cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Uncouplers enhance photosynthetic electron transport from water to NADP+ in the presence of plastoquinone inhibitors

Abstract Uncouplers have been previously observed to relieve appreciably the inhibition of photosynthetic electron transport from water to NADP+ by the plastoquinone analogues, dibromothymoquinone (DBMIB) and dinitrophenyl ether of iodonitrothymol (DNP-INT). These results were now extended by demonstrating that the reversal by uncouplers of DBMIB and DNP-INT inhibition occurred under conditions when the uncouplers did not stimulate or inhibit NADP+ reduction in control treatments without the plastoquinone analogues. Since effects of uncouplers on photosynthetic electron transport depend on external pH, we determined for each of the four uncouplers, gramicidin, nigericin, FCCP (carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone) and SF 6847 (a ditertiary phenol derivative) its effect on oxygenic electron transport (H2O to NADP+) over a range of external pH from 6.7 to 8.7. The effect of each uncoupler on counteracting the inhibition of DBMIB and DNP-INT was then measured at its crossover external pH at which the uncoupler had little or no effect on electron transport in the uninhibited controls. Under these controlled conditions, uncouplers increased the rate of plastoquinone-inhibited electron transport, in some cases by almost 300%. To explain these results, a role for plastoquinone in processing protons released by the oxidation of water is postulated.
Technological change, employment, and sustainability

Abstract It seems safe to say that in the past technological change created more jobs in total than it destroyed. That this was true in the past does not mean it will be true in the future. As advanced industrial economies struggle with jobless growth, lower-income countries will have to create new jobs in very large numbers. With technology, in all its forms, reducing the direct labor content of production in almost all sectors, it is not clear that there will be enough work either the developed or the developing countries. Any transition to sustainable development requires that most people in most places achieve levels of economic security they deem adequate. Thus, creating decent jobs by the hundreds of millions poses a fundamental bottleneck to sustainability.
Engineering, operation and economics of methane gas production

Processing of biomass for the production of a fuel gas containing methane requires a complex system. The degree of complexity is, in part, a function of the biomass utilized. In general, this system consists of 3 main subsystems; Raw material preparation Methane fermentation Residue processing, utilization and/or disposal
Synthesis, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor binding, and antinociceptive properties of 2'-fluoro-3'-(substituted pyridinyl)-7-deschloroepibatidine analogues.

2′-Fluoro-3-(substituted pyridine)epibatidine analogues 7a–e and 8a–e were synthesized, and their in vitro and in vivo nAChR properties were determined. 2′-Fluoro-3′-(4″-pyridinyl)deschloroepibatidine (7a) and 2′-fluoro-3′-(3″-pyridinyl)deschloroepibatidine (8a) were synthesized as bioisosteres of the 4′-nitrophenyl lead compounds 5a and 5g. Comparison of the in vitro nAChR properties of 7a and 8a to those of 5a and 5g showed that 7a and 8a had in vitro nAChR properties similar to those of 5a and 5g but both were more selective for the α4β2-nAChR relative to the α3β4- and α7-nAChRs than 5a and 5g. The in vivo nAChR properties in mice of 7a were similar to those of 5a. In contrast, 8a was an agonist in all four mouse acute tests, whereas 5g was active only in a spontaneous activity test. In addition, 5g was a nicotine antagonist in both the tail-flick and hot-plate tests, whereas 8a was an antagonist only in the tail-flick test.
Treg cells meet their limit.

T cell antigen receptor (TCR)-transgenic models have been enormously influential in studies of T cell development in the thymus, particularly in terms of positive and negative selection. New transgenic mice produced with TCR genes cloned from regulatory T cells show that TCR specificity does 'instruct' regulatory T cell fate, within limits.
Glutathione in Human Plasma: Decline in Association with Aging, Age-Related Macular Degeneration, and Diabetes

Blood samples were analyzed for GSH and GSH redox state in 40 age-related macular degeneration (ARMD) patients (> 60 y), 33 non-ARMD diabetic patients (> 60 years), 27 similarly aged non-ARMD and nondiabetic individuals (> 60 years), and 19 younger individuals (< 60 years) without ARMD or diabetes. Results showed a significantly lower plasma GSH in older individuals (ARMD, diabetes, and controls) than in younger individuals (p < .01). Total GSH (GSHt) obtained following treatment with dithiothreitol was significantly lower only in diabetic cases (p < .05) but also approached significance for ARMD cases (p = .089). Estimation of redox potential indicated that the plasma GSH pool is considerably more oxidized in all of the older groups. Analyses of whole blood GSH showed that GSH was significantly lower in diabetic cases compared to the other groups, but did not reveal any difference associated with age or ARMD. In contrast, GSSG in whole blood was significantly higher in the older groups compared to the younger controls. The results suggest that in studies of age-related pathologies, oxidation of GSH may be a more important parameter than a decline in pool size, while in specific pathologies such as diabetes, both oxidation and a decline in pool size may be important.
Trade-off method to assess the interaction between light shelves and complex ceiling forms for optimized daylighting performance

Recent research has shown that ceiling geometry can greatly affect the illuminance levels and daylighting uniformity in indoor spaces. Usually, modeling and evaluating the daylighting performance of flat ceilings and light shelves can be done easily. However, with the increase of sophisticated and complex parametric forms of suspended ceilings, architects have been struggling to adequately assess their daylight performance. This is mainly due to the time and effort required to examine all parameters within the ceiling form. Additionally, most available architectural tools for examining parametric ceilings are based on the use of genetic algorithm, which proves to be an efficient way to search for an optimal solution but lacks the ability of providing the designer with multiple sets of alternatives for better decision-making. In response, this paper examines a workflow based on the use of the Pareto principle that has been developed in order to assess the ceiling parameters and variables. It then ranks the...
The Blind Owl by Sadeq Hedayat

Sadeq Hedayat is Iran's most influential modern writer of prose fiction, and his short novel Buf-e Kur, first published in 1936 in Bombay, is a key work of Persian literary modernity. Despite the n...
Promises and problems for the new paradigm for risk assessment and an alternative approach involving predictive systems models

The need for cost-effective risk assessment of chemicals is leading to the development of a reductionist paradigm that tries to assess impacts on humans and ecosystems from molecular changes. However, the biggest challenge for this paradigm comes from the emergence of properties that arise out of the interactions of the parts that are not included and yet which are key for assessing likely impacts. Although identifying key events and adverse outcome pathways can shed light on the involvement of important metabolic processes in toxicity, this does not mean that particular molecular initiating events are likely to be robust or accurate predictors of impacts that matter. There are even greater challenges for the new paradigm applied to ecological systems than to human health because of the need to link across more levels of biological organization. The present study argues for a predictive systems approach that makes the linkages through systems models in a mechanistic way that allows for emergence and that also has the potential for reducing the costs and use of animals in ecological risk assessments. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012; 31: 2663–2671. © 2012 SETAC
An example based image retrieval system for the TRACE repository

The ability to identify particular features and structures, such as faces or types of scenery in images, is a topic with many available applications and potential solutions. In this paper we discuss solar images and the results of our investigation of techniques that can be used to identify solar phenomena in images from the TRACE satellite for the creation of a search engine. Being able to automatically identify and search for various phenomena in solar images is of great interest for scientists studying the sun. We discuss a set of characteristics that can be quickly extracted from solar images. These characteristics are used to create classifiers for various phenomena contained in solar images. The classifiers are then used to create an example based information retrieval system There are many obstacles that need to be overcome when extracting features and creating these classifiers. These include the inherent unbalanced data sets due to varying rates different phenomena appear and multiple phenomenon that could appear in each image.
Proteasomal Interference Prevents Zona Pellucida Penetration and Fertilization in Mammals

The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway has been implicated in the penetration of ascidian vitelline envelope by the fertilizing spermatozoon (Sawada et al., Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2002; 99:1223-1228). The present study provides experimental evidence demonstrating proteasome involvement in the penetration of mammalian zona pellucida (ZP). Using porcine in vitro fertilization as a model, penetration of ZP was completely inhibited by specific proteasomal inhibitors MG-132 and lactacystin. Three commercial rabbit sera recognizing 20S proteasomal core subunits beta-1i, beta-2i, alpha-6, and beta-5 completely blocked fertilization at a very low concentration (i.e., diluted 1/2000 to 1/8000 in fertilization medium). Neither proteasome inhibitors nor antibodies had any effects on sperm-ZP binding and acrosome exocytosis in zona-enclosed oocytes or on fertilization rates in zona-free oocytes, which were highly polyspermic. Consistent with a possible role of ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in ZP penetration, ubiquitin and various alpha and beta type proteasomal subunits were detected in boar sperm acrosome by specific antibodies, immunoprecipitated and microsequenced by MALDI-TOF from boar sperm extracts. Antiubiquitin-immunoreactive substrates were detected on the outer face of ZP by epifluorescence microscopy. This study therefore provides strong evidence implicating the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in mammalian fertilization and zona penetration. This finding opens a new line of acrosome/ZP research because further studies of the sperm acrosomal proteasome can provide new tools for the management of polyspermia during in vitro fertilization and identify new targets for contraceptive development.
Superfluidity of p-wave and s-wave atomic Fermi gases in optical lattices

We consider $p$-wave pairing of single hyperfine state and $s$-wave pairing of two hyperfine states ultracold atomic gases trapped in quasi-two-dimensional optical lattices. First, we analyze superfluid properties of $p$-wave and $s$-wave symmetries in the strictly weak coupling BCS regime where we discuss the order parameter, chemical potential, critical temperature, atomic compressibility, and superfluid density as a function of filling factor for tetragonal and orthorhombic optical lattices. Second, we analyze superfluid properties of $p$-wave and $s$-wave superfluids in the evolution from the BCS to Bose-Einstein condensation regimes at low temperatures $(T\ensuremath{\approx}0)$, where we discuss the changes in the quasiparticle excitation spectrum, chemical potential, atomic compressibility, Cooper pair size, and momentum distribution as a function of filling factor and interaction strength for tetragonal and orthorhombic optical lattices.
Influences of attention on auditory aftereffects following purely visual adaptation

Recently, Kitagawa and Ichihara (2002) demonstrated that visual adaptation to an expanding or contracting disk produces a cross-modal visually-induced auditory loudness aftereffect (VALAE), which they attributed to cross-correlations of motion in three-dimensional space. Our experiments extend their results by providing evidence that attending selectively to one of two competing visual stimuli of the same saliency produces a cross-modal VALAE that favors the attended stimulus. These cross-modal attentional effects suggest the existence of integrative spatial mechanisms between vision and audition that are affected by attention.
Determinants of glucose toxicity and its reversibility in the pancreatic islet β-cell line, HIT-T15

HIT-T15 cells, a clonal β-cell line, were cultured and passaged weekly for 6 mo in RPMI 1640 media containing various concentrations of glucose. Insulin content decreased in the intermediate- and l...
Optimal link adaptation over partially observable Gilbert-Elliot channels

In this paper a communication system operating over a Gilbert-Elliot channel is studied. The goal of the transmitter is to maximize the number of successfully transmitted bits. This is achieved by choosing among three possible actions: (i) betting aggressively by using a weak code that allows the transmission of a high number of bits but provides no protection against a bad channel, ii) betting conservatively by using a strong code that perfectly protects the transmitted bits against a bad channel but does not allow a high number of data bits, iii) betting opportunistically by sensing the channel for a fixed duration and then deciding which code to use. The problem is formulated and solved using the theory of Markov decision processes (MDPs). It is shown that the optimal strategy has a simple threshold structure. Closed form expressions and simplified procedures for the computation of the threshold policies in terms of the system parameters are provided.
The Mississippi River Basin: Crucible of National Flood Policies

The Mississippi-Missouri River system is second in the world only to the Amazon River in main stem length (6,019 km) and ranks behind only the Amazon and the Congo Rivers (Table 1) in watershed area (3,221,000 km2) (Czawa, 1981). In contrast to most other great rivers, the Mississippi-Missouri system (hereafter the “Mississippi”) drains a fertile and largely inhabitable heartland. Its watershed extends from the Appalachian Mountains in the East to the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains in the West, comprising about 41 percent of the land area of the 48 conterminous United States (Fig. 1).
Development of a musculoskeletal extremity health status instrument: the Musculoskeletal Function Assessment instrument.

Despite an increasing reliance on the use of health status measures to assess and evaluate medical care, no single instrument is currently available for use with the broad range of patients with musculoskeletal disorders of the extremities that is commonly seen in clinical practice. In this paper, we report on the development of the Musculoskeletal Function Assessment instrument, a 100-item self reported health status instrument that is designed to meet this need. The instrument was developed in two phases During the first phase, items were selected on the basis of interviews with 135 patients and 12 clinicians and from reviews of existing health status instruments. The items then were grouped into categories. During the second phase, the instrument was tested for reliability and content validity using a sample of 327 patients with one of five musculoskeletal disorders of the upper and lower extremities (fractures, soft-tissue injuries, repetitive motion disorders, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis). The patients were selected from both community and academic sites. The Musculoskeletal Function Assessment instrument met standards for test-retest reliability and internal consistency. Content validity also was demonstrated, based on a review of item selection procedures, expert opinion, and the distribution of scores on the instrument.
Modulation of early angiogenesis by nitric oxide

undergone surgical placement of bone anchorage devices for orthodontic treatment. A total of 37 devices have been placed to date. In three cases, maxillary IMF screws were placed bilaterally in order to provide orthodontic anchorage. In the remaining 16 patients, specialized bone anchorage devices were used. Data collection was carried out during a retrospective review of each patient’s record, preoperative and postoperative radiographs, and patient and surgeon questionnaires completed during the perioperative period. Results: All participating surgeons rated the surgical procedure as very easy to moderately easy. The most challenging aspect of the surgical procedure was related to retraction during the placement of devices through small vertical incisions. Postoperative morbidity was characterized by minimal to mild pain and moderate degree of swelling. Postoperative complications included mucosal inflammation around the device (2 implants), fracture of one device, and failure of the monocortical screws securing the device (2 implants). Conclusion: The use of skeletal fixation devices for anchorage appears to be a promising adjunctive treatment for specific orthodontic indications. Our preliminary surgical experience has revealed easy surgical placement, minor postoperative morbidity, and a low rate of postoperative complications related to the implants.
The Effects of Feminist Scholarship on Developmental Psychology.

The present article examines some of the ways in which feminist scholarship has helped shape developmental psychology, particularly the study of child development. Three main influences are discussed. (a) Feminist scholars have helped break the “male-as-norm” tradition. Toward this end, feminists have encouraged the valuing of females, the recognition that fewer sex differences exist than had previously been asserted by society at large, and the understanding that many sex differences that do exist are caused by the different socialization patterns of girls and boys. (b) Feminist scholarship has helped lessen “mother blaming” in accounting for children's behavior. The entire social world of the child (including fathers, peers, siblings, schools, grandparents, daycare, etc.) and biological makeup and predispositions are now all recognized as important influences on children's behavior. Finally, (c) feminist scholars have helped reconceptualize children's gender–role socialization. This has been done both by reinterpreting existing theories of gender–role socialization and by developing new theories.
Maternal and neonatal outcomes in nulliparous women undergoing non-medically indicated induction of labour or expectant management at 38-41 weeks gestation.

Commentary on : Bailit JL, Grobman W, Zhao Y, et al, ; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units (MFMU) Network. Nonmedically indicated induction vs expectant treatment in term nulliparous women. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2015;212:103.e1–7[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2]. In the last decade, our understanding of the associations connected with induction of labour have greatly improved as the conventional comparisons with spontaneous labour have been replaced with the appropriate alternative of expectant management.1 Starting with smaller single site studies,2 followed by administrative databases3 ,4 and with validated databases now abstracted directly from medical records,5 multiple studies showed no association or a decrease in caesarean delivery with induction, as well as a decreased risk for some … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DAm%2BJ%2BObstet%2BGynecol%26rft.volume%253D212%26rft.spage%253D103.e1%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1016%252Fj.ajog.2014.06.054%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1016/j.ajog.2014.06.054&link_type=DOI
The Association between Sartorial Fat and Fat Deposition in Meat-Type Chickens

Abstract The potential of using the weight of the sartorial (M. sartorius) fat depot as a measurement of abdominal and/or total body fat was investigated. A preliminary experiment using populations of chickens exhibiting wide differences in growth rate revealed correlations, at 63 days of age, of .40 between abdominal and percent carcass fat and .71 between abdominal and sartorial fat. The relationships among these traits were further explored using two commercial broiler stocks chosen on the basis of known differences in adiposity. In addition, dietary effects were investigated by feeding diets containing different calorie to protein ratios. Sartorial fat was highly correlated with abdominal and total carcass fat. Genetic and nutritional effects on the weight of abdominal fat were consistent with corresponding weight changes in sartorial fat. Thus, a final experiment was conducted to study the longitudinal development of these adipose depots in commercial broilers with the objective of determining the association between abdominal fat deposition and sartorial fat weights over time. Although sartorial fat was not highly associated with abdominal fat at 14 days, correlations were highly significant at 28 and 42 days of age and significant at 56 days of age. Differences among genetic populations in fat deposition were particularly evident at 28 and 42 days of age.
Boundary identification for 2-D parabolic problems arising in thermal testing of materials

Problems on the identification of two-dimensional spatial domains arising in the detection and characterization of structural flaws in materials are considered. For a thermal diffusion system with external boundary input, observations of the temperature on the surface are used in an output least square approach. Parameter estimation techniques based on the method of mappings are discussed, and approximation schemes are developed based on a finite-element Galerkin approach. Theoretical convergence results for computational techniques are given, and the results are applied to the identification of two kinds of boundary shapes. >
Bode integral constraints, collocation, and spillover in active noise and vibration control

With the success of feedforward techniques for active noise control, feedback control researchers have begun to explore the relationship between these two control paradigms. The goal of this paper is to further investigate this relationship by means of the classical Bode integral constraint on achievable performance. This constraint provides insight into the phenomenon of spillover which we define as disturbance amplification by the closed-loop system relative to the open-loop transfer function gain. Specifically, it is shown that a particular feedforward controller called the zero spillover controller avoids spillover by producing perfect disturbance cancellation at every frequency. The analysis suggests that spillover can be avoided only if the control speaker and the disturbance source are noncollocated and the performance microphone and the measurement microphone are noncollocated. For realizability, we derive the approximate zero spillover controller which is shown to be an optimal feedback controller for an LQG problem with suitable cross weighting. Finally, the results are illustrated by means of structural and acoustic examples.
Host size-dependent sex allocation behaviour in a parasitoid: implications for Catolaccus grandis (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) mass rearing programmes

An often encountered problem associated with augmentative and inundative biological control programmes is the high cost of producing sufficient numbers of natural enemies necessary to suppress pest populations within the time constraints imposed by ephemeral agroecosystems. In many arrhenotokous parasitoids, overproduction of males in mass-rearing cultures inflates costs (per female) and thus limits the economic feasibility of these biological control programmes. Within the context of existing production technologies, experiments were conducted to determine if the sex ratio of Catolaccus grandis (Burks), an ectoparasitoid of the boll weevil Anthonomous grandis Boheman, varied as a function of boll weevil larval size. Results from natural and manipulative experiments demonstrate the following behavioural characteristics associated with C. grandis sex allocation behaviour: (i) female C. grandis offspring are produced on large size hosts and male offspring are produced on small hosts; (ii) whether a host is considered large or small depends upon the overall distribution of host sizes encountered by a female parasitoid; and (iii) female parasitoids exhibit a greater rate of increase in body size with host size than do male parasitoids. The observed patterns cannot be explained by sex-specific mortality of immature parasitoids developing on the different host size categories. In subsequent experiments, laboratory cultures of C. grandis exposed daily to successively larger sizes of A. grandis larvae produced successively greater female biased offspring sex ratios, cultures exposed daily to successively smaller sizes of host larvae produced successively greater male biased offspring sex ratios, and cultures exposed daily to equivalent host size distributions over time maintained a uniform offspring sex ratio. By increasing the average size of A. grandis larval hosts exposed to C. grandis by 2.5 mg per day in mass rearing cultures, the percentage of male progeny can be reduced from 33% to 23% over a period of four consecutive exposure days.
Mining and knowledge discovery from the Web

The World Wide Web presents an interesting opportunity for data mining and knowledge discovery, and this area is growing rapidly as both a research topic and a business activity. In this survey we describe some of the problems that are addressed, and elements of the WebFountain infrastructure that we have built for addressing them. Our focus here is on describing some of the lessons learned and some broad research areas that are involved.
TAXONOMIC PLACEMENT OF THE ANDEAN GENERA PRAOCIDIA FAIRMAIRE AND PILOBALODERES KULZER (COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE: PRAOCINI)

Abstract The genera Praocidia Fairmaire and Pilobaloderes Kulzer (Pimeliinae: Praocini), distributed in the Andes of northern Peru, are revised. Both genera are transferred from the Nycteliini to Praocini on the basis of new tribal level characters. Character states of Praocidia and Pilobaloderes shared with the other genera of Praocini and not shared with genera of Nycteliini are discussed. Redescriptions of the genera, their three species, keys, habitus photographs and illustrations of body and male genitalia are included.
Aquaporins in ovine amnion: responses to altered amniotic fluid volumes and intramembranous absorption rates

Aquaporins (AQPs) are transmembrane channel proteins that facilitate rapid water movement across cell membranes. In amniotic membrane, the AQP‐facilitated transfer of water across amnion cells has been proposed as a mechanism for amniotic fluid volume (AFV) regulation. To investigate whether AQPs modulate AFV by altering intramembranous absorption (IMA) rate, we tested the hypothesis that AQP gene expression in the amnion is positively correlated with IMA rate during experimental conditions when IMA rate and AFV are modified over a wide range. The relative abundances of AQP1, AQP3, AQP8, AQP9, and AQP11 mRNA and protein were determined in the amnion of 16 late‐gestation ovine fetuses subjected to 2 days of control conditions, urine drainage, urine replacement, or intraamniotic fluid infusion. AQP mRNA levels were determined by RT‐qPCR and proteins by western immunoblot. Under control conditions, mRNA levels among the five AQPs differed more than 20‐fold. During experimental treatments, mean IMA rate in the experimental groups ranged from 100 ± 120 mL/day to 1370 ± 270 mL/day. The mRNA levels of the five AQPs did not change from control and were not correlated with IMA rates. The protein levels of AQP1 were positively correlated with IMA rates ( r 2 = 38%, P = 0.01) while the remaining four AQPs were not. These findings demonstrate that five AQPs are differentially expressed in ovine amnion. Our study supports the hypothesis that AQP1 may play a positive role in regulating the rate of fluid transfer across the amnion, thereby participating in the dynamic regulation of AFV.
Nuclear RNA Exosome at 3.1 Å Reveals Substrate Specificities, RNA Paths, and Allosteric Inhibition of Rrp44/Dis3.

The eukaryotic RNA exosome is an essential and conserved 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease complex that degrades or processes nearly every class of cellular RNA. The nuclear RNA exosome includes a 9-subunit non-catalytic core that binds Rrp44 (Dis3) and Rrp6 subunits to modulate their processive and distributive 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease activities, respectively. Here we utilize an engineered RNA with two 3' ends to obtain a crystal structure of an 11-subunit nuclear exosome bound to RNA at 3.1 A. The structure reveals an extended RNA path to Rrp6 that penetrates into the non-catalytic core; contacts between the non-catalytic core and Rrp44, which inhibit exoribonuclease activity; and features of the Rrp44 exoribonuclease site that support its ability to degrade 3' phosphate RNA substrates. Using reconstituted exosome complexes, we show that 3' phosphate RNA is not a substrate for Rrp6 but is readily degraded by Rrp44 in the nuclear exosome.
Special Airway Devices for Thoracic Anesthesia: CPAP, PEEP, and Airway Exchange Catheters

Treatment of hypoxemia during OLV and tube exchanges between single and double lumen tubes are situations unique to thoracic anesthesia which require special airway devices. This ­chapter focuses on technical aspects of the following devices
Moral Perception and the Reliability Challenge

Given a traditional intuitionist moral epistemology, it is notoriously difficult for moral realists to explain the reliability of our moral beliefs. This has led some to go looking for an alternative to intuitionism. Perception is an obvious contender. I previously argued that this is a dead end, that all moral perception is dependent on a priori moral knowledge. This suggests that perceptualism merely moves the bump in the rug where the reliability challenge is concerned. Preston Werner responds that my account rests on an overly intellectualized model of perception. In this paper, I argue that though Werner may well be correct, my arguments, properly extended, still suggest that perceptualism leaves realists in no better position than intuitionism when it comes to the reliability challenge.
Multimodal Filtering of Social Media for Temporal Monitoring and Event Analysis

Developing an efficient and effective social media monitoring system has become one of the important steps towards improved public safety. With the explosive availability of user-generated content documenting most conflicts and human rights abuses around the world, analysts and first-responders increasingly find themselves overwhelmed with massive amounts of noisy data from social media. In this paper, we construct a large-scale public safety event dataset with retrospective automatic labeling for 4.2 million multimodal tweets from 7 public safety events occurred in 2013~2017. We propose a new multimodal social media filtering system composed of encoding, classification, and correlation networks to jointly learn shared and complementary visual and textual information to filter out the most relevant and useful items among the noisy social media influx. The proposed model is verified and achieves significant improvement over competitive baselines under the retrospective and real-time experimental protocols.
Exercise training workloads in cardiac rehabilitation are associated with clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure.

Background In patients with coronary heart disease, the exercise workload (i.e., metabolic equivalents of task, METs) at which patients exercise train upon entry and completion of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) are independently related to prognosis. Unknown is the association between exercise training workloads in CR and clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). Methods Patients with HF who participated in an early outpatient CR program were used in this retrospective analysis. Exercise workloads upon entry and completion of CR were converted to METs. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality and the secondary outcome was HF hospitalization. Cox regression analysis was used to assess the adjusted risk between MET levels in CR and clinical outcomes. Results Among 707 patients, the median exercise training workload at the start and end of CR was 2.5 METs (IQR 2.1 to 3.1 METs) and 3.2 METS (IQR 2.7 to 4.1 METs), respectively, for men and 2.2 METs (IQR 1.9 to 2.6 METs) and 2.9 METS (IQR 2.3 to 3.4 METs), respectively, for women. There were 242 deaths and 266 HF hospitalizations. METs achieved at the end of CR had the strongest independent association with all-cause mortality (adjusted HR, 95% CI: 0.58, 0.48–0.70) and HF hospitalization (adjusted HR, 95% CI: 0.62, 0.52–0.74). Each 1 MET higher work load at the end of CR was associated with a 42% and 38% lower adjusted risk for all-cause mortality and HF hospitalization, respectively. Conclusions In a diverse cohort of patients with chronic HF our data suggests that an easily accessible measure of exercise capacity (i.e., METs) that is collected during CR is independently associated with the adjusted risk for both all-cause mortality and HF-specific hospitalization. Training at MET levels
Sensitivity study of transverse translation diverse phase retrieval for freeform metrology

Transverse translation-diverse phase retrieval (TTDPR), a ptychographic wavefront-sensing technique, is a viable method for optical surface metrology due to its relatively simple hardware requirements, flexibility, and high demonstrated accuracy in other fields. In TTDPR, a subaperture illumination pattern is scanned across an optic under test, and the reflected intensity is gathered on an array detector near focus. A nonlinear optimization algorithm is used to reconstruct the wavefront aberration at the test surface, from which we can solve for surface error, using intensity patterns from multiple scan positions. TTDPR is an advantageous method for aspheric and freeform metrology, because measurements can be performed without null optics. We report on a sensitivity analysis of TTDPR using simulations of a freeform concave mirror measurement. Simulations were performed to test TTDPR algorithmic performance as a function of various parameters, including detector SNR and position uncertainty of the illumination.
Synthesis and Characterization of Polymer-Silica Composite Hydrogel Particles and Influence of Hydrogel Composition on Cement Paste Microstructure

The objective of this research is to define the fundamental structure-property relationships of water-swollen polymer hydrogel particles that are employed as internal curing agents in cementitious mixtures, in addition to reporting a novel synthesis procedure for combining pozzolanic materials with hydrogel particles. Solution polymerization was performed to incorporate amorphous nanosilica particles within acrylic-based polymer hydrogel particles of varying chemical compositions (i.e., monomer ratio of acrylic acid (AA) to acrylamide (AM)). Experiments were designed to measure the absorption capacity and kinetics of hydrogel particles immersed in pure water and cementitious pore solution, as well as determine the impact of particles on cement paste microstructure. While majority-AM hydrogel particles displayed relatively stable absorption values during immersion in pore solution, majority-AA hydrogel particles desorbed fluid over time, most likely due to the interactions of multivalent cations in the absorbed solution with the anionic polymer network. Interestingly, the addition of negatively charged nanosilica particles accelerated and enhanced this desorption response. When incorporated into cement paste, majority-AM hydrogel particles encouraged the formation of calcium hydroxide and calcium silicate hydrate within the void space previously occupied by the swollen particles. When nanosilica was added to the hydrogel particles, a 53 % increase in the number of hydrogel voids containing hydrated product was observed for the 17 % AA hydrogel particles, and a 140 % increase was observed for the 83 % AA hydrogel particles. These results suggest that the combination of nanosilica with polymeric hydrogel particles provides a favorable environment for the pozzolanic reaction to proceed and that nanosilica aids in the replenishment of hydrogel void space with hydrated cement phases.
ECG monitoring after acute ischemic stroke: Does patient selection matter?

To prevent stroke recurrence, we treat patients based on the presumed underlying etiology; however, in clinical practice, the underlying mechanism remains undetermined in up to 30% of patients.1 Atrial fibrillation (AF), a known and frequent culprit for cardioembolic stroke, can be transient and not present at the time of evaluation following a stroke. Treatment differs for patients who have strokes caused by AF because of the high risk of recurrent stroke with AF and the high degree of effectiveness of oral anticoagulants to reduce cardioembolic stroke risk. Several guidelines recommend a minimum of 24 to 48 hours of Holter monitoring in all patients with stroke to identify AF as the underlying source of stroke.2 Previous studies found that Holter ECG monitoring (24–72 hours) detects paroxysmal AF in approximately 5% of patients with stroke, and longer duration ECG monitoring detects AF in an additional 5% to 30% of patients depending on the type and duration of monitoring.2–4
Blood transfusions, blood storage, and correlation with elevated pulmonary arterial pressures.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine if transfusion with RBCs is associated with a rise in mean pulmonary artery pressure (MPAP) and whether such a rise is influenced by the duration of RBC storage. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS A retrospective chart review of intensive care unit patients with pulmonary artery catheters was conducted at two military medical centers. RESULTS RBC transfusion is associated with a sustained (≥4 hours) statistically significant 2- to 3-mm Hg rise in MPAP relative to both pretransfusion levels (p < 0.05) and compared to asanguinous fluid infusions (p < 0.05). The magnitude of the rise (all infusions, RBCs, and asanguinous) correlates positively with in-hospital mortality (p < 0.01) and hospital length of stay (p < 0.01). The duration of RBC storage was not statistically correlated with the magnitude of rise in the population studied. Mean infusion volume was greater for RBC (vs. asanguinous) infusions, but volume adjustment of MPAP values did not alter the pattern or statistical significance of the results. CONCLUSIONS Analysis of retrospectively collected data suggests that transfusion of RBC-containing fluids results in a sustained elevation of MPAP. In the patient population studied, the duration of RBC storage did not correlate with the magnitude of MPAP rise. Future prospective studies of transfusion effects should consider including assessment of MPAP and subpopulation analyses.
Diaphragmatic recovery in rats with cervical spinal cord injury induced by a theophylline nanoconjugate: Challenges for clinical use

Context: Following a spinal cord hemisection at the second cervical segment the ipsilateral hemidiaphragm is paralyzed due to the disruption of the rostral ventral respiratory group (rVRG) axons descending to the ipsilateral phrenic motoneurons (PN). Systemically administered theophylline activates a functionally latent crossed phrenic pathway (CPP) which decussates caudal to the hemisection and activates phrenic motoneurons ipsilateral to the hemisection. The result is return of function to the paralyzed hemidiaphragm. Unfortunately, in humans, systemically administered theophylline at a therapeutic dose produces many unwanted side effects.Design and setting: A tripartite nanoconjugate was synthesized in which theophylline was coupled to a neuronal tracer, wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP), using gold nanoparticles as the coupler. Following intradiaphragmatic injection of the nanoconjugate, WGA-HRP selectively targets the theophylline-bound nanoconjugate to phrenic motoneurons initially, followed by neurons in the rVRG by retrograde transsynaptic transport.Participants: (N/A)Interventions: (N/A)Outcome Measures: Immunostaining, Electromyography (EMG).Results: Delivery of the theophylline-coupled nanoconjugate to the nuclei involved in respiration induces a return of respiratory activity as detected by EMG of the diaphragm and a modest return of phrenic nerve activity.Conclusion: In addition to the modest return of phrenic nerve activity, there were many difficulties using the theophylline nanoconjugate because of its chemical instability, which suggests that the theophylline nanoconjugate should not be developed for clinical use as explained herein.
Bramante's coro finto, Ex-Votos, and Cult Practice in Sforza Milan

Bramante's illusionistic apse for Santa Maria presso San Satiro in Milan has long been understood as a triumph of Renaissance rationality. This essay shifts attention to the votive and cult contexts of the space and the miraculous image it enshrines. The coro finto efficaciously enhanced the authority of the Madonna and her sponsors—the Sforza dynasty and a confraternity dedicated to the Virgin—by dramatically framing and amplifying the image's potency. Santa Maria presso San Satiro thus flourished as one of Milan's most intensely contested ecclesiastical arenas, in which devotees and institutions maneuvered for access to the potent cult image.
Majoring in Infractions: The Evolution of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Enforcement Structure

August 1, 2013 was the effective date of National Collegiate Athletic Association (“NCAA”) legislation that reforms the organization’s enforcement structure, which consists of the bylaws and regulations that govern the process for adjudicating violations of NCAA rules and the penalties imposed for such violations. The article begins with a discussion of the alleged deficiencies in the pre-August 2013 enforcement structure that prompted NCAA member institutional representatives and other constituencies to demand reform. Alleged shortcomings include the structure’s failure to deter potential rules violations and inconsistency in the imposition of penalties. The article then examines key features of the new structure including new penalty guidelines, enhanced accountability for head coaches, and rules changes that embody the notion of shared governance. It concludes that the reforms alone will not restore trust in the organization’s ability to fairly and effectively govern Division I athletics. Nevertheless, the changes hold promise for imposing more stringent and predictable penalties for NCAA rules violations, and incentivizing coaches and others to comply with NCAA rules.
Homogeneous Catalytic Dimerization of Terminal Alkynes by C5Me5Ru(L)H3 (L = PPh3, PCy3, PMe3)

The ruthenium hydride complexes C5Me5Ru(L)H3 (L = PPh3 (1a), PCy3 (1b), PMe3 (1c)) were found to catalyze the dimerization reaction of terminal alkynes RC⋮CH (R = Ph, t-Bu, SiMe3, CH2Ph, C4H9) to p...
How do transtibial residual limbs adjust to intermittent incremental socket volume changes

Background:Strategies to maintain prosthesis users’ daily limb volume are needed.Objectives:Test how intermittent incremental socket volume adjustments affect limb fluid volume and limb-socket dist...
P40 Impact of a brief video to improve naloxone knowledge in adolescents and young adults with severe opioid use disorder

Aims Humanity has experienced several opioid crises, but none as devastating as the present one mainly affecting North America. Opioid overdose death rates among United States’ youth have tripled since 1999. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of a short educational video on knowledge of naloxone for opioid overdose resuscitation among adolescents and young adults (AYA) with severe opioid use disorder. Methods AYA receiving outpatient, medication-assisted treatment for severe opioid use disorder were provided a brief educational video when prescribed a naloxone overdose treatment kit. The video reviewed the correct signs of overdose, overdose risks, proper use of naloxone, and order of resuscitation steps. A 5-item survey assessed naloxone knowledge pre- and post-video. A self-completed survey obtained information regarding drug use and overdose experiences. McNemar’s test was used to compare the proportion with correct answers pre- and post-video. Results Of 35 participating AYA, 26 (74%) were female and 32 (91%) white, non-Hispanic. Twenty-two (65%) had witnessed a drug overdose. Of witnessed resuscitation efforts reported, 15 (43%) observed Emergency Medical Service assistance, 12 (34%) observed ‘other efforts’, and only 4 (11%) reported witnessing naloxone administration. Five (14%) AYA had experienced a personal drug overdose; the mean number of overdoses was 4 (±3.32) with heroin being the most common drug used at last overdose. Of the resuscitation methods reported at last personal overdose, none included naloxone administration. Knowledge of the correct signs of overdose was similar pre- and post-video (97% pre vs. 100% post, p=0.32). The proportion of responders correctly answering overdose risks (51% pre vs. 89% post, p Conclusions Many AYA with severe opioid use disorders have witnessed overdoses, and naloxone appears to be underutilized in this population. Although overdose signs were well recognized, naloxone resuscitation mechanisms were not well understood. A brief video at time of prescription significantly improved knowledge of proper use of naxolone. Future study should investigate whether increased knowledge results in improved naloxone use.
Nursing Management of Patients Requiring Acute Mechanical Circulatory Support Devices

Topic The growing use of acute mechanical circulatory support devices to provide hemodynamic support that has accompanied the increasing prevalence of heart failure and cardiogenic shock, despite significant improvement in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. Clinical relevance The critical care nurse plays a crucial role in managing patients receiving acute mechanical circulatory support devices and monitoring for potential complications. Purpose To review the anatomical placement and mechanics of each type of device so that nurses can anticipate patients' hemodynamic responses and avoid complications whenever possible, thereby improving patients' clinical outcomes. Content covered Nursing considerations regarding the intra-aortic balloon pump, the TandemHeart, the Impella, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.