cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Electron Beam Induced Charging and Secondary Electron Emission of Surface Materials

Many kinds of insulating materials are used outside a spacecraft. Those are FEP films, polyimide films and so on as thermal control materials. These materials are exposed to charged particles environment around a spacecraft. So these materials charge up due to the charged particles, especially electrons. It is pointed out that charge-up on these materials is likely to cause discharges on the surfaces. Therefore we have investigated the charging potential characteristics by irradiating electrons with various energies below 20 keV. In the dependence of the charging potential on the electron energy, we found that the electron energy at which no charge-up occurs exists below 5 keV. It is thought to be the energy at which secondary electron emission yield becomes one. Each material has the different value of the energy. For example, in the case of Teflon FEP, the energy is about 2.7 keV. This indicates that electron irradiation to the FEP film with the energy lower than 2.7 keV induces positive charging.
BRIEF PRESENTATIONS ARE SUFFICIENT FOR PIGEONS TO DISCRIMINATE ARRAYS OF SAME AND DIFFERENT STIMULI

Four pigeons first learned to discriminate 16-item arrays of same from different pictorial stimuli. They were then tested with reduced exposure to the pictorial arrays, brought about by changes in the stimulus viewing requirement under fixed-ratio (FR) and fixed-interval (FI) schedules. Increasing the FR requirement enhanced discriminative performance up to 10 pecks; increasing the FI requirement enhanced discriminative performance up to 5 s. Exposures to the stimulus arrays averaging only 2 s supported reliable discrimination. Pigeons thus discriminate same from different stimuli with considerable speed, suggesting that same-different discrimination behavior is of substantial adaptive significance.
Short Report: Comparison of Oral Infectious Dose of West Nile Virus Isolates Representing Three Distinct Genotypes in Culex quinquefasciatus

Phylogenetic analysis of West Nile virus in North America has identified replacement of the originally introduced clade, Eastern United States (NY99), by the North American clade. In addition, the transient emergence of other clades and genetic variants has also been observed. In this study, we investigated the potential role of the mosquito in the selection of these clades and genetic variants. We determined the relative susceptibility of Culex quinquefasciatus to infection with isolates from the Eastern U.S. clade, the North American clade, and the Southeast coastal Texas clade. Although significant differences were observed in 50% oral infectious dose values between the Eastern U.S. and two attenuated North American genetic variants compared with the North American and Southeast coastal Texas clade viruses, these differences did not correlate with persistence of the genotype in nature. These results indicate that selection of these viral genotypes was independent of viral oral infectivity in the mosquito.
Medical Management of Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma

Metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has undergone a therapeutic revolution over the last decade. Initially treated with cytokine immunotherapy with dramatic effect in some but limited to no effect at most, therapy targeted at angiogenesis has become the mainstay. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptor have emerged as standard initial therapy in metastatic RCC, with response rates approximately 30 % and duration of disease control 10–12 months. Resistance invariably develops, and sequential therapy with these agents has become the de facto standard. Other therapeutics targeting mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) have also shown some clinical efficacy. Major clinical data with the approved agents in metastatic RCC are reviewed.
A man for all seasons: W.W. Keen

William Williams Keen was the catalyst for the advent of neurosurgery in the United States. He served in the Civil War and collaborated with Silas Weir Mitchell in studying injuries sustained to the nervous system. These studies culminated in the publication in 1864 of "Gunshot Wounds and Other Injuries of the Nerves and Reflex Paralysis," which first described causalgia, reflex sympathetic dystrophy, and secondary paralysis. His most monumental accomplishment undoubtedly was being the first surgeon in the United States to successfully remove a primary brain tumor (1887) and have the patient survive for more than 30 years. As the editor of "Surgery, Its Principles and Practice," Keen invited Harvey Cushing to write the section on surgery of the head, which propelled Cushing to international recognition and provided a foothold for the new specialty of neurosurgery. Multiple sources were reviewed to prepare this comprehensive biographical account of Keen's contributions. Emphasis is placed on those achievements that furthered the discipline of neurosurgery. Although a general surgeon, Keen had a special interest in the nervous system. He treated patients with trigeminal neuralgia, performed cortical excisions for patients with epilepsy, and devised the procedure of posterior upper cervical root sections for spasmodic torticollis. He was the first surgeon to perform and advocate ventricular punctures. He served as a consultant and surgeon to both Grover Cleveland and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Interpersonal relationships in nursing practice: An interdisciplinary approach 1

(1978). Interpersonal relationships in nursing practice: An interdisciplinary approach. Communication Education: Vol. 27, No. 2, pp. 158-163.
Incumbency, diversity, and latitudinal gradients

Physical environmental factors have been seen as paramount in determining many large-scale biodistributional patterns in time and space. Although this is probably correct for many situations, this view has become so pervasive that it has led to the neglect of the role of biotic interactions in setting large-scale diversity patterns. (In this paper diversity denotes taxonomic richness.) New approaches to this perennial debate on the roles of physical and biotic forces in paleoecology and macroevolution are needed, and here we explore an argument for the role of incumbency or priority effects in the dynamics behind the most dramatic spatial pattern in biodiversity, the latitudinal diversity gradient.
Hydrogen and methane in Titan’s atmosphere: chemistry, diffusion, escape, and the Hunten limiting flux principle1 1This article is part of a Special Issue that honours the work of Dr. Donald M. Hunten FRSC who passed away in December 2010 after a very illustrious career.

One of Professor Donald M. Hunten’s lasting contributions to the field of planetary atmospheres was the principle of the (Hunten) limiting flux, where the escape of light species is limited by the ...
Microinvasive carcinoma of the cervix

One hundred seventy-seven patients with squamous cell carcinoma that invaded the cervical stroma to a depth of 5.0 mm or less were the subjects of this investigation. Fifty-one patients were treated primarily by vaginal hysterectomy, 42 by total abdominal hysterectomy, and 84 by radical hysterectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy. In 52 patients with lesions that invaded the cervical stroma to a depth of 3.0 mm or less, 984 lymph nodes were examined and none contained metastatic tumor. Conversely, lymph node metastases were present in three of 32 patients with lesions that had stromal invasion of 3.1 to 5.0 mm. After therapy, all patients were followed up from 2 to 14 years, and none was lost to follow-up. Among 145 patients with lesions that invaded the stroma to a depth of 3.0 mm or less, only two developed recurrences, both of which were intraepithelial. Among the 32 cases of carcinoma that invaded the stroma 3.1 to 5.0 mm, there were three invasive recurrences, and two deaths.
Belarus - Sources of State Practice in International Law

The paper has two parts. The first part begins by summarizing the history of present-day Belarus through the issues of state and treaty succession. It then focuses on the modern treaty practice of Belarus, including negotiation, entry into force, and publication of international treaties, and addresses the place of norms of international law in the hierarchy of legal norms of the Republic of Belarus. It also covers the evidence of state practice as influenced by the membership of Belarus in regional organizations and political formations, such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the former Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC or EurAsEC). The second part contains an annotated bibliography of sources of state practice in international law. As such, it provides a comprehensive reference to treaty collections, yearbooks, digests, and electronic resources on state practice of Belarus since 1991 when the country proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union, as well as for the preceding Soviet period in the Belarusian history (1922-1991).
Feature analysis and registration of scanned surfaces

This thesis presents several algorithms for registration and analysis of scanned surfaces. First, we present an algorithm for automatic approximate alignment of two partially overlapping 3D shapes (data and model) without any assumption about their initial positions. The algorithm uses the distribution of values of a robust shape descriptor to select a set of feature points on the data shape, compute their potential corresponding points on the model shape, and explores the resulting search space using an efficient branch and bound algorithm based on distance matrix comparisons. The resulting alignment algorithm is used for registration of partially overlapping scanned surfaces, for simple symmetry detection, and for matching and segmentation of shapes undergoing articulated motion. Next, we develop a surface descriptor based on surface self-similarity under continuous rigid motion, called surface slippage. We show that by analyzing a certain matrix computed from the point positions and surface normals of a pointset, one can differentiate among pointsets that correspond to planes, spheres, surfaces of revolution and surfaces of linear extrusion. We use the slippage descriptor to develop a segmentation algorithm for reverse engineering surfaces of mechanical parts, a problem that is frequently encountered in the field of Computer Aided Design. Finally we apply surface slippage in the context of the Iterated Closest Point (ICP) algorithm, which is a widely used method for local registration of two 3D shapes. The quality of the alignment obtained by this algorithm depends heavily on choosing good corresponding points from the two datasets. If too many points are chosen from featureless regions of the data, ICP can converge slowly or find the wrong pose, especially in the presence of noise. Performing slippage analysis on the input shapes allows us to select a set of features on the input that minimizes the uncertainty in the final pose and improves the algorithm's convergence.
Contributions Agricultural Marketing Research Might Make to Policy Formulation

If we are to indict marketing researchers for errors of omission rather than errors of commission, let us examine what they have been doing. Two areas that absorb many resources are microeconomic "theory of the marketing firm" and macroeconomic "demand for farm products." Our boys are contented in the first field; techniques are well developed and carry great prestige. Who dares quarrel with linear programming and game theory models? Few research workers have failed to come up with possibilities for saving $n through better resource combinations. A critic who compares potential savings with the cost of the research that revealed that potential and with the opportunity cost of the entrepreneurial effort required to make correct decisions ex ante is justified in wondering whether these practitioners have not reached diminishing returns. Few raise the uncomfortable question of how resources "saved" by better decisions are going to be used for society's benefit, and none answers it.
Personalized Weight Management Interventions for Cardiovascular Risk Reduction: A Viable Option for African-American Women

Obesity is an independent contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a major driving force behind racial/ethnic and gender disparities in risk. Due to a multitude of interrelating factors (i.e., personal, social, cultural, economic and environmental), African-American (AA) women are disproportionately obese and twice as likely to succumb to CVD, yet they are significantly underrepresented in behavioral weight management interventions. In this selective review we highlight components of the limited interventions shown to enhance weight loss outcomes in this population and make a case for leveraging Web-based technology and artificial intelligence techniques to deliver personalized programs aimed at obesity treatment and CVD risk reduction. Although many of the approaches discussed are generally applicable across populations burdened by disparate rates of obesity and CVD, we specifically focus on AA women due to the disproportionate impact of these non-communicable diseases and the general paucity of interventions targeted to this high-risk group.
Design of a Variational Multiscale Method for High Reynolds Number Compressible Flows

The ultimate goal of this work is the simulation of separated flow about the threedimensional FAITH bump to support Reynolds-averaged modeling efforts. Given the relatively high Reynolds number of this experimental configuration, numerical efficiency becomes paramount to enable practical simulations. This work describes the progress in the design of a VMM for high-Reynold-number separated flows, focusing on performance vs. accuracy trade-offs of the numerical schemes.
Experimental and Simulated Scanning Tunneling Microscopy of the Cleaved Rb1/3WO3 (0001) Surface

Atomic-scale resolution scanning tunneling microscope (STM) images of cleaved (0001) surfaces of the hexagonal tungsten bronze, Rbl/3WO3, show two distinct contrast patterns. We have interpreted these images using simulated constant current STM topographs. These simulations are constructed based on calculations of the tunnel current as a function of the lateral and vertical position above the surface. By calculating simulated images for the limiting cases of different termination layers, different tip sizes, and different electronic structures, it is possible to systematically explore the important parameters and choose a model that most closely matches the experimental observations. In this case, we conclude that two distinct termination layers have been imaged, a W-O terminated surface and a Rb-O terminated surface. Also, we have found that the O atoms on the W-O surface relax to new positions nearer the 6-fold axis of rotational symmetry. Some of the advantages and disadvantages of this model are discussed.
Kinetics of Inhibition by Acetazolamide and Sulfanilamide of Bicarbonate Dehydration Catalyzed by Bovine Carbonic Anhydrase.

SummaryThe kinetics of inhibition by acetazolamide and sulfanilamide of the formation of carbon dioxide from bicarbonate, catalyzed by partially purified carbonic an-hydrase preparations from bovine erythrocytes, were those of competitive inhibition. This is contrasted with the non-competitive kinetics of sulfonamide inhibition of a number of carbonic anhydrase-mediated hydration reactions. K1 for acetazolamide was 8.6 × 10-8 M while that for sulfanilamide was 1.8 × 10-5 M; these values are similar to those reported for inhibition of CO2 hydration in the presence of bovine erythrocyte enzyme.Note added in proof. From other types of evidence, J. E. Coleman (personal communication) has written a reaction scheme similar to that presented here.
Neurophysiological evidence that perceptions of fluency produce mere exposure effects.

Recent exposure to people or objects increases liking ratings, the “mere exposure effect” (Zajonc in American Psychologist, 35, 117–123, 1968), and an increase in processing fluency has been identified as a potential mechanism for producing this effect. This fluency hypothesis was directly tested by altering the trial-by-trial image clarity (i.e., fluency) while Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) were recorded. In Experiment 1, clarity was altered across two trial blocks that each had homogenous trial-by-trial clarity, whereas clarity varied randomly across trials in Experiment 2. Blocking or randomizing image clarity across trials was expected to produce different levels of relative fluency and alter mere exposure effects. The mere exposure effect (i.e., old products liked more than new products) was observed when stimulus clarity remained constant across trials, and clear image ERPs were more positive than blurry image ERPs. Importantly, these patterns were reversed when clarity varied randomly across test trials, such that participants liked clear images more than blurry (i.e., no mere exposure effect) and clear image ERPs were more negative than blurry image ERPs. The findings provide direct experimental support from both behavioral and electrophysiological measures that, in some contexts, mere exposure is the product of top-down interpretations of fluency.
Extracting Electronic Health Record Data in a Practice-Based Research Network: Lessons Learned from Collaborations with Translational Researchers

Context: The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) offers significant opportunities to conduct research with clinical data from patients outside traditional academic research settings. Because EHRs are designed primarily for clinical care and billing, significant challenges are inherent in the use of EHR data for clinical and translational research. Efficient processes are needed for translational researchers to overcome these challenges. The Data QUEST Coordinating Center (DQCC), which oversees Data QUEST – a primary care EHR data sharing infrastructure – created processes that that guide EHR data extraction for clinical and translational research across these diverse practices. We describe these processes and their application in a case example. Case Description: The DQCC process for developing EHR data extractions not only supports researchers access to EHR data, but supports this access for the purpose of answering scientific questions. This process requires complex coordination across multiple domains, including: 1) understanding the context of EHR data; 2) creating and maintaining a governance structure to support exchange of EHR data; and 3) defining data parameters that are used in order to extract data from the EHR.1,2,3,4 We use the Northwest-Alaska Pharmacogenomics Research Network (NWA-PGRN) as a case example that focuses on pharmacogenomic discovery and clinical applications to describe the DQCC process. The NWA-PGRN collaborates with Data QUEST to explore ways to leverage primary care EHR data to support pharmacogenomics research. Findings: Preliminary analysis on the case example shows that initial decisions about how researchers define the study population can influence study outcomes. Major Themes and Conclusions: The experience of the DQCC demonstrates that Coordinating Centers provide expertise in helping researchers understand the context of EHR data, create and maintain governance structures, and guide the definition of parameters for data extractions. This expertise is critical to support research with EHR data. Replication of these strategies through Coordinating Centers may lead to more efficient translational research. Investigators must also consider the impact of initial decisions in defining study groups that may potentially affect outcomes.
Population Genetics of North Atlantic Catadromous Eels (Anguilla)

The genetics of catadromous eels of the North Atlantic basin is of special interest because of uncertainties in the taxonomic status of the stocks found on opposite sides of the ocean, because their extraordinary life cycle makes them a source of information otherwise difficult to obtain on evolutionary processes, and because of uncertainties in genotypeenvironment interactions in the determination of sex.
Comparison of Videostroboscopy and High-speed Videoendoscopy in Evaluation of Supraglottic Phonation

Objectives:To compare clinicians’ ratings of videolaryngoscopy (VLS) and high-speed videoendoscopy (HSV) and assess confidence of ratings with VLS and HSV in patients with supraglottic phonation.Me...
Women and children, war and peace: political agency in time of conflict

The four books under review focus on different aspects of war and conflict, but they all make it clear that women and children are more than their victims. They can be, and often are, active participants in all dimensions of conflict, from taking up arms to working for peace. While all four books paint an appropriately grim picture of war and its impact, there is also some optimism to be found in the resilience shown by women and children as they face the brutality of war and often actively seek to work for peace. Three of the books examine women's involvement in conflict, war, peace and peacemaking, and the aftermath of these events, albeit in very different ways-although all view women as active participants in the process rather than as victims. The fourth book included in this article, Children and global conflict, is not only relevant to the discussion, but also provides another important lens through which we can examine issues of conflict, war and peace. This review article provides insight into the contrition made to the field by these recent books individually, as well as when considered as parts of a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Exergy analysis of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger using graphene oxide nanofluids

Abstract Nanofluids are the new-generation heat transfer fluids largely used in heat exchangers for thermal energy transport applications. In this paper, graphene oxide was prepared in-house and used for nanofluid development and characterization. The graphene oxide was prepared by oxidizing purified natural flake graphite via the modified Hummers method. The morphology and structure of fabricated graphene oxide were characterized using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The graphene oxide nanofluids were prepared at 0.01 and 0.1 wt.% concentrations. The particle size and zeta potential of nanofluids were measured using the dynamic light scattering (DLS) technique. The rheological behaviors of nanofluids were investigated at 25 and 40 °C at different shear rates (10–100 1/s). Thermal conductivity of nanofluids was measured using the transient hot wire method at 25 and 40 °C. Exergy analysis showed that increasing the graphene oxide concentration from 0.01 wt.% to 0.1 wt.% resulted in 8.7% and 18.9% thermal conductivity enhancement at 25 and 40 °C, respectively. Furthermore, the thermal performance of graphene oxide nanoparticles in a shell-and-tube heat exchanger was studied experimentally. The effect of nanofluid concentration, flow rates, temperature inlet and flow regime on the system’s exergy loss was studied experimentally. The results showed that using graphene oxide nanofluids as the hot fluid resulted in less exergy loss in the shell-and-tube heat exchanger under both laminar and turbulent conditions. Comparing the exergy loss of graphene oxide nanofluids to distilled (DI) water showed that DI water caused 22% and 109% higher exergy loss than in laminar conditions.
An appraisal of the learning curve in robotic general surgery

Robotic-assisted surgery is used with increasing frequency in general surgery for a variety of applications. In spite of this increase in usage, the learning curve is not yet defined. This study reviews the literature on the learning curve in robotic general surgery to inform adopters of the technology. PubMed and EMBASE searches yielded 3690 abstracts published between July 1986 and March 2016. The abstracts were evaluated based on the following inclusion criteria: written in English, reporting original work, focus on general surgery operations, and with explicit statistical methods. Twenty-six full-length articles were included in final analysis. The articles described the learning curves in colorectal (9 articles, 35%), foregut/bariatric (8, 31%), biliary (5, 19%), and solid organ (4, 15%) surgery. Eighteen of 26 (69%) articles report single-surgeon experiences. Time was used as a measure of the learning curve in all studies (100%); outcomes were examined in 10 (38%). In 12 studies (46%), the authors identified three phases of the learning curve. Numbers of cases needed to achieve plateau performance were wide-ranging but overlapping for different kinds of operations: 19–128 cases for colorectal, 8–95 for foregut/bariatric, 20–48 for biliary, and 10–80 for solid organ surgery. Although robotic surgery is increasingly utilized in general surgery, the literature provides few guidelines on the learning curve for adoption. In this heterogeneous sample of reviewed articles, the number of cases needed to achieve plateau performance varies by case type and the learning curve may have multiple phases as surgeons add more complex cases to their case mix with growing experience. Time is the most common determinant for the learning curve. The literature lacks a uniform assessment of outcomes and complications, which would arguably reflect expertise in a more meaningful way than time to perform the operation alone.
Evaluation of N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Challenged with Engineered Nanoparticles

ABSTRACTNIOSH-certified respirators, including N95 respirators, are recommended when engineering and administrative controls do not adequately prevent exposures to airborne nanomaterials. Laboratory evaluations of filtering efficiency using standard test aerosols have been reported in the literature, but there is no information on penetration of engineered nanoparticles (1–100 nm) for N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFR). This project evaluated the performance of two manufacturers’ N95 FFR filters challenged with engineered nanoparticle aerosols containing metal oxides (such as TiO2) and carbon (such as fullerenes and nanotubes) in contrast with a sodium chloride (NaCl) aerosol at flow rates of 30, 85, and 130 L min–1. For new respirator filters in general, NaCl aerosol penetration was less than 5% and the most penetrating particle size occurred at 40 nm. Overall penetration of the engineered nanoparticle aerosols exceeded 5% and was often greater than 5% at and near the most penetrating particle size (MPPS), which occurred at a larger particle size range (90–150 nm). For respirators treated with isopropanol in which the electrostatic force was removed, penetration of NaCl and engineered nanoparticles increased substantially and the MPPS increased to 150 nm for both types of aerosols. Our results indicated that a possible reason for higher maximum penetrations and shift of MPPS observed for these engineered nanoparticles in the new respirators was related to electrostatic collection processes.
Controlling the Graphene–Bio Interface: Dispersions in Animal Sera for Enhanced Stability and Reduced Toxicity

Liquid phase exfoliation of graphite in six different animal sera and evaluation of its toxicity are reported here. Previously, we reported the exfoliation of graphene using proteins, and here we extend this approach to complex animal fluids. A kitchen blender with a high-turbulence flow gave high quality and maximum exfoliation efficiency in all sera tested, when compared to the values found with shear and ultrasonication methods. Raman spectra and electron microscopy confirmed the formation of three- or four-layer, submicrometer size graphene, independent of the serum used. Graphene prepared in serum was directly transferred to cell culture media without post-treatments. Contrary to many reports, a nanotoxicity study of this graphene fully dispersed to human embryonic kidney cells, human lung cancer cells, and nematodes (Caenorhabditis elegans) showed no acute toxicity for up to 7 days at various doses (50–500 μg/mL), but prolonged exposure at higher doses (300–500 μg/mL, 10–15 days) showed cytotoxicity...
Kinetic Parameters of trans Scission by Extended HDV-like Ribozymes and the Prospect for the Discovery of Genomic trans-Cleaving RNAs

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV)-like ribozymes are self-cleaving catalytic RNAs with a widespread distribution in nature and biological roles ranging from self-scission during rolling-circle replication in viroids to co-transcriptional processing of eukaryotic retrotransposons, among others. The ribozymes fold into a double pseudoknot with a common catalytic core motif and highly variable peripheral domains. Like other self-cleaving ribozymes, HDV-like ribozymes can be converted into trans-acting catalytic RNAs by bisecting the self-cleaving variants at non-essential loops. Here we explore the trans-cleaving activity of ribozymes derived from the largest examples of the ribozymes (drz-Agam-2 family), which contain an extended domain between the substrate strand and the rest of the RNA. When this peripheral domain is bisected at its distal end, the substrate strand is recognized through two helices, rather than just one 7 bp helix common among the HDV ribozymes, resulting in stronger binding and increased sequ...
Microscale phase field modeling of the martensitic transformation during cyclic loading of NiTi single crystal

Abstract A microscale phase field model developed in Levitas et al. (2004) and Idesman et al. (2005) is slightly advanced for different and anisotropic elastic moduli of phases and is employed for the study of the stress-induced cubic-monoclinic phase transition in NiTi single crystal involving all 12 martensitic variants. The model is scale-independent, without the gradient term, and it is applicable for any scale greater than 100 nm. This model includes strain softening and the corresponding transformation strain localization, and it reproduces a discrete martensitic microstructure. The model only tracks finite-width interfaces between austenite and the mixture of martensitic variants, and does not consider the interfaces between martensitic variants. The model is implemented as a UMAT subroutine in a commercial finite element (FE) package, ABAQUS. Multiple problems for a uniaxial cyclic loading are solved to study the effect of mesh, strain rate, crystal orientation, different numbers of pre-existing nuclei, and the magnitude of the athermal threshold on the stress-strain responses as well as the microstructure evolution. The obtained results exhibit that the microstructure and global stress-strain responses are practically independent of mesh discretization and the applied strain rate for relatively small strain rates. While the presence of the initial nuclei in the sample decreases the nucleation stress, it slightly increases the total energy dissipation. The observed microstructure, the sudden drop in the stress-strain curve after initiation of the martensitic transformation, and the absence of a similar jump for the reverse phase transformation are in qualitative agreement with known experiments. Changing the crystallographic orientation of the sample varies the entire behavior, namely, the variants which are involved in the phase transformation, the morphology of the associated microstructure, the stress-strain curve, and the total dissipation. Athermal threshold, in addition to the expected increase in the magnitude of hysteresis, leads to some strain hardening for the direct phase transformation.
Transportation policymaking in Beijing and Shanghai: Contributors, obstacles, and process

Abstract With continued motorization and urbanization in Chinese cities, there is a growing demand for innovative transportation policies at the city level to address the challenges of congestion, local air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions. Using Beijing and Shanghai as case studies, this paper draws on 32 in-depth semi-structured interviews with municipal government officials, academics, and transportation professionals to explore the city-level transportation policymaking process in Chinese megacities. Across the two cities, we identify three common contributors – policy learning, data informatization, and public opinion—and four obstacles—public complaint, unilateral decision-making, inadequate coordination among relevant departments, and lack of adaptiveness in policy implementation practice—to adopting timely and appropriate transportation policies. We then introduce a processual model that connects the contributors and obstacles identified within the flow of transportation policy among key actors in city-level government. This process shows how transportation policymaking in Chinese megacities is often reactive to public outcry over a transportation problem. This problem is investigated by a technical government research center that reports to the municipal transport committee. This committee then assesses public opinion and submits a policy recommendation to city government leadership, who make the final policy decision. Based on both case studies, we discuss potential recommendations for how to better enable transportation policymaking at the city level in China through more formalized processes of policy experimentation and public participation. We conclude with a discussion of limitations and areas of future research.
Information Transfer in Honey Bees: A Population Approach

The question of a “language” among bees continues to hold the attention of scientists and laymen alike, but bees are not necessarily the focal point in this matter. Several factors complicate the issue. First, a question of more general interest is whether any nonhuman species has a “language” or communication system in any way equivalent to ours. A less obvious and perhaps more important question that continually surfaces is whether we can ever know if bees (or any other animals) have a language (Wenner, 1971). Professor Karl von Frisch (1946) emphasized both of these problems in his treatment of the possibility that bees might have a “language.” In an introduction to his classic paper, he wrote: When dealing with the question of how the initiated bees find the food source indicated by the dancer, I said at a meeting of naturalists at Innsbruck (1924): “The problem gave rise to the most daring [of] hypotheses. Thus I thought of the possibility that the dancer might indicate the distance and direction in which the food had to be looked for by a secret sign. However false this assumption had been it did lead us further....” This daring hypothesis was correct! and (prophetically, perhaps): Nature’s way often turns out to be completely different from any which can be seen at the time.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Germanium Nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are known to melt at temperatures well below the bulk melting point. This behavior is being exploited for the recrystallization of Germanium to form large-grain semiconductor thin films on flexible and low temperature substrates. The melting of Ge nanoparticles as a function of size was investigated using the ab-initio Harris functional method of density functional theory (DFT). The DFT code was initially evaluated for its ability to predict the bulk properties of crystalline Ge. A conjugate gradient method was employed for minimizing the multiphase atomic positional parameters of the diamond, BC8 and ST12 structures. The computed lattice constants, bulk moduli, and internal atomic positional parameters were found to agree well with other calculations and with reported experimental results. A constant temperature Nose-Hoover thermostat was added to the DFT code in order to compute thermal properties via molecular dynamics. The simulations were tested on a 13-atom Ge cluster, which was found to melt at 820 K. Further heating resulted in the cluster breaking up into two smaller clusters, which remained stable up to 1300K.
Investigation of taxol-resistance using folate-targeted ternary therapeutic nanoparticle

2311 Development of novel drug delivery using nanotechnology has been an important strategy to increase the therapeutic efficacy and decrease the side effects of chemotherapeutics. Moreover, conjugation of a drug to a ligand specifically targeted to a cancer cell surface receptor may help not only reduce dose-limiting toxicities but also enable the drug to bypass drug resistance mechanisms, especially those mediated by P-glycoprotein(P-gp), as the drug would get internalized via receptor-mediated endocytosis. We have recently conjugated a novel ternary structure nanoparticle, Heparin-Folate-Taxol (HFT) which demonstrated higher antitumor efficacy than the free Taxol in vivo. In this study, we sought to investigate whether HFT could also minimize P-gp mediated Taxol resistance using a xenograft model of KB-8-5 and KB-V1 Taxol-resistant cells. HFT was composed of heparin as the carrier, folate as the targeting moiety to folate receptor (FR), and Taxol as the anticancer drug. Flow cytometry revealed high expression levels of FR in both parental (KB-3-1) and drug resistant derivatives (KB-8-5, and KB-V1), while higher P-gp levels were observed in the drug resistant cells (KB-8-5, KB-V1) compared with the parental cells, consistent with their Taxol-resistant phenotype. KB-8-5 and KB-V1 cells, which were known to be about 10 times and 1000 times more resistant to Taxol than their parental KB-3-1 cells respectively, were then injected subcutaneously into nude mice. The animals were treated with free Taxol, HT, HFT or Cremophor EL as a control. Each drug (80mg/kg Taxol equivalent) was administrated via tail vein once a week for 4 weeks (totally 4 injections). The in vivo study showed that only HFT significantly inhibited growth of KB-8-5 and KB-V1 xenograft tumors as compared with the control (KB-8-5:p=0.03/KB-V1:p=0.027). Although inhibitory effect of HFT on KB-8-5 tumor growth was not significantly better than that of free Taxol (p=0.33), we observed a trend that HFT was superior to free Taxol in KB-V1 tumors (p=0.06). Confocal microscopy analysis of freshly fixed KB-8-5 xenograft tumor sections revealed perturbations of the microtubule cytoskeleton in the HFT treated animals, such as microtubule bundling, aberrant mitotic spindles and cells with a lagging chromosome phenotype, consistent with the in vivo antitumor efficacy of HFT. No such effects were observed in the tumors treated with either free Taxol or HT. Furthermore, the weighted index of Ki-67 expression was lower in HFT treated-samples compared with the other three treatment groups, reflecting the in vivo antitumor efficacy of each treatment. These results indicate that a novel nanotherapeutic drug HFT can minimize or overcome the resistance of KB-8-5 and KB-V1 to Taxol and deserves further investigation in clinical trials. (This study is supported in part by NIH CCNE grant to DMS and SN).
Opening to the World: A Reformed Feminist Posture of Openness

This article examines the theme of “openness to the world” from a Reformed Presbyterian Feminist perspective. It states that the openness God calls us to is expressed most simply as the call to “love your neighbor as yourself.” For defining such openness to the world, the author explores the meaning of the Reformed mantra “ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda, secundum verbum dei.” The second part of the article examines how the two themes, love of neighbor and “reformed and always reforming” are also part of Catholic traditions.
Surgical Considerations for Vitamin D Deficiency in Foot and Ankle Surgery

Vitamin D deficiency affects nearly one-sixth of the world's population and is common in patients undergoing foot and ankle surgery. Vitamin D is critical for calcium homeostasis and plays an important role in the maintenance of bone health. Patients undergoing foot and ankle procedures can be evaluated preoperatively with vitamin D level testing, and deficiencies can be addressed with either preoperative or postoperative supplementation. Current data suggest that patients with adequate vitamin D levels may have better outcomes, but the details are not yet clear. Vitamin D supplementation is well tolerated with rare side effects.
Rectal prolapse and urinary retention: A case report of an “anal cystocele”

Abstract Background Concomitant rectal and vaginal prolapse is diagnosed in 14–55% of patients who present for pelvic floor evaluation. Case: A patient was referred for pelvic floor evaluation in the setting of rectal prolapse and urinary retention. Preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed the presence of a posterior cystocele prolapsing through the full-thickness rectal prolapse. Conclusion Rectal prolapse with concomitant urinary retention should raise suspicion for posterior bladder prolapse. Here we propose the new term “anal cystocele”. MR imaging aids in the diagnosis and treatment planning for this condition.
Scattering by Two Parallel Thin Posts Inside a Parallel-Plate Waveguide

The scattering of a guided mode propagating inside a parallel-plate waveguide by two thin cylindrical posts is studied in the phasor domain, with a time-dependence factor $\exp ( + {\mathrm {j}} \omega {\mathrm {t}} )$ omitted throughout. Since the wave equation is not separable in the bi-cylindrical coordinate system [1], this is a two-body problem that involves an infinite number of successive interactions between the posts. However, as originally noted by Twersky [2], an approximate solution may be obtainable in closed form when the interacting scatterers are small. In the present case, the small parameter is the ration of the wires diameter to the wavelength, i.e., $ka$ is very small compared to one, where $k = 2 \pi / \lambda$ is the wavenumber and a is the radius of the posts. Such an approximation was implemented to obtain a closed-form solution for normal incidence of a plane wave on two parallel thin cylinders of infinite length [3], and for E-polarization that solution is also the solution for the scattering of the TEM fundamental mode inside the parallel-plate waveguide.
An Internet-of-Things End-User Development Approach to Environmental Monitoring of Cultural Heritage Archives

End-user development (EUD) seeks to facilitate the extension and customization of systems during use, with increasing possibilities and complexities as the Internet-of-Things (IoT) computing paradigm becomes widespread. One domain that stands to benefit from adopting such an approach is that of environmental monitoring in cultural heritage archives. Monitoring environmental conditions in cultural heritage organizations is vitally important to ensure effective preservation of archives, though existing systems tend to be costly and/or limited in functionality. This research explores archivists’ need for end-user development features in their environmental monitoring systems through a focus group, constructs a resulting prototype, and reflects upon the potential impact of IoT technologies on facilitating EUD behaviors within archival practice.
Civil Commitment of Sex Offenders

Civil preventive detention, by its very nature, represents a departure from the normal model of criminal justice. In the case of sex offender civil commitment, the circumstances warranting detention are no more dire than for other serious crimes. Yet, sex offenders are treated as a special class, based upon pseudoscience and cultural panic. State and federal sexually violent predator laws that allow for lifetime civil commitment of sex offenders, premised on myths that allocate substantial resources in a never-ending criminal war, do not create a just or better society.
I’m paid biweekly, just not by leprechauns: Evaluating valid-but-incorrect response rates to attention check items

Abstract Participant carelessness is a source of invalidity in psychological data (Huang, Liu, & Bowling, 2015), and many methods have been created to screen for this carelessness (Curran, 2016; Johnson, 2005). These include items that researchers presume thoughtful individuals will answer in a given way (e.g., disagreement with “I am paid biweekly by leprechauns”, Meade & Craig, 2012). This paper reports on two samples in which individuals spoke aloud a series of these questions, and found that (a) individuals do occasionally report valid justifications for presumed invalid responses, (b) there is relatively high variance in this behavior over different items, and (c) items developed for this specific purpose tend to work better than those drawn from other sources or created ad-hoc.
Solution of Hopf-Type Equations in the Spatial Description

The assumption that the IBVP for the Navier–Stokes pdes governing the motion of incompressible fluids is well posed ( 2.49) leads to a formal solution of Hopf-type fdes, [1, 2, 3]. The assumption implies the existence of the solution operator \(T_t\): \(v_\alpha (t,\mathbf{x})=T_t v_\alpha (0,\mathbf{x})\) with unique inverse \(T_{-t}\).
An investigation of musical ability beliefs and self-concept among fourth-grade students in the United States:

The purpose of this ethnographic case study was to explore the musical ability beliefs and musical self-concepts among eight fourth-grade students whose music teacher believed in universal human mu...
Patient Experiences and Perceptions Associated with the Use of Desiccated Thyroid Extract.

Background and objectives: It is unclear why many patients with hypothyroidism prefer the use of desiccated thyroid extract (DTE) as a thyroid hormone replacement formulation over levothyroxine (LT4) treatment, as recommended by clinical practice guidelines. We analyzed patient-reported information from patient online forums to better understand patient preferences for and attitudes toward the use of DTE to treat hypothyroidism. Materials and Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study by evaluating the content of online posts from three popular hypothyroidism forums from patients currently taking DTE (n = 673). From these posts, we extracted descriptive information on patient demographics and clinical characteristics and qualitatively analyzed posts’ content to explore patient perceptions on DTE and other therapies further. Results: Nearly half (46%) of the patients reported that a clinician initially drove their interest in trying DTE. Patients described many reasons for switching from a previous therapeutic approach to DTE, including lack of improvement in hypothyroidism-related symptoms (58%) and the development of side effects (22%). The majority of patients described DTE as moderately to majorly effective overall (81%) and more effective than the previous therapy (77%). The most frequently described benefits associated with DTE use were an improvement in symptoms (56%) and a change in overall well-being (34%). One-fifth of patients described side effects related to the use of DTE. Qualitative analysis of posts’ content supported these findings and raised additional issues around the need for individualizing therapy approaches for hypothyroidism (e.g., a sense of each patient has different needs), as well as difficulties obtaining DTE (e.g., issues with pharmacy availability). Conclusions: Lack of individualized treatment and a feeling of not been listened to were recurrent themes among DTE users. A subset of patients may prefer DTE to LT4 for many reasons, including perceived better effectiveness and improved overall well-being, despite the risks associated with DTE.