repetition high force (HRHF) task for 3 weeks (2 h/day, 3 days/week). HRHF rats were untreated, or treated in task weeks 2 and 3 with a monoclonal antibody that blocks CCN2 (FG-3019), or a control immunoglobulin G (IgG). Control rats were untreated or received FG-3019, IgG, or vehicle (saline) injections. Mean task reach rate and grasp force were higher in 3-week HRHF + FG-3019 rats, compared with untreated HRHF rats. Grip strength declined while forepaw mechanical sensitivity increased in untreated HRHF rats, compared with controls; changes improved by FG-3019 treatment. The HRHF task increased collagen in multiple tissues (flexor digitorum muscles, nerves, and forepaw dermis), which was reduced with FG-3019 treatment. FG-3019 treatment also reduced HRHF-induced increases in CCN2 and transforming growth factor β in muscles. In tendons, FG-3019 reduced HRHF-induced increases in CCN2, epitendon thickening, and cell proliferation. Our findings indicate that CCN2 is critical to the progression of chronic overuse-induced multi-tissue fibrosis and functional declines. FG-3019 treatment may be a novel therapeutic strategy for overuse-induced musculoskeletal disorders. © 2019 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research® published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society. J Orthop Res 37:2004-2018, 2019.
Technology and Boundary Concerns in Social Work Field Education

Field educators and social work students use technology in various realms of practice, including provision of services to clients and provision of supervision for students. This article identifies how professional boundary issues may arise when social workers, field educators, or students use technology. This article also explores four ways that field educators can educate and support students in relation to pre-empting and managing technology-related boundary issues: policy clarification, role modeling through interactions with clients and others, role modeling within supervisory relationship, and advocacy.
Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on rice-herbivore interactions are soil-dependent

The effect of soil type on establishment of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, and their effects on plant growth and resistance to rice pests are poorly understood. We investigated the effects of inoculation with AM fungi on rice plants in two different unsterilized field soils under greenhouse and field conditions in two consecutive years in Louisiana, United States. We tested whether inoculation with AM fungi in the two soils changed plant biomass, nutrient concentration, resistance to pests, and yields. Inoculation with a commercial formulation of AM fungi increased root colonization by fungi in all soils, regardless of soil P availability; it also increased densities of root-feeding rice water weevil larvae and growth of leaf-feeding fall armyworm larvae, but these effects were soil-dependent. Inoculation with AM fungi had no effect on N and P concentrations or rice yields. The effect on plant biomass was also soil-dependent. Our study provides evidence for the first time that inoculation with AM fungi can increase colonization of roots of rice plants, but the effects of colonization on resistance to pests and plant biomass appear to be soil dependent. Moreover, the increased susceptibility to pests of rice colonized by AM fungi does not appear to be related to nutrient concentrations.
“My ancestors welling in me”: sound and silence in the Salt Lake Tabernacle

The Salt Lake (or Mormon) Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah has been the object of religious, scientific, and cultural fascination since its construction in the 1860s. To this day, visitors are tr...
Methods for estimating vital rates of greater sage-grouse broods: a review

Biologists use a variety of methods to estimate productivity and resource selection of birds. The effectiveness and suitability of each method depends on the study's objectives, but is also influenced by many important traits, including detection probability, disturbance of focal birds and sampling frequency. We reviewed 504 greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus papers published from 1990 to 2019 to document the most common brood survey methods used by investigators and summarized if and how they used brood survey data to estimate brood survival and detection probability. Of the 504 papers, 16.1% (n = 81) had useful information relevant to the review. The most common methods included daytime visual surveys (46.9%; n = 38), daytime flush surveys (33.3%; n = 27), nocturnal spotlight surveys (19.8%; n = 16), radio-tagged chicks (16.0%; n = 13), wing surveys (9.9%; n = 8), brood routes (4.9%; n = 4) and pointing dogs (4.9%; n = 4). Fifty-nine of the 81 papers used >1 method, only 2 of the 81 papers measured or reported detection probability, and none reported the level of disturbance caused by the method. Studies varied widely regarding the age of the brood when brood fate was confirmed (x = 44.4 days post-hatch, range 14–84 days). The frequency of brood sampling visits also varied greatly among studies (range = 1.19–3.85 surveys/brood/week) and this variation complicates comparison in fecundity and survival estimates across studies. Furthermore, 35 papers used >1 maternal behavior as purported indicators of brood fate, but none of them documented how accurate their indicators were. Future studies could reduce variance in estimates of sage-grouse fecundity and brood survival by employing empirical methods to estimate detection probability, standardizing brood sampling methods and conducting trials to document the effects of hen or brood capture, handling and flushing on brood survival estimates. Moreover, the accuracy of commonly used indicators of brood fate, including maternal behaviors, flocking behavior and distance moved after flush needs verification.
Blockchains for constrained edge devices

Abstract Today’s networks are seeing a large influx of Internet connected devices that reside primarily on the edge of the network. Many of these devices, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, are resource constrained both by storage capacity and power requirements that limit a device’s Internet availability. Several interesting architectures have been proposed to address security, device management, configuration, and multi-party interaction concerns using blockchain technology. These architectures require a trusted intermediary to interact with the blockchain on behalf of the edge device. This introduces a single point of failure in trust and security. This paper proposes a novel adaptation of blockchain technology to enable these edge devices to interact and participate with a blockchain without requiring a trusted intermediary. The proposed architecture provides a flexible and extensible framework that enables multi party interactions to take place at the edge of the network. The efficacy of the proposed design is demonstrated through theoretical analysis and by an application to a network of resource constrained IoT devices.
Computing Fair and Efficient Allocations with Few Utility Values

We study the problem of allocating indivisible goods among agents with additive valuations in a fair and efficient manner, when agents have few utility values for the goods. We consider the compelling fairness notion of envy-freeness up to any good (EFX) in conjunction with Pareto-optimality (PO). Amanatidis et al. [1] showed that when there are at most two utility values, an EFX allocation can be computed in polynomial-time. We improve this result by showing that for such instances an allocation that is EFX and PO can be computed in polynomial-time. This is the first class apart from identical or binary valuations, for which EFX+PO allocations are shown to exist and are polynomial-time computable. In contrast, we show that when there are three utility values, EFX+PO allocations need not exist, and even deciding if EFX+PO allocations exist is NP-hard.
Applications of Logic to the Problem of Splitting Abelian Groups

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the applications of logic to the problem of splitting abelian groups. One of the most fundamental problems in the study of the structure of abelian groups is to determine when a group splits (the direct sum of a torsion subgroup and a torsion-free subgroup). The chapter proposes the use of the notation of homological algebra in order to state this splitting problem succinctly. The solution to the splitting problem is obtained under the assumption of the Axiom of Constructibility (V = L). The chapter further explores applications and approaches to splitting problems for cardinality and for arbitrary cardinality.
MethMorph: simulating facial deformation due to methamphatamine usage

We present MethMorph, a system for producing realistic simulations of how drug-free people would look if they used methamphetamine. Significant weight loss and facial lesions are common side effects of meth usage. MethMorph fully automates the process of thinning the face and applying lesions to healthy faces. We combine several recently-developed detection methods such as Viola-Jones based cascades and Lazy Snapping to localize facial features in healthy faces. We use the detected facial features in our method for thinning the face. We then synthesize a new facial texture, which contains lesions and major wrinkles. We apply this texture to the thinned face. We test MethMorph using a database of healthy faces, and we conclude that MethMorph produces realistic meth simulation images.
Betrothal and Betrayal: The Soviet Translation of Norbert Weiner's Early Cybernetics

The early Cold War history (1948-1955) of cybernetics, or the study of information control and communication, offers an instructive footnote to 20th century history of media and communication. While also relevant to those interested in the international history of science and computing, this article treats the academic and ideological accommodation of Norbert Wiener's early seminal work on cybernetics into the Soviet academy primarily as an literary act historicized within the circumstances of Cold War politics. The first two articles in the Soviet press (1955) to translate Weiner's work favorably bear many ironies specific to the negotiated compromises of Cold War politics and cybernetics. To name two such ironies with contemporary relevance: the similarity between cooperation and cooptaton in military industrial support of scientific aids to peace and the ambiguity of the accommodationist character of cybernetics as an information system prelude to modern-day computing. Throughout, Peters argues that cybernetics, or communication history more generally, can be best understood through an international lens of analysis.
The Man Who Shocked The World: The Life And Legacy Of Stanley Milgram

Creator of the famous Obedience Experiments and originator of the "six degrees of separation" theory, Stanley Milgram transformed our understanding of human nature and continues to be one of the most important figures in psychology and beyond. In this sparkling biography, Thomas Blass captures the colorful personality and pioneering work of a visionary scientist who revealed the hidden workings of our social world. In this new paperback edition, he includes an afterword connecting Milgram's theories to torture, war crimes, and Abu Ghraib.
Sophisticated and Unsophisticated Investors' Reactions to Analysts' Forecast Revisions Conditional on Factors that are Associated with Forecast Accuracy

In this study we examine differences between sophisticated and unsophisticated investors' incorporation of information about the accuracy of sell-side analysts' revisions of quarterly earnings forecasts. Our results indicate that sophisticated investors' weights on information cues associated with accuracy more closely match the weights derived from environmental models of forecast accuracy. Further, our findings suggest that sophisticated investors' strategies better reflect the costs and benefits of using accuracy cues that provide statistically significant, but economically small, explanatory power for forecast accuracy. Our evidence is consistent with sophisticated investors having greater knowledge about the factors that are related to forecast accuracy and exhibiting more adaptive cue-weighting strategies.
Wide-Range Assessment of Memory and Learning

Memory is one of the central ingredients in determining who we are and become. Without it, we would struggle to make sense of the present and would have no past or future. And yet, while so critical, memory is an extremely vulnerable cognitive system, and therefore its evaluation is especially important following acute or progressive insults to the brain, such as those resulting from motor vehicle accidents, blast injuries, multiple sclerosis, brain tumors, infections, and strokes. Memory also normally exhibits measurable differences within and across the age range, with the greatest variability seen in younger children and older adults. The Wide Range Assessment of Memory and Learning, second edition (WRAML2), is an individually administered test battery designed to assess memory ability across the age range (5 to 90 years). Consequently, the battery can prove useful in assessment settings often found in hospitals, schools, rehabilitation centers, and neuropsychologists' offices. Keywords: memory; assessment; WRAML2
Precision comparisons and pooled presentations of probability

Inter-laboratory measurement comparisons can benefit from explicit graphical presentation of their probability density functions (PDFs). It is now as easy to create and manipulate these graphs as it is to use traditional error bars. These graphs improve clarity and generality when discussing uncertainties and their associated assumptions.
Trends in service robots for the disabled and the elderly

This paper reviews the state of the art in service robots for the disabled and the elderly people. The classification is based upon system hardware configurations. Key R&D issues in the field of service robots for the disabled and elderly are discussed. The ISAC-HERO system being developed at the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Vanderbilt University is presented as an example of an intelligent robotic aid system. Then emerging trends in the areas of user interface, learning and adaptation are presented. >
Binding Affinity of Purified Plasma Proteins for Phenethylbiguanide, an Oral Hypoglycemic Compound

A colorimetric method has been adapted to the quantitative determination of the oral hypoglycemic compound phenethylbiguanide. This method was useful in studying the binding affinity of purified bovine plasma albumin and gamma globulin for the hypoglycemic agent. Equilibrium dialysis studies, which measure the decrease in thermodynamic activity of the bound cation, reveal that there is no significant interaction between phenethylbiguanide and the two native proteins. Consequently, the two plasma proteins are assumed to exert no buffering action in controlling the plasma concentration of the drug. The adherence of phenethylbiguanide to Beer's Law indicates that the compound exists in the monomeric state in aqueous solution below 10-4 molar.
Binding and Synergizing Motif within Coleopteran Cadherin Enhances Cry3Bb Toxicity on the Colorado Potato Beetle and the Lesser Mealworm.

Cry3Bb toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis is an important insecticidal protein due to its potency against coleopteran pests, especially rootworms. Cadherin, a protein in the insect midgut epithelium, is a receptor of Cry toxins; in some insect species toxin-binding domains of cadherins-synergized Cry toxicity. Previously, we reported that the DvCad1-CR8-10 fragment of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera cadherin-like protein (GenBank Accession #EF531715) enhanced Cry3Bb toxicity to the Colorado Potato Beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decimlineata (L. decimlineata). We report that individual CR domains of the DvCad1-CR8-10 fragment were found to have strong binding affinities to α-chymotrypsin-treated Cry3Bb. The dissociation constant (Kd) of Cry3Bb binding to the CR8, CR9, and CR10 domain was 4.9 nM, 28.2 nM, and 4.6 nM, respectively. CR8 and CR10, but not CR9, enhanced Cry3Bb toxicity against L. decimlineata and the lesser mealworm Alphitobius diaperinus neonates. In-frame deletions of the DvCad1-CR10 open reading frame defined a high-affinity binding and synergistic site to a motif in residues I1226–D1278. A 26 amino acid peptide from the high affinity Cry3Bb-binding region of CR10 functioned as a Cry3Bb synergist against coleopteran larvae.
Real-time glucose sensing by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy in bovine plasma facilitated by a mixed decanethiol/mercaptohexanol partition layer.

A new, mixed decanethiol (DT)/mercaptohexanol (MH) partition layer with dramatically improved properties has been developed for glucose sensing by surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy. This work represents significant progress toward our long-term goal of a minimally invasive, continuous, reusable glucose sensor. The DT/MH-functionalized surface has greater temporal stability, demonstrates rapid, reversible partitioning and departitioning, and is simpler to control compared to the tri(ethylene glycol) monolayer used previously. The data herein show that this DT/MH-functionalized surface is stable for at least 10 days in bovine plasma. Reversibility is demonstrated by exposing the sensor alternately to 0 and 100 mM aqueous glucose solutions (pH ∼7). The difference spectra show that complete partitioning and departitioning occur. Furthermore, physiological levels of glucose in two complex media were quantified using multivariate analysis. In the first system, the sensor is exposed to a solution consisting of...
Leveraging domain-expert knowledge in a genetic algorithm for civil engineering design optimization

Chromosome evaluation for the civil engineering truss optimization problem is very expensive, thus limiting the number of iterations we can afford to perform. To try to improve convergence we used several mutation operators modeled after strategies used by domain experts. We ran experiments with various combinations of the operators and found that the domain-expert knowledge significantly improves the performance of the GA.
The general anesthetic propofol increases brain N-arachidonylethanolamine (anandamide) content and inhibits fatty acid amide hydrolase.

1. Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) is widely used as a general anesthetic and for the maintenance of long-term sedation. We have tested the hypothesis that propofol alters endocannabinoid brain content and that this effect contributes to its sedative properties. 2. A sedating dose of propofol in mice produced a significant increase in the whole-brain content of the endocannabinoid, N-arachidonylethanolamine (anandamide), when administered intraperitoneally in either Intralipid or emulphor-ethanol vehicles. 3. In vitro, propofol is a competitive inhibitor (IC(50) 52 micro M; 95% confidence interval 31, 87) of fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), which catalyzes the degradation of anandamide. Within a series of propofol analogs, the critical structural determinants of FAAH inhibition and sedation were found to overlap. Other intravenous general anesthetics, including midazolam, ketamine, etomidate, and thiopental, do not affect FAAH activity at sedative-relevant concentrations. Thiopental, however, is a noncompetitive inhibitor of FAAH at a concentration of 2 mM. 4. Pretreatment of mice with the CB(1) receptor antagonist SR141716 (1 mg kg(-1), i.p.) significantly reduced the number of mice that lost their righting reflex in response to propofol. Pretreatment of mice with the CB(1) receptor agonist, Win 55212-2 (1 mg kg(-1), i.p.), significantly potentiated the loss of righting reflex produced by propofol. These data indicate that CB(1) receptor activity contributes to the sedative properties of propofol. 5. These data suggest that propofol activation of the endocannabinoid system, possibly via inhibition of anandamide catabolism, contributes to the sedative properties of propofol and that FAAH could be a novel target for anesthetic development.
Heterosexual Africa? The history of an idea from the age of exploration to the age of AIDS

Over the past decade, international HIV/AIDS funding has increased for research and interventions in sub-Saharan Africa focusing on men who have sex with men, due to growing empirical data that ide...
Large scale perturbations in extratropical atmosphere—Part I: On rossby waves

This study reexamines the propagation mechanism and geostrophic property of the classical two dimensional Rossby waves in a non-divergent barotropic atmosphere. It will be found that propagation of large scale atmospheric waves depends crucially on horizontal divergence. A small Rossby number in Rossby waves is not sufficient for the waves to have a small ageostrophic component, because the two dimensional classical Rossby waves do not manifest the geostrophic balance as good as observed in the atmosphere.
Repeal of the Greenback Conversion Clause

AMERICAN MONETARY HISTORY is full of strange happenings and queer events beginning with the resolution of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1690 explaining the issue of our first paper money. It referred to "the sundry considerable debts" which had been contracted "for maintaining their Majesties' interests against hostile invasions of their French and Indian enemies," the actual fact being that the colony had sent an expedition against Quebec in the expectation that plunder would pay the costs thereof. Unfortunately, the colony's forces were repulsed and returned emptyhanded.
Regulation of cytochrome P4501A1 in teleosts: sustained induction of CYP1A1 mRNA, protein, and catalytic activity by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran in the marine fish Stenotomus chrysops.

Abstract Cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) is known to play important roles in the activation and detoxification of carcinogens and other toxicants in vertebrate animals, including fish. Although extensively studied in mammalian systems, the regulation of CYP1A forms in other vertebrates is less well understood. We examined the time course and dose-response relationships for induction of CYP1A1 mRNA, protein, and catalytic activity by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF) in the marine fish Stenotomus chrysops (scup). The time course of CYP1A1 induction was determined following a single ip dose (10 nmol/kg) of 2,3,7,8-TCDF. Hepatic ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase activity was increased after 1 day, reached a maximum by 8 days, and was still elevated 14 days after treatment. The content of immunodetectable CYP1A1 protein in liver was elevated on Day 1 and continued to increase through 14 days. CYP1A1 protein content was also strongly induced in heart and gill beginning at 2 days after treatment and extending through Day 14. Hepatic CYP1A1 mRNA was strongly induced by 1 day after dosing and remained elevated through 14 days. The sustained induction of CYP1A1 mRNA by 2,3,7,8-TCDF contrasts with the transient induction seen previously in fish treated with nonhalogenated inducers and most likely reflects differences in persistence of the inducers. Dose-response studies indicated that induction of CYP1A1 mRNA, protein, and catalytic activity occurred following doses of 2,3,7,8-TCDF as low as 0.4 nmol/kg (120 ng/kg), within the range of whole-body contents of this congener measured in fish from contaminated environments. The estimated dose producing half-maximal CYP1A1 induction in scup was approximately 2-10 nmol/kg, suggesting that the sensitivity of these fish to induction may be as great as or greater than that of rats. In contrast to previous results obtained with 3,3′,4,4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB) and β-naphthoflavone, which appear to inhibit or inactivate CYP1A1 in fish and other vertebrates, there was a good correlation among levels of CYP1A1 mRNA, protein, and catalytic activity in individual fish following various doses of 2,3,7,8-TCDF. The difference in response to 2,3,7,8-TCDF versus 3,3′,4,4′-TCB may reflect differences in the inducing potencies of the two compounds relative to their similar potencies as inhibitors of CYP1A1 catalytic activity. In additional studies to evaluate structure-activity relationships for CYP1A1 induction by chlorinated dibenzofurans in fish, scup were treated with 2,3,6,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (2,3,6,8-TCDF). At 10 or 50 nmol/kg, 2,3,6,8-TCDF was inactive as an inducer of CYP1A1 mRNA, protein, or catalytic activity. Overall, these results illustrate temporal and dose-dependent aspects of CYP1A1 induction in fish that are highly inducer-specific; the results also indicate that fundamental features of CYP1A1 regulation appear to be conserved in fish and mammals, two widely divergent groups of vertebrates.
TWO MORPHOLOGICAL TYPES OF PARTICULATE INCLUSIONS IN MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES12

SUMMARY Two species of laboratory-reared nonbioluminescent dinoflagellates, Gymnodinium splendens (photo-synthetic) and Crypthecodinium cohnii (hetero-trophic), were observed to posses abundant quantities of randomly moving structures, which are contained in vacuoles. When viewed with the electron microscope, 2 shapes of regular, geometric particles, here termed particulate inclusions, were observed. The morphology of the particulate inclusions is described.
Smartphone-interfaced lab-on-a-chip devices for field-deployable enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

The emerging technologies on mobile-based diagnosis and bioanalytical detection have enabled powerful laboratory assays such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to be conducted in field-use lab-on-a-chip devices. In this paper, we present a low-cost universal serial bus (USB)-interfaced mobile platform to perform microfluidic ELISA operations in detecting the presence and concentrations of BDE-47 (2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether), an environmental contaminant found in our food supply with adverse health impact. Our point-of-care diagnostic device utilizes flexible interdigitated carbon black electrodes to convert electric current into a microfluidic pump via gas bubble expansion during electrolytic reaction. The micropump receives power from a mobile phone and transports BDE-47 analytes through the microfluidic device conducting competitive ELISA. Using variable domain of heavy chain antibodies (commonly referred to as single domain antibodies or Nanobodies), the proposed device is sensitive for a BDE-47 concentration range of 10−3–104 μg/l, with a comparable performance to that uses a standard competitive ELISA protocol. It is anticipated that the potential impact in mobile detection of health and environmental contaminants will prove beneficial to our community and low-resource environments.
Impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines on nasopharyngeal carriage and invasive disease among unvaccinated people: review of evidence on indirect effects.

Abstract Background Invasive disease due to Streptococcus pneumoniae remains an important worldwide cause of morbidity and mortality, particularly in young children and the elderly. The development and use of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) have had a dramatic impact on rates of vaccine-type invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) not only in the pediatric population targeted for vaccination but in non-vaccinated age-groups as well. This indirect effect is directly mediated by a reduction of vaccine-type nasopharyngeal carriage and thus transmission by vaccinated children. Current PCV licensing procedures do not take into consideration nasopharyngeal carriage impact, and thus the indirect effect. This review summarizes the evidence for the indirect effect of PCV on vaccine-type disease and its correlation with changes in carriage among unvaccinated populations, to assess the basis for inclusion of carriage in the PCV licensing process. Methods Randomized controlled trials, surveillance and other observational studies published between 1994 and 2013 were systematically identified from global, regional and review databases and conference abstracts. We included as primary evidence, studies in non-vaccinated groups addressing changes in both vaccine-type IPD and carriage between pre- and post-PCV introduction periods; studies missing one of these four components were included as supporting rather than primary evidence. Results We identified studies from 14 countries, nearly all developed countries. Vaccine-type IPD and carriage in non-targeted populations consistently decreased after PCV introduction, with the magnitude of decrease growing over time. Where IPD and carriage were observed in the same population, VT-decreases occurred contemporaneously. These relationships held true across age-groups and between indigenous and non-indigenous populations in the US and Australia. Conclusions Indirect PCV impact on VT-IPD and VT-carriage has been significant. Impact on carriage should be considered for inclusion in the PCV licensure process as a predictor of indirect effects.
Interaction Rules and Ethnicity The Japanese and Caucasians in Honolulu

The concept of ethnicity has traditionally embraced varying customs, structures, languages, attitudes, histories, and ideologies. More recently, ethnic identification has been studied as it sets boundaries between diverse subcultures. This report examines ethnicity as a function of distinctive interaction rules in encounters both within and outside the Japanese American community in Hawaii. Cost and reward criteria derived from exchange theory are related to interaction rules in an effort to account for dissonance in interethnic communication. The study of ethnic groups has generally involved an analysis of social structure and value systems within an assimilation model (Gordon; Matsumoto etal.; Meredith; Taft). Although some social scientists have been concerned with ethnic boundary maintenance (Barth), the examination of "persistent cultural system" (Spicer), or a combination of historical, structural, and ideological orientations (Meadows), the major emphasis has been on degree of integration into the larger society. Despite these empirical and analytical contributions, ethnicity remains a murky concept because it is all too frequently associated merely with abstract ideologies and sentiments of one's ethnic heritage. Most research fai Is to spel I out how this attachment can be translated into a determination of present behavior (Goering; Greeley; Nahirny and Fishman). This report on the Japanese Americans in Honolulu poses the question: How does ethnic membership determine the character of in-group and outgroup interaction? First, we illustrate how the Japanese American standards of evaluation used in interaction determine an ethnic category and delimit behavioral boundaries acceptable to the members of this category. Second, by comparing the Japanese American rules of interaction with Caucasian American rules, a model of interethnic encounter is constructed. Third, symbolic interaction and exchange theories are used to explain how ethnic boundaries are maintained. This analysis views the responses between interactants as proceeding through a selective transformation of past experiences and meanings (Mead). Furthermore, selection can be seen to involve a continual assessment of costs and rewards which are expected to accrue in ongoing associations (Homans). *Revision of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, 1972. The article stems from field research supported by the National Institute of Mental Hygiene, MF-263-71, and the Department of Mental Hygiene, State of New York.
A graph theoretic approach to problem formulation for multidisciplinary design analysis and optimization

The formulation of multidisciplinary design, analysis, and optimization (MDAO) problems has become increasingly complex as the number of analysis tools and design variables included in typical studies has grown. This growth in the scale and scope of MDAO problems has been motivated by the need to incorporate additional disciplines and to expand the parametric design space to enable the exploration of unconventional design concepts. In this context, given a large set of disciplinary analysis tools, the problem of determining a feasible data flow between tools to produce a specified set of system-level outputs is combinatorially challenging. The difficulty is compounded in multi-fidelity problems, which are of increasing interest to the MDAO community. In this paper, we propose an approach for addressing this problem based on the formalism of graph theory. The approach begins by constructing the maximal connectivity graph (MCG) describing all possible interconnections between a set of analysis tools. Graph operations are then conducted to reduce the MCG to a fundamental problem graph (FPG) that describes the connectivity of analysis tools needed to solve a specified system-level design problem. The FPG does not predispose a particular solution procedure; any relevant MDO solution architecture could be selected to implement the optimization. Finally, the solution architecture can be represented in a problem solution graph (PSG). The graph approach is applied to an example problem based on a commercial aircraft MDAO study.
Study of the Development of the Mouse Thoracic Aorta Three-Dimensional Macromolecular Structure using Two-Photon Microscopy

Using the intrinsic optical properties of collagen and elastin, two-photon microscopy was applied to evaluate the three-dimensional (3D) macromolecular structural development of the mouse thoracic aorta from birth to 60 days old. Baseline development was established in the Scavenger Receptor Class B Type I-Deficient, Hypomorphic Apolipoprotein ER61 (SR-BI KO/ApoeR61h/h) mouse in preparation for modeling atherosclerosis. Precise dissection enabled direct observation of the artery wall in situ. En-face, optical sectioning of the aorta provided a novel assessment of the macromolecular structural development. During aortic development, the undulating lamellar elastin layers compressed consistent with the increases in mean aortic pressure with age. In parallel, a net increase in overall wall thickness (p<0.05, in day 60 compared with day 1 mice) occurred with age whereas the ratio of the tunicas adventitia and media to full aortic thickness remained nearly constant across age groups (~1:2.6, respectively). His...
Verification in Metaphysics

Harold N. Lee has contended that metaphysical doctrines, such as solipsism and mind-matter dualism, should be interpreted as hypotheses.1 This claim is of considerable importance, for if it is correct, we should reject not only the traditional dogma that some metaphysical doctrines are “absolutely certain,” but also the skeptical rejoinder which the dogma frequently has evoked, namely that they cannot be knowledge at all. Lee’s proposal is a mean between these two extremes, since it permits metaphysical doctrines to be probable knowledge. It has the advantages of each extreme, and the defects of neither.