cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Political Theology, Democracy, and the Exception in the Egyptian Revolution

As the sixth anniversary of the 2011 protests in Tahrir Square passes, those uprisings and the events that followed continue pose important challenges not only for students of Middle Eastern and North African politics, but also for students of political theory and political theology. While scholars debate the extent to which the “Arab Spring” has amounted to a truly revolutionary turn of events, it is commonly accepted that the protests that swept the region were exceptional in their unanticipated and profound disruption of ordinary affairs. Under the influence of Carl Schmitt's theory of sovereignty, “the exception” has become a key figure in contemporary reflections on political theology, but attention to events in Egypt suggests that the familiar figure of the exception has not yet been mined for all of its implications for democratic practice. Slipping below grand articulations of the exception as a moment of sovereign decision, or as the suspension of the law, this essay turns its attention to the mi...
Multi-step Variable Height Photolithography for Valved Multilayer Microfluidic Devices

Microfluidic systems have enabled powerful new approaches to high-throughput biochemical and biological analysis. However, there remains a barrier to entry for non-specialists who would benefit greatly from the ability to develop their own microfluidic devices to address research questions. Particularly lacking has been the open dissemination of protocols related to photolithography, a key step in the development of a replica mold for the manufacture of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) devices. While the fabrication of single height silicon masters has been explored extensively in literature, fabrication steps for more complicated photolithography features necessary for many interesting device functionalities (such as feature rounding to make valve structures, multi-height single-mold patterning, or high aspect ratio definition) are often not explicitly outlined. Here, we provide a complete protocol for making multilayer microfluidic devices with valves and complex multi-height geometries, tunable for any application. These fabrication procedures are presented in the context of a microfluidic hydrogel bead synthesizer and demonstrate the production of droplets containing polyethylene glycol (PEG diacrylate) and a photoinitiator that can be polymerized into solid beads. This protocol and accompanying discussion provide a foundation of design principles and fabrication methods that enables development of a wide variety of microfluidic devices. The details included here should allow non-specialists to design and fabricate novel devices, thereby bringing a host of recently developed technologies to their most exciting applications in biological laboratories.
Association of Plasma Total Tau Level With Cognitive Decline and Risk of Mild Cognitive Impairment or Dementia in the Mayo Clinic Study on Aging.

Importance The utility of plasma total tau level as a prognostic marker for cognitive decline and dementia is not well understood. Objectives To determine (1) the association between plasma total tau level, cognitive decline, and risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia; (2) whether this association differs by the presence of elevated brain amyloid β (Aβ); and (3) whether plasma total tau level is associated with cognitive decline over a short interval of 15 months. Design, Setting, and Participants The present analyses included 458 participants who were enrolled in a population-based cohort study between October 2008 and June 2013. All included participants had available plasma total tau levels, Aβ positron emission tomography imaging, and a complete neuropsychological examine at the same visit, as well as at least 1 follow-up visit. Exposures Concentration of plasma total tau. Main Outcomes and Measures Risk of MCI and dementia; global and domain-specific cognitive decline. Results Of the 458 participants, 287 (62.7%) were men; mean (SD) age was 80.6 (5.6) years. Among cognitively normal (CN) participants oversampled for elevated brain Aβ, both the middle (hazard ratio [HR], 2.43; 95% CI, 1.25-4.72) and highest (HR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.01-4.06) tertiles of plasma total tau level, compared with the lowest, were associated with an increased risk of MCI. Among participants with MCI, higher plasma total tau levels were not significantly associated with risk of dementia (all-cause dementia or Alzheimer disease). Among all participants, higher levels of plasma total tau, examined as a continuous variable, were associated with significant ( P P P = .009) at 15 months. Adjusting for elevated brain Aβ did not attenuate any association. There was no interaction between plasma total tau level and brain Aβ for prognosis with any outcome. Conclusions and Relevance These results suggest that elevated plasma total tau levels are associated with cognitive decline, but the results differ based on cognitive status and the duration of follow-up. The association between plasma total tau levels and cognition is independent of elevated brain Aβ.
Diving For Pearls: Shia Insurgency and Counterterrorism Measures in Bahrain

This study is unique because it is the first to analyze the strategic aims and tactics of the Shia opposition, including Al-Wefaq as well as “radical Shia groups” such as the Haq movement, the Wafa movement, and the Bahrain Freedom Movement (BFM). The patterns of crowd behavior; the use of violence and cover (denial and deception); staging areas; provocation and incitement tactics; weapons procurement, caches, employment, and increasing sophistication; and other capabilities, complexities, and key tactics are all critical variables of this study determining the nature and orientation of the Shia opposition and the unrest that occurred in Bahrain since February 14, 2011. Most importantly, this paper establishes a linkage between Al-Wefaq’s operations, targeting of key assets and areas of the Government of Bahrain, and objective of overthrowing the Al-Khalifa monarchy. Moreover, while I was a US Fulbright Scholar in Bahrain (2007–2009), I witnessed some of the organizational preparations, agitations, and provocations of the Shia opposition that led to the uprising of February 14, 2011. These observations stoked my interest but did not create the conclusions presented here, which came only after careful study of the aforesaid groups and the protests in general.
Lower complication and reoperation rates for laminectomy rather than MI TLIF/other fusions for degenerative lumbar disease/spondylolisthesis: A review.

Background Utilizing the spine literature, we compared the complication and reoperation rates for laminectomy alone vs. instrumented fusions including minimally invasive (MI) transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) for the surgical management of multilevel degenerative lumbar disease with/without degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS). Methods Epstein compared complication and reoperation rates over 2 years for 137 patients undergoing laminectomy alone undergoing 2-3 level (58 patients) and 4-6 level (79 patients) Procedures for lumbar stenosis with/without DS. Results showed no new postoperative neurological deficits, no infections, no surgery for adjacent segment disease (ASD), 4 patients (2.9%) who developed intraoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistulas, no readmissions, and just 1 reopereation for a (postoperative day 7). These rates were compared to other literature for lumbar laminectomies vs. fusions (e.g. particularly MI TLIF) addressing pathology comparable to that listed above. Results Some studies in the literature revealed an average 4.8% complication rate for laminectomy alone vs. 8.3% for decompressions/fusion; at 5 postoperative years, reoperation rates were 10.6% vs. 18.4%, respectively. Specifically, the MI TLIF literature complication rates ranged from 7.7% to 23.0% and included up to an 8.3% incidence of wound infections, 6.1% durotomies, 9.7% permanent neurological deficits, and 20.2% incidence of new sensory deficits. Reoperation rates (1.6-6%) for MI TLIF addressed instrumentation failure (2.3%), cage migration (1.26-2.4%), cage extrusions (0.8%), and misplaced screws (1.6%). The learning curve (e.g. number of cases required by a surgeon to become proficient) for MI TLIF was the first 33-44 cases. Furthermore, hospital costs for lumbar fusions were 2.6 fold greater than those for laminectomy alone, with overall neurosurgeon reimbursement quoted in one study as high as $142,075 per year. Conclusions The spinal literature revealed lower complication and reoperation rates for lumbar laminectomy alone vs. higher rates for instrumented fusion, including MI TLIF, for degenerative lumbar disease with/without DS.
Interpreting African American history and culture at museums and historic sites

Interpreting African American History and Culture at Museums and Historic Sites is a collection of 21 articles. Its editor, Max van Balgooy, has divided the articles into three sections: Challenges...
CHOLINESTERASES AT INDIVIDUAL NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTIONS

Publisher Summary The remarkable concentration of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) at neuromuscular junctions has long been known. This knowledge came very largely through the use of the cytochemical reaction for this enzyme, using acetylthiocholine. That type of method is essentially qualitative; however, a new dimension is added when quantitative information on the distribution of this enzyme becomes available. This chapter discusses the relationship between the various functional components involved in transmission mediated by acetylcholine (ACh). If the AChE and the ACh receptor are spatially and functionally related, a correspondence would be expected between the number of AChE molecules and the extent of the excitable membrane surface, the size and type of the junction, and the magnitude of its impulse activity. Evidence for multiple forms of these enzymes in muscle and for striking changes during, for example, animal development has accumulated. The evidence has been based on extractions of the whole muscle.
Economic Justice in Hard Times

As Alexis de Tocqueville long ago observed, an important clue to the comprehension of American society is the natives’ ambiguous but powerful passion for equality. “The more I advanced in the study of American society,” noted this aristocratic Frenchman, the more I observed that... equality of condition is the fundamental fact from which all others seemed to be derived, and the central point at which all my observations terminated.
Interscalene Brachial Plexus Block for Shoulder Surgery

Background and Objectives To evaluate the efficacy of interscalene brachial plexus block as the primary anesthetic for shoulder surgery, the influence on blood loss, and the rate of complication. Methods Retrospective review of 676 reconstructive surgical procedures of the shoulder for anesthetic technique (regional or general), regional anesthetic technique (paresthesia versus nerve stimulator), local anesthetic agent selected, success rate, estimated blood loss by procedures, and complications. Results A total of 563 patients had interscalene anesthesia, exclusively, and 117 had general anesthesia. Mepivacaine, 1.4% with 1/200,000 epinephrine, was the most frequently used agent (480). Others included 0.5% bupivacaine (33) and 0.625% bupivacaine (50). Of 563 interscalene blocks attempted, 34 required general anesthesia to either initiate or complete the surgery (success rate, 94.1%) with 20 in the 0.5% bupivacaine group, 10 in the mepivacaine group, and 9 in the 0.65% bupivacaine group. For blood loss calculations, failed interscalene blocks were included with the general anesthesia group. Three surgical procedures were identified: total shoulder arthroplasty, acromioplasty with and without repair of the rotator cuff, and capsular advancement for recurrent shoulder dislocation. Comparing general and interscalene anesthesia, blood loss was less in the overall group and in the acromioplasty-rotator cuff group when interscalene block was compared to general anesthesia. There were four complications with two seizures and two subdural injections. Conclusions Interscalene anesthesia is an effective anesthetic for elective shoulder surgery that may decrease intraoperative blood loss with a low complication rate.
Queer environments: Reanimating ‘Adam Scrivyen’

Integrating queer theory and ecocriticism, this essay reassesses the historical manuscript contexts of Geoffrey Chaucer’s shortest poem, commonly known as ‘Adam Scriveyn,’ while also reconsidering the text’s varied afterlives in contemporary scholarship, including its manifestations in printed editions and digital media. Attending to the material transformations of the poem across time invites close scrutiny of the medieval homosocial networks of textual production, and Elizabeth Freeman’s critique of chrononormativity helps to illustrate how the poet Chaucer, the London scrivener Adam Pynkhurst, and early copyist John Shirley are ‘engrouped’ into a queer collective bound together by intimate forms of co-dependency. Queer relationality in turn structures the literary and affective networks that contemporary medievalists construct by means of the poem itself. Both manuscript scholars and literary critics enact what Carolyn Dinshaw calls a ‘queer touch’ across time, inhabiting a temporality that incorporates the text’s previous readers and editors and even the animal body that gave its life to produce the parchment upon which the orginary text was written. This analysis examines the visual presentation of Pynkhurst’s handwriting on the website Late Medieval English Scribes and interactive online interface of the collaborative project Networks of Book Makers, Owners and Users in Late Medieval England. Instantiating the ‘trans-corporeality’ and ‘distributed agency’ of ecotheorists Stacy Alaimo and Jane Bennett, digital media not only (re)animates textual objects but also demonstrates how texts circulate through networked environments by means of human participants and more-than-human forces.
Expert knowledge-infused deep learning for automatic lung nodule detection

Background Computer aided detection (CADe) of pulmonary nodules from computed tomography (CT) is crucial for early diagnosis of lung cancer. Self-learned features obtained by training datasets via deep learning have facilitated CADe of the nodules. However, the complexity of CT lung images renders a challenge of extracting effective features by self-learning only. This condition is exacerbated for limited size of datasets. On the other hand, the engineered features have been widely studied. Objective We proposed a novel nodule CADe which aims to relieve the challenge by the use of available engineered features to prevent convolution neural networks (CNN) from overfitting under dataset limitation and reduce the running-time complexity of self-learning. Methods The CADe methodology infuses adequately the engineered features, particularly texture features, into the deep learning process. Results The methodology was validated on 208 patients with at least one juxta-pleural nodule from the public LIDC-IDRI database. Results demonstrated that the methodology achieves a sensitivity of 88% with 1.9 false positives per scan and a sensitivity of 94.01% with 4.01 false positives per scan. Conclusions The methodology shows high performance compared with the state-of-the-art results, in terms of accuracy and efficiency, from both existing CNN-based approaches and engineered feature-based classifications.
Predicting the growth of many droplets during vapor-diffusion-driven dropwise condensation experiments using the point sink superposition method

Abstract Water vapor present in humid air will condense in the form of many small droplets on a cooled substrate. After nucleation, the diffusion of vapor from the environment to the droplets dominates their growth by condensation, and therefore, all droplets must compete for the vapor available in the surroundings. Models that assume droplets grow in isolation or as an equivalent film poorly capture their interaction during vapor-diffusion-driven condensation and do not correspond with experimental condensation rates. By treating the droplets as point sinks, the interaction between all droplets in a system can be captured by superposing the vapor distributions of each droplet. This paper presents direct comparisons of condensation rates measured in experiments and predicted with a point sink superposition method. The results indicate that it is critical to consider a large number of interacting droplets to accurately predict the condensation behavior. Even though the intensity of the interaction between droplets decreases sharply with their separation distance, droplets located relatively far away from a given droplet must be considered to accurately predict its condensation rate, due to the large aggregate effect of all such far away droplets. By considering an appropriate number of interacting droplets in a system, the point sink superposition method is able to predict experimental condensation rates to within 5%.
Poetry and Cultural Identity: A Sociocultural Approach for Teacher Education Classrooms

Future teachers often manifest a low confidence in their own writing and do not see themselves as writers. Developing an identity as authors requires ample opportunities for writing that su...
Targeted Delivery of Aptamers and siRNAs for HIV Prevention and Therapies in Humanized Mice

Combinatorial drug therapies utilizing the HAART approach have drastically reduced HIV/AIDS fatality rates. However, there is yet no complete cure for HIV. Drug toxicity and generation of viral escape mutants also continue to pose problems during therapy. Therefore, alternative approaches employing novel antiviral molecules need to be explored. In this regard, RNA-based therapies that employ siRNAs and aptamers show considerable promise. A number of siRNA molecules targeted to either viral (e.g., tat, rev, RT, and env) or cell transcripts (e.g., CCR5 and CXCR4) were successfully tested in experimental settings. Similarly, RNA aptamers against viral (e.g., RT and gp120) and cellular receptors (e.g., CD4) have also shown promising results. A major obstacle for these molecules to reach clinical application has been their inefficient in vivo delivery to the virus susceptible cells. Recent strategies to overcome this major stumbling block utilized methods that exploit systemic nanoparticle delivery and aptamer-siRNAs conjugates for cell specific delivery in vivo. In this regard humanized mice have been instrumental to derive important in vivo preclinical data for later human clinical trials. Here we summarize recent developments targeted RNA-based anti-HIV therapeutics.
Resistance Training for Older Adults in Cardiac Rehabilitation.

Cardiac rehabilitation plays a key role in the care of older patients after a coronary event. Hospitalizations are prevented and quality of life, exercise capacity, and physical function are improved. Almost 50% of cardiac rehabilitation participants are older adults (>65 years), many of whom are frail or deconditioned. Resistance training, as a component of cardiac rehabilitation, improves muscle strength, endurance, and physical function. The purpose of this review is to describe the effects of resistance training in cardiac rehabilitation for older adults with a particular focus on physical function.
Thermo-electric Effect in Single Crystal Zinc Wires

The crystals were prepared by the Czochralski method, drawing each in the form of a wire through a 2 mm hole in a mica disk which floated on the surface of the zinc, kept just a few degrees above its melting point. After slight amalgamation, the crystals split readily along the basal plane, normal to the vertical axis. The angle between this axis and the axis of the wire is the orientation $\ensuremath{\theta}$ of the crystal. Each end of a crystal was sealed with cadmium into a copper block, one of which was kept at 0\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} C, the other at a temperature $T$, varied up to 290\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. The ratio of thermo-e.m.f. $E$ to $T$ is found not to be a linear function of $T$ but to increase with $T$ more rapidly. The curves for the higher values of $\ensuremath{\theta}$ lie above those for lower values, so that with a circuit of differently oriented crystals the e.m.f. is directed, at the hot junction, from the crystal of higher to that of lower orientation. For wires with $\ensuremath{\theta}=14\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ and $\ensuremath{\theta}=86.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, the e.m.f. with $T=250\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ would be 6.50\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{\ensuremath{-}4}$ volt. The neutral temperature $(\frac{\mathrm{dE}}{\mathrm{dT}}=0)$ decreases from about 500\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} for $\ensuremath{\theta}=14\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} \mathrm{to} 40\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ for $\ensuremath{\theta}=86.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$.
Ongoing intracortical neural activity predicts upcoming interictal epileptiform discharges in human epilepsy

Interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs) are a hallmark of focal epilepsies. Most previous studies have focused on whether IED events increase seizure likelihood or, on the contrary, act as a protective mechanism. Here, we study instead whether IED events themselves can be predicted based on measured ongoing neural activity. We examined local field potentials (LFPs) and multi-unit activity (MUA) recorded via intracortical 10 × 10 (4 × 4 mm) arrays implanted in two patients with pharmacologically resistant seizures. Seizures in one patient (P1) were characterized by low-voltage fast-activity (LVFA), and IEDs occurred as isolated (100 − 200 ms) spike-wave events. In the other patient (P2), seizures were characterized by complex spike-wave discharges (2 - 3 Hz) and IEDs consisted of bursts of ~ 2 − 3 spike-wave discharges each lasting ~ 300 − 500 ms. We used extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) classifiers for IED prediction. Inputs to the classifiers consisted of LFP power spectra; In addition, counts of MUA (1-ms and 100-ms time bins) and envelope, as well as leading eigenvalues/eigenvectors of MUA correlation matrices were used as features. Features were computed from moving short-time windows (1 second) immediately preceding IED events (0.3 - 0.5 preictal gap). Classifiers allowed successful IED prediction in both patients, with better results in the case of IED occurring in the LVFA case (area under ROC curve: 0.86). In comparison, LFP features performed comparatively for P1 datasets, while MUA appeared not predictive in the case of P2. Our preliminary results suggest that features of ongoing activity, predictive of upcoming IED events, can be identified based on intracortical recordings, and warrant further investigation in larger datasets. We expect this type of prediction analyses to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the generation of IED events and their contribution to seizure onset.
A comparative study of engagement in mobile and wearable health monitoring for bipolar disorder.

OBJECTIVES Self-monitoring is recommended for individuals with bipolar disorder, with numerous technological solutions available. This study aimed to identify basic components of these solutions that increase engagement with self-monitoring. METHODS Participants with bipolar disorder (n = 47) monitored their symptoms with a Fitbit and a smartphone app and were randomly assigned to either review or not review recorded symptoms weekly. We tested whether individuals would better adhere to and prefer monitoring with passive monitoring with an activity tracker compared to active monitoring with a smartphone app and whether individuals would better adhere to self-monitoring if their recorded symptoms were reviewed with an interviewer. RESULTS Monitoring with a smartphone app achieved similar adherence and preference to Fitbit (P > .85). Linear mixed effects modeling found adherence decreased significantly more over the study for the Fitbit (12% more, P < .001) even though more participants reported they would use the Fitbit over a year compared to the app (72.3% vs 46.8%). Reviewing symptoms weekly did not improve adherence, but most participants reported they would prefer to review symptoms with a clinician (74.5%) and on monthly basis (57.5%) compared to alternatives. Participants endorsed sleep as the most important symptom to monitor, forgetfulness as the largest barrier to self-monitoring, and raising self-awareness as the best reason for self-monitoring. CONCLUSIONS We recommend a combined strategy of wearable and mobile monitoring that includes reminders, targets raising self-awareness, and tracks sleep. A clinician may want to review symptoms on a monthly basis. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03358238.
A Deep Learning Image-Based Sensor for Real-Time Crystal Size Distribution Characterization

We propose a deep learning-based sensor that mitigates the problem of crystal detection in high-density slurries using a segmentation model based on the RetinaNet framework. The sensor functions in...
Sertoli cell proliferation in juvenile boars and microRNA

Abstract Sertoli cell numbers are a major influence on sperm production capacity. Increased use of artificial insemination and the limited number of insemination doses from a single boar ejaculate provide the incentive to increase Sertoli cell numbers for potential increases in sperm production and pig production efficiency. Although the number of Sertoli cells can be at least temporarily manipulated in vivo, the mechanism for the increased proliferation is poorly understood and critical for development of practical production practices. MicroRNAs are recognized to regulate many genes during development. Recent work suggested specific microRNAs were involved with regulation of Sertoli cell lines maintained in monoculture. In order to evaluate the relationship of specific microRNAs (miR-26a, miR-196a, miR-499, miR-638 and miR-1285) to in vivo Sertoli cell proliferation, three in vivo models of increased Sertoli cell proliferation (hemicastration, reduced androgen signaling, and reduced endogenous estrogen synthesis) were evaluated in young juvenile boars. Hemicastration was associated with slightly decreased miR-26a, similar to the decrease associated with in vitro Sertoli cell monoculture but none of the other microRNAs were affected by hemicastration nor were any affected by the blockade of androgen signaling with flutamide. Decreased expression of miR-638 followed reduced endogenous estrogen synthesis consistent with in vitro results although expression of miR-1285 was the converse from the in vitro results. Alterations in specific microRNAs are associated with increased Sertoli cell proliferation. However, altered expression of microRNAs was specific to the particular model system, suggesting unique molecular pathways are involved.
βIII-tubulin expression as a predictor of docetaxel resistance in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer.

e15174 Background: Docetaxel is a tubulin-targeting cytotoxic that remains first-line therapy in metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients (pts) even though half of pts are rep...
Differences in methods of suicide among veterans experiencing housing instability, 2013-2016.

Abstract Although housing instability moderates suicide risk among military veterans, it is unknown whether suicide methods differ between stably and unstably housed veterans. The Veterans Health Administration screened 5,849,870 veterans for housing instability between October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2016. Death data were from the National Death Index. Unstably housed veterans had greater hazards of suicide mortality by jumping from a height (aHR = 3.07, 95%CI = 1.20–7.98) and unspecified means (aHR = 2.80, 95%CI = 1.63–4.80) than stably housed veterans. Translating these findings into optimal suicide prevention programming tailored to unstably housed veterans is essential.
Are Self-Reported Pain Scales in Pediatrics Valid?

Background: Pain is the most common reason for presentation to an orthopaedic practice and orthopedists rank 4th among top prescribers of opiates. Accurate assessment of pain intensity is essential for symptom management. Multiple pain assessment tools exist for pediatric providers including numeric, picture, or color scales. As pain is now considered the 5th vital sign, these assessment tools are widely implemented because they are easy to use and have been previously reported to be valid. Purpose: To evaluate the validity and sensitivity of self-reported pain assessment tools administered to pediatric …
Optoacoustic Imaging Reveals Normalized Tumor Oxygenation following Sepiapterin Treatment

1147 Objectives Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) activities in various types of tumor cells are uncoupled. The underlying mechanism for uncoupling is a reduced ratio between the tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) and dihydrobiopterin (BH2) levels leading to reduced NO bioavailability and corresponding enhanced superoxide and peroxynitrite generation. One consequence of this is endothelial dysfunction leading to poor tumor vascularization and reduced oxygenation. This study aims to improve normalization of tumor vasculature and tumor oxygenation by increasing the BH4:BH2 ratio. Methods We used A549 lung cancer xenograft and MMTVneu spontaneous breast cancer tumor models in mice. These tumor bearing animals were treated, by oral gavage (1mg/kg), with sepiapterin (SP), a metabolic precursor of BH4. We then measured tumor oxygenation by multi-spectral optoacoustic tomography (MSOT). In MSOT, differences in the absorption properties of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin were exploited to measure the oxygenation of tumor hemoglobin in SP-treated animals to control animals (n=8 mice per group). Tumor bearing athymic mice were treated with SP daily for six days. The animals were imaged as at three time points: prior to the first SP treatment, day 3 after the first SP treatment, and day 6 after the first SP treatment. The same experiments were repeated with the spontaneous MMTVneu tumor model also. The mice were treated with SP daily for six days. The animals were imaged at four time points: prior to the first SP treatment, day 5 after the first SP treatment, day 8 after the first SP treatment, and day 16 after the first SP treatment. Results MSOT data demonstrated that SP treatment increased the percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin in xenograft tumors when compared to vehicle treated control tumors. The percentage of oxygenated hemoglobin in the control tumors decreased over time. This was expected, since hypoxia increases as tumors grow. There is a significantly higher (p Conclusions The results proved the hypothesis that recoupling NOS in tumors enhances tumor oxygenation. These results also highlight the spontaneous tumors having more normal vasculature than the subcutaneous xenograft tumors. The outcomes could have potential applications in enhancing radio- and chemo-sensitivities.
Considerations in the Automatic Development of Electric Grid Restoration Plans

Power system restoration is a highly complex task that must be performed in a timely manner following a blackout. It is crucial to have the capability of developing a reliable restoration plan that can be adjusted quickly to different system conditions. This paper introduces a framework of an automated process that creates a restoration plan for a given power system. The required input includes the original system data under normal operating conditions and the status of the resources in the system that can be used for restoration. With a set of criteria to select as an option, the presented process can produce a restoration sequence in terms of which generator, load, branches, and breakers to close until a stopping criterion is met. The algorithm of the restoration process is described, and its application to a synthetic 200-bus case provides a restoration sequence from blackstart generating units to critical loads first and then to the rest of the system without violating any limits for frequency, voltage and branch loading.
Fragmented legitimacy: The rhetorical construction of constitutional legitimacy in postwar Japan

In the light of constitutional transition from the Meiji Constitution (1889–1946) to the Constitution of Japan (1946-), Japanese intellectuals faced the issue of constructing new constitutional leg...
Improving Intravenous Medication Administration and Reducing Medication Errors Among Critical Care Nurses at Jordan University Hospital

Background: Medication errors represent a serious problem in the hospital setting and remain a challenge to navigate among hospitalized patients in all departments. Mistakes in medication administration are considered a significant issue that threatens a patient’s safety and may increase their hospital stay, treatment costs, and mortality rate. Medication errors commonly committed by nurses may include medication preparation or administration errors, which are associated with the highest risk areas in nursing practice. Methodology: A pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental, the observational design was used. Convenience sampling was employed to include all intravenous medication errors committed by nurses in three ICUs of Jordan University Hospital (pretest: 236 errors and post-test: 68 errors, respectively). A designed incident report was used for data collection. Data collection was carried out simultaneously in the three ICUs during nurses’ preparation and administration of intravenous medications over two months for pretest and posttest data (May and June 2018). A tailored evidenced-based educational program designed using Phillips's Manual of I. V. Therapeutics: Evidence-based Practice for Infusion Therapy was furnished to all registered nurses utilizing structured classroom lectures and on-the-job training; moreover, educational medals of common medications and illustration posters were used as additional reminders.Results and Conclusion: More than half of nurses were females and held bachelor’s degrees. Half of the observed medication errors were identified in the surgical ICU. Intravenous medication errors observed during the day shift were significantly higher in number than those in the night shift. A significant reduction in the number of medication errors was noted after the implementation of a bundle of interventions (i.e., there was a reduction from 236 errors to 68 errors). Giving (1) an omeprazole push and then (2) administering vancomycin rapidly thereafter, followed by (3) administering omeprazole at the wrong time, were the three most observed medication errors in the ICUs. Most medication errors were not reported officially using incident reports. Based on the category of the intravenous medication error, ‘wrong medication rate’ followed by ‘wrong medication time’, and then ‘mixing the medication with another drug’ were the most prominent errors noticed. The rate of reported medication errors was significantly higher after program implementation. An ongoing surveillance system is required to monitor intravenous medication errors and to know the causes to find a solution to further decrease them and their consequences. Also, all nurses should receive an intensive specialized evidence-based educational program about medication handling, utilizing clinical training, and frequent reminding.
Shelter in a Swarm

Flagella propel bacteria during both swimming and swarming, dispersing them widely. However, while swimming bacteria use chemotaxis to find nutrients and avoid toxic environments, swarming bacteria appear to suppress chemotaxis and to use the dynamics of their collective motion to continuously expand and acquire new territory, barrel through lethal chemicals in their path, carry along bacterial and fungal cargo that assists in exploration of new niches, and engage in group warfare for niche dominance. Here, we focus on two aspects of swarming, which, if understood, hold the promise of revealing new insights into microbial signaling and behavior, with ramifications beyond bacterial swarming. These are as follows: how bacteria sense they are on a surface and turn on programs that promote movement and how they override scarcity and adversity as dense packs.
The Misleading Vividness of a Physician Requesting Futile Treatment

The authors of the target article indicate that the Texas Advance Directives Act (TADA) is inadequate to address the situation of an overzealous physician who wishes to impose cardiopulmonary resus...
Got my first faculty job - now what? (11.1)

Although all career steps and transitions are challenging on the road to an academic career (or any career these days⋯), the one that is often most difficult and least discussed is the last o...
ASYMPTOTIC BEHAVIOR OF SOLUTIONS OF NONLINEAR FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the asymptotic behavior of solutions of nonlinear functional differential equations. The results presented in the chapter are motivated by some results of Kartsatos, Staikos, and Sficas. Kartsatos considered the nth order nonlinear differential equation x(n) + f(t,x,x',…, x(n−1) = r(t,x,x', …, x(n−1) (denoted by *) and gave sufficient conditions for any bounded nonoscillatory solution x(t) of (*) to satisfy lim inf |x(t)| = 0 (denoted by **). He then raised the question as to whether such conditions could be found that would guarantee that all solutions of (*) satisfy (**). Staikos and Sficas improved Kartsatos' result and at the same time extended it to equations with perturbed arguments, but this was for bounded solutions.
Internal State Variable Theory

Many practical problems of interest deal with irreversible, path dependent aspects of material behavior, such as hysteresis due to plastic deformation or phase transition, fatigue and fracture, or diffusive rearrangement. Some of these processes occur so slowly and so near equilibrium that attendant models forego description of nonequilibrium aspects of dissipation (e.g., grain growth). On the other hand, some irreversible behaviors such as thermally activated dislocation glide can occur farther from equilibrium with a spectrum of relaxation times. The fact that quasi-stable, nonequilibrium configurations of defects can exist in lattices at multiple length scales, combined with the long range nature of interaction forces, presents an enormous challenge to the utility of high fidelity, high degree of freedom (DoF) dynamical models that employ atomistic or molecular modeling methods. For example, analyses of simple crystal structures using molecular dynamics have now reached scales on the order of microns, but are limited to rather idealized systems such as pure metals and to small time durations of the order of nanoseconds. High fidelity analyses of generation, motion and interaction of line defects in lattices based on discrete dislocation dynamics, making use of interactions based on linear elastic solutions, cover somewhat higher length scales and longer time scales, but are also limited in considering realistic multiphase, hierarchical microstructures. Crystal plasticity as well cannot be used for large scale finite element simulations, for example, crash simulations of a vehicle into a barrier.
How does a contextually-relevant peer pedagogical agent in a learner-attenuated system-paced learning environment affect cognitive and affective outcomes?

Educational technology is becoming ubiquitous in schools, thus presenting new challenges in the classroom. For instance, teachers may struggle to find ways to motivate students to learn in multimedia learning environments. One plausible solution is the use of pedagogical agents, which are characters meant to facilitate learning in multimedia learning environments. This study examines the impact of a contextually-relevant, peer agent compared to a condition which provided narration and concurrent keywords displayed on the screen. The findings revealed no statistically significant differences between the two groups. The results, in part, support the presence principle of multimedia learning.However, the results do not suggest that a pedagogical agent is deemed a seductive detail, or distraction during the learning task. Rather, the agent’s presence does not have any significant effect on learning or affective outcomes.
Some Considerations and Techniques for the Predictive Simulation of Global Instabilities in Tokamaks

AbstractA simple rigid plasma model is used to show that axisymmetric plasma instabilities (in two dimensions) will occur on a resistive time scale and do not depend on the plasma mass. This is the justification for ignoring the inertial term in two-dimensional studies of plasma shape control and vertical stability. In three dimensions, it is not normally possible to ignore the inertial terms when computing plasma instabilities. This results in a stiff system of equations (with multiple time scales) in which the driving terms causing plasma instabilities are small compared with the stable compressive terms. Techniques are described for implicit time integration and for representing the vector fields in a way to facilitate obtaining accurate solutions for plasma instabilities when a strong background magnetic field is present.
A Continuous-speech Interface to a Decision Support System: I. Techniques to Accommodate for Misrecognized Input

Objective : Develop a continuous-speech interface that allows flexible input of clinical findings into a medical diagnostic application. Design : The authors' program allows users to enter clinical findings using their own vernacular. It displays from the diagnostic program's controlled vocabulary a list of terms that most closely matches the input, and allows the user to select the single best term. The interface program includes two components: a speech-recognition component that converts utterances into text strings, and a language-processing component that matches recognized text strings with controlled-vocabulary terms. The speech-recognition component is composed of commercially available speech-recognition hardware and software, and developer-created grammars, which specify the language to be recognized. The language-processing component is composed of a translator, which extracts a canonical form from both recognized text strings and controlled-vocabulary terms, and a matcher, which measures the similarity between the two canonical forms. Results : The authors discovered that grammars constructed by a physician, who could anticipate how users might speak findings, supported speech recognition better than did grammars constructed programmatically from the controlled vocabulary. However, this programmatic method of grammar construction was more time efficient and better supported long-term maintenance of the grammars. The authors also found that language-processing techniques recovered some of the information lost due to speech misrecognition, but were dependent on the completeness of supporting synonym dictionaries. Conclusions : The authors' program demonstrated the feasibility of using continuous speech to enter findings into a medical application. However, improvements in speech-recognition technology and language-processing techniques are needed before natural continuous speech becomes an acceptable input modality for clinical applications.
Specific ion effects on the electrophoretic mobility of small, highly charged peptides: A modeling study

In this work, we use coarse-grained modeling to study the free solution electrophoretic mobility of small highly charged peptides (lysine, arginine, and short oligos thereof (up to nonapeptides)) in NaCl and Na2SO4 aqueous solutions at neutral pH and room temperature. The experimental data are taken from the literature. A bead modeling methodology that treats the electrostatics at the level of the nonlinear Poisson Boltzmann equation developed previously in our laboratory is able to account for the mobility of all peptides in NaCl, but not Na2SO4. The peptide mobilities in Na2SO4 can be accounted for by including sulfate binding in the model and this is proposed as one possible explanation for the discrepancy. Oligo arginine peptides bind more sulfate than oligo lysines and sulfate binding increases with the oligo length.
Site-specific and synergistic stimulation of methylation on the bacterial chemotaxis receptor Tsr by serine and CheW.

Background Specific glutamates in the methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs) of Escherichia coli are modified during sensory adaptation. Attractants that bind to MCPs are known to increase the rate of receptor modification, as with serine and the serine receptor (Tsr), which contributes to an increase in the steady-state (adapted) methylation level. However, MCPs form ternary complexes with two cytoplasmic signaling proteins, the kinase (CheA) and an adaptor protein (CheW), but their influences on receptor methylation are unknown. Here, the influence of CheW on the rate of Tsr methylation has been studied to identify contributions to the process of adaptation.
Allozymic Variation and Linkage Disequilibrium in Some Laboratory Populations of DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER.

Nine laboratory populations of D. melanogaster were surveyed by starch gel electrophoresis for variation at 17 enzyme loci. A single-fly extract could be assayed for all 17 enzymes, so that the data consist of 17-locus genotypes.——Pairwise linkage disequilibria were estimated from the multilocus genotypic frequencies, using both Burrows' and Hill's methods. Large amounts of linkage disequilibrium were found, in contrast to the results reported for natural populations.—Knowledge of the approximate sizes of these populations was used to compare the observed heterozygosities and linkage disequilibria with predictions of the neutral allele hypothesis. The relatively large amount of linkage disequilibrium is consistent with the small sizes of the populations. However, the levels of heterozygosity in at least some populations suggest that some mechanism has been operating to retard the rate of decay by random drift. Several examples of significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg frequencies and the large amount of linkage disequilibrum present in these populations indicate that a likely mechanism is selective effects associated with neutral alleles because of linkage disequilibrium with selected loci (e.g., "associative overdominance"). The results are therefore consistent with both neutralist, and selectionist hypotheses, but suggest the importance of considering linkage disequilibrium between neutral and selected loci when attempting to explain the dynamics of enzyme polymorphisms.
Late breaking trials of 2014 in coronary artery disease: Commentary covering ACC, EuroPCR, SCAI, TCT, ESC, and AHA

With the plethora of clinical trials, it is difficult for busy interventional cardiologists to stay up to date. Therefore, the SCAI Publications Committee concisely summarizes and provides editorial commentary on the most important coronary trials from the large international meetings of 2014. The intent is to allow quick assimilation of trial results into interventional practice. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The federal role in setting standards for the exchange of health information

The health care industry, having worked for years to create standards for the electronic data interchange (EDI) of health information without significant penetration in the market, asked the US Congress to adopt industry standards as required national standards. Congress passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 which requires the US Department of Health and Human Services to adopt industry standards and mandates that those standards be used by all health plans, all health care clearing-houses and all health care providers who elect to conduct EDI within two years of the adoption of the standards. These initial standards, which are administrative and financial in nature, set the ground work for a working relationship between the federal government and the health care industry which can be expanded to support other standards requirements in clinical areas such as telemedicine and electronic patient record exchanges. The status of the standards adoption process and its potential future role in developing a national health information infrastructure is explored.