cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The formal electronic recycling industry: Challenges and opportunities in occupational and environmental health research.

Abstract Background E-waste includes electrical and electronic equipment discarded as waste without intent of reuse. Informal e-waste recycling, typically done in smaller, unorganized businesses, can expose workers and communities to serious chemical health hazards. It is unclear if formalization into larger, better-controlled electronics recycling (e-recycling) facilities solves environmental and occupational health problems. Objectives To systematically review the literature on occupational and environmental health hazards of formal e-recycling facilities and discuss challenges and opportunities to strengthen research in this area. Methods We identified 37 publications from 4 electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, Environmental Index, NIOSHTIC-2) specific to chemical exposures in formal e-recycling facilities. Discussion Environmental and occupational exposures depend on the degree of formalization of the facilities but further reduction is needed. Reported worker exposures to metals were often higher than recommended occupational guidelines. Levels of brominated flame-retardants in worker's inhaled air and biological samples were higher than those from reference groups. Air, dust, and soil concentrations of metals, brominated flame-retardants, dioxins, furans, polycyclic-aromatic hydrocarbons, or polychlorinated biphenyls found inside or near the facilities were generally higher than reference locations, suggesting transport into the environment. Children of a recycler had blood lead levels higher than public health recommended guidelines. Conclusions With mounting e-waste, more workers, their family members, and communities could experience unhealthful exposures to metals and other chemicals. We identified research needs to further assess exposures, health, and improve controls. The long-term solution is manufacturing of electronics without harmful substances and easy-to-disassemble components.
Force balance along Isunnguata Sermia, west Greenland

Ice flows when gravity acts on gradients in surface elevation, producing driving stresses. In the Isunnguata Sermia and Russel Glacier catchments of western Greenland, a 50% decline in driving stress along a flow line is juxtaposed with increasing surface flow speed. Here, these circumstances are investigated using modern observational data sources and an analysis of the balance of forces. Stress gradients in the ice mass and basal drag which resist the local driving stress are computed in order to investigate the underlying processes influencing the velocity and stress regimes. Our results show that the largest resistive stress gradients along the flowline result from increasing surface velocity. However, the longitudinal coupling stresses fail to exceed 15 kPa, or 20% of the local driving stress. Consequently, computed basal drag declines in proportion to the driving stress. In the absence of significant resistive stress gradients, other mechanisms are therefore necessary to explain the observed velocity increase despite declining driving stress. In the study area, the observed velocity - driving stress feature occurs at the long-term mean position of the equilibrium line of surface mass balance. We hypothesize that this position approximates the inland limit where surface meltwater penetrates the bed, and that the increased surface velocity reflects enhanced basal motion associated with seasonal meltwater perturbations.
Working In the New Way: A Preliminary Study of Media Synchronicity and Job Satisfaction

For many organizations, it is not feasible to expect all or some of the members to be able to meet physically. Members of organizations use different types of media to communicate information and to make decisions. In this paper, we completed an initial study that looked at how the type of media, specifically the level of synchronicity supported by the media, influenced individuals’ job satisfaction. We used two different levels of media synchronicity represented by two systems, virtual worlds and email. We predicted that individuals perceive greater job satisfaction when they use media higher in media synchronicity. We also predicted that presence and social presence would play a role this relationship. In a study consisting of 56 participants, we used vignettes to manipulate perceptions of using one of the two systems. We found support for our main hypothesis that when there is higher media synchronicity, individuals perceive greater job satisfaction.
Prenatal vaccination education intervention improves both the mothers' knowledge and children's vaccination coverage: Evidence from randomized controlled trial from eastern China

Objectives: To verify the effectiveness of prenatal vaccination education intervention on improving mother's vaccination knowledge and child's vaccination status in Zhejiang province, eastern China...
Comparative geomorphic analysis of central Appalachian coal beds and Malaysian peat deposits

A comparative geomorphic analysis between Carboniferous coal beds and associated sediments from the Appalachian basin of southern West Virginia, USA, and Holocene domed peat deposits and associated sediments from the central Sarawak lowlands, East Malaysia, was conducted to determine similarities and/or differences in geometry and distribution patterns. The depositional environments of the sediments in the ancient setting were interpreted and the paleogeography of several coal bed horizons in the Pocahontas and New River Formations (Namurian) were reconstructed. These paleogeographic reconstructions were compared to the distribution of present day environments of the Rajang River delta and flanking coastal plain areas. These comparisons revealed several similarities between the two areas. The size of the mineable coal bodies and the areas of domed peat are similar and generally are about 50 to 75 square kilometers. The geomorphic shapes of the coal bodies and domes are also similar. The thick areally extensive, domed peats are forming in the coastal plain areas about 15 to 25 kilometers inland from the present shoreline. A similar type of situation existed in the Carboniferous coals investigated. The thick (domed) coals formed on a coastal plain about 15 kilometers inland from their time equivalent shoreline deposits. Additionally, in both the ancient and modern settings syndepositional tectonics (growth faulting) influenced the distribution patterns of the coals/peats and associated sediments. The ancient and modern areas are believed to be similar in regard to syndepositional tectonics, geomorphology and depositional environments.
RAM Air and Wind Energy harvesting survey for Electrical Vehicles and transportation

This paper presents a survey on how the implementation of RAM Air/Wind Energy has the potential to become a feasible energy source by extending the range traveled for electric cars, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), trucks, and rail transports. Through the concepts of the Venturi Effect, the Bernoulli Principle, and the application of RAT in the aviation system, the main goal will be achieved. In due course, RAM Air/Wind Energy will bring about the future of electrical transportation.
The Effects of an Environmentally Relevant Level of Arsenic on the Gut Microbiome and Its Functional Metagenome.

Multiple environmental factors induce dysbiosis in the gut microbiome and cause a variety of human diseases. Previously, we have first demonstrated that arsenic alters the composition of the gut microbiome. However, the functional impact of arsenic on the gut microbiome has not been adequately assessed, particularly at environmentally relevant concentrations. In this study, we used 16S rRNA sequencing and metagenomics sequencing to investigate how exposure to 100 ppb arsenic for 13 weeks alters the composition and functional capacity of the gut microbiome in mice. Arsenic exposure altered the alpha and beta diversities as well as the composition profile of the gut microbiota. Metagenomics data revealed that the abundances of genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, especially pyruvate fermentation, short-chain fatty acid synthesis, and starch utilization, and were significantly changed. Moreover, lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis genes, multiple stress response genes, and DNA repair genes were significantly increased in the gut microbiome of arsenic-exposed mice. The genes involved in the production or processing of multiple vitamins, including folic acid and vitamins B6, B12, and K2, were also enriched in arsenic-treated mice. In, addition, genes involved in multidrug resistance and conjugative transposon proteins were highly increased after treatment with arsenic. In conclusion, we demonstrate that arsenic exposure, at an environmentally relevant dose, not only perturbed the communal composition of the gut microbiome but also profoundly altered a variety of important bacterial functional pathways.
New Techniques for Studying Some Effects of Suprathermal Alpha Particles

Phase-space grouping techniques have been applied to two distinct problems in fusion product physics: (a) slowing down drift motion of highly energetic alpha particles in a symmetric toroidal field...
Semantic Memory in HIV-associated Neurocognitive Disorders: An Evaluation of the "Cortical" Versus "Subcortical" Hypothesis.

Objective HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) have historically been characterized as a subcortical condition that does not affect semantic memory; however, recent evidence suggests that the cortical regions that support semantic memory may be affected in HIV. Method The current study examined the effects of HAND on semantic memory in 85 HIV+ individuals with HAND, 193 HIV+ individuals without HAND, and 181 HIV- individuals who completed the Boston Naming Test (BNT) and the Famous Faces subtest of the Kauffman Adolescent and Adult Intelligence Test (KAIT-FF). Results Linear regressions revealed a significant adverse effect of HAND on total scores on the BNT and the KAIT-FF (all ps .10). Conclusions Results indicate that HAND may impose adverse effects on individuals' object naming and identification abilities suggestive of mild semantic deficits that parallel traditional cortical diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
Mining gravitational-wave catalogs to understand binary stellar evolution: A new hierarchical Bayesian framework

Catalogs of stellar-mass compact binary systems detected by ground-based gravitational-wave instruments (such as Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo) will offer insights into the demographics of progenitor systems and the physics guiding stellar evolution. Existing techniques approach this through phenomenological modeling, discrete model selection, or model mixtures. Instead, we explore a novel technique that mines gravitational-wave catalogs to directly infer posterior probability distributions of the hyperparameters describing formation and evolutionary scenarios (e.g., progenitor metallicity, kick parameters, and common-envelope efficiency). We use a bank of compact-binary population-synthesis simulations to train a Gaussian-process emulator that acts as a prior on observed parameter distributions (e.g., chirp mass, redshift, rate). This emulator slots into a hierarchical population inference framework to extract the underlying astrophysical origins of systems detected by Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo. Our method is fast, easily expanded with additional simulations, and can be adapted for training on arbitrary population-synthesis codes, as well as different detectors like LISA.
Effects of cigarette smoking on coronary vascular dynamics: relationship to coronary atherosclerosis.

Substantial evidence has been elucidated regarding the mechanisms that link cigarette smoking with the development and accelerated progression of atherosclerosis. Influences on platelet function, lipid metabolism, coronary artery tone, the sympathetic nervous system, the endocrine system, and oxygen transfer and dissociation from hemoglobin have been identified. The purpose of this chapter is to review previous work outlining the effect of smoking on coronary and systemic hemodynamics, and to discuss how repetitive alterations in vascular tone may be an integral part of the pathway by which smoking leads to an increased risk of coronary atherosclerosis.
New Technology, New Physiology

The development of new instruments facilitated radical breakthroughs in scientific concepts. The improved thermometers of the seventeenth century allowed scientists, for the first time, to properly distinguish between temperature and heat; the new gas pumps showed that air changed in volume during respiration; and the microscope revealed a whole new part of creation, never seen or imagined before.
Integrated Quantity/Quality Modeling — Root Zone Leaching

In recent years global problems like climate change, acid rain, water quality, food production, and drought dominate discussions of world problems. Hydrology and hydrologic processes play dominant roles in the solution of these problems. In this and the next chapter, the roles of hydrology and hydrologic process models are investigated as they are applied in solving problems of nonpoint source contamination of water. The need for these models, the contaminants considered, and general features are discussed. Because of the importance of rootzone process in solving the global problems, these processes are discussed in this chapter. Nonpoint source water quality modeling of receiving waters (ground water, surface runoff, and surface impoundments) is presented in Chapter 15.
Mid- and Deep-Zone Gastritis: A Histologic Pattern Associated With Autoimmune Disease but Distinct From Autoimmune Atrophic Gastritis.

Objectives We sought to characterize a histologic pattern of mid- and deep-zone gastritis, distinct from the typical pattern of Helicobacter pylori or autoimmune gastritis and to see if it had any clinicopathologic association(s). Methods We analyzed inflammatory patterns and composition, excluded autoimmune gastritis using immunohistochemistry, and reviewed the medical record for demographics, medical/surgical history, presenting symptoms, endoscopic findings, and medications for 28 cases. Results All cases had inflammation in the middle and/or deep mucosal zones with sparing of the superficial/pit compartment. Subfeatures included corpus or antral predominance, pangastric involvement, prominence of a subset(s) of inflammatory cells, and degree of epithelial injury. Of 28 patients, 13 had autoimmune disease(s), autoantibodies, or both. There was no other unifying clinical feature. Conclusions This unique pattern of gastritis should be distinguished from other entities such as H pylori and autoimmune gastritis. At least a subset may be an autoimmune condition different from classic autoimmune gastritis.
Characterization of physical and mineralogical properties of anthracite and bituminous coal tailings

In this paper, the physical and mineralogical properties of two types of tailings produced from anthracite and bituminous coals were studied and compared. The following characteristics were determi...
Collecting Calibration Data

Abstract Once a RAM has been calibrated, the results provide a numerical context for interpreting the scores or ratings from any individual site. This chapter addresses decisions regarding criteria for selecting reference sites to be used in a RAM's calibration, who should collect the long-term reference data, and how the collected data might be organized in a calibration database and then mathematically normalized.
The Scope of Democratic Public Discourse: Defending Democracy, Tolerating Intolerance, and the Problem of Neo-Nazi Demonstrations in Germany

The German Federal Constitutional Court and the State Administrative Court of North Rhine-Westphalia repeatedly sparred over Neo-Nazi demonstrations. Bans of Neo-Nazi rallies were routinely overruled by the Federal Constitutional Court. The underlying question is how much freedom of speech can Neo-Nazis in Germany claim today? The criminal code prohibits certain types of speech. According to the state administrative court, the articulation of certain antidemocratic ideas outside the scope of criminally prohibited speech nevertheless expresses ideas contradicting human dignity. This warrants prohibiting demonstrations that would provide a forum for disseminating such ideas. The Federal Constitutional Court, however, finds that the rejection of these ideas by the majority does not justify bans on Neo-Nazi rallies. As long as they fall short of criminally prohibited speech, even objectionable ideas may be publicly articulated. The Federal Constitutional Court has been characterized as the guardian of German democracy. The article illustrates the conflict and examines how the Federal Constitutional Court positioned itself as the relatively more liberal, "speech-permissive" body. Delineating the scope of constitutionally permissible public discourse, it has taken the stance that the open articulation of ideas fosters democracy as long as the ideas do not fall within criminally prohibited categories. Thus it is widening the field of public discourse in awarding a higher degree of faith in democracy. The controversy surrounding the Nazi march at Skokie was referenced repeatedly in the German debate and the article analyzes the comparative references to U.S. First Amendment doctrine and puts them into perspective.
Endoscopic navigation in the clinic: registration in the absence of preoperative imaging

Clinical examinations that involve endoscopic exploration of the nasal cavity and sinuses often do not have a reference preoperative image, like a computed tomography (CT) scan, to provide structural context to the clinician. The aim of this work is to provide structural context during clinical exploration without requiring additional CT acquisition. We present a method for registration during clinical endoscopy in the absence of CT scans by making use of shape statistics from past CT scans. Using a deformable registration algorithm that uses these shape statistics along with dense point clouds from video, we simultaneously achieve two goals: (1) register the statistically mean shape of the target anatomy with the video point cloud, and (2) estimate patient shape by deforming the mean shape to fit the video point cloud. Finally, we use statistical tests to assign confidence to the computed registration. We are able to achieve submillimeter errors in registrations and patient shape reconstructions using simulated data. We establish and evaluate the confidence criteria for our registrations using simulated data. Finally, we evaluate our registration method on in vivo clinical data and assign confidence to these registrations using the criteria established in simulation. All registrations that are not rejected by our criteria produce submillimeter residual errors. Our deformable registration method can produce submillimeter registrations and reconstructions as well as statistical scores that can be used to assign confidence to the registrations.
The Battle for #Baltimore: Networked Counterpublics and the Contested Framing of Urban Unrest

A growing body of research suggests that Twitter has become a key resource for networked counterpublics to intervene in popular discourse about racism and policing in the United States. At the same time, claims that online communication necessarily results in polarized echo chambers are common. In response to these seemingly contrary impulses in communication research, we explore how the contested online network comprised of tweets about the April 2015 protests in Baltimore, Maryland, evolved as users constructed meaning and debated questions of protest and race. We find that even within this highly polarized debate, counterpublic frames found widespread support on Twitter. Progressive racial justice messages were advanced, in part, by brokers who worked across polarized subcommunities in the network to build mutual understanding and model effective strategies for reconciling disparate accounts of protest events.
The Relationship of the Terms Vape and E-Cigarette With Newspaper Content.

Objectives. To conduct a content analysis of news articles to investigate the relationship between language used to describe e-cigarettes, how the news articles framed (conveyed information to infl...
Assessing the Value of Echocardiograms for Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Receiving Anthracyclines

Abstract Background AML is a life-threatening disease that requires prompt administration of anthracycline-based induction chemotherapy, particularly in younger adults. Prior to treatment initiation, patients (pts) undergo routine echocardiography (echo) screening to assess cardiac ejection fraction (EF) as a measure of induction tolerability, despite American Society of Clinical Oncology and National Comprehensive Cancer Center guidelines which state that only pts with prior cardiac disease or exposure to cardiotoxic drugs or radiation therapy require such evaluation This is costly to the health-care system and may be unnecessary. In this study, we assess whether the use of echo prior to anthracycline-based therapy in AML has a major effect on pt outcomes. Methods We reviewed clinical data on AML pts treated with anthracycline-based induction chemotherapy regimens at our institution from 2002-2014. EF was obtained by 2D echo prior to induction chemotherapy initiation. Charlson comorbidity index was used to evaluate comorbidities prior to therapy. A cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the impact of baseline echo on overall survival, with p-values Results: Of the 120 pts included, 60 (50%) were female. At diagnosis, median age was 57 years (range, 23-85), white blood cell count (WBC) 8.9 x 109/L (0.3-227), hemoglobin 9.1g/dL (4.7-13.8), platelets 85 x 103 (8-277), bone marrow blasts 48% (14-95%). Cytogenetic risk categories per CALGB 8461 criteria: 12 pts (10%) were favorable, 63 (53%) indeterminate, and 41 (34%) unfavorable. Charlson morbidity index was > 1 in 23 pts (19%) and 50 (38%) were current or former smokers. All pts received induction chemotherapy with either idarubicin (38%), daunorubicin (38%), or mitoxantrone (23%) combined with cytarabine (7+3). In 116 pts (97%), the baseline echo showed a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >50% (+/- 5). In the 4 remaining pts (3%), the EF was Conclusion Among AML pts who received anthracycline-based induction chemotherapy, results from echocardiography did not impact outcome in >99% in this cohort. It is not clear that echocardiography, particularly in younger pts, provides value, and may delay treatment initiation. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Power System Fundamental Frequency Estimation Using Unscented Kalman Filter

Fundamental frequency is one of the most vital metrics of the power grid. Numerous frequency estimation techniques have been proposed, which are based on parameterization of deterministic signal models. Cautions should be taken since uncertainties such as noise are common in raw waveform measurements, and will propagate into estimation results. In order to mitigate the adverse impact of measurement noise, most recently, Kalman filter-based approaches were promoted, and are giving promising results. Nevertheless, conventional Kalman filter or extended Kalman filter have limited performance due to the high nonlinearity of the underlying state equations. In order to adapt to nonlinearity, this paper proposed a technique that leverages the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). The paper also introduces an approach that employs three-phase measurements to improve the overall frequency estimation accuracy. Simulation results show that the proposed UKF-based approach achieves extremely high fundamental frequency calculation accuracy despite severe noise interference.
Prefrontal Multielectrode Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Modulates Performance and Neural Activity Serving Visuospatial Processing

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is known to play a critical role in visuospatial attention and processing, but the relative contribution of the left versus right DLPFC remains poorly understood. We applied multielectrode transcranial direct-current stimulation (ME-tDCS) to the left and right DLPFC to investigate its net impact on behavioral performance and population-level neural activity. The primary hypothesis was that significant laterality effects would be observed in regard to behavior and neural oscillations. Twenty-five healthy adults underwent three visits (left, right, and sham ME-tDCS). Following stimulation, participants completed a visuospatial processing task during magnetoencephalography (MEG). Statistically significant oscillatory events were imaged, and time series were then extracted from the peak voxels of each response. Behavioral findings indicated differences in reaction time and accuracy, with left DLPFC stimulation being associated with slower responses and decreased accuracy compared to right stimulation. Left DLPFC stimulation was also associated with increases in spontaneous theta and decreases in gamma within occipital cortices relative to both right and sham stimulation, while connectivity among DLPFC and visual cortices was generally increased contralateral to stimulation. These data suggest spectrally specific modulation of spontaneous cortical activity at the network-level by ME-tDCS, with distinct outcomes based on the laterality of stimulation.
A Novel Heat Exchanger Effectiveness Approach for Exploring Performance Limits of Two-Phase Mini-Channel Boilers

Indirect two-phase cooling with refrigerants allows management of CPU/GPU heat loads well in excess of those that can be managed with water cooling. Two-phase mini channel boilers are at the heart of such systems. Similar to single-phase cold plates, the performance of mini-channel boilers depends on proper selection of design parameters such as fin pitch, thickness and total surface area that ultimately dictates the number of fins. But unlike single-phase cold plates, two-phase cold plates must also take into account ancillary issues such as boiling flow instabilities, vapor generation and potential loss of coolant that severely affect thermal performance. The traditional metric used in assessing the thermal performance of boilers is thermal resistance, which can be used for comparative studies but does not offer a true assessment of cooling limits. In this paper, we introduce a new definition of heat exchanger effectiveness for two-phase boilers that can be used to compare actual performance to maximum performance and by its definition can also establish cooling limits. We show that the thermal resistance is directly related to the effectiveness. By first maximizing effectiveness, the design thermal resistance can be achieved by the proper sizing of an optimized heat exchanger core. The methodology is first validated for single-phase liquid cold plates by comparing the thermal resistance obtained from the proposed approach to that obtained from the commonly used definition. The proposed approach is demonstrated on experimentally characterized boilers found in the literature. The experimentally determined effectiveness for these test boilers demonstrate s the utility o f the technique.
Ensemble Of Deep Cascades For Detection Of Laryngeal Adductor Reflex Events In Endoscopy Videos

Vocal fold motion plays a critical role in life-sustaining functions of breathing and swallowing. Multiple muscles, nerves, and other anatomical structures are involved in coordinated motion of the vocal folds. Vocal fold function is affected by a wide range of disorders. Laryngeal endoscopy is used in clinical practice to inspect the larynx and to assess vocal fold function. In this paper we propose a deep learning based system for analysis of laryngeal endoscopy videos and for automated detection of laryngeal adductor reflex (LAR) events which are an airway protective mechanism causing brief closure of the vocal folds to prevent aspiration. The proposed system consists of a two-stage solution that combines a vocal fold and glottal region segmentation stage, with a segmentation aided LAR event detection stage. Experimental results show promising LAR detection results robust to many challenges caused by imaging, anatomical, and behavioral variations.
Striving to Thrive: A Qualitative Study on Fostering a Relational Perspective Through Narrative Therapy in Couples Facing Cancer

The present study explored how couples, in which one partner self-reported receiving a medical diagnosis of stage one or two cancer, fostered a relational perspective regarding cancer via narrative...
LIDAR Based Walking Speed Estimation: A Portable Solution for Motion Capture

The walking speed is an important piece of information in many areas of scientific research. In recent studies, multi-camera based optical motion capture systems have largely been used to obtain accurate information on body motion and walking speed. However, optical motion capture systems are expensive, complex, immobile, limited to laboratory usage as they require the installation of multiple (610) cameras in an enclosed place. The inertial sensor-based other motion capture systems also suffer from drift and have limited accuracy to linear motions. Lack of this motion ground truth has limited further development of the state of art methods for motion estimation. Motivated by that, this paper proposes to employ a single LIDAR based portable system to capture body motion and generate ground truth for walking speed both indoors and outdoors. In a laboratory test involving three participants walking 10 times toward the LIDAR sensor, the body motion obtained from the LIDAR matched with an 8camera based motion capture system with a mean cross-correlation coefficient of 0.997. A novel application area of the LIDAR based motion estimation is also provided in this paper where the LIDAR was employed to obtain a speed profile of the people approaching a staircase. LIDAR derived this speed profile might help develop assistive technologies (such as prosthesis or orthosis modules) for amputees or people in need.
Spire to Wear

The challenges brought up by COVID-19 lifestyle restrictions highlighted the importance of specificity to addressing the user needs when designing functional apparel for wearable technologies. The aim of this project was to create a look that is fashionable, visually cohesive, multifunctional, comfortable, and incorporates a wearable biometric device. Spire Health Tag technology was studied in detail by one of the team members, and she had specific user experience with this new health and fitness tracking device. An improved device integration system was created using a tailored to the device’s shape and size pocket and a detachable toggle strap, and a 3-piece ensemble was made and tested by each member of the team. This design proposal elevates the core function of clothing as protection and expressive fashion, into a beneficial and accessible tool for well-being technologies too.
An 'Omics Approach to Unraveling the Paradoxical Effect of Diet on Perfluorooctanesulfonic Acid (PFOS) and Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA)-Induced Hepatic Steatosis.

Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a family of toxicants universally detected in human serum and known to cause dyslipidemia in animals and humans. Hepatic steatosis, which is defined as lipid deposition in the liver, is known to be a consequence of poor diet. Similarly, PFAS are known to induce hepatic steatosis in animals on a low-fat chow. This study explored diet-PFAS interactions in the liver and their potential to modulate hepatic steatosis. Male C57BL/6J mice were fed with either a low-fat diet (10% kcal from fat, LFD) or a moderately high-fat diet (45% kcal from fat, HFD) with or without perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (3 ppm, PFOS) or perfluorononanoic acid (3 ppm, PFNA) in feed for 12 weeks. Livers were excised for histology and quantification of PFAS and lipids. The PFOS and PFNA coadministration with HFD reduced the hepatic accumulation of lipid and PFAS relative to the LFD treatment groups. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis revealed that PFAS administration in the presence of an HFD significantly reduces expression of known hepatic PFAS uptake transporters, organic anion transporter proteins. Transcriptomics and proteomics further revealed several pathways related to lipid metabolism, synthesis, transport, and storage that were modulated by PFAS exposure and further impacted by the presence of dietary fat. Both dietary fat content and the chemical functional head group exerted significant influence on hepatic PFAS accumulation and the resulting biochemical signature, suggesting that diet and structure should be considered in the design and interpretation of research on PFAS induced hepatic steatosis.
Social Determinants of Housing Quality for U.S. Immigrants: Intersections of Nativity, Race, and Socioeconomic Status

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Indoor hazards can cause poor health with disproportionate burdens among racial/ethnic minorities and low socioeconomic status (SES) households. Little research has examined res...
Pointing (zinc) fingers at BRCA1 targets

A long search for the mechanism by which BRCA1 regulates DNA damage-inducible genes leads to a novel zinc finger protein, ZBRK1.
A secure infrastructure for service discovery and access in pervasive computing

Security is paramount to the success of pervasive computing environments. The system presented in this paper provides a communications and security infrastructure that goes far in advancing the goal of anywhere-anytime computing. Our work securely enables clients to access and utilize services in heterogeneous networks. We provide a service registration and discovery mechanism implemented through a hierarchy of service management. The system is built upon a simplified Public Key Infrastructure that provides for authentication, non-repudiation, anti-playback, and access control. Smartcards are used as secure containers for digital certificates. The system is implemented in Java and we use Extensible Markup Language as the sole medium for communications and data exchange. Currently, we are solely dependent on a base set of access rights for our distributed trust model however, we are expanding the model to include the delegation of rights based upon a predefined policy. In our proposed expansion, instead of exclusively relying on predefined access rights, we have developed a flexible representation of trust information, in Prolog, that can model permissions, obligations, entitlements, and prohibitions. In this paper, we present the implementation of our system and describe the modifications to the design that are required to further enhance distributed trust. Our implementation is applicable to any distributed service infrastructure, whether the infrastructure is wired, mobile, or ad hoc.
Challenging the border patrol, human rights and persistent inequalities: An ethnography of struggle in South Texas

The escalating militarization of the US–Mexico border since the mid-1990s has been well documented. This article explores one community's resistance to it through ethnography of events that took place in El Cenizo, Texas at the turn of the millennium. Following the passage of a “safe haven” ordinance in 1999 declaring city officials would not reveal residents’ immigration status, residents endured the Border Patrol's increased presence and abuse of power. In response, this border town founded a Human Rights Commission and spent the next 2 years collecting testimony and documenting the Border Patrol's violations of residents’ rights. This resistance questioned the inequities inherent in the agency's targeting of borderlands communities and contested the erasure of its residents as social actors and citizens by reclaiming their rights. The discourses and practices employed in the struggle claimed a right to equality while simultaneously asserting a right to difference. My analysis engages this duality by exploring how the people of El Cenizo articulated it through both words and actions. The article contributes to an ongoing dialogue surrounding issues of rights, citizenship, immigration, and social movements and contributes to the growing body of ethnographies of the borderlands by offering a glimpse into the lives and activism of one South Texas immigrant community.
20th-century glacial-marine sedimentation in Vitus Lake, Bering Glacier, Alaska, U. S. A.

Vitus Lake, the ice-marginal basin at the southeastern edge of Bering Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., is a site of modern, rapid, glacial-marine sedimentation. Rather than being a fresh-water lake, Vitus Lake is a tidally influenced, marine to brackish embayment connected to the Pacifie Ocean by an inlet, the Seal River. Vitus Lake consists of five deep bedrock basins, separated by interbasinal highs. Glacial erosion has cut these basins as much as 250 m below sea level. High-resolution seismic reflection surveys conducted in 1991 and 1993 of four of Vitus Lake’s basins reveal a complex, variable three-component acoustic stratigraphy. Although not fully sampled, the stratigraphy is inferred to be primarily glacial-marine units of (1) basal contorted and deformed glacial-marine and glacial sediments deposited by basal ice-contact processes and submarine mass-wasting; (2) acoustically well-stratified glacial-marine sediment, which unconformably overlies the basal unit and which grades upward into (3) acoustically transparent or nearly transparent glacial-marine sediment. Maximum thicknesses of conformable glacial-marine sediment exceed 100 m. All of the acoustically transparent and stratified deposits in Vitus Lake are modern in age, having accumulated between 1967 and 1993. The basins where these three-part sequences of “present-day” glacial-marine sediment are accumulating are themselves cut into older sequences of stratified glacial and glacial-marine deposits. These older units outcrop on the islands in Vitus Lake. In 1967, as the result of a major surge, glacier ice completely filled all five basins. Subsequent terminus retreat, which continued through August 1993, exposed these basins, providing new locations for glacial-marine sediment accumulation. A correlation of sediment thicknesses measured from seismic profiles at specific locations within the basins, with the year that each location became ice-free, shows that the sediment accumulation at some locations exceeds 10 m year−1.
Interactive web-phone technology to support and optimize care plans for aging and people with disabilities

This paper presents and discusses the Teleherence system that uses web and phone technology to optimize care plans. It uses text-to-speech and speech recognition along with landline, cell, smart, SMS (text messaging), and VOIP phone technology. Teleherence delivers surveys that can inform, remind, suggest, persuade, encourage/motivate, teach, reward, query and branches, and query and alert. Specific uses and considerations for use of Teleherence with the elderly will be discussed. Preliminary findings will be discussed at ICOST 2010.
Comparison of Nb3Sn and NbTi Superconductor Magnet ITER Devices

The TETRA tokamak systems code is used to compare designs for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) that use Nb3Sn and NbTi superconductor magnets. Similar minimum-cost device...
Hot Spot Policing: A Study of Place-Based Strategies to Crime Prevention

Hot spot policing is a popular policing strategy that addresses crime by assigning limited police resources to areas where crimes are more highly concentrated. We analyze this strategy using a game theoretic approach. The main argument against focusing police resources on hot spots is that it would simply displace criminal activity from one area to another. We provide new insights on the nature of the displacement effect with useful implications for the empirical analysis of crime-reduction effects of police reallocation. We also propose alternative place-based policies that display attractive properties in terms of geographic spillovers of crime reduction via optimal police reallocation.
Ultrastructure of the canine placenta and amnion

Abstract The zonary placenta of the dog forms an endotheliochorial labyrinth. It shares the major ultrastructural features of the typical carnivore placenta. Fetal components include a trophoblastic syncytium, cellular trophoblast (which is markedly reduced at at term), transitional trophoblast, capillaries, and connective tissue. The columnar trophoblast of the green border is phagocytic. Maternal components include thick-walled capillaries and a hypertrophied basal lamina. Endometrial giant cells are lacking. Ultrastructurally the amnion resembles that of most other mammals. The dog's placenta differs from that of the cat in its reduced terminal web and increased pericellular deposit. The prominent noncellular barrier of the dog's placenta may be related to the degree of trophoblastic invasiveness and the interaction of antigenically dissimilar tissues.
Determinants of glycemic control in youth with type 2 diabetes at randomization in the TODAY study.

Objective To investigate insulin sensitivity and secretion indices and determinants of glycemic control in youth with recent-onset type 2 diabetes (T2DM) at randomization in the TODAY study, the largest study of youth with T2DM to date. Methods We examined estimates of insulin sensitivity [1/fasting insulin (1/IF), fasting glucose/insulin (GF/IF), 1/fasting C-peptide (1/CF), GF/CF], β-cell function [insulinogenic index (ΔI30/ΔG30), and ΔC30/ΔG30], and disposition index (DI) in the TODAY cohort of 704 youth (14.0 ± 2.0 yr; diabetes duration 7.8 ± 5.8 months; 64.9% female; 41.1% Hispanic, 31.5% Black, 19.6% White, 6.1% American Indian, and 1.7% Asian) according to hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) quartiles at study randomization. The randomization visit followed a run-in period (median 71 d) during which glycemic control (HbA1c ≤ 8% for at least 2 months) was achieved with metformin alone. These measures were also examined in relation to screening HbA1c levels before run-in. Results Insulin secretion indices declined with increasing HbA1c quartiles, at randomization (ΔC30/ΔG30: 0.11 ± 0.09, 0.10 ± 0.19, 0.07 ± 0.06, and 0.03 ± 0.03 ng/mL per mg/dL, p < 0.0001; DI: 0.03 ± 0.03, 0.03 ± 0.05, 0.02 ± 0.02, and 0.01 ± 0.01 mg/dL−1, p < 0.0001) and at screening, with no significant difference in insulin sensitivity. There were no significant differences in estimates of insulin sensitivity or secretion between genders or across the different racial groups. At randomization and screening, HbA1c correlated with DI (r = −0.3, p < 0.001), with ΔC30/ΔG30, but not with insulin sensitivity estimates. Conclusions In youth with recent-onset T2DM treated with metformin, glycemic control, as measured by HbA1c, appears to be associated with residual β-cell function and not insulin sensitivity.
Isolation of Histamine-Containing Cells from Canine Fundic Mucosa

Abstract The cells of the fundic portion of canine gastric mucosa were dispersed by collagenase digestion and separated into fractions by sequential use of velocity sedimentation in an elutriator rotor followed by a density gradient separation. There was a close correlation between histamine content and number of mast cells in the different cell fractions. The mast cells possessed characteristic dense granules, which stained metachromatically, but did not release histamine on exposure to Compound 48/80. The most highly purified fractions contained 80% mast cells and a histamine content of 2.5 pg/mast cell.
AS/400 64-bit powerPC-compatible processor implementation

An implementation of the 64-bit PowerPC Architecture optimized for the IBM AS/400 commercial environment is described. This 64-bit BiCMOS semicustom implementation runs at a clock rate of 170 MHz. The processor features a 4-way superscalar pipelined fixed point unit which can dispatch and execute up to 4 instructions each cycle, a floating point unit with a peak rate of 500 MFLOPs, 8-Kbyte L0 instruction cache, 256-Kbyte L1 cache, and support for 64-Gbyte of main storage. A 4-way rightly-coupled symmetric multi-processor system is one of several configurations supported by this implementation. >
Inhibitory effect of bile salts on the enterohepatic circulation of methotrexate in the unanesthetized rat: Inhibition of methotrexate intestinal absorption

The effect of conjugated and unconjugated bile salts on the intestinal absorption of methotrexate (MTX) in the unanesthetized rat was investigated using a recycling perfusion technique. We initially determined the general characteristics of MTX absorption in vivo. Absorption of low (0.5 μM) and high (6 μM) concentrations of MTX was linear with time for 60 min perfusion and occurred at rates of 0.2 and 1.65 nmol/100 cm dry length/min, respectively. Absorption of 0.5 μM MTX was pH-dependent and increased with decreasing perfusate pH. Absorption of MTX involves two processes: (1) a saturable process with a Kt of 0.98 μM, and (2) a nonsaturable diffusion process. The unconjugated deoxycholate and the conjugated taurocholate inhibited the intestinal absorption of 1 μM MTX in a concentration-dependent manner. The inhibitory effect of bile salts was reversible, and was not due to damage to the intestinal mucosa. The structural analogues folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate and the organic anions rose bengal and sulfobormophthalein were also inhibitory to MTX absorption. This study demonstrates that a variety of organic anions inhibit MTX intestinal absorption. The possible therapeutic importance of this observation is discussed.
A unidimensional short form of the TMAS

The results of four factor-analytic studies have demonstrated that items of the TMAS load into several uncorrelated factors. To partially resolve the issue raised by these data, for the validity of the TMAS, a unidimensional short form of the TMAS was constructed.
Current status of radiation therapy and radiosurgery in the treatment of intracranial meningiomas

Complete surgical removal, including resection of involved bone and dura, is curative of intracranial meningiomas in approximately 90% of cases. However, complete removal may entail unwarranted risk if the tumor involves or is adjacent to critical vascular or neural structures. In addition, it is possible for fragments of tumor to “evade” resection, even with the use of meticulous microsurgical technique. Because of this, clinicians may be faced with the decision of whether to offer or recommend radiation therapy or radiosurgery to a patient with a residual or recurrent meningioma. For many years, it has been recommended that external-beam radiation therapy be considered in the treatment of incompletely resected or malignant meningiomas. More recently, the role of radiosurgery as adjuvant or even primary therapy for meningiomas has attracted considerable attention. This article presents a review of the literature on postoperative radiotherapy of intracranial meningiomas.
Study of the interfacial concentration profile of two-component systems in the solid-solid interface

Abstract We have developed a theoretical treatment for calculating the interfacial concentration profile of two-component systems. Two cases, i.e. the equilibrium and steady-state cases, have been treated and the effect of non-uniform composition in the solid-solid interface on chemical potentials has been considered. As an application, we have calculated the interfacial concentration profile of the γ (Ni)/γ' (Ni3Al) system.