cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling of chromosome intermingling by partially overlapping uniform random polygons.

During the early phase of the cell cycle the eukaryotic genome is organized into chromosome territories. The geometry of the interface between any two chromosomes remains a matter of debate and may have important functional consequences. The Interchromosomal Network model (introduced by Branco and Pombo) proposes that territories intermingle along their periphery. In order to partially quantify this concept we here investigate the probability that two chromosomes form an unsplittable link. We use the uniform random polygon as a crude model for chromosome territories and we model the interchromosomal network as the common spatial region of two overlapping uniform random polygons. This simple model allows us to derive some rigorous mathematical results as well as to perform computer simulations easily. We find that the probability that one uniform random polygon of length n that partially overlaps a fixed polygon is bounded below by $${1-O(\frac{1}{\sqrt n})}$$ . We use numerical simulations to estimate the dependence of the linking probability of two uniform random polygons (of lengths n and m, respectively) on the amount of overlapping. The degree of overlapping is parametrized by a parameter $${\epsilon\in [0,1]}$$ such that $${\epsilon=0}$$ indicates no overlapping and $${\epsilon=1}$$ indicates total overlapping. We propose that this dependence relation may be modeled as $${f(\varepsilon, m, n) =1-{\frac{a(\epsilon)}{b(\epsilon)\sqrt{mn}+c(\epsilon)}}}$$ . Numerical evidence shows that this model works well when $${\epsilon}$$ is relatively large $${(\varepsilon \ge 0.5)}$$ . We then use these results to model the data published by Branco and Pombo and observe that for the amount of overlapping observed experimentally the URPs have a non-zero probability of forming an unsplittable link.
Magneto-transport in magnetic compound semiconductors and metals

This paper reviews the physics of magnetic and dilute magnetic semiconductors. Their electrical transport properties are discussed with reference to the important role played by bound magnetic polarons in these systems. We also discuss the magneto-transport properties of the binary oxide CrO2, which is purported to be a half-metallic ferromagnet. These materials are of significant importance for spintronics applications.
Penetration and Translocation of 14C-Lindane in Pea Plants

The effects of 14C-lindane concentrations around pea roots on the penetration into roots, its translocation into greens, and the distribution of 14C-lindane between roots, cotyledons, and greens were investigated. In addition, the production of water-soluble metabolites was measured, after plants had grown in 14C-lindane-treated nutrient solutions or sand. With increasing concentrations of the insecticide in sand, its penetration and translocation in pea plants reached plateaus when a concentration of 180 ppm in roots and 9 ppm in greens was reached. This corresponded to concentrations of 14C-lindane in sand at 16 ppm and 6 ppm, respectively. The insecticide was mostly concentrated in root tips. Plants growing in 14C-lindane-treated nutrient solutions or sand contained 70% of the totally recovered radiocarbon in roots and 6% in the greens after a growing time of 1.5 days. These figures were 25 and 50%, respectively, after 30 days of growing time. A decrease in the amounts of hexane-soluble 14C-compounds and an increase in water-soluble 14C-Compounds occurred with time, indicating a metabolism of the insecticide into water-soluble compounds. Plants, after growing in 14C-lindane-treated nutrient solutions for 1.5 days, were also transferred into lindane-free nutrient solutions. Within one day, these plants released close to 60% of their total radiocarbon into this surrounding nutrient solution. This radiocarhon was associated with the hexane extraction phase and was identified by GLC and TLC as primarily lindane.
Immune Activation and the Role of TLRs and TLR Agonists in the Pathogenesis of HIV-1 Infection in the Humanized Mouse Model

Immune activation plays a critical role in HIV-1 pathogenesis, but the pathways that are responsible for HIV-1-associated immune activation are not well understood. Recent advances in the development of a humanized mouse model for HIV-1 infection might provide new approaches to study the mechanisms of HIV-1 associated immune activation, and to test interventions aimed at reducing HIV-1 pathogenesis.
Thermoelectric Coolers for Hotspot Thermal Management of 3D Stacked Chips

Three dimensional (3D) technologies with stacked chips have the potential to provide new chip architecture, improved device density, performance, efficiency, and bandwidth. Their increased power density also can become a daunting challenge for heat removal. Furthermore, power density can be highly non-uniform leading to time and space varying hotspots which can severely affect performance and reliability of the integrated circuits. Thus, it is important to mitigate thermal gradients on chip while considering the associated cooling costs. One method of thermal management currently under investigation is the use of superlattice thermoelectric coolers (TECs) which can be employed for on demand and localized cooling. In this paper, a detailed 3D thermal model of a stacked electronic package with two dies and four ultrathin integrated TECs is studied in order to investigate the efficacy of TECs in hot spot cooling for a 3D technology. We observe up to 14.6 °C of cooling at a hot spot inside the package by TECs. A strong vertical coupling has been observed between the TECs located in top and bottom dies. Bottom TECs can detrimentally heat the top hotspots in both steady state and transient operation. TECs need to be carefully placed inside the package to avoid such undesired heating. Thermal contact resistances between dies, inside the TEC module, and between the TEC and heat spreader are shown to have a crucial effect on TEC performance inside the package. We observed that square root current pulse can provide very efficient short-duration transient cooling at hotspots.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Inferring developer expertise through defect analysis

Fixing defects is an essential software development activity. For commercial software vendors, the time to repair defects in deployed business-critical software products or applications is a key quality metric for sustained customer satisfaction. In this paper, we report on the analysis of about 1,500 defect records from an IBM middle-ware product collected over a five-year period. The analysis includes a characterization of each repaired defect by topic and a ranking of developers by inferred expertise on each topic. We find clear evidence that defect resolution time is strongly influenced by the specific developer and his/her expertise in the defect's topic. To validate our approach, we conducted interviews with the product's manager who provided us with his own ranking of developer expertise for comparison. We argue that our automated developer expertise ranking can be beneficial in the planning of a software project and is applicable beyond software support in the other phases of the software lifecycle.
Adjunctive Aripiprazole for Bupropion-Resistant Major Depression

Objective:To examine the effects of adjunctive aripiprazole in patients with major depression refractory to adequate therapy with bupropion.Case Summary:Four consecutive patients diagnosed with major depression (hat was not responsive to a minimum of 2 months of therapy with bupropion 150-450 mg/day were given adjunctive aripiprazole 2.5–10 mg/day and followed for at least 4 months. Chart notes were used to record patient responses. All patients reported rapid improvement in depressive symptoms following the addition of low-dose aripiprazole. Antidepressant effects were sustained for at least 4 months in all patients; however, the mood disturbance subsequently returned in 2 patients. Adjunctive aripiprazole was well tolerated, with one patient developing akathisia that responded to lowering the aripiprazole dose and another exhibiting worsening of preexisting insomnia. Weight and metabolic parameters were not monitored during the observation period.Discussion:Transitory Improvements in depressive symptoms...
Atom-Probe Tomographic Analyses of Hydrogen Interstitial Atoms in Ultrahigh Purity Niobium

Atomic-scale characterization of hydrogen and formation of niobium hydrides, using ultraviolet (wavelength=355 nm) picosecond laser-assisted local-electrode atom-probe tomography, was performed for ultrahigh purity niobium utilizing different laser pulse energies, 10 or 50 pJ/pulse or voltage pulsing. At 50 pJ/pulse, hydrogen atoms migrate onto the 110 and 111 poles as a result of stimulated surface diffusion, whereas they are immobile for <10 pJ/pulse or for voltage pulsing. Accordingly, the highest concentrations of H and NbH were obtained at 50 pJ/pulse. This is attributed to the thermal energy of the laser pulses being transferred to pure niobium specimens. Therefore, we examined the effects of the laser pulse energy being increased systematically from 1 to 20 pJ/pulse and then decreasing it from 20 to 1 pJ/pulse. The concentrations of H, H2, and NbH and the atomic concentration ratios H2/H, NbH/Nb, and Nb3+/Nb2+ were calculated with respect to the systematically changing laser pulse energies. The atomic concentration ratios H2/H and NbH/Nb are greater when decreasing the laser pulse energy than when increasing it, because the higher residual thermal energy after decreasing the laser pulse energy increases the mobility of H atoms by supplying sufficient thermal energy to form H2 or NbH.
Kinship Structure and Political Authority: The Middle East and Central Asia

This is an offprint version of the article published in Comparative Studies in Society and History 28:334-55, made available by permission of the publisher. The version made available in Digital Common was supplied by the author.
Grounded theory sampling: The contribution of reflexivity

This paper explores the value of reflexivity for Glaserian grounded theory methodology, using examples drawn from experiences recruiting a sample for a doctoral research project. Reflexivity is highly relevant for grounded theory research due to its foundations in symbolic interactionism. In this study, reflexivity facilitated the identification of factors influencing sample recruitment at a process and a personal level. It provides a vehicle for the identification of the impact of self on the research relationship. Glaser’s (1978, 1992) early works situated personal experience within theoretical sensitivity, and as data to be included within constant comparative analysis method. His later writings (Glaser, 2001) explicitly reject reflexivity as a distraction from the data, seeing constant comparative analysis as having the ability to expose researcher effects on the data. He does not explore researcher influences on study recruitment. The analysis presented here suggests that the impact of the researcher...
Propagation of Localization Instability Under Active and Passive Loading

The mechanical response of a solid continuum changes drastically as the deformation evolves from a diffuse state to a highly localized state. For this reason the subject of strain localization has received much research attention lately. This paper investigates the impact of strain localization in the form of strong discontinuity, or displacement jump, on the limit strengths of retaining walls supporting an elastoplastic backfill. The analysis focuses on the propagation of strong instability in active and passive loading using a recently developed strong discontinuity finite element model where the elements are enhanced to accommodate the presence of displacement jumps. Specifically, the analysis applies to dilative frictional material that is susceptible to shear banding. For the retaining wall problem, strong instability is shown to initiate at the ground surface and propagate downward at an angle that depends on the state of stress at the onset of localization.
Fantasies of power: Performing Europeanization on the European periphery:

This article offers a fresh look at contemporary processes of Europeanization. Using the Eurovision Song Contest as empirical illustration of how states perform Europeanization, this article makes ...
The disposition of [24-3H]cerebrosterol in developing rat brain.

—The uptake into subcellular fractions of developing rat brain in vivo of intracerebrally injected [4-14C]cholesterol, [24-3H]cerebrosterol, and [24-3H]24-epicerebrosterol was measured for periods up to 30 days following administration. [4-14C]cholesterol was accumulated rapidly in nuclei, nerve endings, and microsomes, more slowly in myelin and mitochondria. [24-3H]cerebrosterol was accumulated rapidly in myelin, nerve endings, and microsomes, more slowly in nuclei and mitochondria. The uptake of [24-3H]24-epicerebrosterol was essentially the same as that of [24-3H]cerebrosterol. Ratios of radioactivities of [24-3H]cerebrosterol and [4-14C]cholesterol accentuated the early accumulation of [24-3H]cerebrosterol in myelin, nerve endings, and microsomes, and declining 3H:14C ratios disclosed the rapid elimination of [24-3H]cerebrosterol and [24-3H]24-epicerebrosterol relative to [4-14C]cholesterol in nerve endings and microsomes. The data suggest that the removal of [24-3H]cerebrosterol from brain results from an enzymic metabolism of the sterol, therefore that cerebrosterol exists in brain in a dynamic state of biosynthesis and catabolism.
Establishing Priorities Among Multiple Management Goals

If inferences from research are to be correct, about farmers' goals to more fully utilize its potential economists, research workers and extension special- as a planning tool. ists should distinguish between adjustment recomIt may not be possible to obtain all necessary mendations for an individual farmer with his unique information about an individual's goals, how they set of values as opposed to recommendations for a change through time and how they are used in hypothetical group of farmers. Too often, economic making decisions. Yet, it is important to gain inforanalyses are based on the implied assumption that all mation indicating the ranking and hierarchy of goals, individuals fit a general definition of the economic and in what manner the hierarchy differs under man whose one objective is to maximize profits. A different planning conditions. Such knowledge will single goal, such as profit maximization, is often used provide a better basis for selecting organizational to derive the "otpimum" plan because the planning strategies for a given business. When using multiple model is operational and is assumed to provide an goals in a planning framework, it may be assumed the analytical approximation of firm behavior [1]. Other decision-maker will try to satisfy as many of the goals may be relevant to the firm's decision-maker, specified goals as possible. Any given goal, or a less and economists generally recognize that multiple important one, will be pursued after satisfactory goals are important in making business decisions. levels of the more dominant goals have been achieved. Consequently, single goal models are not always a
RNA-Binding Proteins Tia-1 and Tiar Link the Phosphorylation of Eif-2α to the Assembly of Mammalian Stress Granules

In response to environmental stress, the related RNA-binding proteins TIA-1 and TIAR colocalize with poly(A)+ RNA at cytoplasmic foci that resemble the stress granules (SGs) that harbor untranslated mRNAs in heat shocked plant cells ([Nover et al. 1989][1]; [Nover et al. 1983][2]; [Scharf et al. 1998][3]). The accumulation of untranslated mRNA at SGs is reversible in cells that recover from a sublethal stress, but irreversible in cells subjected to a lethal stress. We have found that the assembly of TIA-1/R+ SGs is initiated by the phosphorylation of eIF-2α. A phosphomimetic eIF-2α mutant (S51D) induces the assembly of SGs, whereas a nonphosphorylatable eIF-2α mutant (S51A) prevents the assembly of SGs. The ability of a TIA-1 mutant lacking its RNA-binding domains to function as a transdominant inhibitor of SG formation suggests that this RNA-binding protein acts downstream of the phosphorylation of eIF-2α to promote the sequestration of untranslated mRNAs at SGs. The assembly and disassembly of SGs could regulate the duration of stress- induced translational arrest in cells recovering from environmental stress. [1]: #ref-31 [2]: #ref-30 [3]: #ref-38
Reduction of queue oscillation in the next generation Internet routers

The Internet routers employing the random early detection (RED) algorithm for congestion control suffer from the problem of chaotic queue oscillation. It is well known that the slowly varying nature of the average queue size computed using an exponentially weighted moving average (EWMA) used in the RED scheme causes this chaotic behavior. This paper presents a new mathematical function to model the weighting parameter used in the EWMA. The proposed weighting function incorporates the knowledge of the dynamic changes in the congestion characteristics, traffic characteristics and queue normalization. Using this pragmatic information eliminates the slowly varying nature of the average queue size. It is evident from our simulations that the proposed approach not only reduces the chaotic queue oscillation significantly but also provides predictable low delay and low delay jitter with high throughput gain and reduced packet loss rate even under heavy load of traffic conditions.
Choice of Plausible Alternatives: An Evaluation of Commonsense Causal Reasoning

Research in open-domain commonsense reasoning has been hindered by the lack of evaluation metrics for judging progress and comparing alternative approaches. Taking inspiration from large-scale question sets used in natural language processing research, we authored one thousand English-language questions that directly assess commonsense causal reasoning, called the Choice Of Plausible Alternatives (COPA) evaluation. Using a forced-choice format, each question gives a premise and two plausible causes or effects, where the correct choice is the alternative that is more plausible than the other. This paper describes the authoring methodology that we used to develop a validated question set with sufficient breadth to advance open-domain commonsense reasoning research. We discuss the design decisions made during the authoring process, and explain how these decisions will affect the design of high-scoring systems. We also present the performance of multiple baseline approaches that use statistical natural language processing techniques, establishing initial benchmarks for future systems.
Protein‐Functionalized Synthetic Antiferromagnetic Nanoparticles for Biomolecule Detection and Magnetic Manipulation

Direct protein functionalization provides synthetic antiferromagnetic nanoparticles with high chemical specificity and multifunctionality. These nanoparticle-protein conjugates function as improved magnetic labels for biological detection experiments, and exhibit tunable responses to a small external magnetic field gradient, thus allowing the observation of distinctive single nanoparticle motion.
Tracking the social dimensions of RFID systems in hospitals

Background: Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an emerging technology that is rapidly becoming the standard for hospitals to track inventory, identify patients, and manage personnel. Methods: Research involved qualitative methods including participant observation and interviews with hospital staff members and industry consultants in the United States. Results: Hospital staff, especially nurses, expressed concern about the surveillance potential of these tracking technologies. Additionally, nursing staff frequently experience an intensification of labor as a result of the implementation of RFID systems because the task of keeping the systems operational often falls upon them. Conclusions: The social and organizational factors that contribute to the success or failure of RFID systems in hospitals must be further analyzed. The implications of RFID systems, such as privacy concerns and work intensification for nursing and other hospital staff, should be taken into account from the outset, especially during the design and implementation of the technology.
A Cytoplasmic Acyl-Protein Thioesterase That Removes Palmitate from G Protein α Subunits and p21RAS

Thioacylation is one of a handful of reversible covalent protein modifications, but the enzymes responsible for addition and removal of long chain fatty acids from protein cysteine residues in vivo have not yet been identified. The α subunits of some heterotrimeric G proteins cycle between thioacylated and deacylated states in a receptor-regulated fashion. We have identified, purified, and characterized an enzyme acyl-protein thioesterase that deacylates Gα proteins and at least some other thioacyl protein substrates, including Ha-RAS. The action of this enzyme on thioacylated heterotrimeric Gs is regulated by activation of the G protein. Although native and recombinant acyl-protein thioesterases act as both acyl-protein thioesterases and lysophospholipases in vitro, we demonstrate by transfection that the enzyme can accelerate the turnover of thioacyl groups on Gsα in vivo.
Ad hoc, multihop CDMA networks with route diversity in a Rayleigh fading channel

In an ad hoc multihop CDMA network, fading can adversely affect the expected progress per hop of a packet. However, the effects of fading can be mitigated through route diversity, where a given source-destination pair has multiple possible paths through which to route packets. First, the distribution of the interference power is derived using a previously proposed model, and with Rayleigh fading the distribution is shown to be the same as for the non fading case except for a scaling factor. Expressions for the expected progress per hop are derived for the cases with and without next-hop route diversity. We find that the expected progress per hop in a Rayleigh fading channel can be significantly improved with low-order route diversity.
Recent Occurrence, Spatial Distribution, and Temporal Variability of Leatherback Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) in Nearshore Waters of South Carolina, USA

ABSTRACT Based on museum and stranding records, leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) were previously considered a rare migrant in South Carolina nearshore waters with only 9 recorded prior to 1980. In 1989, leatherback sightings increased, both alive and dead, in large numbers. From 1980 to 2003, 141 leatherback carcasses stranded. These leatherback strandings were highly seasonal, with a major peak in spring and a minor peak in fall. Based on 23 necropsies, there were 7 males and 16 females (1:2.3). From 1994 to 2003, during April–June, 1131 live leatherbacks (0.04 per km) were observed during 50 nearshore aerial surveys flown parallel to the South Carolina coast. The highest concentration during a single flight was in May 2002, with 175 leatherbacks seen over 605 km of transect line or 0.29 per km. Leatherbacks were not randomly or uniformly distributed, but had a contagious (clumped) distribution. Numbers observed varied significantly between inner and outer transect lines, among years, and among...
America's First Merit-Selection Judge

The "Missouri Plan" of merit selection is used by 32 states to select some or all of their judges. This brief biography examines the professional and judicial career of Laurance M. Hyde (1892-1978), the first individual to reach judicial office by merit selection. Widely regarded as the greatest judge ever to sit on the Missouri Supreme Court, Judge Hyde achieved nationwide stature in the field of judicial administration. He was president of Scribes - The American Society of Legal Writers in 1966-67. [Includes photograph.]
Some Arc Pair Grammar Descriptions

The goal of this paper1 is to illustrate something of the approach to grammatical theory and description made possible by the framework of arc pair grammar (henceforth: APG) as described in Johnson and Postal (to appear). This framework is not easy to discuss currently because its conceptions of the two basic aspects of grammatical theory, the nature of sentences and the nature of grammars, are novel. The APG conception of sentence is an outgrowth of previous ideas in relational grammar. Nonetheless, it contains many unique elements and the previous ideas have been extensively reinterpreted and embedded in a richer and more extensive framework. The APG conception of grammars is entirely novel. It would be misleading to speak about sentences without saying something about grammars, so I shall begin by saying a little about the view of grammar and grammatical rule inherent to the APG framework. Then I illustrate how this conception applies to an actual range of problems. The idea is to show how this framework makes available novel and otherwise unavailable hypotheses about grammatical structure, of a type currently unknown to grammatical discussions.
Adverse Effects of Cesarean Cases on Women

In the United States, the percentage of Cesarean cases has increased from 20.7% in 1996-31.3% in 2006 (Erik, 2011). Of every 10,000 births in the United States, three results in maternal death. Most of these deaths occur in pregnant women who have placenta previa. If the placenta previa is close to cervical opening and is in the lower part of the uterus that’s the reason why the death occurs. Another term that can be dysfunctional in 1-2400 pregnant women is placenta accrete, both of these are the leading causes of excessive bleeding in women during cesarean deliveries (Bergakker 2010).
Amish culture and their utilization of burns and wounds ointment for the treatment of burns

As indicated in the 2010 United States Religion Census, there are approximately 251,000 Amish people in the United States and Ontario. This census also demonstrated that a new Amish community is founded on average about every three-and-a-half weeks, suggesting that this religious culture is the fastest-growing religion throughout the United States. Because of the rapid growth of the Amish population, it is essential for health care workers to understand their background, cultural, and health care beliefs, especially in the treatment of burns. The purpose of this article is to examine the Amish background, cultural, and health care beliefs, specifically the utilization of burns and wounds ointment and burdock leaves in the treatment of burns.
Application of Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov method in implicitly solving two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow problems: Implementation, validation and benchmark

Abstract This work represents a first-of-its-kind successful application to employ advanced numerical methods in solving realistic two-phase flow problems with two-fluid six-equation two-phase flow model. These advanced numerical methods include high-resolution spatial discretization scheme with staggered grids (high-order) fully implicit time integration schemes, and Jacobian-free Newton–Krylov (JFNK) method as the nonlinear solver. The computer code developed in this work has been extensively validated with existing experimental flow boiling data in vertical pipes and rod bundles, which cover wide ranges of experimental conditions, such as pressure, inlet mass flux, wall heat flux and exit void fraction. Additional code-to-code benchmark with the RELAP5-3D code further verifies the correct code implementation. The combined methods employed in this work exhibit strong robustness in solving two-phase flow problems even when phase appearance (boiling) and realistic discrete flow regimes are considered. Transitional flow regimes used in existing system analysis codes, normally introduced to overcome numerical difficulty, were completely removed in this work. This in turn provides the possibility to utilize more sophisticated flow regime maps in the future to further improve simulation accuracy.
Patterned enzymatic degradation of poly(ε-caprolactone) by high-affinity microcontact printing and polymer pen lithography.

This paper reports deposition of Candida antarctica Lipase B (CALB) on relatively thick poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) films (300–500 nm) to create well-defined patterns using two different writing techniques: high-affinity microcontact (HA-μCL) and polymer pen (PPL) lithography. For both, an aqueous CALB ink is absorbed onto a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) writing implement (PDMS stamp or a PDMS pen tip), which is transferred to a spun-cast PCL film. HA-μCL experiments demonstrated the importance of applied pressure to obtain high-resolution patterns since uniform contact is needed between raised 20 μm parallel line regions of the PDMS stamp and the surface. AFM imaging shows pattern formation evolves gradually over incubation time only in areas stamped with CALB cutting through spherulites without apparent influence by grain boundaries. Strong binding of CALB to PCL is postulated as the mechanism by which lateral diffusion is limited. PPL enables formation of an arbitrary image by appropriate programming of t...
Families coming together in prison: An examination of visitation encounters:

Despite great strides in research on the collateral consequences of incarceration, we know relatively little about family life during imprisonment. In an effort to extend prior work, the current study examines family processes among caregivers, prisoners, and children during prison visitation. Drawing from in-depth interviews with 52 caregivers of children of incarcerated parents, we use open and axial coding techniques to identify the interactions and interpersonal exchanges that take place among family members during prison visitation. Analyses revealed that in addition to universal engagement in Family Time, three familial processes unfolded in the carceral setting: Attempts to Bond, Declarations of Family Responsibilities, and Messages of Reform. Our findings illuminate the complex needs and fragile relationships of prisoners and their families, and have important implications for reentry, offender rehabilitation, and family well-being.
Photochemistry of "end-only" oligo-p-phenylene ethynylenes: complexation with sodium dodecyl sulfate reduces solvent accessibility.

Cationic oligo-p-phenylene ethynylenes are very effective light-activated biocides and biosensors but degrade upon exposure to light. In this study, we explore the photochemistry of a class of “end-only” compounds from this series, which have cationic moieties on the ends of the backbone. Product characterization by mass spectrometry reveals that the photoreactivity of these molecules is higher than that of a previously studied oligomer and that the primary products of photolysis result from the addition of water or oxygen across the triple bond. In addition, a product suggesting the addition of peroxide or other reactive oxygen species across the triple bond was observed. To explore avenues by which the photodegradation of these compounds can be mitigated, the effects of complexation with sodium dodecyl sulfate micelles on their photochemistry was explored. Classical molecular dynamics simulations revealed that compounds that were protected from photolysis by SDS buried their phenylene ethynylene backbon...
Social Class and Social Worlds: Income Predicts the Frequency and Nature of Social Contact

Does access to money predict social behavior? Past work has shown that money fosters self-sufficiency and reduces interest in others. Building on this work, we tested whether income predicts the frequency and type of social interactions. Two studies using large, nationally representative samples of Americans (N = 118,026) and different measures of social contact showed that higher household income was associated with less time spent socializing with others (Studies 1 and 2) and more time spent alone (Study 2). Income also predicted the nature of social contact. People with higher incomes spent less time with their families and neighbors and spent more time with their friends. These findings suggest that income is associated with how and with whom people spend their time.
Antimicrobial susceptibility of resistant bacteria with extended-spectrum β-lactamase(ESBL)

Objective: One hundred and twenty - nine strains of resistant bacteria with extended - spectrum β - lactamase (ESBL) were analied in order to provide the suggestions of empirical treatment against the kind of bacteria. Methods: Identification of bacteria with ESBL including E. coli and KL. pneumonia were performed by using double -disk diffusion tests. Results: Of 210 strains of E. coli, 36% were with ESBL, while KL. pneumonia with ESBL accounted for 68% in all isolats of KL. pneumonia. In 129 strain bacteria with ESBL, All were risisant to penicillins, the first, the second and the third generation of cephalosporins and aztreonan, while more than 50% were risistant to guinolones, aminoglycosides and sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprin. Conclusion: Monitoring the ESBL bacteria is important for direction of clinical using drugs.
Business Communication Practices From Employers’ Perspectives:

This study investigates the meaning of communication skills from employers’ perspectives. Students enrolled in a business communication course were asked to contact potential employers in their fie...
Building Capacity for Civic Engagement at Portland State University: A Comprehensive Approach

Almost a decade ago, Portland State University (PSU) launched a significant initiative of comprehensive institutional transformation.3 PSU aligned its curricula, its undergraduate and graduate academic programs, its scholarship and research, and its collaborative community outreach to reflect its commitment to a newly-defined “urban” mission that placed student learning and student experience at the core of the educational enterprise. Located in the heart of downtown Portland, PSU has taken seriously its charge to be in and of the city and the metropolitan region. Its motto, Let Knowledge Serve the City, is visibly embossed on a sky bridge symbolically capturing its commitment to the communities of which it is a part. In Fall 2000, a new year-long series entitled “Great City: Great University” was sponsored by the Office of Academic Affairs to engage faculty and community alike in civic discourse by taking stock of our common purpose and what we aspire to become.
Production of Mg Deficiency Anemia by Zn and Phytate in Young Japanese Quail

An increase in dietary Zn to ameliorate the Zn deficiency produced by dietary phytic acid (PA) caused high mortality, decreased body weight, and elevated Fe in the liver and tibia of young Japanese quail by 14 d of age (Fox et al., 1985). Supplemental Mg prevented these adverse effects. Since marked anemia is a characteristic feature of Mg deficiency in the young quail (Tao et al., 1983), we investigated the effects of supplemental Fe in Mg-deficient birds and in those fed elevated Zn with PA.
The Politics of Color in the Arctic Landscape: Blackness at the Center of Frederic Edwin Church's Aurora Borealis and the Legacy of 19th-Century Limits of Representation

American painter Frederic Edwin Church's monumental oil painting Aurora Borealis (1865) presents a stark contrast to the dominant Western tradition of representing the Arctic as monochrome and stat...
Validation of Joint Position Sense of Dorsi-Plantar Flexion of Ankle Measurements Using a Smartphone.

OBJECTIVES This study evaluated and validated the reliability of smartphones as measuring equipment for the dorsi-plantar flexion of ankle joint position sense (JPS) ability. METHODS The subjects were 20 healthy young students in their 20s. We confirmed the concurrent validity by comparison with existing electrogoniometer data. The reliability of the smartphone was confirmed using the test-retest method. RESULTS In the case of dorsiflexion, there was no significant difference between the smartphone and electrogoniometer groups (p > 0.05). Regarding the correlation, it was significantly high (r = 0.65, p 0.05), the correlation was significantly high (r = 0.69, p 0.05), the correlation was intermediate (r = 0.59, p 0.05), the correlation was significantly high (r = 0.63, p < 0.05), and the ICC(3,1) was good (ICC(3,1) = 0.76). CONCLUSIONS The results showed that smartphones provide high validity and reliability as measurement equipment for JPS of dorsi-plantar flexion of the ankle. Finally, the study also considers that smartphone-based JPS measuring methods may replace the traditional and expensive methods that are currently being used for the same purpose.
On Designing Collusion-Resistant Incentive Mechanisms for Mobile Crowdsensing Systems

With the tremendous popularity of smartphones and other portable devices, crowdsensing applications have become a center of attention in recent years. Different mechanisms have been designed to incentivize mobile users to participate in crowdsensing. However, there are still many open issues needed to be investigated for these incentive mechanisms. In this paper, we systematically study the collusion resistance issue for incentive mechanisms in crowdsensing applications. For a typical type of mobile crowdsensing scenarios, we have two theoretical findings, i.e., the criteria to determine whether an incentive mechanism can inherently resist the collusions with and without profit trading respectively. These criteria have direct practical benefits in screening potential incentive mechanisms for mobile crowdsensing. Furthermore, we also propose our solution that can resist any form of collusion attacks, even including profit trading among the attackers. We conduct extensive experiments to verify our theoretical results and evaluate the performance of our proposed mechanisms.
ZnO Nanoparticles Protect RNA from Degradation Better than DNA.

Gene therapy and RNA delivery require a nanoparticle (NP) to stabilize these nucleic acids when administered in vivo. The presence of degradative hydrolytic enzymes within these environments limits the nucleic acids’ pharmacologic activity. This study compared the effects of nanoscale ZnO and MgO in the protection afforded to DNA and RNA from degradation by DNase, serum or tumor homogenate. For double-stranded plasmid DNA degradation by DNase, our results suggest that the presence of MgO NP can protect DNA from DNase digestion at an elevated temperature (65 °C), a biochemical activity not present in ZnO NP-containing samples at any temperature. In this case, intact DNA was remarkably present for MgO NP after ethidium bromide staining and agarose gel electrophoresis where these same stained DNA bands were notably absent for ZnO NP. Anticancer RNA, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) is now considered an anti-metastatic RNA targeting agent and as such there is great interest in its delivery by NP. For it to function, the NP must protect it from degradation in serum and the tumor environment. Surprisingly, ZnO NP protected the RNA from degradation in either serum-containing media or melanoma tumor homogenate after gel electrophoretic analysis, whereas the band was much more diminished in the presence of MgO. For both MgO and ZnO NP, buffer-dependent rescue from degradation occurred. These data suggest a fundamental difference in the ability of MgO and ZnO NP to stabilize nucleic acids with implications for DNA and RNA delivery and therapy.
Breast Lesions Detected via Molecular Breast Imaging: Physiological Parameters Affecting Interpretation.

Rationale and Objectives To evaluate correlations between molecular breast imaging (MBI) descriptor characteristics and positive predictive value (PPV) in detecting breast cancer. Materials and Methods A retrospective review was performed on 193 suspicious findings from 153 women (31–81 years) with positive MBI examinations. We assessed associations between (i) lesion pattern (mass vs. nonmass) and PPV; (ii) lesion pattern and suspected likelihood of cancer (low vs. moderate vs. high); (iii) background parenchymal uptake (BPU) (homogeneous vs. heterogeneous) and PPV; (iv) breast density (dense vs. non-dense) and PPV; and (v) BPU and density. Results One hundred ten of 153 patients were diagnosed with malignancy or high-risk pathology (PPV1 = 71.9%), and 130/193 biopsies resulted in malignant or high-risk lesions (PPV3 = 67.4%). Biopsies of mass vs. nonmass findings had comparable PPV3 (71.7% vs. 61.3%; P = .0717). Mass findings were correlated with higher suspicion for cancer than nonmass findings (P Conclusion Neither variability in mass or nonmass positive MBI findings, nor variability in BPU on MBI were significant determinants for the probability of malignancy. Dense breasts were associated with lower predictability and heterogeneous BPU on MBI.
Long-term influence of disturbance-generated microsites on forest structural and compositional development

Wind disturbance generates heterogeneous microsite structures, including downed logs, windthrow mounds, and pits. While these structures can provide opportunities for regeneration of certain tree species, the long-term influence of microsites and microsite heterogeneity on forest development has not been quantified. We used long-term measurements of a formerly old-growth Tsuga canadensis – Pinus strobus forest severely damaged by a category 3 hurricane in 1938 to quantify the impact of microsite conditions on overstory composition and structure. We asked (i) “What are the patterns in live-tree size, growth, and mortality five and seven decades after disturbance?” and (ii) “What roles do microsite heterogeneity and the presence of disturbance-generated microsites play in long-term forest development following disturbance?” We compared live-tree (>2 cm DBH) development and survival to microsite heterogeneity at the 100 m2 scale. Microsite diversity was positively related to overstory species diversity and s...
Biochemical characteristics of 8-azaguanine resistant human lymphoblast mutants selected in vitro.

Much of recent progress in our understanding of the regulation of purine metabolism in man has resulted from in vitro studies on cells from patients with inborn errors of metabolism (1, 2).
Distribution of prostaglandins in rabbit kidney

Three prostaglandins (PGE2, PGF2α and PGA2) are present in rabbit kidney medulla. An acidic lipid extract (0.165g) obtained from 2kg of frozen rabbit kidney cortex was separated by silicic acid chromatography to yield eluates containing fatty acids, possible non-polar prostaglandin metabolites, PGA, PGE and PGF compounds. Ultraviolet spectra of the eluates before and after treatment with sodium hydroxide did not yield chromophores typical of any known prostaglandins or related metabolites. By using more sensitive bioassay procedures (contraction of rabbit duodenum) weak activity equivalent to 60μg of PGE2 and 10μg of PGF2α was detected in the PGE and PGF eluates respectively. Extraction and bioassay of fresh kidney cortex revealed no prostaglandin-like activity. Attempts to biosynthesize prostaglandins in fresh homogenates of rabbit kidney cortex from endogenous precursors and from added arachidonic acid were unsuccessful. When freshly prepared homogenates of rabbit kidney cortex were incubated with added PGE1 no evidence of enzymic breakdown was obtained. It is concluded that rabbit kidney prostaglandins are present predominantly in the medulla and there are no cortical mechanisms for their biosynthesis or inactivation under normal conditions.
A Case of Complete Heart Block With Diagnostic Challenge and Therapeutic Dilemma

Permanent pacemaker implantation is a class I indication for all symptomatic patients with complete heart block either congenital or acquired. However, certain portions of patients with congenital complete heart block are asymptomatic. Those patients are often very young, and implanting a permanent pacemaker is not always an easy decision. A therapeutic dilemma arises when a select patient population does not meet certain criteria to gain the maximum benefits out of prophylactic pacemaker therapy. Most asymptomatic patients with congenital complete heart block will eventually become symptomatic and require pacemakers at some point in their life but the definitive answer for the ideal time to initiate pacemaker therapy in such population has not been established. We present a case of asymptomatic congenital complete heart block with junctional escape rhythm, which is capable of incrementing the heart rate with physical activity to result in a challenge in diagnosis as well as the treatment strategy.
Reclamation of wastewater organics via two-stage growth of bacteria-then-oleaginous phagotrophic algae

A substantial amount of organic matter is wasted in current wastewater treatment processes. To reclaim the value of organic matter, a two-stage continuous-flow open process has been developed by utilizing the capability of phagotrophic algae in ingesting bacterial cells. In this process, wastewater is first pumped into a bacteria tank to grow bacterial cells, and then the effluent containing grown bacteria cells is fed to an algae tank to grow phagotrophic algae. The operation conditions such as dilution rate, pH, and dissolved oxygen level were comprehensively investigated and optimized with long-term tests. Results show that phagotrophic algae can be stably cultivated with wastewater organics through this open process without costly chemical/physical sterilization. The produced phagotrophic algae had high lipid content and can be potentially used as biofuel feedstock.
A Systems Approach for Modeling Interactions Among the Sustainable Development Goals Part 2: System Dynamics

This article presents a methodology using system dynamics to model the time-dependent progress of each one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as their mutual interactions. The hard-systems approach presented herein complements a soft-systems, cross-impact analysis approach presented in part 1. To accomplish this, a modified logistic innovation-diffusion model is used to represent the progress of individual SDGs over time. Then, matrix transposition is used to model the SDGs' interactions. Combining these two techniques into one system dynamics model, the authors propose an analytical, quantifiable, and easily learned tool to understand the complex interplay among the SDGs as a system. The new web-based tool can be used to analyze several scenarios of the SDGs over time to understand the impact of a certain policy or economic intervention. This article is the second of a sequence of two papers analyzing the interactions between the SDGs in a systemic manner.
The Effect of CEO Narcissism on Firm Performance

Many scholars suggest that narcissism has a negative impact on leader performance, while others cite anecdotal evidence that narcissism enhances performance. We hypothesized that narcissists are pr...