cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Sudan: Military Economic Corporations

Sudan's military corporations were established at the very time the regime claimed it was interested in privatization. The role of military corporations in the Sudan is examined to provide a case study that would address those issues of civil military relations that bear on privatization of economies; the accountability of armed forces as economic agents; and the impact on the armed forces of their own commercial activities. In the Sudan, actual control of military corporations by central military bodies was difficult to impose. Although accounting procedures were weak and personal profiteering rampant, the corporations were not dumping grounds for redundant soldiers. The corporations did lead to tensions among service branches and individual officers but it would be incorrect to exaggerate these aspects. There were differences among corporations with respect to efficiency and professionalism. In the Sudan, the armed forces' corporations acted according to established Sudanese business practices-seeking t...
BODIPY-BODIPY dyad: assessing the potential as a viscometer for molecular and ionic liquids.

A symmetrical BODIPY–BODIPY dyad with a diyne linker was prepared in two steps; the lifetime decay of this rotor appeared to correlate with the viscosity of the media, thus making this dyad a suitable small molecule viscometer for molecular solvents. The potential of using the rotor to probe the viscosity of ionic liquids was also investigated.
Injury statistics, high risk groups, and individuals: falling through the cracks.

The Frank A Calderone Prize in Public Health, the pre-eminent award in the field, is overseen by Columbia University9s Mailman School of Public Health and presented to an individual who has made ‘a transformational contribution in the field of public health’. The Prize recognises an individual who has accomplished extraordinary distinction in public health and/or who has made a specific contribution which has had long-term national or global implications. On 6 May 2010, the prize was awarded to Susan Baker. This is the first time the Prize has been bestowed upon an injury control researcher.
Excitation of slosh waves associated with low frequency impulsive reverse gravity acceleration of geyser initiation

Abstract The objective of the cryogenic fluid management of the spacecraft propulsion system is to develop the technology necessary for acquisition or positioning of liquid and vapor within a tank in reduced gravity to enable liquid outflow or vapor venting. The requirement to settle or to position liquid fuel over the outlet end of the spacecraft propellant tank prior to main engine restart poses a microgravity fluid behavior problem. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the stability of the most efficient technique for propellant resettling through the minimization of propellant usage and weight penalties. In this study slosh wave excitation induced by the resettling flow field activated by 0.1 Hz low frequency, impulsive reverse gravity acceleration, during reorientation with the initiation of geyser for liquid fill levels of 30, 50, 65, 70 and 80%, have been studied. Characteristics of slosh waves with various frequencies excited are discussed. Slosh wave excitations shift the fluid mass distribution in the container which impose time dependent variations in spacecraft moment of inertia. This information is important for the spacecraft control during the course of liquid reorientation.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis co-morbidity: thromboembolic disease and coronary artery disease

Over the past decade, it has been increasingly recognized that patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are at risk of both venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) and coronary artery disease (CAD). When present, these co-morbid conditions negatively affect outcomes. For this disease without effective therapy to improve survival, increased diagnosis and treatment of these co-morbid processes may improve outcomes. Better understanding of the mechanisms that place IPF patients at increased risk of VTE and CAD may also ultimately lead to novel therapeutic interventions.
Interaction and cognitive engagement: An analysis of four asynchronous online discussions

Online discussion plays a unique role in face-to-face and distance teaching and learning. Interaction and student cognitive engagement during the online discussion are critical for constructing new understanding and knowledge. This article analyzes types of interaction that occur during online discussions, examines levels of student cognitive engagement in each discussion, and explores their effects on and implications for learning and teaching in higher education. By combining methods of social network analysis with qualitative content analysis, the article explores new methodologies for analyzing participation, interaction, and learning that take place online, and suggests areas for research in learning and teaching online.
Centralized and distributed task allocation in multi-robot teams via a stochastic clustering auction

This article considers the problem of optimal task allocation for heterogeneous teams, for example, teams of heterogeneous robots or human-robot teams. It is well-known that this problem is NP-hard and hence computationally feasible approaches must develop an approximate solution. Here, we propose a solution via a Stochastic Clustering Auction (SCA) that uses a Markov chain search process along with simulated annealing. This is the first stochastic auction method used in conjunction with global optimization. It is based on stochastic transfer and swap moves between the clusters of tasks assigned to the various robots and considers not only downhill movements, but also uphill movements, which can avoid local minima. A novel feature of this algorithm is that, by tuning the annealing suite and turning the uphill movements on and off, the global team performance after algorithm convergence can slide in the region between the global optimal performance and the performance associated with a random allocation. Extensive numerical experiments are used to evaluate the performance of SCA in terms of costs and computational and communication requirements. For centralized auctioning, the SCA algorithm is compared to fast greedy auction algorithms. Distributed auctioning is then compared with centralized SCA.
An enzyme-based synthesis of (S)-(−)-3-methyl-2-[(phenylsiilfonyl)-methyl]butyl phenyl sulfide and the stereochemical course of its alkylation

Abstract The two title reactions have been explored. In the first instance, best results were achieved if the chloroacetate ester of 3-methyl-2[(phenylsulfonyl)methyl]-1-butanol was subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis with lipase P30 (Amano). Subsequent conversion to the sulfide of high optical purity (∼ 95% e.e.) was accomplished by means of tri-n-butylphosphine and diphenyl disulfide. The alkylation of this difunctional intermediate with several electrophiles has proven to be rather impressively diastereoselective. The relative (and absolute) course of these transformations has been established by means of X-ray crystallographic and NMR methods and is rationalized at the mechanistic level.
CA- and Purine-Rich Elements Form a Novel Bipartite Exon Enhancer Which Governs Inclusion of the Minute Virus of Mice NS2-Specific Exon in Both Singly and Doubly Spliced mRNAs

The alternatively spliced 290-nucleotide NS2-specific exon of the parvovirus minute virus of mice (MVM), which is flanked by a large intron upstream and a small intron downstream, constitutively appears both in the R1 mRNA as part of a large 5*-terminal exon (where it is translated in open reading frame 3 [ORF3]), and in the R2 mRNA as an internal exon (where it is translated in ORF2). We have identified a novel bipartite exon enhancer element, composed of CA-rich and purine-rich elements within the 5* and 3* regions of the exon, respectively, that is required to include NS2-specific exon sequences in mature spliced mRNA in vivo. These two compositionally different enhancer elements are somewhat redundant in function: either element alone can at least partially support exon inclusion. They are also interchangeable: either element can function at either position. Either a strong 3* splice site upstream (i.e., the exon 5* terminus) or a strong 5* splice site downstream (i.e., the exon 3* terminus) is sufficient to prevent skipping of the NS2-specific exon, and a functional upstream 3* splice site is required for inclusion of the NS2-specific exon as an internal exon into the mature, doubly spliced R2 mRNA. The bipartite enhancer functionally strengthens these termini: the requirement for both the CA-rich and purine-rich elements can be overcome by improvements to the polypyrimidine tract of the upstream intron 3* splice site, and the purine-rich element also supports exon inclusion mediated through the downstream 5* splice sites. In summary, a suboptimal large-intron polypyrimidine tract, sequences within the downstream small intron, and a novel bipartite exonic enhancer operate together to yield the balanced levels of R1 and R2 observed in vivo. We suggest that the unusual bipartite exonic enhancer functions to mediate proper levels of inclusion of the NS2-specific exon in both singly spliced R1 and doubly spliced R2.
Organizational Learning and the Case for Knowledge-Based Systems.

This chapter discusses organizational learning and the required reassessment and redesign of internal structures and procedures related to the flow of information throughout the organization. It provides a framework for the integration of institutional research within the larger context of organizational learning and the creation and maintenance of a research culture facilitated by knowledge management.
The Challenges and Complexities of Thyroid Hormone Replacement

Hypothyroidism is an endocrine disorder affecting 1%-10% of the population. Symptoms of hypothyroidism include fatigue, lethargy, and decreased cognitive performance. The mainstay therapy for hypothyroidism is synthetic thyroxine (T4) because of its long half-life and conversion to the bioactive form 3-5-3' triiodothyronine (T3). Recently, treatment research has re-emerged from clinicians who found that patients still experienced significant psychological morbidity, such as decreases in cognitive performance, mood, and physical status, despite appropriate standard T4 therapy. It was subsequently reported that patients treated with both T3 and T4 experienced better cognitive functioning compared to patients treated with T4 alone. This review discusses the current literature comparing cognitive improvement in combination T3/T4 therapies to T4 monotherapy in the context of the most recent biological research on thyroid metabolism and signaling in neurons that might help explain the conflicting cognitive results in these studies and help develop new paradigms to test in the future.
Early Detection of Security Misconfiguration Vulnerabilities in Web Applications

This paper presents a web-based tool to supplement defense against security misconfiguration vulnerabilities in web applications. The tool automatically audits security configuration settings of server environments in web application development and deployment. It also offers features to automatically adjust security configuration settings and quantitatively rates level of safety for server environments before deploying web applications. Using the tool, we were able to evaluate eleven server packages for Apache, PHP and MySQL across three operating system platforms. Our evaluation revealed that the tool is able to audit current security configuration settings and alert users to fix the server environment to achieve the level of safety of security configuration with respect to recommended configurations for real-life web application deployment.
Combined analysis of retrospective and prospective occurrences in cohort studies: HIV-1 serostatus and incident pneumonia.

Methods We demonstrate how the observed data can be expanded from one to two records per participant and account for the within-individual dependence when estimating variances. We illustrate our methods using data from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study, which recorded 384 retrospective and 352 prospective occurrences of pneumonia in 9478 retrospective and 7857 prospective personyears among 2610 adult women. Results The hazard of non-Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia among the 2056 HIV-1 infected women was 2.24 times (95% confidence limits: 1.74, 2.89) that of the 554 uninfected women, independent of age. This hazard ratio was homogeneous across retrospective and prospective occurrences (P for interaction 5 0.96) and combining occurrence types increased the precision by reducing the standard error by about a fourth. Conclusions As expected, HIV-1 infection increases the hazard of pneumonia, with more precise inference obtained by combining information available on bidirectional occurrences. The proposed method for the analysis of bidirectional occurrence times will improve precision when the estimated associations are homogeneous across occurrence types, or may provide added insight into either the data collection or disease process when the estimated associations are heterogeneous.
Counter-examples to an Assertion concerning the Normal Distribution and a New Stochastic Price Fluctuation Model

Consider the following assertion: If X1, ..., X, are random variables with finite second moments and if all non-trivial linear combinations a1X, +... + a,X, have the same distribution except for location and scale, then that distribution must be normal. True or false? The assertion would be true if any pair of the variables were assumed to be stochastically independent, but it is false in general, even for variables assumed to be uncorrelated. In Section I, we demonstrate that the assertion is false via counter-examples. A recent commentary in this Review by Borch [1], Feldstein [4], and Tobin [13] indicates that the truth of the above assertion has gone unquestioned by some eminent economic theorists. Nevertheless, the generality of Tobin's mean-variance approach to risk analysis is not much enhanced by our revelation; the numerous theoretical criticisms of the mean-variance approach (e.g. Borch [1] and Feldstein [4]) still obtain. As a practical matter, our counter-examples merely extend the class of approximating distributions available to portfolio analysts. A more intriguing ramification of our counter-examples is the possibility of a viable alternative to the stable Paretian model of stochastic price fluctuation [7], [8], [2], [3], [10]. The stable Paretian model follows from the assumption of independent stable increments in the log-price process. In Section II, we construct an alternative model with uncorrelated (but dependent) stable increments.
Bioeconomic Models of Crop Production Systems: Design, Development, and Use

Bioeconomic models describe biological processes and predict the effects management decisions have on those processes. Bioeconomic models are used to improve understanding of complex production systems, to assess the effects of policies and new technologies, and to support farm-level decisions. This article examines design objectives for bioeconomic models of crop production and the implications of design objectives for model structure and function, technical challenges associated with bioeconomic model development, and problems and opportunities related to the use of bioeconomic models for direct support of crop production management decisions.
Salt Effects on Protein Titration and Binding

Salt effects on protein titration and binding are investigated using a cavity-function theory for chemical association. Analytical expressions are obtained for the electrostatic interaction factor in protein titration and for the pK shift of the calcium-binding constant in calbindin D9k. Although the structural details of proteins are neglected in the model, the theoretical results are in excellent agreement with experimental data.
Concept of Tubular-Join Design

The radial flexibility of the chord tube, the relative outside dimensions of the connecting members, and the relative position of the web members in the joint are major influences on the elastic and ultimate strength of tubular connections. The fully interwelded joint with profiled web members appears to be superior in the elastic-load range. The elastic range can be increased by interwelding the incoming web members. This arrangement consequently results in a direct load transfer between these members and subsequently prevents the development of high bending stresses in the chord tube wall. The ultimate load capacity of such a joint also will be increased considerably. For statically loaded joints, gusset plates and small diameter tubes with cropped ends can be used successfully, provided that the static load intensity is moderate. For severe static load applications and particularly for dynamic load conditions, joints with directly interwelded web members can be expected to be most efficient structurally.
An Examination of the Partner Cyber Abuse Questionnaire in a College Student Sample.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the factor structure and convergent validity of a newly developed measure of an understudied form of partner abuse, cyber abuse, and to examine the prevalence of, and gender differences in, victimization by cyber abuse. METHOD: College students in a dating relationship (N = 502) completed the Partner Cyber Abuse Questionnaire (Hamby, 2013), as well as measures of partner abuse victimization and depression. RESULTS: Using exploratory factor analysis, we determined a 1-factor solution was the most statistically and conceptually best fitting model. The cyber abuse victimization factor was correlated with depressive symptoms and physical, psychological, and sexual partner abuse victimization, supporting the convergent validity of the measure. The overall prevalence of victimization by cyber abuse was 40%, with victimization by specific acts ranging from 2% to 31%. Men and women did not differ in their victimization by cyber abuse. CONCLUSIONS: Cyber abuse is prevalent among college students and occurs concurrently with other partner abuse forms and depressive symptoms. Given the interrelated nature of partner abuse forms, prevention and intervention programs should address partner abuse occurring in-person and through technology. Cyber abuse should also be considered in the conceptualization and measurement of partner abuse to more fully understand this social problem. Language: en
Rapid Thawing of Fresh Frozen Plasma

Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) normally requires about 45 min to thaw in a 37 degrees C water bath when placed inside an additional plastic overbag. That relatively prolonged time may result in non-utilization or delays in delivery of the product, especially, during emergency surgery. One report recommends the use of a microwave oven to overcome those problems. Most blood banks do not have microwave ovens but usually do have water baths at 56 degrees C. Ten units of FFP thawed inside plastic overbags at 37 degrees C required 49.5 +/- 3.9 min and 22 units thawed at 56 degrees C required 28.3 +/- 4 min to thaw. Removal of the plastic overbag reduces the thawing time to 12-13 min at 56 degrees C. The activity Factor V was 85 +/- 15% (65-106%) at 37 degrees C and 80 +/- 21% (47-118%) at 56 degrees C. Factor VIII activity was 86 +/- 21% (59-118%) at 37 degrees C and 90 +/- 37% (46-225%) at 56 degrees C. There were no demonstrable alterations in fibrinogen, PT, APTT, Factor II, VII, IX, and XI between the two thawing temperatures, even after 24 hours of storage at 4 degrees C.
Results of Flexor-to-Extensor and Extensor Brevis Tendon Transfer for Correction of the Crossover Second Toe Deformity:

Between 1990 and 1995, 38 patients (42 feet) underwent repair for crossover toe deformity, 31 (35 feet) of whom returned for final examination at an average of 51.6 months (range, 24-81 months). Causes included trauma, iatrogenic, and unknown. Presenting complaints included dorsal pain with either metatarsalgia or joint pain, isolated metatarsophalangeal (MP) joint pain, metatarsalgia, painful plantar callus, metatarsalgia and joint pain, and painful dorsal callus. All patients were treated with one of two operative techniques, either the flexor-to-extensor tendon transfer or the extensor brevis tendon transfer. Choice of procedure depended on the stage of preoperative deformity. Twenty-four patients were completely satisfied with the surgical correction, 6 were satisfied with reservations, and 1 was dissatisfied. The average postoperative AOFAS score for all patients was 85 points (range, 54-100 points), which correlated strongly with patient satisfaction. Twenty-two patients stated that they had no postoperative pain, 8 reported some pain, and 1 had frequent pain at the corrected toe. In 30 feet, there was no recurrence; three patients had mild residual crossover toe deformity, and two patients had recurrent deformity, although all MP joints were stable. Follow-up radiographs demonstrated substantial reduction in MP joint angles in both the AP (from 7 degrees to -1 degree) and lateral (from 45 degrees to 25 degrees) projections. This article reviews the surgical technique of both procedures, proposes specific indications for each, and presents outcomes. Based on our findings, the extensor brevis tendon transfer is appropriate for stage 1, stage 2, and flexible stage 3 deformities. Flexor-to-extensor tendon transfer is appropriate for rigid stage 3 and stage 4 deformities and for all patients with a symptomatic neuroma of the second web space (where the extensor brevis transfer is not possible). Stiffness of the MP joint is a potential problem with the flexor-to-extensor tendon transfer.
Clinical features, diagnosis, and localization of carcinoid tumors and their management

In this article, we have focused on the evolving face of neuroendocrine tumors, newer approaches to their diagnosis and localization, the importance of sophisticated immunohistochemistry, tracer scanning, and the role of peptide therapy in the management of the symptom complex as well as the tumor. With recent expansion in our understanding of the pathophysiology of these tumors have come new and innovative approaches to their management. There is, however, much that remains unsolved and that requires diligent research and evaluation if we are ultimately to include neuroendocrine tumors among the curable cancers.
Multiple Exponence on Archi Pronouns

In this paper we consider multiple exponence in Archi pronouns. We investigate the morphological structure of pronominal forms with several class markers, and demonstrate how the schema-based approach advocated by Harris (2009) can account for their occurrence. We show that pronominal forms with multiple class markers consist of a number of independent morphemes, each taking a class marker. Finally we show that concord is responsible for obligatory co-occurrence of the morphemes on the sequences of reflexive pronouns in Archi. This paper provides additional arguments for a layered structure of words in languages with multiple exponence based on morphological schemas.
An Expansile Mandibular Mass as the Initial Manifestation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most frequently encountered malignancies. Distant metastasis is a common sequela, occurring in approximately 50% of cases. Metastasis to the oral cavity...
Passive Surveillance of Ixodes scapularis (Say), Their Biting Activity, and Associated Pathogens in Massachusetts.

Abstract A passive surveillance of tick-borne pathogens was conducted over a 7-year period (2006–2012), in which a total of 3551 ticks were submitted to the University of Massachusetts for PCR testing. The vast majority of these ticks were Ixodes scapularis from Massachusetts (N = 2088) and hence were the focus of further analysis. Two TaqMan duplex qPCR assays were developed to test I. scapularis ticks for the presence of three human pathogens: Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti. I. scapularis submissions were concentrated from Cape Cod, the eastern half of the state outside of the Boston metropolitan area, parts of Franklin and Hampshire counties along the Quabbin Reservoir watershed, and southwestern Berkshire county. Differences in seasonal activity pattern were observed for different developmental stages of I. scapularis. The largest proportion of tick bite victims were age 9 years and under. Nymphal ticks were found more often on lower extremities of their hosts, wh...
Reviving Cowden Clarke: Rewriting Shakespeare’s Heroines in Young Adult Fiction

In December of 1850, shortly after completing her 16-year magnum opus, the first concordance of Shakespeare, Mary Cowden Clarke published the first novella in a series called The Girlhood of Shakespeare’s Heroines. One early reviewer described the new project in The Northern Star and National Trades’ Journal as a novelist’s necessary response to Shakespeare’s ‘rich mine of intellectual wealth — but half worked out and promising inexhaustible mental riches to those who explore it’ and asked ‘who, in Shakespeare’s case, [is] so fitted for the task as Mrs. Cowden Clarke, whose intellect and devotion are so well proved by these Shakespearian works’ (’Review’, 1850). The ‘modest pam- phlet’ about ‘Portia, the Heiress of Belmont’ that earned the reviewer’s praise led to more than 25 published editions of Cowden Clarke’s tales from 1850 to 1925. Although Cowden Clarke’s fictional prequels for Shakespeare’s heroines are not the first novels that expand on Shakespeare’s own life or those of his characters, these narratives are the literary foremothers for the recent burgeoning of young adult (YA) novels — more than a hundred since 2000 — that re imagine the lives of Shakespeare’s characters.
4.36 Silica Based Mesoporous Nanospheres

Since the independent discovery of the formation of mesostructured silica using surfactants as structure directing agents by several groups in the early 1990s, these materials have found important application in the area of catalysis, separation technology and, most recently, as biomaterials. Among all the silica based materials that have been investigated, mesoporous silica nanospheres with well-defined structures and surface properties are very promising for various biomedical applications. In this chapter we first provide a brief history along with the general synthesis procedure of mesoporous silica materials. This is followed by a description of the synthesis to obtain the mesoporous silica based microspheres and nanospheres. We also discuss the physical and chemical properties along with the general characterization techniques used for these materials. Particular attention is paid towards the applications as biomaterials.
Affinity Labeling of Catechol O-Methyltransferase by the Oxidation Products of 6-Hydroxydopamine

Various polyphenols, including 6-hydroxydopamine, 6-hydroxydopa, 5-hydroxydopamine, N1-DL-seryl-N2(2,3,4,-trihydroxybenzyl)hydrazine (RO4-4602), pyrogallol, and 5,6-dihydroxyindole, have been found to inactivate the enzyme catechol O-methyltransferase irreversibly. This inactivation could be prevented by including an antioxidant in the preliminary incubation mixture or by excluding oxygen. However, catalase did not protect the enzyme from inactivation. The mechanism of 6-hydroxydopamine inactivation was investigated, and it was observed that 6-hydroxydopamine p-quinone the initial oxidation product of 6-hydroxydopamine, was as effective as 6-hydroxydopamine in inactivating the enzyme. However, 2-hydroxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone, which is not able to undergo a cyclization reaction to the aminochrome system as is 6-hydroxydopamine p-quinone, was not effective in inactivating this enzyme. This latter observation, as well as data from kinetic experiments, suggested that the aminochrome product resulting from cyclization of 6-hydroxydopamine p-quinone was probably the species reacting with the enzyme. This was further substantiated by the observation that 5,6-dihydroxyindole, which when air-oxidized forms a similar aminochrome system, also produced complete inactivation of the enzyme. Kinetic experiments, using adrenochrome as a model aminochrome compound, suggested that enzyme inactivation occurred by a unimolecular reaction within a dissociable complex rather than by a nonspecific bimolecular reaction. Substrate protection studies suggested that one of the active sites of the enzyme was involved in this inactivation. The results of the present experiments provide a useful model system for studying the interaction of 6-hydroxydopamine with proteins.
Robust multi-dimensional scaling via outlier-sparsity control

Multidimensional scaling (MDS) seeks an embedding of N objects in a p &#60; N dimensional space such that inter-vector distances approximate pair-wise object dissimilarities. Despite their popularity, MDS algorithms are sensitive to outliers, yielding grossly erroneous embeddings even if few outliers contaminate the available dissimilarities. This work introduces a robust MDS approach exploiting the degree of sparsity in the outliers present. Links with compressive sampling lead to a robust MDS solver capable of coping with outliers. The novel algorithm relies on a majorization-minimization (MM) approach to minimize a regularized stress function, whereby an iterative MDS solver involving Lasso operators is obtained. The resulting scheme identifies outliers and obtains the desired embedding at a computational cost comparable to that of non-robust MDS alternatives. Numerical tests illustrate the merits of the proposed algorithm.
A Feminist-Informed Integration of Emotionally Focused and Solution-Focused Therapies

This article outlines the integration of emotionally focused and solution-focused therapies through a feminist family therapy lens. Integrating therapy models using a feminist-informed lens strengt...
3D fabrication for optical metamaterials and metasurfaces

Metamaterials enable the engineering of refractive index into the intriguing negative regime. Such negative index metamaterials (NIMs) can give rise to unique optical properties like negative refraction and backward waves. Similarly, zero index metamaterials (ZIMs) are widely studied recently for they open a new route to realize uniform phase distribution and coherent coupling even within a large volume. However, bulk NIMs and ZIMs of high performance necessitates sophisticated 3D nanofabrication technology. Here we show the fabrication of 3D NIMs and ZIMs using 20-layer electron beam evaporation without vacuum break on a thin 50nm silicon nitride membrane, followed by precise focused ion beam milling from the backside of membrane. The suspended multilayer-on-membrane configuration allows the remnant Gallium ions to penetrate through the structure, thereby significantly reducing the absorption of the fabricated samples. With the high optical transmission, we could then perform many interesting experiments on the bulk NIMs and ZIMs, including nonlinear four-wave mixing measurements to study the phase-matching condition, back-focal plane imaging to measure the topological transition between the elliptic and hyperbolic dispersions, heat experiments to examine the enhanced thermal emission due to hyperbolic dispersion, and a more recent single-photon experiment to test the fundamental principles of quantum mechanics. On the other hand, we also showed that metasurfaces, which are fundamentally 2D, can display exciting new properties by applying them on a 3D object. We first used the focused ion beam to carve out the 3D structures, followed by a specially-developed electron beam lithography technique with extremely precise alignment accuracy to fabricate metasurface on the curved 3D structures. An ultra-thin invisibility cloak capable of hiding 3D objects is thus realized in the visible wavelength.
Intensive Lifestyle Intervention for Obesity: Principles, Practices, and Results

Using the Guidelines for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults as a framework, this article reviews intensive lifestyle interventions for weight loss. The Guidelines recommend a minimum of 6 months of high-intensity, comprehensive lifestyle intervention, consisting of a reduced-calorie diet, increased physical activity, and behavior therapy. Persons with obesity typically lose approximately 8 kg (approximately 8% of initial weight) with this approach, accompanied by improvements in health and quality of life. To prevent weight regain, the Guidelines recommend a 1-year weight loss maintenance program that includes at least monthly counseling with a trained interventionist. Lifestyle interventions usually are delivered in-person; however, treatment increasingly is being disseminated through community- and commercial-based programs, as well as delivered by telephone, Internet, and smartphone platforms. These latter modalities expand treatment reach but usually produce smaller weight losses than in-person interventions. The review concludes with an examination of challenges in weight management.
Complete surgical resection and short-term survival in acute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis.

BackgroundAcute invasive fungal rhinosinusitis (AIFR) is a fulminant fungal infection seen in patients who are immunocompromised. Due to its rarity, there is little evidence regarding the appropria...
Creasing in evaporation-driven cavity collapse

We report on crease morphology and evolution at the surface of contracting cavities embedded within elastomeric solids of varying composition (Sylgard 184: pre-polymer to crosslinker mixing ratios of 10 : 1, 12 : 1, 17.5 : 1, and 25 : 1). Cavity contraction is achieved through evaporation of an embedded 10 μL liquid droplet. In validation of recent theoretical predictions, strain-stiffening modeled via the Gent constitutive relation [Jin and Suo, JMPS, 2015, 74, 68–79] is found to govern both crease onset and crease density. Specifically, crease onset matches prediction using only experimentally-measured parameters. Neo-Hookean solids are found to prefer initiating creasing with many short creases that join to form a collapsed state with only a few creases, whereas creasing in Gent solids initiates with a few creases that propagate across the cavity surface. These experimental observations are explained by energy minimization using finite element simulation of a cylindrical crease geometry.
Disagreements in surgical decision making for advanced cancer patients secondary to deficiencies in palliative care education.

34Background: Surgical decision making in advanced cancer patients requires careful thought and deliberation balancing the high risks with the potential palliative benefits. We sought to compare pa...
Reading Galileo: Scribal Technologies and the Two New Sciences

Presented as a study of ‘Galileo’s debts to the scholarly traditions he inherited, both from his contemporaries and predecessors’ (p. vii), Renee Raphael’s book focuses, in fact, almost exclusively...
A preliminary model of double-minute-mediated gene amplification.

A mathematical model of double minute (dm) population dynamics has been developed based upon current concepts of the saltatory replication, random partitioning, nuclear exclusion and loss, and cellular growth inhibition of these extrachromosomal elements. A highly accurate approximate analytical solution has been obtained for the dm frequency distribution at steady state and preliminary analysis of transient states has been performed. The steady state solution has been fit to experimental frequency data of the SW527N carcinoma line, the excellent goodness of fit (X2 = 2.6, d.f. = 29) providing preliminary evidence for the consistency of this set of mechanisms. Two special cases are examined in which extrareplicative dms are produced on both the chromosome and existing dms at equal rates or on the chromosome alone. The model predicts that the population--average rate of extrareplicative dm production is 0.039 +/- S.E. 0.009 dms/hr/cell in the first case and is tenfold higher than when such replication occurs on the chromosome alone (0.0043 +/- S.E. 0.0004 dms/hr/cell). Allowable ranges of the extent of dm-related growth inhibition and dm loss are determined for the SW527N cell line. It is found that dm-related growth inhibition can be nearly as high as that observed for the S180 sarcoma lines (on the order of 0.5% per dm lengthening of the doubling time) or as low as zero.
Association of μ-Calpain and Calpastatin Polymorphisms with Meat Tenderness in a Brahman–Angus Population

Autogenous proteolytic enzymes of the calpain family are implicated in myofibrillar protein degradation. As a result, the µ-calpain gene and its specific inhibitor, calpastatin, have been repeatedly investigated for their association with meat quality traits in cattle; however, no functional mutation has been identified for these two genes. The objectives of this study were: 1) to assess breed composition effect on tenderness; 2) to perform a linkage disequilibrium (LD) analysis in µ-calpain and calpastatin genes as well as an association analyses with tenderness; and 3) to analyze putative functional SNPs inside the significant LD block for an effect on tenderness. Tenderness measurements and genotypes for 16 SNPs in µ-calpain gene and 28 SNPs in calpastatin gene from 673 steers were analyzed. A bioinformatic analysis identified “putative functional SNPs” inside the associated LD block - polymorphisms able to produce a physical and/or chemical change in the DNA, mRNA or translated protein in-silico. Breed composition had a significant (P<0.0001) effect on tenderness where animals with more than 80% Angus composition had the most tender meat. One 11-kb LD-block and three LD-blocks of 37, 17 and 14 kb in length were identified in the µ-calpain and calpastatin genes, respectively. Out of these, the LD-block 3 in calpastatin, tagged by SNP located at 7-98566391 and 7-98581038, had a significant effect on tenderness with the TG-CG diplotype being approximately 1 kg more tender than the toughest haplotype, TG-CG. A total of 768 SNPs in the LD-block 3 of calpastatin were included in the bioinformatic analysis, and 28 markers were selected as putative functional SNPs inside the LD-block 3 of calpastatin; however, none of them were polymorphic in this population. Out of 15 initial polymorphisms segregating inside the LD-block 3 of calpastatin in this population, markers ARSUSMARC116, Cast5, rs730723459, and rs210861835 were found to be significantly associated with tenderness.
Possible Triggering Mechanisms for Severe Storms in SESAME-AVE IV (9–10 May 1979)

The SESAME-AVE IV (9–10 May 1979) rawinsonde data were analyzed to uncover possible triggering mechanisms for severe storms that developed over western Oklahoma and Texas. The high frequency of observations (at 3 h intervals) and high vertical resolution of reported data (at 25 mb intervals) at all stations permitted investigation of the diurnal variation of the planetary boundary layer on the synoptic scale. Thunderstorms developed first just ahead of a stationary front over the Texas panhandle on the afternoon of 9 May. This area was characterized by the absence of a strong inversion (or “lid”) that represented an interface between very warm and dry air aloft, and warm moist tropical air below. Apparently, mesoscale low-level ascending motion associated with frontal lifting and/or the inland sea breeze effect led to the removal of the lid. Another noteworthy feature in this storm event was the strong vertical wind shear at low and middle levels over the storm area. When combined with the development of ...
Nematode Resistance in Cotton

Nematode parasitism of cotton, has become increasingly important due to yield losses and increased distribution across cotton production regions. Yield losses attributed to nematodes in 1991 in the 14 cotton-producing states in the USA were estimated to be approximately 2.4%, or in excess of 476151 bales (Smith 1992). In 1992, plant-parasitic nematodes accounted for an estimated yield loss of 528000 bales valued at US$184951200 (Goodell 1993). The Cotton Disease Council reported yield losses in 1995 in Mississippi at about 4% or 82929 bales, and beltwide in the USA about 3.5%, or about 778703 bales. Decreases in fiber length and other adverse affects on fiber quality due to nematode infection were reported by Smith et al. (1991).
Improving Teachers’ Mathematical Content Knowledge Through Scaffolded Instruction

Recent research on scaffolded instruction has focused increasingly on the potential of support to promote collaborative learning of content. Sociocultural historic theories have been introduced from associated fields to suggest that cognition and learning takes place at individual and group levels. The concept of a scaffolded instruction model, the Field of Social Interaction, was developed to explain how multiple individuals share meanings and understandings of mathematics’ content. Applying a mixed-methods design, this study examined the concept of shared meanings through the language of scaffolding among practicing middle school mathematics teachers during a professional development program designed to increase mathematical content knowledge. Findings suggest that when learners work in collaborative situations, scaffolded instruction may provide opportunities for those learners to be the knowledgeable others, especially when linked to intentional and deliberate pedagogy. This research provides a fresh perspective on the role of learning and understanding mathematical content within a collaborative context in which teachers’ metacognitive processes evolve and influence their role as teachers of mathematics.
The Ethics of Forensic Psychiatry

At a recent meeting of 60 federal judges from around the country, one of the trial judges defined the essence of the distinction between trial and appellate judges. “Trial judges,” he said, “are in the front lines of legal warfare; they are foot soldiers involved in bloody hand-to-hand combat. Appellate judges, in contrast, sit on a safe hill overlooking the battlefield. When the fighting is over, the appellate judge comes down from his position of safety and goes about shooting the wounded.” Similarly one could describe forensic psychiatry as a kind of hand-to-hand combat, and now as never before, the troops are wounded and bloody. Scholarly criticism has been blistering,1 and after the trial of John Hinckley, the media have been unrelenting in their attacks. Now, when forensic psychiatrists need encouragement, healing balms, and soothing treatment, I have come down from my ivory tower to “shoot the wounded.”
Beyond Bioethics; A Phenomenological Approach to Thinking Reprogenetics

Since the discovery of the molecular structure of DNA in 1953, interest in human genetics has exploded, spawning new research agendas and innovative clinical practices, particularly with regard to assisted reproductive technologies. In this paper, I argue that we have yet to fully appreciate the political questions raised by these technologies because our discussions of reprogenetics have thus far been dominated by a liberal individualist approach to bioethics. Driven largely by a concern for individual rights and choice, bioethicists have had difficulty reconciling the commitment to reproductive freedom with the moral imperative to prevent harm. Turning to the works of Hannah Arendt and Martin Heidegger, I suggest that a phenomenological approach to thinking reprogenetics might offer a way beyond this impasse. Instead of focusing on the moral status of individuals and the choices they make, a phenomenological approach raises broader questions about the technoscientific world within which these practices are located. It also forces us to question the language through which we understand reprogenetic technologies. Because these questions go directly to our ability to speak and act together in the public sphere, they are crucial to understanding the specifically political implications of reprogenetic technologies.
Refinancing Civil Litigation

This article argues that most of the important phenomena of modern litigation are best understood as results of changes in the financing and capitalization of the bar. During the twentieth century civil litigation has moved its focus from trial to discovery and settlement. Two elements coalesced to transform litigation practice: changed discovery rules and the spread of liability insurance. Much of that transformation involved changes in financial arrangements, both among defendants, with the spread of liability insurance, and among lawyers, with growth in firm size, and better diversification and capitalization of the plaintiffs' bar, and regulatory changes that enabled better marketing of firms' services. This reconfiguration was both necessary -- because modern discovery required substantial investment -- and profitable -- because good discovery yielded improved settlements. As a consequence of these changes, lawyers at the end of the twentieth century offered clients improved, though more expensive, litigation services in a more competitive market with resources more evenly balanced between plaintiffs and defendants than at the start of the century.
Youth Anti-Racist Engagement: Conceptualization, Development, and Validation of an Anti-Racism Action Scale

Scholarship on youth engagement indicates that adolescents address social issues of public concern, but it is not clear how youth challenge racism. This gap in the literature stems from indirect conceptualizations and a lack of quantitative measurement of adolescents’ acts to oppose racism. Correspondingly, this study presents the validation of a measure of youth anti-racism action. Study 1 describes the youth participatory approach used in the development of the Anti-Racism Action Scale and presents the results from an exploratory factor analysis that examined the measure’s initial factor structure and reliability. The factor structure of the 22-item measure was explored with a diverse sample of adolescents (Mage = 16.00, SD = 1.18; 61.7% girls, Black/African American [29.3%], Asian/South Asian [21.1%], White/European American [24.4%], Arab/Middle-Eastern [17.5%], Latino/Hispanic [4.5%], and Multiracial [3.3%]) enrolled in a race dialogue program (n = 249). The results indicated the measure consisted of three subscales: Interpersonal Action, Communal Action, and Political Change Action. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with an independent, nationally representative sample of youth (n = 384) from diverse backgrounds (Mage = 17.00, SD = 1.29, 51.0% girls, White/European American [26.1%], Black/African American [25.6%], Latino/Hispanic [19.3%], Asian/Pacific Islander [13.6%], Multiracial [9.9%], Native American [5.2%] and “other” [0.3%]). The results confirmed a three-factor model that resulted in a 16-item measure. Furthermore, tests of convergent validity tests were pursued between the Anti-Racism Action Scale and the Critical Consciousness Scale, a widely used measure of youths’ awareness of the structural causes of various forms of oppression, sense of sociopolitical agency, and social action. This study suggests that youth engagement in anti-racism is multidimensional and that notion of adolescent social action are more diverse than represented in the literature.