cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Silicone rubber insulation systems and processes

Excellent thermal stability and electric performance combined with scalability were the chief properties which caused the electrical insulation design engineer to take note of silicone rubber. Several years of successful operating experience in rotating equipment and cable applications have shown that the interest was well founded. This paper discusses the application of silicone rubber tapes with particular consideration of materials and processes necessary to fabricate a reliable insulation system.
Exploration of Embedded System Teaching System and Mode

The problems facing in teaching of embedded systems are analyzed and the solution is put forward.Course system settings about the embedded system,the arrangements for teaching content,the teaching method applying,settings of the experimental courses and so on are explored.The feasibility of improving the quality of teaching from two aspects of teaching and learning is discussed.
Flapping flight of the Andean condor in nature.

1. At air speeds approximating to those of equilibrium gliding (14-15 m/sec), flapping by Andean condors acts to reduce sinking speed and does so without increasing forward air speed. 2. Apparently the flapping wing provides lift by increasing the speed of the air striking its surfaces and by twisting at the same time so as to present airfoils with optimum orientation toward the changing direction of the relative wind throughout the cycle. Positive or negative components of lift and thrust forces are produced in various combinations depending on the angle of attack. Thrust forces appear at reduced air speeds, a normal condition in take off. 3. In level flight the average velocity of the wind around the wing is greater during the downstroke than during the upstroke because of the anterior rotation of the downstroke axis. Mechanical efficiency of the lever system operating in a wingbeat is greatest during the downstroke so this orientation is important for producing maximum lift forces. 4. The minimum power output generated by a startled condor in escape flight was computed to be 54 W/kg muscle. Assuming ( a ) the ratio of power output for exceptional and sustained efforts by human muscle (40:17) is similar to that of the condor and ( b ) the mechanical efficiency for exceptional and sustained efforts is similar, then approximately 23 W/kg wing muscle are available, only about 70% of that estimated as necessary for sustained flight in still air. 5. On the basis of flight performance and of differences in physical dimensions the turkey vulture appears to be capable of more extended flights in still air than the condor.
Molecular defect in factor IXHilo, a hemophilia Bm variant: Arg----Gln at the carboxyterminal cleavage site of the activation peptide

A genomic DNA library and the enzymatic DNA amplification technique were used to isolate human factor IX coding sequences of a hemophilia Bm variant, factor IXHilo. A point mutation that resulted in the substitution of a glutamine (CAG) for an arginine (CGG) at amino acid 180 was found in exon VI of the factor IX gene (G----A at nucleotide 20519). This mutation alters the carboxy terminal cleavage site for the activation peptide at Arg180-Val181. The arginine residue at the activation peptide cleavage site is conserved in mouse, canine, bovine, and human factor IX, suggesting that the arginine at amino acid 180 is important for normal cleavage. Sequencing of all of the coding regions of factor IXHilo revealed no other mutations. We have also shown that the point mutation in exon VI creates a new Dde I restriction site, which, in combination with the enzymatic DNA amplification technique, provides a quick, reliable, and sensitive method for carrier detection and antenatal diagnosis in affected kindreds. This is the first report of the molecular defect in a hemophilia Bm patient with a markedly prolonged ox brain prothrombin time.
Introduction: Globalization, indigenous languages, and the Runa Takiks

In this book, I propose an intersection, and perhaps even a compromise, between discussions on indigenous language maintenance and the so-called ‘threat’ of globalization. Today, increasing linguistic and cultural contact as a result of travel, migration, and other transnational flows has become the rule rather than the exception. Although some would argue that globalization has existed for as long as human civilization, the increasing role of technology, along with more affordable travel, has accelerated the contact between cultures exponentially. Even as many scholars cry impending doom for indigenous languages as a result of this increased contact, their words are often ignored as the speakers of these languages attempt to negotiate new roles for themselves in globalized contexts.
Measurement and control

This chapter discusses measurement and control. In the laboratory, this involves numbering the cellular and chemical constituents of body fluids or their effects. Control is a technical exercise. Defining the quality objectives to be realized in consequence of such control is a function of laboratory management. Bringing the two together in an effective quality control program has been the subject of a considerable discussion over the past two decades. Accuracy is, in short, a rather difficult notion to pin down. The problem is that accuracy, like quality, requires a context or frame of reference before it admits any practical interpretation. The distinction between structural and functional assay methods is important as it leads to rather different interpretations of what is meant by an accurate measure and in consequence to different criteria for assay validation. The majority of quantitative assay methods fall into the class of indirect structural assays.
The Co-Evolution of Pro-Market Reforms and Emerging Market Multinationals

I study the relationship between pro-market reforms and the expansion of emerging market multinational companies (EMNCs). Extending institutional economics, I propose a co-evolutionary process, whereby pro-market reforms in emerging markets induce the transformation of domestic firms into EMNCs, and the global expansion of EMNCs in turn facilitates the deepening of pro-market reforms in the home country. Specifically, I first explain how pro-market reforms lead to the emergence of EMNCs via international competitiveness, upgrading needs, and escape; I then explain how the global expansion of EMNCs leads to a deepening of pro-market reforms at home via learning, spillovers, and lobbying. I complement these explanations with a discussion of contingencies at the firm (private vs. state, domestic vs. foreign firms), industry (global vs. local industries), and country (developing vs. transition countries) levels.
Philosophy’s Outward Turn

Reason’s transformation into an achievement concept which is open only to white males may have been largely invisible to those working in the Enlightenment, but philosophical biases are not what they once were. Much easier to see now is that the something which allows for the creation of racial concepts and which appears almost to demand judging others’ rational capacities on the basis of similarity and difference is closely linked to epistemic isolation and representation. Once the mind is disconnected from the ontological security of an independent reality, it becomes solely responsible for guaranteeing the reliability of its procedures. Modernism may be built on the faith that the proper use of reason will guide us to accurate representations of the world and, hence, to objective truth and knowledge, yet this is not quite how things worked out. As the modern project progresses, the promissory note first offered by Descartes, the one where he claims he will establish stable and unshakeable foundations for scientific truth, gets harder and harder to cash. As it turns out, rather than putting science on a firm foundation, he undermines epistemic foundations that, by all appearances, are irreplaceable, at least not within a modern framework. For the moderns to make any good faith effort at cashing Descartes’ promissory note, they simply have to cut off the diversity of reason, and, when that happens, humans who are unable or unwilling to live up to the pre-ordained standard must be denied epistemic and moral agency. To do otherwise would threaten to undermine the very objectivity of knowledge, of metaphysics, of science. The result is that the Copernican turn plunges us into a world that threatens to epistemically dissolve into cultural relativism, if not a solipsistic subjectivism—and all because, contrary to modern approaches, there really are a variety of ways to conceive of the limits, principles, rules of cognition.
Statistical causal analysis for fault localization

The ubiquitous nature of software demands that software is released without faults. However, software developers inadvertently introduce faults into software during development. To remove the faults in software, one of the tasks developers perform is debugging. However, debugging is a difficult, tedious, and time-consuming process. Several semi-automated techniques have been developed to reduce the burden on the developer during debugging. These techniques consist of experimental, statistical, and program-structure based techniques. Most of the debugging techniques address the part of the debugging process that relates to finding the location of the fault, which is referred to as fault localization. The current fault-localization techniques have several limitations. Some of the limitations of the techniques include (1) problems with program semantics, (2) the requirement for automated oracles, which in practice are difficult if not impossible to develop, and (3) the lack of theoretical basis for addressing the fault-localization problem. The thesis of this dissertation is that statistical causal analysis combined with program analysis is a feasible and effective approach to finding the causes of software failures. The overall goal of this research is to significantly extend the state of the art in fault localization. To extend the state-of-the-art, a novel probabilistic model that combines program-analysis information with statistical information in a principled manner is developed. The model known as the probabilistic program dependence graph (PPDG) is applied to the fault-localization problem. The insights gained from applying the PPDG to fault localization fuels the development of a novel theoretical framework for fault localization based on established causal inference methodology. The development of the framework enables current statistical fault-localization metrics to be analyzed from a causal perspective. The analysis of the metrics show that the metrics are related to each other thereby allowing the unification of the metrics. Also, the analysis of metrics from a causal perspective reveal that the current statistical techniques do not find the causes of program failures instead the techniques find the program elements most associated with failures. However, the fault-localization problem is a causal problem and statistical association does not imply causation. Several empirical studies are conducted on several software subjects and the results (1) confirm our analytical results, (2) demonstrate the efficacy of our causal technique for fault localization. The results demonstrate the research in this dissertation significantly improves on the state-of-the-art in fault localization.
Email spam origins: does the CAN SPAM act shift spam beyond United States jurisdiction?

Spam is the sending of bulk, commercial, unsolicited electronic marketing messages. Today email spam makes up the majority of all email sent worldwide. The CAN SPAM Act is U.S. federal legislation that was passed in response to the growing spam problem. However, cybercrime such as email spam does not respect national borders, and spam can be sent from anywhere in the world, so it is questioned whether the CAN SPAM Act simply shifted spam beyond United States jurisdiction. The present research sought to address this question by analyzing the impact that prosecutions of spammers has had on a sample of 5,490,905 spam emails sent between 1998 and 2013. Two measures of spam nation of origin, U.S. IP address and U.S. domain name among spam emails, were created to assess the possible impact that the CAN SPAM Act might have had on the nation of origin associated with spam email messages. Results suggest a possible impact, with more ongoing CAN SPAM Act trials and media attention predicting less spam associated with the United States. CAN SPAM activity appeared to have the largest impact on US domain name registrations. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.
In nonischemic systolic heart failure, prophylactic ICDs did not reduce all-cause mortality compared with usual care.

Source Citation Kober L, Thune JJ, Nielsen JC, et al; DANISH Investigators. Defibrillator implantation in patients with nonischemic systolic heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2016;375:1221-30. 27571011
Determinations of biotin in biological fluids.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes a method for determination of biotin and biotin metabolites. Biotin and biotin metabolites in a sample to be assayed must first be separated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). In first incubation, avidin linked to horseradish peroxidase (HRP-avidin) is incubated with the HPLC fractions containing biotin or a biotin metabolite. The biotin or biotin metabolite binds to HRP-avidin occupying a portion of the total biotin-binding sites. During second incubation, the HRP-avidin molecules that have unoccupied biotin-binding sites bind to the biotinyl–bovine serum albumin (BSA). After second incubation, the free HRP-avidin molecules are washed away. In third incubation, the amount of HRP-avidin bound to the plate is quantitated by measuring the rate of peroxidation of the indicator dye o-phenylenediamine (OPD). The peroxidation is stopped with the addition of acid, which also intensifies the absorbance of the peroxidized OPD. Optical density (OD) at 490 nm is then quantitated in a multiwell format spectrophotometer. As increasing amounts of biotin in the standards or unknowns occupy an increasing proportion of the biotin-binding sites on HRP-avidin in the first incubation, progressively fewer molecules of HRP-avidin bind to the well in the second incubation, and color development in the third incubation is progressively less.
Formation and Patterning of the Avian Neuraxis: One Dozen Hypotheses

Formation of the neuraxis is dependent on cell-cell interactions and cell movements beginning during stages of gastrulation. Cell movements bring together new combinations of cells, allowing sequential inductive interactions to occur and leading to the specification of the neural plate and to its ultimate mediolateral (subsequently dorsoventral) and rostrocaudal patterning. Formation of the neural plate involves changes in the shape of its constituent cells and the first appearance of neural-specific cell markers. Shortly after the neural plate forms it undergoes 'shaping', in which the pseudostratified columnar epithelium constituting the neural plate thickens apicobasally, narrows transversely and extends longitudinally. Shaping is driven by three principal intrinsic types of cell behaviour: changes in cell shape, position and number. The next stage of neurulation begins while shaping is underway--bending of the neural plate. Bending involves two main processes, furrowing and folding. Furrowing of the neural plate is associated with the formation of the hinge points; these are localized, longitudinal areas where the neuroepithelium is attached to adjacent tissues and where wedging of neuroepithelial cells occurs. Cell wedging in the median hinge point occurs as a result of inductive interactions with the notochord; such wedging drives furrowing, thereby facilitating subsequent folding. Folding of the neural plate requires extrinsic forces generated largely by the surface ectoderm. Types of cell behaviour that could provide such forces include changes in cell shape, position and number. As a result of shaping and bending of the neural plate, the neural folds are brought into apposition in the dorsal midline. Final closure of the neural groove is mediated by cell surface glycoconjugates coating the apical surfaces of the neural folds. Patterning of the neuraxis begins during shaping of the neural plate and continues throughout stages of neurulation and into early postneurula stages. Patterning probably involves inductive interactions with adjacent tissues and the expression of putative positional identity genes such as homeobox-containing genes.
Projective Testing as a Post-Hoc Predictor of Change in Psychoanalysis: The Case of Jim

This chapter provides a review of Jim's Rorschach protocol and compares it with his treatment as an adult.. The object-representational measures discussed are among the most common operationalizing instruments of this paradigm in the field of projective testing. The summary of Jim's Rorschach protocol states that Jim suffers from a disturbance in affective regulation and expression. Affects are only minimally attributed to internal states of mind and are thus easily made arbitrary. When fragmented and noncohesive, Jim can easily become suffused with dysphoria and just as easily isolate affects from one another. At his worst, on both records, he can become immersed in primary process content, with apparent lapses in reality-testing and with sadomasochistic features to the malevolence he presents. His language can become vague and ambiguous and his temporal sense disoriented, speaking to lapses in autonomous ego functioning. His inner affective world appears markedly confused at times, with intense neediness being expressed, often oral in nature. While at times a number of his Rorschach responses speak strongly to phallic-castration-superego concerns, his predominant mode of functioning as derived from this test suggests a level of object-relations of a strongly preoedipal nature. Struggles with self-cohesion of a very early nature seem at the core of these test data.
Racist Beliefs and the Importance of Cultural Competence

In this chapter, the author discusses the relationship between racist beliefs, post-racist beliefs, and race-based aggression. The author asserts that racist and post-racist beliefs often precede racist microaggressions and macroaggressions. In other words, microaggressors and macroaggressors usually hold racist or post-racist beliefs before they commit a microaggression or macroaggression. The chapter also discusses cultural competence as the antidote to racist and post-racist beliefs.
Bauerenol Acetate, the Pentacyclic Triterpenoid from Tabernaemontana longipes, is an Antitrypanosomal Agent.

The Latin American plant Tabernaemontana longipes was studied in this work as a potential source of antiparasitic agents. The chloroform extract of T. longipes leaves was separated into several fractions, and tested for antitrypanosomal activity. One of the fractions displayed significant growth inhibitory activity against Trypanosoma brucei. The active principle in the fraction was isolated, purified, and characterized by NMR and mass spectrometry. The antitrypanosomal agent in the CHCl3 extract of T. longipes leaves is the pentacyclic triterpenoid bauerenol acetate. A metabolite profiling assay suggest that the triterpenoid influences cholesterol metabolism. The molecular target(s) of bauerenol and its acetate, like many other antiparasitic pentacyclic triterpenoids is/are unknown, but they present privileged structural scaffolds that can be explored for structure-based activity optimization studies using phenotypic assays.
Causation and Chronic Diseases

While the same general epidemiological principles apply to both acute (infectious) and chronic (noninfectious) diseases, there are many differences that profoundly affect the ease of establishing causal inferences. Indeed, the complexity is such in chronic diseases that the term “risk factor” rather than “cause” is usually applied. It should be emphasized that while the term “noninfectious” is applied to chronic disease, it is more accurate to say noncontagious, because some infectious agents are causally related to a chronic or malignant disease. These include chronic diseases of the central nervous system due to viruses (see Chapter 4), several malignant diseases as reviewed in Chapter 5, and a number of chronic conditions of suspected viral etiology such as juvenile, insulin-dependent diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and systemic lupus erythematosis. Acquired immunodeficiency disease (AIDS) also fits this category. These latter diseases are reviewed in terms of establishing their infectious etiologies in a fine paper by Norden and Kuller (1984). Traditional infectious diseases may also pursue a long-term, chronic course such as tuberculosis, syphilis, Lyme disease, and AIDS, to mention a few.
Perspectives on water flow and the interpretation of FLIR images

Airborne infrared thermal radiography has been proposed as a tool which may be used to monitor the water temperature along the network of streams and rivers which compose a watershed. The proponents of this method correlate vegetative shadows on a stream channel with reduced infrared radiation (IR) reception in the radiographic data to suggest that the water temperature is reduced in such areas. Two methods are employed to demonstrate that this interpretation of the data is in error. First, the fundamental principles of thermodynamics are employed to show that if the stream is in fact flowing, the water affected by any cooling process cannot remain in the vicinity where it was cooled. Second, temperature data taken from a stream channel are used to show that the water flowing in the channel is essentially unaffected by the patterns of vegetative shade on the surface of the channel. DOI:10.2458/azu_jrm_v55i2_larson
Achieving ultra-high strength and ductility in equiatomic CrCoNi with partially recrystallized microstructures

Abstract Despite having otherwise outstanding mechanical properties, many single-phase medium and high entropy alloys are limited by modest yield strengths. Although grain refinement offers one opportunity for additional strengthening, it requires significant and undesirable compromises to ductility. This work therefore explores an alternative, simple processing route to achieve strength by cold-rolling and annealing an equiatomic CrCoNi alloy to produce heterogeneous, partially recrystallized microstructures. Tensile tests reveal that our approach dramatically increases the yield strength (to ∼1100 MPa) while retaining good ductility (total elongation ∼23%) in the single-phase CrCoNi alloy. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy indicate that the strengthening is due to the non-recrystallized grains retaining their deformation-induced twins and very high dislocation densities. Load-unload-reload tests and grain-scale digital image correlation are also used to study the accumulation of plastic deformation in our highly heterogeneous microstructures.
Homonuclear dipolar recoupling of arbitrary pairs in multi-spin systems under magic angle spinning: A double-frequency-selective ZQ-SEASHORE experiment.

Abstract We describe a useful method for measuring the internuclear distances within arbitrarily selected pairs of like nuclei in dipolar-coupled multi-spin systems. The method uses a combination of the zero-quantum shift-evolution-assisted selective homonuclear recoupling (ZQ-SEASHORE) technique developed by Hu and Tycko [J. Chem. Phys. 2009, 131, 045101] and double-frequency-selective radio-frequency pulse. The double-frequency-selective pulse inverts polarizations of two spins simultaneously, and thus applications of the method presented here are only limited by the spectral resolution, and not by the number of interacting spins. Our experiments demonstrate the validity of the method and present analytical expressions for the dephasing curve.
Equivariance and Imprimitivity for Discrete Hopf C*-Coactions

Let U, V, and W be multiplicative unitaries coming from discrete Kac systems such that W is an amenable normal submultiplicative unitary of V with quotient U. We define notions for right-Hilbert bimodules of coactions of S_V and (S_V)^, their restrictions to S_W and (S_U)^, their dual coactions, and their full and reduced crossed products. If N(A) denotes the imprimitivity bimodule associated to any coaction of S_V on a C*-algebra A by Ng's imprimitivity theorem, then for any suitably nondegenerate injective coaction of S_V on a right-Hilbert A - B bimodule X we establish an isomorphism between two tensor product bimodules involving N(A), N(B), and certain crossed products of X. This can be interpreted as a natural transformation between two crossed-product functors.
Estimating the maximum likelihood root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) with non-normal data: A Monte-Carlo study

Recent research has provided formulae for estimating the maximum likelihood (ML) RMSEA when mean or mean and variance, corrections for non-normality are applied to the likelihood ratio test statist...
Differentiating and connecting indicators: the quality and performance of law in the World Bank's Doing Business Project

Scholars have long argued that transnational legal indicators (TLIs) suffer from significant validity problems. In response to such critiques, the World Bank (WB) reformed its Doing Business (DB) legal indicators in 2014. This paper evaluates two important results of this reform: the WB distinguished between the quality and performance (efficiency) of law indicators and also claimed that they are positively correlated. I argue that this distinction is based on two different utilitarian perspectives; therefore, these indicators try to quantify different aspects of laws. However, new empirical tests indicate that they are not correlated. The statistical tests on the DB Resolving Insolvency Indicators do not show any strong correlation, and the case of Turkey's WB-led insolvency-law reform suggests that the developing countries can even incur efficiency losses from legal-quality improvements. Thus, this study demonstrates that the 2014 DB reform reproduced the validity problems inside the new distinctions and connections between its indicators, potentially creating new misconceptions for policy-makers.
Discharge to inpatient care facilities following hip fracture surgery: incidence, risk factors, and 30-day post-discharge outcomes.

Background:Discharge to an inpatient care facility (skilled-care or rehabilitation) has been shown to be associated with adverse outcomes following elective total joint arthroplasties. Current evid...
The Insignificance of Global Reheating in the Abell 1068 Cluster: Multiwavelength Analysis

We present a detailed, multiwavelength study of the Abell 1068 galaxy cluster, and we use this data to test cooling and energy feedback models of galaxy clusters. Near ultraviolet and infrared images of the cluster show that the cD galaxy is experiencing star formation at a rate of ~20-70 M_o/yr over the past ~100 Myr. The dusty starburst is concentrated toward the nucleus of the cD galaxy and in filamentary structures projecting 60 kpc into its halo. The Chandra X-ray image presented in WMM reveals a steep temperature gradient that drops from roughly 4.8 keV beyond 120 kpc to roughly 2.3 keV in the inner 10 kpc of the galaxy where the starburst peaks. Over 95% of the ultraviolet and Halpha photons associated with the starburst are emerging from regions cloaked in keV gas with very short cooling times ~100 Myr, as would be expected from star formation fueled by cooling condensations in the intracluster medium. The local cooling rate in the vicinity of the central starburst is < 40 M_o/yr, which is consistent with the star formation rate determined with U-band and infrared data. We find that energy feedback from both the radio source and thermal conduction are inconsequential in Abell 1068. Although supernova explosions associated with the starburst may be able to retard by ~18% or so, they are incapable of maintaining the cooling gas at keV temperatures.
Implementation of Lean in a Health System: Lessons Learned From a Meta-Analysis of Rapid Improvement Events, 2013-2017.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Recent data suggest that a majority of hospitals now engage in some form of Lean process improvement in an attempt to reduce costs and/or improve quality. The literature on Lean healthcare has evolved from describing theoretical benefits, implementation barriers, and best practices to studies describing where implementations have occurred and their outcomes. Nevertheless, previous studies are mostly limited to case studies in which Lean was implemented on a limited basis in a healthcare facility. In this article, we present lessons learned from the largest implementation of Lean in a single healthcare system composed of 16 hospitals, a health plan, and many outpatient clinics. Our analysis of 1,144 rapid improvement events (RIEs) over a 5-year period revealed that 45% were associated with some organizational benefit in several categories, including cost reductions, time savings, a reduction in clinical and nonclinical defects, and a reduction in workflow steps. As the organization became more experienced with RIEs, the benefits realized changed from mostly cost reductions to a more diverse mix of benefits, with time savings becoming the most common. RIEs implemented in certain settings and/or by certain types of employees were associated with the likelihood of realizing a benefit. Based on these analyses, we provide recommendations to hospital and health system leaders interested in optimizing their Lean implementations-especially on a large enterprise-wide scale.
Deposits for Archaeologists

Publisher Summary This chapter presents an approach to decipher depositional histories. A useful approach to decipher depositional histories would be to treat the record (in its entirety) as a sedimentological deposit. All components could then be described in sedimentological terms (attributes) and according to the rules established in the geological code of stratigraphic nomenclature, which would allow the archaeologist to determine the contribution of biological (cultural) agents and natural agents in archaeological deposits. A sedimentological deposit is a single sedimentation unit formed under essentially constant physical conditions with constant delivery of the same material during deposition. The material contained in the deposit is called sediment. Each individual sedimentary particle can have a unique depositional history related to its source, transport agent, environment of deposition, and postdepositional alteration. Attributes of the sedimentary particles that can be used to interpret depositional history are texture, composition, and structures. Sedimentary particles are grouped in deposits because the sources, agents of transport, and depositional environments were constant for a sufficiently long period of time to allow them to accumulate.
Clinical data mining reveals analgesic effects of lapatinib in cancer patients

Microsomal prostaglandin E2 synthase 1 (mPGES-1) is recognized as a promising target for a next generation of anti-inflammatory drugs that are not expected to have the side effects of currently available anti-inflammatory drugs. Lapatinib, an FDA-approved drug for cancer treatment, has recently been identified as an mPGES-1 inhibitor. But the efficacy of lapatinib as an analgesic remains to be evaluated. In the present clinical data mining (CDM) study, we have collected and analyzed all lapatinib-related clinical data retrieved from clinicaltrials.gov. Our CDM utilized a meta-analysis protocol, but the clinical data analyzed were not limited to the primary and secondary outcomes of clinical trials, unlike conventional meta-analyses. All the pain-related data were used to determine the numbers and odd ratios (ORs) of various forms of pain in cancer patients with lapatinib treatment. The ORs, 95% confidence intervals, and P values for the differences in pain were calculated and the heterogeneous data across the trials were evaluated. For all forms of pain analyzed, the patients received lapatinib treatment have a reduced occurrence (OR 0.79; CI 0.70-0.89; P = 0.0002 for the overall effect). According to our CDM results, available clinical data for 12,765 patients enrolled in 20 randomized clinical trials indicate that lapatinib therapy is associated with a significant reduction in various forms of pain, including musculoskeletal pain, bone pain, headache, arthralgia, and pain in extremity, in cancer patients. Our CDM results have demonstrated the significant analgesic effects of lapatinib, suggesting that lapatinib may be repurposed as a novel type of analgesic.
Chronic levetiracetam (Keppra®) treatment increases the reinforcing strength of cocaine in rhesus monkeys.

Abstract Background Drugs that increase inhibitory neuronal activity in the brain have been proposed as potential medications for stimulant use disorders. Objective The present study assessed the ability of chronically administered levetiracetam (Keppra®), a clinically available anticonvulsant drug that increases GABA by binding to synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A, to modulate the reinforcing strength of cocaine in monkeys. Methods Three adult male rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) self-administered cocaine intravenously each day under a progressive-ratio (PR) schedule of reinforcement. Two monkeys also responded to receive food pellets under a 50-response fixed-ratio schedule (FR 50) each morning. After determining a cocaine dose-response curve (0.001–0.3 mg/kg per injection, i.v.) in the evening, levetiracetam (5–75 mg/kg, p.o., b.i.d.) was administered for 12–16 days per dose. To model a treatment setting, cocaine self-administration sessions were conducted using the PR schedule every 4 days during levetiracetam treatment. After tapering the dose of levetiracetam over two weeks in the absence of cocaine sessions, cocaine dose-effect curves were re-determined. Results Lower doses of levetiracetam produced non-systematic fluctuations in numbers of cocaine injections received in each subject, whereas the highest tested dose significantly increased the reinforcing strength of cocaine; no effects on food-maintained responding were observed. After termination of levetiracetam treatment, dose-effect curves for cocaine self-administration were shifted to the left in two monkeys. Conclusion These data suggest that levetiracetam is not likely to be an efficacious pharmacotherapy for cocaine dependence. Rather, sensitivity to cocaine may be increased during and after levetiracetam treatment.
An expansion of practice: special education and Montessori public school

The choices for public school education in the United States have evolved to include Montessori programmes. As a result, special education practices have become visible in Montessori, making collab...
A semi-quantitative pull-down assay to study tRNA substrate specificity of modification enzymes.

Abstract A tRNA interacts with numerous proteins throughout its biogenesis and during translation, and a significant portion of these interacting proteins are involved in post-transcriptional modifications. While some of the modifying enzymes use relatively simple recognition elements for substrate recognition, many enzymes selectively modify a specific subset of tRNA species without obvious recognition rules. In this chapter we describe a semi-quantitative pull-down assay to study tRNA substrate specificity of modification enzymes, by using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae m3C32 methyltransferase Trm140 as an example. We also discuss some overall considerations for a successful pull-down experiment, with a focus on practical applications of the dissociation constant KD between the protein and the tRNA and the off-rate.
Risk Factors for Distal Radius Osteotomy Nonunion.

Background Osteotomy-site nonunion after distal radius corrective osteotomy is a detrimental complication. This retrospective study aims to identify patient and surgical factors associated with nonunion risk to help mitigate this. The authors hypothesize that patient factors and potentially modifiable surgical factors are contributory. Methods Thirty-three patients who underwent corrective osteotomy of the distal radius for prior fracture malunion were identified. Radiographs and patient records were reviewed for demographics, comorbidities, nutritional status, plate position, angle and length of osteotomy correction, and graft used. The primary study outcome was osteotomy nonunion. Descriptive and bivariate statistics were used to identify covariates relevant to nonunion. Backward, stepwise logistic regression was applied to investigate the multivariate effects on outcome, and regression analysis was adjusted for confounders. Results Seven patients (21 percent) experienced nonunion after initial corrective osteotomy. Risk factors associated with nonunion included correction length of osteotomy of 5 mm or greater and prior treatment with open reduction and internal fixation. Autograft use was protective against nonunion. History of osteoporosis showed a trend toward increased risk. Angle of osteotomy correction, nutritional deficit, age, diabetes, smoking status, and obesity were not identified as risk factors by the multivariate model. Conclusions Distraction length at the osteotomy site, graft selection, and prior internal fixation were significant risk factors for distal radius osteotomy nonunion, but other factors traditionally associated with nonunion did not appear to impact risk. The authors recommend using autograft bone augmentation, particularly when distracting the osteotomy beyond 5 mm or after prior internal fixation. Clinical question/level of evidence Risk, III.
Religious Support for Civil Resistance Movements: When and How Does It Contribute to Regime Change?:

There is substantial research on the influence of elite defections on civil resistance campaign outcomes. Yet most studies focus on defections among security forces, political leaders, and economic...
Functional Luminal Imaging Probe (FLIP) as an Adjunctive Modality in Evaluation of Esophageal Dysmotility

The Functional Luminal Imaging Probe (FLIP) has emerged as a valuable adjunctive tool in the evaluation of esophageal diseases. Using volumetric distension, FLIP can assess secondary peristalsis an...
The Postharvest Biochemistry Of Tropical And Subtropical Fruits

Publisher Summary This chapter emphasizes respiration as the central process affecting the behavior of the harvested fruit. It discusses several aspects in the physiology and biochemistry of fruits rather than to present a complete account for each fruit. Physiological and chemical changes that influence the quality and vitality of fruits are related to patterns of respiration. A distinction has been made between fruits that do and fruits that do not exhibit a characteristic upsurge in respiratory activity before the onset of senescence. The role of ethylene in fruit ripening and its relationship to the climacteric rise have been discussed. The idea is advanced that ethylene is a product, rather than a causal agent, of the ripening process. The biochemical changes characteristic of living cells in general are examined and found to play an important role in fruits. Mitochondria1 oxidations and phosphorylations have opened up a new avenue of approach to old problems. Studies with cytoplasmic particles coupled with investigations on proteins, enzymatic activities, and metabolic pathways suggest that active synthesis characterizes fruits during the climacteric rise.
Austrian economics in America: Carl Menger and the foundations of Austrian economics

Modern Austrians of all stripes uniformly trace their beginnings back to the writings of Carl Menger (1840–1921), and especially to his Principles of Economics (1981), first published in 1871. Yet in many respects, Menger is an enigmatic ancestor whose work is only now beginning to be fully understood. And the more that we know of Menger's writings, the more it becomes obvious that Menger was a complex thinker whose unresolved theoretical problems are parent to at least two different modern Austrian views. That this is the case is underlined by the contrasting ways in which Menger's writings have been interpreted in the twentieth century. He can and has been interpreted both as an unproblematic founder of neoclassical economics and as the originator of an alternative style of economic reasoning that challenges the neoclassical orthodoxy. Both interpretations can be supported by good textual evidence. Although ultimately I think the interpretation that stresses Menger's differences from neoclassical economics is the more convincing one, it is by no means decisively so. The textual ambiguities that account for much of the disagreement over the real Mengerian message will constitute the heart of this chapter. But first it is important to note another reason for the existence of starkly contrasting interpretations of Menger's place in the development of economic thought: the relative inaccessibility of Menger's text even within his own lifetime and certainly for years after his death.
Comparative studies on free amino acids in female reproductive tissues.

Abstract The free amino acid pools of human and animal female reproductive tissues were quantitatively determined. Human ovary had higher levels of taurine, nitrogenous phospholipid components, and aspartic acid than uterus. Endometrium tended to be lower in glutamine and aspartic and glutamic acids than uterus. Cervix was high in ammonia. Comparative analyses of ovary and uterus from the rabbit, dog, cat, rat, mouse, hamster, guinea pig, and monkey were also carried out and some species differences were noted. Animal tissues resembled the human samples except that taurine was higher in uterus than ovary. Despite the variety of animals investigated, with differing diets and breeding habits, the free amino acid pools did not deviate greatly from a common pattern. Large and repeated doses of testosterone and estradiol had little effect on the free amino acids of rat ovary. Hypophysectomy reduced free amino acids in rat ovary and uterus to the same extent despite an increase in serum amino acids. Rodent ovaries were found to contain appreciable amounts of an amino acid with the same column elution time as gamma aminobutyric acid.
Security and Trust

Cyberphysical microfluidic biochip (CPMB) designers have enough difficulty simply getting their devices to function and scale. As such, security and trust has not been a major design consideration. However, missteps by related industries suggest that it would be shortsighted to ignore security and trust. This chapter argues for the importance of security and trust designed specifically for CPMBs. First, the factors contributing to the insecurity of CPMBs are discussed and analyzed. Then, a taxonomy of threat models and attack outcomes are described. Extensive example scenarios of microfluidic application areas are provided to vividly illustrate how security and trust issues are already prevalent. The chapter closes by making a strong case for hardware-based security and summarizes the concepts in several tables.
The Concept of Feeding Fish

Shell (1993) defines aquaculture as “the planned and purposeful intervention in the production of aquatic animals,” and explains that the underlying reason for the evolution of aquaculture was to reduce the uncertainty and unpredictability of production in natural systems. One of the major driving forces in human development has been the effort to seek ways to reduce uncertainties in food supply. This was an obvious reason for domesticating plants and animals some 10,000 years ago. In contrast to terrestrial animals, there has been virtually no domestication of aquatic animals; there are few recognized varieties, strains, or breeds of aquatic animals. Historically, as the demand for aquatic animals increased, people simply harvested more or harvested more efficiently from natural waters. This trend generally persisted until the latter half of the 20th century at which point the harvest of fish from wild populations could no longer keep pace with the world demand for fish. It became apparent that significant increases in the supply of aquatic animals could only be achieved by direct intervention in the production process, thus, through aquaculture.
Graphene oxide: Synthesis, characterization, electronic structure, and applications

While graphite oxide was first identified in 1855 [1, 2], the recent discovery of stable graphene sheets has led to renewed interest in the chemical structure and potential applications of graphene oxide sheets. These structures have several physical properties that could aid in the large scale development of a graphene electronics industry. Depending on the degree of oxidization, graphene oxide layers can be either semiconducting or insulating and provide an important complement to metallic graphene layers. In addition, the electronic and optical properties of these films can be controlled by the selective removal or addition of oxygen. For example, selective oxidationof graphene sheets could lead to electronic circuit fabrication on the scale of a single atomic layer. Graphene oxide is also dispersible in water and other solvents and this provides a facile route for graphene deposition on a wide range of substrates for macroelectronics applications. Although graphite oxide has been known for roughly 150 years, key questions remain in regards to its chemical structure, electronic properties, and fabrication. Answering these issues has taken on special urgency with the development of graphene electronics. In this chapter, we will provide an overview of the field with special focus on synthesis, characterization, and first principles analysis of bonding and electronic structures. Finally, we will also address some of the most promising applications for graphene oxide in electronics and other industries.
Traditional methods of longitudinal data analysis

In Chapter 2, I review a number of classical methods traditionally applied in longitudinal data analysis. First, several descriptive approaches are delineated, including time plots of trend, the paired t -tests, and effect sizes and their confidence intervals. Meta-analysis is also described, with the remaining issues in this technique being discussed. An illustration is provided for displaying how to apply those descriptive methods empirically. It is emphasized that due to the existence of lurking variables, the descriptive approaches cannot be used to generate final conclusions on an event of interest. Next, the basic specification of analysis of variance (ANOVA), assuming independence of observations, is presented, which is followed by the description of repeated measures ANOVA, with an empirical illustration on the method provided. Lastly, based on the general specification of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), the repeated measures MANOVA is delineated. The limitations of the classical methods in longitudinal data analysis are discussed.