cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
UCSD Center for Drug Discovery Innovation: Resourcing and Educating Scientists and Students for Academic Discovery Translation

The Center for Drug Discovery Innovation, CDDI, enables translation of novel biological and technology discoveries through facilitating connections between scientists and engineers with different t...
Quantifying Residual, Eddy, and Mean Flow Effects on Mixing in an Idealized Circumpolar Current

AbstractMeridional diffusivity is assessed for a baroclinically unstable jet in a high-latitude idealized circumpolar current (ICC) using the Model for Prediction across Scales Ocean (MPAS-O) and the online Lagrangian in Situ Global High-Performance Particle Tracking (LIGHT) diagnostic via space–time dispersion of particle clusters over 120 monthly realizations of O(106) particles on 11 potential density surfaces. Diffusivity in the jet reaches values of O(6000) m2 s−1 and is largest near the critical layer supporting mixing suppression and critical layer theory. Values in the vicinity of the shelf break are suppressed to O(100) m2 s−1 because of the presence of westward slope front currents. Diffusivity attenuates less rapidly with depth in the jet than both eddy velocity and kinetic energy scalings would suggest. Removal of the mean flow via high-pass filtering shifts the nonlinear parameter (ratio of the eddy velocity to eddy phase speed) into the linear wave regime by increasing the eddy phase speed v...
Resolution of Temporal-Multiplexing and Spatial-Multiplexing Stereoscopic Televisions

Stereoscopic (S3D) displays present different images to the two eyes. Temporal multiplexing and spatial multiplexing are two common techniques for accomplishing this. We compared the effective resolution provided by these two techniques. In a psychophysical experiment, we measured resolution at various viewing distances on a display employing temporal multiplexing, and on another display employing spatial multiplexing. In another experiment, we simulated the two multiplexing techniques on one display and again measured resolution. The results show that temporal multiplexing provides greater effective resolution than spatial multiplexing at short and medium viewing distances, and that the two techniques provide similar resolution at long viewing distance. Importantly, we observed a significant difference in resolution at the viewing distance that is generally recommended for high-definition television.
Abstract 1141: Evaluation of GABRP as a novel therapeutic target in triple negative breast cancer

Triple Negative breast cancers (TNBC) represent nearly 20% of all breast cancers but do not have any targeted therapies available due to lack of amplification of HER2 and expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors. To identify potentially druggable targets for TNBC, we compared TNBC to non-TNBC tumors in large independent gene expression clinical datasets to identify highly expressed genes in TNBC that encode for proteins expressed on the cell surface. We found gamma-aminobutyric acid type A receptor pi (GABRP) to be the most overexpressed receptor protein gene in TNBC, while its expression in normal tissues was low and comparable to that of proteins targeted by drugs or therapeutic antibodies already in clinical testing. We compared GABRP mRNA and protein expression across panel of breast cancer cell lines and found it to be particularly elevated in HCC1143 and MDA-MB-468 TNBC cells. Knockdown of GABRP using siRNA suppressed TNBC cell growth and stable GABRP knock-down by shRNA suppressed growth of MDA-MB-468 xenografts in nude mice. Sub-cellular fractionation of TNBC cells and subsequent Western blot analysis confirmed that GABRP is located predominantly in the cell membrane. GABRP protein expression on cell surface was also detected by flowcytometry. Interestingly, treatment with 5-100μg/ml of anti-GABRP antibody that binds to the extracellular domain (ECD) itself inhibited growth of TNBC cell lines expressing higher GABRP, while the same doses of a control antibody had no effect in these cells in culture. Our goal is to generate an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) for TNBC by conjugating anti-GABRP antibody with a maytansinoid such as DM1, which has proven cytotoxicity in breast cancer cells. Together, our results suggest that GABRP is a potential therapeutic target for triple-negative breast cancers. Citation Format: Vikram B. Wali, Gauri A. Patwardhan, Christos Hatzis, Lajos Pusztai. Evaluation of GABRP as a novel therapeutic target in triple negative breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 1141. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-1141
Modeling the effects of dissolved helium pressurant on a liquid hydrogen rocket propellant tank

A model was developed using NASA's Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) for the self-pressurization of a liquid hydrogen propellant tank due to boil-off to determine the significance of mixture non-idealities. The GFSSP model compared the tank performance for the traditional model that assumes no helium pressurant dissolves into the liquid hydrogen propellant to an updated model that accounts for dissolved helium pressurant. Traditional NASA models have been unable to account for this dissolved helium due to a lack of fundamental property information. Recent measurements of parahydrogen-helium mixtures enabled the development of the first multi-phase Equation Of State (EOS) for parahydrogen-helium mixtures. The self-pressurization GFSSP model was run assuming that the liquid propellant was pure liquid hydrogen and assuming helium dissolved into the liquid utilizing the new helium-hydrogen EOS. The analysis shows that having dissolved helium in the propellant does not have a significant effect on the tank pressurization rate for typical tank conditions (-423 °F and 30 psia).
The effect of lanthanide promoters on NiInAl/SiO2 catalyst for methanol synthesis

Abstract The addition of lanthanides, or rare earth elements, as promoters to NiInAl/SiO2 methanol synthesis catalysts was investigated. The promoters studied are the light rare earth elements (La to Gd) and all but La and Ce were shown to improve methanol synthesis activity. A comparison of the synthesis method for introduction of Pr as a promoter found that addition during the deposition-precipitation synthesis of the catalyst is superior to incipient wetness impregnation introduction after synthesis. The heaviest lanthanides tested (Sm, Eu, Gd) showed the greatest improvement in methanol synthesis activity and selectivity, with a concomitant decrease of CO produced. The Gd-promoted catalyst showed the greatest increase in methanol synthesis activity at 0.51 mmol gcat−1 h−1 which is a 27% increase over the catalyst with no promoter. Examination of the basic characteristics of the catalysts by CO2 TPD and in situ FTIR revealed a negative correlation between basicity and methanol synthesis activity. FTIR methanol synthesis tests also revealed a larger proportion of the key intermediate, bidentate formate, with the addition of the Gd promoter. STEM micrographs and particle size distributions show that the incorporation of the Gd promoter results in smaller diameter metallic particles and higher resistance to sintering. EELS mapping revealed that the location of Ni and Gd correlates well with the metallic particles observed with STEM, and while the In is also found in these particles, small amounts are also observed to be dispersed outside of the particles.
Automated fatigue crack identification through motion tracking in a video stream

Fatigue cracks developed in metallic materials are of critical safety concerns for mechanical, aerospace, and civil engineering structures. For fracture-critical structures, if not appropriately inspected, excessive growth of fatigue cracks can lead to catastrophic structural failures. Current crack detection technologies developed for nondestructive testing (NDT) or structural health monitoring (SHM) often require costly equipment, extensive human involvement, or complex signal processing algorithms. Recently, computer vision-based methods have shown great promise in damage detection for being contactless, low cost, and easy-to-deploy. In this paper, we propose a novel computer vision-based method for detecting fatigue cracks in a video stream. This method is based on tracking the surface motion of structural members under crack opening and closing, and identifying fatigue cracks by extracting discontinuities in the surface motion caused by cracking. The effectiveness of this method was validated through an experimental test of a steel compact, C(T), specimen. Results indicate that the proposed approach can robustly detect the fatigue crack under ambient lighting condition, despite the crack was surrounded by other crack-like edges, covered by complex surface textures, or invisible to human eyes under crack closure.
Effect of supplemental yeast culture in sow gestation and lactation diets on apparent nutrient digestibilities and reproductive performance through one reproductive cycle

Ninety-six crossbred sows and gilts were used to study the effect of yeast culture (Diamond V. Mills, Cedar Rapids, IA) on apparent nutrient digestibilities and reproductive performance from d 60 of gestation through d 21 of lactation. Sows were allotted to treatment groups based on parity and BW. Four dietary treatments were made by substituting 0, .5, 1.0, or 2.0% yeast culture for wheat middlings in the basal gestation and lactation diets. During gestation, sows were fed 2.15 kg/d of a 12.5% CP corn-soybean meal diet containing 25.0% alfalfa meal that provided 6.39 Mcal of ME/d. During lactation, sows were fed a 13.5% CP corn-soybean meal diet containing 12.5% alfalfa meal (3.16 Mcal of ME/kg) to appetite daily. Yeast culture supplementation did not affect (P > .3 to .9) the apparent digestibilities of DM, energy, CP, ether extract, ADF, and NDF in gestation (d 90 to 97) or lactation (d 14 to 21), sow weights on d 107 of gestation and d 1 and 21 of lactation, lactation feed intake, or days from weaning to first estrus compared to control sows. Also, yeast culture treatment had no effect (P > .3 to .5) on number of live pigs/litter at birth and d 21 or total litter weight on d 21. In conclusion, supplemental yeast culture in gestation and lactation diets containing alfalfa meal did not affect apparent nutrient digestibilities and reproductive performance criteria through one reproductive cycle.
From Corpuscles to Elements: Chemical Ontologies from Van Helmont to Lavoisier

From a philosophical point of view, one of the more significant changes in chemical ontology from the late sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century is the shift from a vitalistic conception of fundamental corpuscles, to a mechanistic atomism, to an operational notion of chemical elements. This essay proposes to discuss some of the key figures in this ontological shift, focusing on the ideas of van Helmont, Sennert, Gassendi, Boyle, and Lavoisier. The essay examines the relationship between the work of late sixteenth century chymists and that of the mechanistic atomists to illustrate the fact that the atomistic framework of the late seventeenth century was intimately dependent upon the earlier work of vitalistic corpuscularian alchemists and chymists. In addition to tracing the influences of vitalistic corpuscularianism on the shift to a mechanistic atomistic ontology, this essay also establishes historical antecedents, in the work of Sennert and Boyle, for Lavoisier’s operational and analytical definition of chemical elements.
Issues and Aids for Teaching Mathematics To the Blind

E fforts at inclusion and mainstreaming are pervasive in classrooms across North America. One of the many special populations formerly segregated but currently mainstreamed includes blind or partially sighted students. In this article we discuss some of the challenges faced by blind and visually impaired students and some of the tools available to help these students in their efforts to learn mathematics,
Natural selection and self-organization

The Darwinian concept of natural selection was conceived within a set of Newtonian background assumptions about systems dynamics. Mendelian genetics at first did not sit well with the gradualist assumptions of the Darwinian theory. Eventually, however, Mendelism and Darwinism were fused by reformulating natural selection in statistical terms. This reflected a shift to a more probabilistic set of background assumptions based upon Boltzmannian systems dynamics. Recent developments in molecular genetics and paleontology have put pressure on Darwinism once again. Current work on self-organizing systems may provide a stimulus not only for increased problem solving within the Darwinian tradition, especially with respect to origins of life, developmental genetics, phylogenetic pattern, and energy-flow ecology, but for deeper understanding of the very phenomenon of natural selection itself. Since self-organizational phenomena depend deeply on stochastic processes, self-organizational systems dynamics advance the probability revolution. In our view, natural selection is an emergent phenomenon of physical and chemical selection. These developments suggest that natural selection may be grounded in physical law more deeply than is allowed by advocates of the autonomy of biology, while still making it possible to deny, with autonomists, that evolutionary explanations can be modeled in terms of a deductive relationship between laws and cases. We explore the relationship between, chance, self-organization, and selection as sources of order in biological systems in order to make these points.
Control of compression refrigeration processes with superheat or saturated boiling

Abstract Cryogenic separation processes typically use compression refrigeration systems to achieve the desired low temperature levels for heat removal in the condenser. Many compression refrigeration systems are designed to produce slightly superheated refrigerant vapor leaving the evaporator. The liquid expansion valve is manipulated to control the amount of superheating. Commercial refrigeration systems must often handle drastic changes in operating conditions of refrigerant load and condenser temperature, which subject the superheat control loop to severe rangeability issues that complicate control due to nonlinearity and saturation. Some compression refrigeration systems have boiling liquid refrigerant in the evaporator with saturated vapor fed to the compressor. The liquid expansion valve controls the liquid level in the evaporator. The control structure is simplified and more robust. The contribution of this paper is to provide a rigorous quantitative comparison of the design and control of these alternative configurations. The fluid mechanics (plumbing) problems encountered when the superheated design is employed are demonstrated. Realistic simulations of the desuperheating, condensing and subcooling in heat exchangers are used.
Transgenerational effects of stress targeting the 45S rRNA for genetic and epigenetic reprogramming

2855 Paternal experiences, as well as exposures, are suspected to contribute to disease risk in offspring, including cancer. Chromium(III), a glucose regulator, physiological stressor and a preconceptional carcinogen in mice, and acid saline vehicle, which is also a stressor after i.p. injection, were used to examine transgenerational effects on the 45S ribosomal RNA gene, previously identified as a target. Allele frequencies of the rRNA spacer and gene promoters, and DNA methylation in the spacer promoter were quantified by pyrosequencing after polymerase chain reaction amplification. In the sperm of treated mice, both chromium(III) and acid saline induced hypomethylation (paired T test, p
Increasing Number and Volume of Cavitary Lesions on Chest Computed Tomography Are Associated With Prolonged Time to Culture Conversion in Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Background Cavitary lesions (CLs) primarily identified by chest x-ray (CXR) have been associated with worse clinical outcomes among patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). Chest computed tomography (CT), which has better resolution and increased sensitivity to detect lung abnormalities, has been understudied in PTB patients. We compared detection of CLs by CT and CXR and assessed their association with time to sputum culture conversion (tSCC). Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of 141 PTB patients who underwent CT. We used multivariate Cox proportional hazards models to evaluate the association between CLs on CXR and the number and single largest volume of CLs on CT with tSCC. Results Thirty (21%) and 75 (53%) patients had CLs on CXR and CT, respectively. CT detected cavities in an additional 44 patients (31%) compared with CXR. After multivariable adjustment, we observed a negative association between CLs and tSCC, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 0.56 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32 to 0.97) for single CLs and 0.31 (95% CI, 0.16 to 0.60) for multiple CLs present on CT. Patients with a CL volume ≥25 mL had a prolonged tSCC (aHR, 0.39; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.72). CLs on CXR were not associated with increased tSCC after multivariable adjustment. Conclusions CT detected a larger number of cavities in patients with PTB relative to CXR. We observed an association between increasing number and volume of CLs on CT and delayed tSCC independent of sputum microscopy result. Our findings highlight a potential role for CT in the clinical and research setting as a tool to risk-stratify patients with PTB.
Defining Pancreatitis as a Risk Factor for Pancreatic Cancer: The Role, Incidence, and Timeline of Development.

OBJECTIVES Acute and/or chronic pancreatitis has been implicated as an important risk factor for pancreatic cancer; however, the incidence and temporal relationship of pancreatitis before pancreatic cancer diagnosis are unclear. We aim to understand the role and incidence of pancreatitis temporally with the development of pancreatic cancer. METHODS A population-based study was used to investigate a temporal relationship between pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer diagnoses. Intervals of 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 months were developed. Demographical data including age, sex, and race were also recorded and analyzed. RESULTS A total of 50,080 patients were found to have a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, of which 7420 (14.8%) had prior diagnoses of pancreatitis. Of those, 92% were between the ages of 40 and 89 years. African Americans had a higher rate of pancreatitis before cancer diagnosis when compared with whites (21.2% vs 14.8%, P < 0.0001). Further analysis revealed that pancreatitis occurred in 81.3% of patients 3 months before a diagnosis of pancreas cancer and 98.9% had established diagnoses of pancreatic cancer within 3 years. CONCLUSIONS Screening of patients older than 40 years who have pancreatitis and unclear etiology of pancreatitis may be warranted, especially in African Americans and male individuals.
Divisibility Redux: 'Alternatively Phrased Statutes' and State Law in the Post- Mathis Categorical Approach

The categorical approach, a once obscure doctrine, now dominates the U.S. Supreme Court’s immigration and federal recidivist sentencing docket. While the primary questions about how to apply the approach have been resolved, many adjudicators and practitioners still find the categorical approach vexing and difficult to apply. A major source of confusion arises from the “modified categorial” approach and what the Supreme Court in Mathis v. United States has called “alternatively phrased statutes,” which use disjunctive language or list alternatives. It is often unclear whether these statutes describe different means of committing a single crime, elements of distinct offenses, or, in the case of statutes with more than two alternatives, some combination of both means and elements. This Article begins by explaining the Mathis Court’s ruling that state law is the primary source to consider in the means versus elements analysis of alternately phrased statutes in the modified categorial approach. This Article then highlights common mistakes made in the post-Mathis federal court jurisprudence when applying the means versus elements test. Each section analyzes a specific error, illustrates it in judicial opinions, and includes examples of the correct analysis. The errors analyzed include (1) relying on state law that provides no definitive answer; (2) “peeking” at the record of conviction; (3) mistaking the prosecutor’s charge of one alternative for divisibility; (4) relying on only the disjunctive wording or structure of the statute; (5) mistaking partial divisibility for complete divisibility; and (6) citing to overruled pre-Mathis-precedent. Correct application of the post-Mathis categorical approach is critical for protecting the rights of defendants and immigrants, as well as ensuring the fair adjudication of their cases.
WiChronos: energy-efficient modulation for long-range, large-scale wireless networks

Wireless communication over long distances has become the bottleneck for battery-powered, large-scale deployments. Currently used low-power protocols such as Zigbee and Bluetooth Low Energy have limited communication range, whereas long-range communication strategies used in cellular and satellite networks are heavy on energy consumption. Methods that use narrow-band communication such as LoRa, SigFox, and NB-IoT have low spectral efficiency, leading to scalability issues. The goal of this work is to develop a communication framework that can satisfy the following requirements: (1) Increased battery life, (2) Longer communication range, (3) Scalability in a wireless network. In this work, we propose, design, and prototype WiChronos, a communication paradigm that encodes information in the time interval between two narrowband symbols in order to drastically reduce the energy consumption in a wide area network with a large number of senders. We leverage the low data-rate and relaxed latency requirements of such applications to achieve the desired features identified above. Based on our prototype using off-the-shelf components, WiChronos achieves an impressive 60% improvement in battery life compared to state-of-the-art LPWAN technologies at distances of over 800 meters. We also show that more than 1000 WiChronos senders can co-exist with less than 5% probability of collisions under low traffic conditions.
Use of the prewarm method for detecting clinically significant alloantibodies in the presence of cold autoantibodies.

CONCLUSIONS The prewarm (PW) method is useful for detecting and identifying clinically significant antibodies that bind to red blood cells and complement at 37°C and for avoiding antibodies that bind at temperatures less than 37°C. Antibodies that bind at temperatures less than 37°C are often cold autoantibodies that may be present in the serum of healthy individuals and are usually not clinically significant. The PW method is useful when these cold autoantibodies have a wide thermal range and interfere with standard testing methods by reacting at the 37°C and antihuman globulin test phases. When using the PW method, it is important to identify underlying, potentially clinically significant alloantibodies during pretransfusion testing to ensure the most appropriate component will be selected for transfusion.
A dosimetry study of post-mastectomy radiation therapy with AeroForm tissue expander.

Purpose To evaluate the dosimetric effects of the AeroFormTM (AirXanpders®, Palo Alto, CA) tissue expander in-situ for breast cancer patients receiving post-mastectomy radiation therapy. Methods and materials A film phantom (P1) was constructed by placing the metallic canister of the AeroForm on a solid water phantom with EBT3 films at five depths ranging from 2.6 mm to 66.2 mm. A breast phantom (P2), a three-dimensional printed tissue-equivalent breast with fully expanded AeroForm in-situ, was placed on a thorax phantom. A total of 21 optical luminescent dosimeters (OLSDs) were placed on the anterior skin-gas interface and the posterior chest wall-metal interface of the AeroForm. Both phantoms were imaged with a 16-bit computed tomography scanner with orthopedic metal artifact reduction. P1 was irradiated with an open field utilizing 6 MV and 15 MV photon beams at 0°, 90°, and 270°. P2 was irradiated using a volumetric modulated arc therapy plan with a 6 MV photon beam and a tangential plan with a 15 MV photon beam. All doses were calculated using Eclipse (Varian, Palo Alto, CA) with AAA and AcurosXB (AXB) algorithms. Results The average dose differences between film measurements and AXB in the region adjacent to the canister in P1 were within 3.1% for 15 MV and 0.9% for 6 MV. Local dose differences over 10% were also observed. In the chest wall region of P2, the median dose of OLSDs in percentage of prescription dose were 108.4% (range 95.4%-113.0%) for the 15MV tangential plan and 110.4% (range 99.1%-113.8%) for the 6MV volumetric modulated arc therapy plan. In the skin-gas interface, the median dose of the OLSDs were 102.3% (range 92.7%-107.7%) for the 15 MV plan and 108.2% (range 97.8-113.5%) for the 6 MV plan. Measured doses were, in general, higher than calculated doses with AXB calculations. The AAA dose algorithms produced results with slightly larger discrepancies between measurements compared with AXB. Conclusions The AeroForm creates significant dose uncertainties in the chest wall-metal interface. The AcurosXB dose calculation algorithm is recommended for more accurate calculations. If possible, post-mastectomy radiation therapy should be delivered after the permanent implant is in place.
Interim Rationalizable Implementation of Functions

This paper investigates rationalizable implementation of social choice functions (SCFs) in incomplete information environments. We identify weak interim rationalizable monotonicity (weak IRM) as a novel condition and show that weak IRM is a necessary and almost sufficient condition for rationalizable implementation. We show by means of an example that interim rationalizable monotonicity (IRM), found in the literature, is strictly stronger than weak IRM as its name suggests, and that IRM is not necessary for rationalizable implementation, as had been previously claimed. The same example also demonstrates that Bayesian monotonicity, the key condition for full Bayesian implementation, is not necessary for rationalizable implementation. This implies that rationalizable implementation can be more permissive than Bayesian implementation: one can exploit the fact that there are no mixed Bayesian equilibria in the implementing mechanism.
Transgender Surgery: Perspectives Across Levels of Training in Medical and Surgical Specialties

Purpose: Approximately 1.4 million adults identify as transgender in the United States. Transgender patients face societal, legal, and medical discrimination that can lead to health disparities. The objective of this study was to evaluate knowledge and perceptions of transgender health care across various levels of medical training and specialties. Methods: Between April 1, 2019 and May 1, 2019, an anonymous survey was distributed to residents and attendings, in both medical and surgical specialties, at a university-affiliated hospital. Participants were recruited into the study with survey distribution by email to residency program directors, residents, and residency-affiliated attendings. Results: There was a response rate of 29.5% (118/400). Across all respondents, 34.7%, 31.4%, and 39% knew where to refer transgender patients for hormone replacement, psychotherapy, or surgery, respectively. Only 37.9% of residents and 46.2% of attendings reported that they were confident of providing care for a transgender patient (p=0.130). In addition, less than one-third of surgical respondents reported sufficient knowledge to describe transgender surgery. The most common reasons affecting comfort level when caring for transgender patients were lack of exposure (53.4%) and lack of formal education (47.6%), with other reasons being personal, moral, and religious reasons (11%, 8.5%, and 6.8%, respectively). Conclusion: Despite literature demonstrating the effectiveness of formal didactics and education in transgender health, there remain disparities in the knowledge and comfort of residents and attendings across all specialties. To deliver competent health care to transgender patients, efforts must focus on improving the availability of system-wide resources and educational opportunities for all specialties.
An Autoethnography on Being the Daughter of a Frail, Sick Mother in Transitional Care

The article reflects on and explores a daughter's experience of being the relative to a frail, sick elderly mother in Norway. Recent reforms of the Norwegian healthcare services have had a major im...
Training Young Horses: The Science behind the Benefits

Conflicting research and anecdotal evidence have created disagreement among equestrians as to whether two-year-old horses should be trained and raced. The objective of this literature review is to evaluate epidemiological studies, as well as physiological data on equine bone, articular cartilage, and tendons to better determine the impact of training and racing two-year-old horses. The evaluation of numerous studies on the topic provides evidence that a horse which is trained or raced as a two-year-old has a lower risk of injury and better adapted tissues for the rigors of racing. Unfortunately, the current prolific use of pain-mitigating substances in the racing industry does place horses, including young cohorts, at greater risk of injury, and should be used with caution.
Dielectrowetting of a thin nematic liquid crystal layer

We consider a mathematical model that describes the flow of a nematic liquid crystal (NLC) film placed on a flat substrate, across which a spatially varying electric potential is applied. Due to their polar nature, NLC molecules interact with the (nonuniform) electric field generated, leading to instability of a flat film. Implementation of the long wave scaling leads to a partial differential equation that predicts the subsequent time evolution of the thin film. This equation is coupled to a boundary value problem that describes the interaction between the local molecular orientation of the NLC (the director field) and the electric potential. We investigate numerically the behavior of an initially flat film for a range of film heights and surface anchoring conditions.
Platelet Aggregation Assays Do Not Reliably Diagnose Platelet Delta Granule Storage Pool Deficiency.

Background: Patients with platelet dysfunction disorders present with a variety of mucocutaneous bleeding symptoms including easy bruising, frequent epistaxis, bleeding gums upon tooth brushing and for women, heavy menstrual bleeding. Available laboratory assays to evaluate platelet function include the platelet function analyzer (PFA) and in larger centers with coagulation laboratories, light transmission platelet aggregometry (LTA) analyses. Both assays are known to have a number of limitations, especially in the diagnosis of platelet delta granule storage pool deficiency (gamma-SPD).Gamma-SPD is an underdiagnosed condition caused by decreased numbers of platelet dense granules (DGs) and is best diagnosed by electron microscopy (EM). Patients with platelet gamma-SPD have a decreased response to low levels of the agonist adenosine diphosphate (ADP) in the second wave of light transmittance with LTA or decreased ADP secretion by fluorescence lumiaggregometry. There are few reports that have evaluated patients withgamma-SPD and their respective LTA results. One report published in 1987 described normal LTA assays in 23% of patients with gamma-SPD; a more recent report described LTA as having the sensitivity to detect only about 52% of patients with gamma-SPD. The purpose of our study was intended to review the LTA and EM results of patients suspected of having a platelet function disorder at our institution for comparison with previously published studies. Methods: Our study included 344 patients who had been evaluated by both LTA and whole mount EM. Aggregometry utilized five agonists: ADP, epinephrine, collagen, arachidonic acid, and ristocetin. DGs were enumerated in 100 whole-mounted platelets to determine a mean number of dense granules per platelet (DGs/PL). Results: Seventy-seven percent of our patients were found to have gamma-SPD (264/344); 68% (179/264) of these subjects had an abnormal platelet LTA. Thirty-two percent (85/264) of our patients had normal LTA results but were found to have gamma-SPD with a mean of 2.54 ± 0.15 DG/PL (normal = 4 - 6 DG/PL). Conclusion: These data confirm previous reports suggesting the utilization of LTA alone in patients with histories of unexplained bleeding may miss the diagnosis of platelet gamma-SPD. It is, therefore, prudent to assess platelet DG number by EM, especially if platelet LTA assessment is normal. J Hematol. 2021;10(4):196-201 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jh832
Mindfulness-based intervention in adolescents at risk for excess weight gain: 1.5-year follow-up of pilot randomized controlled trial.

Abstract Background Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) may offer a novel means of preventing excess weight gain in adolescents, theoretically by decreasing stress-eating through altering executive functioning (EF) and food-reward sensitivity. Methods N = 54 12–17y girls and boys at-risk for excess weight gain (i.e., BMI ≥70th percentile or two biological parents with reported obesity [BMI ≥30 kg/m2]) participated in a 1.5-year follow-up of a pilot randomized controlled trial comparing 6-week/6-session MBI (n = 29) and a health education (HE) control (n = 25). Laboratory stress-eating, food-reward sensitivity, EF, perceived stress, and BMI/adiposity were re-assessed at 1.5-years with validated measures. Changes from baseline to 1.5-year follow-up were explored with ANCOVA, accounting for the respective baseline outcome, age, and sex. Results Compared to MBI (M = −21, SE = 59), HE had greater increases in stress-eating from baseline to 1.5-years (M = 194, SE = 63, Cohen's d = 0.59, p = .01). There were no other between-condition differences. Discussion MBI may prevent worsening stress-eating for adolescents at-risk for excess weight gain. The potential for MBI as an intervention for stress-eating and ultimately, weight stabilization warrants testing in an adequately-powered trial.
Working for (Virtually) Minimum Wage: Applying the Fair Labor Standards Act in Cyberspace

As more work enters cyberspace, takes place in virtual worlds, and collapses traditional nation-state barriers, we are entering a new era of “virtual work.” In this article, I use “virtual work” as an umbrella term to encompass work in virtual worlds, crowdsourcing, clickworking, even sweeping in, to some degree, the commonplace telecommuting and “mobile executives” that have become ubiquitous over the past decade.Are such new forms of “work” entitled to the minimum payment standards mandated under the FLSA? As the United States enters another economic crisis, and with advances in technology key to continued economic growth and stability, these questions demand serious consideration. The FLSA now faces a variety of new scenarios created by work in cyberspace, and there is a strong case that the economic and equitable purposes of the FLSA are best served by ensuring that the statute is construed broadly so that cyberworkers, clickworkers, and virtual workers receive the federal minimum wage. The advent of virtual work simultaneously provides immense promise and peril for workers in the new digital economy. New technology allowing collaboration can provide remarkable opportunities for workers and employers alike. Traditional limitations on collaboration - of travel, of meeting, of commuting - can be minimized or reduced. Employers can use virtual spaces to make contacts and recruit talent, without spending money on transportation. Simultaneously, virtual work presents many of the same enduring problems and "races to the bottom" that workers’ rights advocates have struggled with over the years. This Article begins, in Part One, with a brief background discussion of labor markets in cyberspace. The discussion here contains an in-depth description of the process of pounding the virtual pavement - looking for work in cyberspace - for the purpose of showing the special employment challenges in this context and thus why such work warrants the protection of the FLSA. With that background, Part Two discusses the application of the FLSA to work in virtual worlds, crowdsourcing, and clickworking. Finally, Part Three makes the argument that the purposes of the FLSA are best achieved by ensuring their application to virtual work in the United States. Finally, the conclusion offers some thoughts about the broader applications of this argument and some possibilities for further thought and study, to be developed in future work.
On invariants dual to the Bass numbers

Let R be a commutative Noetherian ring, and let M be an Rmodule. In earlier papers by Bass (1963) and Roberts (1980) the Bass numbers pi (p, M) were defined for all primes p and all integers i > 0 by use of the minimal invective resolution of M. It is well known that pi (p, M) = diMk(p) ExtR (k(p), Mp). On the other hand, if M is finitely generated, the Betti numbers Oi3 (p, M) are defined by the minimal free resolution of Mp over the local ring Rp. In an earlier paper of the second author (1995), using the flat covers of modules, the invariants 7ri (p, M) were defined by the minimal flat resolution of M over Gorenstein rings. The invariants 7ri (p, M) were shown to be somehow dual to the Bass numbers. In this paper, we use homologies to compute these invariants and show that 7ri (p, M) = dimk(p) Tor? p (k(p), HomR(Rp, M)) for any cotorsion module M. Comparing this with the computation of the Bass numbers, we see that Ext is replaced by Tor and the localization Mp is replaced by HomR (Rp, M) (which was called the colocalization of M at the prime ideal p by Melkersson and Schenzel).
Use of Sound and Stethoscope in Esophageal Atresia

Some years ago we conducted a congenital anomaly survey which included passage of a nasogastric tube bilaterally with one attempt to enter the stomach. Today we continue to see infants with esophageal atresia undiagnosed because the catheter when passed curls up in the esophageal sac. Thus, when air is injected it can be heard in the stomach. We therefore urge that people performing this congenital anomaly survey practice listening to the difference between the sound of air entering the stomach and the sound of air entering the esophageal pouch.
Narrowing the Know-Do Gap in Public Health

Like other components of the American health system, public health all too often fails to deploy the strategies that research and experience have shown to be effective in improving population health. These failures, collectively known as the “know-do” gap, occur for many reasons.
Joseph Turow. The Daily You

In his new book, The Daily You, Joseph Turow provides a taut and well-researched account of how “websites, advertisers, and a panoply of other companies are continuously assessing the activities, i...
Cyclotron Targets Using Enriched Stable Isotopes

The use of enriched stable isotopes in the cyclotron production of radioisotopes is not only possible, but can also be economically advantageous. The feasibility is related directly to the efficiency of recovery of the unconverted target material. Some of the techniques and problems which are encountered in the preparation of and recovery of Te/sup 125/, Te/sup 130/, and Cr/sup 54/ are discussed. (auth)
Zeroing in on DNA methylomes with no BS

Measuring the kinetics of nucleotide incorporation during single-molecule, real-time DNA sequencing allows identification of methylated bases during the sequencing process.
A Visual C++ based modeling & simulation package for electric vehicle design

This paper discusses a modeling and simulation package for electric vehicle design. It is a GUI-package developed using MS Visual C++ 20008 at Lamar University, Lamar-EVSim1 2.0. The EV element-models are specified by a set of dynamic equations. The constant-set associated with each dynamic equation is the input data to the simulation system. The algorithms used are context-sensitively displayed. It is a feed-backward simulator that estimates the vehicle element-by-element requirements/performance hierarchically starting from the tire, gear-box, motor-controller, battery-pack, and finally the overall vehicle. Lamar Electric Vehicle I is used as a hardware-platform to verify the simulation results.
How has Peace Changed the Northern Irish Political Economy

Abstract The northern Irish peace process spawned a discourse that promises high quality employment led by foreign investments. Such a peace dividend has been absent, however, and employment in state-aided foreign projects has actually fallen since 1994. Results are especially bad for the most marginalized areas that were at the centre of conflict. A more satisfactory conception of a peace dividend would be based on the regeneration of marginalized communities. Yet the revival of devolved power-sharing government promises little change, mainly because Northern Irish policy is restricted by British Treasury rules that impose neoliberal principles of reduced government spending and privatization.
The Jupiter Trial: Key Findings, Controversies, and Implications

Introduction The presentation and publication of the Jupiter trial in November 2008 was greeted by acclaim and skepticism within the cardiovascular community [1,2]. Why was there such a “bimodal” response to this pivotal clinical trial? Jupiter represents a classic example of the dilemma now facing clinical decision making in the contemporary cardiovascular medicine. Can we provide incremental value using new therapeutic strategies and what price are we willing to pay for such progress? Depending on your point of view, the Jupiter trial was either a resounding success or an overzealous effort to extend statin treatment to an unreasonably broad population. Let us examine the facts.
Effects of coal dust on species composition of mosses and lichens in an arid environment

A wind-borne plume of coal dust has been deposited on the soil and vegetation next to a coal storage area at a power generation plant in Oregon (U.S.A.). Correlated with the deposition of coal dust were significantly increased soil temperatures, decreased pH, and increased moisture-holding properties. Some heavy metal concentrations were also higher on the plume. These differences are possibly responsible for the lower frequencies and diversity of lichen species on the plume. Moss diversity, frequency and percent cover are similar on and off the plume with the exception of Ceratodon purpureus. The increased cover of C. purpureus may be attributed to heavy metal tolerance on the plume.
Evaluation of the neurotoxicity of N-methyl-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-aminopropane (para-methoxymethamphetamine, PMMA)

These studies assessed the neurotoxic potential of N-methyl-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-2-aminopropane (para-methoxymethamphetamine; PMMA), an amphetamine analog that has surfaced in the illicit drug market. Repeated subcutaneous injections of PMMA caused lasting, dose-related reductions in regional brain concentrations of serotonin (5-HT) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), and in the density of [3H]paroxetine-labelled 5-HT uptake sites. Comparison of the neurotoxic potential of PMMA to that of para-methoxyamphetamine (PMA) and 3,4-methyl-enedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) showed that equivalent doses of PMMA and PMA (80 mg/kg) produced comparable depletions of 5-HT, but that these depletions were not as pronounced as those induced by a lower dose of MDMA (20 mg/kg). Striatal DA was not affected on a long-term basis by any of the ring-substituted amphetamines evaluated in this study. These data suggest that PMMA, like PMA and MDMA, produces long-term (possibly neurotoxic) effects on brain serotonin neurons, but that PMMA is less potent than MDMA as a 5-HT neurotoxin. Further, they raise concern over the illicit use of PMMA since humans could be more sensitive than rodents to the 5-HT neurotoxic effects of PMMA and related drugs.
Resolving apparent conflicts between oceanographic and Antarctic climate records and evidence for a decrease in pCO2 during the Oligocene through early Miocene (34–16 Ma)

Abstract An apparent mismatch between published oxygen isotopic data and other paleoclimate proxies for the span from 26–16 Ma is resolved by calibration against global sea-level estimates obtained from backstripping continental margin stratigraphy. Ice-volume estimates from calibrated oxygen isotope data compare favorably with stratigraphic and palynological data from Antarctica, and with estimates of atmospheric pCO2 throughout the Oligocene to early Miocene (34–16 Ma). Isotopic evidence for an East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) as much as 30% larger than its present-day volume at glacial maxima during that span is consistent with seismic reflection and stratigraphic evidence for an ice sheet covering much of the Antarctic continental shelf at the same glacial maxima. Palynological data suggest long-term cooling during the Oligocene, with cold near-tundra environments developing along the coast at glacial minima no later than the late Oligocene. A possible mechanism for this long-term cooling is a decrease in atmospheric pCO2 from the middle Eocene to Oligocene, reaching near pre-industrial levels by the latest Oligocene, and remaining at those depressed levels throughout the Miocene.
Epstein-Barr virus DNA synthesized in superinfected Raji cells.

Abstract Raji and P3HR-1 are established Burkitt lymphoma-derived cell lines that carry the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) genome. Superinfection of the Raji cell line, a non-virus-producer, with virus from P3HR-1 cells results in the synthesis of several thousand copies of EBV-DNA per cell with attendant inhibition of synthesis and breakdown of Raji cell DNA. The DNA synthesized in superinfected Raji cells has been characterized. Raji cells infected with P3HR-1 virus and labeled with 32P 10 hr after infection synthesized only viral DNA. As much as 90% of the 55 S, 32P-labeled material was localized in the nucleus of superinfected cells after a 10-hr labeling period. The viral DNA purified from superinfected cells had the same buoyant density as the DNA isolated from P3HR-1 virions and after purification could be recovered with a specific activity exceeding 106 cpm/μg in an amount which approached 10 wg/107 infected Raji cells. The viral DNA from superinfected cells reassociated with the DNA from Raji or P3HR-1 cells and with the DNA from virus but did not reassociate with DNA from cell line 698 (a lymphoblastoid cell line lacking the EBV genome). Nuclei isolated from superinfected Raji cells incorporated label from deoxythymidine triphosphate into an acid-insoluble product, most of which had a buoyant density identical to that of DNA from P3HR-1 virions. Digestion of the DNA from superinfected cells with the restriction endonuclease EcoRI produced a number of fragments with molecular weights which ranged from less than 1 million to approximately 30 million when analyzed by electrophoresis on agarose gels. All of the fragments produced by digestion of DNA from virus were present in the digest of DNA from superinfected Raji cells.