cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
News Coverage and Democratic Governance in Local Communities: The Case of Recreational Water Rights in Colorado

If we value governance based on democratic principles, openness, transparency, and accountability must all be present in public policy decisions. Mass Media help shape the policy agendas from which new policies emerge. Furthermore, media communication helps shape public understanding of complex issues. We expect that media should act as watchdogs of government, communicate information that citizens need to know, and hold elected officials accountable for their actions. Through this, media can help to promote the democratic values outlined above. But in the changing world of news media, does this happen?This study analyzes the role that local media played in covering and communicating important issues related to local water rights policies in Colorado. The study uses a comparative research design involving 18 community case studies. Using interview data, document analysis, and content analysis of all media coverage within these communities related to local water rights decisions, this study finds that the principles associated with democratic ideals of a watchful press were not apparent. Additionally, previous research shows that experts were the most influential actors in initiating and advocating for these policy decisions (Crow 2009). These two factors interact to diminish democratic governance within these communities, which means that citizens do not have the information or influence that is desirable in democratic policymaking.
Order in the Court: Organizing Your Oral Presentation

An effective oral argument begins with a clear introduction that tells the audience what the advocate intends to discuss and why. General considerations for argument structure apply equally to oral argumentation; for example, one can emphasize a strong argument by presenting it early, and logical concerns may constrain the sequence of issues. Ending on a strong note can be helpful, but an advocate who saves the best contention for last takes the risk of not getting to it at all. In oral presentations simplicity is particularly important; an advocate can assist the listener by providing clear transitions and other organizational cues. The conclusion can accomplish a number of different goals, but trying to do too much at once will likely backfire.
On the capabilities of a multi-modality 3D bioprinter for customized biomedical devices

Currently, there is a major shift in medical device fabrication research towards layer-by-layer additive manufacturing technologies; mainly owing to the relatively quick transition from a solid model (.STL file) to an actual prototype. The current manuscript introduces a Custom Multi-Modality 3D Bioprinter (CMMB) developed in-house, combining the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), Photo Polymerization (PP), Viscous Extrusion (VE), and Inkjet (IJ) printing technologies onto a single additive manufacturing platform. Methodologies to address limitation in the ability to customize construct properties layer-by-layer and to incorporate multiple materials in a single construct have been evaluated using open source 3D printing softwares Slic3r and Repetier-Host. Such customization empowers the user to fabricate constructs with tailorable anisotropic properties by combining different print technologies and materials. To this end, procedures which allow the integration of more than one distinct modality of the CMMB during a single print session were developed and evaluated, and are discussed. The current setup of the CMMB provides the capability to fabricate personalized medical devices using patient data from an MRI or a CT scan. Initial experiments and fabricated constructs demonstrate the potential of the CMMB for research in diverse application areas within biomedical engineering.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
CONVERSION OF HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY TO SYNTHETIC RADAR TRACES

In the interest of interpreting radar data and establishing a empirical correspondence between hydraulic conductivity and ground penetrating radar data, hydraulic conductivity logs have been converted to synthetic radar traces. The assumption in the computation is that hydraulic conductivity is closely related to porosity and thus water content and dielectric constant. The synthetic radar traces have been used to interpret the radar cross section in terms of zones of hydraulic conductivity. In the absence of a deterministic model between radar waveforms and hydraulic conductivity empirical relations are sought. Radar data have been acquired at the MADE site near Columbus, Mississippi. Hydraulic conductivities measured in wells have been converted to dielectric constant using a simple empirical relationship and used to compute the radar traces that would be obtained at the borehole. The comparisons with the field radar traces are encouraging.
Modeling Damage Within a Reduced-Order Model Framework: An Application

Prediction and tracking of aircraft structural life has long been a goal of the U.S. Air Force. Prediction for future high speed aircraft will require multi-scale modeling. One candidate method under investigation is presented in a companion paper. The method combines recent developments in nonlinear reduced-order models (ROMs) with the global-local approach of the Generalized Finite Element Method (GFEM). The ROMs are used to predict the dynamic response of an aircraft sub-component such as a panel. The GFEM provides a framework to model local effects such as stress risers and defects without geometric path dependency in the finite element (FE) mesh. Combined, the two methods provide an efficient method to track the dynamic stress conditions in order to predict life. This paper presents a numerical and experimental case study of the combined method on a bi-axial stress test specimen.
EARLY SEASON CONTROL OF SAN JOSE SCALE AND CATFACING INSECTS ON PEACH, 2003

The trial was conducted at the Missouri State Fruit Experiment Station in Mountain Grove, MO. The trial block consisted of 13-yr-old, 9-ft-tall 'Red Haven' and 'Encore' trees with 20 20 ft spacing in a 2.2-acre section of a 3.8-acre block. Treatments and an unsprayed check were arranged in a CRB design consisting of two to four replicates. There was a minimum of a one tree buffer between treatments to minimize the effects of insecticide drift. Insecticides were applied to single trees dilute to run-off with a high-pressure handgun sprayer (200 psi) on 30 Apr, 20 May, or both dates. Insecticides were applied on 23 Apr to most of the treatment trees, but because of rain (> 2 inch) shortly after the applications were made, treatments were reapplied on 30 Apr. The first application (30 Apr) corresponded with shuck split and early emergence of first generation adult SJS (33 DD51 after first adult trap catch = 17 Apr). The second application (20 May) corresponded with early emergence of first generation SJS crawlers (17 Apr +402 DD51). Insecticide treatments included Phaser 50 WP, Esteem 35 WP, Pounce 3.2 EC (2 fl oz/100 gal), Provado 1.6F, Assail 70 WP, Diazinon 50W, and Sunspray UltraFine Spray Oil. Danitol 2.4 EC was substituted for the second application (20 May) of Sunspray UltraFine Spray Oil because insufficient quantities of spray oil were available for both applications. A total of 60 peaches per treatment were evaluated for insect damage on 17– 20 Jun (17 Apr +736–815 DD51), at the end of the SJS first generation. In addition to determining presence or absence of SJS damage on peaches, a 0 to 11 quantitative scoring system where 0 = 0, 1 = 0–3, 2 = 3–6, 3 = 6–12, 4 = 12–25, 5 = 25–50, 6 = 50–75, 7=75–87, 8=87–94, 9=94–97, 10=97–100 and 11 = 100 'b surface area infected/damaged was used to estimate the percentage of the fruit surface area damaged by SJS. Peach damage means were separated using a Fisher's Protected LSD Test (P £ 0.05).
Microgranular acute promyelocytic leukemia--a case with multiple Auer rods demonstrable only after staining for chloroacetate esterase.

In the past several years there has been increasing recognition of the microgranular variant of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). This variant is easily mistaken for other types of acute non-lymphocytic leukemia. Its recognition is important because it carries the same high risk of disseminated intravascular coagulation as typical APL. An important clue to the correct diagnosis is the recognition of small numbers of characteristic cells containing multiple Auer rods. This report presents a case in which such Auer-body-containing cells were demonstrable in the marrow only after staining for chloroacetate esterase. They were not apparent with Wright’s stain or Sudan black B. The case also highlights .the occurrence of variant APL in children and adolescents.
A Kalman Filter Optimization Approach to Direct Adaptive Control

This paper presents a novel Kalman filter based approach for approximately enforcing a linear constraint in adaptive control. One application is that this leads to an alternative forms for well known modification terms such as e- modification. It is shown that employing this approach does not increase the theoretical guaranteed ultimate bounds for the closed loop error signals of an existing adaptive design. In addition, it leads to smaller tracking errors without incurring significant oscillations in the system response, and without requiring high modification gain that can excite the unmodeled dynamics. Three novel modifications to classical adaptive laws are illustrated and tested on a model of wing rock dynamics.
Immunoschismatics: Who is Guilty of Original Antigenic Sin?

Original antigenic sin was a term coined by Francis (1) to describe the tendency of a person to produce anti-influenza virus antibody specific for the original immunizing virus upon re-immunization with a related but antigenically distinct virus. In this paper, I will examine this process in terms of the cleavage, by antigen, of an intact immune system into a responding and a suppressed compartment. The importance of this schismatic property of antigen acting upon an immune system in the interpretation of many phenomena, some of which might, I believe erroneously, be regarded as choices, will be discussed in some detail.
Dissecting the Biomechanical Feedback Between Plasma Membrane Curvature and Endocytic Proteins in Mammalian Cells using Nanostructured Substrates

Plasma membrane curvature is the hallmark of endocytosis. A mechanistic feedback loop between endocytic proteins and the plasma membrane drives clathrin-mediated endocytosis from pit to vesicle; however, the macro-scale relationship between the endocytic protein complex and membrane curvature is still not understood. We previously used a novel quartz “nanostructured” substrate to induce stable plasma membrane curvature, showing that endocytic proteins are preferentially recruited to curvatures < 200 nm. Here we use a polymer molded on to a glass substrate and live genome edited cells to define the relationship between curvature-sensing endocytic proteins and the curved plasma membrane. MDA-MB231 and human fibroblasts, endogenously expressing the fluorescent fusion proteins AP2, clathrin, and/or dynamin2 were used to monitor endocytosis by time-lapse fluorescence microscopy. Cells serially depleted for the late stage endocytic BAR domain proteins SNX9, Bin1, and EndophilinA2 were imaged to determine the molecular requirements for clathrin-mediated endocytosis in cells with a pre-curved plasma membrane. We also monitored how actin destabilization, and the depletion of N-WASP or the Arp2/3 complex affected the outcome of clathrin-mediated endocytosis in the context of induced membrane curvature. Finally, the size of the curvature-generating substrates was varied to determine the relevant range of membrane curvatures for clathrin-mediated endocytosis under depletion conditions.
Structural insights of SmKDAC8 inhibitors: Targeting Schistosoma epigenetics through a combined structure-based 3D QSAR, in vitro and synthesis strategy

A predictive structure-based 3D QSAR (COMBINEr 2.0) model of the Schistosoma mansoni lysine deacetylase 8 enzyme (SmKDAC8) was developed, validated and used to perform virtual screening (VS) of the NCI Diversity Set V database (1593 compounds). Three external datasets (with congeneric structures to those experimentally resolved in complexes by X-ray and previously reported as SmKDAC8 inhibitors) were employed to compose and validate the most predictive model. Two series characterized by 104 benzodiazepine derivatives (BZDs) and 60 simplified largazole analogs (SLAs), recently reported by our group as human KDAC inhibitors, were tested for their inhibition potency against SmKDAC8 to probe the predictive capability of the quantitative models against compounds with diverse structures. The SmKDAC8 biochemical results confirmed: (1) the benzodiazepine moiety as a valuable scaffold to further investigate when pursuing SmKDAC8 inhibition; (2) the predictive capability of the COMBINEr 2.0 model towards non-congeneric series of compounds, highlighting the most influencing ligand-protein interactions and refining the structure-activity relationships. From the VS investigations, the first 40 top-ranked compounds were obtained and biologically tested for their inhibition potency against SmKDAC8 and hKDACs 1, 3, 6 and 8. Among them, a non-hydroxamic acid benzothiadiazine dioxide derivative (code NSC163639), showed interesting activity and selectivity against SmKDAC8. To further elucidate the structure-activity relationships of NSC163639, two analogs (herein reported as compounds 3 and 4) were synthesized and biologically evaluated. Results suggest the benzothiadiazine dioxide moiety as a promising scaffold to be used in a next step to derive selective SmKDAC8 inhibitors.
THU0255 Comparison of remission and lupus low activity state as predictors of organ damage

Background Outcome measures that combine control of SLE activity and prednisone reduction are clinically relevant. A clinical goal in SLE is to reduce risk of long-term organ damage. Objectives We assessed whether two recently proposed disease activity outcomes were predictive of future damage. Methods For each month of follow-up in a large SLE cohort, we determined whether the patient was in Clinical Remission (as defined by the DORIS work group) or low lupus disease activity state (LLDAS) (as defined by Franklyn et al.). Clinical Remission was defined as a PGA Results There were 81,118 person-months observed among 2,026 patients (92% female, 53% Caucasian, 39% African-American). Table 1 shows the rates of damage, per person month, in subgroups defined by Remission or LLDAS. Damage rates were relatively low when LLDA was achieved at least 50% of the time. These rates were similar to those experienced by patients who met a more stringent treatment restriction with Remission on Treatment at least 50% of the time. Conclusions The equivalence of LLDAS and DORIS remission on treatment is welcome news, as LLDAS on treatment >50% of the time is an easier goal to achieve (3 times more person-months observed in our cohort) and more realistic as a clinical trial outcome. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Studying Sleep in Family Contexts Via Actigraphy and Wearable Devices

Actigraphy is a non-invasive collection technique that uses wearable accelerometers and other sensors to obtain objective sleep, wake, physical activity and contextual data in freely moving individuals. These wearable devices allow sleep and other health behavior data to be collected from participants in natural contexts, minimizing limitations of more obtrusive measurements of sleep. Validated against polysomnography, actigraphy is highly sensitive to sleep but is limited by its specificity of wake detection using current algorithms. Additional studies are needed to validate the use of actigraphy across the lifespan and in family studies. Actigraphy, when paired with other field data collection techniques such as biomarkers, can provide objective data about sleep as a predictor, mediator, and outcome. New advancements in device technology introduce opportunities to study sleep within family research, including intra-family dynamics and healthy development throughout the life course.
Exercise therapy and autonomic function in heart failure patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis

A large body of evidence exists indicating that autonomic imbalance is characteristic of heart failure, with several parameters of autonomic function associated with adverse clinical outcomes. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to investigate the effects of exercise training on parameters of autonomic function in patients with heart failure and where possible quantify the size of the effect. We conducted database searches (PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Trials Register to 31 March 2017) for exercise-based rehabilitation trials in heart failure; using search terms, exercise training, autonomic function, heart rate recovery, heart rate variability and muscle sympathetic nerve activity. Pooled data indicated a statistically significant increase in heart rate recovery at 1 min (HRR1) in exercise compared to control groups, mean difference 5.90 bpm (95%CI 5.12, 6.69; p < 0.00001). Pooled data also indicated that exercise training improved the short-term heart rate variability (HRV) parameters of root mean square of successive differences between normal heart beats (RMSSD (ms)) [mean difference 10.44 (95%CI 0.60, 20.28, p = 0.04)] and high-frequency normalised units (HFnu) [mean difference 7.72 (95%CI 3.32, 12.12, p = 0.0006), which are predominantly reflective of parasympathetic activity. Analyses also indicated a statistically significant decrease in muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA) bursts/minute (mean difference - 11.09 (95%CI - 16.18, - 6.00; p < 0.0001) and MSNA bursts/100 heart beats (mean difference - 15.44 (95%CI - 20.95, -9.92; p < 0.00001) in exercise groups compared to controls. With improvements in HRR, HRV and MSNA, exercise training appears to facilitate an improvement in parasympathetic tone and reduction in sympathetic activity.
The Individual Perspective: Did This Vaccine Harm this Person?:

With the rapid pace of immunologic research, it is more important than ever for readers to understand rational immunodiagnosis, immunoprophylaxis, and immunotherapy. This column is intended to help...
Why do college students prefer Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Site affordances, tensions between privacy and self-expression, and implications for social capital

Abstract Whereas the bulk of research on social media has taken a granular approach, targeting specific behaviors on one site, or to a lesser extent, multiple sites, the current study aimed to holistically examine the social media landscape, exploring questions about who is drawn to popular social media sites, why they prefer each site, and the social consequences of site preference. Survey data was collected from 663 college students regarding their use and preference for Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Results highlight the popularity of Instagram for college students, and women in particular. Personal characteristics such as gender, age, affordances on specific sites, and privacy concerns predicted social media preference. Expanding upon the privacy paradox, we found that participants who preferred Twitter were more likely to have a public (vs. private) profile, reported higher levels of self-disclosure, and indicated more bridging social capital. Participants who preferred Facebook reported lower levels of self-disclosure, but higher levels of bonding social capital compared to those who preferred Instagram. These findings suggest that associations between privacy settings, disclosure, and social capital vary as a function of both user motivations and the affordances of specific social media sites.
Weak-Star Limits of Polynomials and Their Derivatives

Let μ and v be regular finite Borel measures with compact support in the real line M. and define the differential operator D :L ∞(μ}) → L ∞(v) with domain equal to the polynomials P by Dp = p′. In this paper we will characterize the weak-star closure of the graph of D in ∞(μ) ⊕ ∞(y). As a consequence we will characterize when D is closable (i.e. the weak-star closure of G contains no non-zero elements of the form 0 ⊕ g) and when g is weak-star dense in L∞(μ) ⊕ L ∞(v). We will also consider the same problem where μ and v are measures supported on the unit circle T.
The Postwar Years

Already before the war, the students under Peano’s direction were mostly women and this remained so after the war ended and the soldiers returned. This was no doubt explained in great part by Peano’s involvment with Mathesis and the Mathematical Conferences, where the majority of teachers attending were women. Many of the papers presented by Peano to the Academy of Sciences were by women, although in the academic year 1918–19 these included also notes written by soldiers still in service.
polyTop: Software for Computing Topology of Smooth Real Surfaces

A common computational problem is to compute topological information about a real surface defined by a system of polynomial equations. Our software, called polyTop, leverages numerical algebraic geometry computations from Bertini and Bertini_real with topological computations in javaPlex to compute the Euler characteristic, genus, Betti numbers, and generators of the fundamental group of a smooth real surface. Several examples are used to demonstrate this new software.
Researching the Contemporary Nigerian Elites: An Introduction

Distinction, Exclusivity and Whiteness critically examines how a group of Elite Nigerian parents who had completed their primary/secondary schooling in the 1960s and 1970s in Nigeria when education was still for the ‘lucky’ few are attempting to reproduce their social and economic positions via their children. In this chapter, I put forward four main benefits for studying Nigerian elites and explained how studying up is integral to our understanding of how inequality is perpetuated through differential access to good quality education.
2H and 13C metabolic flux analysis elucidates in vivo thermodynamics of the ED pathway in Zymomonas mobilis

Zymomonas mobilis is an industrially relevant bacterium notable for its ability to rapidly ferment simple sugars to ethanol using the Entner-Doudoroff (ED) glycolytic pathway, an alternative to the well-known Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway used by most organisms. Recent computational studies have predicted that the ED pathway is substantially more thermodynamically favorable than the EMP pathway, a potential factor explaining the high glycolytic rate in Z. mobilis. Here, to investigate the in vivo thermodynamics of the ED pathway and central carbon metabolism in Z. mobilis, we implemented a network-level approach that integrates quantitative metabolomics with 2H and 13C metabolic flux analysis to estimate reversibility and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) of metabolic reactions. This analysis revealed a strongly thermodynamically favorable ED pathway in Z. mobilis that is nearly twice as favorable as the EMP pathway in E. coli or S. cerevisiae. The in vivo step-by-step thermodynamic profile of the ED pathway was highly similar to previous in silico predictions, indicating that maximizing ΔG for each pathway step likely constitutes a cellular objective in Z. mobilis. Our analysis also revealed novel features of Z. mobilis metabolism, including phosphofructokinase-like enzyme activity, tricarboxylic acid cycle anaplerosis via PEP carboxylase, and a metabolic imbalance in the pentose phosphate pathway resulting in excretion of shikimate pathway intermediates. The integrated approach we present here for in vivo ΔG quantitation may be applied to the thermodynamic profiling of pathways and metabolic networks in other microorganisms and will contribute to the development of quantitative models of metabolism.
Cocycles on the Circle. II

Γ is a countable dense subgroup of the circle T, which will be written additively (with addition modulo 2π). For each α in T the translation operator T α is defined by Tαf(x) = f(x + α). The aim of this note is to prove this result.
Phthalates, bisphenols, parabens, and triclocarban in feminine hygiene products from the United States and their implications for human exposure.

Abstract Feminine hygiene products, a category of daily necessities, can be a source of exposure to plasticizers and antimicrobial agents in women. Nevertheless, studies on the occurrence of chemicals in feminine hygiene products have received little attention. In this study, 24 endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), comprising nine phthalates, six parabens, eight bisphenols, and triclocarban (TCC) were measured in seven categories of feminine hygiene products (i.e., pads, panty liners, tampons, wipes, bactericidal creams and solutions, and deodorant sprays and powders; N = 77) collected in the Albany area of New York State in the United States. Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di-iso-butyl phthalate (DIBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), methyl paraben (MeP), and ethyl paraben (EtP) were found in all pad, panty liner, and tampon samples. Panty liners contained the highest concentrations of DMP (median: 249 ng/g), DEP (386 ng/g), DBP (393 ng/g), and DIBP (299 ng/g) and tampons contained the highest concentrations of DEHP (267 ng/g). MeP, EtP, and propyl paraben (PrP) were the major parabens found in feminine hygiene products. Bactericidal creams and solutions contained median concentrations of MeP, EtP and PrP at 2840, 734, and 278 ng/g, respectively. The estimated exposure doses of phthalates, parabens, and bisphenols through the dermal absorption pathway from the use of pads, panty liners, and tampons were significant. In comparison with the exposure doses reported previously from other sources and pathways, the significance of feminine hygiene products as sources of EDC exposure was delineated. The dermal absorption doses from the use of feminine hygiene products, under different exposure scenarios, were 0.19–27.9% and 0.01–6.2% of the total exposure doses of phthalates and bisphenols, respectively. This is the first study to report the occurrence of phthalates, parabens, bisphenols, and TCC in feminine hygiene products from the United States.
A patient-centredness improvement study for efficacy of behaviour change for healthy lifestyle and weight loss in a student-run free clinic.

Background Primary care is the ideal place to implement behaviour change interventions for weight management. However, most primary care physicians are not managing patient weight as a standard of care due to lack of knowledge, skills and reimbursement. Generating more physicians who are familiar and comfortable with providing weight management is essential in leveraging a global change. In our university free clinic, medical students provide healthy lifestyle counselling using shared decision making to each patient at every clinic visit. Objective Improve the efficacy of behaviour change interventions via increased patient responsiveness and adherence. Methods The needs assessment demonstrated a subpar patient response rate to check-ins regarding behavioural change goals. In the first and second interventions, check-in message structure and contact schedule were varied to maximize patient responsiveness and goal achievement. Results In the needs assessment, 58% of patients responded to follow-ups and 58% of patients accomplished their goal. The first intervention cycle resulted in an improvement of responsiveness to 70% and accomplishment of goals to 59%. The second intervention cycle resulted in an improvement of responsiveness to 78% and accomplishment of goals to 74%. Conclusions Messages that were frequent, unique, succinct and delivered within 4 weeks after the clinic visit resulted in the highest response rate and goal attainment. Other primary care clinics can use these interventions to increase patient completion of implemented behaviour changes for a healthier lifestyle.
Why does the public support or oppose agricultural nutrient runoff regulations? The effects of political orientation, environmental worldview, and policy specific beliefs.

Abstract This research examines public acceptability of regulations to reduce agricultural nutrient runoff and curb Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). We tested the effects of two novel policy specific beliefs including support for farmers’ autonomy and support for external accountability. We also simultaneously tested the direct and indirect effects of political orientation and environmental worldview through a Direct Effect Model and a Mediation Model using structural equation modelling. Survey data were collected from 729 Ohio residents collected in November 2018. The specific regulatory policy measure we targeted is fines on excessive agricultural runoff. As hypothesized, autonomy beliefs negatively affect, and accountability positively affect support for fines. Both models revealed good fits. the direct effects of environmental worldviews political orientation were not supported. Instead, environmental worldviews indirectly increased support for fines through increased accountability beliefs and diminished autonomy beliefs. From the results, we suggest that when proposing suitable regulations for specific sites, policy makers and interest groups should be aware of differences in public support for farmer autonomy and external accountability, and that such differences are likely rooted in environmental worldviews. The study also suggests a need for coupled ecological and social studies that assess the likelihood of regional agricultural producers voluntarily adopting conservation practices and forecast the effectiveness of potential accountability measures.
Towards Validation of Advanced Accelerated Stress Testing Protocols through Failure Analysis and Materials Characterization

As the lifetime of photovoltaic modules increases toward the goal of 50 years, accelerated stress testing is critical to assessing the viability of newer, improved, and often cheaper materials in the field. However, the validation of accelerated testing to reproduce field failure has remained elusive. The recent developments of more advanced stress testing protocols utilizing sequential and combined stressors have provided another opportunity for validation. Using a suite of mechanical, chemical, and structural characterization methods we report the development of our approach using a known bad backsheet “AAA.” We then apply this approach to PVDF-based backsheets to further confirm the generalizability of this approach. The outcome of this work is two-fold: (1) validation of advanced accelerated testing protocols which will enable the prediction of field failures in new materials, and (2) deeper insights into the degradation mechanisms observed through the extensive characterization allowing for improved materials engineering and development.
Different Kind of Smells: Security Smells in Infrastructure as Code Scripts

In this article, we summarize our recent research findings related to infrastructure as code (IaC) scripts, where we have identified 67,801 occurrences of security smells that include 9,175 hard-coded passwords. We hope our work will facilitate awareness among practitioners who use IaC.
Diamond Phononic Crystals with Silicon-Vacancy Centers at Cryogenic Temperatures

We fabricate phononic crystals in single-crystal diamond hosting silicon vacancy centers. We demonstrate high mechanical Q-factors (> 10,000) from localized 10 GHz-frequency mechanical modes in a dilution refrigerator (T < 1K).
Visuomotor errors drive step length and step time adaptation during 'virtual' split-belt walking: the effects of reinforcement feedback.

Precise foot placement is dependent on changes in spatial and temporal coordination between two legs in response to a perturbation during walking. Here, we used a ‘virtual’ split-belt adaptation task to examine the effects of reinforcement (reward and punishment) feedback about foot placement on the changes in error, step length and step time asymmetry. Twenty-seven healthy adults (20 ± 2.5 years) walked on a treadmill with continuous feedback of the foot position and stepping targets projected on a screen, defined by a visuomotor gain for each leg. The paradigm consisted of a baseline period (same gain on both legs), visuomotor adaptation period (split: one high = ‘fast’, one low = ‘slow’ gain) and post-adaptation period (same gain). Participants were divided into 3 groups: control group received no score, reward group received increasing score for each target hit, and punishment group received decreasing score for each target missed. Re-adaptation was assessed 24 ± 2 h later. During early adaptation, the slow foot undershot and fast foot overshot the stepping target. Foot placement errors were gradually reduced by late adaptation, accompanied by increasing step length asymmetry (fast slow step time). Only the punishment group showed greater error reduction and step length re-adaptation on the next day. The results show that (1) explicit feedback of foot placement alone drives adaptation of both step length and step time asymmetry during virtual split-belt walking, and (2) specifically, step length re-adaptation driven by visuomotor errors may be enhanced by punishment feedback.
Multicore Simulation of Power System Transients

Multicore technology has brought about the reexamination of traditional power system electromagnetic transient simulation methods. The technological penetration of this advancement in power system simulation is not noticeable, but its demand is growing in importance in anticipation of the many-core shift. The availability of this technology in personal computers has orchestrated the redesign of simulation approaches throughout the software industry - and in particular, the parallelization of power system simulation. Multicore Simulation of Power System Transients shows how to parallelize the simulation of power system transients using a multicore desktop computer. The book begins by introducing a power system large enough to demonstrate the potential of multicore technology. Then, it is shown how to formulate and partition the power system into subsystems that can be solved in parallel with a program written in C#. Formulating a power system as subsystems exploits multicore technology by parallelizing its solution and can result in significant speedups. For completeness, the power system presented in this book is also built and run in MATLAB®/Simulink® SimPowerSystems - one of the most widely-used commercial simulation tools today.
The Health Care Environment

In the previous chapter we have described the theoretical foundations of MMT. In this chapter we describe the environment of the health care organization, and the forces that shape its survival and pattern its behavior. This chapter also includes a discussion of the role that medical technology plays in the internal environment of health care organizations, and how the changing environmental conditions in health care have influenced this role. This chapter is therefore focused on the conditions, circumstances, phenomena and transformations that are occurring in the health care “industry”, and the forces that thus shape its unique development.
Role of STAT3 in lung cancer

Lung cancer remains a challenging disease. It is responsible for the high cancer mortality rates in the US and worldwide. Elucidation of the molecular mechanisms operative in lung cancer is an important first step in developing effective therapies. Accumulating evidence over the last 2 decades suggests a critical role for Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT3) as a point of convergence for various signaling pathways that are dysregulated in the disease. In this review, we discuss possible molecular mechanisms involving STAT3 in lung tumorigenesis based on recent literature. We consider possible roles of STAT3 in cancer cell proliferation and survival, in the tumor immune environment, and in epigenetic regulation and interaction of STAT3 with other transcription factors. We also discuss the potential role of STAT3 in tumor suppression, which complicates strategies of targeting STAT3 in cancer therapy.
β-Galactosidase RATES OF SYNTHESIS AND DEGRADATION OF INCOMPLETE CHAINS

Abstract Incomplete β-galactosidase polypeptide chains made by nonsense mutant strains of Escherichia coli were measured quantitatively by treatment of extracts with BrCN followed by complementation with an excess of an extract of a deletion mutant strain. Rates of synthesis were determined in cells grown in the presence of inducer, and rates of degradation were determined in cells grown after removal of inducer. Incomplete chains are degraded at different rates which are not directly proportional to their length but are apparently determined by their conformation. The degradation system is temperature dependent and is more active during growth. Synthesis of the different chains occurs at similar rates indicating no polar effect within the gene. The difference in rates of degradation is a primary cause of the variation in levels of cross-reacting material in these strains.
Changes in body heat during transvesical prostatectomy

The superficial and deep body temperatures of 15 patients were measured before, during and for 6 hours after transvesical prostatectomy. The patients were divided randomly into two groups who received either a standard general anaesthetic or epidural analgesia. Total body heat and mean body temperature fell more rapidly in the epidural group, reaching statistical significance in the early postoperative period. Both groups showed a net heat gain 6 hours postoperatively. One patient in each group became hypothermic (core temperature less than 35 degrees C). Warming of both intravenous and bladder irrigation fluids to body temperature is recommended for patients receiving epidural or general anaesthesia.
Increased glycosaminoglycans in the urine of asthmatic children on inhaled corticosteroids.

Abstract Increased extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in the airway wall contributes to the airway remodeling in asthmatics. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are polysaccharides attached to a protein core in order to form proteoglycans, a component of the ECM. In this study, we investigated the possible influence of long-term treatment with inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) on urinary GAGs levels of asthmatic children. Seventy asthmatic children (41 boys), aged 6.8-12.5 yr, participated in the study. About 44 were treated with inhaled budesonide via turbuhaler for 2-35 months (median 12 months) and 26 were on relief medications. About 30 healthy controls were also studied. GAGs were precipitated from early morning urine samples, collected, isolated and quantified using uronic acid-carbazole reaction and expressed as uronic acid (UA) in microg/g/Cr(u)/m2. Urinary GAGs values did not differ significantly between controls and asthmatics but significant differences were found between children on ICS and asthmatics on relief medications (p < 0.001). There was a positive correlation between the daily dose of inhaled budesonide and the urinary GAGs values (r = 0.32, p = 0.037) whereas a threshold distinguishing 'low' vs. 'high' doses of ICS was found to be at 300 microg/m2 per day with a significant difference in urinary GAGs secretion (p = 0.006). Our data show that urinary GAGs secretion is reduced in asthmatic children that used only relief medication but it is increased in those on long-term treatment with ICS. A dose dependent effect of ICS was also detected.
Constrained Matrix Problems

In this chapter the focus is on constrained matrix problems, the solutions of which are needed to create base-line datasets for use in equilibrium modeling. The constrained matrix problem is to compute the best possible estimate of an unknown matrix, given some information to constrain the solution set, and requiring that the matrix be a minimum distance from a given matrix. The problem arises as a core problem in numerous applications, including: the estimation of input/output tables, social/national accounts, and financial flow of funds accounts, the projection of migration flows over space and time, the projection of origin/destination transportation flows, and the estimation of contingency tables in statistics.
Thymic selection and peripheral activation of CD8 T cells by the same class I MHC/peptide complex

Thymic selection is controlled by the interaction between TCR and MHC/peptide. Strength and quality of the signal determine whether thymocytes are selected or deleted. The factors that contribute to this signal remain poorly defined. Here we show that fetal thymic organ cultures (FTOCs) derived from OT-I transgenic mice (the OT-I TCR is restricted by K(b)-SIINFEKL) on a K(b)D(b-/-) background support positive selection, but only when provided with soluble H-2K(b)-SIINFEKL complexes. Selection of CD8 T cells is independent of the valency of the ligand or its capability to coengage CD8 molecules. Both CD8alphaalpha and CD8alphabeta T cells are selected by H-2K(b)-SIINFEKL, but only CD8alphabeta cells are capable of releasing IFN-gamma in response to the same ligand. The alpha(4)beta(7) integrin is up-regulated on postselection thymocytes from FTOCs. After adoptive transfer, FTOC-derived OT-I CD8 T cells divide in response to the agonist peptide SIINFEKL. These results establish that CD8 T cells responsive to their nominal peptide-Ag can be generated in FTOC supplemented with soluble MHC class I molecules equipped with the same peptide.
Weak Solutions of Optimal Control of Partially Observed Markov Processes

The control problems for a finite state Markov process under counting observations are considered. In a weak sense, the value function is shown to be a viscosity solution of the corresponding Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equations. Furthermore, the nonlinear semigroup representation of the value function is also derived.
Atomistic simulations of aqueous griseofulvin crystals in the presence of individual and multiple additives

Abstract The production and stabilization of crystalline pharmaceutical suspensions, an area of great importance to the pharmaceutical industry, was investigated through exploration of the ability of surfactants and polymers to affect the growth and stability of poorly water soluble pharmaceutical crystals on a molecular scale using molecular dynamics simulations coupled with anti-solvent crystallizations. Griseofulvin, a model poorly soluble drug, was simulated in an aqueous system containing individual non-ionic surfactant Tween 80, polymer HPMC, polymer Pullulan, and anionic surfactant SDS, as well as binary surfactant–polymer mixtures. To evaluate the stability and growth potential of the crystals, the interfacial binding energies between three elementary faces were calculated and compared, based on which HPMC was determined to be the most effective individual additive of those tested. Additionally, the potential synergism of additives was evaluated by the simulation of binary mixtures containing each of the non-ionic additives with the anionic surfactant SDS at different starting configurations. The combination of HPMC with SDS proved to be the most effective and significantly greater than HPMC when used alone. Simulation results were validated by observing both crystal growth rates, as well as final particle sizes of griseofulvin crystals grown using an antisolvent crystallization in the presence of individual and mixtures of additives, suggesting that the simulation approach may be used as a screening tool for selection of additives.
Ultrasonic appearance of a thyroid nodule invested in eggshell calcification

The ultrasonic appearance of eggshell calcification in a benign thyroid nodule, including sonography of the pathologic specimen, is presented.
The Rending of the Veil and Markan Christology: "Unveiling" the 'YIOΣ ΘEOY (Mark 15:38-39)

This paper examines Mark's use of Jewish temple cosmology as a means of interpreting the rending of the temple's veil in 15:38. Profiling the relationship between the temple veil and the heavenly firmament (Gen. 1:6) in Second Temple and Rabbinic literature, this paper explores apocalyptic images, such as the opening of heaven, doors, etc., to inform a contextual reading of the tearing of the temple curtain. It argues that the veil belongs within an apocalyptic tradition providing an exposition of the death of Jesus. This helps us understand the nature of the centurion's profession subsequent to the tearing of the veil.
Cross-species comparisons of cancer signaling.

Modeling of human cancer in genetically engineered mice and genome-wide measurements of mRNA expression have now been combined to accelerate the search for new molecularly targeted therapies against cancer. Looking forward, we propose a community-wide systematic effort to model and characterize an array of different cancer-related aberrant signaling pathways in several mouse models of cancer.
Early stenosis of Medtronic Mosaic porcine valves in the aortic position

The third-generation Medtronic Mosaic porcine bioprosthesis (Medtronic Inc, Minneapolis, Minn) was introduced in 1994. The valve leaflets are fixed in glutaraldehyde at zero pressure (applying equal pressure to the inflow and outflow ends of the valve), the root is dilated to a pressure of 40 mm Hg (‘‘physiologic fixation’’), the fixed tissue is treated with a-aminooleic acid (a long-chain fatty acid that binds to the aldehyde fractions of the glutaraldehyde-preserved porcine tissue) to reduce calcification, and the tissue is mounted on a Hancock II (Medtronic Inc) flexible stent made of acetyl copolymer covered with Dacron fabric.
40-W cw, TEM 00 -mode, diode-laser-pumped, Nd:YAG miniature-slab laser

We have built a diode-laser-pumped Nd:YAG slab laser that emits 40 W of cw power in a TEM00 mode and 72 W of power in multimode operation when pumped with 235 W. The slope efficiencies are 22% for TEM00-mode operation and 36% for multimode operation. The laser uses a zigzag slab geometry to reduce thermally induced distortions and operates at less than one wave of distortion at the full pump power. A significant advantage of our design over those of previous slab lasers is a new Teflon AF protective coating on the slab total-internal-reflection surfaces, which greatly simplifies the mounting and cooling of the slab laser medium.
1033 THE DECREASED RESPONSE OF HUMAN MILK LEUKOCYTES TO CHEMOTACTIC FACTORS

The protective effects of human milk leukocytes (HMLs) may be different from their counterparts in blood. Based upon observations including the limited microbiocidal activity of milk neutrophils and macrophages, we hypothesized that these cells protect by non-inflammatory mechanisms. That possibility was further tested by examining the response of HMLs to well defined chemotactic factors. The adherence, orientation, and chemotaxis of unfractipnated washed HMLs to f-met-leu-phe (10−6−10−9M), f-met-phe (10−6−10−9M) and zymosan activated serum (ZAS) were compared to the responses of unfractionated peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). In contrast to PBLs, HMLs adhered poorly to glass, and both adherent and non-adherent HMLs failed to orient toward chemotaxins in Zigmond chambers. In sub-agarose and Boyden chamber studies, no chemotaxis of HMLs was observed, whereas the chemotaxis of PBLs was normal (ie. in subagarose plates: x S.D. with f-met-leu-phe, 1.1 ± 0.2mm; ZAS, 1.1 ± 0.4mm; p<0.01). We then tested whether leukocytes were inhibited by soluble colostral factors. PBLs in cell-free colostrum moved normally under agarose toward f-met-leu-phe or ZAS. Adherence of PBLs in colostrum was significantly decreased; this inhibition however was abrogated by reincubating the PBLs in tissue culture media. Thus, the decreased response of HMLs to common chemotactic agents is further evidence that these leukocytes may be modified to protect by non-inflammatory mechanisms.