cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pyrolytic Gasification of Post-consumer Polyolefins To Allow for "Clean" Premixed Combustion

Utilization of post-consumer waste plastics as fuels is of technological interest because their energy contents (heating values) are comparable to those of premium fuels. Pyrolytic gasification of these solid polymers yields a mixture of predominately gaseous hydrocarbons and hydrogen. This gaseous fuel mixture can then be suitably blended with air and burned in well-controlled premixed flames. Such flames are much less polluting than diffusion flames, which would have been generated had the polymers been burned in their solid state. In this work, an apparatus was designed and built to continuously process polymers, in pelletized form, and to pyrolytically gasify them at temperatures in the range of 800–900 °C in N2- or CO2-containing environments. Subsequently, the gaseous pyrolyzates were mixed with air, ignited, and burned in a Bunsen-type burner in a manner similar to natural gas. Polyethylene and polypropylene pyrolyzates burned with blue-tint flames akin to those of natural gas. The flames were fair...
Translocation of an Incompressible Vesicle through a Pore

We have derived the free energy landscape for the translocation of a single vesicle through a narrow pore by accounting for bending and stretching of the vesicle, and the deformation of the vesicle by the pore. Emergence of a free energy barrier for translocation is a general result, and the magnitude of the barrier is calculated in terms of the various material parameters. The extent of the reduction in the barrier by the presence of an external constant force is calculated. Using the Fokker–Planck formalism, we have calculated the average translocation time corresponding to the various free energy landscapes representing different parameter sets. The dependencies of the average translocation time on the strength of the external force, vesicle size, bending and stretching moduli of the vesicle, and radius and length of the pore are derived, and the computed results are discussed.
Levy-Driven Libor Model and its Numerical Approximation

This paper studies numerical method for approximation of the Libor rate model driven by the Levy noise. We start with the Libor model based directly on the forward rate process. Within this modeling approach we can derive the explicit prices for swaps and swaptions. We use the implicit Euler scheme for the numerical approximation of the SDE corresponding to the log-Libor model. Using the Euler method for the numerical solution to the corresponding L evy-process driven SDE requires efficient approximation of the Levy measure. Here, we use the methodology of truncation and discretization of the Levy measure. Then, the truncated small jumps are replaced by the Wiener process as suggested in [23]. We study the performance of our method In several numerical experiments.
A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR FCC TAIL GAS DESULFURIZATION AND DUST REMOVAL--DYNA-WAVE REVERSE SPRAYING WASHING TOWER

The dyna-wave reverse spraying washing technology developed by Monsanto Enviro-Chem System Company is expounded in the light of desulfurization mechanism, operation conditions, design factors, and the material selection. The technology has been adopted in the dust removal and desulfurization of refinery tail gas, and the efficiency is over 99% .
The monitoring status of personal doses from occupational exposure in Beijing

Objective To understand the basic status of radiation workers' personal doses received from occupational exposure during 2010 in Beijing,so as to develop an effective monitoring program of personal doses as well as to consolidate and strengthen the improvement of local personal doses surveillance.Methods LiF(Mg,Cu,P) thermoluminescence dosimeters(TLDs) were used in the regular data collection,access database and TLPs software were employed in data input and analysis.All of personal doses data were appraised according to corresponding national codes and technical standards.Results It was shown that 75.6%,24.3% and 0.1% accounted for the whole radiation workers monitored were found to meet with the range of 0.138 mSv/a,0.138-5 mSv/a and 5-20 mSv/a respectively.In addition,the mean value was 0.28 mSv/a in 2010,which was significant higher than the level of stuff worked in the field of medical X-ray diagnosis and radiotherapy.Conclusions The majority doses level of local radiation workers was low and their working environment was safe.Indeed,both strengthening on personal doses monitoring and individual protection should be emphasized in regular working practice,and fulfilling correlative codes and personnel training should be emphasized in radiation protection.
Influence of dietary fiber on the performance and cellulase activity of growing-finishing swine.

Number of cellulolytic bacteria and their cellulase activity were determined from fecal samples of eight pairs of littermate pigs representing four litters (26 to 32 kg) fed a low or high fiber diet ad libitum (0 or 35% alfalfa meal, respectively) over a 70-d period. Fecal samples were obtained from all pigs on d 0, 5, 11, 18, 32, 53 and a final sample between d 67 to 70. Cecum and colon samples were obtained at slaughter. Growth and carcass data were also obtained during the study. Pigs fed the high fiber diet gained 17.3% less, had increased feed to gain ratio and less carcass weight at slaughter than those fed the low fiber diet (P less than .05). Overall, a larger number of cellulolytic bacteria (P less than .05) were found in the fecal samples from pigs fed the high fiber diet. The overall mean cellulolytic activity (mg glucose released X g dry weight fecal sample-1 X 30 min-1) was 27.7 compared with 33.8 (P less than .05) for the pigs fed the low and high fiber diet, respectively. A lower concentration of organic acids (P less than .05) was present in the fecal samples of the high fiber pigs. The overall mean acetate to propionate ratio was 1.92 and 2.48 (P less than .01), and ammonia-N was 2.27 and .98 mg/g dry weight (P less than .01) for the low and high fiber diet pigs, respectively. These data indicated that a 35% alfalfa meal diet significantly affects intestinal bacterial metabolism and number and activity of the cellulolytic population, along with performance and carcass characteristics.
An Index of Regulation

As far as putting together time series evidence on regulation’s effects, current method’s for assessing regulatory impacts leave gaping holes. From a macroeconomic viewpoint, the most persistent problem is the lack of estimates across all regulations across all sectors of the economy over a lengthy time span, including variable enforcement and implementation policies.1 The Clean Air or Clean Water Act and their amendments plus a few other highly visible acts attract a lot of attention but represent only a fraction of the total amount of regulation. Snapshots of regulation at uneven intervals and based, in part, on twenty year old studies do not allow for very reliable estimation of the macroeconomic influence of regulation from year to year. To tackle these problems requires addressing some of the other measurement issues. Inconsistency in methodology must be overcome. Of utmost importance, valid estimates at the macroeconomic level cannot ignore the importance of and variation within regulatory implementation and enforcement.
Combined modality therapy of locally advanced adenocarcinoma of the rectum: Update of a phase I trial of preoperative radiation (RT) with concurrent capecitabine (Cap) and irinotecan (Ir)

13547 Background: We previously reported the combination of preoperative radiation (RT) with concurrent Irinotecan and 5-FU in locally advanced rectal cancer, was well tolerated and had an excellen...
Airborne lidar for simultaneous measurement of column CO2 and water vapor in the atmosphere

The 2-micron wavelength region is suitable for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements due to the existence of distinct absorption feathers for the gas at this particular wavelength. For more than 20 years, researchers at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) have developed several high-energy and high repetition rate 2-micron pulsed lasers. This paper will provide status and details of an airborne 2-micron triple-pulse integrated path differential absorption (IPDA) lidar. The development of this active optical remote sensing IPDA instrument is targeted for measuring both CO2 and water vapor (H2O) in the atmosphere from an airborne platform. This presentation will focus on the advancement of the 2-micron triple-pulse IPDA lidar development. Updates on the state-of-the-art triple-pulse laser transmitter will be presented including the status of seed laser locking, wavelength control, receiver telescope, detection system and data acquisition. Future plans for the IPDA lidar system for ground integration, testing and flight validation will also be presented.
Last Will and Testament: Forensic Psychiatry’s Last Frontier?

A will is a legal instrument that is executed in accordance with certain formalities, by which a person directs the disposition of his property to take effect following his death. The principal distinction between a will and other types of conveyances (i.e., transfers of title to property) is that a will takes effect only on the death of the maker of the will. In order to protect all persons involved, the law surrounds the making of a will with certain specified formalities, which may vary from state to state depending on local statutory schemes. Each state has its own laws dealing with the right* to make testamentary disposition of one’s property (although a number of states have adopted the Uniform Probate Code,† which simplifies the requirements and procedures). The person who makes a will is the testator (testatrix in the case of a woman). A will contest is a probate proceeding (probate means literally prove; a probate proceeding seeks to prove the will of the deceased).
Marcuse, Foucault, and The Purge: Film Review

James DeMonaco’s 2013 horror film The Purge, which imagines a near-future America in which a fascist government declares all crime (including murder) legal for one night a year, received generally bad reviews. Most reviewers overlooked how the film speaks to the relationship between desire and power in modern civilization...
Phylogenetically conserved resource partitioning in the coastal microbial loop

Resource availability influences marine microbial community structure, suggesting that population-specific resource partitioning defines discrete niches. Identifying how resources are partitioned among populations, thereby characterizing functional guilds within the communities, remains a challenge for microbial ecologists. We used proteomic stable isotope probing (SIP) and NanoSIMS analysis of phylogenetic microarrays (Chip-SIP) along with 16S rRNA gene amplicon and metagenomic sequencing to characterize the assimilation of six 13C-labeled common metabolic substrates and changes in the microbial community structure within surface water collected from Monterey Bay, CA. Both sequencing approaches indicated distinct substrate-specific community shifts. However, observed changes in relative abundance for individual populations did not correlate well with directly measured substrate assimilation. The complementary SIP techniques identified assimilation of all six substrates by diverse taxa, but also revealed differential assimilation of substrates into protein and ribonucleotide biomass between taxa. Substrate assimilation trends indicated significantly conserved resource partitioning among populations within the Flavobacteriia, Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria classes, suggesting that functional guilds within marine microbial communities are phylogenetically cohesive. However, populations within these classes exhibited heterogeneity in biosynthetic activity, which distinguished high-activity copiotrophs from low-activity oligotrophs. These results indicate distinct growth responses between populations that is not apparent by genome sequencing alone.
Pain Management Concerns From the Hospice Family Caregivers’ Perspective:

Background:Pain management is a challenging task for family caregivers in home hospice care. However, there are limited studies that examine the challenges regarding pain management in hospice care...
Gene Drives, Nature, Governance : An Ethnographic Perspective

Synthetic gene drives raise ethical, ecological, and legal questions that are sometimes difficult to grasp. What is clear, however, is that the power to directly alter not just a singular form of life but the genetics of entire populations and species are currently both under-regulated and under-theorized. In place of state regulations, what seems to be emerging is a form of self-regulation by the gene drive scientists themselves. My chapter draws on in-depth interviews with several prominent gene drive scientists to explore their approach toward nature, animals, and the environment. My assumption has been that their approach impacts and regulates the way they work, and this assumption has been confirmed through the more personal stories that each of these scientists has generously shared with me. Although they have not contemplated these issues to the same degree, a few common assumptions about the role of nature and about animal-human relations did emerge from the interviews, most prominently the notion that killing insect populations, modifying their genes, and impacting the planet’s ecological systems are justified in order to reduce human suffering and produce novel ecosystems.
A Model for the Depletion Layer Prediction in a Dilute Suspension of Rigid Rod-Like Particles under Shear Flows in the Entire Range of Peclet Numbers

Abstract We derived a model to predict the concentration profile, or the center-of-mass distribution, of rod-like particles near a wall under shear flows. Various excluded volume mechanisms of a rod near a wall for each Peclet number (a ratio of shear rate and diffusivity) regime were incorporated into the model through a steric factor concept. At low and moderate Peclet numbers, the steric factor is mainly determined by the ratio of the restricted/unrestricted rod orientation distributions. However, at high Peclet number, the ratio between the rod penetration time in a depletion layer and the Jeffery orbit frequency mainly affects the steric factor. The predicted concentration profiles showed a good agreement with the results from previous works.
Patients with common variable immunodeficiency with autoimmune cytopenias exhibit hyperplastic yet inefficient germinal center responses.

Background The lack of pathogen-protective, isotype-switched antibodies in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) suggests germinal center (GC) hypoplasia, yet a subset of patients with CVID is paradoxically affected by autoantibody-mediated autoimmune cytopenias (AICs) and lymphadenopathy. Objective We sought to compare the physical characteristics and immunologic output of GC responses in patients with CVID with AIC (CVID+AIC) and without AIC (CVID−AIC). Methods We analyzed GC size and shape in excisional lymph node biopsy specimens from 14 patients with CVID+AIC and 4 patients with CVID−AIC. Using paired peripheral blood samples, we determined how AICs specifically affected B-and T-cell compartments and antibody responses in patients with CVID. Results We found that patients with CVID+AIC displayed irregularly shaped hyperplastic GCs, whereas GCs were scarce and small in patients with CVID−AIC. GC hyperplasia was also evidenced by an increase in numbers of circulating follicular helper T cells, which correlated with decreased regulatory T-cell frequencies and function. In addition, patients with CVID+AIC had serum endotoxemia associated with a dearth of isotype-switched memory B cells that displayed significantly lower somatic hypermutation frequencies than their counterparts with CVID−AIC. Moreover, IgG+ B cells from patients with CVID+AIC expressed VH4-34-encoded antibodies with unmutated Ala-Val-Tyr and Asn-His-Ser motifs, which recognize both erythrocyte I/i self-antigens and commensal bacteria. Conclusions Patients with CVID+AIC do not contain mucosal microbiota and exhibit hyperplastic yet inefficient GC responses that favor the production of untolerized IgG+ B-cell clones that recognize both commensal bacteria and hematopoietic I/i self-antigens.
Field-Flow Fractionation Coupled to Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (FFF-ICP-MS): Methodology and Application to Environmental Nanoparticle Research

Nanoparticles, particles less than 100 nm in diameter, play an important role in hydrobiogeochemical systems due to their high specific surface area and ability to bind metals. Particles in this size range, especially highly engineered nanoparticles, also often display unique characteristics (biocidal, optical, catalytic, etc.) that result from their size. For these reasons, there is often a need to characterize size dependent elemental concentrations in environmental and toxicity research. Since their inception, flow and sedimentation FFF methods have demonstrated the capacity to separate and size material in the nanometer size-range. Current and future nanoparticle research also requires quantitative information on nanoparticle concentration and composition. When hyphenated with a sensitive, selective elemental detector such as ICP-MS, metal distributions can be measured making FFF-ICP-MS a useful tool for characterizing both engineered and naturally occurring nanoparticles and their interactions with soluble species (trace metals). Quantitative FFF measurements of complex nanoparticle dispersions rely heavily on factors affecting separation and recovery – including flow rates, membrane material, and carrier composition – the latter also affecting ICP-MS performance. Recovery, even with an optimized system, is often less than 100% and can be size dependent. The interface between the FFF and the ICP-MS, methods for metals calibration, and a means of conceptualizing the sample-dependent detection limit is discussed. This chapter also highlights recent applications of FFF-ICP-MS to environmental research, including characterization, stability, toxicity, adsorption, and metal transport studies.
Butadiene-Mediated Mutagenesis and Carcinogenesis

Jonathan B. Ward, Jeffrey K. Wickliffe, Michael P. Stone, Thomas M. Harris, Priscilla H. Fernandes and R. Stephen Lloyd Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, The University of Texas Medical Branch, TX 77555-1110, USA Department of Chemistry, Center for Molecular Toxicology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology, Department of Molecular and Medical Genetics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA Department of Molecular and Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77021, USA e-mail: lloydst@ohsu.edu
Emergency Presentations Related to Psychiatric Medication

Patients commonly use the emergency room because of various adverse effects from psychiatric medication. Among the most common are those related to the use of lithium, antipsychotic agents, and other psychiatric drugs with anticholinergic effects. This section describes the clinical manifestations and management of these drug effects. Agents used to treat medical disorders that also may cause behavioral effects are primarily described in the chapters on anxiety, depression, and acute psychoses.
Node of Ranvier Disruption: A Key Pathophysiology in Immune-Mediated Neuropathies

One important role of Schwann cells is to promote clustering of voltage-gated Na+ channels on the axolemma at the nodes of Ranvier. Recent cumulative evidence demonstrates that disruption of nodal Na+ channel clusters is the key pathophysiology in immune-mediated neuropathies such as Guillain–Barre syndrome. Autoimmune attack against either axons or myelin can disturb neuron–Schwann cell interactions at and near nodes, disrupting Na+ channel clusters and resulting in nerve conduction block. Furthermore, the proteins highly accumulated at and near nodes can be a direct target of autoimmune reactions. This chapter focuses on dysfunction and disruption of nodes of Ranvier during autoimmune neuropathies.
Stata and Dropbox

Dropbox makes scholarly collaboration much easier because it allows scholars to share files across different computers. However, because the Dropbox directories have different pathnames for different users, sharing do-files can be complicated. In this article, I offer some tips on how to navigate pathnames in do-files when using Dropbox, and I present a command that automatically finds and changes to a user�s Dropbox directory.
Tall tales make fast friends: Exaggerating when retelling previous experiences fosters relational closeness:

This research explores the possibility that exaggerating in order to entertain the listener while sharing previous experiences can increase interpersonal closeness in new relationships. It is hypot...
Organization, available space and organ morphology within floral buds of Iris (Iridaceae)

Abstract Before anthesis, older floral organs enclose younger ones forming a bud, within which the shape and relative size of floral organs are largely determined. The floral diversity in Iris, including sepal ornamentation, limited development of petals or sepals in some species and presence of petaloid style branches in all but one species, provides a unique opportunity to compare organ development within the confined space of a bud. Using transverse serial sections, light microscopy and measurement software, we investigated floral packing geometry (relative size and spacial relationships of floral organs) in seven species focusing on five species where we studied changes across three developmental stages. In this study, we found that floral packing geometries are diverse even among species with similar floral organ morphologies. The “filling law” proposed for vegetative buds is not applicable during floral bud development with empty space increasing as bud size increased for each of the five species that were examined. Other key findings include the presence of space between anther thecae in some species, the enlargement of sepal outgrowths and petal margins into space between thecae, differences in the relative growth of anthers versus petaloid style branches and the curvature of connectives, petals and style branches in some species. This study clarifies the integration of floral bud growth and illustrates a largely ignored yet important aspect of flower development: coordinated growth of floral organs within the bud.
Aberrations in the infrabasal circlet of the cladid crinoid genus Cupulocrinus (Echinodermata) and implications for the origin of flexible crinoids

Abstract Flexible crinoids (subclass Flexibilia) likely originated from the cladid crinoid genus Cupulocrinus or one of its immediate ancestors in the Middle to Late Ordovician. A remarkably constant and clade-defining character of flexible crinoids is the possession of three plates in the infrabasal circlet of the calyx. This character was a significant morphological modification for the origin of the flexible clade, resulting from the reduction of the number of infrabasal plates from five plates in the ancestral cupulocrinid. Of 615 museum specimens of Cupulocrinus sp. for which the number of infrabasal plates could be determined, 21 specimens, or 3.4%, displayed a deviation from the normal five infrabasals. Of the aberrant specimens, fifteen have four infrabasal plates, and six have six infrabasal plates. An additional aberrant specimen has five infrabasals, with one significantly reduced in size. Although the number of infrabasals is typically thought to be constant within a species, this trait appears to have been variable in the immediate ancestor of flexible crinoids, in the time period just before the number of infrabasals became fixed at three for the Flexibilia. This paper documents the range of aberrations within the infrabasal circlet of Cupulocrinus and considers the implications for the origin of the flexible crinoids.
Conscious Sedation Versus General Anesthesia in Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Cost and Outcome Analysis.

Background Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has emerged as an alternative treatment for aortic stenosis in patients who are at moderate to high risk for surgical aortic valve replacement. The use of conscious sedation (CS) as compared with general anesthesia (GA) has shown better clinical outcomes for TAVR patients. Whether CS has any cost-benefit is still unknown. We analyze our local TAVR registry with a focus on the cost comparison between CS and GA for the TAVR population. Methods It is a retrospective chart review of 434 patients who received TAVR at our local center from December 2012 to April 2018. Patients who had their procedure aborted and those requiring a cardiopulmonary bypass or surgical conversion (16 patients) were excluded. The final sample size was 418. Patients were divided into two groups based on whether they received CS or GA. Primary outcomes were intensive care unit (ICU) hours, length of stay in hospital, readmission, or death at 30 days. The secondary outcome was the cost of TAVR admission. The cost was divided into direct and indirect costs. The student's T-test and chi-square tests were used for continuous and categorical variables, respectively. Adjusted logistic regression and multivariate analyses were run for primary and secondary outcomes. Results Of the 418 patients (age: 80.9±8.5, male: 52%) CS was given to 194 patients (46.4%) while GA was given in 224 patients(53.6%). The GA group had comparatively older age (81.8 vs. 80.0; p=0.03) and a higher average Society of Thoracic Surgery (STS) score (8.4 vs 5.7; p<0.001). Patients who received CS had a significantly shorter ICU stay (31.5 vs. 41.6 hours, p<0.001) and total days in the hospital (2.9 vs. 3.8 days, p=0.01). Readmission and mortality at 30 days were not different between the groups. There was no statistical difference in cost between the two groups ($72,809 vs. $71,497: p=0.656). Conclusion Using CS compared with GA improves morbidity for TAVR patients, in the form of ICU stay and the total length of stay in hospital. We did not find a significant difference in the cost of TAVR admission between CS and GA.
Innovative Teaching Using Simulation and Virtual Environments for ERP Implementation

Training and development is one of the most important functions of business processes reengineering. Business process reengineering involves changes in structures and in processes within the business environment. The entire technological, human, and organizational dimensions may be changed in BPR. ERP plays a major role in business process reengineering as it provides office automation, it allows the business to be conducted in different strategies, provides flexibility in manufacturing, permits quicker delivery to customers and supports rapid and marketing sales. ERP implementation is an opportunity to improve performance by rethinking and redesigning business processes. With the increasing importance of ERP Implementation, training and developing employees with essential qualifications and skills have become vital for organizations. There are several ERP Implementation training methods for various purposes and needs. In this project, ERP simulation-based training method is used to train employees in the perspective of the interactivity and visualization advantages. This study provides practical guidelines regarding how best to implement simulation-based training in the manufacturing company. The outcome of this project is that the guidelines will increase the use of ERP simulation method in ERP implementation, and consequently, improve the awareness of business.
Construction and application of comprehensive information system of radiological health in Shanghai

Objective To build a comprehensive information system of radiological health in Shanghai and provide basic data for prevention and control of radiation hazards factors. Methods A management information platform of radiological health suitable for Shanghai was constructed by sorting out the historical archives and records, combining with content of current work, and using the information platform in China for reference. All Institutions are responsible for the collection and input of the data generated in the work, and the system judges the nature of the data according to the rules, and then completes the interactive analysis of the data with the municipal platform according to the standards, which forms the three-level platform management mode of the city, districts and medical institutions. Results Data module platform covering health records, environmental monitoring, business warning and statistical reports was built in one year since its preliminary inception in 2014. In the beginning there were only 468 usersof institutions, and by the end of 2018, about 1 241 users were active. Nearly 300 000 pieces of data were collected. Conclusions The construction of comprehensive management information platform of radiological health in Shanghai promotes the standardization and effectiveness of radiological health information management, provides a monitoring model for sustainable long-term development, and provides basic data for further policy management or decision-making. Key words: Radiological health; Informatization; Survey
Rehabilitation of critically Ill COVID-19 survivors

Severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) has now infected over a million people around the world. This pandemic is stressing intensive care unit (ICU) capacity due to critical illness from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Survivors of critical illness from acute respiratory syndrome and the prior SARS epidemic suggest that critically ill COVID-19 survivors may experience a wide range of sequelae, resulting in long-lasting physical, cognitive, and psychological dysfunction. Early rehabilitation can mitigate these complications and improve the quality of life. However, early rehabilitation of critically ill COVID-19 patients is challenging due to patients' severity of illness, the need for strict infection control measures, staffing issues, and scarcity of personal protective equipment. During this public health emergency, navigating rehabilitation of critically ill COVID-19 patients is crucial to allow timely transition of patients across different levels of care. Such timely transitions are vital for improving outcomes and freeing ICU and hospital beds within acute care hospitals. In this review, we discuss the challenges and potential solutions for rehabilitation of critically ill COVID-19 patients throughout the continuum of care.
Distributed Ledger Technologies, Value Accounting, and the Self Sovereign Identity

Organizations are utilizing new technologies including distributed ledgers to challenge value accounting within global capitalism. This paper investigates new radical digital accounting practices underpinning this form of organizing and explores the development of new technologies of value accounting practices enabled by distributed ledger technologies, such as generative value accounting. This theory paper makes use of the concept of the sociotechnical imaginary as it offers a framework for understanding how a technologist’s vision of the ideal future influences their design choices in the present with Holochain as a specific case.
The Applied Implications of Age-Based Stereotype Threat for Older Adults

Stereotype threat occurs when people feel concerned about the possibility of confirming, or being negatively judged by, a negative stereotype. This review highlights the applied implications of this phenomenon for older adults. In clinical settings, older adults often feel that their physicians have negative expectations about their abilities because of their age. These feelings of age-based stereotype threat can increase older adults’ subjective cognitive complaints and impair their performance on mental status examinations. Other research has shown that stereotype threat also adversely affects older adults’ physical performance, motor learning, and driving performance. In workplace settings, older adults who experience stereotype threat also report lower job satisfaction, poorer work-related mental health, and greater intentions to resign or retire. Overall, this review provides evidence that the situational phenomenon of stereotype threat can affect older adults’ performance in a variety of applied settings, and this can contribute to age differences in performance.
msiPL: Non-linear Manifold and Peak Learning of Mass Spectrometry Imaging Data Using Artificial Neural Networks

Abstract Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is an emerging technology that holds potential for improving clinical diagnosis, biomarker discovery, metabolomics research and pharmaceutical applications. The large data size and high dimensional nature of MSI pose computational and memory complexities that hinder accurate identification of biologically-relevant molecular patterns. We propose msiPL, a robust and generic probabilistic generative model based on a fully-connected variational autoencoder for unsupervised analysis and peak learning of MSI data. The method can efficiently learn and visualize the underlying non-linear spectral manifold, reveal biologically-relevant clusters of tumor heterogeneity and identify underlying informative m/z peaks. The method provides a probabilistic parametric mapping to allow a trained model to rapidly analyze a new unseen MSI dataset in a few seconds. The computational model features a memory-efficient implementation using a minibatch processing strategy to enable the analyses of big MSI data (encompassing more than 1 million high-dimensional datapoints) with significantly less memory. We demonstrate the robustness and generic applicability of the application on MSI data of large size from different biological systems and acquired using different mass spectrometers at different centers, namely: 2D Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization (MALDI) Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance (FT ICR) MSI data of human prostate cancer, 3D MALDI Time-of-Flight (TOF) MSI data of human oral squamous cell carcinoma, 3D Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) Orbitrap MSI data of human colorectal adenocarcinoma, 3D MALDI TOF MSI data of mouse kidney, and 3D MALDI FT ICR MSI data of a patient-derived xenograft (PDX) mouse brain model of glioblastoma. Significance Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) provides detailed molecular characterization of a tissue specimen while preserving spatial distributions. However, the complex nature of MSI data slows down the processing time and poses computational and memory challenges that hinder the analysis of multiple specimens required to extract biologically relevant patterns. Moreover, the subjectivity in the selection of parameters for conventional pre-processing approaches can lead to bias. Here, we present a generative probabilistic deep-learning model that can analyze and non-linearly visualize MSI data independent of the nature of the specimen and of the MSI platform. We demonstrate robustness of the method with application to different tissue types, and envision it as a new generation of rapid and robust analysis for mass spectrometry data.
Critical Success Factors for Neutralization of Airborne Threats

Decisions regarding neutralizing airborne threats in the combat environment require comprehensive knowledge of resources at hand and enemy intentions. The complexity of the situation has resulted i...
The Role of HGF/MET Signaling in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)/mesenchymal-epithelial transition factor (MET) signaling promotes tumorigenesis and tumor progression in various types of cancer, including uveal melanoma (UM). The roles of HGF/MET signaling have been studied in cell survival, proliferation, cell motility, and migration. Furthermore, HGF/MET signaling has emerged as a critical player not only in the tumor itself but also in the tumor microenvironment. Expression of MET is frequently observed in metastatic uveal melanoma and is associated with poor prognosis. It has been reported that HGF/MET signaling pathway activation is the major mechanism of treatment resistance in metastatic UM (MUM). To achieve maximal therapeutic benefit in MUM patients, it is important to understand how MET signaling drives cellular functions in uveal melanoma cells. Here, we review the HGF/MET signaling biology and the role of HGF/MET blockades in uveal melanoma.
A Blade in the Throat of the FBI: George L. Jackson's Blood in My Eye

The Freedom Archives would produce The Struggle Inside which in 2001 would become The Murder of George Jackson for Prisons on Fire: George Jackson, Attica & Black Liberation, an audio documentary on the 30th anniversary of the death, or murder, of Comrade George, George Lester Jackson, The Dragon. The revolutionary thinker, activist, organizer and author of Soledad Brother (1970) and Blood in My Eye (1972) did not die a natural death, of course. As Jonathan Jackson, Jr. recites, prison guards at San Quentin ruthlessly murdered George Jackson. Mother of George and Jonathan, Georgia Jackson offered more on what happened on August 21, 1971: They set up his murder just like they do everybody else that speaks out against them; and they'll probably do me the same way because I am going to speak every chance I get. . . . People don't love this country so much; they're afraid of what their own country will do to them. Now, who should be surprised that this is not the story told by the un-freedom archives of the FBI, whose first automatic declassification of documents of the U.S. government some would celebrate at the close of 2006?
STUDIES OF THE IMMUNOLOGY OF THE NEWBORN INFANT 1. Age and Antibody Production

Forty infants from 1 week to 6 months of age who had no circulating antitoxin were immunized with one injection of a high titer diphtheria toxoid on alum and their antitoxin responses were followed at regular intervals up to six months afterwards. The ability to form antitoxin improved significantly during the first two months of life. No significant difference could be demonstrated between the response of infants 2 to 4 months of age and that of infants 6 months of age. (In the statistical tests, the 5% level was adopted as indicating significance.) Twenty-seven of these infants were immunized at the same time in the opposite arm with a single dose of tetanus toxoid on alum. The response to tetanus immunization was faster and better in infants from 2 to 6 months of age than in infants 1 month of age and younger. The response to the tetanus toxoid preparation was faster and better than the response to the diphtheria toxoid preparation. The following conclusions are drawn: A. The infant can form antibodies from birth. B. The ability to form antibodies improves during early life. For diphtheria and tetanus antitoxin, the improvement is rapid during the first two months and then is much slower. C. The advisability of early immunization is related to the potency of the antigen to be used.
Early detection and intervention programme for psychosis

We will present the demographics, quality of life, and illness characteristics of a group of patients with new-onset psychosis, assessed by the Early Detection and Intervention Programme of Psychosis (EDIPP), initiated 1 year ago by the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health (DMH), Southeastern Area. The EDIPP is conducted by the crisis team, which includes clinicians, nurses, and psychiatrists and serves a population of approximately half a million people. Patients diagnosed with new-onset psychosis (according to preset criteria) are referred for assessments, using the premorbid, quality of life, psychiatric, and cognitive evaluations. Up to 60% of patients cooperated with the follow up visits. A significant number of new-onset psychotic patients (up to 50%), however, could not be contacted by staff for follow-up, because during the crisis evaluation were sent to facilities outside the geographical area. Patients who cooperated with the follow-up appointments had significant support in the community,especially families who understood their illness. The high likelihood of noncompliance in patients with new-onset psychosis points to the need of integrated programmes that will address education and antistigma efforts in the community and provide sufficient therapeutic support. Such a programme needs to be based on a case-management system and cannot be successfully accomplished as part of an academic or private endeavour alone outside DMH guidelines.
Constrained optimal iterative learning control for mixed-norm cost functions

Iterative learning control (ILC) is a technique for determining feedforward signals for systems that execute a task repeatedly. One approach towards designing ILC algorithms is to pose it as an optimization problem. Traditionally, norm optimal iterative learning control (NOILC) algorithms use l 2 -norm-type cost functions. However, many applications require optimizing non-smooth cost functions, e.g., in trajectory tracking where it is desirable to minimize the peak tracking error, i.e., its l ∞ -norm. In this paper, we explore the performance of a class of non-smooth cost functions along with constraints which can be recast into the constrained optimal ILC (COILC) framework. For linear systems with constraints (linear in the feedforward input) and certain cost functions (such as l 2 , l ∞ norms of tracking error and control effort), this optimization problem can be formulated as a quadratic program (QP) or a linear program (LP). These COILC problems can then be solved with a modified interior-point-type method. In this manuscript, we derive ILC algorithms for linear systems (and linear constraints) with (1) a pure l ∞ norm cost, (2) a mixed l 2 – l ∞ norm cost. We compare the results to the traditional l 2 norm (NOILC) in simulation and experiment to illustrate the effect of the choice of the cost function on the design of the optimized feedforward control effort and hence the optimal error profile.
Plasma cell differentiation requires the transcription factor XBP-1

Considerable progress has been made in identifying the transcription factors involved in the early specification of the B-lymphocyte lineage. However, little is known about factors that control the transition of mature activated B cells to antibody-secreting plasma cells. Here we report that the transcription factor XBP-1 is required for the generation of plasma cells. XBP-1 transcripts were rapidly upregulated in vitro by stimuli that induce plasma-cell differentiation, and were found at high levels in plasma cells from rheumatoid synovium. When introduced into B-lineage cells, XBP-1 initiated plasma-cell differentiation. Mouse lymphoid chimaeras deficient in XBP-1 possessed normal numbers of activated B lymphocytes that proliferated, secreted cytokines and formed normal germinal centres. However, they secreted very little immunoglobulin of any isotype and failed to control infection with the B-cell-dependent polyoma virus, because plasma cells were markedly absent. XBP-1 is the only transcription factor known to be selectively and specifically required for the terminal differentiation of B lymphocytes to plasma cells.
Hybrid Selection of Small RNAs by Using Simian Virus 40 DNA: Evidence that the Simian Virus 40-Associated Small RNA Is Synthesized by Specific Cleavage from Large Viral Transcripts

The simian virus 40 (SV40)-associated small RNA (SAS-RNA), approximately 64 nucleotides, is virally encoded within a region of the viral late (+) DNA strand which encodes no known protein. The SAS-RNA arises in abundance late in SV40 lytic infection. Previous data indicate that the synthesis of the SAS-RNA may be under the control of the normal late viral promoter; i.e., inhibition of transcription from the late promoter results in cessation of SAS-RNA synthesis. The synthesis of SAS-RNA was examined to determine whether the SAS-RNA is the product of cleavage from noncoding regions of nuclear late transcripts or an independent transcription product like 5S RNA, or the adenovirus VA-RNAs. The data described below suggest that SAS-RNA is cleaved from large late transcripts. In vitro transcription of DNA fragments containing the SAS-RNA coding region yielded no SAS-RNA synthesis; this result was supported by DNA sequence analysis, which indicated no promoter-like regions either within or flanking the SAS-RNA coding region. In support of a cleavage mechanism, the SAS-RNA has a 3′-phosphate end, an occurrence which is indicative of nuclease cleavage. In addition, 5′-end labeling of the SAS-RNA was possible only after calf alkaline phosphatase treatment; this indicates that the SAS-RNA is not capped. Hybrid selection analysis was used to demonstrate that separation of the SAS-RNA coding region from the normal late promoter resulted in elimination of SAS-RNA synthesis. This was demonstrated in SV40-transformed cells in which integration of a single copy of SV40 breaks the continuity of the late coding region, so that the SAS-RNA coding region is physically separated from the normal late promoter. The lack of SAS-RNA synthesis indicates that the SAS-RNA coding region cannot function as a primary transcription unit. The same result and conclusion were obtained by using a permissive cell line transformed by SV40 (COS-1 cells); here it was found that the integrated SAS-RNA coding region was not expressed even during a viable lytic infection in which the SAS-RNA could be expressed from the infecting viral genomes. The simplest conclusion drawn from the data is that the SAS-RNA is cleaved from larger late transcripts which initiate at the normal late promoter. This conclusion suggests that many of the small RNAs found in normal eucaryotic cells may be synthesized by specific cleavage rather than by primary transcription. In the course of these studies several small cellular RNAs were detected, due to their specific hybrid selection, by using SV40 DNA. Primary mapping and characterization data of these RNAs are also presented.
The putative iron transport system SitABCD encoded on SPI1 is required for full virulence of Salmonella typhimurium

Salmonella typhimurium is an invasive pathogen that causes diseases ranging from mild gastroenteritis to enteric fever. During the infection process, S. typhimurium induces a number of virulence genes required to circumvent host defences and/or acquire nutrients in the host. We have used the in vivo expression technology (IVET) system to select for S. typhimurium genes that are induced after invasion of a murine cultured cell line. We have characterized a putative iron transporter in Salmonella pathogenicity island 1, termed sitABCD. The sitABCD operon is induced under iron-deficient conditions in vitro and is repressed by Fur. This locus is induced in the animal specifically after invasion of the intestinal epithelium. We show that a sit null mutant is significantly attenuated in BALB/c mice, suggesting that SitABCD plays an important role in iron acquisition in the animal.
Matrix isolation studies of the interaction of cyclopropane with strong lewis acids

Abstract The matrix isolation technique has been employed in conjunction with infrared spectroscopy to study the interaction of cyclopropane with the Lewis acids BF 3 , BCl 3 , BBr 3 , SiF 4 , and GeF 4 . No evidence was obtained for a distinctly bound molecular complex, in marked contrast to results which were obtained when cyclopropane was codeposited with the hydrogen halides. These results are rationalized in terms of steric requirements for the reaction.