cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
INDOOR THERMAL EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT WALL CONFIGURATIONS IN WARM HUMID CLIMATES

Indoor Climate follows the diurnal and annual climatic patterns in a modified form which depends on the design of the building, types of construction and selection of building materials. This paper attempts to identify the thermal effect on indoor climates of different types of wall configurations commonly used in warm humid climates in Latinamerica. The study is part of a reaserch on “Passive Cooling Strategies for Dwellings in Warm Humid Climates” (1), pursued at the Architectural Association, Graduate School. London, U.K.
When do Dynamic Capabilities Lead to Competitive Advantage? The Importance of Strategic Fit

Recent studies suggest the relationship between dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage may be jointly affected by organizational and environmental factors. We enrich this nascent perspective by developing a configurational theoretical framework – underpinned by the mechanism of strategic fit – wherein dynamic capabilities lead to a competitive advantage when they support a strategic orientation appropriate for the levels of dynamism and munificence in the environment. Results of a fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis using primary data show that dynamic capabilities lead to a competitive advantage in dynamic, munificent environments by enabling the combination of differentiation and low-cost orientations. In stable, non-munificent environments, dynamic capabilities are effective in support of a low-cost orientation. The central insight of this study is that the relationship between dynamic capabilities and competitive advantage is contingent upon the strategic fit between organizational and environmental factors, contributing to a more rigorous and configurational dynamic capabilities view.
Use of a Student Recreation Center, Self-Determination Needs Satisfaction, and Subjective Vitality: A Structural Model

The student recreation center (SRC) promotes quality of life among college students. Grounded in self-determination theory, this study examined the relationship between SRC use and subjective vital...
An Experimental Setup for Combined In-Vacuo Raman Spectroscopy and Cavity-Interferometry Measurements on TMDC Nano-resonators

Nanoelectromechanical (NEMS) systems fabricated using atomically thin materials have low mass and high stiffness and are thus ideal candidates for force and mass sensing applications. Transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) offer certain unique properties in their few-layered form – such as piezoelectricity and a direct band gap (in some cases) – and are an interesting alternative to graphene based NEMS. Among the demonstrated methods for displacement transduction in NEMS, cavity-interferometry provides exquisite displacement sensitivity. Typically, interferometric measurements are complemented with Raman spectroscopy to characterize the number of layers in 2D materials, and the measurements necessitate high vacuum conditions to eliminate viscous damping. Here, we report an experimental setup that facilitates both Raman spectroscopy and interferometric measurements on few-layered Tungsten Disulfide (WS2) resonators in high vacuum (<10−5 Torr) conditions.
Predictive validity of the genderqueer identity scale (GQI): differences between genderqueer, transgender and cisgender sexual minority individuals.

AbstractIntroduction: The Genderqueer Identity Scale (GQI; McGuire et al., this issue) – a newly developed and validated measure – assesses genderqueer identity via four subscales: challenging the ...
Mitigation of Intergranular Cracking in Al-Mg Alloys via Zn-Based Electrode Potential Control in Sodium Chloride Solution

Mitigation of the initiation and propagation of intergranular stress corrosion cracking (IG-SCC) in a single edge notch tensile specimen is achieved through use of various Zn-based anodes on highly...
Resilience of the global food system

The world’s food system is complex, highly interconnected and rapidly evolving. Attendant risks are poorly understood. A new study reveals important insight into how interconnectedness, structure and modularity of the global food network impact system resilience.
Cycle and Circle Tests of Balance in Gain Graphs: Forbidden Minors and Their Groups

We examine two criteria for balance of a gain graph, one based on binary cycles and one on circles. The graphs for which each criterion is valid depend on the set of allowed gain groups. The binary cycle test is invalid, except for forests, if any possible gain group has an element of odd order. Assuming all groups are allowed, or all abelian groups, or merely the cyclic group of order 3, we characterize, both constructively and by forbidden minors, the graphs for which the circle test is valid. It turns out that these three classes of groups have the same set of forbidden minors. The exact reason for the importance of the ternary cyclic group is not clear.
System of Systems Quality Attribute Balancing

An objective of System-of-Systems (SoS) engineering work in the Defense community is to ensure optimal delivery of operational capabilities to warfighters in the face of finite resources and constantly changing conditions. This paper builds and extends previous SoS engineering work in the Department of Defense (DoD) to develop a process framework that can improve the analysis of architectural attributes within an enterprise. We quantify certain system attributes of interest using selected Quality Attributes. The proposed framework provides an approach to achieve an SoS balance of design for performance and quality attribute optimization while employing a capability model to provide a comparison of available alternatives against overarching preferences. We illustrate the framework using a DoD Satellite Communications (SATCOM) case study. Specifically, we consider the question of whether a certain Quality Attribute-resilience-can best be achieved through design alternatives of satellite disaggregation or diversification. The analysis shows that based on the metric mapping and design alternatives examined, diversification provides the greatest SATCOM capability improvement compared to the base architecture, while also enhancing resilience. Although our focus here is on SATCOM, the framework can be extended to address multiple similar issues with system characteristics and SoS architecture questions for a wide range of enterprises.
Dissemination of RasV12-transformed cells requires the mechanosensitive channel Piezo

Dissemination of transformed cells is a key process in metastasis. Despite its importance, how transformed cells disseminate from an intact tissue and enter the circulation is poorly understood. Here, we use a fully developed tissue, Drosophila midgut, and describe the morphologically distinct steps and the cellular events occurring over the course of RasV12-transformed cell dissemination. Notably, RasV12-transformed cells formed the Actin- and Cortactin-rich invasive protrusions that were important for breaching the extracellular matrix (ECM) and visceral muscle. Furthermore, we uncovered the essential roles of the mechanosensory channel Piezo in orchestrating dissemination of RasV12-transformed cells. Collectively, our study establishes an in vivo model for studying how transformed cells migrate out from a complex tissue and provides unique insights into the roles of Piezo in invasive cell behavior. Drosophila tumours can be utilised to study the mechanisms of cell dissemination. Here, the authors use Drosophila midgut to examine the course of RasV12-transformed cell dissemination from midgut into circulation, which requires the actions of invasive protrusions and the mechanosensitive channel Piezo.
Stability Criteria of Balanced and Steppable Unbalanced States for Full-Body Systems with Implications in Robotic and Human Gait

Biped walking involves a series of transitions between single support (SS) and double support (DS) contact configurations that can include both balanced and unbalanced states. The new concept of steppability is introduced to partition the set of unbalanced states into steppable states and falling (unsteppable) states based on the ability of a biped system to respond to forward velocity perturbations by stepping. In this work, a complete system-specific analysis of the stepping process including full-order nonlinear system dynamics is presented for the DARwIn-OP humanoid robot and a human subject in the sagittal plane with respect to both balance stability and steppability. The balance stability and steppability of each system are analyzed by numerical construction of its balance stability boundaries (BSB) for the initial SS and final DS contact configuration and the steppable unbalanced state boundary (SUB). These results are presented with center of mass (COM) trajectories obtained from walking experiments to benchmark robot controller performance and analyze the variation of balance stability and steppability with COM and swing foot position along the progression of a step cycle. For each system, DS BSBs were obtained with both constrained and unconstrained arms in order to demonstrate the ability of this approach to incorporate the effects of angular momentum and system-specific characteristics such as actuation torque, velocity, and angle limits.
Innovations and Development in Urban Planning Scholarship and Research

Urban planning is characterized by involving a wide range of experts from a variety of fields. Therefore, planning research draws upon each of these fields in how it interprets an examines the natural and built environment as elements of human settlement activities. As a small professional and academic discipline incorporating aspects of design, policy, law, social sciences, and engineering, it is understandable that research outcomes are published in a broad range of academic outlets. It is useful for us to reflect on our research intentions, processes, and outcomes, which is also referred to as ‘research about research,’ with a focus on the scholarly products of urban planning academics. We can do this by examining our methodologies, subdomains, application of research to practice, research impact, and bibliometrics. The purpose of reflecting on our research helps us better understand research processes and the resulting body of urban planning research and scholarship as a whole.
Quantifying Sources of Labor Market Power

Theoretically, monopsony power of the firms relative to their workers can come in many forms, each causing wages to be less than marginal revenue products of labor, but each having different welfare and policy implications. These include worker-firm specific amenities, search frictions, the density of outside options available through on the job search, and strategic interaction between finite employers. Meanwhile lower bargaining power of workers may further depress wages. How important are each of these for wages and welfare? To answer these questions we contribute a quantitative model with a finite number of firms (e.g. Berger et al, 2020; and Nimcsik et al, 2020), strategic wage setting and on the job search (e.g. Cahuc et al, 2006), and preference heterogeneity (e.g. Card et al, 2018). We show that in a Nash-Cournot equilibrium, vacancies are strategic substitutes, and so under-posted when discrete firms in concentrated markets act strategically relative to competitively. We also show that key objects, such as the quit elasticity, emerge naturally in our setting but have different interpretations relative to wage-posting models. We estimate the model, and use the estimated model to provide quantitative decompositions that answer these questions.
Option-like Contracts For Innovation and Production

We model how firms motivate their risk-averse managers to evaluate new investment projects as well as to manage assets-in-place. We first consider a two-agent model: an Innovator in charge of project adoption and a Producer in charge of production. The Innovator's effort produces better information on risky projects, but he may reject a good project in order to avoid risk. The Producer's effort increases the mean of firm value but he faces uncertainty in his productivity, due to the externality created by the new project. We examine the two agents' roles in the firm separately and also combine them in a Nash game. We derive optimal contracts for them and show that under mild conditions they exhibit convexity. We next demonstrate that when a single agent is assigned both tasks, his contract is in general convex, with the degree of convexity increasing in the agent's importance in managing the new project. We interpret the convexity in the optimal contracts as "option-like" compensation.
Presidential Address: Signals

Two savages, who had never been taught to speak, but had been brought up remote from the societies of men, would naturally begin to form that language by which they would endeavor to make their mutual wants intelligible to each other. (Smith [1761] 1983)
Clientelism, State Capacity and Economic Development: A Cross-National Study

What accounts for cross-national variation in political clientelism? We consider two prominent explanations, economic wealth and state capacity, and test them on a new dataset of political clientelism. Although economic wealth is a strong predictor of contemporaneous clientelism, especially for developing polities, our theory emphasizes a developmental threshold beyond which the effect of historical state capacity replaces economic wealth as the primary predictor of cross-national variation in clientelism. Voters in countries that have surpassed this income threshold find clientelistic goods relatively unattractive if the bureaucracy has already established a credible reputation for delivering public goods over time. Supportive evidence for the theory is found in an examination of differences in clientelism across eighty-eight countries.
An Improved Time-Sensitive Metaheuristic Framework for Combinatorial Optimization

We introduce a metaheuristic framework for combinatorial optimization. Our framework is similar to many existing frameworks (e.g. [27]) in that it is modular enough that important components can be independently developed to create optimizers for a wide range of problems. Ours is different in many aspects. Among them are its combinatorial emphasis and the use of simulated annealing and incremental greedy heuristics. We describe several annealing schedules and a hybrid strategy combining incremental greedy and simulated annealing heuristics. Our experiments show that (1) a particular annealing schedule is best on average and (2) the hybrid strategy on average outperforms each individual search strategy. Additionally, our framework guarantees the feasibility of returned solutions for combinatorial problems that permit infeasible solutions. We, further, discuss a generic method of optimizing efficiently bottle-neck problems under the local-search framework.
Transfer of TCR genes into mature T cells is accompanied by the maintenance of parental T cell avidity

The adoptive transfer of tumor-specific T cells expanded in vitro can be of significant therapeutic value in select cancer patients. This strategy is limited though, as it is often difficult, if not impossible, to obtain T cells of clinical value. The transfer of TCR genes to mature T cells to generate tumor-reactive T cells provides a potential mechanism to overcome these limitations. To evaluate the feasibility of such an approach and the quality of the resulting T cells, we generated replication-deficient retroviral vectors using the well-characterized OT-1 TCR genes. After transducing murine T cells, we were able to expand large numbers of Ag-specific T cells that were functionally active against tumor cells expressing the relevant Ag. Furthermore, we found that T cells expressing retrovirally encoded TCR had avidity that was similar to that of the parental clone. This maintenance of avidity was despite variable expression of the retrovirally encoded TCR and the presence of potentially competing endogenous TCRs. These results suggest that the inherent qualities of the TCR, as dictated by the coding sequence, are the most critical parameters in the generation of high-avidity T cells.
The roles of mucD and alginate in the virulence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in plants, nematodes and mice

Summary We are exploiting the broad host range of the human opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PA14 to elucidate the molecular basis of bacterial virulence in plants, nematodes, insects and mice. In this report, we characterize the role that two PA14 gene products, MucD and AlgD, play in virulence. MucD is orthologous to the Escherichia coli periplasmic protease and chaperone DegP. DegP homologues are known virulence factors that play a protective role in stress responses in various species. AlgD is an enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the exopolysaccharide alginate, which is hyperinduced in mucD mutants. A PA14 mucD mutant was significantly impaired in its ability to cause disease in Arabidopsis thaliana and mice and to kill the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Moreover, MucD was found to be required for the production of an extracellular toxin involved in C. elegans killing. In contrast, a PA14 algD mutant was not impaired in virulence in plants, nematodes or mice. A mucDalgD double mutant had the same phenotype as the mucD single mutant in the plant and nematode pathogenesis models. However, the mucDalgD double mutant was synergistically reduced in virulence in mice, suggesting that alginate can partially compensate for the loss of MucD function in mouse pathogenesis.
TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE NONSENSE SUPPRESSORS IN YEAST

A single mutation leads to temperature-sensitive amber and ochre suppression in yeast. This mutation maps in or near the SUP4 gene on chromosome X.
Meningococcal epiglottitis in a diabetic adult patient: a case report.

Abstract Background After deployment of the Haemophilus influenzae vaccination, the range of pathogens causing acute epiglottitis has changed, as has the epidemiology from a primarily pediatric syndrome towards more frequent adult onset. Objectives We present a case of acute-onset meningococcal epiglottitis in an adult patient, to our knowledge one of a few reported cases in the medical literature. We review the historic changes and outcomes of similar episodes. Case Report A 37-year-old diabetic man presented to our Emergency Department in acute respiratory distress. Examination revealed epiglottitis; his airway subsequently closed rapidly and was secured by surgical cricothyroidotomy; blood cultures showed the primary pathogen to be Neisseria meningitidis type C. Conclusion Neisseria meningitidis has been found to be an emerging cause of acute epiglottitis in adult patients over the last decade, possibly having worsened outcomes compared to other etiologies.
Pyrogallol red-molybdate: A reversible, metal chelate stain for detection of proteins immobilized on membrane supports

Certain metal complexes selectively interact with proteins immobilized on solid-phase membrane supports to form brightly colored products. The metal chelates form protein-dye complexes in the presence of metal ions at acidic pH but are eluted from the proteins by immersing membranes in a solution of basic pH that contains other chelating agents. The reversible nature of the protein staining procedure allows for subsequent biochemical analyses, such as immunoblotting, N-terminal and internal protein sequencing. Among the metal complexes evaluated to date, the triazine dye-ferrous complexes (ferene S, ferrozine) and the ferrocyanide-ferric complexes provide the most sensitive detection of proteins immobilized on membranes. While the pyrogallol red-molybdate complex is commonly used in solution-based total protein assays, its utility as a reversible stain for proteins immobilized on membranes has not been reported. Pyrogallol red-molybdate complexes readily stain proteins on nitrocellulose and polyvinyl difluoride membranes with similar sensitivity as ferrozine-ferrous complexes. Analysis of charge-fractionated carrier ampholytes and synthetic polymers of different L-amino acids indicate that binding is prominently via protonated alpha and epsilon-amino side chains. Carbamylation of amino groups in bovine serum albumin substantially diminishes pyrogallol red-molybdate binding to the protein. The stain is reversible, resistant to chemical interference, and compatible with immunoblotting.
Identification of a Gene Expression Signature Associated with Recurrent Disease in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck

Molecular studies of squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) have demonstrated multiple genetic abnormalities such as activation of various oncogenes (Ras, Myc, epidermal growth factor receptor, and cyclin D1), tumor suppressor gene inactivation (TP53 and p16), and loss of heterozygosity at numerous chromosomal locations. Despite these observations, accurate and reliable biomarkers that predict patients at highest risk for local recurrence have yet to be defined. In an effort to identify gene expression signatures that may serve as biomarkers, we studied 41 squamous cell carcinoma tumors (25 primary and 16 locally recurrent) from various anatomical sites and 13 normal oral mucosal biopsy samples from healthy volunteers with microarray analysis using Affymetrix U133A GeneChip arrays. Differentially expressed genes were identified by calculating generalized t tests (P < 0.001) and applying a series of filtering criteria to yield a highly discriminant list of 2890 genes. Hierarchical clustering and image generation using standard software were used to visualize gene expression signatures. Several gene expression signatures were readily identifiable in the HNSCC tumors, including signatures associated with proliferation, extracellular matrix production, cytokine/chemokine expression, and immune response. Of particular interest was the association of a gene expression signature enriched for genes involved in tumor invasion and metastasis with patients experiencing locally recurrent disease. Notably, these tumors also demonstrated a marked absence of an immune response signature suggesting that modulation of tumor-specific immune responses may play a role in local treatment failure. These data provide evidence for a new gene expression-based biomarker of local treatment failure in HNSCC.
Extinction of a Conditioned Taste Aversion in Rats: II. Neural Effects in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract

The formation of a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in rats results in neural changes at several levels of the gustatory system. In the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), the outstanding feature of the response to a CS is a brief burst of activity that is absent in unconditioned animals. The burst occurs about 1 s after stimulus onset and is seen only in neurons that respond well to sugars and the CS (0.0025 M NaSaccharin). We recorded single neuron activity in response to 12 stimuli from taste cells in the NTS of 8 rats, in which a CTA to NaSaccharin had been created and fully extinguished, and in 8 unconditioned controls. The issue was if the neural effects of the CTA in NTS were reversed with extinction. We recorded the activity of 41 neurons in controls and 55 in CTA-extinguished rats. Responses measured across all neurons were not significantly different in spontaneous activity, breadth of tuning, overall response magnitude to each of the 12 stimuli, relationship among stimuli in taste spaces, or time-course. However, cells in the sugar-sensitive subgroup showed a clear vestige of the conditioning experience. They gave a well-defined burst of activity to the CS, though of reduced amplitude and slightly longer latency than in fully conditioned rats. This burst was no longer associated with the conditioned behavior-which was fully extinguished-though it may be a permanent marker for the once-salient CS that can influence subsequent reacquisition of the aversion.
Negotiating Access to Learning Through Resistance to Classroom Practice

In line with situated learning perspectives, this article explores the notion of learners' access to participation in social practices. While agreeing with the premise that access to participation in communities of practice is foundational for learning, we problematize simplistic notions of access by investigating how it is sometimes sought after, appropriated, controlled, and resisted among English language learners in a high school sheltered civics class. In closely analyzing an extended interaction from this class, we found that a student's lack of English proficiency, rather than enhanced proficiency, led to her gaining central participation in a classroom practice. However, the access she gained did not result in meaningful or empowering participation for her. We also found that resistance to particular modes of participation can lead to more central participation for learners, but the desirability of that access depends on the linguistic capital one can claim in particular practices. Finally, we found that the inclusion of peripheral/marginal members is often constitutive of others' ability to negotiate linguistic capital for themselves in classroom practices. We believe these aspects of access and participation implicate a larger 'access paradox' (Janks, 2004) that second language researchers must acknowledge in seeking to understand learning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Studies of the world Gyponinae (Homoptera, Cicadellidae): The genus Polana

Eighty seven species are placed in Polana DeLong, 11 previously described (including 3 synonyms) and 13 described as new. These species are placed in ten subgenera as follows: Subgenus Declivella, subgen. n., with one species danesa, sp. n.; subgenus Bohemanella, subgen. n., with 14 species, chelata, sp. n., resupina, sp. n., bohemani (Stal) (Type-species) (= praeterita (Fowler), = draba Evans, new synonyms), alia, sp.n., retenta, sp.n., assula, sp. n., resilara, sp.n., celsa, sp. n., chifama, sp.n., orbita, sp.n., macula, sp.n., elabora, sp.n., scela, sp.n., and ardua, sp.n.; Subgenus Angusana, subgen.n., with one species exornata (Fowler); Subgenus Bulbusana, subgen.n. with 13 species, villa, sp.n., pendula, sp.n., plumea, sp.n. (Type-species), bruneola (Osborn), nida, sp.n., vana, sp.n., extranea (Fowler), dispara, sp.n., quatora, sp.n., piceata (Osborn), laca, sp.n., inclinata, sp.n., and obtecta, sp.n.; Subgenus Polana DeLong, with 24 species, ocellata (Spangberg), quadrinotata (Spangberg) (Type-species), unca, sp.n., pensa, sp.n., aspersa, sp.n., principia, sp.n., spindella, sp.n., gelera, sp.n., optata, sp.n., mala, sp.n., nidula, sp.n., peda, sp.n., bulba sp.n., lanara, sp.n., inimica, sp.n., merga, sp.n., flectara, sp.n., coresa, sp.n., squalera, sp.n., scuta, sp.n., ruppeli, sp.n., parca, sp.n., fusconotata (Osborn), and alitera, sp.n.; Subgenus Parvulana, subgen.n., with 4 species, tulara, sp.n., bidens, sp.n., pandara, sp.n., and alata, sp.n. (Type-species); Subgenus Largulara, subgen.n., with 2 species, fantasa, sp.n. (Type-species), and elera, sp.n.; Subgenus Nihilana, subgen.n., with 13 species, icara, sp.n. nisa, sp.n., fetera, sp.n., celeta (Fowler) (=resima (Fowler)), obtusa (Spangberg), rixa, sp.n., scina, sp.n., pressa, sp.n., bena, sp.n., aneza, sp.n., fina, sp.n., agrilla, sp.n., and obligua, sp.n.; Subgenus Polanana, subgen.n., with 8 species, falsa, sp.n., venosa (Stal) (Type-species), sereta, sp.n., truncata, sp.n., quadrilabes, sp.n., mella, sp.n., macuella, sp.n., and parvula, sp.n.; and Subgpnus Polanella, subgen.n., with 3 species, cupida, sp.n. (Type-species), helara, sp.n., and randa, sp.n.. The genus Polana is distributed from the southern states of the United States through Central America and the Caribbean Islands, to the greater part of South America. Very little is known of their host plants.
The Development of Upper-Tropospheric Wind over the Western Hemisphere in Association with MJO Convective Initiation

AbstractThis study examines the structure and driving mechanisms of upper-tropospheric intraseasonal zonal wind anomalies over the Western Hemisphere (WH) during the convective initiation of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) over the Indian Ocean using composite and budget analyses. The initiating MJO convection is more often associated with WH upper-tropospheric intraseasonal easterly wind anomalies, and when it is, it tends to develop a stronger and zonally broader envelope of enhanced convection than events associated with westerly wind anomalies. The WH upper-tropospheric zonal wind anomaly associated with the MJO is often described as a dry Kelvin wave radiated from MJO convection, but the results show that both the structure and driving mechanisms are different from the ones of theoretical Kelvin waves. Unlike the theoretical Kelvin wave, the zonal wind anomaly is not driven mainly by the zonal pressure gradient force and it is strongly coupled with rotational wind associated with subtropical and ...
Effect of Carbon Nanotube Additives on Drag Reduction in Pipe Flows

The drag reduction effects of dispersing carbon nanotube (CNT) additives into water-glycerin pipe flow were investigated experimentally. While nanofluid (i.e. fluids with nano-scale additives) drag reduction from the addition of long and flexible polymers into turbulent flows has been long identified, the mechanism that causes this effect is not yet fully understood. Other additives such as rigid polymers, surfactants, and bubbles have also been shown to be effective drag reducing agents. In the current work, high molecular weight polymers such as polyethylene oxide (PEO) as well as CNT additives produced significant drag reduction in both the transitional and turbulent regimes. CNTs were shown, for the first time, to enhance the drag reducing characteristics of polymer additives. CNTs were chosen in place of traditional nano-scale fibers in order to take advantage of their high strength properties in an attempt to reduce degradation and scission effects. The results were quantified by measuring the pressure drop across a downstream test section after the flow was fully developed. Reynolds numbers between about 500 and 5000 were studied in order to provide sufficient detail from laminar to transitional and turbulent flow regimes. The additive dispersion quality was also investigated over multiple dispersion techniques.© 2009 ASME
Fatigue Crack Growth Rates in Pipeline Steels Using Curved M(T) Specimens

This study presents fatigue data for two different ferrite-pearlite pipeline steels. A fatigue crack growth test for full-thickness curved pipeline samples was developed using a middle tension (M(T)) specimen. Also, finite element analyses (FEAs) were carried out to show the M(T) curvature effects on the fatigue crack growth results. The two steels showed similar fatigue crack growth rate (da/dN) behavior. However, the ferrite-pearlite steel without banding had slightly better fatigue properties than the ferrite-pearlite banded steel. Uncertainty in the fatigue crack growth rates was analyzed by attributing all the fatigue scatter to the Paris law parameter C. The FEA based simulations, based on curved geometries, of the compliance relationship more accurately predicted both fatigue crack growth data and true crack lengths. Nevertheless, the ASTM E647-05 compliance relationship accurately predicted the crack length for the M(T) geometry, although its use leads to slightly conservative fatigue crack growth trends and a slight overestimation of the true final crack length.
Commentary: autoimmune blistering skin diseases (part one)

Autoimmune blistering skin diseases (ABSD) remain one of causes of morbidity in Dermatology. Approximately 65,000 new cases are diagnosed this year worldwide. The economic impact of ABSD is, therefore, not negligible considering costs related to direct medical expenditures and to indirect costs of morbidity among the patients with ABSD. The last issue of Clinics in Dermatology devoted exclusively to the immunopathology of autoimmune blistering skin diseases was published in 1993. Since that time, major research advances have yielded a vastly improved understanding of the immunopathology of ABSD.
Novel sulfonic acid-modified starburst dendrimer used as a pseudostationary phase in electrokinetic chromatography

Abstract Starburst dendrimer macromolecules modified with sulfonic acid terminal moieties were used as a pseudostationary phase in electrokinetic chromatography to separate positional isomers of neutral phenol molecules in an aqueous mobile phase by capillary electrophoresis. Using these dendrimers optimal separation was achieved at a pH below the p K a values of the phenols and with better performance than with micellar electrokinetic chromatography using sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles.
Mutation induced by DNA damage: a many protein affair.

The survival of an organism depends on the exceptionally precise duplication of its genome. To achieve this precision, the DNA polymerase itself must have extraordinary accuracy. In addition, a variety of repair mechanisms are needed to remove DNA lesions ahead of the replication fork and to correct mistakes left behind by the replication machinery. Mechanisms must also exist to deal with the potentially catastrophic encounter of a DNA polymerase with a replicationblocking lesion. In this brief review, we will consider the mechanisms responsible for the replication skills of the polymerase and the sources of occasional failure, with an emphasis on the SOS response induced by a replication-blocking lesion. Under normal growth conditions, error frequencies in the duplication of the Escherichia coli genome are 10 9 to 10 -1° per base replicated. This high fidelity is achieved by a 3-step process: (1) the correct selection of the complementary deoxynucleoside triphosphate substrate during 5' --, 3' incorporation (base selection); (2) exonucleolytic 3' ~ 5' editing of a noncomplementary deoxynucleoside monophosphate misinserted at the end of the growing chain; (3) post-replicative mismatch repair. DNA polymerase III holoenzyme (pol III) is responsible for the majority of
Rhythm Control Strategies and the Role of Antiarrhythmic Drugs in the Management of Atrial Fibrillation: Focus on Clinical Outcomes

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common disorder that significantly impacts the lives of affected patients. The restoration of sinus rhythm may prevent AF progression and reduce the occurrence of negative sequelae; however, available antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs) have largely failed to demonstrate significant benefit relative to rate control with respect to morbidity and mortality outcomes. The review commentary will address current knowledge regarding the pathologic mechanisms of AF, current trials that investigate rate and rhythm strategies, and future therapies that may change treatment approaches based on preliminary evidence suggesting a more favorable safety profile. The observed outcomes are likely a reflection of the limited efficacy plus poor safety and tolerability of available AADS. However, data from patients who attained and maintained sinus rhythm in a number of clinical studies demonstrate that the achievement of normal sinus rhythm can indeed reduce AF-associated morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, the results of trials designed to assess specific morbidity and mortality outcomes such as cardiovascular death hospitalization suggest that the development of safer AF therapies, whether pharmacologic or nonpharmacologic, can potentially improve clinical outcomes.
The simulation of quantum systems with random walks: A new algorithm for charged systems

Abstract Random walks with branching have been used to calculate exact properties of the ground state of quantum many-body systems. In this paper, a more general Green's function identity is derived which relates the potential energy, a trial wavefunction, and a trial density matrix to the rules of a branched random walk. It is shown that an efficient algorithm requires a good trial wavefunction, a good trial density matrix, and a good sampling of this density matrix. An accurate density matrix is constructed for Coulomb systems using the path integral formula. The random walks from this new algorithm diffuse through phase space an order of magnitude faster than the previous Green's Function Monte Carlo method. In contrast to the simple diffusion Monte Carlo algorithm, it is an exact method. Representative results are presented for several molecules.
Robotic transaxillary thyroidectomy: an examination of the first one hundred cases.

Background The influence of minimally invasive options has led to the application of new evolving techniques in thyroid surgery to eliminate visible neck scars. Here, we describe one author's experience with transaxillary robotic thyroidectomy and examine the effect of experience on determining the learning curve and improvements over time in operative performance. Study Design With IRB approval, a prospective analysis of our surgical experience was performed. All patients underwent robotic transaxillary thyroidectomy by a single surgeon between September 2009 and June 2011. Principal outcomes measures included length of hospital stay, incidence of complications, and effect of obesity on outcomes. Results One hundred consecutive operations were performed on 91 patients. Sixty-nine hemithyroidectomy, 22 total or near-total thyroidectomy, and 9 completion thyroidectomy procedures were performed. Of patients who underwent hemithyroidectomy, 21.7% were discharged within 4 hours; the remaining patients were discharged within 23 hours. Mean operative time for hemithyroidectomy was 108.1 ± 60.5 minutes, and for total or near-total thyroidectomy, mean operative time was 118.1 ± 51.3 minutes. Mean robot docking time was 9.1 ± 2.2 minutes for all cases. Obesity contributed to prolonged total operative time. Improvement in the length of time to perform components of the procedure was noted after 45 cases. Two cases required conversion to a cervical approach. There were no instances of permanent vocal cord palsy on postoperative laryngoscopy. Conclusions Here we report the largest experience of robotic gasless thyroid surgery in the United States. This novel technique provides excellent cosmetic results and can be performed as an outpatient procedure in selected group of patients. It is feasible and safe, however, has a lengthy learning curve.
Abstract B35: Serum inflammatory biomarkers of acute and persistent fatigue in a preclinical breast cancer treatment model

Aims: Cancer treatment related fatigue (CTRF) is a debilitating symptom of cancer chemotherapy. The acute CTRF that occurs during chemotherapy can become persistent lasting for weeks, month, or years after treatment has ended. Although, treatment-related increases in IL-1β and TNF-α have been implicated in CTRF, the role that these cytokines play in CTRF is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between chemotherapy-induced IL-1β and TNF-α production and acute and persistent CTRF in a pre-clinical mouse model. Methods: Blood levels of IL-1β, TNF-α and several other inflammatory biomarkers were measured in acutely fatigued, non-fatigued, and persistently fatigued mice following administration of cytoxan-adriamycin-5-fluorouracil (CAF), a commonly used adjuvant chemotherapy regimen for the treatment of breast cancer, by assessing changes in voluntary wheel running activity as a proxy for fatigue. Results: Fatigued mice showed increased blood levels of IL-1β, TNF-α as well as several other inflammatory markers including, IL-5, IL-6, IL-7, IL-9, IP-10, G-CSF, KC, MCP-1 and MIP-1β. Importantly, serum levels of these fatigue associated biomarkers were not significantly increased in non-fatigued CAF treated mice. CAF-treated mice with persistent fatigue had elevated serum levels of IL-6, IL-17, and MIP-1α. Conclusions: This study advances the science of symptom management by providing evidence that treatment induced increases in IL-1β and TNF-α play a role in acute CTRF. Similar temporal analyses between serum inflammatory biomarkers in the clinical setting may lead to a better understanding of the role of immune dysfunction in the etiology of acute and persistent fatigue. Citation Information: Clin Cancer Res 2010;16(7 Suppl):B35
Dust Deposition in Electrostatically Enhanced Fibrous Filters

A theoretical model to predict the total bed collection efficiency of a fibrous filter across which a strong electric field is applied is proposed. The fluid flow, as well as the electrostatic fields considered in the model, take into account the geometric configuration of the fibers in the filter. To predict filter efficiencies, dust-particle trajectory calculations are carried out to include inertial, interceptional, and electrostatic effects. Both the theoretical and experimental results demonstrate the dramatic increase in filtration efficiency by applying external electric fields to the filter at low Stokes numbers (St < 0.1). Experimental data were obtained by passing through the filter different pollutants such as latex aerosols (1-µm in diameter), DOP smoke, and two different kinds of solid dust generated by a specially constructed disperser. The influence of gas humidity on the separation process in the filter is also studied. The reported experimental data show good agreement with theoretical predictions, demonstrating that the physics governing the process have been properly incorporated into the model.
The effect of the 16-hour intern workday restriction on surgical residents' in-hospital activities.

Objective To observe the effects of the 2011 Accreditation Council on Graduate Medical Education 16-hour intern workday restrictions on surgical residents' clinical and educational activities. Design All the residents recorded the following weekly in-hospital activities during February and March 2011 (year before intern work restrictions) and 2012 (first year under new requirements): operating room (OR) and clinic; bedside procedures; rounds and ward work; on-call duties in hospital; communication (e.g., checkouts and family and patient discussions); education (conferences and study); and personal (rest and meals). Descriptive statistics were calculated in 3 resident groups (interns, first postgraduate year [PGY1]; junior, PGY2 and 3; and senior, PGY4 and 5). The unpaired t test was used to compare data between 2011 and 2012; significance was set at p Setting Medical school affiliated hospital. Participants Categorical resident trainees in surgery, PGY1-5, 4 residents per level, with all 20 residents participating in the study. Results From 2011 to 2012, time spent in the hospital by the intern did not change (all results in h/wk, mean±standard deviation: 68.5±13.8 to 72.8±15.8, respectively) but the time devoted to specific activities changed significantly. In-hospital personal time decreased by 50% (5.3±4.6 to 2.6±2.0, p = 0.004). Interns spent less time placing central lines (2.1±2.2 to 0.9±1.2, p = 0.006) and more on rounds (8.8±8.8 to 14.2±9.8, p = 0.027), which included supervision with upper level residents. There was no change in the total time spent in the OR, the clinic, performing bedside procedures, and educational activities. Changes in intern work did not affect the time junior and senior residents spent on bedside procedures, time spent in the clinic, and total time spent in the hospital. In 2012, junior residents spent less time in educational activities (11.4±8.5 to 7.0±4.5, p = 0.0007) and the seniors spent more time in the OR (13.7±7.5 to 20.6±10.7, p = 0.0002). Conclusions The 16-hour restriction preserved interns' educational activities and time spent in the OR and clinic, but changed resident work activities at all levels. The time spent on rounds increased, time spent by the juniors on conferences decreased, and time spent by senior residents in the OR increased. Duty restrictions in general and intern supervision requirements demand ongoing adjustments in resident work schedules.
Comment on "What is the most general Abelian gauge theory in two spatial dimensions?"

In a recent Letter, Hagen has proposed a vector-field action in three space-time dimensions, and claimed to have found a new massless excitation in a particular limit. We note here that this action is essentially the one given earlier by us to represent the Maxwell-Chern-Simons system: His action differs from ours by an additional term which is inessential and by including an extra parameter which can likewise be rescaled away. The "new" excitation is shown to be just the photon.
Kinetics of ligand binding of cytochrome oxidases: a comparative study

Abstract The plethora of microbial oxidases revealed by photochemical action spectra (Chance, B. (1989) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1000, 345−347) has led to detailed identification, purification and overproduction in many species, to the point where kinetic comparison of properties seems to allow structure/function deductions. This work compares the carbon monoxide recombination of five types of oxidases obtained from various organisms. The results are plotted in Arrhenius-type plot and suggest that the carbon monoxide ligation is a sensitive indicator of the heme environment specific for an oxidase expressed under a given oxygen concentration. This survey of the carbon monoxide recombination kinetics of naturally occurring cytochrome oxidases in whole cells shows evidence for structural control of the reaction kinetics.
The dendritic SNARE fusion machinery involved in AMPARs insertion during long-term potentiation

Sorting endosomes carry AMPA (-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propioinic acid)-type glutamate receptors (AMPARs) from their maturation sites to their final destination at the dendritic plasma membrane through both constitutive and regulated exocytosis. Insertion of functional AMPARs into the postsynaptic membrane is essential for maintaining fast excitatory synaptic transmission and plasticity. Despite this crucial role in neuronal function, the machinery mediating the fusion of AMPAR-containing endosomes in dendrites has been largely understudied in comparison to presynaptic vesicle exocytosis. Increasing evidence suggests that similarly to neurotransmitter release, AMPARs insertion relies on the formation of a SNARE complex (soluble NSF-attachment protein receptor), whose composition in dendrites has just begun to be elucidated. This review analyzes recent findings of the fusion machinery involved in regulated AMPARs insertion and discusses how regulated dendritic exocytosis may work together with AMPARs membrane diffusion to support synaptic plasticity.
Possibly dependent probability summation of reaction time

Abstract The redundant target effect is frequently observed in certain reaction time experiments. A probability summation mechanism is commonly invoked to explain the observed decrease of reaction time (RT). Here, probability summation models of RT are generalized by dropping the assumption of stochastic independence among processing times. An upper bound for the amount of statistical facilitation possible under negative dependence is derived for the bivariate case. Consequences for models of binocular summation and bisensory interaction are outlined and the main result is illustrated by a comparison of visual/auditory RT data with a simulated dependent probability summation mechanism. The impact of a base time component of reaction time in these simulations is characterized. Finally, it is shown that the detection paradigm can formally be treated under the reaction time paradigm.