cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Control of an islanded microgrid based on a distributed finite control set-model predictive control: A double Synchronous reference frame approach

In this work primary control loop of the microgrid (MG) hierarchy is implemented by decomposing converter voltage and current into two oppositely rotating reference frames. The double Synchronous reference frame method is used with a filter-based extraction to yield values of each sequence component. A distributed finite control set-model predictive control (DFCS-MPC) is extended and applied to control both sequences with one cost function. In this way the use of any parameters tuning, as in the classical PI controller is eliminated. The method exhibits features of the powerful MPC approach. Since an island mode is assumed, voltage and current control strategies are used. Power quality at the point of coupling is considerably improved by setting the voltage negative sequence component to zero in the cost function and nullifying the negative sequence current share of the relevant voltage-creating converter. Cases corresponding to different sharing conditions are studied. The validity of the proposed approach is verified under all considered conditions.
Grain orientations and grain boundaries in tungsten nonotendril fuzz grown under divertor-like conditions

Abstract We grew nanotendril “fuzz” on tungsten via plasma exposure and performed transmission Kikuchi diffraction (tKD) in scanning electron microscopy of isolated nanotendrils. 900 °C, 10 23 He/m 2 sec, 4 × 10 26 He/m 2 exposure of tungsten produced a deep and fully developed nanotendril mat. tKD of isolated nanotendrils indicated that there was no preferred crystallographic direction oriented along the long axes of the tendrils, and the grain boundary character showed slightly preferential orientations. Tendril growth is sufficiently non-equilibrium to prevent any preference of growth direction to manifest measurably, and that new high-angle boundaries (with new grains and grain-growth axes) nucleate randomly along the tendrils during growth.
CAPS Psychology and the Empirical Adequacy of Aristotelian Virtue Ethics

For the past decade and a half, Aristotelians have tried to counter the following criticism articulated by John Doris: if we look at personality and social psychology research, we must conclude that we generally neither have, nor have the capacity to develop, character traits of the kind envisioned by Aristotle and his followers. Some defenses of Aristotelian virtue ethics proceed by trying to insulate it from this challenge, while others have tried to dissipate the force of Doris's critique by showing how virtue ethics and recent findings in personality psychology share surprisingly extensive common ground. For example, in their 2009 books, Daniel Russell and Nancy Snow both argue that the empirical research regarding character complements - not undermines - virtue ethics. Specifically, each argues that the situationally sensitive Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS) developed by Walter Mischel and Yuichi Shoda can be integrated into a virtue ethical moral philosophy and theory of character. In this paper, I raise several objections to their attempts to use the CAPS model to rehabilitate Aristotelian virtue ethics and argue that, as a result, this model has not been shown to have the promise Snow and Russell allege it has.
Occupational Pharmaceutical Counterfeiting Schemes: A Crime Scripts Analysis

ABSTRACTThis article presents a crime script for pharmaceutical counterfeiting schemes perpetrated by licensed health care professionals; we term these types of schemes occupational pharmaceutical counterfeiting. To date, there have been no empirical investigations of these schemes, nor any attempts to disentangle their many elements and components. Using qualitative content analysis techniques we examined data from the A-CAPP Product Counterfeiting database related to pharmaceutical counterfeiting schemes. We develop a crime script for pharmaceutical counterfeiting that describes key acts, scenes, actors, activities, and enforcement conditions. Occupational counterfeiters leverage their position as a health care provider to abuse patient trust and conceal their deviant acts.
Variability of Pinus halepensis Mill. Essential Oils and Their Antioxidant Activities Depending on the Stage of Growth During Vegetative Cycle.

The impact of growth stages during vegetative cycle (B0 - B5 ) on chemical composition and antioxidant activities of Pinus halepensis Mill. needles essential oils was investigated for the first time. GC and GC/MS analyses pointed to a quantitative variability of components; terpene hydrocarbons derivatives, represented by α-pinene (8.5 - 12.9%), myrcene (17.5 - 21.6%), p-cymene (7.9 - 11.9%) and (Z)-β-caryophyllene (17.3 - 21.2%) as major components, decreased from 88.9% at B0 growth stage to 66.9% at B5 growth stage, whereas oxygenated derivatives, represented by caryophyllene oxide (5.4 - 12.6%) and terpinen-4-ol (0.4 - 3.3%) as major components, increased from 7% at B0 growth stage to 28.4% at B5 growth stage. Furthermore, our findings showed that essential oil of P. halepensis needles collected at B5 growth stage possess higher antioxidant activities by four different testing systems than those collected at B0 - B4 growth stages. This highlighted variability led to conclude that we should select essential oils to be investigated carefully depending on growth stage, in order to have the highest effectiveness of essential oil in terms of biological activities for human health purposes.
America: Contexts and Cultures

America constituted a new model of democratic civic society, grounded in the prior European separation of church and state but with greater latitude for ethnic identification. This new model attracted massive numbers of immigrants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including millions of Jews seeking new homes and better lives. The coinciding dynamic of an evolving American society along with a newly expanded Jewish community facilitated the ability of American Jews to quite rapidly find their place in general society and to create a voluntary Jewish communal structure and culture. The emergent American Jewish culture became a noteworthy component of the broader American culture as well as an informal educative force for America’s Jews.
Role of P 2 receptors in Cerebral Vasospasm

P87 Introduction: Extracellular ATP activates P 2 receptors to increase intracellular Ca 2+ , to contract cerebral arteries, and to induce vasospasm in animals. This study examined the mRNA expression of P 2 receptors in a rat double hemorrhage model and explored the therapeutic role of P 2 receptor antagonists in a dog double hemorrhage model. Methods: One hundred SD rats were divided into five groups to undergo double hemorrhage by injecting autologous arterial blood into cisterna magna on day 0 and 2. Rats were sacrificed on day 3, 5 or 7. In sham group, rats were injected with saline. In control group, no surgery was conducted. Basilar arteries were harvested for mRNA isolation and RT-PCR or were fixed for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Eighteen dogs were divided into three groups to have double hemorrhage and sacrificed on day 7. Two groups were treated, intracisternally, with P 2 receptor antagonist suramin (selective for P 2Y and P 2X ) or PPADS (selective for P 2X1 ) (30 μM) from day 3–6. Angiograph was performed before blood injection and before sacrifice. The basilar arteries were collected for TEM. Results: Mild to moderate vasospasm (30–40% reduction) was observed on day 3–7 in rats. The mRNA expression of P 2X1 receptor was down-regulated (P 2Y1 and P 2Y2 receptors were up-regulated (P 2 receptor antagonist Suramin but not PPADS significantly reversed (P 2Y1 and P 2Y2 , but not P 2X1 , may be involved in cerebral vasospasm. Up-regulation of P 2Y receptor may enable ATP to produce contraction at low concentrations. Suramin reduced vasospasm probably by blocking P 2Y receptors.
An improved contact algorithm for multi-material Arbitrary Lagranian-Eulerian hydrocodes in three-dimensions

Abstract Realistic and accurate modeling of contact for problems involving large deformations and severe distortions presents a host of computational challenges. Due to their natural description of surfaces, Lagrangian finite element methods are traditionally used for problems where the accuracy of behavior along contact interfaces is important. However, problems such as those involving ballistic penetrations and perforations, blast-structure interactions, and vehicular crash dynamics, can result in elements developing large aspect ratios, twisting, or even inverting. For this reason, Eulerian, and by extension Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE), frameworks have become popular when modeling events that involve large deformations. However, additional complexities arise when these frameworks permit multiple materials to occupy a single finite element. Multi-material Eulerian formulations in computational structural mechanics are traditionally approached using mixed-element thermodynamic or constitutive models. These traditional approaches replace contacting materials in an element with an approximated single material. However, this approximation often has little basis in the actual physics taking place at the contacting boundary and can easily lead to unphysical behavior due to bonding that takes place along the interface boundary. This work presents a significant departure from traditional Eulerian treatment of contact by adding a separate velocity field and solving the conservation equations separately for each material and then imposing inequality constraints associated with contact to the solutions with the appropriate traction integrals included. This results in natural treatment of contacting surfaces in an Eulerian framework and eliminates the need for mixture theory. The advantages of this method will be demonstrated with several computational examples.
Tannic Acid Capsules Decrease Redox-dependent Pro-inflammatory Responses to Prolong Islet Graft Survival After Transplantation

Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) is a chronic pro-inflammatory autoimmune disease consisting of islet-infiltrating leukocytes that produce free radicals to elicit pancreatic β-cell destruction. One promising treatment for T1D is islet transplantation; however, its clinical application is constrained due to limited islet availability, adverse effects of immunosuppressants, and declining graft survival. Islet encapsulation may provide an immunoprotective barrier to prevent immune-mediated rejection and maintain pancreatic β-cell function following transplantation. Using a novel cytoprotective nanothin multilayer coating consisting of tannic acid (TA), an immunomodulatory antioxidant, and poly(N-vinylpyrrolidone) (PVPON), we hypothesized that (PVPON/TA)-encapsulated islets can restore euglycemia in diabetic mice and provide an immunoprotective barrier that would prolong graft function post-transplant. We found that encapsulation of purified islets was efficacious in dissipating hydrogen peroxide (p
Field optimization of toroidal ion trap mass analyzers using toroidal multipoles

Abstract Toroidal ion traps show promise for miniaturized mass spectrometers. However, because of the geometry of the trap, there remains a lack of understanding about the electric field and its effect on the motion of trapped ions. As an approach to this problem, solutions to the Laplace equation in a toroidal coordinate system can be used to characterize the electric potential distribution. The symmetric 2nd order solution of the second kind, or toroidal quadrupole, was previously explored for an ion trap. Non-ideal features in the stability diagram were similar to that for conventional ion traps with higher-order field contributions. To eliminate or reduce these non-ideal features, other solutions to the Laplace equation, including higher-order solutions, can be added to the toroidal quadrupole. The toroidal hexapole (T3) improves the stability diagram by reducing the jagged features at the stability apex and reducing the β r + 2 β z = 2 resonance line when the A 3 coefficient of the toroidal hexapole is in the range of 2.75. The β r = 1/2 resonance line is eliminated by the A 3 coefficient of 1 or greater for the toroidal hexapole. The β r = 2/3 resonance line is not present in the viewed voltage range when the A 3 coefficient is between 3.5 and 4.75, and the β r + β z = 1 resonance line becomes evident in this same range with the toroidal hexapole contribution is greater than 4.25. The toroidal octopole (T4) and decapole (T5) give no clear trend in variation of the non-ideal features in the stability diagram. The electrode geometry and stability diagram were very sensitive to small additions of the toroidal dipole (T1). The addition of a toroidal hexapole component to the toroidal quadrupole provides improvement in ion trapping, and is expected to play an important role in optimizing the performance of all types of toroidal ion trap mass spectrometers.
Using genetic approaches to improve host responses to environmental stressors

Abstract Biotic and abiotic environmental stressors have significant impacts on poultry production, health, and well-being. Pathogens are the primary biotic stressors affecting poultry welfare, and among the most important pathogens are avian influenza virus, Newcastle disease virus, and Salmonella. Heat stress is one of the most significant abiotic stressors, especially in tropical regions. Recent developments in genetic and genomic techniques have provided unprecedented advantages in understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying genetic control of host response to these stressors, thus facilitating genetic improvement to alleviate negative impacts on poultry well-being. The genes, signal pathways, and genomic regions identified in recent studies that confer genetic control of host response to these environmental stressors in poultry can be utilized to improve poultry welfare by developing targeted marker panels for genetic enhancement. While this holds great promise, due to the complexity of genetic control of poultry host responses to biotic and abiotic stressors further investigation is needed to identify causative variations that control these complex traits.
Design of a low-noise amplifier for an IEEE802.11a wireless communication receiver

Wireless communication and its applications have been growing rapidly in recent years. The driving force behind this development is the introduction of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) in the wireless communication world. While DSP functionality is highly integrated using Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technology, current Front-End (FE) Integrated Circuits (ICs) depend on a mixture of semiconductor technologies, from GaAs to SiGe, making integration of the whole communication system on a single chip almost impossible. With the recent advance in CMOS technology, Radio Frequency (RF) CMOS IC design provides a potential solution for System-On-Chip (SOC). This dissertation explores the design of a fully integrated CMOS Low-Noise Amplifier (LNA) for an IEEE 802.11a wireless communication receiver. A new design methodology is presented for optimization of feedback to achieve simultaneous noise and gain match. Twoport noise theory is extended to multi-port noise analysis for a three-port-to-two-port noise transformation. This approach is applied in the design of a 5.3-GHz LNA in a CMOS 0.18um technology. The measurement gives averagely forward gain of 5.2 dB, input and output impedance matching of -9.3 dB and -8.9 dB respectively, isolation of -42.8 dB, estimated noise figure of 4.8 dB at frequency of 5.3-GHz with current consumption of 4.2-mA from a 1.5-V supply. A novel process-variation insensitive network is proposed to realize the onchip impedance matching that is immune to process variation. The proposed network utilizes precision matching capacitors to achieve a zero sensitivity to process variation. Its performance is demonstrated in Monte Carlo simulations.
Hormone Mediated Integration of Seedling Physiology

The mobilization of the endosperm reserves of barley seeds (and of many other cereal grains) during the early growth of the seedling is initiated and controlled by gibberellins from the embryo. The gibberellins are synthesized in the embryo tissues after germination begins and have as their principal target tissue the cells of the aleurone layers (Yomo and Varner, 1971). These aleurone cells produce and secrete the hydrolases that hydrolyze the starch and protein reserves of the endosperm. The end products of this hydrolysis are absorbed by the scutellum and, after limited metabolism, transported to the growing regions of the embryo.
Mitigation of ammonia gas from animal house using microalgae

We suggest a strong potential of algae to mitigate ammonia gas from animal house and to be used as a high-value animal feed. Ammonia gas emission from animal manure decomposition is a major concern in animal housing operations. Excessive ammonia gas volatilization will affect both animal and worker health and can also cause significant environmental concerns. Current ammonia gas mitigation methods are based on physical, chemical, biological, and dietary treatments, but the costs are high and the performances are not stable. In this project, we proposed an algae-based method for removing ammonia gas generated from animal housing operations while producing a biomass with high protein content which can be potentially used as high-value animal feed products. The green algae Scenedesmus dimorphus was used for evaluating its ability to mitigate ammonia gas in a gaslift photobioreactor under continuous operational mode. Different conditions were tested for optimal algal biomass productivity: 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 day -1 of dilution rate; 17, 42, 60, and 72 ppm of ammonia gas concentration in inlet air; and pH 5, 6, 7, and 8. The nitrogen mass balance was calculated for each case and results showed that as high as 98.6 % of nitrogen was assimilated by algae biomass at optimal condition (60ppm, pH 7, and 0.1 day -1 of dilution rate). The amino acid profile of the biomass was also analyzed in application of algae as a source of animal feed. This experiment implies two benefits. One is economic benefit, i.e., cost down ammonia gas removal and algae growth, the other is a new algae market: animal feed.
Molecular dynamics simulation of boundary lubricated interfaces

A molecular dynamics simulation study of friction in boundary lubrication was conducted in order to investigate the atomic-scale behavior of lubricant molecules during sliding motion. The simulated system consisted of two silicon (001) semi-infinite substrates lubricated by a three-layer film of dodecane. Silicon was modeled using the Stillinger-Weber potential, and the dodecane with the Consistent Force Field function; a novel scheme was used to generate the silicon-dodecane interaction potentials. The simulations show that dodecane molecules strongly prefer to adsorb into the ledges on the silicon surface. The orientation of the adsorbed molecules depends, however, on the concentration of the lubricant at the surface, showing a tendency to stand up at high lubricant concentrations. In sliding, the dodecane layers adsorbed on the surfaces behave as a solid, whereas the middle layer exhibits liquid-like characteristics. The friction coefficient of this well-lubricated case was calculated to be 0.08.
Pathogen identification in prostate cancer biopsies using transcriptome sequencing.

e16545Background: Tumor biopsies may frequently be associated with microbial species due to proximity with microbial communities or due to contamination during tissue processing. We examined sequen...
Teacher Discrimination Reduces School Performance of African American Youth: Role of Gender.

Background: Gender may alter African Americans’ vulnerability to discrimination. The type of outcomes that follow exposure to discrimination may also be gender-specific. Although teacher discrimination is known to deteriorate school performance, it is yet unknown whether male and female African American youth differ in the effect of teacher discrimination on school performance. Objective: This cross-sectional study explored the moderating role of gender on the effect of teacher discrimination on school performance in a national sample of African American youth. Methods: The National Survey of American Life-Adolescent Supplement (NSAL-A) enrolled a nationally representative sample (n = 810) of 13–17-year-old African American youth. Demographic factors, socioeconomic status, teacher discrimination, and school performance (grade point average, GPA) were measured. Linear multivariable regression models were applied for data analysis. Results: Males and females reported similar levels of perceived teacher discrimination. In the pooled sample, higher teacher discrimination was associated with lower school performance among African American youth (b = −0.35; 95% confidence interval (CI) = −0.49 to −0.22). Gender interacted with perceived teacher discrimination (b = 12; 95% CI = 0.24–2.02), suggesting a significant difference between males and females in the magnitude of the association between perceived teacher discrimination and GPA. In stratified models, perceived teacher discrimination was associated with worse school performance of females (b = −12; 95% CI = −0.03 to −2.78) but not males (b = 0.01; 95% CI = −0.07 to 0.08). Conclusion: In line with previous studies, gender was found to alter the vulnerability of African American youth to perceived discrimination. African American boys and girls may differ in their sensitivity to the effects of teacher discrimination on school performance.
Defining Failure in Articular Cartilage Surgery

Articular cartilage injury remains a challenging condition for orthopedic surgeons to address. While multiple treatment options exist and have reported improvement in patient symptoms, sustained and successful treatment of symptomatic chondral defects remains elusive in many cases. Physicians may define failure in a multitude of ways such as subsequent surgery, progression to arthroplasty, lack of improvement in outcome measures, lack of hyaline-like repair tissue, or poor appearance on imaging studies. This chapter reviews the current standards for defining treatment failure in order to address the importance of consistent and clear goals for treating cartilage injuries and understanding the outcome tools currently available.
Proton beam radiotherapy for pancreas cancer

Pancreatic carcinoma is a challenging malignancy to manage with a very poor prognosis. Despite continued difficulties in its management, there have been incremental improvements in outcomes over the past several decades. Achieving the best oncologic outcomes requires a multimodality approach including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Proton radiotherapy enables the delivery of high-dose radiotherapy to the tumor or resection bed while sparing nearby critical organs. Due to their unique physical properties, protons can deliver radiotherapy dose distributions that are not achievable with photons (X-rays) even with advanced photon delivery techniques (e.g., intensity-modulated radiotherapy). Improved dose distributions can lead to reduced treatment toxicity and enable treatment intensification. As better chemotherapy regimens lead to better systemic disease control, it will become increasingly important that local-regional control is achieved. This will in part be accomplished by combining better radiotherapy with more active chemotherapies. Proton radiotherapy provides an excellent means for achieving this.
The Effects of Capital Gains Rate Uncertainty on Realization

Taxpayers should expect capital gains rates to fluctuate in light of frequent historical changes and the current divergence of rates preferred by Democrats and Republicans. This paper is the first to model the effect of such rate uncertainty on the realization incentives of asset holders and finds those effects to be potentially large. There are several implications. First, rate uncertainty may alleviate the lock-in effect of the realization rule when rates are low and exacerbate lock-in when rates are high. Second, there could be significant inaccuracies extrapolating the elasticity of capital gains realizations measured at one rate to another. Third, some policy solutions aimed at addressing distortions created by the realization rule may not work as well as expected.
Genetic model of MS severity predicts future accumulation of disability.

No genetic modifiers of multiple sclerosis (MS) severity have been independently validated, leading to a lack of insight into genetic determinants of the rate of disability progression. We investigated genetic modifiers of MS severity in prospectively acquired training (N = 205) and validation (N = 94) cohorts, using the following advances: (1) We focused on 113 genetic variants previously identified as related to MS severity; (2) We used a novel, sensitive outcome: MS Disease Severity Scale (MS-DSS); (3) Instead of validating individual alleles, we used a machine learning technique (random forest) that captures linear and complex nonlinear effects between alleles to derive a single Genetic Model of MS Severity (GeM-MSS). The GeM-MSS consists of 19 variants located in vicinity of 12 genes implicated in regulating cytotoxicity of immune cells, complement activation, neuronal functions, and fibrosis. GeM-MSS correlates with MS-DSS (r = 0.214; p = 0.043) in a validation cohort that was not used in the modeling steps. The recognized biology identifies novel therapeutic targets for inhibiting MS disability progression.
Does Sex, Race, and the Size of a Kidney Transplant Candidate's Social Network Affect the Number of Living Donor Requests? A Multicenter Social Network Analysis of Patients on the Kidney Transplant Waitlist.

BACKGROUND A kidney transplant candidate's social network serves as a pool of potential living donors. Sex and racial differences in network size, network strength, and living donor requests may contribute to disparities in living donor kidney transplantation. METHOD In this multicenter cross-sectional study, we performed an egocentric network analysis via a telephone survey of 132 wait-listed candidates (53% female, 69% Black) to identify demographic and network factors associated with requesting living kidney donations. RESULTS Female participants were made requests to more network members than male participants: incidence rate ratio (IRR) 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.24, 3.06], p < 0.01. Black participants tended to make more requests than whites (IRR 1.65, 95% CI [0.99, 2.73], p = 0.05). The number of requests increased with the size of the network (IRR 1.09, 95% CI [1.02, 1.16], p = 0.01); however, network size did not differ by sex or race. Network members who provided greater instrumental support to the candidates were most likely to receive a request: odds ratio 1.39, 95% CI [1.08,1.78], p = 0.01. CONCLUSIONS Transplant candidates' networks vary in size and in the number of requests made to the members. Previously observed racial and sex disparities in living donor kidney transplantation do not appear to be related to network size or to living donation requests, but rather to the network members themselves. Future living donor interventions should focus on the network members and be tailored to their relationship with the candidate.
Consumer stockpiling behavior in the retail gasoline market

I examine consumer stockpiling behavior in the retail gasoline market and factors that affect consumer stockpiling. Past research such as Hendel and Nevo (2006b) found evidence that implies stockpi...
Phyllosilicate mineral dissolution upon alkaline treatment under aerobic and anaerobic conditions

Abstract The dissolution of phyllosilicate minerals exposed to high-pH environments was studied to quantify the influence of alkaline treatments and variable redox conditions on clay dissolution including incongruent dissolution phenomena. The objective of this research was to systematically quantify mineral dissolution with variable alkaline treatments and redox conditions for the first time. This study is focused on the dissolution of phyllosilicate minerals (illite, muscovite, and montmorillonite) under anaerobic and aerobic conditions using comparative solutions (sodium hydroxide and ammonium hydroxide) at similar hydroxide concentration. Our batch data show that there is a rapid decrease in aluminum dissolution (
Nitric Oxide Mediated Degradation of CYP2A6 via the Ubiquitin-Proteasome Pathway in Human Hepatoma Cells

Several cytochrome P450 enzymes are known to be down-regulated by nitric oxide (NO). CYP2A6 is responsible for the metabolism of nicotine and several other xenobiotics, but its susceptibility to down-regulation by NO has not been reported. To address this question, we used Huh7 human hepatoma cell lines to express CYP2A6 with a C-terminal V5 tag (CYP2A6V5). NO donor treatment [dipropylenetriamine NONOate (DPTA)] down-regulated CYP2A6 protein to approximately 40% of control levels in 4 hours. An NO scavenging agent protected CYP2A6 from down-regulation by DPTA in a concentration-dependent manner, demonstrating that the down-regulation is NO-dependent. Experiments with the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide showed that CYP2A6 protein down-regulation occurs posttranslationally. In the presence of proteasome inhibitors MG132 or bortezomib, NO-treated cells showed an accumulation of a high molecular mass signal, whereas autophagy inhibitors chloroquine and 3-methyladenine and the lysosomal and calpain inhibitor E64d had no effect. Immunoprecipitation of CYP2A6 followed by Western blotting with an antiubiquitin antibody showed that the high molecular mass species contain polyubiquitinated CYP2A6 protein. This suggests that NO led to the degradation of protein via the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway. The down-regulation by NO was blocked by the reversible CYP2A6 inhibitor pilocarpine but not by the suicide inhibitor methoxsalen, demonstrating that down-regulation requires NO access to the active site but does not require catalytic activity of the enzyme. These findings provide novel insights toward the regulation of CYP2A6 in a human cell line and can influence our understanding of CYP2A6-related drug metabolism. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: This study demonstrates that the nicotine metabolizing enzyme CYP2A6 is down-regulated by nitric oxide, a molecule produced in large amounts in the context of inflammation and that is also inhaled from cigarette smoke. This occurs via ubiquitination and proteasomal degradation, and does not require catalytic activity of the enzyme. This work adds to the growing knowledge of the selective effect and mechanism of action of nitric oxide (NO) on cytochrome P450 enzymes and suggests a possible novel mode of interaction between nicotine and NO in cigarette smokers.
Comparison of Normalization Methods for Analysis of TempO-Seq Targeted RNA Sequencing Data

Analysis of bulk RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) data is a valuable tool to understand transcription at the genome scale. Targeted sequencing of RNA has emerged as a practical means of assessing the majority of the transcriptomic space with less reliance on large resources for consumables and bioinformatics. TempO-Seq is a templated, multiplexed RNA-Seq platform that interrogates a panel of sentinel genes representative of genome-wide transcription. Nuances of the technology require proper preprocessing of the data. Various methods have been proposed and compared for normalizing bulk RNA-Seq data, but there has been little to no investigation of how the methods perform on TempO-Seq data. We simulated count data into two groups (treated vs. untreated) at seven-fold change (FC) levels (including no change) using control samples from human HepaRG cells run on TempO-Seq and normalized the data using seven normalization methods. Upper Quartile (UQ) performed the best with regard to maintaining FC levels as detected by a limma contrast between treated vs. untreated groups. For all FC levels, specificity of the UQ normalization was greater than 0.84 and sensitivity greater than 0.90 except for the no change and +1.5 levels. Furthermore, K-means clustering of the simulated genes normalized by UQ agreed the most with the FC assignments [adjusted Rand index (ARI) = 0.67]. Despite having an assumption of the majority of genes being unchanged, the DESeq2 scaling factors normalization method performed reasonably well as did simple normalization procedures counts per million (CPM) and total counts (TCs). These results suggest that for two class comparisons of TempO-Seq data, UQ, CPM, TC, or DESeq2 normalization should provide reasonably reliable results at absolute FC levels ≥2.0. These findings will help guide researchers to normalize TempO-Seq gene expression data for more reliable results.
Analytic evaluation of periodic responses of a forced nonlinear oscillator

The periodic responses of a strongly nonlinear, single-degree-of-freedom forced oscillator with weak excitation and damping are examined. The presented methodology is based on a regular perturbation expansion, whose first term is the solution of the unforced, and undamped nonlinear problem. Higher order approximations are computed by explicitly solving linear differential equations possessing a periodically varying coefficient. The general theory is used for studying the periodic steady state motions of the periodically forced system. Moreover, it is shown that the presented analysis can be used to analytically study the orbital stability of the identified steady state motions. The proposed method can also be used for studying periodic responses due to nonperiodic transient forces, provided that these responses are close to the O(1) periodic generating solution.
Dysosmia and drug tolerance with use of venlafaxine.

A 57-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of major depressive disorder. She was started on venlafaxine XR 75 mg orally daily and a few days later developed severe dysosmia to foods she used to enjoy. She never had previous problems with smell or taste. At her 1-month follow-up, her depressive symptoms had improved, but she reported persistent dysosmia and was found to have associated weight loss due to decreased oral intake. She was advised to switch medications, but due to financial constraints she continued taking the same dose. At follow-up 48 days later, she reported complete resolution of her dysosmia and was eating normally again, but she had persistence of some depressive symptoms so her dose was gradually increased to venlafaxine XR 225 mg orally daily until her depressive symptoms and postmenopausal hot flashes were well controlled. There were no changes with continued use over the following 8 years.
Transformative Experience: A Motivational Perspective on Transfer

Transfer research has primarily focused on the capacity to transfer and, more recently, the social and cultural affordances of and constraints to transfer. Less research has addressed the motivation to transfer: that is, the choice to apply learning in a transfer context when such application is not required. The current chapter presents a motivational perspective on transfer stemming from work on transformative experience (TE) theory. TEs involve learning episodes in which students apply in-school learning in their out-of-school experience and find meaning in doing so. Research into the nature and fostering of TEs sheds light on the issue of motivation to transfer. The chapter includes a discussion of motivation to transfer in relation to the detect–elect–connect model of transfer (Perkins & Salomon, Educational Psychologist, 47(3), 248–258, 2012), an explanation of TE theory and how it intersects with the detect–elect–connect model and other research on motivation to transfer, and a presentation of the Teaching for Transformative Experiences in Science instructional model with consideration for how this model may apply to math education.
Smartphones, robots, and social media: aging with communication technologies

Abstract For older adults, technology is becoming indispensable. It is increasingly difficult to perform basic functions like hailing a cab, paying a bill, keeping in touch with loved ones, or remaining engaged with one’s social, cultural, and political networks without first navigating the complex material and symbolic world of modern communication technologies. Research has demonstrated that the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) has the potential to facilitate the transcendence of social and spatial barriers, and that targeted interventions have the potential to motivate older adults to stay connected. But, for these actions to be realized as material gains in psychological or physiological well-being, one has to understand the complex mental processes that motivate and shape older adults’ technology use. We synthesize research, both theoretical and applied, across a range of disciplines in an attempt to sketch a portrait of seniors’ dynamic relationship with technology. We aim to highlight research that analyzes the needs and motivations that bring older adults into relationships with technology and the barriers to adoption that stifle the development of these human–machine partnerships. We summarize studies that examine the psychological mechanisms that underlie, and the subsequent effects of, seniors’ technology use, in the hope of furnishing a broad framework for understanding older adults’ rapidly evolving relationship with ICTs. In addition, we aim to provide suggestions that might orient future research and design of technology to facilitate a more active and productive correspondence between aging populations and their technological counterparts.
Religious and spiritual struggles and coping amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect countless individuals. Traumatic events like COVID-19 can often lead to significant resource loss and negatively affect mental health. As a result, people often go through various types of struggles, including those that are religious or spiritual (e.g., existential doubt). Also, in the wake of trauma, people often try to engage in coping strategies, including drawing on religious or spiritual resources, to work through negative emotions in the face of adversity. The current qualitative study explored religious and spiritual struggles and coping strategies in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants (N = 172) described the types of religious and spiritual struggles they experienced, as well as the types of coping strategies they engaged in. Four themes of religious and spiritual struggles emerged: interpersonal struggles, moral struggles, doubt struggles, and ultimate meaning struggles. Four themes of coping strategies emerged: psychological coping, health-related coping, religious/spiritual (R/S) coping, and interpersonal/social coping. These themes suggested a wide range of R/S struggles and coping strategies and provided implications for the intersection between R/S and trauma as well as patterns of coping in a pandemic context. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)
The impact of outages on prices and investment in the U.S. oil refining industry

Abstract This paper considers the effects of refinery outages (due to planned turn-arounds or unplanned events) on current petroleum product prices and future refinery investment. Empirical evidence on these relationships is mixed and highly dependent on the size and duration of the outage, the geographic area considered, the level of inventories available at the time of the outage, and the tightness of the market as measured by the capacity utilization rate. Using a detailed database of plant-level refinery outages for both upstream and downstream refining units, I estimate the effects of outages on product prices controlling for the crude oil price and the ability of operating plants to respond to the outage. I also consider the effect of current market profitability on the likelihood of planned refinery outages and the effects of high utilization rates and planned maintenance on the prospects for unplanned outages. I then use plant-level capacity data to analyze the effects of outages, profitability, and utilization rates on future investment decisions of the refinery. Results based on probit and hazard models show that planned outages tend to occur during the spring and fall and during times of relatively low margins as measured by the crack spread, while unplanned outages are negatively associated with the capacity utilization rate. Price regressions show that atmospheric distillation and catalytic cracking outages are positively associated with gasoline prices and the association is stronger the higher is the utilization rate at the time of the outage. The relationship between both upstream and downstream investment and outages is mixed though refiners tend to invest less when nearby plants have made investments in the prior year. While causal relationships between outages, prices, and investment are difficult to estimate due to simultaneity and unobserved variables, these descriptive results show that outages are an important factor affecting refined product prices and future refinery investment.
Subjective and objective binge episodes in relation to eating disorder and depressive symptoms among middle-aged women

Evidence suggests loss of control over eating may be the driving component of binge eating, a transdiagnostic symptom of eating disorders and highly comorbid with depressive symptoms. Prior studies have evaluated eating disorder and depressive symptoms across types of binge episodes among adolescent and young adult samples, yet no studies have focused on middle-aged women who may be particularly vulnerable to both binge eating and depressive symptoms. The goal of this study was to compare eating disorder symptoms and depressive symptoms across different types of binge eating episodes among middle-aged women. Women (N = 347), ages 40–63, completed an online survey about both objective (OBE) and subjective binge episodes (SBE), eating disorder symptoms, and depressive symptoms. Participants were categorized as OBEs only, SBEs only, both OBEs and SBEs, and no binge eating. Controlling for group differences, results showed middle-aged women who experienced SBEs only reported greater levels of anorexia nervosa attitudes and behaviors compared to all other groups, and greater dietary restraint compared to those who experienced only OBEs and those with no binge eating. Middle-aged women who experienced any type of binge eating reported greater levels of body image concerns and depressive symptoms compared to those who reported no binge eating. Findings suggest that loss of control is more clinically relevant in terms of associations with eating disorder and depressive symptoms in middle-aged women. Level V based on descriptive studies.
Analysis of Bose-Einstein condensation times for self-interacting scalar dark matter

We investigate the condensation time of self-interacting axion-like particles in a gravitational well, extending the prior work [arXiv:2007.07438] which showed that the Wigner formalism is a good analytic approach to describe a condensing scalar field. In the present work, we use this formalism to affirm that $\phi^4$ self-interactions will take longer than necessary to support the time scales associated with structure formation, making gravity a necessary part of the process to bring axion dark matter into a solitonic form. Here we show that when the axions' virial velocity is taken into account, the time scale associated with self-interactions will scale as $\lambda^2$. This is consistent with recent numerical estimates, and it confirms that the Wigner formalism described in prior work~\cite{Relax} is a helpful analytic framework to check computational work for potential numerical artifacts.
Pastoral coping and adaptation climate change strategies: Implications for women's well-being

Abstract Pastoral women in the semi-arid rangelands of East Africa are significantly burdened by the vulnerability to and responsibility for responding to changing climates. Consequently, understanding how adaptation and coping strategies impact pastoral women's well-being is critical for supporting the climate resilience of communities and the landscapes on which they rely. We used a household survey, guided by a multi-dimensional framework of well-being, to investigate how the use of drought-related coping and adaptation strategies by Samburu households influenced livestock loss and women's well-being in northern Kenya. Coping and adaptation strategies predicted numerous social-cognitive components of well-being, although not livestock loss. We conjecture these results are a product of a gendered division of labor within households and the community. We argue that interventions aimed at supporting drought resilience must consider the gendered implications of climate response strategies, multiple indicators for evaluation, and the influence of community and place.
The Fundamental Convergence Theorem and the Reduction Operation

Theorem. Let Г: \( \left\{ {{{u}_{\alpha }},\alpha \in I} \right\} \) be a family of superharmonic functions defined on an open subset of ℝ N , locally uniformly bounded below, and define the lower envelope u by u(ξ) = inf\( _{{\alpha \in I}}{{u}_{\alpha }}(\xi ) \).
Skin conductance fear conditioning impairments and aggression: A longitudinal study

Autonomic fear conditioning deficits have been linked to child aggression and adult criminal behavior. However, it is unknown if fear conditioning deficits are specific to certain subtypes of aggression, and longitudinal research is rare. In the current study, reactive and proactive aggression were assessed in a sample of males and females when aged 10, 12, 15, and 18 years old. Skin conductance fear conditioning data were collected when they were 18 years old. Individuals who were persistently high on proactive aggression measures had significantly poorer conditioned responses at 18 years old when compared to others. This association was not found for reactive aggression. Consistent with prior literature, findings suggest that persistent antisocial individuals have unique neurobiological characteristics and that poor autonomic fear conditioning is associated with the presence of increased instrumental aggressive behavior.
Determinants of Death: State Variation in Capital Punishment Policy

This research uses logistic regression analysis to determine how certain variables impact state capital punishment policy. The analysis will specifically focus on the determinants of whether or not a state uses capital punishment. The results should prove to be practically useful to those that support and oppose the use of capital punishment because it can help activists determine where they should focus their efforts and resources to influence capital punishment policy. This article is available in Res Publica Journal of Undergraduate Research: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/respublica/vol4/iss1/4 Res Publica Journal of Undergraduate Research Volume 4, Issue 1 1999 Article 4 Determinants of Death: State Variation in Capital Punishment Policy
Formal Verification of IA-64 Division Algorithms

The IA-64 architecture defers floating point and integer division to software. To ensure correctness and maximum efficiency, Intel provides a number of recommended algorithms which can be called as subroutines or inlined by compilers and assembly language programmers. All these algorithms have been subjected to formal verification using the HOL Light theorem prover. As well as improving our level of confidence in the algorithms, the formal verification process has led to a better understanding of the underlying theory, allowing some significant efficiency improvements.