cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cognitive Psychologists as Expert Witnesses A Problem in Professional Ethics

The first part of this paper defines a central problem for professional ethics: whether agents in professional roles are to act on their own moral perceptions or rather defer to those with special authority to make decisions within particular institutional settings. Specifically, should the psychologist decide for himself whether and how to testify as an expert witness, or should he allow the judge and lawyer to settle these questions for him? I argue that he must decide for himself and attempt to control the nature of his testimony. Given this preliminary conclusion, the second part of the paper argues on direct moral grounds first for a general presumption in favor of psychologists' testimony on the accuracy of eyewitnesses. Such testimony fits the legal criterion of reasonable doubt, if the psychologists' information is more accurate than that of the average juror and lawyer. Second, it is argued that the expert witness must resist intense adversarial pressures and present his testimony as impartially and objectively as possible.
The Structure of Continuous Spectrum of Transversal Perturbation Wave in Atmosphere

The spectrum and spectral function of the mesoscale wave are studied by using nonstatic quasi-two-dimensional Boussinesq equations.It is supposed that basic flow is only the function of z.The equations are linearized with definite condition,and then the initial value and boundary value problems are changed into the eigenvalue problem of generalized matrix after assuming normal mode solution.The spectrum and spectral function of transversal disturbance in atmosphere are studied by using the numerical method when the vertical linear shear of basic flow exists and the stratification parameter is constant.The results of numerical calculation and theoretical analysis are discussed and compared.When the continuous spectrum areas of three waves do not overlap,the numerical solution is consistent with the analytic solution.But when continuous spectrum areas overlap each other,the structure of the continuous spectrum would be gotten by using the method of recombining spectral function.The basic principle of recombining is that,in the continuous spectrum overlapping area the spectral function of numerical solution is preprocessed,and then the running mean is calculated for the frequency consecutive spectrum and spectral function,and the running mean results are regarded as spectrum and spectral function after recombination.From the results of the spectrum and spectral function after recombination it can be seen that the structure of the disturbance is a hybrid wave of vortex wave and inertia-gravitational wave,that is,new wave mode appears.In the overlapping area of three waves of the continuous spectrum,the spectral function of the hybrid wave has the critical layer of vortex wave in the middle troposphere,which shows the character of vortex wave,and have the critical layers of inertia-gravitational waves along and against the basic flow propagation in the upper troposphere and the lower troposphere,respectively,which shows the character of inertia-gravitational wave.
Getting from "Keep Out" to "Lean In": A New Roadmap for Women's Careers

Forty years ago, a generation of American women embarked on careers they had never anticipated, knowing almost nothing about what their futures would be like. Now these pioneers are nearing retirement. A lifetime of results are in, and debate is raging about women’s progress, what they can do, what they should do, what hinders them and what remedies to try. We have excellent scholarship on many of these issues, but precious little on what women’s careers actually look like in the long term. We need much better tools to help women envision their futures, clarify alternatives and make choices that will be both viable and right for them over the course of their working lives. This study offers a new model for understanding women’s career development through adulthood. The research is grounded in biographical interviews with 40 women born between 1945 and 1955, from four occupations and a spectrum of socio-economic and ethnic/racial backgrounds. Case histories are used to describe participants’ careers, and to illuminate two life-long developmental tasks: the internal work of forming a vocational identity, and the external work of navigating a career. For women, accomplishing those tasks is complicated by a dilemma imposed by conflicting prescriptions about gender roles—between ambition (choosing a goal and going all-out for it) and drift (taking whatever comes along). Analysis of participants’ responses to the tasks and dilemma over time showed that they followed six career trajectories, distinct pathways that emerged from the astonishing complexity and diversity of their individual histories. Virtually all the women in this study found satisfying careers that exceeded their youthful expectations, even those with floundering beginnings and delayed outcomes. Findings also illuminate the role of confidence in women’s career leaps, and a heretoforeundescribed resource for helping women grow and achieve, the Developmental Community. Implications are drawn for individuals, organizations, research and theory. Acknowledgements: I am grateful to the forty women who so generously shared their life stories for this research. I am also indebted to many colleagues, friends, and family members—above all, my husband, Kelin Gersick—for their thoughtful comments.
Health Care Access and Utilization after the 2010 Pakistan Floods.

UNLABELLED Introduction The 2010 floods submerged more than one-fifth of Pakistan's land area and affected more than 20 million people. Over 1.6 million homes were damaged or destroyed and 2,946 direct injuries and 1,985 deaths were reported. Infrastructure damage was widespread, including critical disruptions to the power and transportation networks. Hypothesis Damage and loss of critical infrastructure will affect the population's ability to seek and access adequate health care for years to come. This study sought to evaluate factors associated with access to health care in the aftermath of the 2010 Pakistan floods. METHODS A population-proportional, randomized cluster-sampling survey method with 80 clusters of 20 (1,600) households of the flood-affected population was used. Heads of households were surveyed approximately six months after flood onset. Multivariate analysis was used to determine significance. RESULTS A total of 77.8% of households reported needing health services within the first month after the floods. Household characteristics, including rural residence location, large household size, and lower pre- and post-flood income, were significantly associated (P<.05) with inadequate access to health care after the disaster. Households with inadequate access to health care were more likely to have a death or injury in the household. Significantly higher odds of inadequate access to health care were observed in rural populations (adjusted OR 4.26; 95% CI, 1.89-9.61). CONCLUSION Adequate health care access after the 2010 Pakistani floods was associated with urban residence location, suggesting that locating health care providers in rural areas may be difficult. Access to health services also was associated with post-flood income level, suggesting health resources are not readily available to households suffering great income losses. Jacquet GA , Kirsch T , Durrani A , Sauer L , Doocy S . Health care access and utilization after the 2010 Pakistan floods. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(5):485-491.
Maternal autoimmune disease and birth defects in the National Birth Defects Prevention Study

Background Little is known about the association between maternal autoimmune disease or its treatment and the risk of birth defects. We examined these associations using data from the National Birth Defects Prevention Study, a multi-site, population-based, case–control study. Methods Analyses included 25,116 case and 9897 unaffected control infants with estimated delivery dates between 1997 and 2009. Information on autoimmune disease, medication use, and other pregnancy exposures was collected by means of telephone interview. Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for birth defects with five or more exposed cases; crude ORs and exact 95% CIs were estimated for birth defects with three to four exposed cases. Results Autoimmune disease was reported by 373 mothers (279 case and 94 control mothers). The majority of birth defects evaluated were not associated with autoimmune disease; however, a statistically significant association between maternal autoimmune disease and encephalocele was observed (OR, 4.64; 95% CI, 1.95–11.04). Eighty-two mothers with autoimmune disease used an immune modifying/suppressing medication during pregnancy; this was associated with encephalocele (OR, 7.26; 95% CI, 1.37–24.61) and atrial septal defects (OR, 3.01; 95% CI, 1.16–7.80). Conclusion Our findings suggest maternal autoimmune disease and treatment are not associated with the majority of birth defects, but may be associated with some defects, particularly encephalocele. Given the low prevalence of individual autoimmune diseases and the rare use of specific medications, we were unable to examine associations of specific autoimmune diseases and medications with birth defects. Other studies are needed to confirm these findings. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 106:950–962, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Data privacy concerns involving cloud

Cloud Computing is in widespread use today because of its many benefits. One of the early concerns was security and it has been shown in multiple studies that cloud security is significantly enhanced by the use of cloud service. Organizations are able to enhance security because of the advanced features that a cloud service provider is able to provide. The availability of high-end resources for all users of cloud services requires making adjustments to business processes. The main thrust of this paper is to show that when business processes involve the use of cloud then there is the potential for the loss of privacy. We will address this aspect extensively in this paper and suggest some solutions to preserve privacy of individuals and organizations. One aspect of this involves the use of Big Data in the cloud. We will point out that the benefits of using the cloud for large volume storage and handling multiple sources of data. Big Data involves not only having access to a vast collection of data from multiple sources but also the ability to combine them to draw conclusions. When data collected by a particular source alone is available, it may not violate the privacy of individuals. We have to view this in light of the ability to re-identify individuals based on the volume of data available from multiple sources.
Content analysis of postings in a stomach cancer survivor and caregiver support group on Facebook.

223 Background: Patients diagnosed with cancer are increasingly turning to patient created social media groups to connect with others suffering from similar conditions. These groups allow sharing of information and support between their members, without involving medical or mental health professionals. This study examines the content of communications within one of these groups in order to identify the needs these groups are addressing, and in order to explore implications for mental health. Methods: This study focuses on a single Facebook group for stomach cancer patients and caregivers which has grown from 239 members a year ago to 1,128 members now and which has been operating for about four years. Two thirds of members are cancer patients, and the rest are caregivers. About 75% of members are from the US. The age range is 40-79, with a mean of 54. Members are 55% women, and 80% are middle class. Most members have been in the group for six to twelve months. The site averages about five original posts a...
How Important is Neutral Carbon to an Understanding of the Dense Interstellar Medium

In virtually all of the dense interstellar medium, H2 is the most abundant form of hydrogen, but it is not directly observable in the bulk of the gas. As a result, we are forced to use trace constituents of the gas as surrogates when we want to know the distribution of material in the dense ISM. Most commonly, we employ the lowest few rotational transitions of CO and its isotopes as the trace species. One of the most hotly debated issues in the study of the molecular ISM is the extent to which one can trust CO or isotopic CO lines to reflect reliably the underlying H2 distribution (see Shier, Rieke, & Rieke (1994), Sodroski et al. (1995) for recent comments on the I(12CO)/N(H2) ratio and Lada et al. (1994) for a recent analysis of the relationship between isotopic CO and total cloud column densities). CO becomes increasingly unreliable as a tracer of H2 as the average column density between cloud surfaces exposed to ultraviolet photons and the shielded centers of clouds becomes smaller. Young stars in the galactic plane perfuse atomic and molecular clouds with far-UV (λ > 91 nm) radiation. This radiation tends to dissociate CO more readily than it dissociates H2 (Van Dishoeck & Black 1988). The differences in susceptibility of H2 and CO to photo dissociation may lead to the existence of significant portions of the molecular medium where the usual trace species are underabundant or even absent. In addition, there is dense H I at the cloud boundaries, immediately outside the molecular material.
An Introduction to the Neuropsychology of African Children Within a Co-constructivist Paradigm

This chapter provides an introductory overview of the chapters in this book. As it does so, it notes whether the overall emphasis of a particular chapter is on methodology, scientific result, or a theoretical construct in the context of the neuropsychology of African children. Each chapter overview also characterizes the principal contributions of the chapter using Li’s (Psychol Bull 129(2):171–194, 2003) dynamic biocultural co-constructivist paradigm for understanding the orchestration of developmental plasticity in brain/behavior development. Li’s framework is useful because it is a comprehensive, multilevel, interactive, and dynamic approach to brain/behavior development in children. Within this overview chapter, Li’s co-constructivist paradigm is also used to characterize the principal levels within this brain/behavior development approach emphasized by each chapter (gene, brain, culture). These include illustrations of interactions in brain/behavior development at the culture–brain, culture–gene, and gene–brain levels. The contributions of the chapters in this book evidence how a comprehensive overview of the neuropsychology of African children in the public health context, when considered within a co-constructivist framework, can provide a new and powerful vantage point for the universal advancement of brain–behavior science in children.
Controlling the Temperature Dependence

Temperature variations affect system speed, power, and reliability by altering the threshold voltage (V T ), mobility (μ), and saturation velocity (v sat ) in each device [1, 2]. The resulting changes in device current can cause a number of reliability issues such as delay uncertainty. The extent of the temperature variations depends on the application; for example, on-chip temperature gradients of up to 50°C have been reported [3], while the US military requires ICs to function over a wide range of environmental conditions, from −55°C to 125°C [4].
Introduction to Exciton Physics

Nonmetallic solids have a band gap in the one-electron picture. When particle interactions are considered, a large number of bound electron-hole states are found within the gap. These states, called excitons, play a large role in determining the optical properties of nonmetals. We discuss the electronic structure of excitons, their interactions with phonons and photons, and their further role of transporting excitation energy.
Experienced Life Cycle Satisfaction in Europe

The average pattern of experienced life satisfaction over the life cycle for the 17 European countries included in this study resembles a wave like M-shape that is positively tilted. The M-shape arises because many of the countries share the following characteristics: a local maximum in life satisfaction around age 30, a local minimum at age 50, and declining life satisfaction after age 75. It is also commonly the case that male life satisfaction improves relative to female life satisfaction as people age, and more educated people report higher levels of life satisfaction throughout the life cycle. Although these characteristics are shared by many of the countries, there is no uniform life cycle pattern in life satisfaction across all countries. The analysis includes cohort controls, is nonparametric, and uses a single dataset (Eurobarometer) and the same methodology for all countries.
Defect-induced oxygen adsorption on graphene films

Abstract Although defects on graphene can degrade electron transport and its ability for use as a protection layer, they can also be helpful to tailor the local properties or activate new sites for particular adsorbates. Here, carbon vacancy defects are formed in graphene films on Ru(0001) using low energy Ar+ bombardment and the materials are then reacted at room temperature with oxygen (O2). Helium low energy ion scattering shows that no oxygen attaches to the intact graphene layer. When isolated single carbon vacancy defects are present, oxygen adsorbs molecularly at the defect sites and intercalates beneath the graphene overlayer after post-annealing at 600 K. When the defects are large enough to consist of open areas of bare substrate, the oxygen dissociatively chemisorbs to the Ru. This work shows that the adsorption depends on the size of the surface vacancies, and that it is important to have defect-free graphene when using it as a protection layer.
Abstract 14942: Identification of Truncation Mutations in PKP2-Encoded Plakophilin-2 in Patients With Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular Tachycardia and Decedents With Autopsy Negative Sudden Death in the Young

Background: Mutations in plakophilin-2 (PKP2) cause arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. Recently, a cardiomyocyte-specific PKP2 knockout mouse model revealed that loss of PKP2 markedly reduces expression of genes critical in intracellular calcium handling. The mice, with structurally normal hearts, exhibited isoproterenol-triggered polymorphic ventricular arrhythmias that mimicked catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT). Therefore, we speculated that radical PKP2 mutations might underlie some cases of CPVT and exercise-associated autopsy negative sudden death in the young (ANSDY). Methods: A PKP2 gene mutational analysis was performed on DNA from 18 unrelated patients with genotype ( RYR2 , CASQ2, and KCNJ2 ) negative CPVT (9 males, average age at diagnosis 19.6 ± 12.8 years) and 19 decedents with ANSDY during exercise (13 males, average age at death, 14 ± 3 years). Only radical (i.e. frame-shift or nonsense) mutations with a minor allele frequency of ≤ 0.00005 in the genome aggregation database (gnomAD) were considered pathogenic. Results: Radical PKP2 mutations were identified in 5/18 (27.7%) patients with CPVT and 1/19 (5.3%) exercise-related ANSDY cases compared to 96/138,632 (0.069%) individuals in gnomAD (p=3.1 x10 -13 ). A R79X mutation was identified in both a 17-year-old female and a 12-year-old male with syncope while playing soccer. An E85fs mutation was identified in a 28-year-old female with cardiac arrest while jogging. An A418fs mutation was identified in a 19-year-old male with a history of syncope during exercise and a family history of ANSDY. An N634fs mutation was identified in a 16-year-old male that died during football drills. An H689fs mutation was identified in a 15-year-old female with exercise-induced ventricular fibrillation. Cardiac imaging or autopsy demonstrated a structurally normal heart in all patients at the time of diagnosis or sudden death. Conclusions: Our data suggests that the progression of the PKP2-dependent electrical disorder can be independent of structural perturbations and can precipitate sudden cardiac arrest prior to the presence of an overt cardiomyopathy akin to the PKP2 knockout out mouse model. Thus, the CPVT genetic test panel should now include PKP2 .
Benzocyclobutadienes: An Unusual Mode of Access Reveals Unusual Modes of Reactivity

The reaction of an aryne with an alkyne to generate a benzocyclobutadiene (BCB) intermediate is rare. We report here examples of this reaction, revealed by Diels-Alder trapping of the BCB by either pendant or external electron-deficient alkynes. Mechanistic delineation of the reaction course is supported by DFT calculations. A three-component process joining the benzyne first with an electron-rich and then with an electron-poor alkyne was uncovered. Reactions in which the BCB functions in a rarely observed role as a 4π diene component in Diels-Alder reactions are reported. The results also shed new light on aspects of the hexadehydro-Diels-Alder reaction used to generate the benzynes.
Influence of Public Perceptions of Media Legality on Making Biopic Films

The symbolic presence of the law in everyday life influences the actions and beliefs of the general public. This perception of the law is carried into our daily lives, leading us often to act or not to act on a belief that something is or is not “legal.” Thus, the law determines a kind of “truth” in the sense that if it is allowed, then it must be legal and therefore provable, or true. This awareness includes our belief that information delivered via the public media has an obligation to be truthful and free from malicious or deceitful intent. This is especially true for information regarding the lives of individuals, including those who must live their lives in the public view. Thus, if we hear about famous and public figures on television or see their stories at the movies, we assume that, unless there is a strong disclaimer preceding the information, what we see and hear is true. This philosophical understanding of how the law draws boundaries around what can and cannot be included in a filmed biography greatly shapes the trust of viewers that filmmakers will present truthful and accurate portrayals of subjects of biopic films.
Blood pressure targets: still struggling for the right answer.

In the early 1970s, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute established the National High Blood Pressure Education Program, which was charged with providing recommendations for the diagnosis and management of hypertension. This resulted in the appearance in 1977 of the first report of the
LOCALIZED AND DELOCALIZED TUNNELING STATES

A rigorous connection between two familiar aspects of tunneling phenomena, spatial motion and energy splitting, can be made properly only with the help of an extended description involving off-diagonal density matrix elements. A qualitative account of such a connection is given and the conditions for safely using a spatial motion description are sketched.
Heme Oxygenase-1 Expression in Murine Dendritic Cell Subpopulations: Effect on CD8+ Dendritic Cell Differentiation in Vivo

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is a microsomal enzyme with antioxidant, antiapoptotic, and immunoregulatory functions. We studied the expression of HO-1 by bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and splenic DC subpopulations under quiescent conditions or following lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. The kinetics of HO-1 expression by BMDCs depended on the conditions under which they were propagated. Expression of HO-1 in mouse BMDCs in 100 U/ml GM-CSF peaked at 16 hours after LPS treatment and maintained expression for at least 48 hours. But cultures in 800 U/ml granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) showed peak expression by 16 hours that disappeared by 48 hours after LPS stimulation, similar to BMDCs cultured in both 100 U/ml GM-CSF and IL-4 (10 ng/ml). By flow cytometry, a large proportion of CD8+ splenic DCs strongly expressed HO-1, and this population significantly increased following LPS administration in vivo. In HO-1−/− mice, the proportion of splenic CD8+ DCs was significantly decreased in comparison with HO-1+/+ mice. In addition, a unique subpopulation of MHC II−CD11b+CD11c+ cells was prominent in HO-1−/− spleens. Injection of GFP-labeled HO-1+/+ splenic DC precursors into HO-1+/+ mice resulted in the generation of GFP+CD8+ DCs in the spleen after 5 days, but GFP+ CD8+ DCs failed to appear in HO-1−/− spleens. Conversely, GFP+HO-1−/− splenic cells also generated GFP+CD8+ DCs in HO-1+/+ mice. These results show that HO-1 is involved in splenic DC differentiation, and/or the homing of CD8+ splenic DC precursors appears to be dependent on HO-1 expression by the host.
Challenges and Opportunities in Composting Organic Waste

Minimizing waste generation and recycling have become the focus of governmental agencies in many countries to reduce human impact on the environment. With this focus, composting has received a high ranking in the hierarchy of recycling methods and continues to gain importance throughout the world for the conversion of organic by-products to new resources. Adoption of composting for capturing and recycling organics however is not without environmental and economic issues and requires approaches which manages the process from the cradle (source separation) to the grave (high value markets). This paper addresses the challenges and opportunities in composting organic matter. Its focus is on reducing operational cost and managing odors. Composting systems and principles are presented along with results of optimization studies based on engineering analysis as well as pilot scale and large scale composting studies. Results are from studies on many organics including, municipal solid waste (MSW), biosolids, short paper fiber (SPF), yard trimmings, and animal manures. A list of guidelines for developing and managing efficiently composting systems are presentedCompost value for growing plants, both as a fertilizer and biocontrol agent are outlined along with other uses in protecting the environment.
A randomized trial of multimedia-facilitated informed consent for cataract surgery.

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the value and role of patient's education videos in the informed consent process for patients undergoing preoperative assessment of cataracts. Design The study is a single-center prospective randomized controlled trial. Subjects participants and/or controls Participants enrolled in this study were specifically those undergoing first-time phacoemulsification cataract surgery with the placement of a monofocal lens implant. Participants and methods Subjects were randomized to either face-to-face surgeon-informed consent with a preceding education video or face-to-face surgeon-informed consent alone. Main outcome measures The main outcome measures assessed were time to complete the informed consent process, patient's satisfaction, and patient's comprehension. Results The video and control groups were similar in satisfaction (4.67±0.104 video vs. 4.53±0.133 control; P=0.43) and comprehension (79.4%±2.82% video vs. 79.3%±3.39% control; P=0.99). Counseling time was statistically significantly different (117.5±10.9 seconds video versus 241.6±13.0 seconds control; P Conclusion Use of a patient's education video for cataract surgery was associated with reduced physician counseling time yet similar comprehension and patient-reported satisfaction when compared with traditional counseling methods.
Robotic-arm assisted total hip arthroplasty.

Despite the overall successful track record of total hip arthroplasty (THA), there is still the potential for complications related to component malpositioning, such as leg length discrepancy, dislocations and early implant failures (1). A robotic-arm or any other tool that can help increase surgical reliability through enhanced planning, accuracy and precision of component placement may therefore be of added value.
Motivators and Barriers to Cooking and Refrigerator Thermometer Use among Consumers and Food Workers: A Review

ABSTRACT Temperature control prevents the rapid growth of foodborne pathogens during food storage and assures adequate heating to destroy pathogens prior to consumption. The use of thermometers is ...
Phosphorus-Rich Metal Phosphides: Direct and Tin Flux-Assisted Synthesis and Evaluation as Hydrogen Evolution Electrocatalysts.

Metal phosphides from the 3d period exhibit a range of structures and compositions. Many metal-rich phosphides and monophosphides function as heterogeneous electrocatalysts in the hydrogen evolution reaction. This paper describes the direct and tin flux-assisted synthesis of phosphorus-rich metal phosphides with MP2 or MP3 compositions. The facile synthesis of FeP2, CoP3, NiP2, and CuP2 is thermochemically driven by PCl3 formation from reactions of anhydrous metal halides and P4 vapor at 500 °C. Well-crystallized micrometer-sized particles result from these solvent-free reactions. A tin flux leads to more complete reactions at lower temperature for FeP2 and enables synthesis of a monoclinic polymorph of NiP2 rather than the kinetic cubic product formed by direct reaction. These crystalline metal phosphides are investigated as electrocatalyts for hydrogen evolution in acidic and buffered aqueous solutions. All phosphorus-rich products show very good stability in strongly acidic media. The catalytic activit...
Synthesis, stability and insecticidal activity of 2‐arylstilbenes

BACKGROUND: A chemical scaffold‐hopping approach from known 3‐hydroxyl‐3‐methylglutaryl‐CoA (HMG‐CoA) reductase inhibitors identified (E/Z)‐2‐arylstilbenes as novel insecticidal hits against two lepidopteran species, Spodoptera exigua and Trichoplusia ni. A structure–activity relationship (SAR) study of the aryl substituents and the E/Z conformations was carried out in an effort to improve insecticidal potency. RESULTS: A series of (E/Z)‐2‐arylstilbenes was prepared and separated to evaluate their insecticidal potency against lepidopterous species in diet‐feeding assays. The results showed that the (Z)‐2‐arylstilbenes were more active than their corresponding (E)‐isomers, and a stereoselective synthesis was utilized to expand the SAR of the (Z)‐2‐arylstilbenes. (Z)‐4'‐Fluoro‐3′‐methyl‐2‐(2,4‐difluorostyryl)‐4‐fluoro‐5‐methoxy‐1,1′‐biphenyl was the most potent analog in this study with strong activity against S. exigua, T. ni, Helicoverpa zea, Plutella xylostella and Pseudoplusia includens. CONCLUSION: The (Z)‐2‐arylstilbenes were found to have strong insecticidal potency against five lepidopteran species. Ultimately, synthetic efforts could not improve insecticidal potency to commercial levels, and a lack of UV stability led to efforts being discontinued. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry
Material Characterization-Based Wear Mechanism Investigation for Biomass Hammer Mills

Biomass, as harvested, is composed of inorganic compounds both intrinsically and extrinsically and can be quite abrasive. The present study investigates the wear modes and mechanisms of two types of blades of hammer mills used in biomass size reduction (impacting particle size and distribution) and densification (impacting size, shape, and density). The dominant wear modes for the stage 1 steel blades are determined to be erosive and polishing wear. For the stage 2 blades with a carbide weld overlay, the main wear mechanisms are erosion and fracture. Partial replacement of Co by Fe in the outer layer of carbide grits, likely induced by diffusion during the high-temperature welding, has been correlated to the microcracking observed. The microcracking is believed to weaken the grit strength and fracture toughness and make the overlay prone to fracture and erosion due to repetitive contact with the inorganic contents in chopping biomass.
Reconsidering Conflicts over Gene Patents in View of Taiwan Patent Law

This article discusses the legal and policy issues arising out of gene patents in light of the United States Supreme Court's Myriad decision. There are alternatives to an outright ban on all gene p...
A discussion on the structure and evolution of the Red Sea and the nature of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Ethiopia rift junction - Interpretation of satellite photographs of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden

Geological structures observed in Gemini and Apollo colour photographs suggest that large-scale translational movements could have taken place in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In the northern Red Sea the apparent displacement of two pairs of shear zones and three pairs of serpentinite belts is consistent with a movement of Arabia towards the NNE of some 150 km. In the southern part of the Red Sea evidence of displacement is derived from correlation of Precambrian trend-lines, particularly at points where there is an abrupt change in the regional grain; at Ras Kasr-Al Lith (latitudes 18° N and 20° N) the total movement could be 225 km. Across the Gulf of Aden observations are in general agreement with the pre-Miocene fit proposed by Laughton (1965). Study of satellite photographs provide the following additional evidence: (1) The continuity of the Hadramawt folds (southern Arabia) in the Somali Plateau; the southern Hadramawt arch appears to be extended in the northern Somali arch. (2) Pre-drift correlation of several fault zones of WNW-ESE trend across the Gulf. The NE-SW faults, on the other hand, show poor correlation across the Gulf and appear to be related to fault lineaments within the Gulf of Aden. Across the Strait of Bab El Mandeb geological and morphological similarities in the distribution of Quaternary sediments, volcanic fields, intervening alluvial deposits, fault and drainage lineaments suggest a left-lateral displacement of Arabia some 40 km to the NNE since the Plio-Pleistocene. Such a movement could have resulted in the final opening of the Bab El Mandeb Strait.
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome

Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) syndrome is a rare multisystem autoimmune disease affecting the eyes, brain, inner ear, and skin.
COVID-19 scenarios for the United States

The United States (US) has not been spared in the ongoing pandemic of novel coronavirus disease. COVID-19, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), continues to cause death and disease in all 50 states, as well as significant economic damage wrought by the non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) adopted in attempts to control transmission. We use a deterministic, Susceptible, Exposed, Infectious, Recovered (SEIR) compartmental framework to model possible trajectories of SARS-CoV-2 infections and the impact of NPI at the state level. Model performance was tested against reported deaths from 01 February to 04 July 2020. Using this SEIR model and projections of critical driving covariates (pneumonia seasonality, mobility, testing rates, and mask use per capita), we assessed some possible futures of the COVID-19 pandemic from 05 July through 31 December 2020. We explored future scenarios that included feasible assumptions about NPIs including social distancing mandates (SDMs) and levels of mask use. The range of infection, death, and hospital demand outcomes revealed by these scenarios show that action taken during the summer of 2020 will have profound public health impacts through to the year end. Encouragingly, we find that an emphasis on universal mask use may be sufficient to ameliorate the worst effects of epidemic resurgences in many states. Masks may save as many as 102,795 (55,898-183,374) lives, when compared to a plausible reference scenario in December. In addition, widespread mask use may markedly reduce the need for more socially and economically deleterious SDMs.
Inhibition of focal adhesion kinase increases myofibril viscosity in cardiac myocytes

The coordinated generation of mechanical forces by cardiac myocytes is required for proper heart function. Myofibrils are the functional contractile units of force production within individual cardiac myocytes. At the molecular level, myosin motors form cross-bridges with actin filaments and use ATP to convert chemical energy into mechanical forces. The energetic efficiency of the cross-bridge cycle is influenced by the viscous damping of myofibril contraction. The viscoelastic response of myofibrils is an emergent property of their individual mechanical components. Previous studies have implicated titin-actin interactions, cell-ECM adhesion, and microtubules as regulators of the viscoelastic response of myofibrils. Here we probed the viscoelastic response of myofibrils using laser-assisted dissection. As a proof-of-concept, we found actomyosin contractility was required to endow myofibrils with their viscoelastic response, with blebbistatin treatment resulting in decreased myofibril tension and viscous damping. Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a key regulator of cell-ECM adhesion, microtubule stability, and myofibril assembly. We found inhibition of FAK signaling altered the viscoelastic properties of myofibrils. Specifically, inhibition of FAK resulted in increased viscous damping of myofibril retraction following laser ablation. This damping was not associated with acute changes in the electrophysiological properties of cardiac myocytes. These results implicate FAK as a regulator of mechanical properties of myofibrils.
Measurements of atmospheric He/N 2 as an indicator of fossil fuel extraction and stratospheric circulation

Abstract. The atmospheric He/N2 ratio is expected to be increasing due to the emission of He associated with fossil fuels and is expected to also vary in both space and time due to gravitational separation in the stratosphere. These signals may be useful indicators of fossil-fuel exploitation and variability in stratospheric circulation, but direct measurements of He/N2 ratio are lacking on all time scales. Here we present a high-precision custom inlet system for mass spectrometers that continuously stabilizes the flow of gas during sample-standard comparison and removes all non-noble gases from the gas stream, enabling unprecedented accuracy in measurement of relative changes in the 4He/N2 ratio. Repeat measurements of the same combination of high-pressure tanks using our inlet system achieves a reproducibility of ~ 10 per meg (i.e. 0.001 %) in 6–8 h analyses. This compares to interannual changes of He/N2 gravitational enrichment at ~ 35 km in the mid latitude stratosphere of order 300–400 per meg, and an annual tropospheric increase from human fossil fuel activity of less than ~ 30 per meg y−1 (bounded by previous work on helium isotopes). The gettering and flow-stabilizing inlet may also be used for the analysis of other noble gas isotopes and could resolve previously unobserved seasonal cycles in Kr/N2 and Xe/N2.
We are All Leaders: Introducing Self-Leadership Concepts Through the Lens of Improving Diversity in the Health Care Workforce.

Introduction Increasing faculty and leader diversity has been recommended as a way for health care organizations to achieve cultural competence in their patient care mission. Given the low numbers ...
Trends in adult congenital heart disease hospitalization in Texas over the past decade

Abstract Background There are more than 1.4 million adult congenital heart disease (ACHD) patients estimated in the United States. As this population continues to grow, as will their utilization of the healthcare system. Objectives This study aims to analyze trends in discharges of ACHD patients in the state of Texas from 2009 through 2018. Methods This is a retrospective review of the Texas Inpatient Discharge Public Use File from 2009 through 2018. Discharges from acute care hospitals of patients ≥18 years of age with an International Classification of Diseases 9 or 10 diagnosis code consistent with a CHD diagnosis which could be categorized by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology lesion severity score (LSS). Isolated atrial septal defect and congenital aortic valve insufficiency diagnoses were excluded from the analysis. Results A total of 10,515 ACHD discharges were identified. Annual discharges increased from 930 to 1,315, a 41% increase during the study period (p-trend Conclusions ACHD discharges have shown a significant and steady growth in number and complexity over the past 10 years representing a need for continued development of robust ACHD specialized care resources.
Host protease activity on bacterial pathogens promotes complement- and antibiotic-directed killing

ABSTRACT Our understanding of how the host immune system thwarts bacterial evasive mechanisms remains incomplete. Here, we show that host protease neutrophil elastase acts on Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa to destroy factors that prevent serum-associated, complement-directed killing. The protease activity also enhances bacterial susceptibility to antibiotics in sera. These findings implicate a new paradigm where host protease activity on bacteria acts synergistically with the host complement system and antibiotics to defeat bacterial pathogens.
Cognitive Systems, Predictive Processing, and the Self

This essay presents the conditional probability of co-contribution account of the individuation of cognitive systems (CPC) and argues that CPC provides an attractive basis for a theory of the cognitive self. The argument proceeds in a largely indirect way, by emphasizing empirical challenges faced by an approach that relies entirely on predictive processing (PP) mechanisms to ground a theory of the cognitive self. Given the challenges faced by PP-based approaches, we should prefer a theory of the cognitive self of the sort CPC offers, one that accommodates variety in the kinds of mechanism that, when integrated, constitute a cognitive system (and thus the cognitive self), to a theory according to which the cognitive self is composed of essentially one kind of thing, for instance, prediction-error minimization mechanisms. The final section focuses on one of the central functions of the cognitive self: to engage in conscious reasoning. It is argued that the phenomenon of conscious, deliberate reasoning poses an apparently insoluble problem for a PP-based view, one that seems to rest on a structural limitation of predictive-processing models. In a nutshell, conscious reasoning is a single-stream phenomenon, but, in order for PP to apply, two streams of activity must be involved, a prediction stream and an input stream. Thus, with regard to the question of the nature of the self, PP-based views must yield to an alternative approach, regardless of whether proponents of the predictive processing, as a comprehensive theory of cognition, can handle the various empirical challenges canvassed in the preceding section.
PASSer2.0: Accurate Prediction of Protein Allosteric Sites Through Automated Machine Learning

Allostery is a fundamental process in regulating proteins’ activity. The discovery, design and development of allosteric drugs demand for better identification of allosteric sites. Several computational methods have been developed previously to predict allosteric sites using static pocket features and protein dynamics. Here, we present a computational model using automated machine learning for allosteric site prediction. Our model, PASSer2.0, advanced the previous results and performed well across multiple indicators with 89.2% of allosteric pockets appeared among the top 3 positions. The trained machine learning model has been integrated with the Protein Allosteric Sites Server (https://passer.smu.edu) to facilitate allosteric drug discovery.
The Functional Placement of IT Workers: Not Always a Good Idea

Many organizations are placing IT staff in functional areas, but they often do so for the wrong reason. The dispersion of IT staff can be effective only when management is aware of the dangers this approach holds and takes steps to reduce them.
F reticulocyte response in sickle cell anemia treated with recombinant human erythropoietin: a double-blind study

Studies on baboons and preliminary observations in three patients with sickle cell anemia (SS) suggested that high doses of pulse administered recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) stimulate F-reticulocyte production. We now report on the administration of rHuEPO in a double-blind format to ascertain frequency of response and potential precipitation of side effects. Ten patients were enrolled, but one was discontinued due to the indication of a blood transfusion. Of the other nine, five received rHuEPO in escalating doses (from 400 to 1,500 U per kg twice daily [BID] per week), alternating with a placebo, in blinded fashion. The second group, consisting of four patients, followed an identical protocol (except starting dose was 1,000 U/Kg, BID per week) and were iron supplemented during treatment. The criterion of response was a transient doubling (as a minimum) of the steady-state F-reticulocyte level. We found that none of the five patients in the first group responded to rHuEPO, and two of them became iron deficient, as judged by a significant decrease in ferritin. Of the second group, four patients responded with F-reticulocyte increases. In three patients, open label administration of rHuEPO confirmed the effect. We observed seven painful episodes during this study, two during the EPO administration and five during the placebo arm. Three patients were phlebotomized because the hemoglobin level increased 1.5 g/dL more than steady-state levels. Of the six patients followed-up by percent dense cell determinations, one exhibited increased levels during periods of the treatment, whereas the other five showed no change. No anti-rHuEPO antibodies were detected. We conclude that rHuEPO can stimulate F-reticulocyte response in some patients with sickle cell anemia, without apparent negative clinical side effects. The state of iron stores may be critical. Whether higher doses of rHuEPO and/or a different regimen might induce sustained F cells and fetal hemoglobin increases remains to be determined.
Coronary artery bypass surgery, hospital volume, and risk.

To the Editor: The recent article by Goodney and colleagues1 in Circulation found that differences in 30-day mortality rates between low- and high-volume hospitals were consistent across both low- and high-risk surgical groups, leading the authors to conclude that a policy of targeted regionalization is unlikely to be of value in coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG). On the surface, this finding appears to directly contradict results of an earlier analysis performed by our group, in which we observed that differences in in-hospital mortality rates after CABG may be modified by a patient’s predicted operative risk.2 So how can discrepancies between these 2 studies be resolved? Although there are indeed several methodological differences between the studies (which Goodney et al1 carefully point out), we believe the authors minimized the most likely explanation for dissimilar results: Dramatically different definitions of low-risk. Specifically, the lowest-risk group in our study–ie, the group in which hospital volume appeared to have no substantial effect–had a predicted operative mortality rate of <0.5%. This is in comparison to a predicted operative mortality rate of 4.3% for the corresponding lowest-risk group in the study by Goodney et al1 (broadly defined as the lower 75th risk percentile). In fact, if one scrutinizes their results, the study by Goodney and colleagues re-confirms one of our key findings; we also noted that hospital volume has an important and consistent effect on patients with predicted …
Control Strategies for Nonlinear Multivariable Systems with Time Delays

A new control strategy has been developed for a general class of nonlinear, multivariable systems. The control law is based on a quadratic performance index and the on-line solution of a Riccati Equation. The resulting multivariable control law is simple in form and can be interpreted as a variable gain, PI control system. The new approach has been extended to nonlinear, multivariable systems with time delays by incorporating a time delay compensation scheme which includes load estimation.