cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The alternating fixpoint of logic programs with negation

We introduce and describe the alternating fixpoint of a logic program with negation. The underlying idea is to monotonically build up a set of negative conclusions until the least fixpoint is reached, using a transformation related to the one that defines stable models, developed by Gelfand and Lifschitz. From a fixed set of negative conclusions, we can derive the positive conclusions that follow (without deriving any further negative ones), by traditional Horn clause semantics. The union of positive and negative conclusions is called the alternating fixpoint partial model. The name “alternating” was chosen because the transformation runs in two passes; the first pass transforms an underestimate of the set of negative conclusions into an (intermediate) overestimate; the second pass transforms the overestimates into a new underestimate; the composition of the two passes is monotonic.Our main theorem is that the alternating fixpoint partial model is exactly the well-founded partial model.We also show that a system is fixpoint logic, which permits rule bodies to be first order formulas but requires inductive relations to be positive within them, can be transformed straightforwardly into a normal logic program whose alternating fixpoint partial model corresponds to the least fixpoint of the fixpoint logic system. Thus alternating fixpoint logic is at least as expressive as fixpoint logic. The converse is shown to hold for finite structures.
Maternal Heme Oxygenase 1 Regulates Placental Vasculature Development via Angiogenic Factors in Mice

The placental vasculature is critical for nutrient, gas, and waste exchange between the maternal and fetal systems. Its development depends on the proper expression and interaction of angiogenesis and associated growth factors. Heme oxygenase (HMOX), the enzyme for heme degradation, plays a role in angiogenesis and is highly expressed in the placenta. To evaluate the role of maternal HMOX1, the inducible HMOX isozyme, on placental vasculature formation, mice with a partial deficiency in Hmox1 (Hmox1+/−) were used. Three-dimensional images of placental vasculatures as well as spiral arteries from Hmox1+/+ or Hmox1+/− placentas were created by vascular corrosion casting technique and imaged by micro-computerized tomography (microCT). The structures and morphologies of fetomaternal interfaces were observed by histological staining and the ultrastructure of uterine natural killer (uNK) cells, a major regulator in spiral artery remodeling, was analyzed by transmission electron microscopy. A group of growth factors and angiogenic factors from the decidua/mesometrial lymphoid aggregate of pregnancy (MLAp) as well as labyrinth regions were quantified using an angiogenesis PCR array kit and compared between Hmox1+/+ or Hmox1+/− placentas. In conclusion, a partial deficiency of maternal Hmox1 resulted in the malformation of fetomaternal interface, insufficiency of spiral artery remodeling, and alteration of uNK cell differentiation and maturation. These changes were independent of the fetal genotype, but relied on the maternal HMOX1 level, which determined the balance of expression levels of pro- and antiangiogenic factors in the decidua/MLAp region. These results implied that Hmox1 polymorphisms among the human population might contribute to some unexplained cases of pregnancy disorders, such as fetal growth retardation and preeclampsia.
The Penn State intelligent distributed control research laboratory

The authors describe the intelligent distributed controls research laboratory in the College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University (PSU). The centerpiece of equipment is a modern distributed microprocessor-based control system which was interfaced to real-time simulations of power plant processes. Implementation issues of hierarchical and distributed control for large-scale power plant systems were more fully explored at the university level. The microprocessor-based control system has also been interfaced to the PSU TRIGA nuclear research reactor and enables research in optimal, robust, intelligent, and other advanced control techniques for nuclear power plants. >
INTERSTELLAR MOLECULAR HYDROGEN

Recent progress in the detection of H2 in the interstellar medium is reviewed. The hydrogen molecule is discussed in terms of properties, and collisional excitation and dissociation rates. Molecular hydrogen formation and cooling and heating by H2 are also discussed. Ultraviolet studies provided information for the study of the formation-destruction equilibrium of H2, the kinetic temperature of the cloud, the hydrogen particle density, and the ultraviolet radiation field. Infrared observations in Orion and the planetary nebula NGC 7027 reveal two detections of vibrationally excited H2. In addition, thermal and nonthermal excitation mechanisms are discussed. Finally, it is noted that increased ultraviolet sensitivity is necessary for thorough H2 studies.
Renal cell carcinoma

BACKGROUND. Renal cell carcinomas include several distinct entities with a range of biologic and clinical behavior from relatively indolent to extremely aggressive. Although conventional prognostic factors such as stage and grade are quite useful, other clinical, laboratory, and pathologic findings are now believed to have additional predictive value. METHODS. A review of the literature on the evaluation of prognostic factors in general and on the current status of prognostic factors in renal cell carcinoma in particular was undertaken. A working classification of prognostic factors, as recommended by the College of American Pathologists, was used. For clarity, the prognostic indicators were grouped according to whether each was a patient-related or tumor-related factor. RESULTS. Patient-related prognostic factors include symptomatic presentation, significant weight loss, poor performance status, anemia, hypercalcemia, elevated alkaline phosphatase and, perhaps, elevated serum ferritin. The most widely used tumor-related prognostic factors include stage, grade, and histologic type. Recently proposed biomarkers still under investigation include DNA content, as well as markers of cellular proliferation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis, among others. CONCLUSIONS. Current prognostic factors for renal cell carcinoma yield considerable information for assisting with patient management and predicting clinical outcome. Traditional prognostic factors remain the most valuable, even though a variety of other patient-related and tumor-related factors may significantly contribute to prognostic information. A number of recently described biomarkers show great promise but the current data are insufficient to recommend their use.
Inflammation and Cell Adhesion Molecules are Involved in Radiation-Induced Lung Injury

Radiation therapy is an effective means of killing tumor cells, although this effectiveness is tempered by limitations of the normal tissue to the adverse effects of radiation. An excellent example of this is radiation treatment for thoracic tumors, in particular, lung cancers. Despite advances in the technical delivery of radiation by three-dimensional (3D) planning via computed tomography (CT), radiation-induced injury to normal lung tissue still occurs in a large proportion of treated patients. The primary endpoints for radiation-induced pulmonary toxicity include early onset pneumonitis and late onset fibrosis. A significant amount of research has produced some insight into the mechanism(s) behind this injury. This knowledge has provided potential targets for drug development that could improve the therapeutic ratio for radiation by reducing both early and late toxicity. In this article, we review and update the pathologic mechanisms underlying radiation-induced lung injury as well as potential treatments, with particular interest in cell adhesion molecules and inflammation.
Mechanistic Origins of Hierarchical Order in Organic Monolayers Deposited From Liquid Crystal Solvents

The orientational and chiral properties of monolayer films of the fluorescent dye 3-(2-benzothiazolyl)-7-octadecyloxy coumarin (BOC) on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite have been studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and polarized absorption spectroscopy. Films were deposited from two oriented liquid crystal solvents and one isotropic solvent using a sacrificial template method in which a solvent film applied in a first deposition step is displaced by BOC in a second deposition step. Fluid-phase orientational order parameters, monolayer order parameters, and short-range orientational and chiral autocorrelation were analyzed to determine the mechanisms by which liquid crystal solvents influence order in the deposited BOC films. By comparing BOC molecular packing characteristics and ordering statistics it is concluded that the substrate potential provides the dominant influence, with rotational and chiral symmetry among the six substrate-allowed configurations broken by much weaker liquid crystal force...
Violence and Men's Health: Understanding the Etiological Underpinnings of Men's Experiences With Interpersonal Violence

Although violence affects everyone, men's health is disproportionately affected. To better understand the etiology of men's violence, it is essential to comprehensively examine the factors influencing the development and trajectories of violence perpetration and victimization. This review offers a broad perspective on the burden of violence for men and the characteristics of individuals, relationships, communities, and society that combine to influence men's experience with interpersonal violence, including child maltreatment, youth violence, intimate partner violence, and sexual violence. Men's experience with violence is influenced by physiological, emotional, and behavioral factors; relationships with family and peers; and social norms. In collaboration with professionals from other sectors, health professionals can help prevent or intervene in male's perpetration of violence across the lifespan through identification of factors that place men at risk and referral of male patients to evidence-based prevention and intervention resources.
Accurate geometric and physical response modelling for statistical image reconstruction in high resolution PET

Accurate modeling of the data formation and detection process in PET is essential for optimizing resolution. Here, the authors develop a model in which the following factors are explicitly included: depth dependent geometric sensitivity, photon pair non-colinearity, attenuation, intrinsic detector sensitivity, non-uniform sinogram sampling, crystal penetration and inter-crystal scatter. Statistical reconstruction methods can include these modeling factors in the system matrix that represents the probability of detecting an emission from each image pixel at each detector-pair. The authors describe a method for computing these factors using a combination of calibration measurements, geometric modeling and Monte Carlo computation. By assuming that blurring effects and depth dependent sensitivities are separable, the authors are able to exploit rotational symmetries with respect to the sinogram. This results in substantial savings in both storage requirements and computational costs. Using phantom data the authors show that this system model can produce higher resolution near the center of the field of view, at a given SNR, than both simpler geometric models and reconstructions using filtered backprojection. The authors also show, using an off-centered phantom, that larger improvements in resolution occur towards the edge of the field of view due to the explicit modeling of crystal penetration effects.
TFTR tritium inventory analysis

Abstract The Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) is scheduled to begin DT operation in 1990 with the on-site tritium inventory limited to 5 grams. The physics and chemistry of the in-vessel tritium inventory will impact safety concerns, and also the entire operating schedule of the tokamak. We have investigated plasma-material interaction processes that will affect this first tritium-fueled tokamak. Tritium inventory estimates for TFTR are derived from: (1) laboratory simulation, (2) in-situ plasma measurements, (3) post-run surface analysis, and (4) modeling. This paper presents the results of these investigations, the derivation of a tritium inventory estimate and its uncertainties, and a discussion of its impact. A particular discharge-by-discharge operating schedule has been developed and evaluated. The major source of in-vessel tritium inventory will be codeposition of tritium and eroded carbon onto surfaces. We find that the on-site limit may be approached unless specific inventory reduction techniques are invoked, e.g., discharge cleaning.
Learning Decision Theoretic Utilities through Reinforcement Learning

Probability models can be used to predict outcomes and compensate for missing data, but even a perfect model cannot be used to make decisions unless the utility of the outcomes, or preferences between them, are also provided. This arises in many real-world problems, such as medical diagnosis, where the cost of the test as well as the expected improvement in the outcome must be considered. Relatively little work has been done on learning the utilities of outcomes for optimal decision making. In this paper, we show how temporal-difference reinforcement learning (TD(λ)) can be used to determine decision theoretic utilities within the context of a mixture model and apply this new approach to a problem in medical diagnosis. TD(λ) learning of utilities reduces the number of tests that have to be done to achieve the same level of performance compared with the probability model alone, which results in significant cost savings and increased efficiency.
Data compression and database performance

Data compression is widely used in data management to save storage space and network bandwidth. The authors outline the performance improvements that can be achieved by exploiting data compression in query processing. The novel idea is to leave data in compressed state as long as possible, and to only uncompress data when absolutely necessary. They show that many query processing algorithms can manipulate compressed data just as well as decompressed data, and that processing compressed data can speed query processing by a factor much larger than the compression factor. >
SHARVY'S THEORY OF DEFINITE DESCRIPTIONS REVISITED

: The paper revisits Sharvy's theory of plural definite descriptions. An alternative account of plural definite descriptions building on the ideas of plural quantification and non-distributive plural predication is developed. Finally, the alternative is extrapolated to account for generic uses of definite descriptions.
The Global Importance of Plants as Sources of Medicines and the Future Potential of Chinese Plants

It has been estimated that more than 25% of prescription pharmaceuticals contain plant-derived ingredients yet only a small percentage of the plants in the world have been evaluated for potential pharmaceutical use. Increased efforts to survey plants as sources of new drugs in recent years have stepped up the pace of the discovery of new bioactive compounds from plants, and many programs will continue to contribute to this in the near future. With an estimated 30,000 species of plants, many with a long history of use as traditional medicines, China has played an important role in the development of presently used pharmaceuticals. Chinese plants also have promise to contribute useful medicines in the future. Several factors are contributing to the current interest in Chinese plants, particularly those used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Recently programs have been initiated for clinical trials of herbal products from Chinese species. In addition, advances in pharmaceutical screening and evaluation of plants against a broader range of targets is increasing the potential for the discovery of new pharmaceutical and nutritional products from Chinese medicinal plants. Plants have always played an important role as a source of medicines both in a western sense and in a traditional sense. This review will cover the historical importance of plants in human health care and will examine three areas in which Chinese plants may be of particular importance in the future. New trends in natural products research have great importance for the potential use of Chinese plants for both the discovery of novel bioactive compounds and also the scientific validation of traditional Chinese medicine.
The Effectiveness of the “Golfer's Groove” in Improving Golfers' Scores

(1976). The Effectiveness of the “Golfer's Groove” in Improving Golfers' Scores. Research Quarterly. American Alliance for Health, Physical Education and Recreation: Vol. 47, No. 3, pp. 569-573.
Therapeutic Pneumoperitoneum: Relevant or Obsolete in 2015?

Background Therapeutic pneumoperitoneum (TP) is one alternative to manage pleural space problems. We describe our technique and experience. Materials and Methods Medical records of all patients who underwent TP from January 1, 2007, to January 1, 2015, were reviewed after Institutional Review Board approval. We report indication, preprocedure pulmonary function tests, volume of insufflated air, time to chest tube removal, and complications. We place a red rubber catheter into the peritoneal space through the diaphragm or a small abdominal incision, insufflate with room air, record volume (liters), intraperitoneal pressure (goal 9-10 mm Hg), and monitor vital signs, airway pressures, and urine output. Results We performed TP in 32 patients. Follow-up was available for 31 patients. Indications were prevention of pleural space problems in bilobectomy patients (n = 11), following decortication for empyema (n = 11), prevention of prolonged air leak (n = 3), prevention of postresection space (n = 4), and spontaneous chylothorax (n = 2). TP was done postoperatively in three patients. Median air volume used was 3.5 L (3-6 L). Time to chest tube removal overall was 7.8 days (3-20 days) and to discharge 10.2 days (4-32 days). No patient developed respiratory failure, renal failure, or required evacuation of TP. Conclusion TP is a simple, safe, and effective technique to manage pleural space problems. Proper patient selection and meticulous technique are imperative for the successful clinical application of TP. We believe that TP is an underutilized tool for the management of pleural space problems and merits wider application in thoracic surgical practice.
Electroantennogram Responses to the Scent Brush Secretions of Several Male Moths

Electroantennograms were recorded from 8 noctuid moths representing 4 subfamilies and from a sphingid in response to stimulation with male scent scales. Four noctuids, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner), Heliothis virescens (F.), Pseudaletia unipuncta (Haworth), and Leucania sp. and the sphingid, Manduca sexta (Linneaus), responded to the scent brushes from their own males but 3 noctuid species, Anagrapha falcifera (Kirby), Heliothis zea (Boddie), and Spodoptera ornithogalli (Guenee), did not respond to the supposed scent scales of their own males. All 8 of these species and Autographa precationis Guenee responded to the hairpencils of T. ni , and all of the 6 species challenged with P. unipuncta scent brushes also responded. EAGs of comparable size were produced in both male and female antennae by these scales. The apparent lack of species specificity in antennal responsiveness to the scent scale secretions was explained by assuming that the nonspecific odor generalist olfactory cells on the antenna were stimulated.
Natural polymers in nucleic acid delivery

Nucleic acid delivery presents unique challenges that could be entirely different compared to small molecules due to their molecular size, electric charge, and significant susceptibility to enzymatic degradation. However, some of the basic principles could be applied to both fields, which means specific carriers have been studied for delivery of small molecule drugs, genetic information, and mediators of RNA interference (RNAi). This chapter focuses on a specific category of polymers that have been evaluated in various strategies of targeted delivery of different types of nucleic acids; however, due to conspicuous role of delivery systems in cancer therapy as well as tissue regeneration, the presented data is mainly related to relevant clinical conditions. The most commonly used natural polymers in nucleic acid delivery will be covered spotlight, and their characteristics analyzed.
Intentions Into Actions: Norms as Mechanisms Linking Macro- and Micro-Levels

This article addresses the emergence of “lowest-low” fertility in some countries, primarily in Southern Europe and East Asia, and poses the question of why we find such large differences in birth r...
The ARHI tumor suppressor gene may prevent nuclear translocation of p-STAT3 by antagonizing the interaction of Ran with importin proteins

AACR Annual Meeting-- Apr 14-18, 2007; Los Angeles, CA 2834 ARHI is an imprinted tumor suppressor gene whose expression is frequently lost in breast and ovarian cancers. Despite homology to Ras and Rap, ARHI functions as a tumor suppressor, inhibiting tumor cell growth and motility. Our previous studies have shown that ARHI can interact with the transcription activator p-STAT3 and inhibit its nuclear translocation in human breast and ovarian cancer cells. The p-STAT3 protein requires association with other proteins for nuclear transport. We have hypothesized that ARHI interacts with one or more of these proteins. To identify proteins that interact with ARHI during translocation to the nucleus, we have performed proteomic analysis and found an association of ARHI with the importin protein(s) known to facilitate nuclear translocation. To explore this novel finding, we have purified 10 GST-importin fusion proteins (importin 7, 8, 13, β1, α1, α1 mutant, α3, α5, α6, α7). Using a GST-pull down assay, we found that ARHI strongly binds to most importins with the exception of importin 13 and an importin α1 mutant with an altered nuclear localization signal (NLS) binding domain. An ARHI-N terminal deletion mutant exhibited much less binding to all importins, suggesting that the 34 amino acid N-termianl extension of ARHI mediates importin binding. Using a similar GST pull-down assay, STAT3 protein bound only to importins β1, α1, α3, α6, and α7, but not to the other importins. Recent studies have shown that interaction of importins with the Ran protein is required to facilitate transport of other proteins into the nucleus. ARHI and Ran belong to same family of small G-proteins, suggesting that ARHI might antagonize the interaction of importins with Ran, preventing effective nuclear transport of p-STAT3. To test our hypothesis, we have constructed and purified ARHI protein and measured its effect on nuclear transport in Hela cells. ARHI protein blocked interaction of GFP-NLS and GFP-BIB (beta-like import receptor binding) fusion proteins with importin α and β, preventing their nuclear translocation. Further studies will evaluate the interaction of ARHI with Ran-importin complexes required for STAT3 nuclear transfer.
1 THE EFFECT OF GLYCOSAMINOGLYCANS UPON THE FORMATION OF COMPLEXES BETWEEN FACTOR β-XIIa AND ANTITHROMBIN III

This investigation explored the effect of glycosaminoglycans upon the initial enzyme in the intrinsic blood coagulation pathway, namely, Factor β--XIIa, and its interaction with antithrombin III (ATIII). Primary and secondary complexes of β--XIIa with ATIII were observed by SDS-PAGE and Western blot analysis utilizing a polyclonal human ATIII antibody to identify the complexes which were subsequently quantitated. With 3.15 μg β-XIIa: 3.15 μg ATIII pre-incubations for 15 min at RT, it was noted that 7.4 and 1.7% of the total protein in the SDS-PAGE lane was present as primary and secondary complexes, respectively, where the 2° complex is believed to be a proteolytic degradation product of the 1° complex. In the presence of a prior ATIII/12.6 μg heparin pre-incubation, the 1° complex increased to 34.1% of the protein in the lane, while the 2° complex increased to 12.1%. Upon replacing heparin with dermatan sulfate (chondroitin sulfate B), an increase of the 1° complex to 19.2% was noted whereas the 2° complex increased to 4.8%. Chondroitin sulfates A and C, by and large, exhibited no major changes in the 1° and 2° complex formation. These data indicate that both heparin and dermatan sulfate exhibit anticoagulant effects in the intrinsic blood clotting system and suggest that disorders in glycosaminoglycan production and degradation may be factors to consider in coagulopathies.
Impurity Ion Mobility in He II

We have previously1 reported an experimental determination of the mobility of various impurity ions injected into liquid helium. The major conclusion of that investigation was that the ion mobility depends on the atomic number of the impurity atom in a way that cannot be explained simply in terms of the mass of the ion. It was clear that the ion-roton scattering interaction depends on the electronic structure of the core ion. We now report a more detailed examination of mobilities of 40Ca and 48Ca ions so as to isolate the effects of ionic mass on mobility, and discuss the data in terms of recent theories of roton-limited ion mobility.
The use of antihistamines in allergic disease.

Antihistamines appear to act as competitive inhibitors of histamine by combining with specific histamine receptors in the shock organs of the body without eliciting a response of the effector cells. The structure and classification, pharmacologic actions, and clinical applications of this useful group of drugs are briefly reviewed.
Dominant factor of HT780 non-load-carrying T-joint fatigue strength using laser arc hybrid welding and quality control

The study intended for clarify that dominant factors of fatigue strength of T-joint which welded by laser arc hybrid welding. Fatigue test has been conducted using five types of HT780 T-joints fabr...
Self-Powered Timekeeping and Synchronization Using Fowler–Nordheim Tunneling-Based Floating-Gate Integrators

Self-powered timers provide a mechanism to achieve temporal synchronization between two passive devices (for e.g., RF tags, credit/access cards, and thumb drives) without the need for any external powering or clocks. As a result, the timers could be used to implement dynamic SecureID type authentication involving random keys and tokens that need to be periodically generated and synchronized. We report a novel solid-state self-powered timer, which exploits a self-compensating mechanism in the physics of Fowler–Nordheim quantum transport of electrons tunneling onto a floating gate. The proposed devices have been fabricated using standard CMOS processing and are demonstrated to be operational for durations greater than three years using extrapolation studies. The fabricated devices were also found to be extremely robust to device mismatch and as a result of which, the proposed self-powered timers can be synchronized with respect to each other with an accuracy greater than 0.5%.
Rates and risks of suicidality in young adults (YAs) with advanced cancer.

9015 Background: Suicide rates in YA cancer patients are higher than in the general population. Although cancer is associated with a four-fold increase in the likelihood of a suicide attempt, littl...
Carotid artery stenting is associated with a higher incidence of major adverse clinical events than carotid endarterectomy in female patients.

Abstract Background The optimal approach to carotid revascularization in female patients with carotid artery stenosis is widely debated. Information available is largely derived from clinical trials that include only highly selected patients. The goal of this study was to compare the early clinical outcomes in women who undergo carotid artery stenting (CAS) vs carotid endarterectomy (CEA). Methods Female patients undergoing CAS or CEA between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2015, and who were included in the Procedure Targeted American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program were assessed for their incidence of early postoperative complications. The primary outcome measure was 30-day incidence of a major adverse clinical event (MACE; defined as death, stroke, transient ischemic attack, or myocardial infarction/arrhythmia). Univariable analyses were used to compare results between female patients undergoing CEA and those undergoing CAS. Propensity score matching techniques were used to create a cohort of 125 CAS and CEA patients who were well matched for all known patient-, disease-, and procedure-related factors. Analysis of comparative outcomes between the propensity-matched groups was then performed. Results The overall study population consisted of 5620 female CEA patients and 131 female CAS patients. Of these patients, 290 (5.2%) from the CEA group and 16 (12.2%) from the CAS group sustained a MACE in the first 30 days after their procedures. Within the propensity-matched cohort, the 30-day incidence of postoperative MACE in the CAS group of this cohort was 11.2% (14 patients) compared with 4.0% (5 patients; odds ratio, 1.01 [95% confidence interval, 1.01-7.77]; P = .04) in the CEA group. Conclusions Our analysis of a "real-world" clinical registry suggests that CAS may be inferior to CEA in female patients who require carotid artery revascularization.
Home of the Slave: The Birth of a Nation and the Persistence of Slavery

Different subgroups in society have diverse motives for remembering or forgetting important events in history. In American history, slavery has had a deep and enduring bad effect on everything that came afterward. There have been attempts to forget or remember this chapter in the national narrative related to the intentions of subcultural groups in the present. The treatment of slavery in American movies has been a powerful factor in these attempts. Recent movies have returned to a focus on slavery at the same time that national opinion has turned away from African American issues and sympathies. The recent movie The Birth of a Nation exemplifies the new emphasis on slavery in the movies and the lack of concern for it in public discourse.
Leadership and Regressive Small Group Processes: A Case Study

The psychoanalytic literature of regressive group and intergroup processes is reviewed briefly and selectively to derive principles of effective, working group leadership. These principles are applied to a case study of the leadership provided by Terje Larsen to the unique work group of Palestinians, Israelis, and Norwegians who produced the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.
Obsessional and Compulsive Disorders

Although psychiatric discussions of obsessional and compulsive phenomena date only to 1838, literary descriptions of such behavior may be found much earlier. Euripides (480–406 B.c.) and Shakespeare (1564–1616) both provided eloquent descriptions of obsessional jealousy in the plays Medea and Othello. Shakespeare also provided an illustrative description of obsessional guilt coupled with compulsive ritualistic behavior in his portrayal of Lady Macbeth after the violent murder of King Duncan (Coleman, Butcher, & Carson, 1980): It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands. I have known her continue in this a quarter of an hour... .
Estimating the cost of high temperature liquid metal based concentrated solar power

The current levelized cost of electricity from concentrated solar power is too high to directly compete with natural gas under current carbon emissions policies. An approximate 50% cost reduction is needed relative to current power tower technology based on molten nitrate salts, and one pathway to a major cost reduction is to operate the system at higher temperatures, enabling a more efficient heat engine. Here, we consider a future system that can operate at gas turbine inlet temperatures of ∼1300–1500 °C by using liquid metals as heat transfer and storage fluids with a ceramic based piping infrastructure. In general, ceramics are more expensive than the current stainless steels, but they are less expensive than the nickel alloys that are proposed to be used in higher temperature chloride molten salt plants. Considering various tradeoffs, it was not clear a priori whether or not the potential gains in heat engine efficiency would be negated by increased material costs or how much net reduction in levelized cost might be possible. This study answers this question by first detailing a base case molten nitrate salt power tower plant with published cost data. Then, a future liquid metal version of a power tower is modeled using similar specifications as the liquid salt plant to determine if there are any obvious costs that might negate the efficiency gains associated with operating well above 1000 °C. The results of the analysis showed that although the receiver and several other sub-systems become more expensive, there is a net cost reduction in the range of 20%–30%, depending upon the heat engine efficiency.The current levelized cost of electricity from concentrated solar power is too high to directly compete with natural gas under current carbon emissions policies. An approximate 50% cost reduction is needed relative to current power tower technology based on molten nitrate salts, and one pathway to a major cost reduction is to operate the system at higher temperatures, enabling a more efficient heat engine. Here, we consider a future system that can operate at gas turbine inlet temperatures of ∼1300–1500 °C by using liquid metals as heat transfer and storage fluids with a ceramic based piping infrastructure. In general, ceramics are more expensive than the current stainless steels, but they are less expensive than the nickel alloys that are proposed to be used in higher temperature chloride molten salt plants. Considering various tradeoffs, it was not clear a priori whether or not the potential gains in heat engine efficiency would be negated by increased material costs or how much net reduction in leveliz...
An instrument for in situ time-resolved X-ray imaging and diffraction of laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing processes

In situ X-ray-based measurements of the laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing process produce unique data for model validation and improved process understanding. Synchrotron X-ray imaging and diffraction provide high resolution, bulk sensitive information with sufficient sampling rates to probe melt pool dynamics as well as phase and microstructure evolution. Here, we describe a laboratory-scale LPBF test bed designed to accommodate diffraction and imaging experiments at a synchrotron X-ray source during LPBF operation. We also present experimental results using Ti-6Al-4V, a widely used aerospace alloy, as a model system. Both imaging and diffraction experiments were carried out at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource. Melt pool dynamics were imaged at frame rates up to 4 kHz with a ∼1.1 μm effective pixel size and revealed the formation of keyhole pores along the melt track due to vapor recoil forces. Diffraction experiments at sampling rates of 1 kHz captured phase evolution and lattice contraction during the rapid cooling present in LPBF within a ∼50 × 100 μm area. We also discuss the utility of these measurements for model validation and process improvement.
The pilot gland approach to the study of insulin secretory dynamics.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the pilot gland approach to the study of insulin secretory dynamics. Insulin secretion is responsive to a variety of hormonal and metabolic factors. Recent studies indicate that the magnitude of the response to some of these factors is dependent upon the concentrations of others in the pancreatic perfusate. Glucagon may not affect insulin secretion directly but may increase the gland's sensitivity to glucose. The chapter describes an experiment in which source dogs of either sex, weighing between 25 and 55 kg, were anesthetized with an intraperitoneal injection of dial-urethane. Insulin concentrations in pancreatic arterial and venous plasma were determined by the radioimmunoassay method of Berson and Yalow. The application of the pilot organ model to the study of the regulation of hepatic glucose production has been reported. Research into such models is guided by systems theory, which emphasizes the interactions among the parts of a system.
APC and the Early Events of Colon Cancer

Colon cancer continues to be one of the major killers of adults in the developed world. Almost 100,000 new cases and 40,000 deaths are expected in the U.S. this year. Neither the age specific incidence nor mortality of this disease has improved significantly over the last thirty years. The same picture holds for most of the adult cancers and has led to the charge that our heavy investment in cancer research, promised to yield new therapies for these cancers, has not succeeded and has therefore been wasted. This is a very premature judgement. There have been dramatic improvements in the treatment of some cancers; the vast majority of childhood leukemia is now a curable disease and testicular cancer now has an excellent prognosis.
Assessment and staff perceptions of mental health and substance use disorders integration in primary care

Background Due to health-care reform, the integration of behavioral health (substance use disorder and mental health) services into primary care settings has taken on increased urgency. Project Care is an innovative county-funded integration initiative in Kern County, California, which uses a screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) model to build capacity for behavioral health care in two federally qualified health centers and one county medical center’s outpatient clinic. Implementation strategies included funding to implement SBIRT reimbursement for the provision of two services (e.g., physical and mental health) in the same day, monthly provider meetings, trainings, technical assistance, and feedback in the form of evaluation reports to participating sites. As part of the program, assessments were conducted to measure integration progress.
'Dear Sister Antillico . . .': The Story of Kirksey V. Kirksey

Kirksey v. Kirksey (Ala. 1845) is one of the most famous cases in American contract law. The simple, six-line opinion held, over a dissent, that only a promise of a conditional gift occurred, and was unenforceable. Yet the case is a puzzle. First, its facts raise more questions than they answer. Countless Contracts teachers ask - Why did Isaac Kirksey invite his sister-in-law "Antillico" (an aberrant spelling of Angelico, we discovered) down to Talladega? Was he actually bargaining for something? How many children did Angelico bring? Did Isaac mean for the children to work on his plantation (did he bargain for their labor)? Did Isaac and Angelico have an affair (was the consideration meretricious)? Why did Isaac move to evict his sister-in-law? Was she unbearable as a neighbor? Why did she sue? What result was she seeking? What evidence was presented at trial? Did she have evidence of consideration other than her trip to Talladega? Was her lawyer incompetent? Did the law of the time support Angelico's legal position, or is the opinion's conclusion based on something other than legal authority? Did the appellate court usurp the jury's factfinding role? Why did the dissenting judge write the majority opinion? Whatever happened to Angelico and her small children? These questions serve pedagogy. Our informal poll of contract law teachers revealed a long list of objectives for which professors use Kirksey. Kirksey's ambiguities leave the professor free to take the case where she will. Second, Kirksey is so ordinary - why is it taught at all? It announces no new doctrine. It explains no doctrine. It's author's style is not impressive, and his reputation is obscure. Today courts might reach the opposite result. Few courts have cited Kirksey, and none since 1949. We resolve these puzzles. First, we answer all the questions raised by the facts. We were surprised by the answers and suggest that no one who has taught the case has had any idea what actually happened. Second, we explain how Kirksey gained fame. Briefly, Williston changed his mind about the case ("right" to "wrong"), and in the process talked about Kirksey so much that it became embedded in his teaching, his treatise, his mind, and his students' minds - until the case became one of contract law teaching's primary sources. Ironically, Williston's change of mind, the reason for the case's rise to fame (the second puzzle), was made possible by the case's ambiguity (the first).
Information Improves Provider Behaviour: A Replication Study of a Community-Based Monitoring Programme in Uganda

AbstractIn ‘Power to the People: Evidence from a Randomised Field Experiment on Community-Based Monitoring in Uganda’ (2009), Bjorkman and Svensson show that a relatively simple intervention – providing community-level health service delivery information and guidance on community-based monitoring – improved provider behaviour, health care utilisation, and health outcomes. In this paper we conduct a pure replication of the original study and extend the original analysis. Overall, we find that the intervention modified healthcare provider behaviours and utilisation, but that the results surrounding the programme’s impact on health outcomes appear less robust.
240. Estimated Clinical and Economic Impact Through Use of an Initial Specimen Diversion Device to Reduce Blood Culture Contamination: A Cost–benefit Analysis

Background Blood culture contamination results in increased hospital costs and unnecessary patient-exposure to antimicrobials. We sought to evaluate the potential clinical and economic benefits of a novel blood culture diversion device when routinely utilized for blood culture collection in the emergency department (ED) of a quaternary care medical center.
A modular twisted and coiled polymer actuator unit for robotic tentacles

This paper describes the design and manufacturing of a modular actuator unit based on twisted and coiled polymer actuator. Twisted and coiled polymer actuators have attracted attention in the field of smart actuators and robotics. The proposed concept allows for the improvement of the response time of the twisted and coiled polymer actuator by incorporating active cooling method. This realization results in the development of modular actuator unit for bio-robotic system. The modular actuator unit consist of several twisted and coiled polymer actuators, a 3D printed frame and DC fans. The design and manufacturing of such modular actuator unit will be discussed in detail. Preliminary results about the performance of the twisted and coiled polymer actuators will also be presented.
Evaluation of shear properties in muscle tissue via novel superficial elastography technique

Noninvasive measurement of the mechanical properties of soft tissue is of significant clinical interest. Recent work has demonstrated the ability of ultrasound (US) elastography techniques to measure shear modulus and shear viscosity of bicep muscle and liver tissue in vivo using specialized equipment. The objective of this study was to evaluate a new elastography technique in the upper trapezius muscles in patients with acute neck pain. Ultrasound RF data were acquired from both symptomatic and asymptomatic (pain free) subjects. The upper trapezius muscle was externally vibrated at frequencies in the range of 60 - 200 Hz. The phase of the received RF signals were used to compute the shear wave images that represent the phase of the externally-induced vibration as it travels through the tissue. The spatial gradient of the vibration phase yielded the shear wave velocity, which was used to estimate shear modulus and shear viscosity based on the shear Voigt model for viscoelastic materials. Myofascial Trigger Points (MTrPs) in the upper trapezius had significantly higher shear modulus (12.5±4.1 kPa) than normal tissue sites (6.4±2.4 kPa) (P<0.05). The approach presented here provides a quick and effective method for quantitatively measuring region specific shear properties in both normal and symptomatic muscle tissue, and can be easily translated to a clinical setting using commercially-available equipment.
Ecophysiology of potentilla gracilis douglas ex hook (rosaceae): effects of night temperature and water stress on photosynthetic gas exchange

Plants in stressful environments have evolved strategies to cope with fluctuating environmental conditions. Potentilla gracilis , also known as Alpine Cinquefoil, grows in alpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains (USA), and is subjected to wide ranges of temperature, light intensity and water availability on a time scale of minutes to days during the growing season. Leaves often freeze to a brittle state at night, are exposed to high radiation while still frosty, dehydrate to wilting during the following light period, and then repeat the cycle the following day. The main objective of this research was to determine the effect of night temperature on subsequent photosynthetic gas exchange in P. gracilis . We used a photosynthetic gas exchange system to compare assimilation and stomatal conductance from light response curves of cold-acclimated P. gracilis following warm and chilling nights, and for plants at different water potentials. From the light response curves, dark respiration, light compensation point, maximum assimilation, light saturation point, and inhibition of photosynthesis were determined and were compared among the same plants under varying conditions. Assimilation and stomatal conductance decreased with the fall in measurement temperature, following chilling nights, and with the severity of water stress. Low night temperature and high photon flux density during the daytime, which are very common during the growing season in the field, cause a reduction in photosynthesis of the plant. The probable underlying damage during inhibition is likely repairable indicating protection rather than damage. The cold nocturnal temperature, with its less efficient biochemical repair capabilities, may partly be responsible for the reduction in assimilation of the following day. P. gracilis species exhibited persistent acquired freezing tolerance; substantial photosynthetic productivity over a wide range of light intensity and temperature; and significant tolerance of, and rapid recovery from, severe drought; making a maximum use of often challenging resources.
Chapter 5 – Rock Masses

This chapter describes the classification of rock masses, focusing on five commonly used classification systems, Rock Quality Designation, Rock Mass Rating Q-System, Rock Mass index, and Geological Strength Index. The correlations between the different classification indices are also presented. Finally, the classification of weathering of rocks is discussed.
Inhibition of the mitochondrial permeability transition improves bone fracture repair.

Abstract Bone fracture is accompanied by trauma, mechanical stresses, and inflammation – conditions known to induce the mitochondrial permeability transition. This phenomenon occurs due to opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP) promoted by cyclophilin D (CypD). MPTP opening leads to more inflammation, cell death and potentially to disruption of fracture repair. Here we performed a proof-of-concept study and tested a hypothesis that protecting mitochondria from MPTP opening via inhibition of CypD improves fracture repair. First, our in vitro experiments indicated pro-osteogenic and anti-inflammatory effects in osteoprogenitors upon CypD knock-out or pharmacological inhibition. Using a bone fracture model in mice, we observed that bone formation and biomechanical properties of repaired bones were significantly increased in CypD knock-out mice or wild type mice treated with a CypD inhibitor, NIM811, when compared to controls. These effects were evident in young male but not female mice, however in older (13 month-old) female mice bone formation was also increased during fracture repair. In contrast to global CypD knock-out, mesenchymal lineage-specific (Prx1-Cre driven) CypD deletion did not result in improved fracture repair. Our findings implicate MPTP in bone fracture and suggest systemic CypD inhibition as a modality to promote fracture repair.