cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
E.s.r. of free radicals in aqueous solutions of substituted pyrimidines.

SummaryReactions of OH radicals with methyl and ethyl derivatives of uracil, cytosine and thymine in aqueous solutions have been investigated. Photolysis of H2O2 was used to generate OH radicals and the radicals on the base derivatives were spin-trapped using t-nitrosobutane and identified with the help of e.s.r. spectroscopy. Addition of OH radicals was found to take place predominantly to the C(5)–C(6) double bond of the bases. H-abstraction from the methyl group occurred in the N(1) methyl derivatives of uracil, cytosine and thymine. Radicals formed by H-abstraction from the methyl group were also detected for 3-methyluracil, thymine, 1-methylthymine and 1-ethylthymine. Introduction of a methyl or ethyl group at the N(1) position of uracil, cytosine and thymine causes an increase in the C(6) proton coupling and a decrease in the N(1) splitting for radicals formed by OH addition at the C(5) position.
Clinical Sports Medicine

Darren L. Johnson and Scott D. Mair, editors. Philadelphia: Mosby-Elsevier; 2006. 764 pages. $149.00. The book is a winner. The organization is superb, particularly with the color-coded sections dividing the sub-topics, making it wonderfully easy to use as …
ASCP and OUP: Stronger Together.

“. . . the peculiar air of Oxford—the air of liberty to care for the things of the mind assured and secured by machinery which is in itself a satisfaction to sense.” So wrote Henry James, in his English Hours , of the very atmosphere that pervades Oxford University and empowers those who interact with it. The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) has begun its interaction with that “peculiar air” by way of a new publishing partnership with Oxford University Press (OUP). On December 8, 2015, the online presence of all three of our journals moved to new sites built for us by OUP; with the winter issues of each, the print versions also fall under that aegis. Why OUP? Because we share “care for the things of the mind.” ASCP’s mission is to provide excellence in education, certification, and advocacy on behalf of patients, … Corresponding author: Joshua Weikersheimer, American Society for Clinical Pathology, 33 W Monroe St, Ste 1600, Chicago, IL 60603; joshua.weikersheimer{at}ascp.org.
War Against Information-Age Terrorism

“To be in accordance with dharma, the place and time of battle must be specified beforehand.” Arthashastra (10.3.26), Kautilya.In a time when insurgency and terrorism have blended into a single entity, and the distinction between a full-fledged confrontation and a low intensity conflict has blurred, the relevance of the concept of a Dharmic war is circumspect. While classical nihilist viewpoint saw violence as a means of struggle, post-modern terrorists today often regard violence as an end in itself that generates identity or damages the adversary’s identity. The actions of the Pakistan sponsored terrorist groups in Kashmir reflect this growing trend.
Treatment of Tar Sand Wastewaters with Activated Carbon, Ozone and Reverse Osmosis

Tar sand deposits offer long-term potential for satisfying future energy needs. Two large field-scale extraction experiments near Vernal, Utah, employed either a sequenced reverse-forward combustion technique (TS-2C) or a steam flooding procedure (TS-1 S) to recover in-place bitumen. This report documents the evaluation of activated carbon, ozone and reverse osmosis in treating the two types of tar sand wastewaters. Substrates included untreated and pretreated (filtration, foam fractionation, chemical treatment with ferric chloride) TS-1S and TS-2C wastewaters. Activated carbon, at a dose of 1,000 mg/L, reduced the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) of TS-1 S wastewater after treatment by 350 mg/L of ferric chloride to 2.3 mg/L TOC, a reduction of 91.6%. At the same adsorbent dos, activated carbon reduced the TOC in TS-2C wastewater from 678 mg/L to 546 mg/L. A study of the six commercially available adsorbents yielded little difference in adsorption capability for either wastewater. Ozonation of TS-lS wastewater after pretreatment by either foam fractionation or chemical treatment with ferric chloride then activated carbon yielded residual TOC levels of less than 1.2 mg/L. Reverse osmosis (RO) studies included investigation of four membrane types (cellulose acetate, poly-ether amide, poly-ether urea and a noncellulosic on a poly-sulfone base), three applied pressure levels (250, 400 and 550 psig) and two solution pH levels (5.5 and 7.8) with 5.0 µ (micron) filtered TS-2C wastewater as the substrate. A two-stage RO process achieved maximum organic and inorganic rejections of 98% and 97%, respectively.
The Robin eigenvalue problem for the p(x)-Laplacian as p→∞

Abstract We study the asymptotic behavior, as p → ∞ , of the first eigenvalues and the corresponding eigenfunctions for the p ( x ) -Laplacian with Robin boundary conditions in an open, bounded domain Ω ⊂ R N with smooth boundary. We obtain uniform bounds for the sequence of first eigenvalues (suitably rescaled), and we prove that the positive first eigenfunctions converge uniformly in Ω to a viscosity solution of a problem involving the ∞ -Laplacian subject to appropriate boundary conditions.
Urban Policies and Urban Impacts after Reagan

Urban policy is unlikely to be a major concern of the Bush administration in the near future. Some of the reasons for this outlook are offered in this article, including the nature of Bush's electoral support and the benefits those constituencies receive from the allegedly natural workings of the "invisible hand" and the "invisible foot." Some countervailing tendencies are noted. A broader view of urban concerns is called for, a view that would lead toward a domestic policy with an urban consciousness.
The Brave New World of Personality Disorder-Trait Specified: Effects of Additional Definitions on Coverage, Prevalence, and Comorbidity

The alternative dimensional model for personality disorder (PD) in DSM-5, Section III (DSM-5-III) includes two main criteria: (A) personality-functioning impairment, and (B) personality-trait pathology; provides specific functioning-and-trait criteria for six PD-type diagnoses; and introduces PD-trait specified (PD-TS), which requires meeting the general PD criteria and not meeting criteria for any specific PD type. We termed this Simple PD-TS and developed two additional definitions: Mixed PD-TS, meeting criteria for one or two PD types and having five or more additional pathological traits; and Complex PD-TS, meeting criteria for three or more PD types. In a mixed sample of 165 outpatients and 215 community adults screened to be at high-risk for PD, we investigated the effect of these additional definitions on prevalence, coverage, comorbidity, and within-diagnosis heterogeneity, and conclude that eliminating the PD-type diagnoses and thus having PD-TS as the only PD diagnosis would be both more parsimonious and more useful clinically.
Decentralized Power Management in a Hybrid Fuel Cell Ultracapacitor System

This paper addresses decentralized control of a hybrid energy system consisting of a fuel cell (FC) and an ultracapacitor. Separate controllers are developed for the FC and the ultracapacitor for power management rather than one central controller. Explicit communication between controllers, such as exchange of locally sensed information, is absent. The former operates the FC in a load-following mode, while attenuating transient fluctuations in fuel utilization. The latter allows the ultracapacitor to be used as an energy buffer. The paper proposes a simple energy-conservation-based approach where the FC controller estimates the energy gap that is compensated for by the capacitor, based on its own transient response history. Accordingly, it modulates its own output power. The capacitor control, in turn, imparts robustness to the collective performance of the controllers by either dissipating excess energy or regulating the load voltage. Together, synergistic power management is achieved within a decentralized framework. An experimental test stand is developed to validate the approach and experimental results are provided. This paper considers one power source and one energy storage element, and further research must be done to translate this approach to power networks.
Inosinic acid dehydrogenase in mammalian tissues.

The enzyme inosinic acid dehydrogenase (IMP:NAD oxidoreductase, EC 1.2.1.14), which catalyzes the reaction IMP + NAD+ + H2O [unknown] XMP + NADH + [H+ has been demonstrated and quantitatively determined for the first time in crude extracts of spleen, lung, and brain. This was achieved by means of a new radiochemical assay for this enzyme. Reasons for the previous inability to measure this enzyme in extracts of mammalian tissues with spectrophotometric techniques are discussed. Potential uses of this new IMP dehydrogenase assay in investigating the mechanism of action of several cytolytic purine analogues in vivo are suggested.
A Hunter's Moon: the Effect of Moon Illumination on Outdoor Crime

We use National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) data and an AutoRegressive Integrative Moving Average (ARIMA) study design to investigate the effect of moon illumination on reported crime occurring outdoors between the hours of 10 pm to 2 am in 13 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Prior research analyzed a confounded dependent variable that amalgamated indoor and outdoor crimes. This situation is problematic in that there is little reason to speculate a relationship between moon illumination and indoor crime because artificial illumination is used within dwellings. Findings show that while moon illumination has little influence on total crime and indoor crime, the intensity of moonlight does have a substantive positive effect on outdoor criminal activity. As moon illumination intensifies, outdoor crime increases markedly. Plausible explanations for this relationship are discussed.
Influence of Stream Condition on Habitat Diversity and Fish Assemblages in an Impaired Upper Snake River Basin Watershed

AbstractHabitat diversity reflects the range of available habitats used by species with different niche requirements and, therefore, influences species diversity. Land use influences stream condition, and streams in poor condition are often wide, shallow, sediment-laden channels with low instream habitat diversity. Our goal was to evaluate the effect of instream habitat diversity on fish species diversity, the effect of stream habitat condition on habitat diversity, and the effect of habitat diversity, stream condition, and other natural stream features on fish assemblage structure (proportional abundance) in an impaired upper Snake River basin watershed containing a locally diverse but regionally depauperate species pool. We sampled fishes and instream and riparian habitat at 41 sites, focusing on measures of instream habitat diversity and the following stream condition indicators: livestock trails on streambanks, streambank stability, channel width-to-depth ratio, percent fine substrates, and woody ripa...
Core loss analysis for switched reluctance motor under hysterisis current control and single pulse modes

In this paper, a detailed core loss analysis for an 8/6 switched reluctance motor is conducted. A 2D Finite element model of the switched reluctance motor in Maxwell coupled with electrical circuit in ANSYS Simplorer is built for the core losses analysis. The flux density waveform and core loss associated with various stator and rotor areas are analyzed under hysteresis current control and single pulse mode operations. The turn-on and dwelling angle effects on the core loss are presented and discussed in these two operation conditions. In addition,harmonic analysis of flux density for various stator yoke areas are conducted to understand dewlling angle impact on core loss and optimal controlled parameters for minimum core loss is also discussed.
Design by Composition

The definitions and algorithms from the previous chapters can form the basis for a CAD environment. In a design by composition CAD system, designers build parts from a library of design “primitives” using Boolean operations — add (union), intersect, subtract, and exclusive-or. Each primitive has an associated compact graph which is a high-level representation of the manufacturing plan to produce it. When the designer combines two primitives, the design by composition software will merge the primitives’ compact graphs to create a manufacturing plan for the new design.
Phencyclidine (PCP)–Induced Deficits in Novel Object Recognition

Abstract Subchronic administration of phencyclidine (PCP), an NMDAR antagonist, produces a variety of cognitive impairments in rodents. Of these, novel object recognition, a type of declarative memory, has been widely used to study the pathophysiology resulting from PCP treatment. There is evidence for the ability of atypical antipsychotic drugs (AAPDs), through direct and indirect effects on serotonin (5-HT) 1A , 5-HT 2A , 5-HT 7 , and DA D 2 receptors to prevent acutely and to enduringly reverse the effects of subchronic PCP on novel object recognition. The neuropathology of subchronic PCP and a possible role of neurogenesis in the actions of the atypical antipsychotic drugs to improve cognition in schizophrenia are discussed.
Intergenerational Imagination in Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France

Although many scholars have discussed Edmund Burke’s counterrevolutionary argument in favor of the aristocracy and church in his Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790), the way in which his conservative, organic view is further associated with a concern for the health of the environment remains largely unexplored. Yet the preservation of land through inheritance is a cornerstone of the Burkean political position. For instance, he writes, “the idea of inheritance furnishes a sure principle of conservation, and a sure principle of transmission; without at all excluding a principle of improvement” (R 119-20). Admittedly Burke intends to reinforce social hierarchies; however, he also articulates a tension in the debates about land use during the Romantic period — that is, the virtues of inheritance, which is a conservative valuation of land as an estate, versus that of improvement, which is a liberal, free-market approach that views land as a commodity, or as real estate. In the eighteenth century, Raymond Williams argues, “An estate passed from being regarded as an inheritance, carrying such and such income, to being calculated as an opportunity for investment, carrying greatly increased returns.”1 The principle of improvement sought progressively to make the land more profitable, and thus precipitated the enclosure and privatization of the commons in England.
A risk stratification approach for improved interpretation of diagnostic accuracy statistics

Diagnostic accuracy statistics, including predictive values, risk-differences, Youden9s index and Area Under the Curve (AUC), assess the promise of novel biomarkers proposed as diagnostic tests. We reinterpret these statistics in light of risk-stratification (how well a biomarker separates those at higher risk from those at lower risk) to better understand their implications for public-health programs. We introduce an intuitively simple statistic, Mean Risk Stratification (MRS): the average change in risk (pre-test vs. post-test) revealed for tested individuals. High MRS implies better risk separation achieved by testing. MRS demonstrates that conventional predictive values can mislead because they do not account for disease prevalence or test-positivity rates. Little risk-stratification is possible for rare diseases, demonstrating a "high-bar" to justify population-based screening. Importantly, we demonstrate that the risk-difference, Youden9s index, and AUC measure only multiplicative relative gains in risk-stratification: AUC=0.6 achieves only 20% of maximum risk-stratification (AUC=0.9 achieves 80%). However, large relative gains in risk-stratification might not imply large absolute gains if disease is rare or if the test is rarely positive. We illustrate MRS by our experience comparing the performance of cervical cancer screening tests in China vs. the USA. The test with the worst AUC=0.72 in China (visual inspection with ascetic acid) provides twice the risk-stratification of the test with best AUC=0.83 in the USA (human papillomavirus and Pap cotesting) because China has three times more cervical precancer/cancer. MRS could be routinely calculated to better understand the clinical/public-health implications of standard diagnostic accuracy statistics.
Abstract 618: Inflammatory Biomarkers are Improved Subsequent to an Aerobic Exercise Training Intervention in African Americans

African Americans (AA) have the highest prevalence of hypertension (HTN) in the world which may emanate from their predisposition to heightened endothelial inflammation. Long-term exposure of the e...
Structured Modeling with Blocks

This chapter documents how to express hierarchically-structured models using Pyomo’s Block component. Many models contain significant hierarchical structure; that is, they are composed of repeated groups of conceptually related modeling components. Pyomo allows the modeler to define fundamental building blocks, and then construct the overall problem by connecting these building blocks together in an object-oriented manner. In this chapter, we describe the fundamental Block component along with common examples of its use, including repeated components and managing model scope.
Adenocarcinoma of Lung Presenting as Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndrome.

Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome (LEMS) is a paraneoplastic neuromuscular junction disorder. LEMS presents with muscular weakness and fatigability, mainly involving the proximal lower limbs. There...
Investigating a Tier 1 Intervention Focused on Proportional Reasoning: A Follow-Up Study:

This randomized controlled study investigated the efficacy of a Tier 1 intervention—schema-based instruction—designed to help students with and without mathematics difficulties (MD) develop proportional reasoning. Twenty seventh-grade teachers/classrooms were randomly assigned to a treatment condition (schema-based instruction) or control condition (business as usual). Participants included 373 students, of whom 253 demonstrated MD. A measure of proportional problem solving (PPS) was administered at pre- and posttesting and at 11 weeks following treatment, along with a general mathematical problem-solving measure at pre- and posttesting. For the full sample, posttest differences favoring the treatment group were statistically significant for all measures. For students with MD, posttest differences favored the treatment group for the PPS posttest and PPS delayed posttest but not for general problem-solving posttest.
Aberrant tumor derived LPA production suppresses CD8+ T cells though the LPA5R to promote tumor growth.

As a bioactive signaling lipid, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) is in the same phospholipid family as sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) yet its impact on immune cells remains unclear, despite that all immune cells express specific LPA receptors. Generated systemically through the extracellular enzyme Autotaxin, LPA exerts its biological influence through 6 known G protein couple receptors (GPCRs), LPAR1-6. Aberrant LPA production has been linked to multiple “hallmarks” of tumorigenesis, including enhancing tumor promoting inflammation, metastasis, and angiogenesis. We propose that up regulation of tumor-derived LPA can also dampen adaptive immune responses, thereby creating an immune suppressive tumor microenvironment. CD8+ T cells are known to be able to eliminate nascent tumors, yet over time are often rendered functionally silent due to tumor-derived signals that act on inhibitory receptors such as CTLA4 and PD1. Work from our lab has found that pathological levels of LPA can also dampen TCR signaling suggesting an additional mechanism by which cancers avoid elimination. Strikingly, ablation of LPAR5 on CD8+ T cells significantly reduced tumor burden compared to wild type CD8+ T cells, suggesting that LPAR5 is a novel inhibitory lipid receptor . Given the recent success of checkpoint blockade therapy for the treatment of cancers, we are currently characterizing this novel inhibitory interaction between CD8+ T cells and LPA generated in the tumor microenvironment.
Displacement of carbonates in Ca2UO2(CO3)3 by amidoxime-based ligands from free-energy simulations

Amidoxime-based ligands are effective in uranium extraction by displacing carbonates in Ca2UO2(CO3)3, the dominant uranyl species in seawater. However, a detailed understanding of the displacement process has been lacking. Here we use classical molecular dynamics combined with umbrella sampling to map the complete displacement process and the free-energy profiles by the simple acetamidoximate (AO-) and the more complex glutardiamidoximate (B2- and HB-) ligands. Interestingly, we find that the two Ca2+ ions in Ca2UO2(CO3)3 can greatly facilitate the displacement of the first two carbonate groups. Displacing the third carbonate is however significantly more uphill than the first two. With the help of an additional Ca2+ ion, the third carbonate displacement can be made less uphill. Comparing AO- and B2-/HB- ligands, we find that the displacement by the latter is thermodynamically more favorable due to the chelate effect. Our free-energy simulations based on classical molecular dynamics simulations reveal key atomistic details and quantify the thermodynamic driving force during the carbonate displacement of Ca2UO2(CO3)3 by amidoxime-based ligands. These findings will be useful in understanding seawater uranium extraction by amidoxime-grafted polymeric sorbents.
Always measure one level deeper

Performance measurements often go wrong, reporting surface-level results that are more marketing than science.
Serving the State: Military and Public Health Practices in Bulgaria (1878–1908)

This article focuses on Bulgaria and looks at the interconnected processes of building public health services and military institutions in the late Ottoman Empire and its other Balkan successor states: Greece, Serbia, and Romania. An elite class emerged from this development that moved between the army and civil service and vice versa. The paper draws on four case studies to follow the career paths of physicians who straddled two worlds – empire and nation-state – and tried to merge Ottoman notions of modernization with a compressed version of state-led modernization, de-Ottomanization, and militarization of Bulgaria. Both the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan nation-states borrowed models from European military, medical, and sanitary institutions. Thus, these states embraced the army as the epitome of modernization with concomitant attention given to medicine as a sign of scientific advancement. Such pairing under the umbrella of progress eased the subsequent expansion of state, militarization, and nationali...
Open Sharing: Launching, Outreach, Publicity, Usage Monitoring, and Post-Launch Care

Once an open-shared learning object or learning sequence has been designed to standards and polished and refined, it is published to the world, to achieve its fortunes (or not). This chapter surfaces some of the issues that will arise. A “soft” launch involves sharing the resources to smaller target groups, and a “hard” launch involves sharing to the broad general public. Both approaches may be employed to bring attention to the released object or sequence. Or neither approach may be used: some learning objects are open-shared without any fanfare. This chapter describes how to create mainstream media and social media “buzz” through publicity plans and how to attract publicity and measure the effectiveness of the media outreach. Learner usage monitoring of the learning resources is described to enable awareness of the usage. Finally, there is important discussion of post-launch care—to consider how much continuing support to provide to users, and to consider whether or not to revise the released work and/or build follow-on learning.
Analyst Forecast Disagreement with Management Voluntary ETR Forecasts

Analysts regularly issue ETR forecasts that meaningfully deviate from managers’ voluntary annual effective tax rate (ETR) forecasts. I examine whether these deviations impact analyst forecast accuracy. Comparing analyst forecasts that deviate to analyst forecasts that reiterate managers’ ETR forecasts in a firm-year fixed effects regression, I find that deviating analysts issue less accurate after-tax earnings, pretax earnings, and ETR forecasts. Further, the inaccurate deviating analyst ETR forecasts appear to be mainly caused by differences about tax forecasts rather than pretax earnings forecasts. Analysts are more likely to deviate from managers’ ETR forecasts when they have less firm forecasting experience, issue forecasts later in the period, follow more industries, and issue fewer forecasts for the firm. Overall, the results suggest that analysts lack tax information to improve on managers’ voluntary ETR forecasts.
Stochastic Modeling of the Last Mile Problem for Delivery Fleet Planning

This paper presents a stochastic representation of the last mile problem that quantifies expected maintenance, regular labor, overtime labor, fuel, and carbon emission costs resulting from different delivery fleet options. The last mile delivery fleet planning model presented herein can be used in a decision framework to evaluate alternative delivery strategies involving fleet size and delivery frequency with information regarding cost, carbon emissions, service levels for available delivery hours, and payload capacity, as well as the transportation capacity needed to meet customer demand and lends itself well to performing what-if analyses.
A reevaluation of the sex prediction accuracy of the minimum supero-inferior femoral neck diameter for modern individuals.

The results of an independent test of the minimum supero-inferior femoral neck diameter as a sex predictor are presented. Seidemann et al. (1) generated discriminant functions for Caucasians, African-Americans, and a combined race sample from the Hamann-Todd skeletal collection. Jackknifed classification matrices and the use of independent, random validation samples indicated a sex prediction accuracy in the 90% range. This, combined with a high rate of preservation, makes the femoral neck a significant measure for forensic applications. However, the method has not been evaluated on a truly modern sample. Data were collected for 94 males and 49 females from the Documented Collection at the University of New Mexico. The sample consists of 94 Caucasians, 33 African Ameicans, three modern Native Americans, two Hispanics, and 11 individuals of unknown ancestry. All individuals were born after the turn of the century. We evaluate the accuracy of the discriminant functions generated from the Hamann-Todd control sample. For Caucasians, 83% were correctly classified, for African Americans 97% were correctly classified and for the combined race function 85% were correctly classified. This decrease in accuracy is the result of the increase in African American male and all female sample means. This effectively decreases the separation between males and females for the femoral neck diameter. We generate new discriminant functions from the modern data and jackknife the classification matrices. The Caucasian function was 84% accurate, the African-American function was 82% accurate and the combined sample function was 85% accurate. The femoral neck may provide a useful alternative to multivariate techniques for individuals who are poorly preserved.
Expression of the checkpoint receptors LAG-3, TIM-3 and VISTA in peripheral T cell lymphomas.

Aims Peripheral T cell lymphomas represent approximately 10%–15% of non-Hodgkin lymphomas and are characterised by an aggressive clinical courses and poor outcomes. Ligands provided by constituents of the tumour microenvironment engage receptors expressed by malignant T cells, promoting tumour growth and chemotherapy resistance. In addition to stimulatory receptors that promote the growth and survival of malignant T cells, recent studies suggest that homologous inhibitory receptors may have an opposing effect and function as tumour suppressors. For example, recent data suggest that programmed cell death 1 blockade may lead to increased lymphoma growth. Therefore, the identification of alternative checkpoint receptors in T cell lymphoproliferative neoplasms is an important and clinically relevant question. Methods The checkpoint receptors T cell immunoglobulin-3 (TIM-3), V-domain Ig-containing suppressor of T cell activation (VISTA) and lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) play fundamental roles in peripheral tolerance, and their ligands are exploited by many solid tumours to evade host immunity. However, their expression in T cell lymphoproliferative neoplasms has not been evaluated. In this study, we evaluated the expression of TIM-3, VISTA and LAG-3 in a cohort of peripheral T cell lymphomas cases by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometric analysis. Results Our results demonstrate that TIM-3, VISTA and LAG-3 expression is rarely identified within a large cohort of T cell lymphomas and its tumour microenvironment. Conclusions Our data suggest that immune-regulatory roles for TIM-3, VISTA and LAG-3 may be predominant in lymphomas subsets different than the ones analysed in the current study. However, a potential role for these checkpoint receptors as tumour suppressors in T cell lymphomas remains to be elucidated.
HiC: a C++ compiler for CS1

In CS1 courses, students must often use professional environments to develop programs. Students often find these difficult to use because error messages involve terms they do not understand. Professional systems must support the entire language, so messages must use terms which ensure both accuracy and brevity. This is a particular problem in C++. This paper presents a solution based on identifying a subset of C++ which is appropriate for introductory students. It also presents a development environment based on this subset, HiC, and our experiences in using HiC in a CS1 course.
The Mental Health of Black Men: A Problem of Perception

Black men in our society face enormous challenges. Some of these challenges stem from social attitudes and perceptions about African American men, especially as these perceptions impact education, poverty, employment, and health-related problems. Society's response to social stigma, the treatment of social and mental problems and racism are all evident in African Americans' daily relationships with others. Each of these challenges individually can be devastating; collectively, they become overwhelming and catastrophic. It is this author's supposition that the mechanisms that undergrid the challenges of Black men are embedded in race, ethnicity and culture, and that the pervasiveness and consistency of racism in our society impacts one's quality of life and livelihood. The pervasiveness of racial and ethnic differences in health care delivery, stigma associated with mental illness, and cultural insensitivity among some health care professionals are addressed in this article. Overt prejudice, systemic biases and cultural insensitivity are viewed as con­ tributors to the overall racial gaps in and poor delivery of health care for Black men in our society. These infractions become serious when middle-age Black men are dying at nearly twice the rate of White men of similar age [Men's Health Net­ work 2004); and when more than 1 in 4 adult Black men experience some form of mental health or substance abuse disorder during their lifetime [HHS 2003 ). This article closes with voices of Black men who live with the harsh realities of our health care system and the physical and emotional factors that create negative living envi­ronments
Better than Optimal by Taking a Limit

SummaryDesigning an optimal Norman window is a standard calculus exercise. How much more difficult (or interesting) is its generalization to deploying multiple semicircles along the head (or along ...
A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Combination Behavioral Interventions Co-Targeting Psychosocial Syndemics and HIV-Related Health Behaviors for Sexual Minority Men.

In the U.S., sexual minority men (SMM) are disproportionately affected by HIV. Interventions are needed to increase HIV prevention and treatment behaviors, especially among syndemically exposed SMM...
Falling stroke rates during COVID-19 pandemic at a comprehensive stroke center.

INTRODUCTION: Although there is evidence to suggest a high rate of cerebrovascular complications in patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, anecdotal reports indicate a falling rate of new ischemic stroke diagnoses. We conducted an exploratory single-center analysis to estimate the change in number of new stroke diagnoses in our region, and evaluate the proximate reasons for this change during the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary care center in New Jersey. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A Comprehensive Stroke Center prospective cohort was retrospectively analyzed for the number of stroke admissions, demographic features, and short-term outcomes 5 months prior to 3/1/2020 (pre-COVID-19), and in the 6 weeks that followed (COVID-19 period). The primary outcome was the number of new acute stroke diagnoses before and during the COVID-19 period, as well as the potential reasons for a decline in the number of new diagnoses. RESULTS: Of the 328 included patients, 53 (16%) presented in the COVID-19 period. There was a mean fall of 38% in new stroke diagnoses (mean 1.13/day [SD 1.07] from 1.82/day [SD 1.38], p<0.01), which was related to a 59% decline in the number of daily transfers from referral centers (p<0.01), 25% fewer telestroke consultations (p=0.08), and 55% fewer patients presenting directly to our institution by private vehicle (p<0.01) and 29% fewer patients through emergency services (p=0.09). There was no significant change in the monthly number of strokes due to large vessel occlusion (LVO), however the proportion of new LVOs nearly doubled in the COVID-19 period (38% vs. 21%, p=0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The observations at our tertiary care center corroborate anecdotal reports that the number of new stroke diagnoses is falling, which seems related to a smaller proportion of patients seeking healthcare services for milder symptoms. These preliminary data warrant validation in larger, multi-center studies.
Ethylene oligomerization into linear olefins over cobalt oxide on carbon catalyst

Here, we show that C4–C12 linear olefins, including linear alpha olefins, can be selectively produced from ethylene over a stable cobalt oxide on carbon catalyst. Both bulk and surface cobalt phases are CoO when the catalyst is stable, suggesting CoO is the stable cobalt phase for oligomerization. During the reaction, polyethylene forms in the catalyst pores which influences the product selectivity. The catalyst is more stable at higher temperatures (∼200 °C) likely due to reduction of Co3O4 to CoO while rapid deactivation is observed at lower temperatures (e.g., 80–140 °C). The product selectivity can be fit to two different Schulz Flory distributions, one from C4 to C10 olefins and one above C10 olefins, suggesting that transport restrictions influence product selectivity. At 48.3% conversion, product linearities up to C12 olefins are above 90%, making it the most selective heterogeneous catalyst to linear olefins to date in the absence of activators and/or solvents.
Good scents: A short road from olfaction to satisfaction.

Summary We rapidly classify odors as pleasant or aversive, but the brain circuits underlying how odors motivate approach and avoidance responses are largely unknown. New research describes a direct path from the olfactory bulb to ventral striatum driving odor-mediated reward.
DeepTrack: Lightweight Deep Learning for Vehicle Path Prediction in Highways.

Vehicle trajectory prediction is an essential task for enabling many intelligent transportation systems. While there have been some promising advances in the field, there is a need for new agile algorithms with smaller model sizes and lower computational requirements. This article presents DeepTrack, a novel deep learning algorithm customized for real-time vehicle trajectory prediction in highways. In contrast to previous methods, the vehicle dynamics are encoded using Agile Temporal Convolutional Networks (ATCNs) to provide more robust time prediction with less computation. ATCN also uses depthwise convolution, which reduces the complexity of models compared to existing approaches in terms of model size and operations. Overall, our experimental results demonstrate that DeepTrack achieves comparable accuracy to state-of-the-art trajectory prediction models but with smaller model sizes and lower computational complexity, making it more suitable for real-world deployment.
Electrochemical Measurements for Assessing Corrosion of Metal Alloys in Molten LiF-NaF-KF and MgCl2-NaCl-KCl

A method of ranking the rate of corrosion of metals in molten fluoride or chloride salts is proposed based on a zero-resistance ammeter (ZRA). The metal of interest for the corrosion study is shorted to a relatively noble metal counter electrode. Stainless steel 316 was tested in FLiNaK (LiF-NaF-KF). Haynes 230, stainless steel 316L, and Hastelloy C-22 were tested in MgCl2-NaCl-KCl. The ZRA oxidation current from SS-316L was reduced by 89% in FLiNaK after the addition of Li metal, which is known to reduce the redox potential. Post-test examination of metal surfaces and salt samples were also consistent with the relative ZRA current response in fluoride salt. Consistency was also observed between the relative ZRA response for the different metal alloys in the chloride salt and post-test analysis of metal and salt samples.
Effect of Volatile Anesthetics on Baroreflex Control of Mesenteric Venous Capacitance

Publisher Summary This chapter demonstrates that inhaled anesthetics impede the reflex ability of mesenteric veins to actively constrict and dilate in reaction to baroreflex stimulation. Inhaled anesthetics depress mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and sympathetic efferent outflow. Both low and high doses of inhaled anesthetics attenuate the reflex constriction of mesenteric veins caused by lowered carotid sinus pressure, whereas reflex dilation in response to aortic depressor nerve stimulation has been reduced by the higher dose of inhaled anesthetics. Furthermore, volatile anesthetics dramatically reduce the reflex increase in sympathetic efferent nerve activity as a result of baroreceptor stimulation. On the other hand, direct celiac sympathetic postganglionic activation of the mesenteric veins has been unaffected by even the highest dose of inhaled anesthetics. These findings support the hypothesis that volatile anesthetics may influence mesenteric vascular capacitance through inhibition of the active sympathetic control of veins. An active change in venous capacitance is to be distinguished from a passive reduction of arterial inflow or a redistribution of blood among vascular beds. In situ studies of the differential effects of α1– and α2–adrenoceptor activation on the constriction of mesenteric arteries demonstrate the predominance of α1–receptors in response to endogenous electric stimulation of the celiac ganglion and exogenous application of phenylephrine. The present studies have contributed new evidence from direct observation of the mesenteric veins, indicating that anesthetics inhibit baroreflex regulation of vein diameter and subsequent changes in intravenous pressure, and that the capacitance of the mesenteric bed is, thereby increased.
Sexuality and Law - Volume II: Crime and Punishment Preface and Introduction

The Preface and Introduction from The Library of Essays in Sexuality and Law, Volume II, Crime and Punishment. The continued criminalization of same-sex sexual acts, variously labeled sodomy, buggery, or the crime against nature, is inconsistent throughout the world. The criminalization of other sexual acts, such as public sex, commercial sex, or HIV-transmission, is more common. The relationship between sexuality and criminality is not limited to a direct criminalization of sexual acts, however. The victimization of sexual minorities because of their sexuality has garnered attention in the conceptualization of hate crimes in many countries. When sexual minorities are accused of victimizing others, the criminal justice system can conflate sexual identity with the criminal acts resulting in biased convictions. Imprisonment and punishment norms can pose special problems in the context of gender minorities or for sex offenses.
Online Information Retrieval—What Effects on Librarianship?

Abstract In an information age, and with the forging of an information society, the role of the librarian is an important one. This role depends on the levels of participation and professionalism that librarians briftg to bear on the advances made in information technology. This article discusses the involvement of librarians in online information retrieval, and how this technological process affects their professionalism. An argument is made that online information retrieval ought not to deprofessionalize librarianship, unless, librarians allow it, by passively watching the information revolution happen without working to keep pace with it.
Computer Simulation of Asymmetric Grain Boundaries and their Interaction with Vacancies and Carbon Impurity Atoms

Computer simulation has proven to be a powerful tool for determination of atomistic structure in complex zones in metals. This method has been applied to study asymmetric tilt boundaries in γ-iron and their interaction with vacancies and carbon atoms. A program, “GRAINS”, which employs classical equations of motion was used for these experiments. A first neighbor function described the interaction between atom pairs. Volume forces were imposed by the computational cell boundaries. Observations and conclusions of particular interest were: The determination of values for migration and formation energies of vacancies in the vicinity of a grain boundary so vacancy transport and diffusion mechanisms in the boundaries can be estimated more accurately. These values were found to differ appreciably from those in ordered regions. The zone of interaction extends into the grains along close-packed lines from misfit regions much farther than would be anticipated from measurements of grain boundary width. Local ordering in the misfit region of a grain boundary caused by a very few impurity atoms which demonstrated how trace concentrations of impurities could significantly affect the strength of a metal.
Trypanosoma cruzi highjacks TrkC to enter cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts while exploiting TrkA for cardioprotection against oxidative stress

Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC), caused by the obligate intracellular protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Latin America. CCC begins when T. cruzi enters cardiac cells for intracellular multiplication and differentiation, a process that starts with recognition of host-cell entry receptors. However, the nature of these surface molecules and corresponding parasite counter-receptor(s) is poorly understood. Here we show that antibodies against neurotrophin (NT) receptor TrkC, but not against family members TrkA and TrkB, prevent T. cruzi from invading primary cultures of cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts. Invasion is also selectively blocked by the TrkC ligand NT-3, and by antagonists of Trk autophosphorylation and downstream signalling. Therefore, these results indicate that T. cruzi gets inside cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts by activating TrkC preferentially over TrkA. Accordingly, short hairpin RNA interference of TrkC (shTrkC), but not TrkA, selectively prevents T. cruzi from entering cardiac cells. Additionally, T. cruzi parasite-derived neurotrophic factor (PDNF)/trans-sialidase, a TrkC-binding protein, but not family member gp85, blocks entry dose-dependently, underscoring the specificity of PDNF as TrkC counter-receptor in cardiac cell invasion. In contrast to invasion, competitive and shRNA inhibition studies demonstrate that T. cruzi-PDNF recognition of TrkA, but not TrkC on primary cardiomyocytes and the cardiomyocyte cell line H9c2 protects the cells against oxidative stress. Thus, this study shows that T. cruzi via PDNF favours neurotrophin receptor TrkC for cardiac cell entry and TrkA for cardiomyocyte protection against oxidative stress, and suggests a new therapeutic opportunity in PDNF and/or fragments thereof for CCC therapy as entry inhibitors and/or cardioprotection agonists.
Monodromy and dynamical systems

On montre que les transformations de surface algebriquement finies de Nielsen satisfont une propriete du genre monodromie
Rapidly progressive fatal interstitial lung disease in a patient with systemic sclerosis.

Interstitial lung disease is a common manifestation of systemic sclerosis, and often leads to death in these patients. These authors describe the case of a previously healthy woman with acute systemic sclerosis who experienced an unusually fulminant course of interstitial lung disease, which did not respond to treatment with intravenous cyclophosphamide. Background. A 36-year-old woman developed new-onset Raynaud phenomenon and rapidly progressive dyspnea over a 2-week period. A lung biopsy demonstrated pauci-inflammatory nonspecific pneumonitis, which proved refractory to systemic corticosteroid and intravenous cyclophosphamide therapy. Her preterminal course in an intensive care unit was typified by sequential organ failure. Postmortem examination showed extensive organ fibrosis, including severe diffuse alveolar damage and parenchymal fibrosis, and a notable lack of potentially treatable tissue inflammation. Investigations. Chest radiography, physical examination, screening for autoantibodies, measurement of serum creatinine, creatine phosphokinase, and brain natriuretic peptide levels, cardiac examination, pulmonary function tests, electrocardiography, transthoracic Doppler echocardiography, right heart catheterization, high-resolution thoracic CT, pulmonary ventilation/perfusion scan, lung biopsy. Diagnosis. Interstitial lung disease associated with diffuse systemic sclerosis. Management. Treatment with oxygen, oral and intravenous corticosteroids, mycophenolate mofetil and intravenous cyclophosphamide.
The Scattering of Continental Shelf Waves by an Isolated Topographic Irregularity

Abstract A model for the scattering of a continental shelf wave by a small, isolated and smooth topographic irregularity is developed. It is found that a wave of frequency ω, incident on a bump of a sufficiently small horizontal extent such that the solution for a delta-function bump will apply, will trigger all other allowable modes of the same frequency with the highest modes having the largest amplitudes. Further, the higher the mode of the incoming wave, the more strongly will it be scattered. Thus, for a continuous spectrum of continental shelf waves propagating over complicated and extended topography, one would expect a net cascading process toward the higher wavenumber end of the spectrum due solely to the effects of topography. It is noted, however, that if the solution is integrated over a bump of large horizontal extent, the behavior of the forward-scattered and backscattered waves could be entirely different from that of a delta function bump.