cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Molecular components underlying nongenomic thyroid hormone signaling in embryonic zebrafish neurons.

Background: Neurodevelopment requires thyroid hormone, yet the mechanisms and targets of thyroid hormone action during embryonic stages remain ill-defined. We previously showed that the thyroid hormone thyroxine (T4) rapidly increases voltage-gated sodium current in zebrafish Rohon-Beard cells (RBs), a primary sensory neuron subtype present during embryonic development. Here, we determined essential components of the rapid T4 signaling pathway by identifying the involved intracellular messengers, the targeted sodium channel isotype, and the spatial and temporal expression pattern of the nongenomic V3 integrin T4 receptor. Results: We first tested which signaling pathways mediate T4's rapid modulation of sodium current (I Na ) by perturbing specific pathways associated with nongenomic thyroid hormone signaling. We found that pharmacological blockade of protein phosphatase 1 and the mitogenactivated protein kinase p38 isoform decreased and increased tonic sodium current amplitudes, respectively, and blockade of either occluded rapid responses to acute T4 application. We next tested for the ion channel target of rapid T4 signaling via morpholino knock-down of specific sodium channel isotypes. We found that selective knock-down of the sodium channel -subunit Nav1.6a, but not Nav1.1la, occluded T4's acute effects. We also determined the spatial and temporal distribution of a nongenomic T4 receptor, integrin V3. At 24 hours post fertilization (hpf), immunofluorescent assays showed no specific integrin V3 immunoreactivity in wild-type zebrafish embryos. However, by 48 hpf, embryos expressed integrin V3 in RBs and primary motoneurons. Consistent with this temporal expression, T4 modulated RB INa at 48 but not 24 hpf. We next tested whether T4 rapidly modulated INa of caudal primary motoneurons, which express the receptor (V3) and target (Na v 1.6a) of rapid T4 signaling. In response to T4, caudal primary motoneurons rapidly increased sodium current peak amplitude 1.3-fold. Conclusion: T4's nongenomic regulation of sodium current occurs in different neuronal subtypes, requires the activity of specific phosphorylation pathways, and requires both integrin V3 and Na v 1.6a. Our in vivo analyses identify molecules required for T4's rapid regulation of voltage-gated sodium current.
Precursors to 16S and 23S ribosomal RNA from a ribonuclease III− strain of Escherichia coli contain intact RNase III processing sites

Escherichia coli cells lacking the ribosomal RNA processing enzyme RNase III do no excise the normal RNA precursors p16a (17S) and p23a from nascent rRNA transcripts. These cells produce, instead, slightly larger p16b and p23b precursors. Digestion of p16b or p23b rRNA with RNases A plus T1 yields double-stranded fragments composed of sequences, located at both the 5' and the 3' end regions of the molecules. The terminal duplex, or stem, of p16b contains sequences surrounding the site of RNase III processing which is wild-type cells produces p16a rRNA: the p23b stem likewise contains an intact RNase III cleavage site. The results confirm our earlier prediction for the structure of rRNA transcripts, and also yield a definite secondary structure for the p16 stem, which was not uniquely determined by the corresponding DNA sequence. These experiments demonstrate the absence of significant RNase III processing activity in rnc-105 strains of E. coli, and implicate the participation of another endonuclease(s) in rRNA processing in mutant and wild-type cells.
Solar‐terrestrial coupling: Low‐latitude thermospheric nitric oxide

As measured by the Solar Mesosphere Explorer satellite, the density of nitric oxide at low latitudes (30°S to 30°N) and at 110 km (E-region) decreased from a mean value of 3 × 107 molecules/cm³ in January 1982 to a mean value of 4 × 106 molecules/cm³ in April 1985. In addition, the nitric oxide density varied ±50% with a 27-day period during times of high solar activity. The variation of nitric oxide correlates with variations in the solar Lyman-alpha irradiance which is also measured by the Solar Mesosphere Explorer satellite. The Lyman alpha irradiance is interpreted as an index of the variations in the solar EUV and soft X-ray flux. The hypothesis is proposed that the solar X-ray flux between 20 and 100 A has a larger variation than the solar EUV flux between 100 and 1050 A and that the solar X-rays produce photoelectrons which are the source of the nitric oxide.
Proprietary Physical Therapy Service in Entry-level Physical Therapy Curricula

The purposes of this study were to 1) assess the value of including an expanded business administration unit that would include proprietary practice issues in an entry-level physical therapy curriculum and 2) organize topics by priority that could be included in such a unit. Twenty-seven physical therapists (100%) in private practice in Montana responded to the questionnaire. Ninety-three percent of the respondents stated that such an expansion would be valuable in the entry-level physical therapy curriculum. Topics of greatest priority were 1) Self-analysis of Resources, 2) Reimbursement, and 3) Contracting Services and Referral Sources. Topics of least priority were 1) City and State Tax and Licensure Requirements, 2) Computers and Computer Programs, and 3) Insurance Planning. Further research and development are needed to formulate methods and objectives for such an expansion.
Deep-subwavelength Nanometric Image Reconstruction using Fourier Domain Optical Normalization.

Quantitative optical measurements of deep subwavelength, three-dimensional (3D), nanometric structures with sensitivity to sub-nanometer details address a ubiquitous measurement challenge. A Fourier domain normalization approach is used in the Fourier optical imaging code to simulate the full 3D scattered light field of nominally 15 nm-sized structures, accurately replicating the light field as a function of the focus position. Using the full 3D light field, nanometer scale details such as a 2 nm thin conformal oxide and nanometer topography are rigorously fitted for features less than one-thirtieth of the wavelength in size. The densely packed structures are positioned nearly an order of magnitude closer than the conventional Rayleigh resolution limit and can be measured with sub-nanometer parametric uncertainties. This approach enables a practical measurement sensitivity to size variations of only a few atoms in size using a high-throughput optical configuration with broad application in measuring nanometric structures and nanoelectronic devices. Optical scatterfield microscopy combined with Fourier domain analysis permits image reconstruction of features on a deep-subwavelength scale. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology in the USA report that their imaging scheme can map features on a scale of just 15 nm when using a blue light-emitting diode, which corresponds to one-thirtieth of the illumination wavelength (450 nm). The approach involves focusing polarized blue light onto a target object and imaging at multiple focus positions using a charge-coupled device camera to capture the scattered field. Fourier domain analysis and a model based on nonlinear regression are used to fit the experimental data to a library of simulations. The researchers verified their approach using 30- and 100-line targets, which had been fabricated by electron-beam lithography with linewidths of 14, 16 and 18 nm.
Adaptation of Influenza Virus to Heat.

Conclusions1. Two strains of influenza A virus were trained to withstand temperature conditions which were normally lethal. 2. Influenza A virus could not be adapted to heat by growth at elevated temperatures.
The Modeling Technology about Intelligent Hydropower Plant Based on IEC 61850

The main contents and characteristic of IEC 61850 is briefly introduced.The architecture of intelligent hydropower plant information model and the method of modeling based on IEC 61850 are described.Meanwhile,it also described that the structure of substation configuration description language(SCL).IEC 61850-7-410(communication for monitoring and control) and IEC 61850-7-510(modeling concepts and guidelines) are illustrated.Its application in intelligent construction of hydropower plants for research is described.
Hepatitis C in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: A sero-epidemiological study

Objective To investigate the serological prevalence of viral hepatitis C among general population in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and to provide basis for hepatitis C prevention and control. Methods A multi-stage random stratified sampling method was used to select all aged general population in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. All subjects were interviewed by questionnaire and their venous blood specimens were collected to detect the antibodies to hepatitis C virus(HCV) with enzyme-linked immunosobent assay(ELISA) kits manufactured by the Kehua In. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16.0software. Results The crude prevalence of anti-HCV was 0.96%(95%CI: 0.87%-1.05%), and the standardization prevalence was1.00%. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of anti-HCV between different genders(χ~2=0.084, P=0.772) and different populations(χ~2=4.109, P=0.391). It showed an increasing trend of the seroprevalence along with ages. There was significant difference in different areas(χ~2=459.5, P0.001). Seroprevalence was lower in other areas than that in Turpan. Conclusion Serological prevalence of viral hepatitis C is higher than the average national level. At present, strengthening health education and health promotion is the most effective measure for hepatitis C prevention and control.
Detecting Recruitment of DNA Damage Response Factors Through the eChIP Approach

DNA interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) are lesions that covalently link the two strands of DNA. This type of DNA damage represents one of the most complex DNA lesions whose repair mechanisms remain largely unclear. Uncovering proteins involved in the processing of ICLs and understand how they interact with the damaged DNA in vivo is crucial for the understanding of DNA interstrand crosslink repair processes. Moreover, the presence of an ICL during S phase constitutes the most severe blockage to DNA synthesis and results in prolonged stall of replication forks. The mechanisms of resolving a stalled replication fork is poorly understood because proper experimental platforms are lacking. To enable detection of protein recruitment to site-specific ICLs and to ICL-stalled replication forks, we established a novel eChIP (abbreviation for episomal chromatin immunoprecipitation) assay system to study the association of various DNA damage repair proteins with ICL lesions in vivo. This EBV episomal replication-based assay allows detection of protein enrichment at ICLs at the molecular level. Since ICLs cause replication fork blockage in an episomally replicating plasmid, the eChIP approach also allows the study of DNA damage response factor recruitment, such as checkpoint initiation factors, to stalled DNA replication forks. With proper adaptation, the eChIP approach may be employed to study other site-specific DNA lesions such as UV photoproducts and oxidative damage in vivo.
Climate science: Southern Ocean freshened by sea ice

The Southern Ocean has become less salty during the past few decades. An analysis of sea-ice transport in the ocean suggests that this phenomenon can be explained by coupled changes in sea-ice drift and thickness. See Letter p.89 The Southern Ocean has freshened over the past few decades, but the underlying mechanisms involved have remained unclear. Alex Haumann and colleagues bring together multiple lines of evidence and — despite large uncertainties in the underlying datasets — they find that northward transport of sea ice formed around the Antarctic coast can explain the bulk of the observed freshening.
Performance Evaluation of Phonetic Matching Algorithms on English Words and Street Names

Researchers confront major problems while searching for various kinds of data in the large imprecise database, as they are not spelled correctly or in the way they were expected to be spelled. As a result, they cannot find the word they sought. Over the years of struggle, pronunciation of words was considered to be one of the practices to solve the problem effectively. The technique used to acquire words based on sounds is known as âPhonetic Matchingâ. Soundex is the first algorithm proposed and other algorithms like Metaphone, Caverphone, DMetaphone, Phonex etc., are also used for information retrieval in different environments. This paper deals with the analysis and evaluation of different phonetic matching algorithms on several datasets comprising of street names of North Carolina and English dictionary words. The analysis clearly states that there is no clear best technique for generic word lists as Metaphone has best performance for English dictionary words, while NYSIIS has better performance for datasets having street names. Though Soundex has high accuracy in correcting the exact words compared to other algorithms, it has lower precision due to more noise in the considered arena. The experimental results paved way for introducing some suggestions that would aid to make databases more concrete and achieve higher data quality.
Attachment to God, religious tradition, and firm attributes in workplace commitment.

ABSTRACTResearch on organizational commitment suggests there is an association between American theists’ emotional attachment to God and their emotional commitment to the workplace. A sense of divine calling has been shown to partially mediate this association but, beyond that, little is known. The purpose of this study is to shed further light on the relationship between secure attachment to God and affective organizational commitment. I do so by testing whether the employee’s religious tradition is associated with affective organizational commitment and whether the employee’s firm attributes moderate the relationship between attachment to God and organizational commitment. Results suggest that: 1) Catholics evince higher levels of organizational commitment than Evangelicals, and 2) firm size significantly moderates the relationship between attachment to God and organizational commitment across religious affiliations.
Parametric Study on Wall Springback in Tailor Welded Long Channels

The common challenge found in cases of high elasticity or high strength or both property materials after forming is springback. The part unloaded after forming tends to recover elastically and the displacement due to elastic recovery is called springback. In this paper, the 3D channels with large length were deformed numerically and parametric study on the wall springback at different section was predicted. For this purpose tailor welded blank was considered. The geometric change along the long axis was also discussed. In addition the effect of parameters on wall springback was also analyzed. The new division factor was included to normalize the springback based on thickness and strength. It was found that the strength ratio and die and punch radius were the top influencing factor for front edge and weld line springback while thickness ratio was the most affecting parameter for the back edge springback.Copyright © 2016 by ASME
Forgotten and Remembered Supermen

By way of conclusion, the historical Superman is summarized as an unabashedly American character, who nonetheless was largely in step with contemporary Jewish American heritage-formation, making him, in a sense, an authentically Jewish American character of his day. It is also noted that Judeocentric readings have today reached a fairly advanced degree of interpretive sedimentation. This can cause problems for further study of Jews and comics and lead to the contemporary flourishing of proudly Jewish comics production continually being ignored in favor of tenuous grand claims about superheroes. The book therefore ends by reiterating the call for historically and contextually sensitive scholarship on the Jewish–comics connection, in the hope that such work might help us discover what has been left by the wayside in the past decade of myth-making.
Correlations of Red Cell-Derived Micropareticles (RMP) with Other MP Species in Hematological and Thrombotic Disorders

Background : We have recently observed that increased levels of circulating RMP are associated with several hematological disorders and thrombophilic states, and that levels were significantly higher when thrombosis was present. However, other species of MP, such as from platelets (PMP), endothelia (EMP), leukocytes (LMP) and annixin V-binding (AnV) have also been shown to be associated with thrombophilic states. The purpose of this study was to determine if correlations exist between RMP and other MP. Methods : This is a retrospective analysis of 702 laboratory samples over an 8 year period, limited to elevated values: >2SD above normal controls (>2,000/uL).. About 87% were individuals, the remaining 13% were tested 2-3 times and all tests >3 per patient were excluded. The disorders were hemolytic anemia (HA, n=38), hypercoagulable state (HCS, n=64), immune thrombocytopenia (ITP, n=86), thrombocytopenia of all causes (TP, n=69), myeloprolifereative disorder (MPD, n=29), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP, n=29), antiphospholipid syndrome (APS, n=34), pulmonary embolism (PE, n=21), and all-cause thrombosis (TBS, n=251). Some were classified in more than one way. MP species assayed were RMP by glycophorinA, PMP by CD41 (PMP41), PMP by CD42 (PMP42), EMP by CD31+/42- (EMP31), EMP by CD62E (EMP62E), LMP by CD45, annexin V binding (AnV), and counts by lectin, FITC-Ulex, which efficiently detects total MP including very small. Results : In HCS, the RMP >2,000/uL correlated well with PMP41 (R=0.407, p 2,000/uL and any of the MP markers in APS, TP, or TTP. The MP species markers, EMP31, EMP62E, and AnV, failed to show correlation with RMP in any of the disorders analyzed. In addition, we tested for correlations between elevated RMP and other MP for the entire data set (all disorders combined) and found that only LMP was significant (p 0.05). Discussion : These correlation analyses shows that RMP correlated most frequently with PMP, as seen in HA, ITP, HCS, and TBS, followed by LMP, as seen in HA and TBS. These observations suggest that platelet or/and leukocyte activation may be involved in RMP generation. Of added interest is the finding that the overall data correlated well with LMP only at the higher LMP levels, not at all in the lower quintile of LMP. This suggests that RMP elevations are associated with immunolgic, inflammatory processes. In summary, correlation analysis reveals likely interaction between red cells and platelets or leukocytes during immunologic, inflammatory or in thrombophilic states, resulting in elevated RMP. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Distribution of native and nonnative ancestry in red foxes along an elevational gradient in central Colorado

The red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) indigenous to the mountains of the western United States are high-elevation specialists that could face range reduction due to climatic warming, as well as potential encroachment, loss of adaptive alleles, and displacement by introduced nonnative red foxes. We investigated the genetic integrity of the native Rocky Mountain red fox (V. v. macroura) in Colorado through analysis of the composition, distribution, and patterns of gene flow between native and nonnative red fox populations along an elevational gradient. The study area spanned the high plains around Denver in the east to the alpine zone of the Rocky Mountains adjacent to Gunnison and Crested Butte in the west. We used microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from Colorado foxes, along with previously published reference data from other native western and nonnative populations, to evaluate the distribution of native versus nonnative ancestry and its relationship to elevation, distance, and landscape type. Nonnative red fox ancestry predominated in Denver and low-lying areas, whereas native ancestry was most prevalent at high elevations. The genetic integrity of foxes at higher elevations (i.e., within the historical native range) was greater in terms of mtDNA than nuclear DNA, consistent with higher male-mediated gene flow. Nonnative admixture was most pronounced in human-altered landscapes. Our findings provide baseline data necessary to monitor future trends of these Rocky Mountain red fox populations and highlight the potential for similar threats to affect genetic integrity of endangered montane red fox subspecies along the Pacific Crest.
THE IMPACT OF EXPORTING AND FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ON PRODUCT INNOVATION: EVIDENCE FROM CHINESE MANUFACTURERS

To understand the drivers of product innovation at the firm level, I compare the effects of foreign direct investment (FDI) and exporting on product innovation using a rich firm-level database of manufacturing and industrial enterprises. The article focuses on product innovation, as it is vital to economic development. Estimates from linear regressions and propensity score matching tests show that learning-by-exporting is a stronger predictor of product innovation. Firms that receive foreign investment also tend to engage in more product innovation, but not at the same level as the firms that export. Additional tests confirm that as they start and stop exporting, firms change their patterns of investment in the drivers of product innovation—fixed capital and research. (JEL D22, F14, F23, L25, O31)
How Well Do U.S. High School Students Achieve in Spanish When Compared to Native Spanish Speakers

Foreign language educators have developed measures to assess the proficiency of U.S. high school learners. Most have compared language learners to clearly defined criteria for proficiency in the language (criterion-referenced assessment) or to the performance of other monolingual English speakers (norm-referenced assessment). In this study, the performance of monolingual English students enrolled in first- (n = 293), second- (n = 268), and third-year (n = 51) high school Spanish courses on the Bateria III Woodcock-Munoz Pruebas de aprovechamiento was compared to that of native Spanish speakers, which was normed with native Spanish speakers. Findings showed that after two years of high school Spanish, U.S. students’ achievement in Spanish word decoding and spelling was similar to that of native Spanish speakers in the fifth to sixth grades, and their performance in Spanish reading comprehension, vocabulary, listening comprehension, and writing was below that of the average native Spanish speaker in first grade. Third-year students’ achievement was somewhat stronger, although more similar to than different from that of the second-year students despite the added instructional time. The results are discussed in light of the U.S. social context in which monolingual English students learn to speak and comprehend a language at the same time as they are learning to read and write the language.
Drug Testing of Medical Marijuana Users in the Workplace: An Inaccurate Test of Impairment

ion/executive (27%), simple reaction time (27%), learning (7%), and verbal (7%) domains.” 64 Researchers have concluded that the effects of marijuana use on cognitive functions are inconsistent and depend on numerous factors. 65 As early as 1971, a study found that age, education, experience with the drug, gender and mood, as well as user expectations, all impacted the effects of marijuana use. 66 Another more recent study suggests that the effects of marijuana on cognitive performance vary based on the manner in which the marijuana is smoked. 67 Dosage is one important factor affecting the cognitive effects of marijuana. 68 Memory and learning problems caused by heavy marijuana smoking persist for at least a week after cessation of use of the drug, but they appear to resolve completely within a month, a NIDA-supported study shows. 69 These researchers found a clear relationship between lower test scores and higher levels of marijuana residues in urine at the beginning of the study, but no relationship between test scores and total lifetime marijuana use. 70 It has also been noted that decreases in productivity or performance levels are directly correlated with the quantity of marijuana consumed, as well as the complexity of the task. 71 Frequency of use may also be significant. 72 The cognitive effects of marijuana may be more significant among infrequent marijuana users compared to frequent users, perhaps due to increases in tolerance. 73 In contrast, another psychiatric study found that “regular cannabis users [were] significantly more prone to cognitive and perceptual distortions 64. Id. 65. See supra text accompanying notes 63-66. 66. MARIJUANA AND THE WORKPLACE 6-7 (Charles R. Schwenk & Susan L. Rhodes eds., 1999) [hereinafter MARIJUANA AND THE WORKPLACE]. 67. Id. at 18. 68. See generally Harrison G. Pope, Jr. et al., Neuropsychological Performance in LongTerm Cannabis Users, 58 ARCHIVES GEN. PSYCHIATRY 909, 915 (2001) [hereinafter Pope, Neuropsychological Performance] (noting that evidence shows that heavy marijuana users experience some cognitive deficits days or even weeks after stopping use); Harrison G. Pope, Jr. & Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, The Residual Cognitive Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use in College Students, 275 J. AM. MED. ASS’N 521, 526-27 (1996) [hereinafter Pope, The Residual Cognitive Effects] (presenting differences in cognitive effects among light and heavy users). 69. Pope, Neuropsychological Performance, supra note 68, at 909, 914. 70. Id. 71. John H. Kagel, Raymond C. Battalio, & C.G. Miles, Marihuana and Work Performance: Results from an Experiment, in MARIJUANA AND THE WORKPLACE, supra note 66, at 25, 39. 72. See CARL L. HART & CHARLES KSIR, DRUGS, SOCIETY & HUMAN BEHAVIOR 367 (14th ed. 2011) (stating that the acute effects of marijuana on the performance of frequent smokers are less dramatic than on infrequent marijuana smokers).
Insulinlike growth factor I receptors in rabbit gastrointestinal tract: Characterization and autoradiographic localization

Abstract Insulinlike growth factor I is a potent mitogen with insulinlike metabolic effects. Insulinlike growth factor I is synthesized in the liver, intestine, and other organs. Insulinlike growth factor I receptors are widely distributed and structurally similar to insulin receptors. Frozen sections of rabbit gastrointestinal tract were incubated in buffer containing 40 pmol/L [ 125 I]insulinlike growth factor I. Binding was saturable, temperature- and time-dependent, and reversible. Saturation binding experiments showed a single class of high-affinity receptors (K d = 0.9 nmol/L, B max = 0.36 pmol/mg protein). The IC 50s for insulinlike growth factor I and insulinlike growth factor II were 3 nmol/L and 90 nmol/L, respectively; whereas insulin at 1–3 μmol/L displaced 50% of specific binding. Autoradiography of insulinlike growth factor I binding demonstrated significant differences in receptor density in gastrointestinal smooth muscle, epithelium of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and colon. These results indicate that a single class of specific, high-affinity insulinlike growth factor I receptors were distributed in muscular and mucosal layers of the entire rabbit gastrointestinal tract. Insulinlike growth factor I is likely to be an important local mediator of intestinal growth and metabolism.
Plotinus and Human Autonomy

The historical part of the present study concludes in this chapter with the third century A.D. Neoplatonist Plotinus. Although there certainly are later figures in antiquity who made contributions to the philosophical discussion of the determinism-responsibility issue (perhaps most notably Proclus), Plotinus seems to me to be a particularly appropriate figure with which to close our discussion of the ancient development of this issue. This is so not merely because he is (probably) the greatest philosopher of late antiquity but also because when Plotinus philosophizes, he is very much aware that he is working against the background of a rich philosophical tradition, a tradition of which he intends to make full creative use. In this respect at least, he resembles contemporary academic or “professional” philosophers. Plotinus weaves together various themes we have already considered in the ancient discussions of responsibility and determinism. With respect to this particular issue, the most important historical influences on Plotinus seem to be Peripatetic — particularly Aristotle’s discussion of responsibility in the Nicomachean Ethics — and Stoic. He develops his conception of “what is up to us” (to eph’ hēmin) in explicit opposition to what he takes to be Aristotle’s final word on the matter inEN 3.5. And his conception of causal determinism is heavily influenced by the Stoic conception of causation.
In vivo visualization of the final stages of xylem vessel refilling in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) stems

Summary Embolism removal is critical for restoring hydraulic pathways in some plants, as residual gas bubbles should expand when vessels are reconnected to the transpiration stream. Much of our understanding of embolism removal remains theoretical as a consequence of the lack of in vivo images of the process at high magnification. Here, we used in vivo X-ray micro-computed tomography (microCT) to visualize the final stages of xylem refilling in grapevine (Vitis vinifera) paired with scanning electron microscopy. Before refilling, vessel walls were covered with a surface film, but vessel perforation plate openings and intervessel pits were filled with air. Bubbles were removed from intervessel pits first, followed by bubbles within perforation plates, which hold the last volumes of air which eventually dissolve. Perforation plates were dimorphic, with more steeply angled scalariform plates in narrow diameter vessels, compared with the simple perforation plates in older secondary xylem, which may favor rapid refilling and compartmentalization of embolisms that occur in small vessels, while promoting high hydraulic conductivity in large vessels. Our study provides direct visual evidence of the spatial and temporal dynamics of the final stages of embolism removal.
El Asesinato de Angel Vicente Penaloza: Memoria Popular y la Construccion del Imaginario Argentino

En el enmaranado ambito politico-social de la Argentina de finales del siglo XIX, es dificil encontrar figuras que hayan tenido, y que todavia tengan, la trascendencia cultural de personalidades como Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Jose Hernandez y Eduardo Gutierrez. Recordemos que mas alla del corpus literario de Sarmiento y de Hernandez, en el cual destacan clasicos de la literatura latinoamericana como el Facundo (1845) y el Martin Fierro (1872), ambos escritores fueron lideres de sus respectivos partidos politicos durante la sangrienta guerra civil que azoto a la Argentina entre 1830 y 1852. Mas todavia, Sarmiento llego a ser presidente de la nacion (1868-1874) y, sin quedarse atras, Hernandez cumplio una destacada actuacion en el senado nacional entre los anos 1879 y 1885.
Simulation and thermodynamic analysis of extended expansion on a concept rotary engine including its effects on fuel efficiency

This paper describes a novel method for extended expansion in a rotary combustion engine running ordinary gasoline. The engine consists of a toroidal-shaped piston that rotates around a drum to exp...
Ethical Issues in Patients with Cirrhosis

To briefly summarize topical ethical issues in patients with cirrhosis. The “four quadrants” framework is ideally suited to address ethical issues in patients with cirrhosis. The presence of hepatic encephalopathy complicates any ethical analysis and stresses the importance of advanced directives and end of life planning, both of which appear to be poorly applied. Organ allocation in liver transplantation (LT) based on survival benefit, a “not unreasonable standard” to assess live donor LT (LDLT) in patients removed from the wait list, LT in patients with acute alcoholic hepatitis, and LT in undocumented immigrants are supported by sound ethical principles. Significant ethical issues remain challenging and unresolved for patients with cirrhosis. Further research must be done to assess how frequently ethical problems occur in individual patients. Clear, detailed policies, based on strong ethical platforms, must be developed to further address these significant ethical challenges.
Consciousness as a Capability

Joseph Vukov (2018) argues that clinicians ought to recognize the moral salience of both potential and actual consciousness in minimally conscious state (MCS) patients. While the recognition of pot...
Bayesian Categorical Data Analysis

Some interesting research challenges for Bayesian inference arise from binary and categorical data, including more traditional inference problems like contingency tables with sparse data and case-control studies as well as more recent research frontiers like non-standard link function for binary data regression.
Implications of the Nonidentity Problem for State Regulation of Reproductive Liberty

Many proposed laws regulating the use of reproductive technology will not protect identifiable children from harm but will instead reduce future suffering by changing the identities of the children who are born. Because the “injuries by substitution” caused by these uses of technology are not person-affecting—they have no individual victims—the state’s interest in preventing them might be considered less powerful than its interest in preventing person-affecting harms. This paper argues, however, that the framework of U.S. constitutional democracy does not require that we think of the state’s interest in preventing impersonal injuries by substitution as less than compelling. Accordingly, the fact that such laws (including laws against incest) fail to protect offspring against person-affecting harm is not sufficient to establish that they represent unconstitutional interferences with procreative liberty. Naked “moral” objections to the exercise of a fundamental right will not give the Supreme Court ground to uphold a law, but the fact that the law is closely tied to the prevention of injuries by substitution may and should be enough to do the trick.
Early Effort Estimation for Quality Requirements by AHP

The increased awareness of the quality requirements as a key to software project and product success makes explicit the need to include them in any software project effort estimation activity. However, the existing approaches to defining size-based effort relationships still pay insufficient attention to this need. Furthermore, existing functional size measurement methods still remain unpopular in industry. In this paper, we propose the usage of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique in the effort estimation for quality requirements. The paper demonstrates the applicability of the approach through a case study.
Why Garden? Personal and Abiding Motivations for Community Gardening in New York City

We explore the underlying motivations of NYC community gardeners in order to gain greater insight into how these valued public resources support individual and community well-being. Semi-structured...
Gastric mucinous carcinoma with micropapillary carcinoma component: Case report of tumor morphology not previously described in stomach

Abstract Micropapillary (MP) carcinoma is an uncommon tumor with a distinct histologic pattern. Although micropapillary carcinoma has been reported in the stomach, the concurrence of mucinous carcinoma and micropapillary carcinoma has not been reported to-date. A 69-year-old gentleman who presented with anemia was found at endoscopy to have a 1.7 cm gastric ulcer which was biopsied and subsequently underwent a partial gastrectomy. There was an ulcerated moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma displaying a micropapillary component within a mucinous adenocarcinoma component and a metastatic MP carcinoma in 1 of 18 lymph nodes. The tumor was immunoreactive for EMA, MUC2, MUC5AC, MUC6, CDX2, and p53 in both mucinous and mucinous-MP carcinoma areas; and negative for CK7, CK20, CA-125, synaptophysin, chromogranin, PD-L1, MMR proteins, and EBV. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of MP gastric carcinoma in association with mucinous carcinoma.
Semen AMACR protein as a novel method for detecting prostate cancer

Abstract Background Alpha methylacyl A coenzyme racemase (AMACR) has shown to be an excellent immunohistological biomarker for prostate cancer (CaP). Given the connection between prostate and urethra, we hypothesized that semen ejaculate would be an ideal specimen for detection of CaP specific biomarkers, such as AMACR. This study explores the detection of semen AMACR protein in men with and without CaP. Methods Semen ejaculates from 28 biopsy proven CaP patients prior to radical prostatectomy and 15 age-comparable controls were analyzed. An indirect sandwich ELISA chemiluminescence assay was used to detect semen AMACR, PSA, and Matriptase proteins. Tissue AMACR protein was quantified in 12 corresponding prostatectomy specimens using automated quantitative analysis (AQUA). Results Semen AMACR protein was detected in 23 of 28 (82%) CaP patients and 23 of 24 (96%) CaP patients with significant tumor volume (>0.5 cc or 0.3 g). Among the 5 cancer patients with undetectable semen AMACR, 4 patients had small tumor volumes ( Conclusions This is the first study to demonstrate that AMACR protein is detectable in semen ejaculate. The higher AMACR levels detected in cancer patients suggests that semen AMACR protein may be useful as a noninvasive test for prostate cancer. Further validation is warranted.
Accountable to Whom?: The Use of Media to Communicate Educational Accountability to Latino Families in a California Middle School

This paper explores how one Title I middle school in California responds to high-stakes accountability during an era of educational reform, and how one first-generation Latino immigrant family comes to understand the school’s focus on test scores, high expectations, and academic achievement. Drawing from a larger Language Socialization study that utilizes participation observation and interview data, the paper provides ethnographic snapshots to demonstrate the ways in which one school communicated under, with, and through high stakes educational reform policies via a variety of media while functioning under Program Improvement status, and how the focal family participated in and negotiated these draconian educational policies that became part of their everyday experience with schooling in the U.S.
Gibson's theory of affordances and situational awareness occurring in urban departments of pediatrics, medicine, and emergency medicine.

Background: The Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS®) program provides a situation-monitoring tool that allows health-care professionals to perform an environmental scan. This process includes scanning the status of the patient, team members, and the environment, to ensure that patient care is progressing toward the goal. It is assumed that health-care professionals will act in a certain way by providing feedback and support based on the scan. However, there is limited research supporting the impact of the clinical environment on behavior among health-care professionals. Methods: This qualitative research used in situ simulation and a theoretical sampling of six day and overnight shift clinical teams (n = 34) from three departments in an urban hospital in New York City: pediatric medicine, emergency medicine, and internal medicine. Notebook entries by the participants at three intervals during the case and a debriefing following the cases captured participant views, observations, and concerns about the immediate clinical environment. Results: In all six cases, and with every shift, there were documented examples of someone in the environment who saw something but did not speak up, possibly making a difference in regard to patient safety and the outcomes in the case. Some of the noted reasons include not wanting to be wrong, not wanting to hurt someone's feelings, or not being sure. Discussion: Our research explored the environmental scan that health-care team members conducted in three unique department settings, including how they perceived affordances, and the reasons why individuals may not speak up when another team member is not performing properly. Each person possesses a unique awareness and deficit of available affordances because of his/her position in the environment. Patient safety is somewhat reliant on the views and observations of each team member. Educators should use these outcomes to justify teamwork and communication training that includes targeted emphasis on providing candid feedback, situation monitoring, and mutual support.
Fabrication of a custom brachytherapy appliance.

Abstract This article reviews the prosthodontic and laboratory steps in the fabrication of a custom brachytherapy appliance. This technique is described through the treatment of a patient with recurrent orbital rhabdomyosarcoma. After a non–eyelid-sparing orbital exenteration of a 7-year-old boy, an impression of the orbital defect was captured to fabricate a custom brachytherapy appliance with mock catheters. One week later, the prosthesis was placed in the orbit, and the device was loaded with radiation catheters to deliver targeted radiation. The prosthesis was secured with Velcro straps fitted into slots made in the prosthesis and wrapped around the back of the patient’s head. Brachytherapy appliances have been used to provide effective therapy for patients receiving care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Deepmod: An Over-the-Air Trainable Machine Modem for Resilient PHY Layer Communications

Traditional physical layer protocols (e.g. WiFi, WiMax, etc.) are well established and are often optimal in a wide variety of channel conditions including heterogenous links and in tactical communications. Unfortunately, this same optimality encourages ubiquity in wireless communication technology and enhances the potential for catastrophic cyber or physical attacks due to prolific knowledge of underlying physical layers. Any truly resilient communications protocol must be capable of immediate redeployment to meet quality of service (QoS) demands in a wide variety of possible channel media. This work proposes an approach to communications that is contrary to much traditional approaches in that processing blocks are generated real-time and only relevant to the particular channel medium being used. Rather than creating man-made ubiquitous blocks of signal processing, we examine using processing that is immediately expendable once it has been used. This is achieved through software-defined radios, and deep modulation, where system blocks are replaced with machine learning graphs that can be trained, used, and then discarded as needed. Simulation and experimental hardware show how deep modulation can converge to viable communications links, using the same machine intelligence, in vastly different channels.
Altered functional network topology correlates with clinical measures in very early-stage, drug-naïve Parkinson's disease

Abstract Introduction The aim of the study was to identify abnormalities of whole-brain network functional organization and their relation to clinical measures in a well-characterized, multi-site cohort of very early-stage, drug-naive Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients. Methods Functional-MRI data for 16 healthy controls and 20 very early-stage, drug-naive patients with PD were obtained from the Parkinson's Progression Markers Initiative database after controlling for strict inclusion/exclusion imaging criteria. Connectivity between regions of interest was estimated using Pearson's correlation between averaged time-series, and subsequently a connectivity matrix was obtained for each subject. These connectivity matrices were then used in an unbiased, whole-brain graph theoretical approach to investigate the functional connectome and its correlation with disease severity in very early PD. Results The current study revealed altered network topology which correlated with multiple clinical measures in very early drug-naive PD. Decreased functional segregation and integration (both globally and locally) were evident in PD. Importantly, our results demonstrated that most of the cortical regions hypothesized to be involved early in PD manifested decreased graph theoretical measures, despite utilizing a whole-brain analytic approach that is free from prior assumptions regarding cortical region involvement. Conclusion Graph theoretical investigation of very early drug-naive PD revealed disrupted topological organization. These findings are evident in a stringently homogeneous group of very early-stage, medication-naive, and non-tremor dominant PD patients by using a whole-brain unbiased approach. These results provide an important unbiased and rigorously controlled baseline for understanding further studies of PD functional connectivity investigating response to treatment, symptom development, and disease progression.
Cognitive Dissonance: A Bibliography of its First Decade

319 theoretical, experimental, and critical contributions to cognitive dissonance theory published during or before 1967 are listed.
Biofuels, food security, and sustainability

Abstract The policy-induced regulation to increase biofuels production is intended to reduce foreign oil dependency and mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. However, the biofuels have been blamed for the food price spikes. Discussing concerns related to biofuels disrupting food security is important. There are other unintended consequences of biofuels production such as indirect land use change related GHG emission and fuel rebound effects as well. While sustainably produced nonfood-based biofuels could significantly reduce GHG emission. This chapter focuses on the definition of sustainability and discusses its importance in the context of biofuels. We conclude with the analyze of the concerns of the biofuels in the context of food security.
Obesity and pain: a systematic review.

The current systematic review considered research published within the 10 years preceding June 2019, dealing with the topic of obesity and pain. Within the context of the complex biological and behavioral interrelationships among these phenomena, we sought to identify gaps in the literature and to highlight key targets for future transdisciplinary research. The overarching inclusion criteria were that the included studies could directly contribute to our understanding of these complex phenomena. We searched PubMed/Medline/Cochrane databases dating back 10 years, using the primary search terms “obesity” and “pain,” and for a secondary search we used the search terms “pain” and “diet quality.” Included studies (n = 70) are primarily human; however, some animal studies were included to enhance understanding of related basic biological phenomena and/or where human data were absent or significantly limited. Our overall conclusions highlight (1) the mechanisms of obesity-related pain (i.e., mechanical, behavioral, and physiological) and potential biological and behavioral contributors (e.g., gender, distribution of body fat, and dietary factors), (2) the requirement for accurate and reliable objective measurement, (3) the need to integrate biological and behavioral contributors into comprehensive, well-controlled prospective study designs.