cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extending the heat flux limit with enhanced microchannels in direct single-phase cooling of computer chips

The high heat transfer coefficients in microchannels are attractive for direct cooling of computer chips requiring high heat-flux removal. However, this is associated with a severe pressure drop penalty. Channel size optimization therefore becomes necessary in selecting an appropriate channel geometry configuration. As the heat flux increases beyond about 2 MW/m/sup 2/, the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of the plain channels dictate the use of turbulent flow through the channels, which suffers from an excessive pressure drop penalty. It therefore becomes essential to incorporate enhancement features in the microchannels and multiple passes with shorter flow lengths to provide the desired solution. Results obtained from a theoretical analysis are presented as parametric plots for the heat transfer and pressure drop performance of a 10 mm/spl times/10 mm silicon chip incorporating plain microchannels. Enhanced microchannels with offset strip fins in single-pass and split-flow arrangements are also investigated. The results show that the enhanced structures are capable of dissipating heat fluxes extending beyond 3 MW/m/sup 2/ using water as the coolant in a split-flow arrangement with a core pressure drop of around 35 kPa.
Analysis of temperature and pressure fields in molten carbonate fuel cell stacks

A mathematical model based on fluid dynamics and heat-transfer theories was applied to predict gas dynamic pressure and temperature distribution in a coflow molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) stack. The mass balance was simplified to obtain exact solutions with an assumption of uniform current density in the cell. The simulations were compared with data from a pilot-scale MCFC stack. The effect of internal geometry of gas channels was simulated to accurately predict the gas-pressure drop. A close prediction of pressure drop was possible from a partially blocked gas channel model that approximates the significant flow resistance. The effect of external boundary conditions on stack temperature profile was also analyzed. Temperatures were accurately predicted from a boundary heat conduction model with a reasonable assumption of wet seal temperatures. The 2-D boundary conditions could be extended to 3-D simulations to predict temperature distribution with the same accuracy. The model was applied to see the effect of scale-up on the maximum temperature rise and average cell potential. The result verified a significant effect of cell size on the maximum stack temperature.
Concept and Theory in Continuing Education for Nurses.

The explosion of new knowledge and increased specialization have heightened the nurse's need for continuing education. The concepts of motivation, obsolescence, competence, and lifelong learning are inherent in the continuing education process. These concepts and the theories of learning and change are presented and related to nursing practice.
A portable Virtual Machine target for Proof-Carrying Code

Virtual Machines (VMs) and Proof-Carrying Code (PCC) are two techniques that have been used independently to provide safety for (mobile) code. Existing virtual machines, such as the Java VM, have several drawbacks: First, the effort required for safety verification is considerable. Second and more subtly, the need to provide such verification by the code consumer inhibits the amount of optimization that can be performed by the code producer. This in turn makes just-in-time compilation surprisingly expensive. Proof-Carrying Code, on the other hand, has its own set of limitations, among which are the sizes of the proofs and the fact that the certified code is no longer machine-independent. In this paper, we describe work in progress on combining these approaches. Our hybrid safe-code solution uses a virtual machine that has been designed specifically to support proof-carrying code, while simultaneously providing efficient just-in-time compilation and target-machine independence. In particular, our approach reduces the complexity of the required proofs, resulting in fewer proof obligations that need to be discharged at the target machine.
Variations in Cloud-to-Ground Lightning Characteristics among Three Adjacent Tornadic Supercell Storms over the Tennessee Valley Region

Abstract The contrasting behavior of cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning associated with three adjacent supercell thunderstorms observed on 18 May 1995 is examined. Thunderstorm characteristics and anvil interactions are related to north–south variations in CG lightning properties. While tornadic activity was not consistently related to variations in CG properties, radar reflectivity factor area greater than 65 dBZ was generally inversely related to CG frequency. It is hypothesized that suppression of CG activity was produced by reduction of large number concentrations of precipitation-sized particles (i.e., presence of large hail) in the particle interaction mixed phase region. It is further hypothesized that seeding from upstream storm anvil ice was associated with nearly coincident enhancement of CG activity in downstream storms. Likewise, it is hypothesized that the reduction in 65 dBZ echo area (inferred suppression of hail) is related to this inferred anvil seeding process.
Annals of Emergency Medicine Journal Club. Observational health services studies using nationwide administrative data sets: understanding strengths and limitations of the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey: answers to the May 2013 Journal Club questions.

Editor’s Note: You are reading the 33rd installment of Annals of Emergency Medicine Journal Club. This Journal Club refers to the Pitts et al and McCaig et al articles published in the December 2012 edition. In previous journal clubs, the editors have often reached out to the article’s authors for additional information or data to enhance our critique of the article. This month is the first time that we have one of the article’s authors contributing to the answers. Dr. Jesse Pines, an author on the Pitts et al article, is an expert on research with large federal databases and has advised the agencies that administer these surveys. Dr. Pines did not participate in the development of any questions related to the article that he coauthored. He has agreed to offer his expertise to this Journal Club. Information about Journal Club can be found at http://www.annemergmed.com/content/ journalclub. Readers should recognize that these are suggested answers. We hope they are accurate; we know that they are not comprehensive. There are many other points that could be made about these questions or about the article in general. Questions are rated “novice,” ( ) “intermediate,” ( ) and “advanced” so that individuals planning a journal club can assign the right question to the right student. The “novice” rating does not imply that a novice should be able to spontaneously answer the question. “Novice” means we expect that someone with little background should be able to do a bit of reading, formulate an answer, and teach the material to others. Intermediate and advanced questions also will likely require some reading and research, and that reading will be sufficiently difficult that some background in clinical epidemiology will be helpful in understanding the reading and concepts. We are interested in receiving feedback about this feature. Please e-mail journalclub@acep.org with your comments.
Design Flood Frequency Curves

Recently, H. C. Riggs has described the basis for design-flood frequency curves which are expansions of ordinary flood frequency curve data. The procedure is simple but time consuming. To speed up the process, two simplified techniques are presented herein: (1) the base-curve method; and (2) the point-offset method.
Microsurgical treatment of a tentorial galenic dural arteriovenous fistula.

Tentorial dural arteriovenous fistulae (TDAVFs) are complex lesions with the arteriovenous fistula located between the leaves of the tentorium cerebelli. While a large portion of dural arteriovenous fistulae are treated endovascularly, TDAVF may require additional microsurgical treatment given their high risk of hemorrhage and multitude of feeders. We describe the case of a 65-year-old male who presented with hemorrhage from a straight sinus and galenic TDAVF. The straight sinus portion of the fistula was obliterated by 3 endovascular treatments and 1 microsurgical treatment. The galenic component of the TDAVF persisted and was approached via a posterior interhemispheric approach in a lateral position. This video demonstrates surgical technique and anatomy associated with this rarely seen dural arteriovenous fistula. The video can be found here: https://youtu.be/iOLzWOabLZ0.
'The Caucasian Cloak': Mexican Americans and the Politics of Whiteness in the 20th-Century Southwest

The history of Mexican Americans and Jim Crow in the Southwest suggests the danger of allowing state actors or private entities to discriminate on the basis of language or cultural practice. Race in the Southwest was produced through the practices of Jim Crow, which were not based explicitly on race, but rather on language and culture inextricably tied to race. This Article looks at three sets of encounters between Mexican Americans and the state in mid-twentieth century Texas and California - trials involving miscegenation, school desegregation, and jury exclusion - to see the way state actors used Mexican Americans' nominal white identity under the law to create and protect Jim Crow practices. First, it argues that whiteness operated primarily as a "Caucasian cloak" to obscure the practices of Jim Crow and to make them appear benign, whether in the jury or school contexts. If Mexican Americans were white, then they were represented so long as whites were represented. Second, it demonstrates that Mexican American civil rights leaders as well as ordinary individuals in the courtroom did not simply identify as white; some showed a more complex understanding of "Mexican" as a mestizo race, and others pointed to the idea of race as a status produced by racist practice - Mexicans were non-white if they were treated as non-white under Jim Crow. Finally, it argues that, at least in twentieth-century Texas and California, cultural discrimination was racial discrimination, and that continuing discrimination on the basis of language ability and other cultural attributes should be scrutinized carefully under anti-discrimination law.
Precocious Development of Sexual Characters in the Fowl by Daily Injections of Hebin. I. The Male.

In a previous report the precocious development of sexual characters following homeoplastic hypophyseal implants in cockerels was discussed.1 The present report concerns the effects of daily administrations of hebin, a purified gonad-stimulating hormone prepared from sheep pituitary glands, on the juvenile sex characters of cockerels.2Light brown Leghorn cockerels ranging from 21 to 47 days at the beginning of the experiment received daily injections of hebin over a period ranging from 14 to 36 days. The daily dosages administered per bird varied from 4 to 32 rat units. Treated and control birds were weighed and head furnishings measured at regular intervals. Treated individuals, with but one exception, remained active and in good condition throughout the duration of the experiments.The first effect to be noticed was a pronounced stimulation of head furnishings, in some instances, as early as 48 hours after injections began. These became turgid and reddish in color and revealed steady growth throughout so...
Duodenal ulcers produced on a diet deficient in pantothenic acid.

It is well known that various nutritional essentials are concerned with the maintenance of normal epithelial tissue. As part of a program concerning nutritional deficiencies and gastrointestinal epithelium, we have reported the finding of marked antral gastritis on calcium deficient diets.1 Similar, less marked and less constant lesions were also reported on thiamine deficiency. Under various conditions of inanition the fundic mucosa will show rather typical areas of hemorrhage.2 Previously, many papers have appeared on the involvement of nutritional deficiencies in the production of hyperplasia of the forestomach epithelium of rats.3 In none of these cases, even when modifications were introduced to accentuate the process, have penetrating lesions been observed which could in the narrower sense of the word be designated as ulcers or which resembled typical ulcers as they occur spontaneously in man.Further observations have shown that on a diet deficient in pantothenic acid penetrating ulcers are produced...
Oriented surface immobilization of antibodies at the conserved nucleotide binding site for enhanced antigen detection.

The conserved nucleotide binding site (NBS), found on the Fab variable domain of all antibody isotypes, remains a not-so-widely known and unutilized site. Here, we describe a UV photo-cross-linking method (UV-NBS) that utilizes the NBS for oriented immobilization of antibodies onto surfaces, such that the antigen binding activity remains unaffected. Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) has an affinity for the NBS with a K(d) ranging from 1 to 8 μM for different antibody isotypes and can be covalently photo-cross-linked to the antibody at the NBS upon exposure to UV light. Using the UV-NBS method, antibody was successfully immobilized on synthetic surfaces displaying IBA via UV photo-cross-linking at the NBS. An optimal UV exposure of 2 J/cm(2) yielded significant antibody immobilization on the surface with maximal relative antibody activity per immobilized antibody without any detectable damage to antigen binding activity. Comparison of the UV-NBS method with two other commonly used methods, e-NH(3)(+) conjugation and physical adsorption, demonstrated that the UV-NBS method yields surfaces with significantly enhanced antigen detection efficiency, higher relative antibody activity, and improved antigen detection sensitivity. Taken together, the UV-NBS method provides a practical, site-specific surface immobilization method, with significant implications in the development of a large array of platforms with diverse sensor and diagnostic applications.
Energetic Passivity of the Human Ankle Joint

Understanding the passive or nonpassive behavior of the neuromuscular system is important to design and control robots that physically interact with humans, since it provides quantitative information to secure coupled stability while maximizing performance. This has become more important than ever apace with the increasing demand for robotic technologies in neurorehabilitation. This paper presents a quantitative characterization of passive and nonpassive behavior of the ankle of young healthy subjects, which provides a baseline for future studies in persons with neurological impairments and information for future developments of rehabilitation robots, such as exoskeletal devices and powered prostheses. Measurements using a wearable ankle robot actuating 2 degrees-of-freedom of the ankle combined with curl analysis and passivity analysis enabled characterization of both quasi-static and steady-state dynamic behavior of the ankle, unavailable from single DOF studies. Despite active neuromuscular control over a wide range of muscle activation, in young healthy subjects passive or dissipative ankle behavior predominated.
Immunopathology of glomerulonephritis.

An understanding of the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis requires not only familiarity with the structure and function of the renal glomerulus; but also familiarity with a complex series of immunological and physiological events.
Dynamics of predator-prey models with refuge, harvesting and dispersal

AbstractThe dynamics of predator-prey models with different prey harvesting functions and prey refuge is studied. This study includes a three-dimensional model to account for the dispersal of prey to a habitat where it is unavailable to the predator. Besides local stability analysis, one central question is how harvesting, refuge and dispersal could directly affect the dynamics of the ecosystem, such as existence and dynamics of coexistence equilibria and periodic solutions. Theoretical and numerical methods are used to prove the existence and to study the role played by several bifurcations in the mathematical models.
Ecofeminist discourse and fluid lyrical sexualities: Julia de Burgos’s Río Grande de Loíza

The traditional reading of Julia de Burgos’s (1914–1953) poem “Rio Grande de Loiza” positions the river as a male lover. An ecofeminist reading yields a very different reading and raises other questions about the gendered and sexual message circulating within the poem. In my reading, the river becomes a fluid, lyrical mirror reflecting the poet’s quest for transnational and transsexual freedom unbound by female corporeality. Burgos invokes the river as a non-human Other interlocutor in order to deconstruct both the geographic and political boundaries imposed by US colonial hegemony and the sexual ones foisted by patriarchal-oriented Puerto Rican nationalists who viewed sexuality as heteronormative. By the 1930s, landscapes had been appropriated as symbols of the fatherland and a distinct Puerto Rican identity. Burgos’s language establishes instead a fluvial proto-feminist discourse of empowerment by imagining multiple sites of corporeal pleasure that transcend national barriers and offers alternative poetic fluid sexualities.
A comparison of time dependent Cox regression, pooled logistic regression and cross sectional pooling with simulations and an application to the Framingham Heart Study

Typical survival studies follow individuals to an event and measure explanatory variables for that event, sometimes repeatedly over the course of follow up. The Cox regression model has been used widely in the analyses of time to diagnosis or death from disease. The associations between the survival outcome and time dependent measures may be biased unless they are modeled appropriately. In this paper we explore the Time Dependent Cox Regression Model (TDCM), which quantifies the effect of repeated measures of covariates in the analysis of time to event data. This model is commonly used in biomedical research but sometimes does not explicitly adjust for the times at which time dependent explanatory variables are measured. This approach can yield different estimates of association compared to a model that adjusts for these times. In order to address the question of how different these estimates are from a statistical perspective, we compare the TDCM to Pooled Logistic Regression (PLR) and Cross Sectional Pooling (CSP), considering models that adjust and do not adjust for time in PLR and CSP. In a series of simulations we found that time adjusted CSP provided identical results to the TDCM while the PLR showed larger parameter estimates compared to the time adjusted CSP and the TDCM in scenarios with high event rates. We also observed upwardly biased estimates in the unadjusted CSP and unadjusted PLR methods. The time adjusted PLR had a positive bias in the time dependent Age effect with reduced bias when the event rate is low. The PLR methods showed a negative bias in the Sex effect, a subject level covariate, when compared to the other methods. The Cox models yielded reliable estimates for the Sex effect in all scenarios considered. We conclude that survival analyses that explicitly account in the statistical model for the times at which time dependent covariates are measured provide more reliable estimates compared to unadjusted analyses. We present results from the Framingham Heart Study in which lipid measurements and myocardial infarction data events were collected over a period of 26 years.
Autophagy as a Target Pathway in Multiple Myeloma: A Forward Chemical Genetic Approach.

Autophagy is an evolutionarily conserved process by which cellular structures may be degraded to support ongoing biogenesis. Recent evidence has identified the induction of autophagy following growth factor pathway inhibition, rapid tumor expansion and proteasome inhibition. Thus, autophagy is a highly desirable pathway for the development of targeted therapeutics in cancer, in particular in tumors characterized by misfolded protein stress such as multiple myeloma (MM). Unfortunately, there are only several known classes of autophagy inhibitors and the emerging biology of autophagy has identified few validated targets. We therefore performed a forward chemical genetic study of autophagy using novel techniques in high-content imaging, high-throughput screening and multidimensional data analysis. Using LN229 glioblastoma cells stably transfected with an LC3-EGFP construct, we created a robust screening platform capable of quantifying the number, size and fluorescence intensity of autophagosomes. Assay validation was performed with the known autophagy inhibitor chloroquine, which induces a characteristic shift from diffuse to punctate fluorescence. Initially, we profiled a library of approximately 3,500 structurally diverse bioactive small molecules to leverage possible downstream mechanistic insights. Assay positives and controls were re-tested in the adherent H1299 adenocarcinoma cell line likewise stably expressing LC3-EGFP. Known autophagy inhibitors were enriched with this approach: nocodazole, bafilomycin A1, colchicine and monensin. Structure-activity relationship analysis of the primary screening data and 34 novel autophagy modulators revealed a compelling activity of bis-indolyl maleimides. We confirmed sub-micromolar inhibition of autophagy by three such compounds using a quantitative, radiolabeled protein degradation assay (tritiated tyrosine pulse-chase), LC3-II immunoblotting and quantitative measurement of autophagosomes across three cell lines. From these studies we selected a lead compound, K252a, for further characterization and tested twenty-two closely related analogues. Detailed SAR analysis has identified features of the molecule required for inhibition of autophagy and sites permissive for further functionalization in ongoing target identification studies. Using MM as a translational model system of misfolded protein stress, we found dose-dependent, selective cytotoxicity in MM of K252a compared to analogues lacking autophagy inhibitory activity. We report here the results of a forward chemical genetic study of autophagy which identifies and characterizes novel small molecule inhibitors of autophagy and establishes a rationale for clinical studies of autophagy inhibitors in the treatment of MM.
Malignant transformation of teratoma to primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET): Outcome analysis with retroperitoneal lymph node dissection and PNET specific chemotherapy

5081 Background: Malignant transformation of teratoma to PNET is a rare entity. Surgical resection has been the mainstay of therapy because these tumors are not curable with cisplatin based chemoth...
Catalytic Mechanism of the Hotdog-Fold Thioesterase PA1618 Revealed by X-ray Structure Determination of a Substrate-Bound Oxygen Ester Analogue Complex.

Thioesterase activity (hydrolysis of thioester bonds) accounts for the majority of the activities in the hotdog-fold superfamily. The structure and mechanism of catalysis for many hotdog enzymes have been elucidated by X-ray crystallography and kinetics to probe the specific substrate usage and cellular functions. However, structures of hotdog thioesterases in complex with substrate analogs reported to date utilize ligands that comprise either truncations of the substrate or include additional atoms to prevent the hydrolysis. Herein, we present the synthesis of an isosteric and isoelectronic substrate analog, benzoyl-OdCoA, and the X-ray crystal structure of a complex of the analog with P. aeruginosa hotdog thioesterase, PA1618 (at 1.72 A resolution). The complex is compared to that of the "imperfect" substrate analog phenacyl-CoA, refined to a resolution of 1.62 A. Kinetic and structural results are consistent with Glu64 as the catalytic residue and with Gln49 in stabilization of the transition state. Structural comparison of the two ligand-bound structures revealed a crucial ordered water molecule coordinated in the active site of the benzoyl-OdCoA structure which is not present in the phenacyl-CoA bound structure. This suggests a general base mechanism of catalysis where Glu64 activates the coordinated water nucleophile. Together, our findings reveal the importance of a more indistinguishable substrate analog to determine proper substrate binding and catalytic mechanism.
Neuroimmune Genes and Alcohol Drinking Behavior

Alcoholism (alcohol dependence) is one of the most expensive (more than $185 billion/year for the USA) and damaging chronic diseases. Treatment options are limited (there are only three FDA-approved drugs for alcohol dependence), and there is a high rate of relapse for all treatments. Emerging results suggest that the cytokine responses to alcohol (perhaps via endotoxins) promote persistent and excessive alcohol consumption, which may in turn promote further inflammatory responses, producing a positive feedback loop which that spirals out of control. Although there is considerable effort to develop pharmacotherapies to reduce alcohol consumption, craving, and relapse, most are directed at “traditional” targets involved in synaptic transmission. Neuroinflammatory pathways in brain (and other organs) may be unexplored targets for medication development to reduce excessive alcohol consumption and prevent relapse.
Update in Hospital Palliative Care: Symptom Management, Communication, Caregiver Outcomes, and Moral Distress.

Background Updated knowledge of the palliative care (PC) literature is needed to maintain competency and best address the PC needs of hospitalized patients. We critiqued the recent PC literature with the highest potential to impact hospital practice. Methods We reviewed articles published between January 2016 and December 2016, which were identified through a handsearch of leading journals and a MEDLINE search. The final 9 articles selected were determined by consensus based on scientific rigor, relevance to hospital medicine, and impact on practice. Results Key findings include the following: scheduled antipsychotics were inferior to a placebo for nonterminal delirium; a low-dose morphine was superior to a weak opioid for moderate cancer pain; methadone as a coanalgesic improved high-intensity cancer pain; many hospitalized patients on comfort care still receive antimicrobials; video decision aids improved the rates of advance care planning (ACP) and hospice use and decreased costs; standardized, PC-led intervention did not improve psychological outcomes in families of patients with a chronic critical illness; caregivers of patients surviving a prolonged critical illness experienced high and persistent rates of depression; people with non-normative sexuality or gender faced additional stressors with partner loss; and physician trainees experienced significant moral distress with futile treatments. Conclusions Recent research provides important guidance for clinicians caring for hospitalized patients with serious illnesses, including symptom management, ACP, moral distress, and outcomes of critical illness.
Multi-electron Transfer Catalysts for Air-Based Organic Oxidations and Water Oxidation

Catalysts for multi-electron-transfer events are quite complicated just as the reactions they facilitate. Two classes of such catalysts, those for the air-based oxidation of organic compounds and those for the oxidation of water, are addressed in this chapter. Brief backgrounds in both these areas are provided followed by the ensemble of current challenges in each area illustrated by two ongoing cases in point. The efficient and sustained oxidation of water to dioxygen is critical to the production of solar fuels, which in turn may ultimately be necessary given the increasing cost of ever-less-accessible fossil fuels, the projected demographic trends, and the environmental consequences of fossil fuel use. Importantly, water oxidation catalysts must be connected with other functional units (light absorbers, reduction catalysts and key interfaces) to realize nanostructures or devices that efficiently produce solar fuels. Unfortunately these functional units are dependent on each other and also on several factors, thus predicting overall operation is a challenge in complexity.
Wide-Area-Based Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy SVC Controller for Damping Interarea Oscillations

Low-frequency interarea oscillation is a major problem in interconnected power systems with weak tie-lines that causes several stability problems if not damped. Fuzzy logic controller can generate human knowledge-based control rules to solve complex nonlinear problems. Unlike a neural network, fuzzy systems cannot learn from data, and it takes a long time to modify the membership functions. The adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) is a robust and intelligent system that integrates the capabilities of fuzzy logic and neural networks with several advantages such as adaptability, robustness, rapidity, and flexibility. In this paper, an ANFIS-based controller is proposed for controlling the reactive power provided by static var compensator to damp interarea oscillations. The controller input is a remote signal provided by a wide-area measurement system, and it is calculated as the center-of-inertia difference of generator rotor speed deviations. Moreover, a proportional-plus-derivative time-delay compensator with adaptive parameters is added to the controller to reduce the influence of time delay. A two-area four-machine test system is used and simulated with a Simulink-based package developed for the work of this paper. The time-domain simulations and frequency response analysis demonstrate the capability of the proposed controller to effectively damp interarea oscillations, under a small- and large-scale disturbances and against a wide range of time delays and load uncertainty.
Middle School Students’ Conceptions of Failure in Rural Communities

This work in progress paper in the research to practice category identifies trends in how middle school youth from rural schools conceptualize failure after engaging in engineering-related learning activities. These trends inform better strategies that can be used in the PEERS, Partnering with Educators and Engineers in Rural Schools, program to ensure the goals of the program are met. The PEERS program moves beyond single exposure activities by engaging students in approximately six engineering-related learning activities throughout the year. This program partners researchers, teachers and local industry representatives aiming to (1) challenge misperceptions and create relevant conceptions of engineering; (2) maintain and expand situational interest; and, (3) integrate with individual interests, values, and social identities. Since failure is an integral part of the learning experience, students’ conceptions of failure can influence the way students interact in these activities and the outcomes they experience from this program. Interviews were conducted with 38 students across the three rural communities involved in the PEERS program on their perceptions of failure. This paper presents two themes that emerged from initial coding of the interviews and explains how these themes will be used to inform future decisions for PEERS.
Higher education: should other countries follow the US model?

If countries want to be competitive in the world economy, higher education is becoming increasingly important. There are a wide variety of ways to organise systems of higher education, but The Econ...
Developing an Intervention to Advance Learning At Scale

With the rise of technology advancements we witness every day in our contemporary life in general, and in the education field in specific, new ways of learning are emerging, such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). MOOCs have grown rapidly for the past few years, yet meeting the needs of massive and diverse learners and keeping them motivated to learn is still a challenge. To address this concern, we have developed an intervention to meet students' learning needs and keep them motivated to learn according to their capabilities. In this paper, we will discuss the intervention and report on the preliminary results drawing on the quantitative and qualitative data of the course survey to interpret learners experiences using this approach.
SAGES University Masters Program: Flexible Endoscopy Pathway

The Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgery (SAGES) University Masters Program will offer members ongoing opportunities for performance improvement at all stages of their career. It leverages SAGES educational content to provide surgeons a clear pathway of coursework that progresses along a continuum from a competency curriculum to a proficiency curriculum to a mastery curriculum in eight areas of focus (hernia, flexible endoscopy, foregut, biliary, bariatric, colorectal, robotics, and acute care). Participation is optional, available to SAGES members only, and may be pursued over the course of a career as part of professional Maintenance of Certification. Note: we will certify progression and completion of the educational program; we do not certify the practicing surgeon.
Distinct viral clades of SARS-CoV-2: Implications for modeling of viral spread.

Distinct viral clades have a likely impact on COVID‐19 pathogenesis and spread. Sequence analysis from 2310 viral isolates from Nexstrain reveals that residue at 614 of the viral spike protein is changed from a putative ancestral aspartic acid (D) to a glycine (G) between two viral clades. The G strain is predominantly on the East Coast of the United States, and the D strain is predominantly on the West Coast. This mutation of the SARS‐CoV‐2 S protein spike is conserved in coronaviruses. Point mutations in a murine coronavirus spike protein can result in increased virulence through instability of the viral machinery and altered viral to cell membrane fusion. This observation may partially explain the discrepancy in predicted deaths from COVID‐19 between the East Coast and West Coast, and possibly explain that other factors aside from social distance, such as competition between two strains of differing virulence, may be at play.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Chapter 205 – Plecoptera: Stoneflies

Publisher Summary This chapter describes plecoptera (stoneflies). It comprises a hemimetabolous order of 16 families and more than 2000 species of aquatic insects distributed on all continents except Antarctica, and most major islands except notably Cuba, Fiji, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. They are primarily associated with running water, where nymphs inhabit mineral or organic substrates of streambeds, and the winged adults rest throughout their seasonal lives in streamside microhabitats such as rocks, moss, debris, leafpacks, and riparian vegetation. A few species occur in waveswept substrates of cold alpine and boreal lakes, or in intermittent streams. Stonefly adults are variable in size from about 5 to 50 mm, and in color from black to green or yellow, often marked with distinctive light or dark patterns. The aquatic adult of one species known from the depths of Lake Tahoe (Capnia lacustra) and a few other species are apterous (wingless), but most adults are winged. The wings of males and females of some species, or particular populations of a species, are shortened (brachypterous) and they do not fly, but the typical condition is of two pairs of wings as long as or longer than the abdomen (macropterous). As the ordinal name describes, the hind wings typically have an expanded posterior (anal) lobe that folds longitudinally under the main wing. Stoneflies are relatively slow, somewhat awkward fliers that typically fly short distances to disperse, to search for mates, or, for females to deposit eggs.
Non-∀-homogeneity in free groups

We prove that non-abelian free groups of finite rank at least 3 or of countable rank are not ∀-homogeneous. We answer three open questions from Kharlampovich, Myasnikov, and Sklinos regarding wheth...
Drivers of Historical Sequences

The forces driving movement between historical equilibria as sets out in Chapter 3 are developed further to illustrate the rich dynamics driving historical sequences. The basics of nine common historical sequences are discussed and examples of each given.
Tailoring in the Context of Acquisition Streamlining

The presentation defines the objectives and discusses the major policy issues and concepts imbedded in the acquisition streamlining initiative (DoD Directive 5000.43). The inherent attributes of specifications and standards is explored, together with effective ways to utilize these documents to achieve the full potential benefits of acquisition streamlining.
Prevalence of aberrant blood pressure readings across two automated intraoperative blood pressure monitoring systems among patients undergoing caesarean delivery.

Objectives Aberrant automated blood pressure (BP) readings during caesarean delivery may lead to disruptions in monitoring. The present study compared the frequency of aberrant BP readings across two types of commercially available BP monitoring systems in use during caesarean delivery. Methods This was a retrospective observational study using two comparable patient cohorts that resulted from simultaneous introduction of two types of monitors into a single obstetric surgical center in which similar patients were treated for the same surgical procedure by the same set of clinicians during the same year. Our primary hypothesis was that aberrant readings were significantly associated with the type of monitor being used for BP measurement, controlling for a variety of relevant covariates as specified in the analytic plan RESULTS: A total of 1418 cesarean delivery patients met inclusion criteria. Gaps of at least 6 min in machine-captured BP readings occurred in 159 (21.1%) of cases done in the operating room using a Datex-Ohmeda monitor vs. 183 (27.5%) of cases in the operating rooms using Phillips monitors (P = 0.005). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, the relative odds of the occurrence of monitoring gaps was 35% higher in rooms with the Phillips BP monitors as compared to the Datex-Ohmeda monitor while controlling for pre-specified covariates (odds ratio = 1.35, 95% confidence interval = 1.04-1.74, P = 0.02). Conclusion The present analysis suggests that aberrant BP readings for parturients undergoing caesarean delivery are significantly different between the two types of automated BP monitoring systems used in the operating rooms at our institution.
Diaspora bonds: can success be replicated?

Following recent interest in the diaspora-led development frameworks, this paper outlines contours of a successful diaspora bond program in a small developing economy. Leveraging historical experiences, the paper addresses some preconditions for borrowing at a “patriotic discount” in the volatile and uncertain macroeconomic environment. Counter to the recent literature, newly formed “diaspora stock” and labor migrants’ remittances are not the primary determinants of an operational diaspora-finance framework. Instead, there are three broad prerequisites for a diaspora finance (bond) success: a) strategic or the macroeconomic aspect (either existing capacity or clear plan for such); b) tactical or transparency in administering a financial scheme (for bonds, the degree of financial deepening matters as well); and c) operational component embedded in profound understanding of the expatriate community’s intricacies and a trustworthy relationship between the homeland and its diaspora. The concept of diaspora bond is directly applicable to the capital markets emergence and economic development challenges of a range of small open economies.
Unifying Rule-Making Information: Recommendations for the New Federal Docket Management System

In recent years, regulatory agencies, Congress, and the White House have taken steps to increase the use of information technology in the management of the rulemaking process. The latest such e-rulemaking effort is the design of a new, government-wide regulatory information system being developed by Bush Administration. The system, known as the Federal Docket Management System, will for the first time make all information pertaining to federal regulation available to the public via the Internet. By making information about government regulation available on-line, the Administration's eRulemaking Initiative seeks to improve the quality and legitimacy of the government's regulatory decisions. If developed properly, the Initiative's new on-line docket management system can also facilitate academic research that in the longer term should improve regulatory policymaking. The recommendations in this paper, joined by a group of fifty-five other scholars of regulation, were originally delivered in a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, which is spearheading the Administration's eRulemaking Initiative. The paper describes the information currently maintained by government agencies and emphasizes the importance of ensuring that no loss of information occurs in making the transition to the on-line system. It also offers steps that the Administration should take to ensure a high level of quality of the information stored in the new system as well as effective search and downloading capabilities.Posted paper, uploaded January 2010, is the published version of the working paper originally posted January 2005, and formerly titled "Recommendations for the Design of the Federal Docket Management System.”
The E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of an insect anti-apoptotic gene (SfIAP) is required for plant stress tolerance

Abstract Previously, we showed that transgenic plants expressing SfIAP, an insect anti-apoptotic gene, conferred tolerance to several abiotic stresses and resistance to the fungal pathogen Alternaria alternata . A pronounced and consistent delay in tomato fruit ripening was also observed. Preliminary data suggested that SfIAP negatively affected ethylene synthesis, which could account, at least in part, for the observed phenotypes. A key question is how an insect anti-apoptotic protein functions to enhance stress tolerance in plants, particularly since conserved core apoptotic pathway regulators appear to be absent in plants at the primary sequence level. In this study, we show that the RING domain, a characteristic motif of several IAP family members, has an E3 ubiquitin ligase activity suggesting involvement of SfIAP in proteasome-mediated protein degradation. Proteasome inhibitors were applied to transgenic plants undergoing stress. Proteasome inhibitor treatment restored ethylene signaling and wild type phenotypes in SfIAP expressing transgenic plants. Transient assays of RING domain deletion (Sf∆RING) or point mutations (SfIAPC330A) resulted in the inhibition of ubiquitin ligase activity, while also restoring normal ethylene signaling and the wild type phenotypes including pathogen susceptibility and normal fruit ripening in tomato. During salt stress, increases in ubiquitinylated proteins correlated with salt tolerance in SfIAP expressing plants. Baculovirus inverted repeat (BIR) domains, signature motifs of the IAP family, are also required for the full resistant phenotype of SfIAP plants. SfBIR1, but not SFBIR2, is required for salt tolerance. Only when coupled with the RING domain, was protection conferred in a similar manner to full length SfIAP against salt stress. Taken together, the ubiquitin ligase activity of SfIAP is necessary, but not sufficient to confer plant stress tolerance. The mechanism/target by which SfIAP confers tolerance appears to be via ethylene regulation and the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway.
Expression of plasmid-encoded aad in Clostridium acetobutylicum M5 restores vigorous butanol production.

Mutant M5 of Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824, which produces neither butanol nor acetone and is deficient in butyraldehyde dehydrogenase (BYDH), acetoacetate decarboxylase, and acetoacetyl-coenzyme A:acetate/butyrate:coenzyme A-transferase activities, was transformed with plasmid pCAAD, which carries the gene aad (R. V. Nair, G. N. Bennett, and E. T. Papoutsakis, J. Bacteriol, 176:871-885, 1994). In batch fermentation studies, aad expression restored butanol formation (84 mM) in mutant M5 without any acetone formation or any significant increase in ethanol production. The corresponding protein (AAD) appeared as a ca. 96-kDa band in a denaturing protein gel. Expression of AAD in M5 resulted in restoration of BYDH activity and small increases in the activities of acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, butanol dehydrogenase, and ethanol dehydrogenase. These findings suggest that BYDH activity in C. acetobutylicum ATCC 824 resides largely in AAD, and that AAD9s primary role is in the formation of butanol rather than of ethanol. Images
TEMPERATURE LIMITS, GENEALOGICAL ORIGIN, DEVELOPMENTAL COURSE, AND ULTIMATE FATE OF HEAT-INDUCED FILAMENTS IN ESCHERICHIA COLI MICROCULTURES.

Abstract Hoffman, Heiner (New York University, New York, N.Y.) and Michael E. Frank. Temperature limits, genealogical origin, developmental course, and ultimate fate of heat-induced filaments in Escherichia coli microcultures. J. Bacteriol. 85:1221–1234. 1963.—The heat induction of filaments in microcultures of Escherichia coli occurred through a wide range of temperature, with 43.5 C being the upper limit at which all cells continued to grow. The lower temperature limit was not determined, but filaments were obtained at room temperature in overnight cultivations. The evidence from genealogical histories, growth rates, and cell and filament lengths strongly suggested that the filaments are collections of morphologically undifferentiated, but quasi-independent cell units which continue to grow and multiply while retaining the capacity eventually to break off completely as normal, nonfilamented cells. Filaments which failed to give off a daughter by the end of the second generation after their inception lyse explosively. The evidence obtained contradicts the hypothesis that the mother cell of a clonal microcolony becomes a filament and eventually lyses, although the cell length patterns upon which this hypothesis is based were reproduced. A high degree of synchronization of division was obtained and maintained through the entire period of incubation, which in some cultivations extended into the tenth generation.
A synergistic effect of TRPV1 and TRPA1 activations in vagal pulmonary C fibers (712.16)

Recent studies suggest that transient receptor potential ankyrin type 1 (TRPA1) channels can be activated by a number of inflammatory mediators and are largely co-expressed with TRPV1 in a subset o...