cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The shuttle glow phenomenon.

▪ Abstract Spacecraft in low earth orbit exhibit an unusual phenomenon: Surfaces facing the atmospheric wind produce a bright orange glow. This phenomenon was first noticed on the space shuttle but has since been verified as occurring on all spacecraft. The intensity of the glow depends on atmospheric density, on the angle between the velocity vector and the spacecraft surface, and on the temperature of the surface. This review summarizes the observations as well as the current explanation for the glow, namely its being due to NO*2 formed in surface-aided recombination between O and NO. Laboratory measurements and surface studies related to the phenomenon are briefly discussed.
Measuring and training creativity competencies : Validation of a new test

In 2 studies with a total of over 300 participants, the Epstein Creativity Competencies Inventory for Individuals (ECCI-i) was shown to be a reliable measuring instrument. In the first of these studies, the test was also shown to be a valid predictor of 2 measures of creative expression. The test is derived from empirical research on the creative process in individuals, which suggests that creative expression can be accelerated through the strengthening of any of 4 measurable, trainable competencies: capturing (preserving new ideas as they occur), challenging (taking on difficult tasks), broadening (seeking knowledge and skills outside one's current areas of expertise), and surrounding (seeking out new stimuli or combinations of stimuli). In the second study, training such competencies improved test scores and led to a significant increase in creative output.
Veracruz Merchants, 1770-1829: A Mercantile Elite In Late Bourbon And Early Independent Mexico

A study of the rise and decline of the merchant elite of Veracruz, this book analyzes the characteristics of a complex hierarchical trading system that extended from international wholesalers to itinerant retail peddlers in Spain's most important overseas port.
Managing Occupational Risks for Hepatitis C Transmission in the Health Care Setting

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant contemporary health problem in the United States and elsewhere. Because it is primarily transmitted via blood, hepatitis C infection presents risks for both nosocomial transmission to patients and occupational spread to health care workers. Recent insights into the pathogenesis, immunopathogenesis, natural history, and treatment of infection caused by this unique flavivirus provide a rationale for the use of new strategies for managing occupational hepatitis C infections when they occur. This article reviews this developing information. Recently published data demonstrate success rates in the treatment of “acute hepatitis C syndrome” that approach 100\%, and although these studies are not directly applicable to all occupational infections, they may provide important clues to optimal management strategies. In addition, the article delineates approaches to the prevention of occupational exposures and also addresses the difficult issue of managing HCV-infected health care providers. The article summarizes currently available data about the nosocomial epidemiology of HCV infection and the magnitude of risk and discusses several alternatives for managing exposure and infection. No evidence supports the use of immediate postexposure prophylaxis with immunoglobulin, immunomodulators, or antiviral agents. Based on the very limited data available, the watchful waiting and preemptive therapy strategies described in detail in this article represent reasonable interim approaches to the complex problem of managing occupational HCV infections, at least until more definitive data are obtained.
Noise and cross talk study in an optical neural network

The performance of software implemented artificial neural networks in many applications is well documented; however, fewer studies have been reported on networks implemented using less-than-ideal optical hardware. Modeling and characterization of hardware imperfections is essential before a transition can be made from using CPU intensive software simulated neural networks to practical, electro-optic based neural networks. In this report we study non-linear and limited accuracy components as error sources and experimentally document their effects. The electro-optic neural-network used for this research consists of two electrooptic artificial neural-network layers and one artificial neural-network layer implemented in software only. In the electro-optic layers, light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used to provide the input, liquid crystal spatial light modulators (SLM) serve as the interconnection weight matrixes, and photodiode detectors are the nonlinear thresholding elements. The error sources analyzed include: nonuniform LED illumination, optical misalignment and cross talk within the SLM, thermal drift in the SLM, and repeatability, linearity, and analog accuracy of the SLM.
Renewable hydrogen by autothermal steam reforming of volatile carbohydrates

The autothermal reforming of methanol, ethylene glycol, and glycerol and their solutions in water was examined over platinum- and rhodium-based catalysts supported on alumina foams at a contact time of ∼10 ms. Catalyst, washcoat, carbon-to-oxygen ratio, and steam-to-carbon ratio were varied to maximize selectivity to H2. Rhodium catalysts with the addition of ceria on a γ-Al2O3 washcoat layer exhibited the best combination of high fuel conversion and high selectivity to H2 near equilibrium. Steam addition increased selectivity to H2 to 89% from methanol, 92% from ethylene glycol, and 79% from glycerol. Selectivity to minor products such as acetaldehyde, ethylene, and methane was <2% at optimum conditions for all experiments. The results are interpreted as occurring primarily through surface reactions initiated by adsorption on metals through hydroxyl oxygen lone pairs to form surface alkoxides, which decompose almost exclusively to H2 and C1 carbon compounds.
Operation's concept for array-based deep space network

The array-based deep space network (DSN-Array) will be a part of more than 103 times increase in the downlink/telemetry capability of the deep space network (DSN). The key function of the DSN-array is to provide cost-effective, robust telemetry, tracking and command (TT&C) services to the space missions of NASA and its international partners. It provides an expanded approach to the use of an array-based system. Instead of using the array as an element in the existing DSN, relying to a large extent on the DSN infrastructure, we explore a broader departure from the current DSN, using fewer elements of the existing DSN, and establishing a more modern concept of operations. This paper gives architecture and operation's philosophy of DSN-array. It also describes customer's view of operations, operations management and logistics, and maintenance philosophy, anomaly analysis and reporting
Co-Opting the Elders: The Political Economy of State Incorporation in Africa

The new institutional economics provides the basis for a theory of institutional change that helps to explain economic and political change among the East African pastoral Orma. A restudy of the Orma in 1987, following a six-year absence, revealed many changes in property rights over common grazing. The need for change in property rights led the elders to yield considerable authority to the state in return for enforcement of new property rights. The lessons from this case study of state incorporation relate also to the issue of state formation, and more generally to the process of change in institutions such as marriage, lineage, clan, gerontocracy, and patron-client relations.
Variation in the mode of receptor cell addition in the electrosensory system of gymnotiform fish.

Age-related changes in ampullary and tuberous receptor organ morphology were studied in six species of gymnotiform weakly electric fish. Cheek skin was silver-stained, whole-mounted, and viewed under Nomarski differential interference contrast optics. The ampullary receptor units of all species show an increasing number of receptor organs per afferent fiber with fish size, presumably the result of addition of newly formed receptor organs. Ampullary units composing over a dozen organs were observed in large specimens of a few species. Receptor cells were also added in the tuberous receptor system of all species, but in different ways. As previously reported for Sternopygus, small specimens of Eigenmannia had only a single tuberous receptor organ per afferent. Fish of increasing size retained a population of afferents that innervated only a single receptor organ and, in addition, had a population of afferents that innervated a cluster of receptor organs. The mean number of receptor organs per cluster increased in fish of increasing size. In addition, the mean number of sensory receptor cells per organ increased. New organs presumably derive from older ones, which divide under the stimulus of continued addition of new receptor cells. Apteronotus, Adontosternarchus, and Hypopomus all added more receptor cells to their tuberous organs. In these species, every afferent innervated only a single tuberous organ and there was no indication of division of receptor organs. Gymnorhamphichthys and Gymnotus were intermediate in that they added new receptor cells to each receptor organ, and, in larger fish, these were segregated into discrete patches within a single receptor organ. It is likely that the additon of new receptor cells aids in increasing sensitivity of both ampullary and tuberous receptors as fish grow.
A genome-wide 3C-method for characterizing the three-dimensional architectures of genomes

Accumulating evidence demonstrates that the three-dimensional (3D) organization of chromosomes within the eukaryotic nucleus reflects and influences genomic activities, including transcription, DNA replication, recombination and DNA repair. In order to uncover structure-function relationships, it is necessary first to understand the principles underlying the folding and the 3D arrangement of chromosomes. Chromosome conformation capture (3C) provides a powerful tool for detecting interactions within and between chromosomes. A high throughput derivative of 3C, chromosome conformation capture on chip (4C), executes a genome-wide interrogation of interaction partners for a given locus. We recently developed a new method, a derivative of 3C and 4C, which, similar to Hi-C, is capable of comprehensively identifying long-range chromosome interactions throughout a genome in an unbiased fashion. Hence, our method can be applied to decipher the 3D architectures of genomes. Here, we provide a detailed protocol for this method.
AIMS AND VALUES OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY

Author's summary.— The O'Shea report re-examined, in part critically; cultural values of modern language study reasserted; a new trend from materialism toward idealism makes renewed demands on the collaboration of the language teacher.
Robotic single-site adrenalectomy

Technological advances have brought about robotic single-site (RSS) cholecystectomy and hysterectomy. The application of RSS to additional procedures requires careful assessment of the surgeon learning curve, the technological limitations, patient selection criteria and associated outcomes. Patient demographics, BMI, surgical indications, adrenal size, OR times, length of stay, postoperative pain and complications were assessed. Thirty-three patients underwent RSS-A by a single surgeon with 53 % being male, mean age 54 ± 16 years and mean BMI of 32.7. There were 18 left, 10 right, and 5 bilateral procedures for a total of 38 adrenal glands removed (mean tumor size 3.2 cm). There were 5 conversions to a laparoscopic approach, and two to open approach. The necessity for conversion was not associated with age, BMI, tumor size, surgical side or pathology (p > 0.05). The patients who underwent successful unilateral RSS-A had a profile of mean age 55, BMI 31, tumor size 3 cm, and a mean operative time of 118 ± 25.8 min. Pain scores were <4 (10 point scale) in 67 % of patients. 74 % of patients were discharged on POD 1 and 96 % were discharged by POD 2. An assessment of the quartile learning curve for the unilateral RSS-A showed operative times decreased from a mean of 124 to 103 min after 21 cases (p = 0.05). Patients with functioning and non-functioning tumors, along with those with obesity can safely be treated with RSS-A. The surgeon learning curve was associated with shortened operative times and not increased complication rates.
Identification of a Novel Interleukin-2 Receptor Subunit

Interleukin-2 (IL2) binds to both high (Kd = 10–30 pM) and low (Kd = 10–30 nM) affinity IL2 receptors on activated T lymphocytes (1,2). Both classes of receptors share reactivity with anti-Tac monoclonal antibody and therefore contain the “Tac antigen” or 55 kD IL2 binding protein (3,4). The high affinity receptors account for approximately ten percent of the total number of receptors on activated T cells (2). It is generally believed that the high affinity receptors mediate the growth and differentiation effects of IL2, although the contribution, if any, of low affinity sites to such effects has not been as carefully examined. Only the high affinity sites undergo receptor mediated endocytosis after the binding of IL2 (5,6). The molecular basis for the distinction between the different classes of receptors has been unclear heretofore, and this short report will summarize the data from our laboratory, some of which has been published (7).
Quantum Dynamics of Short Pulse Vibrational Overtone Spectroscopy and Photochemistry

Highly vibrationally excited states of polyatomic molecules corresponding to excitations of overtones of “local bond modes” have been studied throughout this decade as a means of revealing the intramolecular vibrational dynamics important to chemical reactivity.1–3 Under conditions of low temperature and low pressure with highly sensitive photoacoustic detection and intense lasers, spectroscopists observe progressions of vibrational bands at energies up to 25,000 cm-1 in the ground electronic state, accessible via direct, one photon transitions from the ground vibrational state, which very closely fit a Morse oscillator energy relation.4–9 These data are naturally interpreted as arising from overtone excitations of light atom/heavy atom bonds (typically HC, HN, HO, or HSi) behaving as “local” diatomic oscillators in polyatomics.2 This implies that one can exploit these transitions to “deposit” several quanta of vibrational energy into a single bond in a molecule. Such a prospect is clearly extremely enticing to the laser photo-chemist, for whom localized excitations hold out the possibility of laser control of chemical reactivity in the form of “mode-selective chemistry.”1,10 As we shall discuss in some detail, the experiments performed to date do not prepare truly localized excitations. Rather more correctly, the observed high energy vibrational bands derive their intensity from a pure overtone state, “a doorway state,” of a local bond mode.11
Extending Model Based Systems Engineering for Human Machine Interaction Analysis and Fault Tolerant Design.

Complex systems pose unprecedented challenges for system architects and engineers. In particular, they require multi-disciplinary approaches to manage system complexity from conception to verification and validation. Model Based System Engineering offers system architects and engineers a systematic framework to develop and use both descriptive and analytical models, to analyze and design systems. To meet human machine interaction and fault tolerance requirements, common semantics are needed to ensure effective and unambiguous communication among systems architects, safety/supportability engineers, and human factors engineers. This paper presents how MBSE can be extended for effective human-machine interaction and fault-tolerant design.
Multi-Criteria Decision Making under Uncertainty: Application to California's Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta Problem

Multi-criteria decision making problems are often associated with trade-offs between performances of the available alternative solutions under the considered decision making criteria. These problems become more complex when uncertainty is associated. This paper applies a Monte-Carlo multi-criteria decision making method for solving the California’s Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta problem in which the best alternative for exporting water from the Delta should be selected based on two main criteria, namely the economic cost and environmental performance. To deal with the uncertainty involved, the stochastic decision making problem is converted into numerous deterministic problems through a Monte-Carlo selection. Each deterministic problem is then solved using a range of multi-criteria decision making methods. The overall winning probabilities of the alternatives under each method are calculated and compared with the results obtained in previous studies which used conflict resolution methods, namely, non-cooperative game theory, fall-back bargaining, and social choice rules to suggest optimal solutions for the Delta problem.
Microdroplet testing for HLA-A, -B, -C, and -D antigens. The Phillip Levine Award Lecture.

The microdroplet lymphocyte cytotoxicity test is universally accepted as the standard test for HLA antigen determination. An update of the technical details of the test is given, based on the authors’ testing 160,000 persons. Methods for quality control of the test as well as reproducibility data are provided. International standardization of the specificities has been accomplished by seven international workshops and a continuous cell exchange involving testing of 108 cells since 1974 by as many as 180 laboratories. The test has recently become applicable to the detection of HLA-D determinants, previously thought to be detectable only by lymphocyte-determined (LD) tests. Purified peripheral blood lymphocytes are reacted with antisera from which HLA-A, -B, and -C antibodies have been removed. B lymphocytes were found to be smaller than T lymphocytes by Coulter counter sizing. The purity of cell suspensions enriched for B lymphocytes can be individually monitored, as shown by the reactions produced by 126 test samples. HLA-D antigens have a linkage disequilibrium with certain HLA-A and -B specificities as demonstrated by population and family studies. Haplotypes found in 34 parents of 18 families demonstrate the new haplotypes, which now consist of four antigens per haplotype. Studies of HLA-D frequencies in Caucasians, Negroes, and Orientals show a distinctive distribution in the races. B lymphocytes also appear to have an autoantigen against which autoantibodies are readily produced. The autoantibodies are more active against B than T lymphocytes and act most effectively at 5 C. Although they appear in many diseases, most notably in systemic lupus erythematosus, they also occur in 10% of normal males and females. In patients awaiting kidney transplants, antibodies against B lymphocytes are often found. Patients with cold B-cell antibodies (autoantibodies) were shown to have higher transplant survival rates than those with warm B-cell antibodies (allogeneic). Thus, in performing crossmatch tests it is now necessary to distinguish antibodies against T and B lymphocytes and those that react in cold and in warm conditions.
Effects of Polymer Concentration and Shear Rate on Diffusion in Polysaccharide Solutions

The structure of a polymer solution depends on the type of polymer, on the polymer concentration, and on the shear rate existing in the fluid. Shearing polymer solutions can cause dramatic effects such as polymer degradation when a certain threshold shear stress is exceeded (Leopairat and Merrill, 1978). Under less severe conditions, experiments show that other critical or yield phenomena can occur in following polymer solutions where major perturbations of molecular shape and coil volume or pervaded volume can occur. Peterlin (1970) showed that molecular extension occurs in flow systems causing enormous increases in the radius of gyration of the dissolved polymer.
Importance of Direct Metal−π Coupling in Electronic Transport Through Conjugated Single-Molecule Junctions

We study the effects of molecular structure on the electronic transport and mechanical stability of single-molecule junctions formed with Au point contacts. Two types of linear conjugated molecular wires are compared: those functionalized with methylsulfide or amine aurophilic groups at (1) both or (2) only one of its phenyl termini. Using scanning tunneling and atomic force microscope break-junction techniques, the conductance of mono- and difunctionalized molecular wires and its dependence on junction elongation and rupture forces were studied. Charge transport through monofunctionalized wires is observed when the molecular bridge is coupled through a S−Au donor− acceptor bond on one end and a relatively weak Au−π interaction on the other end. For monofunctionalized molecular wires, junctions can be mechanically stabilized by installing a second aurophilic group at the meta position that, however, does not in itself contribute to a new conduction pathway. These results reveal the important interplay between electronic coupling through metal−π interactions and quantum mechanical effects introduced by chemical substitution on the conjugated system. This study affords a strategy to deterministically tune the electrical and mechanical properties through molecular wires.
The Conceptualization and Treatment Plan of a Child Diagnosed With Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: A Case Report

ABSTRACTOne of the new diagnoses added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD), is a condition that is not currently well studied or understood. Although some work has proposed options for psychosocial and psychopharmacological intervention, very limited research exists to guide clinicians in developing an evidence-informed conceptualization and treatment for children with DMDD. The current case report details the integration of the available literature to create a conceptualization and multimodal treatment plan designed to alleviate the negative mood and disruptive behaviors associated with DMDD in an 11-year-old boy. Twenty-three sessions included components of psychoeducation, family-based behavior management training, individual cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques, and medication. From pre- to postassessment, both verbal report and rating scales suggested significant gains including improved compliance, decreased outburs...
Clinical features and psychiatric comorbidities of borderline personality disorder patients with versus without a history of suicide attempt

Abstract Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) are at high risk for suicidal behavior. However, many BPD patients do not engage in suicidal behavior. In this study, we compared clinical features of BPD patients with or without a history of suicide attempts and healthy volunteers. Compared with healthy volunteers, both BPD groups had higher Affective Lability Scale (ALS), ALS – Depression-Anxiety Subscale, Barratt Impulsivity Scale (BIS), and Lifetime History of Aggression (LHA) scores and were more likely to have a history of temper tantrums. BPD suicide attempters had higher ALS, ALS – Depression-Anxiety Subscale and LHA scores and were more likely to have a history of non-suicidal self-injury or temper tantrums compared to BPD non-attempters. Also, BPD suicide attempters were more likely to have a history of comorbid major depressive disorder and less likely to have comorbid narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) in comparison to BPD non-attempters. About 50% of study participants in each BPD group had a history of comorbid substance use disorder (SUD). Our study indicates that BPD patients with a history of suicide attempt are more aggressive, affectively dysregulated and less narcissistic than BPD suicide non-attempters.
Low Intratumoral Mast Cells Are Associated With a Higher Risk of Prostate Cancer Recurrence.

BACKGROUND Mast cells are of interest in prostate cancer because they possess both pro- and anti-tumorigenic properties and are present in the tumor microenvironment. We studied the association of mast cell count and densities with prostate cancer recurrence using tissue microarrays (TMAs) for 462 men who recurred (cases) and 462 controls that were matched to the cases nested in a cohort of radical prostatectomy patients. METHODS Dual-immunostaining for mast cell tryptase and epithelial cytokeratin-8 and whole slide image analysis were used to assess total mast cell number, mast cell density (mast cell number/tissue area), and mast cell number per epithelial or stromal area in TMA spots containing tumor (up to 4 per man). We used conditional logistic regression to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval of recurrence for the mean, minimum, and maximum mast cell parameters in tumor tissue among each man's TMA spots. RESULTS After taking into account matching factors of age, race, Gleason sum, and pathologic stage, higher minimum mast cell density in the tumor (comparing highest to lowest quartiles: OR = 0.58, 95% CI 0.40–0.86; P-trend = 0.004) was associated with a lower risk of recurrence. Patterns for mast cell number and ratio of mast cell number to epithelial or stromal area were similar to those for mast cell density. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that intratumoral mast cells may be protective against prostate cancer recurrence and could potentially serve as a prognostic biomarker after prostatectomy. Prostate © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
From anxiety to disidentification: Lara Vapnyar’s Memoirs of a Muse, Irina Reyn’s What Happened to Anna K., and Anya Ulinich’s Lena Finkle’s Magic Barrel

This article explores literary influences that manifest in a selection of Russian-Jewish-American novels, specifically Lara Vapnyar’s Memoirs of a Muse (2006), Irina Reyn’s What Happened to Anna K....
Area-effcient re-encoding scheme for NAND Flash Memory with multimode BCH Error correction

This paper presents a novel method to reduce the area of the Bose Chaudhuri Hocquenghen (BCH) multimode encoder based on a re-encoding scheme. Previous methods for multimode BCH use several linear-feedback shift registers (LFSR) cascaded in series to achieve area efficient encoder, but for longer BCH codes the critical path becomes an issue for high throughput. A new encoding scheme is proposed to reduce the critical path for long BCH code. Without sacrificing the latency, this method reduces the hardware complexity by reusing the same module for the encoder and the syndrome generator, which is the first stage of the BCH decoder. The experimental results show that, in the case of BCH (8191, 7983, 16), there are logic savings of 25% between the encoder and the syndrome generator, and the method provides a reconfigurable error correction capability (tsel).
Levosimendan in Cardiac Surgery: Evaluating the Evidence

Levosimendan, a calcium-sensitizing and Adenosine triphosphate-sensitive potassium channel opening inodilator, has the potential to improve cardiac function without increasing oxygen consumption. The evidence supporting the use of levosimendan in the cardiac surgical perioperative period is not well-established. Recently, large-scale randomized controlled trials studying the utility of levosimendan in cardiac surgery have been conducted. This review examines the physiological and pharmacologic properties of levosimendan and evaluates the literature regarding the use of levosimendan in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.
Abstract TP433: Subcortical Stroke in E4FAD Transgenic Mice Modulates Amyloid Plaque Accumulation, Motor Recovery After Stroke, and Memory Dysfunction

Introduction: Cerebral microvascular disease and Alzheimer’s disease (AD) account for the majority of dementia diagnoses with 50% of patients having mixed dementia with features of both microvascul...
Tauopathy: A common mechanism for neurodegeneration and brain aging

Tau, a microtubule-associated protein promotes assembly and stability of microtubules which is related to axoplasmic flow and critical neuronal activities upon physiological conditions. Under neurodegenerative condition such as in Alzheimer's Disease (AD), tau-microtubule binding dynamics and equilibrium are severely affected due to its aberrant post-translational modifications including acetylation and hyperphosphorylation. This event results in its conformational changes to form neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) after aggregation in the cytosol. The formation of NFT is more strongly correlated with cognitive decline than the distribution of senile plaque, which is formed by polymorphous beta-amyloid (Aβ) protein deposits, another pathological hallmark of AD. In neurodegenerative conditions, other than AD, the disease manifestation is correlated with mutations of the MAPT gene. In Primary age-related tauopathy (PART), which is commonly observed in the brains of aged individuals, tau deposition is directly correlated with cognitive deficits even in the absence of Aβ deposition. Thus, tauopathy has been considered as an essential hallmark in neurodegeneration and normal brain aging. In this review, we highlighted the recent progress about the tauopathies in the light of its posttranslational modifications and its implication in AD and the aged brain.
Admissions Practices in Terminal Master's Degree-Granting Physics Departments: A Comparative Analysis.

Similar to physics PhD programs, the GRE quantitative test is an important admission consideration for many master's degree programs; this unnecessarily limits the diversity of physics graduate students.
Simultaneous Search: Beyond Independent Successes

When applying to schools and colleges, a key decision commonly faced by students is how to optimally choose their portfolio of schools. In many settings, large numbers of schools are available, but due to costs or constraints students apply only to a few, often without perfect information about how the school will respond to their application. Determining which subset of programs to apply to-balancing the desire to attend sought-after programs with the need to hedge-forms a critical part of the decision problem, with these decisions deeply affecting the final outcomes in the market. To achieve this balance, students are often advised to apply to a combination of "reach," "match," and "safety" schools [2]. In practice, it is also seen that when reductions in application costs permit students to apply to more schools, they expand the range of schools to which they apply both upwards and downwards, including safer and more selective schools [1, 7].
The essence of writing: a technological difference in the communicative disclosure of being

In “The Question Concerning Technology,” Martin Heidegger argues that the essence of modern technology is a mode of disclosure that brings the world to a particular appearance. Through his understa...
Alcohol Use Is Associated With Hepatic Steatosis Among Persons With Presumed Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Background & Aims Many individuals presumed to have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) consume moderate amounts of alcohol. Little is known about patterns of alcohol use in patients with NAFLD or how drinking behaviors affect liver fat. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2475 participants of the Framingham Heart Study with hepatic steatosis, as determined by computed tomography. We performed multivariable-adjusted logistic regression models to evaluate the association between alcohol drinking patterns and hepatic steatosis. Models were adjusted for sociodemographic factors, diet, and the components of the metabolic syndrome. We excluded heavy alcohol users, defined as women who consume more than 14 alcohol drinks per week and men who consume more than 21 alcohol drinks per week. Results In our sample (mean age, 49.8 ± 10.2 y; 50.3% women), the prevalence of hepatic steatosis was 17.5%. The total number of alcohol drinks per week and the maximum drinks consumed per drinking day each were associated with hepatic steatosis (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02–1.29 and aOR 1.15; 95% CI, 1.02–1.30). Binge drinking occurred in 25.4% of individuals with presumed NAFLD and was associated with an increased odds of hepatic steatosis (aOR, 1.45; 95% CI, 1.06–1.98) among alcohol users. In a beverage-specific analysis, alcohol use patterns were associated with hepatic steatosis among beer drinkers, but not among wine drinkers. Conclusions In a cross-sectional study of participants of the Framingham Heart Study with hepatic steatosis, we observed an association between alcohol use and liver fat, even after excluding heavy alcohol users from our analysis. Alcohol use therefore appears to be a risk factor for NAFLD. Prospective studies are needed to validate these findings and determine if alcohol use should be a focus for research, prevention, and treatment of presumed NAFLD.
Sedimentary charcoal proxy records of fire in Alaskan tundra ecosystems

Abstract Extensive burning of Arctic tundra landscapes in recent years has contradicted the conventional view that fire is a rare, spatially limited disturbance in tundra. These fires have been identified as harbingers of climate change, despite our limited understanding of Arctic fire frequency and climatic controls. Much of this understanding relies upon sedimentary charcoal-based fire reconstructions, yet the controls on sedimentary charcoal abundance need to be rigorously tested in tundra ecoregions. We compile published charcoal-based tundra fire reconstructions in Alaska and compare them with historical, limnological, and spatial data to: (1) evaluate the spatial and temporal characteristics of tundra fires, (2) identify the primary controls of charcoal accumulation in lake sediments, (3) assess the accuracy of peak analysis in identifying local (
Association between heart failure and perioperative outcomes in patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery

AIMS Heart failure (HF) affects ∼5.7 million US adults and many of these patients develop non-cardiac disease that requires surgery. The aim of this study was to determine perioperative outcomes associated with HF in a large cohort of patients undergoing in-hospital non-cardiac surgery. METHODS AND RESULTS Adults ≥18 years old undergoing non-cardiac surgery between 2012 and 2014 were identified using the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample. Patients with HF were identified by ICD-9 diagnosis codes. The primary outcome was all-cause in-hospital mortality. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between HF and outcomes. A total of 21 560 996 surgical hospitalizations were identified, of which 1 063 405 (4.9%) had a diagnosis of HF. Among hospitalizations with HF, 4.7% had acute HF, 11.3% had acute on chronic HF, 27.8% had chronic HF, and 56.2% had an indeterminate diagnosis code that did not specify temporality. In-hospital perioperative mortality was more common among patients with any diagnosis of HF compared to those without HF [4.8% vs. 0.78%, P < 0.001; adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.15, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.09-2.22], and the association between HF and mortality was greatest at small and non-teaching hospitals. Acute HF without chronic HF was associated with 8.0% mortality. Among patients with a chronic HF diagnosis, perioperative mortality was greater in those with acute on chronic HF compared to chronic HF alone (7.8% vs. 3.9%, P < 0.001; aOR 1.78, 95% CI 1.67-1.90). CONCLUSION In patients hospitalized for non-cardiac surgery, HF was common and was associated with increased risk of perioperative mortality. The greatest risks were in patients with acute HF.
Challenging a ‘Warist’ Society with Digital Peace Pedagogy

This article offers strategies for a peace pedagogy that is informed by combining techniques from feminist theory and peace studies with the digital humanities. Here we describe how the first-year Writing Seminar “Peace Testimonies in Literature & Art,” taught in Spring 2017 at Haverford College, collaborated with the activist organization the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) to participate in the collection and curation of oral histories projects. In this class, students conducted oral history interviews of peace activists at the 2017 AFSC symposium “Waging Peace: AFSC’s Summit for Peace and Justice” (April 20-23 in Philadelphia, PA), and then analyzed the videos of these interviews through OHMS (Oral History Metadata Synchronizer) and the video editing software Camtasia. Here we discusses how feminist, digital, and peace pedagogies can be combined to help students recover the lost histories of pacifist activism.
The mental cost of repairing errors in speech perception

When evaluating a listener's ability to hear speech in a challenging condition, an experimental challenge is determining whether an utterance was heard correctly or whether it was heard incorrectly and then mentally repaired. Mentally transforming incorrect perceptions into “correct” responses is not visible in intelligibility scores, but is likely a major part of what makes listening effortful for people with hearing loss, and therefore there is a need to design tests that track the occurrence and mental cost of making corrections during speech perception. A series of studies is presented which gathers evidence of the mental cost of repairing errors using pupillometry. Stimuli were explicitly designed to induce different types of cognitive repair so that the ensuing mental cost/listening effort can be measured as it unfolds over time, even without major changes in intelligibility. Results show that different errors result in significantly different amounts of effort. Major findings include quick bursts of effort for phonetic repairs, larger prolonged bursts of effort for entire-word repairs constrained by context, and a substantial increase in effort for errors that result in semantic incongruity across an utterance. Results are discussed with regard to implications for clinical interpretation as well as study design.
Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis repair: A case series and discussion of postoperative care

Abstract Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis (CNPAS) is a rare condition related to holoprosencephaly in which bony overgrowth of the medial nasal process of the maxilla narrows the pyriform aperture. CNPAS presents in neonates with signs of upper airway obstruction ranging from mild to severe respiratory distress and failure to thrive. Surgical intervention is indicated after failed conservative measures and generally includes temporary stent placement. We report a series of 3 cases of CNPAS treated surgically, examine postoperative care recommendations in the literature, and present a comprehensive postoperative care regimen with a novel method to maintain stent patency.
Integrating Degradation Forecasting Into Control and Management System of DC Microgrids

Direct current (DC) microgrids are expected to be increasingly used in the future because of its control simplicity compared to alternating current (AC) counterparts and the ease of conversion between AC and DC forms. There has been extensive research in control and management systems for DC microgrids to have efficient and reliable grids. This work proposes an enhancement to the existing hierarchical control and management framework by integrating a degradation forecasting (DF) layer into it. The additional layer collaborates with the energy management (EM) layer to reach a solution that is a compromise between economic benefits and reliability. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is examined by a notional DC microgrid.
The concentration of brain homogenates with the Amicon Ultra Centrifugal filters

Abstract Accurately measuring the brain concentration of a neurotherapeutic is critical in determining its pharmacokinetic profile in vivo. Biologics are potential therapeutics for neurologic diseases and biologics fused to an antibody targeting a transcytosis receptor at the Blood-Brain Barrier, designated as antibody-biologic fusion proteins, are Blood-Brain Barrier penetrating neurotherapeutics. The use of sandwich immunosorbent assays to measure concentrations of antibody-biologic fusion proteins in brain homogenates has become increasingly popular. The raw brain homogenate contains many proteins and other macromolecules that can cause a matrix effect, potentially interfering with the limit of detection of such assays and reduce the overall sample signal. Further, the low sample loading volumes while running these assays can reduce the sample signal. Our aim was therefore to optimize the existing tissue sample preparation and processing to concentrate the sample to elevate the signal of the analyte. Here, we present a protocol for concentrating and increasing the signal of transferrin receptor antibody-biologic fusion proteins in mouse brain homogenates using the Amicon Ultra Centrifugal filters. • The presented method uses the Amicon Ultra Centrifugal filters to concentrate mouse brain tissue homogenates. • The concentrated brain tissue homogenates are then assayed using standard sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) protocols. • This method improves upon the traditional brain homogenization procedure and ELISA measurements for antibody-biologic fusion proteins by effectively concentrating brain tissue homogenates.
Closing capacity in awake and anesthetized-paralyzed man

Functional residual capacity (FRC), closing capacity (CC), and (FRC--CC) were determined in 61 supine patients using the 133Xe bolus test. In 28 of the 61 patients measurements were made both while the patients were awake and during anesthesia-paralysis. Both FRC and CC decreased significantly after induction of anesthesia-paralysis. The magnitude of the reduction in CC, but not of FRC, was dependent on the relationship between FRC and CC in the awake state. Patients whose FRC was larger than their CC while awake (group I) showed less decrease in CC than FRC, i.e., (FRC--CC) decreased. By contrast, those patients whose CC was larger than their FRC while awake (group II) showed a greater decrease in CC than in FRC, i.e., (FRC--CC) became less negative. The reduction in CC after induction of anesthesia-paralysis may result from an increased elastic recoil of the lung. The larger reduction in CC in group II patients may have been due to a larger increase in elastic recoil, possibly due to the development of atelactasis.
Ligase-Defective Bacteriophage T4 I. Effects on Mutation Rates

Temperature-sensitive mutations in bacteriophage T4 gene 30 (polynucleotide ligase) were examined for their effects on spontaneous and proflavine-induced frameshift mutagenesis in the rII and ac (acridine resistance) cistrons. Only small (fourfold or less) effects on mutation rates were observed, even when selection artifacts involving suppression of gene 30 mutations by rII mutations were taken into account. The deoxyribonucleic acid ligase gene of T4 therefore appears to be only a minor determinant of frameshift mutation rates. This result is consistent with the particular nature of frameshift mutagenesis in bacteriophage T4.
Modification of an Automated Procedure for Serum Cholesterol, which Permits the Quantitative Estimation of Cholesterol Esters

Changes are described in AutoAnalyzer Methodology N-24a, for the automated determination of serum total cholesterol, that increase the reaction temperature of the mixture of sample and acid color reagent. The modified procedure eliminates the inaccuracies that attended the original methodology and allows the cholesterol ester moiety in the serum total cholesterol to be quantitated.
Reconsidering Tolerance Education: Should We Recover Tolerance or Replace It with Hospitality?

Bernard Williams wrote that the “difficulty with toleration is that it seems to be at once necessary and impossible.” Though Elisabet Langmann breaks with the familiar and well-rehearsed paradoxes of toleration, I find her “Welcoming Difference at the Limit of Tolerance Education” to be engaged with the tensions of the simultaneous necessity and impossibility of tolerance. Langmann’s analysis welcomes further discussion of this tension by drawing upon the concept of hospitality to buttress aspects of tolerance, while attempting to make tolerance education more nimble and lithe as a tool for personal transformations and social justice. As I share many of the concerns undergirding Langmann’s fine essay, I should like to use the space of this response to further question the impossible necessity of tolerance by pushing (in perhaps, contrasting ways) the observations that Langmann raises, in my attempt to extend the meaningful discussion that she presents.
Subperfect Game: Profitable Biases of NBA Referees

This paper empirically investigates three hypotheses regarding biases of National Basketball Association referees. Identification of basketball referee bias is typically difficult as changes in observed statistics may be caused by either changes in referee bias or player behavior. We identify bias by exploiting the fact that referees have varying degrees of discretion over different types of a particular statistic-turnovers. This allows us to conduct a treatment and control-style analysis, using the less discretionary turnovers as the player behavior control. The results provide evidence that referees favor home teams, teams losing during games, and teams losing in playoff series. All three biases are likely to increase consumer demand.
Recent Advances in Understanding the Pathogenesis of Scleroderma-Interstitial Lung Disease

Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma, SSc) is a heterogeneous autoimmune connective tissue disease of unknown etiology. Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a frequent complication, and a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality among SSc patients. SSc-ILD most commonly occurs within 10 years of diagnosis, and may be seen in patients with either the limited or diffuse cutaneous subset of SSc. SSc-ILD is a multifaceted disease process in which different factors and pathways are involved. Aberrant function of a variety of lung cells, cytokines, growth factors, peptides, and bioactive proteins, in combination with genetic and epigenetic regulators, have crucial functions in the pathogenesis of this disease. Here we present our view on recent advances regarding the pathogenesis of SSc-ILD.
Effects of alloying elements on cobalt silicide formation

Alloying elements can substantially affect the formation of cobalt silicide. A comprehensive study of phase formation was performed on 23 Co alloys with alloying element concentrations ranging from 1 at.% up to 20 at.%. Using in-situ characterization techniques in which x-ray diffraction (XRD) and elastic-light scattering are monitored simultaneously, we follow the formation of the silicide phases and the associated variation in surface roughness in real time during rapid thermal annealing. For pure Co silicide, we detect the formation of all stable silicide phases (Co2Si, CoSi, and CoSi2) as well as abnormal grain growth in the Co film and thermal degradation of the silicide layer at high temperatures. The effect of the various additives on phase formation was determined. The roughness of the interface was also measured using grazing incidence x-ray reflectivity (GIXR). We show that by selecting an alloy with a specific composition, we can change the phase-formation temperatures and modify the final CoSi2 film texture and roughness.
Finding one's niche in the skin

Skin epithelia must rejuvenate constantly during normal homeostasis and repair damage after wounding. Fulfilling these roles necessitates reservoirs of stem cells that persist for life. This review focuses on the elusive stem cell niche of the epidermis, long thought to reside within the basal layer that is sandwiched between the basement membrane and the suprabasal interface.