cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How to Write an Abstract Suitable for Publication

Writing an abstract suitable for publication is often challenging. The authors of this article propose simple techniques for initiating the writing process, such as using a structured abstract model. They also describe several essential elements to include within the abstract, so that the outcome is a clear, concise document. Following the advice and steps outlined in this article should make writing abstracts easier. In addition, learning the “do's and don'ts” of abstract writing will improve quality and increase the likelihood of acceptance for publication.
Naltrexone moderates the relationship between cue-induced craving and subjective response to methamphetamine in individuals with methamphetamine use disorder

Reductions in cue-induced craving and subjective response to drugs of abuse are commonly used as initial outcome measures when testing novel medications for the treatment of addiction. Yet neither the relationship between these two measures at the individual level nor the moderating effects of pharmacotherapies on this relationship has been examined. This secondary data analysis sought to examine (1) the predictive relationship between cue-induced craving and subsequent acute subjective response to methamphetamine (MA) and (2) whether the opioid-receptor antagonist naltrexone moderated this association in a sample of non-treatment-seeking individuals who met DSM-IV criteria for MA use disorder (abuse or dependence). Participants (n = 30) completed two 4-day medication regimens (oral naltrexone 50 mg or placebo, in a randomized, counterbalanced, and double-blind fashion). On day 4 of each medication regimen, participants completed a cue-reactivity paradigm followed by intravenous MA administration. Methamphetamine craving was assessed after the cue-reactivity paradigm, and subjective response to MA was assessed during MA infusion. Cue-induced craving for MA was positively associated with post-infusion subjective MA effects, including positive (i.e., stimulation, good effects, feel drug, high), negative (i.e., anxious and depressed), and craving-related (i.e., want more, would like access to drug, crave) responses. Naltrexone, vs. placebo, significantly reduced the association between cue-induced craving and positive subjective response to MA. The findings indicate that naltrexone moderates the predictive relationship between cue-induced craving and positive subjective effects of MA, thereby suggesting a behavioral mechanism by which naltrexone may be efficacious in treating MA use disorder.
Special Pairs Are Decisive in the Autoionization and Recombination of Water

Although water’s chemical properties are no less important than its exceptional physical properties, its acid–base behavior is relatively poorly understood. In fact, the Grotthus trajectories for ion recombination predicted by density functional theory do not comport well with the almost 100-fold slower diffusive trajectories observed in time-resolved spectroscopy. And, in the reverse reaction, the barrier to autoionization is not well characterized. Here we develop a self-consistent picture of both processes based on the occurrence and role of ultrashort hydrogen bonds. The predicted populations of these special pairs in bulk water are consistent with the high frequency electrodynamics of water and its pressure dependence. The rate-limiting role of the special pairs manifests in autoionization as a two-stage barrier, first to form a contact ion pair and then to separate it by one water molecule. From this configuration, similar frequencies are observed for further separation vs recombination. The require...
IRREDUCIBILITY AND FACTORS OF POLYNOMIALS IN NOETHERIAN INTEGRAL DOMAINS

Let R be a Noetherian integral domain, and let f be a polynomial with coefficients in R. A question of great importance is whether f is irreducible. In this paper, we give a sufficient condition for f to be irreducible by looking at the content ideal of f . This result is then extended to show a connection between the height of a polynomial’s (proper) content ideal and the maximal number of irreducible factors it can possess. Acknowledgements: The author is grateful to the referees for their valuable input and corrections, which improved the exposition of the paper. PAGE 16 RHIT UNDERGRAD. MATH. J., VOL. 15, No. 2
HIV-1-Associated Atherosclerosis: Unraveling the Missing Link.

Cardiovascular disease, including atherosclerosis and atherosclerosis-associated complications, is an increasing cause of morbidity and mortality in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients in the post-antiretroviral therapy era. HIV alone accelerates atherosclerosis. Antiretroviral therapy; HIV-associated comorbidities, such as dyslipidemia, drug abuse, and opportunistic infections; and lifestyle are risk factors for HIV-associated atherosclerosis. However, our current understanding of HIV-associated atherogenesis is very limited and has largely been obtained from clinical observation. There is a pressing need to experimentally unravel the missing link between HIV and atherosclerosis. Understanding these mechanisms will help to better develop and design novel therapeutic interventions for the treatment of HIV-associated cardiovascular disease. HIV mainly infects T cells and macrophages resulting in the induction of oxidative and endoplasmic reticulum stress, the formation of the inflammasome, and the dysregulation of autophagy. These mechanisms may contribute to HIV-associated atherogenesis. In this review, we will summarize our current understanding and propose potential mechanisms of HIV-associated atherosclerosis.
Molecular Mechanisms of Insulin Resistance in the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Whole body resistance to the glycemic actions of insulin is a frequent occurrence in individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Reductions in insulin action on glucose metabolism have been demonstrated in a number of tissues or cells from PCOS subjects. These involve changes in either, or both, the sensitivity and maximal responsiveness to insulin. Meanwhile, the mitogenic and ovarian steriodogenic actions of insulin are intact. Altered phosphorylation of key insulin-signaling intermediates are prime candidates for impaired insulin signal transduction that persists after correction of the in vivo metabolic and hormonal environment.
Racial/Ethnic Differences in the Modifying Effect of Community Violence on the Association between Paternity Status and Preterm Birth

Preterm birth (PTB) is a major public health concern in the US. Lack of established paternity has been linked with increased risk of PTB. Community violence (CV) may modify the association, and racial/ethnic differences may exist. Using a geographically defined cohort of women in Richmond, Virginia (N = 27,518), we examined racial/ethnic differences in the modifying effect of CV on the association between paternity status and PTB. Results showed that lack of established paternity was associated with incremental greater odds of PTB across CV quartiles in NH-Whites (quartile-1: AOR = 1.42, 95% CI = 0.95-2.12; quartile-2: AOR = 1.45, 95% CI = 0.57-3.71; quartile-3: AOR = 3.12, 95% CI = 2.67-6.32), NH-Blacks (quartile-1: AOR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.85-1.58; quartile-2: AOR = 1.32, 95% CI = 0.82-2.12; quartile-3: AOR = 1.64, 95% CI = 1.24-2.16), and Hispanics (quartile-1: AOR = 1.29, 95% CI = 0.65-2.55; quartile-2: AOR = 1.34, 95% CI = 0.67-2.69). Odds of PTB were highest among NH-White women. Public health practitioners should be aware of the negative effect of lack of paternal presence on PTB in women resident in high violence rate communities and racial/ethnic differences that exist.
Secondary and Tertiary Structure of Apolipoproteins

The current knowledge of the primary structures of apolipoproteins (ApoLP’s) is impressive. Traditional protein sequencing technology has provided the primary amino acid sequences of the major exchangeable apo-LP’s - ApoAI, All, the C’s and E (1-4). Recently, simultaneously in several laboratories, the complete amino acid sequence of ApoBl00 has been deduced from its cDNA. Due to its extremely large size (550,000 daltons) and insolubility in water in the absence of lipids or denaturants, direct sequencing methods for ApoBl00 have been hindered.
Conceptualizing co-enrollment: accounting for student experiences across the curriculum

In this study, we develop and test three measures for conceptualizing the potential impact of co-enrollment in different courses on students' changing risk for academic difficulty in a focal course. Two of these measures, concurrent enrollment in at least one difficult course and academic difficulty in the prior week in courses other than the focal course, significantly increase students' odds of academic difficulty in the focal course in our models. Our results have implications for the designs of Early Warning Systems and suggest that academic planners consider the relationship between course co-enrollment and students' academic success.
On-Farm Corn, Soybean, and Alfalfa Fertilizer Trials

All cropping systems require fertilizer inputs in order to maintain crop yields. However,excess fertilizer, especially nitrogen and phosphorus, can increase problems with water quality. It is important for farmers to use the appropriate rates and methods of fertilizer application to optimize yields and minimize the impact on the environment. The purpose of these trials was to investigate the effect of various fertilizer practices on crop yield.
The conditioning effect of EU membership status: understanding compliance with legislative initiatives to protect trafficking victims

European countries face a tremendous challenge in coping with human trafficking, a challenge that has been exacerbated by the increase in irregular forms of migration to Europe since 2015. European Union members have made progress in developing a legal framework to protect trafficking victims. Yet attempts to coordinate national laws fail to address the growing problem. Research is needed to understand why states fall short of EU goals. Through case studies of Germany, Hungary and Turkey, we examine the extent to which adoption of the European Union’s Council Framework Decision on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings is associated with positive domestic changes. We focus on the effect of European Union membership status on implementation of victim protection policy. The results suggest that powerful EU members need incentives to cooperate that exceed costs, while capacity-building measures would likely drive change for candidates and newer members. Our findings help scholars predict when European legislative initiatives will likely translate into better domestic anti-trafficking measures. The findings also have broader implications for cooperative efforts in migration control and human rights protection.
Laser/Light Applications in Urology

Medical laser systems have had a reputation for being large, difficult to use, and expensive. However, recent technological advances have resulted in the commercial availability of clinical lasers that are more compact, powerful, affordable, and user-friendly. Clinical expertise in laser surgery has also improved, and as a result, the impact of lasers on the practice of urology has been significant. Solid-state lasers, such as the potassium-titanyl-phosphate (KTP) or frequency-doubled neodymium yttrium-aluminumgarnet (Nd:YAG) laser, and holmium:YAG (Ho:YAG) lasers, have replaced older gas and dye lasers for soft tissue procedures and laser lithotripsy. Continued development of flexible endoscopes combined with the availability of small, flexible, biocompatible, inexpensive, and disposable optical fibers, have also created new opportunities for minimally invasive laser procedures in the urological tract. Laser procedures in urology are based on a wide range of mechanisms for laser-tissue interactions, including photothermal, photomechanical, and photochemical (Table 1). Examples of photothermal applications include laser ablation of soft tissues for treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH), strictures, bladder cancer, laser tissue welding, and long-pulse laser lithotripsy. Photomechanical applications include short-pulse laser lithotripsy, and photochemical applications include photodynamic therapy (PDT) for treatment of bladder and prostate cancer. This article reviews in detail the two most common clinical applications of lasers in urology laser lithotripsy for fragmentation of urinary stones and laser ablation of the prostate for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and also covers other laser applications such as incision of strictures and tissue welding. The development of new experimental laser technologies for potential use in urology is also discussed.
Felis yagouaroundi (Jaguarundi)

Skin biopsies of one male and one female animal were kindly provided by Dr. C. Gray, National Zoological Park, Washington, D.C., USA. The typical feline marker chromosomes are the first autosomes in the fourth row.
Neoliberal reform and family engagement in schools: An intersectional gender analysis:

This article presents an exploration of the work of family engagement in a racially- and linguistically-diverse, high-poverty, urban school district in a state of continuous neoliberal reform. Draw...
FROM BRAZIL TO SWEDEN TO BRAZIL: GENDER TROUBLE IN FERNANDO GABEIRA

In light of Judith Butler’s insight, including her theories of gender trouble and performativity, this article investigates Brazilian journalist and activist Fernando Gabeira’s trajectory against machismo, homophobia, and gender presumptions. That trajectory spans his formative years, in Minas Gerais (1940s and 50s), the armed resistance to the military dictatorship. in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo (1960s), the activism during exile, mostly in Sweden (1970-1979), and another 35 years of sociopolitical engagement, after his return to Brazil. Key to this essay’s central inquiry are Gabeira’s thoughts and experiences in his O que e isso, companheiro? (1979), O crepusculo do macho (1980), and Entradas e bandeiras (1981).
GJA1-20k Arranges Actin to Guide Cx43 Delivery to Cardiac Intercalated Discs.

Rationale:Delivery of Cx43 (connexin 43) to the intercalated disc is a continuous and rapid process critical for intercellular coupling. By a pathway of targeted delivery involving microtubule high...
Studies on the Utilization of Alkali Lignin (Part 4)

Dimethyl sulfide is easily oxidized by ozone at low temperature. In ozone oxidation, residue from ozone is O2 only, and so recovery of reaction products is easy. In this report, we describe the outline of ozone oxidation and then the purity of dimethyl sulfoxide, by gas chromatograph and IR spectrum.Ignition point of dimethyl sulfide in air is 206°C and in oxygen is 204.5°C. The difference between the former and the latter is small.Dimethyl sulfide composes the explosion mixture with O2. In this meaning, we would describe the ozone oxidation condition.
A novel muscle cramp scale (MCS) in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Objective: To develop a novel muscle cramp scale (MCS) to assess frequency, severity and clinically meaningful information related to cramps among patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)....
Patient report of herpes zoster pain: Incremental benefits of zoster vaccine live.

INTRODUCTION Pain following herpes zoster (HZ) can persist for months and negatively impact quality of life. To evaluate the effect of zoster vaccine live (ZVL) on progression of pain following HZ, we conducted a prospective cohort study of HZ cases at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. METHODS ZVL vaccinated and unvaccinated members aged ≥60 years with laboratory-confirmed HZ from January 18, 2012 to February 26, 2015 were followed up within 5 days of HZ diagnosis, and at 30, 60, and 90 days after diagnosis. Pain was assessed with the Zoster Brief Pain Inventory (ZBPI) on a 0-10 scale, using cut-points of ≥3, ≥5, and ≥7, with postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) defined as pain ≥3 at 90 days. Log binomial regression was used to estimate adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) associated with pain, comparing vaccinated versus unvaccinated HZ patients. RESULTS We interviewed 509 vaccinated and 509 unvaccinated HZ patients. ZVL was associated with significantly lower risks of HZ-related pain at all time-points. The risk of PHN in vaccinated and unvaccinated patients, respectively, was 9.2% and 15.4% (aRR = 0.594, 95% CI: 0.413, 0.854); 2.0% and 4.8% of these patients reported pain ≥7 (aRR = 0.332, 95% CI: 0.153, 0.721). Irrespective of vaccination, the risk of PHN was lower in adults aged <70 years versus those ≥70 years and was similar or lower in females versus males. CONCLUSION We used laboratory confirmation of HZ cases and patient survey to show that aside from preventing HZ, ZVL reduced HZ-related pain and prevented PHN among vaccine recipients who experienced HZ. Observational studies will be needed to evaluate long-term effectiveness of the new recombinant zoster vaccine and its benefits in protecting patients against PHN.
The combinatorial properties of the Benoumhani polynomials for the Whitney numbers of Dowling lattices

Abstract In the papers (Benoumhani 1996;1997), Benoumhani defined two polynomials F m , n , 1 ( x ) and F m , n , 2 ( x ) . Then, he defined A m ( n , k ) and B m ( n , k ) to be the polynomials satisfying F m , n , 1 ( x ) = ∑ k = 0 n A m ( n , k ) x n − k ( x + 1 ) k and F m , n , 1 ( x ) = ∑ k = 0 n B m ( n , k ) x n − k ( x + 1 ) k . In this paper, we give a combinatorial interpretation of the coefficients of A m + 1 ( n , k ) and prove a symmetry of the coefficients, i.e., [ m s ] A m + 1 ( n , k ) = [ m n − s ] A m + 1 ( n , n − k ) . We give a combinatorial interpretation of B m + 1 ( n , k ) and prove that B m + 1 ( n , n − 1 ) is a polynomial in m with non-negative integer coefficients. We also prove that if n ≥ 6 then all coefficients of B m + 1 ( n , n − 2 ) except the coefficient of m n − 1 are non-negative integers. For all n , the coefficient of m n − 1 in B m + 1 ( n , n − 2 ) is − ( n − 1 ) , and when n ≤ 5 some other coefficients of B m + 1 ( n , n − 2 ) are also negative.
Pyridoxine impact on patients with myelodysplastic syndromes with ring sideroblasts: Single institution retrospective study.

e18549Background: Many vitamin deficiencies can cause anemia. It is prudent prior to diagnosing a myeloid neoplasm, to check for vitamin deficiencies and correct them. Myelodysplastic syndromes wit...
Undergraduate Prescription Stimulant Misuse and Academic Strain: The Role of College Major and Graduate School Plans:

The literature has shown that undergraduates engage in the misuse of prescription stimulants in large part to meet academic demands and as an attempt to alleviate academic stress. The current study...
N-Glycosylation is required for secretion of the precursor to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (proBDNF) carrying sulfated LacdiNAc structures

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is generated by proteolytic cleavage of a prodomain from the proBDNF precursor either intracellularly by furin-like proteases or extracellularly by plasmin or matrix metalloproteinases. ProBDNF carries a single N-glycosylation sequon (Asn-127) that remains virtually unstudied despite being located in a highly conserved region proximal to the proteolytic site. To study the proBDNF structure and function, here we expressed the protein and its nonglycosylated N127Q mutant in HEK293F cells. We found that mutation of the Asn-127 prevents intracellular maturation and secretion, an effect reproduced in WT proBDNF by tunicamycin-induced inhibition of N-glycosylation. Absence of the N-glycan did not affect the kinetics of proBDNF cleavage by furin in vitro, indicating that effects other than a direct furin-proBDNF interaction may regulate proBDNF maturation. Using an optimized LC-MS/MS workflow, we demonstrate that secreted proBDNF is fully glycosylated and carries rare N-glycans terminated by GalNAcβ1-4GlcNAcβ1-R (LacdiNAc) extensively modified by terminal sulfation. We and others noted that this type of glycosylation is protein-specific, extends to proBDNF expressed in PC12 cells, and implies the presence of interacting partners that recognize this glycan epitope. The findings of our study reveal that proBDNF carries an unusual type of N-glycans important for its processing and secretion. Our results open new opportunities for functional studies of these protein glycoforms in different cells and tissues.
Meta-analytic activation maps can help identify affective processes captured by contrast-based task fMRI: the case of threat-related facial expressions

Abstract Meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data is an effective method for capturing the distributed patterns of brain activity supporting discrete cognitive and affective processes. One opportunity presented by the resulting meta-analysis maps (MAMs) is as a reference for better understanding the nature of individual contrast maps (ICMs) derived from specific task fMRI data. Here, we compared MAMs from 148 neuroimaging studies representing the broad emotion categories of fear, anger, disgust, happiness, and sadness with ICMs from fearful > neutral and angry > neutral facial expressions from an independent dataset of task fMRI (n = 1263). Analyses revealed that both fear and anger ICMs exhibited the greatest pattern similarity to fear MAMs. As the number of voxels included for the computation of pattern similarity became more selective, the specificity of MAM-ICM correspondence decreased. Notably, amygdala activity long considered critical for processing threat-related facial expressions was neither sufficient nor necessary for detecting MAM-ICM pattern similarity effects. Our analyses suggest that both fearful and angry facial expressions are best captured by distributed patterns of brain activity associated with fear. More generally, our analyses demonstrate how MAMs can be leveraged to better understand affective processes captured by ICMs in task fMRI data.
The overdamped transmission coefficient: Recovering the true mean first passage time from an inaccurate reaction coordinate

For inertial reaction dynamics, a transition state theory rate constant obtained from an inaccurate reaction coordinate can be a posteriori corrected with reactive flux methods. In contrast, reaction coordinate errors in overdamped mean first passage time calculations cannot be a posteriori corrected. This work develops an overdamped version of the transmission coefficient. The calculation requires information from committor analyses and an estimate of the diffusivity along the committor coordinate. We illustrate the calculation for a simple two-dimensional potential that admits exact solutions.
Why Gamma Distribution of Seismic Inter-Event Times: A Theoretical Explanation

It is known that the distribution of seismic inter-event times is well described by the Gamma distribution. Recently, this fact has been used to successfully predict major seismic events. In this paper, we explain that the Gamma distribution of seismic inter-event times can be naturally derived from the first principles.
Tissue regeneration and reprogramming

Abstract Tissue regeneration implies regrowth of a damaged organ. As the body ages, the natural ability of tissue regeneration dwindles. Thus the need to understand this process has gained substantial importance due to rise in global geriatric population owing to increase in lifespan. The goal in regenerative medicine is to find ways to understand and initiate tissue regeneration in the body, or to engineer replacement tissues. Under physiological conditions, postinsult adaptive cellular reprogramming is initiated. This process promotes cell division and cell conversion. Emerging evidence suggests a turning back of the dial of cellular plasticity in response to injury leads to acquisition of multipotency or a reversion to stem-like state in an effort to support tissue repair. Diabetic complications compromise such process and function of progenitor cell populations thereby impairing the process of regeneration. The current chapter addresses the role of various cells in process of regeneration and repair process.
Relationships between worry about dying in patients with advanced cancer and their illness understanding, treatment preferences, and advance care planning.

12080Background: Patients with advanced cancer often worry about dying, yet little is known about the role their fears play regarding future care. We aimed to explore relationships between patients...
Patient Risk Factor Profiles Associated With the Timing of Goals-of-Care Consultation Before Death: A Classification and Regression Tree Analysis:

Background:Early palliative care consultation (“PCC”) to discuss goals-of-care benefits seriously ill patients. Risk factor profiles associated with the timing of conversations in hospitals, where ...
Pediatric Cardiac Arrest Resuscitation

Pediatric cardiac arrest is a relatively rare but devastating presentation in infants and children. In contrast to adult patients, in whom a primary cardiac dysrhythmia is the most likely cause of cardiac arrest, pediatric patients experience cardiovascular collapse most frequently after an initial respiratory arrest. Aggressive treatment in the precardiac arrest state should be initiated to prevent deterioration and should focus on support of oxygenation, ventilation, and hemodynamics, regardless of the presumed cause. Unfortunately, outcomes for pediatric cardiac arrest, whether in hospital or out of hospital, continue to be poor.
“In his heart he believed in God, but he could not speak like a man”: Martyrdom, Monstrosity, Speech and the Dog-Headed Saint Christopher

The Saint Christopher known to the early English was a giant with the head of a dog. Yet the fragmentary Life of Saint Christopher, as it appears in London, BL Cotton Vitellius A.xv (the Beowulf manuscript) does not mark that monstrosity as a clear point of difference from the extraordinary embodiment of other martyrs. Rather, the Life exaggerates the shared connection of both monster and martyr to Medieval understandings of how language and signification function. The Life also extends its concern with both language and embodiment to the responses of its readers: the Life of Saint Christopher addresses a “reader with tears,” the reader whose apprehension of the power of the saint is grounded in affect, manifested in tears, and the Life thus perhaps reflects but it also shapes the responses of its readers, as it challenges perception of the dissociation of name from body, or textual meaning from materiality.
Historians, Archivists, and Museum Educators as Teacher Educators: Mentoring Preservice History Teachers at Cultural Institutes:

A relatively new phenomenon in teacher education involves preservice history teachers conducting fieldwork in museums, archives, and other cultural institutes. However, researchers have yet to gene...
Ostracism Applied to the Workplace

In this introductory chapter, we describe the early, social psychological roots of workplace ostracism research and the key papers that gave rise to the current body of work on this topic. We explain the various ways in which ostracism can manifest, including general feelings of being ignored or excluded, organizational shunning, out-of-the-loop ostracism, linguistic ostracism, and cyberostracism. Attention is given to the employee behaviors and characteristics that commonly give rise to ostracism by coworkers. We then review briefly the negative impacts of being ostracized on employee well-being, spillover to family life, organizational citizenship behaviors, unethical and counterproductive work behaviors, work performance, and job commitment. We conclude with a description of five key ways in which future research can improve upon the existing literature. These include more diverse outcome variables, greater use of experimentation, expanded operationalizations of ostracism, greater attention to cultural differences in reactions to ostracism, and a stronger focus on actual rather than self-report behaviors.
Telecom Service Provider Portal: Revenue Sharing and Outsourcing

Online portals, where customers may purchase digital products, can be leveraged for economic advantage by telecommunication network operators. Many different business models, characterized by revenue flow and portal ownership, are possible. However, they may create different degrees of advantages to the participants: network operator, service providers, and subscribers. Assuming a price dependent demand, we study how the parties obtain economic equilibrium in price, number of services, and sales volume, with and without portal-outsourcing. Specifically, we seek to establish whether the pattern of revenue flow creates advantages for certain parties, whether the network operator should provide open access (of his customers) to the service providers, and whether he should acquire new subscribers from independent portals.
mSphere of Influence: No More Excuses-Addressing Race, Racism, and Socioeconomic Issues in the Science Classroom and Laboratory.

ABSTRACT Pascale Guiton works in the field of parasitology at a primarily undergraduate institution. In this mSphere of Influence article, she reflects on her difficulties as a faculty of color to discuss socioscientific issues in her classrooms. T. D. Sadler’s article “Situating socio-scientific issues in classrooms as a means of achieving goals of science education” (in T. Sadler, ed., Socio-Scientific Issues in the Classroom. Contemporary Trends and Issues in Science Education, vol. 39, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1159-4_1, 2011) made an impact on her by providing her with a framework that allows her to effectively address matters of race, racism, and disparities in the context of science courses, bringing together her identity, her students’ experiences, and her perceived role as a scientist-educator. She urges scientist-educators to make real space in their curricula to address these issues.
Doppler imaging detects bacterial infection of living tissue

Living 3D in vitro tissue cultures, grown from immortalized cell lines, act as living sentinels as pathogenic bacteria invade the tissue. The infection is reported through changes in the intracellular dynamics of the sentinel cells caused by the disruption of normal cellular function by the infecting bacteria. Here, the Doppler imaging of infected sentinels shows the dynamic characteristics of infections. Invasive Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis and Listeria monocytogenes penetrate through multicellular tumor spheroids, while non-invasive strains of Escherichia coli and Listeria innocua remain isolated outside the cells, generating different Doppler signatures. Phase distributions caused by intracellular transport display Levy statistics, introducing a Levy-alpha spectroscopy of bacterial invasion. Antibiotic treatment of infected spheroids, monitored through time-dependent Doppler shifts, can distinguish drug-resistant relative to non-resistant strains. This use of intracellular Doppler spectroscopy of living tissue sentinels opens a new class of microbial assay with potential importance for studying the emergence of antibiotic resistance.
Solving the 'King Lear Problem'

In Shakespeare’s play, King Lear, an aging ruler relinquished control to two of his three daughters. The succession failed miserably, destroying his family and destabilizing his kingdom. King Lear shows why few family businesses survive beyond three generations. Understanding Lear’s failure is crucial to avoiding Lear’s fate, whether the family business in question is a monarchy, a media empire, or a hardware store. The conventional wisdom is that Lear gave away his kingdom too soon and left himself vulnerable to predatory heirs. This has been referred to as the “King Lear Problem.” The conventional wisdom is wrong. Lear’s succession plan failed because he waited too long. Like Lear, those who control family businesses are often reluctant to step aside. For example, until he was well into his 90s, Sumner Redstone declared this his succession plan was to never die. The predictable consequence was litigation that engulfed the companies he controlled, including CBS and Viacom. Yet, despite its importance, the question of family-business succession has been neglected by legal scholars. Using King Lear as a framing device, this Article identifies obstacles to succession and shows how legislative initiatives, judicial intervention, and private ordering can facilitate the timely transfer of ownership and control across generations.
Detonation synthesis of nanoscale silicon carbide from elemental silicon

Abstract Direct reaction of precursors with the products of detonation remains an underexplored area in the ever-growing body of detonation synthesis literature. This study demonstrated the synthesis of silicon carbide during detonation by reaction of elemental silicon with carbon products formed from detonation of RDX/TNT mixtures. Continuum scale simulation of the detonation showed that energy transfer by the detonation wave was completed within 2–9 μs depending on location of measurement within the detonating explosive charge. The simulated environment in the detonation product flow beyond the Chapman-Jouguet condition where pressure approaches 27 GPa and temperatures reach 3300 K was thermodynamically suitable for cubic silicon carbide formation. Carbon and added elemental silicon in the detonation products remained chemically reactive up to 500 ns after the detonation wave passage, which indicated that the carbon-containing products of detonation could participate in silicon carbide synthesis provided sufficient carbon-silicon interaction. Controlled detonation of an RDX/TNT charge loaded with 3.2 wt% elemental silicon conducted in argon environment lead to formation of ∼3.1 wt% β-SiC in the condensed detonation products. Other condensed detonation products included primarily amorphous silica and carbon in addition to residual silicon. These results show that the energized detonation products of conventional high explosives can be used as precursors in detonation synthesis of ceramic nanomaterials.
Diagenetic Origin of Continental Red Beds

Convincing counterparts of classic ancient continental red beds, such as those of Permo-Triassic age in Europe and North Africa, and those of Pennsylvanian to Triassic age in western interior North America, are forming diagenetically today in deposits of Cenozoic age in the arid and semi-arid regions of southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico. Sequences of sediments that range from Holocene to mid-Tertiary age show critical early stages of reddening, and reveal that the pigment (hematite) originates from intrastratal alteration of iron-bearing minerals. Any type of iron-bearing mineral provides a potential source of iron for the pigment, but the most commonly occurring parent minerals are detrital ferromagnesian silicates such as olivine, augite, hornblende, biotite, etc., and detrital and authigenic iron-bearing clay minerals.
Optimally stabilized PET image denoising using trilateral filtering.

Low-resolution and signal-dependent noise distribution in positron emission tomography (PET) images makes denoising process an inevitable step prior to qualitative and quantitative image analysis tasks. Conventional PET denoising methods either over-smooth small-sized structures due to resolution limitation or make incorrect assumptions about the noise characteristics. Therefore, clinically important quantitative information may be corrupted. To address these challenges, we introduced a novel approach to remove signal-dependent noise in the PET images where the noise distribution was considered as Poisson-Gaussian mixed. Meanwhile, the generalized Anscombe’s transformation (GAT) was used to stabilize varying nature of the PET noise. Other than noise stabilization, it is also desirable for the noise removal filter to preserve the boundaries of the structures while smoothing the noisy regions. Indeed, it is important to avoid significant loss of quantitative information such as standard uptake value (SUV)-based metrics as well as metabolic lesion volume. To satisfy all these properties, we extended bilateral filtering method into trilateral filtering through multiscaling and optimal Gaussianization process. The proposed method was tested on more than 50 PET-CT images from various patients having different cancers and achieved the superior performance compared to the widely used denoising techniques in the literature.
COLA Cuts in State-Local Pensions

The briefs key findings are: The briefs key findings are: *Since the financial crisis, 17 states have reduced, suspended, or eliminated cost-of-living-adjustments (COLAs) for public employee pensions. *This response was surprising as current employees and retirees tend to be legally shielded from benefit cuts. *But the COLA cuts have largely been upheld in the courts under the rationale that  unlike core benefits  they are not part of a contractual right. *In short, defined benefit promises in the public sector are not as secure as many thought.
Dale, Henry Hallett

British physiologist Sir Henry Hallett Dale (1875–1968) shared the 1936 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine with German biochemist Otto Loewi for the discovery of chemical transmission of nerve impulses. They had discovered acetylcholine as the neurotransmitter in the parasympathetic nervous system.
Epidermal growth factor: chemical and biological characterization.

Publisher Summary It has been found that partially purified extracts of submaxillary glands of the male mouse cause gross anatomical changes when injected daily into newborn mice. Among the specific tissue changes observed are the precocious opening of the eyelids, and the precocious eruption of the incisors. By means of a biological assay based on the precocious opening of the eyelids of the newborn mouse, a polypeptide responsible for this effect is isolated. The biological activity is subsequently found to be because of a direct stimulation of the proliferation and keratinization of epidermal tissue; therefore, the polypeptide has been termed epidermal growth factor (EGF). This chapter describes the chemical and physical properties of EGF and its biological activity. The isolation procedure for EGF involves standard methods of protein purification. Moreover, EGF has specific morphological and biochemical effects on epidermis and certain epithelial tissues..
Interactive Web-Based Learning Modules Prior to General Medicine Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences

Objective. To implement and evaluate interactive web-based learning modules prior to advanced pharmacy practice experiences (APPEs) on inpatient general medicine. Design. Three clinical web-based learning modules were developed for use prior to APPEs in 4 health care systems. The aim of the interactive modules was to strengthen baseline clinical knowledge before the APPE to enable the application of learned material through the delivery of patient care. Assessment. For the primary endpoint, postassessment scores increased overall and for each individual module compared to preassessment scores. Postassessment scores were similar among the health care systems. The survey demonstrated positive student perceptions of this learning experience. Conclusion. Prior to inpatient general medicine APPEs, web-based learning enabled the standardization and assessment of baseline student knowledge across 4 health care systems.
A Theory of Optimal Reserves Allocation and Sudden Stops in Emerging Economies

A wave of financial crises and sudden stops crippled emerging economies during the period of 1997-2001. Since that time, there has been a remarkable increase of reserve holdings in emerging economies; and there have been virtually no sudden stops in these economies. We argue that, in the presence of debt rollover risk, idle reserves make countries more solvent in more states of the world. This in turn makes sudden stops less likely. We derive optimal reserves-to-debt ratios in a small open economy model with endogenous sudden stop probabilities and interest rate premia. Based on this theory of reserves allocation, we present a dynamic multi-country model with Bayesian learning and a regime switch in the stochastic liquidity shocks. This model can quantitatively account for the rise in reserve holdings and the sudden stop frequencies in emerging economies.
Do capital inflows boost growth in developing countries ? evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines whether domestic output growth helps attract capital inflows and, in turn, capital inflows help boost output growth in a set of 38 Sub-Saharan African countries. Using a two-step approach to address reverse causality and omitted variable issues, the paper finds that output growth in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa does not attract capital inflows. However, aid and foreign direct investment inflows enhance growth, while sovereign debt inflows do not. A 1 percent increase in the level of real aid inflows raises growth of real output per capita by 0.022 percentage point. For foreign direct investment inflows, the figure is 0.002 percentage point.
Freeing the Innocent: Obtaining Post-Conviction DNA Testing in Florida

Some were sentenced to death. Without warning or just cause, all were one day swept off the streets, forcibly separated from their families and friends, and ultimately bound over into a maddening nightmare.Post-conviction DNA tests performed on critical pieces of biological evidence proved they were innocent simply, elegantly, and definitively. But resurrecting their lives, and those of their loved ones, all shattered by unthinkable injustice, is a complex and messy process. Yet it must be undertaken at once, as a matter of common decency, as a signal we can face the truth, as a measure to redeem our aspiration that America should be, can be, fair and just.
Gifted Students and Advanced Mathematics

The extension to a wide population of secondary education in many countries seems to have led to a weakening of the mathematics curriculum. In response, many students have been classified as “gifted” so that they can access a stronger program. Apart from the difficulties that might arise in actually determining which students are gifted (is it always clear what the term means?), there are dangers inherent in programs that might be devised even for those that are truly talented. Sometimes students are moved ahead to more advanced mathematics. Elementary students might be taught algebra or even subjects like trigonometry and vectors and secondary students taught calculus, differential equations and linear algebra. It is my experience over thirty-five years of contact with bright students that acceleration to higher level mathematics is often not a good idea. In this paper, I will articulate some of the factors that have led me to this opinion and suggest alternatives. At the same time, one needs to deal with truly exceptional students in an appropriate way.
Ex Ante Choice of Jury Waiver Clauses in Mergers

This paper examines empirically why sophisticated parties in some merger and acquisition deals choose to waive their right to jury trials and some do not. We examine merger agreements for a large sample of 276 deals for the 11-year period from 2001 to 2011. We exclude private company deals and those where the choice of forum and law is Delaware. First, we find that 48.2% of the deals have jury waiver clauses. Second, we find that deals in which New York is chosen as the governing law and forum state are more likely to include a jury waiver clause. No other state has such an effect. Third, we find that contracts negotiated by counsel from high reputation law firms tend to include jury waiver clauses, and this effect is more significant for the acquirer's law firm than for the target's law firm. Fourth, we find strong evidence for the bargaining power hypothesis wherein larger acquirers that take over smaller targets are more likely to include jury waiver clauses. Finally, we find no evidence that lawyer familiarity, industry effects, whether the acquirer was an international firm, or whether the deal was completed has a statistically significant impact on the likelihood of having a jury waiver clause.
Block-symmetric polynomials correlate with parity better than symmetric

We show that degree-d block-symmetric polynomials in n variables modulo any odd p correlate with parity exponentially better than degree-d symmetric polynomials, if $${n \ge cd^2 {\rm log} d}$$nźcd2logd and $${d \in [0.995 \cdot p^t - 1,p^t)}$$dź[0.995·pt-1,pt) for some $${t \ge 1}$$tź1 and some $${c > 0}$$c>0 that depends only on p. For these infinitely many degrees, our result solves an open problem raised by a number of researchers including Alon & Beigel (IEEE conference on computational complexity (CCC), pp 184---187, 2001). The only previous case for which this was known was d = 2 and p = 3 (Green in J Comput Syst Sci 69(1):28---44, 2004). The result is obtained through the development of a theory we call spectral analysis of symmetric correlation, which originated in works of Cai et al. (Math Syst Theory 29(3):245---258, 1996) and Green (Theory Comput Syst 32(4):453---466, 1999). In particular, our result follows from a detailed analysis of the correlation of symmetric polynomials, which is determined up to an exponentially small relative error when $${d = p^t-1}$$d=pt-1.
Corrupting one vs. corrupting many: the case of broadcast and multicast encryption

We analyze group key distribution protocols for broadcast and multicast scenarios that make blackbox use of symmetric encryption and a pseudorandom generator (PRG) in deriving the group center's messages. We first show that for a large class of such protocols, in which each transmitted ciphertext is of the form EK1 (K2) (E being the encryption operation; K1,K2 being random or pseudorandom keys), security in the presence of a single malicious receiver is equivalent to that in the presence of collusions of corrupt receivers. On the flip side, we find that for protocols that nest the encrytion function (use ciphertexts created by enciphering ciphertexts themselves), such an equivalence fails to hold: there exist protocols that use nested encryption, are secure against single miscreants but are insecure against collusions Our equivalence and separation results are first proven in a symbolic, Dolev-Yao style adversarial model and subsequently translated into the computational model using a general theorem that establishes soundness of the symbolic security notions. Both equivalence and separation are shown to hold in the computational world under mild syntactic conditions (like the absence of encryption cycles) We apply our results to the security analysis of 11 existing key distribution protocols. As part of our analysis, we uncover security weaknesses in 7 of these protocols, and provide simple fixes that result in provably secure protocols