cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Isomerization and Chelation Studies of (OC)5M[η1-PPh2CH2CH2P(p-tolyl)2] and (OC)5M[η1-P(p-tolyl)2CH2CH2PPh2] (M = Cr, Mo, W)

Six dangling phosphine complexes have been synthesized to provide three pairs of linkage isomers, (OC)5M[η1-PPh2CH2CH2P(p-tolyl)2] (3Cr, 3Mo, 3W) and (OC)5M[η1-P(p-tolyl)2CH2CH2PPh2] (4Cr, 4Mo, 4W). Rate constants for isomerization in toluene of 3Cr, 3Mo, 3W, 4Cr, 4Mo, and 4W at 55 °C are 1.23 × 10-8, 7.76 × 10-6, 2.3 × 10-8, 6.52 × 10-9, 4.24 × 10-6, and 9.7 × 10-9 s-1, respectively. Rate constants for chelation of 3Cr, 3Mo, 4Cr, and 4Mo are 1.15 × 10-8, 3.9 × 10-7, 1.23 × 10-8, and 3.9 × 10-7 s-1, respectively. Chelation rates for 3W and 4W were too slow to conveniently measure. The position of equilibrium favors ditolylphosphino coordination with equilibrium constants of 1.88, 1.83, and 2.4 for the Cr, Mo, and W isomer pairs, respectively. Isomerization of 3Mo and 4Mo was studied at 25, 40, and 55 °C to give activation parameters, ΔH⧧ and ΔS⧧, of 102.4 and 103.6 kJ/mol and −32 and −33 J/(K mol), respectively. ΔH⧧ and ΔS⧧ for chelation of 3Mo and 4Mo were determined to be 113.5 and 115.5 kJ/mol and −22 ...
The entrepreneurship myth in small-scale service provision: Water resale in Maputo, Mozambique

About 20% of the urban population in sub-Saharan Africa relies on resellers of utility water for their water supply, yet the practice has received little attention either in the academic literature or in sector policy. This study uses primary data collected from more than 200 resellers in Maputo, Mozambique, through in-person surveys, participant observation and focus group discussions. Despite the widely held assumption that all small-scale water providers are profit-maximizing entrepreneurs, this study suggests that this model does not characterize resale behavior in Maputo. Instead, three non-mutually exclusive motivations provide more persuasive explanations for why households resell utility water: (1) earning cash to meet daily subsistence needs; (2) obtaining a form of informal social insurance to deal with future needs; and (3) solidifying embeddedness in social relationships by satisfying the social norms of their communities. These findings suggest that programs and policies typically designed for small-scale providers may be inappropriate for water resellers.
Validation of the SPICE-R instrument among a diverse interprofessional cohort: A cautionary tale

Abstract Objective The Student Perceptions of Interprofessional Clinical Education-Revised (SPICE-R) instrument was developed to measure interprofessional teamwork in a clinical setting. This study investigated whether the SPICE-R could adequately measure teamwork in a classroom-based setting, while also evaluating function of the instrument׳s rating scale as used among these learners, and psychometric responsiveness to change. Methods The SPICE-R instrument was administered to students at start and end of an interprofessional education course for first-year students from eight health care professions. The SPICE-R׳s rating scale functionality was characterized using Rasch Measurement. Without statistical adjustment, pre/post data were analyzed for total score change. With adjustment, a complex multiple regression modeled pre-SPICE-R, professional program, and gender on post-SPICE-R. Results A total of 553 students completed the pre-SPICE-R while 185 students also completed the post-SPICE-R. The 5-point rating scale did not function while a 4-point scale did. Overall, both SPICE-Rs were reliable (Cronbach׳s-alpha: 0.83 and 0.87). On unadjusted paired analysis, there was no mean improvement with course [pre-SPICE-R = 32.4 ± 4.4; post-SPICE-R = 31.8 ± 4.6; P = 0.10; and Cohen׳s d = −0.1 (trivial-effect-size)]. Separately, pharmacy improved modestly [pre-SPICE-R = 31.7 ± 5.7; post-SPICE-R = 33.5 ± 4.1; P = 0.12; and Cohen׳s d = 0.3 (small-effect-size)]. Regression showed that medicine and physician assistant did not have as much improvement as pharmacy (both Implications This classroom-based setting among first-year students appeared to be outside the SPICE-R instrument׳s utility. This investigation showed that a 4-point rating scale allowed the SPICE-R to better function instead of a 5-point rating scale. Ultimately, the SPICE-R was reliable though showed only modest responsiveness to change after statistical adjustment.
Institutional constraints on effective minority representation

This paper explores the dynamics of local Muslim political representation in Britain, and seeks to answer the question: does Muslim political representation matter? Drawing on original data from in-depth interviews with 20 Muslim leaders, political activists, and city councilors across London boroughs, issues of descriptive versus substantive representation are examined. It analyzes political experiences of Muslim city councilors across London boroughs, their platforms, whether or not their presence helps reduce conflict at the local level, and impact of party politics on their performance. It concludes that local Muslim political representation facilitates the acquisition of services for Muslim citizenry, yet performance of Muslim elected officials is contingent upon institutional constraints, in particular strong party whip.
Pressure Measurements across Vascular Stenoses. Practice and Pitfalls.

We describe and analyze pressure measurements across vascular stenoses in an atherosclerotic human carotid bulb replica using catheters of different diameters. Replicas of an atherosclerotic human carotid bulb were created using the lost wax technique, and were placed in a circuit of pulsating non-newtonian fluid. Flows were adjusted to replicate human physiologic flow profiles. Common carotid artery total flow volume of 600 milliliters/minute was studied. A pressure recording device was calibrated; data were received from catheters placed longitudinally in the common carotid artery and internal carotid artery. The internal carotid artery pressures were obtained both through the stenosis as is usually performed in the angiography suite and through the vessel side-wall beyond the stenosis as a control. Internal carotid artery flow volumes were also measured with and without the catheter through the stenosis. Multiple pressure recordings and volume measurements were obtained in the replica using 7 French, 5 French, and 2.5 French catheters. Measurements of the replica showed a 58% diameter stenosis and an 89% area stenosis of the carotid bulb. All longitudinal pressure measurements in the common carotid artery agreed with control values regardless of the diameter of the catheter used. Pressure measurements were also in agreement with control values in the internal carotid artery using the 2.5 French catheter. However; when larger diameter catheters were employed, pressures measured with the catheter through the stenosis fell when compared to control values. Additionally, internal carotid artery flow volumes were also decreased when the larger diameter catheters were placed across the stenosis. Large diameter catheters when placed across vascular stenoses may cause an occlusive or near-occlusive state and artifactually increase the measured transstenotic vascular pressure gradient as well as decrease forward vascular flow.
Management of Clinical Problems by Physician-Computer Dialogue

In recent years hospitals have begun using a computer program designed to help physicians manage patients with electrolyte and acid—base disorders. The program directs a dialogue during which the physician supplies clinical and laboratory information. When requested data are unavailable, the program proceeds with incomplete information. On the basis of the abnormalities detected, it then asks further questions as needed to characterize the electrolyte and acid—base disturbances. Upon completion of the interchange, the program produces an evaluation note that resembles a remotely located consultant’s discussion of the problem presented. The note includes a list of diagnostic possibilities, an explanation of the pathophysiology, therapeutic recommendations, suggestions for additional laboratory studies, precautionary measures required by the illness or the treatment, and references to the medical literature. Since additional hospitals are scheduled to begin using the program shortly, and additional computer consultation programs are under various stages of development, it seems appropriate to compare computerized and human consultation, and to consider some of the implications of this adjunct to patient care.
Making and Breaking News

Philosophical practice is in its infancy; and is therefore, experiencing a period of rapid growth, development, and learning. The globalizing world, which is both parent and client, is therefore, far enamored of its progeny cum practitioner, and thus, pays increasing attentions to it. This chapter has both a robust noetic constitution and some strong affinity for philosophical practice. If philosophical practice is to become more than a seer's pipedream or a gambler's long-shot, and really begin to stretch its legs, then it requires many persons each speaking a few words and each doing a few deeds, as opposed to a few persons each speaking many words and doing many deeds.
Soft2LM: Application Guided Heterogeneous Memory Management

This paper introduces a software policy for memory management in heterogeneous memory systems in order to improve the trade-offs between performance and power consumption, while attempting to make the best use of different characteristics of the underlying memory technologies. In this policy, the operating system and the application co-schedule page management in order to make informed decisions about page allocation and migration. Software-Controlled 2- Level Memory (Soft2LM) is a hardware-agnostic approach for efficient usage of heterogeneous memory that allows for region-based allocations, migrations, and application advice. We include analysis of the access characteristics of the PARSEC 3.0 suite of benchmarks, both as motivation for software-guided intelligent page placement as well as for understanding where application advice can make a difference. Our evaluation running PARSEC on our Soft2LM Linux kernel shows an average 4.7x improvement over comparable RAMDISK- based swapping. Even when migrating 100 and 1000 pages per second between regions, Soft2LM performs comparably to a stock system with twice the available DRAM, showing a 1.8\% and 0.7\% improvement, respectively.
A large-area, LED-based spectral response measurement system for solar PV device characterization" to "a large-area, LED-based spectral response measurement system for solar PV device characterization

Accurate, fast and reliable measurement of the spectral responsivity of a solar cell is an important step in evaluating the electrical performance of competing photovoltaic (PV) technologies and products. A few research groups, including one at that National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), have investigated ways to measure the spectral responsivity, and hence the external quantum efficiency, of solar cells using measurement techniques that employ light emitting diodes (LEDs).
Vitamin D Binding Protein and 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels: Emerging Clinical Applications

ABSTRACT The precursor of the active form of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), is recognized as the optimal indicator of vitamin D status. Vitamin D3 undergoes conversion through a multitude of enzymatic reactions described within the paper, and vitamin D levels are dependent on many factors including the vitamin D binding protein (DBP). The free hormone hypothesis postulates that protein-bound hormones are not biologically available and that unbound hormones are biologically active. The majority of circulating 25(OH)D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D is tightly bound to DBP and albumin, with less than 1% circulating in an unbound form. As a result, factors affecting DBP alter the interpretation of 25(OH)D levels. The aim of this review is to assess the current methodology used to measure total and free 25(OH)D, and DBP. Additionally, we analyze the effects of other endocrine hormones and disease processes on DBP levels and subsequently, the interpretation of 25(OH)D levels. Abbreviations CF = cystic fibrosis DBP = vitamin D binding protein ELISA = enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ESLD = end-stage liver disease HC = hormone contraceptives iPTH = intact parathyroid hormone LC-MS = liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry MS = multiple sclerosis 25(OH)D = 25-hydroxyvitamin D PHPT = primary hyperparathyroidism RIA = radioimmunoassay
A clymenid ammonoid from the Pinyon Peak Limestone of Utah

Cyrtoclymenia aff. C. strigata is identified from the Upper Devonian Pinyon Peak Limestone near Salt Lake City, Utah. The age of the ammonoid, as well as the associated conodont fauna, indicates that the enclosing rocks represent the Polygnathus styriacus conodont Zone and the Clymenia and Wocklumeria ammonoid Stufen of the Famennian Stage.--Journal abstract.
Structure and seasonal activity of Chihuahua desert ant communities

In a desert area with abundant annual plants the largest feeding guild was gramnivores (nine species). In an area with few annual plants, the largest feeding guild was omnivores (eight species). Within a guild there is little overlap in body length of workers. Species in which there was overlap in body length of workers exhibited marked differences in diel and seasonal activity. Variation in precipitation and productivity between years resulted in differences in seasonal activity, hence considerable variation in the structure of the ant community through time.
The (Surprising) Impact of Televised Antidepressant Direct-to-Consumer Advertising on the Stigmatization of Mental Illness

This study tests the effect of pharmaceutical Direct-to-Consumer Advertising (DTCA) for antidepressants on perceived stigma surrounding mental disorders. We randomly assigned participants into one of three experimental conditions: antidepressant DTCA with portrayals of discrimination, cognitive separation, and stereotyping (DCSS), antidepressant DTCA without these representations, or a no-exposure control. Contrary to study hypotheses, participants who viewed ads containing portrayals of DCSS were significantly less likely to want to socially distance themselves from those with mental illnesses than those assigned to the no-exposure control condition, even when controlling for demographics and personal experience with mental illness. We discuss plausible explanations for the unexpected pattern of effects and resulting implications for future research on the topic.
Adapting Family Therapy to Multideficit Families

Parents and children who have been emotionally deprived learn to adapt and mature in treatment emphasizing communication and interdependence within the family
Myc, Oncogenic Protein Translation, and the Role of Polyamines

Deregulated protein synthesis is a common feature of cancer cells, with many oncogenic signaling pathways directly augmenting protein translation to support the biomass needs of proliferating tissues. MYC’s ability to drive oncogenesis is a consequence of its essential role as a governor linking cell cycle entry with the requisite increase in protein synthetic capacity, among other biomass needs. To date, direct pharmacologic inhibition of MYC has proven difficult, but targeting oncogenic signaling modules downstream of MYC, such as the protein synthetic machinery, may provide a viable therapeutic strategy. Polyamines are essential cations found in nearly all living organisms that have both direct and indirect roles in the control of protein synthesis. Polyamine metabolism is coordinately regulated by MYC to increase polyamines in proliferative tissues, and this is further augmented in the many cancer cells harboring hyperactivated MYC. In this review, we discuss MYC-driven regulation of polyamines and protein synthetic capacity as a key function of its oncogenic output, and how this dependency may be perturbed through direct pharmacologic targeting of components of the protein synthetic machinery, such as the polyamines themselves, the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4F (eIF4F) complex, and the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 5A (eIF5A).
SemEval-2012 Task 7: Choice of Plausible Alternatives: An Evaluation of Commonsense Causal Reasoning

SemEval-2012 Task 7 presented a deceptively simple challenge: given an English sentence as a premise, select the sentence amongst two alternatives that more plausibly has a causal relation to the premise. In this paper, we describe the development of this task and its motivation. We describe the two systems that competed in this task as part of SemEval-2012, and compare their results to those achieved in previously published research. We discuss the characteristics that make this task so difficult, and offer our thoughts on how progress can be made in the future.
Comparison of Surface-Bound and Free-Standing Variations of HKUST-1 MOFs: Effect of Activation and Ammonia Exposure on Morphology, Crystallinity, and Composition

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are extremely porous, crystalline materials with high surface area for potential use in gas storage, sequestration, and separations. Toward incorporation into structures for these applications, this study compares three variations of surface-bound and free-standing HKUST-1 MOF structures: surface-anchored MOF (surMOF) thin film, drop-cast film, and bulk powder. Herein, effects of HKUST-1 ammonia interaction and framework activation, which is removal of guest molecules via heat, are investigated. Impact on morphology and crystal structure as a function of surface confinement and size variance are examined. Scanning probe microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy monitor changes in morphology and crystal structure, track ammonia uptake, and examine elemental composition. After fabrication, ammonia uptake is observed for all MOF variations, but reveals dramatic morphological and crystal structure changes. However, activation of the framework was found to stabilize morphology. For activated surMOF films, findings demonstrate consistent morphology throughout uptake, removal, and recycling of ammonia over multiple exposures. To understand morphological effects, additional ammonia exposure experiments with controlled post-synthetic solvent adsorbates were conducted utilizing a HKUST-1 standard powder. These findings are foundational for determining the capabilities and limitation of MOF films and powders.
Treatment of Irritability and Aggression in Huntington’s Disease

Irritability and aggression are common in Huntington’s disease (HD) and augment the burden faced by families caring for patients at home. Their presence can make placement in long-term care extremely difficult, since many facilities are not equipped to deal with severe behavioral symptoms, especially in relatively young patients who may be quite strong and therefore capable of harming themselves, facility staff, and other residents. Psychopharmacologic treatment of irritability and aggression can greatly reduce these symptoms in HD. Treatment involves a stepwise approach, depending on the level of symptom severity and urgency of the situation. This approach, based on HD, can also be used as a model for treatment of these symptoms in other neurological conditions.
Integration of Zakat and Awaqf for Poverty Alleviation and Development

This paper recommends that maintaining overall microfinance industry’s nature and character of poverty alleviation approach, an Islamic microfinance approach has to be developed integrating Islamic Shariah-approved charity sources of fund like zakat, sadaqah, and awaqf and Shariah-compliant tools like Mudarabah, Musharakah, Bai-Muajjal, etc., toward ensuring socio-economic development of the poor as well as sustainability of the organizations involved for maintaining continuity of the services for years and ages together. In this connection, this research further found that Center for Zakat Management (CZM) has been working mainly with zakat at larger volume and also awaqf funds toward socio-economic development of the poor and extremely poor for last nine years. By this time, the organization gained formidable experience and developed a model zakat-based poverty alleviation approach. The successes they achieved and the challenges they faced as an organization working with zakat and awaqf funds can provide an important message for all who favor integration of zakat and awaqf as an effort toward playing effective role in socio-economic development of the poor and extremely poor in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world.
Mediational E-values: Approximate Sensitivity Analysis for Unmeasured Mediator-Outcome Confounding.

Background Mediation analysis is a powerful tool for understanding mechanisms, but conclusions about direct and indirect effects will be invalid if there is unmeasured confounding of the mediator-outcome relationship. Sensitivity analysis methods allow researchers to assess the extent of this bias but are not always used. One particularly straightforward technique that requires minimal assumptions is nonetheless difficult to interpret, and so would benefit from a more intuitive parameterization. Methods We conducted an exhaustive numerical search over simulated mediation effects, calculating the proportion of scenarios in which a bound for unmeasured mediator-outcome confounding held under an alternative parameterization. Results In over 99% of cases, the bound for the bias held when we described the strength of confounding directly via the confounder-mediator relationship instead of via the conditional exposure-confounder relationship. Conclusions Researchers can conduct sensitivity analysis using a method that describes the strength of the confounder-outcome relationship and the approximate strength of the confounder-mediator relationship that, together, would be required to explain away a direct or indirect effect.
Ethyl 1‐methyl­imidazole‐2‐carboxyl­ate

The title compound, C7H10N2O2, crystallizes as a nearly planar mol­ecule. The carboxy­ethyl group is twisted by 4.43 (14)° relative to the plane that includes the imidazole group. The carbonyl unit of the carboxy­ethyl group is oriented anti to the N-methyl group of the imidazole.
Co-use of tobacco and marijuana among young people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County.

Abstract Introduction Tobacco and marijuana co-use among young people in the U.S. is a public health concern that deserves greater attention. This study addresses a significant gap in the literature by examining the prevalence and correlates of tobacco and marijuana co-use among young people experiencing homelessness. Methods The analytic sample consisted of 449 unaccompanied homeless youth (mean age = 22; 72% male) who had used any type of tobacco product in the past 30 days. Participants were recruited from 12 service sites and 13 street sites in Los Angeles County. Results Over 90% of young homeless tobacco users reported past month marijuana and tobacco co-use: 65% reported any co-administration (mixing both substances in a cigarette, joint, blunt, bong, hookah, pipe or bowl) and 27% reported only using them separately. Analysis of covariance tests found that co-administrators reported greater quantity and frequency of tobacco cigarette use, more frequent marijuana use and, in some cases, poorer functioning and more severe homelessness compared to other tobacco users (p Conclusions Co-administration of tobacco and marijuana is prevalent among young tobacco users experiencing homelessness. Results add to a growing literature on the prevalence and potential risks of co-administration among young people that can inform policies aimed at regulating tobacco and marijuana products.
Integrity Assurance for Outsourced Databases without DBMS Modification

Database outsourcing has become increasingly popular as a cost-effective solution to provide database services to clients. Previous work proposed different approaches to ensuring data integrity, one of the most important security concerns in database outsourcing. However, to the best of our knowledge, existing approaches require modification of DBMSs to facilitate data authentication, which greatly hampers their adoption in practice. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of an efficient and practical integrity assurance scheme without requiring any modification to the DBMS at the server side. We develop novel schemes to serialize Merkle B-tree based authentication structures into a relational database that allows efficient data retrieval for integrity verification. We design efficient algorithms to accelerate query processing with integrity protection. We further build a proof-of-concept prototype and conduct extensive experiments to evaluate the performance overhead of the proposed schemes. The experimental results show that our scheme imposes a low overhead for queries and a reasonable overhead for updates while ensuring integrity of an outsourced database without special support from server-side DBMSs.
The Ideology of Socialism and the Armenian Political Parties

The article covers the manifestations and peculiarities of the ideology of socialism in the social-political life of Armenia at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. General characteristics, aims and directions of activity of the political organizations functioning in the Armenian reality within the given time-period, whose program documents feature the ideology of socialism to one degree or another, are given (Hunchakian Party, Dashnaktsutyun, Armenian Social-democrats, Specifics, Socialists-revolutionaries). The specific peculiarities of the national-political life of Armenia in the given time-period and their impact on the ideology of political forces are introduced.
Aggregation: From Ethnic and Regional Competition to Group Selection at the Level of States and Nations

This chapter and the three that follow collectively comprise Part II of our book, respectively, entitled “Aggregation, Growth, Decline, and Collapse.” Thus, these four chapters collectively comprise a theme familiar to declinists and students of cyclical history. As will be reiterated in later chapters, each of these processes must be studied in abstract after the manner of traditional scholarship, as has been pursued by Gibbon, Vico, Toynbee, Ibn Khaldun, and Spengler. However, it will also be important to update some of the theories proposed by these past historians with subsequent discoveries. Furthermore, as this is a book on multilevel selection, we separately and systematically consider the influence of group-selective pressures as they contribute to aggregation and state formation, the decline of mature civilizations, and their eventual collapse.
Incomplete enforcement of pollution regulation : bargaining power of Chinese factories

Only a small number of studies have empirically examined the determinants of the monitoring and enforcement performed by environmental regulators, and most of these have focused on industrial countries. In contrast, the authors empirically examine the determinants of enforcement in China. More precisely, they analyze the determinants of firms' relative bargaining power with local environmental authorities with respect to the enforcement of pollution charges. The authors show that private sector firms appear to have less bargaining power than state-owned enterprises. Contrary to earlier findings, they also show that firms facing adverse financial situations have more bargaining power than other firms and are more likely to pay smaller pollution charges than they should be paying. Finally, the authors show that the greater the social impact of a firm's emissions (as measured by complaints), the less bargaining power it has with local environmental authorities.
Deterministic Synthesis of ZnO Nanorods

The deterministic growth of ZnO nanorods using molecular beam epitaxy is reported. The process is catalyst-driven, as single crystal ZnO nanorod growth is realized via nucleation on Ag islands that are distributed on a SiO2-terminated Si substrate surface. Growth occurs at substrate temperatures on the order of 300-500°C. The nanorods exhibit diameters of 15-40 nm and lengths in excess of 1 µm. Nanorod placement can be predefined via location of metal catalyst islands or particles. This, coupled with the relatively low growth temperatures needed, suggests that ZnO nanorods could be integrated on device platforms for numerous applications, including chemical sensors and nanoelectronics.
A Brillouin laser optical atomic clock

Optical clocks have achieved accuracies better than 1 part in 1018 and are now some of the best measurement devices ever made, significantly surpassing previous-generation microwave clocks in terms of stability. A significant challenge is to transition optical clocks to field environments, which requires the ruggedization and miniaturization of the atomic reference and clock laser along with their supporting lasers and electronics. In this talk, I discuss the use of a stimulated-Brillouin-scattering (SBS) laser based on a compact fiber resonator to run an optical clock, demonstrating a potential portable replacement for the bulk-cavity-stabilized lasers typically used as the stable oscillator in these systems. We achieve a short-term stability of 3.9 x 10-14 in 1 s, outperforming the best microwave clocks. I also discuss our development of integrated photonics and detectors for chip-based ion traps as a pathway towards miniaturizing the clock’s atomic reference through elimination of free-space optics for light delivery and collection.
Damage associated molecular patterns in necrotic femoral head inhibit osteogenesis and promote fibrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells

Abstract In Legg-Calve-Perthes disease (LCPD), a loss of blood supply to the juvenile femoral head leads to extensive cell death and release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs). Over time chronic inflammatory repair process is observed with impaired bone regeneration. Increased fibrous tissue and adipose tissue are seen in the marrow space with decreased osteogenesis in a piglet model of LCPD, suggesting inhibition of osteoblastic differentiation and stimulation of fibroblastic and adipogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) during the healing process. Little is known about the DAMPs present in the necrotic femoral head and their effects on MSC differentiation. The purpose of this study was to characterize the DAMPs present in the femoral head following ischemic osteonecrosis and to determine their effects on MSC differentiation. Necrotic femoral heads were flushed with saline at 48 h, 2 weeks and 4 weeks following the induction of ischemic osteonecrosis in piglets to obtain necrotic bone fluid (NBF). Western blot analysis of the NBF revealed the presence of prototypic DAMP, high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), and other previously described DAMPs: biglycan, 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE), and receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). ELISA of the NBF revealed increasing levels of inflammatory cytokines IL1β, IL6 and TNFα with the temporal progression of osteonecrosis. To determine the effects of NBF on MSC differentiation, we cultured primary porcine MSCs with NBF obtained by in vivo necrotic bone flushing method. NBF inhibited osteoblastic differentiation of MSCs with significantly decreased OSX expression (p = 0.008) and Von Kossa/Alizarin Red staining for mineralization. NBF also significantly increased the expression of proliferation markers Ki67 (p = 0.03) and PCNA (p
Neuroprotective Role of Acidosis in Ischemia: Review of the Preclinical Evidence

Efforts to develop effective neuroprotective therapies for ischemic stroke have had little success to date. One promising approach to neuroprotection is ischemic postconditioning, which utilizes brief bouts of ischemia after acute ischemic stroke to elicit neuroprotection, although the mechanism is largely unknown. As the primary components of transient ischemia are local hypoxia and acidosis, and hypoxic postconditioning has had little success, it is possible that the acidosis component may be the primary driver. To address the evidence behind this, we performed a systematic review of preclinical studies focused on the neuroprotective role of transient acidosis after ischemia. Animal studies demonstrated that mild-to-moderate acidosis after ischemic events led to better functional neurologic outcomes with reduced infarct volumes, while severe acidosis often led to cerebral edema and worse functional outcomes. In vitro studies demonstrated that mild-to-moderate acidosis improves neuronal survival largely through two means: (1) inhibition of harmful superoxide formation in the excitotoxic pathway and (2) remodeling neuronal mitochondria to allow for efficient ATP production (i.e., oxidative phosphorylation), even in the absence of oxygen. Similar to the animal studies, acidotic postconditioning in humans would entail short cycles of carbon dioxide inhalation, which has already been demonstrated to be safe as part of a hypercapnic challenge when measuring cerebrovascular reactivity. Due to the preclinical efficacy of acidotic postconditioning, its relatively straightforward translation into humans, and the growing need for neuroprotective therapies, future preclinical studies should focus on filling the current knowledge gaps that are currently restricting the development of phase I/II clinical trials.
Gender Diversity, Relationship Conflict, and Satisfaction: The Powerful Moderating Role of Climate for Inclusion

Using data collected from 1,324 employees working within 100 departments of a biomedical company that was interested in understanding the factors that could help mitigate problems associated with gender diversity, I tested the hypotheses that the climate for inclusion of departments would moderate both the relationship between gender diversity and relationship conflict, as well as the relationship between relationship conflict and department-level satisfaction. Results provided strong support for these hypotheses. Levels of relationship conflict were lower in gender diverse groups characterized by a strong climate for inclusion compared to gender diverse groups with a weak climate for inclusion. Furthermore, in those departments with a strong climate for inclusion, the negative relationship between relationship conflict and satisfaction that has been consistently found in the literature was reversed. Relationship conflict was actually associated with higher levels of satisfaction.
Pheochromocytoma in a four-year-old child

Summary The clinical course and management of a 4-year-old child with hypertension due to a functionally active pheocromocytoma is described. The tumor was localized by intravenous pyelography and presacral air insufflation. Renal function was studied by the clearance technique in the pre- and postoperative periods. The diagnostic response of our patient to both piperoxan and Regitine is described. Subsequent to successful operative removal of the tumor, the patient's abnormal signs and symptoms disappeared. Sixteen cases of hypertension due to pheochromocytoma collected from the literature are reviewed. The typical findings in children appear in every aspect similar to those found in adults with functionally active pheochromocytoma, as described by various authors.
Using a Neural Network to Approximate an Ensemble of Classifiers

Several methods (e.g., Bagging, Boosting) of constructing and combining an ensemble of classifiers have recently been shown capable of improving accuracy of a class of commonly used classifiers (e.g., decision trees, neural networks). The accuracy gain achieved, however, is at the expense of a higher requirement for storage and computation. This storage and computation overhead can decrease the utility of these methods when applied to real-world situations. In this Letter, we propose a learning approach which allows a single neural network to approximate a given ensemble of classifiers. Experiments on a large number of real-world data sets show that this approach can substantially save storage and computation while still maintaining accuracy similar to that of the entire ensemble.
Deconstructing the International Business Cycle: Why Does a U.S. Sneeze Give the Rest of the World a Cold?

The 2008 crisis underscored the interconnectedness of the international business cycle, with U.S. shocks leading to the largest global slowdown since the 1930s. We estimate spillover effects across major advanced country regions in a structural VAR (SVAR) using pre-crisis data. Our new method freely estimates the contemporaneous correlation matrix for underlying shocks in the VAR and (uniquely, to our knowledge) the associated uncertainty. Our results suggest that the international business cycle is largely driven by U.S. financial shocks with a significant impact from global shocks, mainly reflecting commodity prices. Other advanced economic regions play a much smaller and regional role in growth spillovers. Our findings are consistent with the emerging evidence on the current crisis.
Global potential energy surfaces for the Al+(1S)+H2 system

Global, three-dimensional multireference ab initio potential energy surfaces have been calculated for the AlH2+ system for the two lowest energy singlet states and the lowest energy triplet state. These surfaces were calculated using the multireference configuration interaction level of theory with a large basis set. The accuracy of the surfaces were checked against available experimental data and previous theoretical investigations. The areas of surface crossings between the ground state singlet surface and the lowest energy triplet surface and the first excited singlet surface have been thoroughly investigated in all three dimensions and found to give rise to two regions of surface crossings--an "early" crossing (reduced H2 distance) and a "late" crossing (enlarged H2 distance). It is anticipated that both of these crossings will be important in modeling the dynamics of the system. Each of the global potential energy surfaces were fit by interpolation methodology to obtain analytic representations of the surfaces. A representative classical simulation on the ground state singlet surface was performed and discussed.
Speculation, Trading, and Bubbles

As long as there have been financial markets, there have been bubbles—those moments in which asset prices inflate far beyond their intrinsic value, often with ruinous results. Yet economists are slow to agree on the underlying forces behind these events. In this book Jose A. Scheinkman offers new insight into the mystery of bubbles. Noting some general characteristics of bubbles—such as the rise in trading volume and the coincidence between increases in supply and bubble implosions—Scheinkman offers a model, based on differences in beliefs among investors, that explains these observations. Other top economists also offer their own thoughts on the issue: Sanford J. Grossman and Patrick Bolton expand on Scheinkman's discussion by looking at factors that contribute to bubbles—such as excessive leverage, overconfidence, mania, and panic in speculative markets—and Kenneth J. Arrow and Joseph E. Stiglitz contextualize Scheinkman's findings.
Air/ground data communication radios for future ATM

• Satcom is a perfect candidate to help address the future ATM air/ground datalink needs • There are however some critical issues impacting the future air/ground comms development: - Uncertain requirements for the long term air/ground ATM communications and the need for alignment between the development of ATM datalink applications (top-down requirements) and enabling air/ground communication technologies (bottom-up enablers). - Possible VDLm2 limitations and the need for complementing VDLm2 in continental Europe by other systems. - Differences in ATN deployment roadmaps in EU and US with regards to ATN technologies (ATN/OSI versus ATN/IPS) impacting the required functionality of the underlying air/ground subnetworks • The issues are being actively addressed by number of programs (SESAR, CleanSky and ESA in Europe) and standardization bodies (EUROCAE WG-82, AEEC, RTCA)
Automatic current sharing mechanism in the series capacitor buck converter

This study examines the mechanism and effectiveness of current sharing in a multiphase, series capacitor buck converter. The automatic current sharing mechanism is inherent to the series capacitor buck topology and uniquely utilizes its series capacitor. Unlike conventional multiphase buck converters, current sharing is achieved without any current sensing circuits or added external control loops. Analysis of the automatic current sharing mechanism explains its robustness to variations in inductance, dc resistance (DCR), and temperature. Unequal control switch on-times are found to have measurable impact on sharing accuracy. Results from a two-phase, 12 V input, 10 A output hardware prototype demonstrate the simple, highly accurate current sharing capabilities of the series capacitor buck converter. Experimental results for unequal on-times exhibit unmatched average currents but stable operation with a dc offset.
Motion control of musculoskeletal systems with redundancy

Motion control of musculoskeletal systems for functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a challenging problem due to the inherent complexity of the systems. These include being highly nonlinear, strongly coupled, time-varying, time-delayed, and redundant. The redundancy in particular makes it difficult to find an inverse model of the system for control purposes. We have developed a control system for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) redundant musculoskeletal systems with little prior information. The proposed method separates the steady-state properties from the dynamic properties. The dynamic control uses a steady-state inverse model and is implemented with both a PID controller for disturbance rejection and an artificial neural network (ANN) feedforward controller for fast trajectory tracking. A mechanism to control the sum of the muscle excitation levels is also included. To test the performance of the proposed control system, a two degree of freedom ankle–subtalar joint model with eight muscles was used. The simulation results show that separation of steady-state and dynamic control allow small output tracking errors for different reference trajectories such as pseudo-step, sinusoidal and filtered random signals. The proposed control method also demonstrated robustness against system parameter and controller parameter variations. A possible application of this control algorithm is FES control using multiple contact cuff electrodes where mathematical modeling is not feasible and the redundancy makes the control of dynamic movement difficult.
SHAPE IN REVEALED MENTAL MAPS

Shape is an integral part of the spatial information contained in mental maps. A central problem in isolating shape representations in revealed mental maps is to expunge the measurement effects we incorporate into the data during analysis. Using two independent data sets derived from portrayed shapes of Africa, factor analytic tests indicate that we can separate measurement error from systematic misrepresentations of the African shape. Independently derived factor structures reflect the tendency for subjects to represent the shape of Africa as a regular geometric form.
Can calmodulin function without binding calcium

Abstract Calmodulin is a small Ca 2+ -binding protein proposed to act as the intracellular Ca 2+ receptor that translates Ca 2+ signals into cellular responses. We have constructed mutant yeast calmodulins in which the Ca 2+ -binding loops have been altered by site-directed mutagenesis. Each of the mutant proteins has a dramatically reduced affinity for Ca 2+ ; one does not bind detectable levels of 45 Ca 2+ either during gel filtration or when bound to a solid support. Furthermore, none of the mutant proteins change conformation even in the presence of high Ca 2+ concentrations. Surprisingly, yeast strains relying on any of the mutant calmodulins not only survive but grow well. In contrast, yeast strains deleted for the calmodulin gene are not viable. Thus, calmodulin is required for growth, but it can perform its essential function without the apparent ability to bind Ca 2+ .
Structure of a human Clara cell phospholipid-binding protein-ligand complex at 1.9 Å resolution

The Clara cell phospholipid-binding protein, previously referred to as CC10, is a homodimeric protein of Mr 15, 800. It is secreted into the bronchioalveolar lining layer in mammalian lung. A combination of X-ray crystallography and chemical analysis was used to determine that phosphatidylcholine and phophatidylinositol are bound to the protein as isolated from human lung lavage. We now report the crystal structure of the protein–phospholipid complex at 1.9 A resolution. The phospholipid is bound inside the protein's large hydrophobic cavity. A model is proposed for the manner in which a channel may open to provide access to the cavity, allowing the binding or potential release of phospholipid.
A particle interaction model of reversible organic chemical sorption

Utilisation d'un modele empirique pour estimer quantitativement le coefficient de partage du composant organique reversiblement adsorbe et essais pour relier celui-ci aux proprietes chimiques et aux proprietes des particules (suspensions, sediments, etc)
Sacred Journey, by Frederick Buechner

God speaks to us most powerfully, says author Frederick Buechner, through the places in which we live and visit, the people we know, and in the events of our lives. Read about Buechner’s masterful little book, The Sacred Journey.
Basic physical mechanisms determining performance of the CH3F laser

Abstract This paper summarizes the results of a series of diagnostic experiments which clarify the basic physical mechanisms of the CH 3 F laser. Theoretical predictions of laser performance are compared with experimental data.
The Goldfish as a Potentially Useful Animal for Testing Neurotoxicity of Antibiotics

Abstract Goldfish (Carassius auratus) exposed to appropriate concentrations of streptomycin evidence difficulty in maintaining equilibrium. Associated with this symptom of toxicity is a pronounced increase in the electrical current required to elicit the normal galvanotropic response. Dihydrostreptomycin does not induce similar effects during exposure of the animals for twenty days, although derangement of equilibrium occurs several months later. Other antibiotics, such as penicillin andTerra- mycin,* 1 do not elicit such responses. The goldfish may be a useful test animal in screening drugs for neurotoxicity, with special reference to the VIII cranial nerve, in man.
Observations on the Application of the Nitroprusside Test to Heated Milk

Summary The procedure of Josephson and Doan (7) for the nitroprusside test was found to be satisfactory in its application to heated milk when the factor of temperature was controlled. For optimum results, samples should be cooled to 20° C. or lower before subjecting them to the test. Experiments utilizing the nitroprusside test as an indicator of sulfhydryl behavior demonstrated that these groups disappear in skim milk heated for prolonged periods at high temperatures. This disappearance depends upon a reaction involving lactose and casein and is correlated with the development of caramelized flavor and browning. The distribution of sulfhydryl substances in heated skim milk was studied, using the nitroprusside test. These substances associate themselves physically and/or chemically with the casein in heated skimmilk. This phenomenon may be an important factor in explaining the soft curd characteristics of highly heated milk.