cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Peptide hormones in strange places—Are they there?

Abstract Are ACTH and insulin synthesized in tissues other than the pituitary and pancreas, respectively? ACTH and TSH are widely distributed in the rat brain but are restricted to the hypothalamic regions of the primate brain. It is concluded that these pituitary peptides are not synthesized in the brain in extrahypothalamic sites. The apparent immunoreactive ACTH in the pancreas and gastrointestinal tract does not have the physicochemical characteristics of any known form of ACTH and thus is probably an artifact of some radioimmunoassay systems. Concentrations of insulin in acid-ethanol extracts of brains of rats and some other animals are generally less than plasma concentrations while concentrations in kidney extracts are about ten-fold plasma levels. The use of octadecylsilyl silica cartridges permits up to a hundred-fold concentration of insulin in acid-ethanol tissue extracts with recoveries greater than 75–85 percent. With this methodology it is observed that pork-like insulin in guinea pig tissues is less than 20 pg/g in contrast to the ng/g levels reported by others. It is concluded that ACTH and insulin are not brain/gut peptides and that guinea pig tissues do not contain measurable pork-like insulin in several radioimmunoassay systems.
Modeling EO sensor performance for flight test scenarios

Modeling of visible band line scan EO sensors in the flight test scenario involves the computation of ground resolved distance (GRD) based on the minimum resolvable delta- radiance (MRDR) criteria for visual perception of tribar targets on an output display device. MRDR is driven by the basic sensor parameters of noise equivalent delta-radiance (NEDR) and modulation transfer function (MTF). Therefore, the modeling process can provide a sequence of steps to reveal the linkage from the basic sensor parameters that produce NEDR and MTF, to expected lab measurements, and then finally to expected GRD performance in the flight test scenario. The MRDR vs GRD curves reveal the EO sensor sensitivity to parameters such as sun elevation, target reflectivity, visibility, and aircraft ground velocity. GRD is not a single fixed value but rather exhibits variability based on both observer statistics and flight test scenario factors.
Circulation Control Applied to Wind Turbines

The recent rise in fuel costs and global warming concerns have re-invigorated the search for alternative energy sources. Harnessing energy from the wind is a logical alternative; however the cost and efficiency of current wind turbines is a limiting factor. The use of an augmented Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWTs) may become the superior choice to the more common Horizontal Axis Wind Turbines (HAWTs) that are usually associated with the harvesting of wind energy. HAWTs operate on the same principles as large airplane propellers, while VAWTs operate on lift and/or drag principles like an airplane wing or a sail on a boat. VAWTs are currently being investigated for use with circulation control to increase their potential power output. In this paper, two topics will be presented, a comparison between VAWTs and HAWTs for rotor diameter versus key turbine aspects and the impact of VAWTs on environmental concerns, such as bat and bird populations. The Center for Industrial Research Applications (CIRA) at West Virginia University (WVU) is currently developing a concept utilizing circulation control to increase the lift to drag ratio, maximizing the beneficial forces on the VAWT blade, allowing for improved wind energy production. For the comparison between VAWTs and HAWTs, there are currently 14 companies with a total of 34 wind turbines variations representing VAWTs and 11 companies with a total of 40 wind turbines representing HAWTs. Trend studies of VAWT and HAWT diameters to cut-in-speed, rated velocity, max velocity, power output (<100 kW), and power output (≥100 kW) were created to show the potential of VAWTs. A growing concern with wind energy is the impact on bat and bird populations. It is currently believed that VAWTs reduce the impact of wind energy by altering the interaction with the wind. If these benefits can be proven, then not only are VAWTs potentially more economical, but even more eco-friendly.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Bluetongue virus propagation and plaque assay: Variation due to medium and serum supplement

Abstract Two base media, minimal essential medium (MEM) and RPMI 1640, were supplemented with a variety of serum extenders and/or substitutes for the purpose of defining a medium formulation capable of supporting good cell (VERO) growth and virologic assays. Bluetongue virus (BTV), the prototype Orbivirus in the Reoviridae, was used in all studies. In general, VERO cells grown in RPMI performed better than those grown in MEM relative to cell growth, virus production and plaque assay. RPMI was better for supporting cell growth when serum extenders (NuSerum or SerXtend) were employed as supplements. Relative to virologic techniques, cells grown in RPMI produced higher virus titers in both propagation studies and plaque assays. The interval from infection to >90% cytopathic effect (CPE) was consistently shorter with RPMI as the base medium. Cell cultures supported with RPMI base medium, supplemented with 3.5% FBS with SerXtend, provided the best overall performance relative to: (a) amount of virus produced by infected cell monolayers, (b) sensitivity to productive infection under overlay conditions (revealed the highest titer of a standard virus stock) and (c) plaque assay quality including cell quality, plaque size and plaque clarity.
Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Venous Access: A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review:

ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to determine through a systematic review of the literature and meta-analysis whether success rates, time to cannulation, and number of punctures required f...
Orientation and Color Columns in Monkey Visual Cortex

The literature on orientation and color columns in monkey visual cortex is reviewed. The orientation column model most consistent with existing data is one containing 'stripes' of alternating positive and negative orientation 'singularities' (cytochrome oxidase blobs) which run along the centers of ocular dominance (OD) columns, with horizontal and vertical orientations alternating at interblob centers. Evidence is summarized suggesting that color is mapped continuously across the monkey's primary visual cortex, with the ends of the spectrum located at 'red' and 'blue' cytochrome oxidase blobs and extra-spectral purple located between adjacent red and blue blobs in the same OD column. In the orientation column model, the 'linear zones' of Obermayer and Blasdel have the appearance of the lines on a pumpkin. A pinwheel model of color columns, consistent with existing data, includes spectral and extra-spectral colors as spokes. Spectral iso-color lines run across iso-orientation lines in linear zones, while extra-spectral iso-color lines occupy the 'saddle points' of Obermayer and Blasdel. The color column model accounts for closure of the perceptual color circle, as proposed by Isaac Newton in 1704, but does not account for color opponency.
Recurring Klebsiella pneumoniae Pyogenic Liver Abscesses in a Resident of San Diego, California, Due to a K1 Strain Carrying the Virulence Plasmid

ABSTRACT We report a diabetic patient who had three episodes of cryptogenic liver abscess due to Klebsiella pneumoniae. He was a Caucasian who lived in California and had no epidemiological connection to East Asia. The isolate from his third episode was a hyperviscous K1 strain that carried the Klebsiella virulence plasmid.
Katharine Fowler-Billings Pioneering woman field geologist trained in the Rocky Mountains

Katharine Fowler-Billings (1902–1997) became a practicing field geologist in the 1920s, long before this was a commonplace career for a woman. Her life achievements are those that anyone would be proud to have—fine educational credentials, including a Ph.D. from Columbia University; a publication record that includes fundamental geological descriptions of large areas in Wyoming, Sierra Leone, and New Hampshire; and a record of environmental activism in New England. It is, as Kay wrote, “a full life, spanning the century and circling the globe.” How did she accomplish so much? I suggest it is the result, at least in part, of three things: Kay's independent spirit, which manifested itself early in her life and never abated; the deaths of her parents before she completed her education, which freed her from the expectations of Boston society regarding proper behavior; and finally, a keen intellect that enabled her to pursue and attain her goals. Her early life and her geologic education in the Rocky Mountains amply illustrate the development of these character traits. Kay wrote (Fowler-Lunn, 1938), “my parents would turn in their graves if they could know of all the foolhardy things I have done in my short life.” She was reared in Boston, “with the typically Puritanical upbringing which the name ‘Boston’ implies” and “was sent, rebelling, to dancing school—wearing frilly, Irish lace dresses, and two long pigtails with huge silk bows.” She went to a select girls' school in Boston, then chose Bryn Mawr for her college. Her mother approved (her father having died when she was 16), considering her choice “select, high standing, and only nice girls went there.” But Kay had a different basis for making her choice—Bryn Mawr was as far from home as possible, out of New England. Her education included a Grand Tour of Europe …
Direct gas chromatographic analysis of halogenated hydrocarbons at the part-per-trillion level

Large sample volume on-column injection (up to 250 μL) of n-pentane solutions of halogenated hydrocarbons has been employed for the direct measurement of both low-boiling and high-boiling compounds in what is essentially a single run. Two-bonded phase, fused-silica capillary columns are joined in series, through which the low-boiling compounds are first chromatographed and detected with an electron capture detector. High-boiling compounds are then trapped in a section joining the two columns, and subsequently chromatographed in the second column, using the same detector. This procedure permits analysis at the ppt level.
Adaptive Reliable Multipath Provisioning in Survivable WDM Mesh Networks

We investigate the problem of adaptive reliable multipath provisioning in next-generation backbone mesh networks employing optical wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) and channelization techniques such as synchronous optical network/synchronous digital hierarchy (SONET/SDH) and supporting virtual concatenation (VCAT). VCAT enables multipath provisioning, but also introduces differential delay at destination nodes. How to guarantee service availability, using multipath provisioning, and meet the differential-delay constraint (DDC) is an important problem. We introduce the notation M:N(m) for multipath provisioning where a service path for a connection is set up with M primary paths and N backup paths, where each path has a fraction of the bandwidth of the connection, and (m) in this notation denotes “multipath.” With M:N(m) provisioning schemes, we develop an analytical model to analyze the end-to-end connection availability for the full bandwidth request. We propose two types of bandwidth migration methods, which can be implemented by a link-capacity adjustment scheme (LCAS) protocol of next-generation SONET/SDH, to optimize resource usage. Based on the M:N(m) analytical model, we develop an adaptive heuristic algorithm to provision a connection subject to the DDC while satisfying its service-level agreement (SLA). We show that, for end-to-end connection-availability-guaranteed service, multipath provisioning can achieve much better network performance than traditional single-path provisioning. With bandwidth migration, we can further improve multipath provisioning performance.
CTRNN-EH in Silicon: Challenges in Realizing Configurable CTRNNs in VLSI

In prior work, Continuous Time Recurrent Neural Network Evolvable Hardware (CTRNN-EH) techniques were demonstrated to be effective in conlrolling unstable vibrations in simulated jet engine combustion chambers. Currently CTRNN-EH devices are being fabricated in VLSI for deployment in the real world. However, because of engineering conslraints and difficulties in hardware, there are challenges in maintaining the high model-to-hardware fidelity that is ciitical before these devices are deoloved This oaoer will . " . . oresent these challenges in detail and provide some practical techniques that help preserve the model-to-hardware fidelity.
Web-Based Implementation of Data Warehouse Schema Evolution

An organization collects current and historical data for a data warehouse from disparate sources across the organization to support management for making decisions. The data sources change their contents and structure dynamically to reflect business changes or organization requirements, which causes data warehouse evolution in order to provide consistent analytical results. This evolution may cause changes in contents or a schema of a data warehouse. This paper adapts a schema evolution method to address the data warehouse evolution given a data warehouse is built as a multidimensional schema. While existing works have identified and developed schema evolution operations based on conceptual models to enforce schema correctness, only a few have developed software tools to enforce schema correctness of those operations. They are also coupled with specific DBMSs (e.g., SQL Server) and provide limited GUI capability. This paper aims to develop a web-based implementation to support data warehouse schema evolution. It offers all the benefits that Internet browser-based applications provide, by allowing users to design, view, and modify data warehouse schema graphically. This work focuses on evolution operations in dimensional tables, which includes changes in levels, hierarchies, and paths. Schema correctness for each schema evolution operation is ensured by procedural codes implemented in PHP.
α1A-Adrenergic receptor prevents cardiac ischemic damage through PKCδ/GLUT1/4-mediated glucose uptake

While α(1)-adrenergic receptors (ARs) have been previously shown to limit ischemic cardiac damage, the mechanisms remain unclear. Most previous studies utilized low oxygen conditions in addition to ischemic buffers with glucose deficiencies, but we discovered profound differences if the two conditions are separated. We assessed both mouse neonatal and adult myocytes and HL-1 cells in a series of assays assessing ischemic damage under hypoxic or low glucose conditions. We found that α(1)-AR stimulation protected against increased lactate dehydrogenase release or Annexin V(+) apoptosis under conditions that were due to low glucose concentration not to hypoxia. The α(1)-AR antagonist prazosin or nonselective protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors blocked the protective effect. α(1)-AR stimulation increased (3)H-deoxyglucose uptake that was blocked with either an inhibitor to glucose transporter 1 or 4 (GLUT1 or GLUT4) or small interfering RNA (siRNA) against PKCδ. GLUT1/4 inhibition also blocked α(1)-AR-mediated protection from apoptosis. The PKC inhibitor rottlerin or siRNA against PKCδ blocked α(1)-AR stimulated GLUT1 or GLUT4 plasma membrane translocation. α(1)-AR stimulation increased plasma membrane concentration of either GLUT1 or GLUT4 in a time-dependent fashion. Transgenic mice overexpressing the α(1A)-AR but not α(1B)-AR mice displayed increased glucose uptake and increased GLUT1 and GLUT4 plasma membrane translocation in the adult heart while α(1A)-AR but not α(1B)-AR knockout mice displayed lowered glucose uptake and GLUT translocation. Our results suggest that α(1)-AR activation is anti-apoptotic and protective during cardiac ischemia due to glucose deprivation and not hypoxia by enhancing glucose uptake into the heart via PKCδ-mediated GLUT translocation that may be specific to the α(1A)-AR subtype.
Exploring Signature Pedagogies in Undergraduate Leadership Education

This research explores the instructional strategies most frequently used by leadership educators who teach academic credit-bearing undergraduate leadership studies courses through a national survey and identifies signature pedagogies within the leadership discipline. Findings from this study suggest that class discussion—whether in the form of true class discussion or a hybrid of interactive lecture and discussion—is the signature pedagogy for undergraduate leadership education. While group and individual projects and presentations, selfassessments and instruments, and reflective journaling were also used frequently, overall, discussion-based pedagogies were used most frequently. These findings offer attributes that a variety of leadership educators have shared as effective for teaching and learning within the discipline and may facilitate the development of new leadership programming policies, provide direction for future research, and contribute to the existing body of literature.
Optical Properties of Polymer-Embedded Silicon Nanoparticles

We seek to use electrically conducting polymers, such as those commonly utilized in polymeric LEDs, as hosts for silicon nanoparticles. The proper design of multilayered devices based on these materials will yield efficient light-emitters in which charge carriers localize and recombine within the nanoparticles. Furthermore, these may combine the flexibility and processability of polymeric LEDs with the reliability of inorganic materials. We have synthesized luminescent silicon nanoparticles and have characterized their photoluminescence (PL) using continuous-wave and time-resolved spectroscopy. These particles have been incorporated into a variety of transparent solid hosts. The photoluminescence obtained from particle-containing poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) matrices is very similar to that of the particles in solution, both in spectral content and PL decay characteristics. However, when incorporated into a variety of conducting polymers, such as poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK), the nanoparticles do not retain their photoluminescence properties. A variety of chemical species have been reported as effective PL quenchers for porous silicon. We believe that these polymers quench the luminescence through similar mechanisms. Protective passivation of the nanoparticle surface is suggested as a strategy for overcoming this quenching.
Relay Simulation and Testing Software on the .NET Framework Environment

This paper presents the Waveform Analyzers software, a tool that leverages the power of the Microsoft .NET Framework, and developed to allow users to design and experiment with their own relay functions. Relay functions can be developed using any .NET language, including C# and Visual Basic, and tested against waveforms prerecorded in COMTRADE format. The combination of .NET and the software developed offers testing capabilities at different levels: (a) event reporting for relay functions, (b) plotting and visualization tools, and (c) the ability to fine-tune the protection logic while the program is running, to compare different variants of the same function side-by-side. These capabilities can make students and engineers obtain results faster, and help them gain insights of the phenomena involved in the operation of a relay. In addition, it can incorporate relay algorithms that manufacturers may provide in the form of DLLs, so that can be also tested using the software, with the benefits of its visualization tools. As a result, the integration of the .NET execution environment makes the Waveform Analyzers software a unique platform to experiment with relay algorithms and waveform analysis in general.
Integration of Computer Technology Into an Introductory-Level Neuroscience Laboratory

We describe 3 computer-based neuroscience laboratories. In the first 2 labs, we used commercially available interactive software to enhance the study of functional and comparative neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. In the remaining lab, we used customized software and hardware in 2 psychophysiological experiments. With the use of the computer-based technology, we have successfully met our pedagogical objectives while minimizing operating costs and maintaining flexibility of the lab space. Student response to the lab experience was overwhelmingly positive.
Detecting and mitigating driver distraction with motion capture technology: Distracted driving warning system

Distracted driving contributes to a significant portion of vehicle accidents and deaths. To mitigate distracted driving, the University of Virginia Center to Promote Effective Youth Development sponsored the development of a noninvasive system to detect and warn drivers of their distraction. This distracted driving warning system is installed in the medium-fidelity driving simulator of the Virginia Driving Safety Laboratory (VDSL). The system is composed of (i) the Microsoft Kinect motion sensing hardware for tracking head and skeletal movements and (ii) a custom software application for identifying four distractions and outputting audio alerts. The system is able to identify (a) reaching for a moving object, (b) talking on a cell phone, (c) personal hygiene, and (d) looking at an external object. To recognize these distractions, the algorithms for (a), (b), and (c) use the relative distances between spatial locations of various skeletal joints, and the algorithm for (d) use the yaw, pitch and roll of the head. The system deems the driver distracted if any of these gestures are sustained for more than two seconds. When the driver is deemed distracted, the system produces audio signals that increase in frequency as the time of the distraction increases, alerting the drivers of their distraction. The distracted driving warning system is tested with three participants performing distracted behaviors while driving the VDSL simulator. The system correctly identifies (a) at 100%, (b) at 33%, (c) at 50%, and (d) at 66%. These success rates show the feasibility of employing the Kinect to identify driver distraction. However, the system can improve with refining motion capture and eye tracking technology for some complex distraction behaviors. The application of commercially available motion capture technology appears promising for studying and monitoring driver behavior related to distraction.
Structure of the Physical Therapy Benefit in a Typical Blue Cross Blue Shield Preferred Provider Organization Plan Available in the Individual Insurance Market in 2011

Background The Affordable Care Act of 2010 establishes American Health Benefit Exchanges. The benefit design of insurance plans in state health insurance exchanges will be based on the structure of existing small-employer–sponsored plans. Objective The purpose of this study was to describe the structure of the physical therapy benefit in a typical Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) preferred provider organization (PPO) health insurance plan available in the individual insurance market in 2011. Design A cross-sectional survey design was used. Methods The physical therapy benefit within 39 BCBS PPO plans in 2011 was studied for a standard consumer with a standard budget. First, whether physical therapy was a benefit in the plan was determined. If so, then the structure of the benefit was described in terms of whether the physical therapy benefit was a stand-alone benefit or part of a combined-discipline benefit and whether a visit or financial limit was placed on the physical therapy benefit. Results Physical therapy was included in all BCBS plans that were studied. Ninety-three percent of plans combined physical therapy with other disciplines. Two thirds of plans placed a limit on the number of visits covered. Limitations The results of the study are limited to 1 standard consumer, 1 association of insurance companies, 1 form of insurance (a PPO), and 1 PPO plan in each of the 39 states that were studied. Conclusions Physical therapy is a covered benefit in a typical BCBS PPO health insurance plan. Physical therapy most often is combined with other therapy disciplines, and the number of covered visits is limited in two thirds of plans.
An evaluation of airport x-ray backscatter units based on image characteristics

Little information exists on the performance of x-ray backscatter machines now being deployed through UK, US and other airports. We implement a Monte Carlo simulation using as input what is known about the x-ray spectra used for imaging, device specifications and available images to estimate penetration and exposure to the body from the x-ray beam, and sensitivity to dangerous contraband materials. We show that the body is exposed throughout to the incident x-rays, and that although images can be made at the exposure levels claimed (under 100 nanoGrey per view), detection of contraband can be foiled in these systems. Because front and back views are obtained, low Z materials can only be reliable detected if they are packed outside the sides of the body or with hard edges, while high Z materials are well seen when placed in front or back of the body, but not to the sides. Even if exposure were to be increased significantly, normal anatomy would make a dangerous amount of plastic explosive with tapered edges difficult if not impossible to detect.
A tangible architecture for creating modular, subsumption-based robot control systems

We present a new modular, reconfigurable architecture for building and interacting with subsumption-based robot controllers. A set of modules - with embedded sensing, communication and processing capabilities - divide up the subsumption architecture into self-contained behavioral layers that subsume each other according to the way the modules are physically stacked. On-board indicators of the internal state of each module help in programming and understanding the behavior of the robot in real-time. This offers novices, in particular children, a new environment to learn about a powerful metaphor for programming robots and other interactive systems in a hands-on and exploratory manner. We will also discuss a prototype implementation of this architecture and the results of a preliminary user study using the prototype with a group of children.
Petrographic, Geochemical, and Isotopic Constraints on the Provenance of the Early Proterozoic Chelmsford Formation, Sudbury Basin, Ontario

ABSTRACT The early Proterozoic Chelmsford Formation, a coarse-grained turbidite unit in the Sudbury Basin, was deposited near the margin of the Superior Province craton at about the time of Penokean orogenesis. Petrography, geochemistry, and Nd and Pb isotopes are consistent with derivation of the Chelmsford Formation from late Archean Superior Province rocks. The framework mineralogy of medium sandstones is dominated by quartz, plagioclase, and minor K-feldspar, consistent with derivation from plutonic rocks. The abundance of matrix (up to 40%), however, allows additional sources. The behavior of Al2O3 relative to Na2O, CaO, and K2O constrains the source to have had, on average, a minor weathering history. Slightly elevated SiO2 and low Z , relative to average plutonic rocks, suggest that there was no more than a minor recycled sedimentary component in the source. High abundances and sympathetic variations in ferromagnesians indicate a mafic component. REE and whole-rock Nd and Pb isotopes constrain the Chelmsford Formation to have been derived from late Archean, LREE,-enriched rocks without significant Eu anomalies, and allow neither a significant component of Penokean mantle-derived material nor early Archean crust. Pb isotopes in feldspar populations require a Superior Province source. Although the age, location, and facies of the Chelmsford Formation are consistent with deposition in response to early Proterozoic active margin processes, the integrated provenance data require the sediment source to have been dominated by relatively fresh Superior Province rocks associated with basement uplift.
CP, I=1/2 rule and K3π decay

We derive the slopes for the distribution of unlike and like pion energy spectra from squared matrix element. The application of the newest data to the relevant formula enables us to conclude thatCP is conserved in both theI=1 andI=2 states; therefore data of K3π are consistent with the data of |η00| ≃ |η+−|, soCP violation comes only from the composition of K20 and K10. We also present the prediction ofγS(+−0)γL(+−0) ≃ 10−6 if theI=2 state is zero and ≃ 10−3 if theI=2 state exists.
The Controversy of Single Versus Multistaged Urethroplasty

Abstract Experience with various 1 stage repairs for urethral strictures (patch graft, and excision and reanastomosis techniques) gained by ourselves and others is compared to reports on multistaged urethroplasties (Johanson, Leadbetter-Johanson and Turner-Warwick). Increased hospitalization, absence from employment and the morbidity of multiple anesthetics and operations are features of the multistaged approaches compared to the 1 stage operations. Furthermore, no advantage was seen when initial or final success rates were compared.
Seasoning the US 2nd Infantry Division

In the summer of 1918, the Allies were confronted with a series of German offensives, one of which appeared to threaten the capture of Paris. During this offensive, the inexperienced American Expeditionary Force (AEF) came to the aid of the French and British armies fighting to halt it. Although the United States’ arrival in France was a blessing to the Allies, they still had concerns about whether the untested US soldiers and Marines possessed the ability to conduct modern warfare. The following is an account of how the French army and its leadership used one US division, the US 2nd Infantry Division, to help allay those concerns while at the same time giving the division the experience it needed to fight the war in France.
Reply to “Comments on ‘MSE minus CAPE is the True Conserved Variable for an Adiabatically Lifted Parcel’”

AbstractA standard convention in moist thermodynamics, adopted by D. M. Romps and others, is to set the specific energy and entropy of dry air and liquid water to zero at the triple-point temperature and pressure. P. Marquet claims that this convention leads to physically incorrect results. To support this claim, Marquet presents numerical calculations of a lifted parcel. It is shown here that the claim is false and that the numerical calculations of Marquet are in error. In the context of a simple two-phase thermodynamic system, an analysis is presented here of the freedoms one has to choose additive constants in the definitions of energy and entropy. Many other misconceptions are corrected as well.
The University as a Setting for Experiential Learning: The Potential for Reciprocal Benefits

Multiple opportunities exist in the university setting to provide “real life” learning experiences for students. Such experiences promote a deep understanding of content and offer the potential for benefits to the university staff of improved wellness, participation in student learning, and understanding of ergonomics. The Experiential Learning Model provides guidance for developing and optimizing student learning opportunities in the university setting. This paper describes two learning activities, performing office ergonomic evaluations on university staff and developing best practice guidelines for custodians, using the Experiential Learning Model. These learning experiences are described according to the stages of the Experiential Learning Model, student feedback and assessment, reciprocal benefits, and lessons learned.
Preparation of Aluminum Nitride and Oxynitride Thin Films by Ion-Assisted Deposition

Aluminum nitride thin films have been deposited by ion-assisted deposition. Aluminum was electron-beam evaporated onto substrates with simultaneous nitrogen ion bombardment. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry showed that nitrogen-to-aluminum ratios of one or greater could be achieved with sufficient nitrogen ion fluxes. This excess nitrogen apparently degrades the optical properties of the films in the visible. Annealing at 500°C improves the optical properties drastically at the expense of a slight oxygen diffusion into the films. Finally, aluminum oxynitride films were deposited by adding an oxygen backfill to the vacuum chamber during deposition. These films had very similar optical properties to the annealed nitride films.
INTERLEUKIN-6 AND THE RISK OF ADVERSE OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS AFTER AN ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME: OBSERVATIONS FROM THE SOLID-TIMI 52 TRIAL

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is an inflammatory marker implicated in plaque instability in patients with ACS. The prognostic value of IL-6 after ACS is not well described. IL-6 concentration (Singulex Erenna) was assessed at baseline in 4,939 subjects in SOLID-TIMI 52, a randomized trial of darapladib in
Bilateral Transitional Cell Carcinoma of the Renal Pelvis in the Cancer Family Syndrome

The cancer family syndrome is an unusual hereditary disease rarely associated with transitional cell carcinoma of the urinary tract. We describe the occurrence of this syndrome in a patient with bilateral transitional cell malignancies.
Coupling a Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Brayton Cycle to a Helium-Cooled Reactor.

This report outlines the thermodynamics of a supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) recompression closed Brayton cycle (RCBC) coupled to a Helium-cooled nuclear reactor. The baseline reactor design for the study is the AREVA High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor (HTGR). Using the AREVA HTGR nominal operating parameters, an initial thermodynamic study was performed using Sandia's deterministic RCBC analysis program. Utilizing the output of the RCBC thermodynamic analysis, preliminary values of reactor power and of Helium flow rate through the reactor were calculated in Sandia's HelCO2 code. Some research regarding materials requirements was then conducted to determine aspects of corrosion related to both Helium and to sCO2 , as well as some mechanical considerations for pressures and temperatures that will be seen by the piping and other components. This analysis resulted in a list of materials-related research items that need to be conducted in the future. A short assessment of dry heat rejection advantages of sCO2> Brayton cycles was also included. This assessment lists some items that should be investigated in the future to better understand how sCO2 Brayton cycles and nuclear can maximally contribute to optimizing the water efficiency of carbon free power generation
Membrane dynamics of dividing cells imaged by lattice light-sheet microscopy

Membrane remodeling is an essential part of transferring components to and from the cell surface and membrane-bound organelles and for changes in cell shape, which are particularly critical during cell division. Earlier analyses, based on classical optical live-cell imaging and mostly restricted by technical necessity to the attached bottom surface, showed persistent formation of endocytic clathrin pits and vesicles during mitosis. Taking advantage of the resolution, speed, and noninvasive illumination of the newly developed lattice light-sheet fluorescence microscope, we reexamined their assembly dynamics over the entire cell surface and found that clathrin pits form at a lower rate during late mitosis. Full-cell imaging measurements of cell surface area and volume throughout the cell cycle of single cells in culture and in zebrafish embryos showed that the total surface increased rapidly during the transition from telophase to cytokinesis, whereas cell volume increased slightly in metaphase and was relatively constant during cytokinesis. These applications demonstrate the advantage of lattice light-sheet microscopy and enable a new standard for imaging membrane dynamics in single cells and multicellular assemblies.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance as a Probe of Organic Conductors

The uses of nuclear magnetic resonance as a probe of organic conductors are discussed with emphasis on the study of electronic properties in the superconducting Bechgaard salts. Several examples are given depicting how spin lattice relaxation rate measurements over a wide range of frequencies, temperature and applied pressure can uncover the important electronic properties of these systems.
Maintaining Social Links through Amplify-and-Forward in Wireless Networks

It is critical to maintain the communication links between important social pairs. However, maintaining the social links between faraway nodes in wireless networks is extremely difficult. Although multi-hop transmission can be used, if two nodes in the routing path are out of the wireless transmission range, a network partition is possible. To address this problem, we adopt a cooperative amplify-and-forward strategy, where nodes (relays) cooperate to improve the signal strength at the destination. We formulate and study two optimization problems for maintaining the required link throughput: Min-Energy and Min-Relay, where the goal of Min-Energy is to minimize the power consumption of the relays, and the goal of Min-Relay is to minimize the number of active relays. Since the Min-Energy problem is a non-convex problem, we solve it based on an approximation technique and prove that our solution is a feasible, in fact optimal solution. We formulate the Min-Relay problem as an integer programming problem, and propose a polynomial-time algorithm which can select the minimum number of relays to maintain the social link. Evaluation results show that Min-Relay can significantly reduce the number of active relays compared to Min-Energy, while achieving comparable power consumption.
How well do wealthy countries support working parents? Comparing Sweden, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. through the prism of justice

ABSTRACTThis article identifies four strands of justice and uses them to evaluate the work–family support policies of five postindustrial democracies, Sweden, France, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. I...
The impact of blood culture identification by MALDI-TOF MS on the antimicrobial management of pediatric patients

Abstract Objective To assess the impact of MALDI-TOF MS coupled with antimicrobial stewardship on clinical outcomes for pediatric inpatients with bloodstream infections. Methods Outcomes of pediatric inpatients were compared before and after MALDI-TOF MS implementation. Outcomes measured included time until organism identification and susceptibility, duration of antibiotics, patient length of stay (LOS), mortality and hospital costs. Results 210 and 135 patient events were compared pre- and post-intervention. Average time to organism identification decreased from 41 to 11 hours (P = Conclusions MALDI-TOF MS identification of bacteria from blood culture broth improves time to appropriate antibiotic treatment for pediatric inpatients.
9 Integrated regulation of the nitrogen-carbon interface

Significant progress has been made in understanding the integrated regulation of nitrogen and carbon metabolism in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A major contribution to that understanding has been identification of Tor1/2 influence on the intracellular localization of Gln3/Gat1 and Rtg1/3, the transcription factors that mediate nitrogen catabolite repression-sensitive and retrograde gene expression, respectively. This chapter discusses the three areas of investigation, which together form one of the carbon-nitrogen regulatory interfaces. (i) Nitrogen catabolite repression or NCR, the means through which cells selectively utilize good nitrogen sources in preference to those that support less good growth. (ii) Retrograde gene expression that provides the α-ketoglutarate carbon backbone of glutamate when the tricarboxylic acid cycle is inoperative. (iii) Torl/2, a master cellular regulator, reported to be the critical link connecting environmental nutritional conditions with the transcriptional responses they trigger.
Generic Proof Tools and Finite Group Theory

This thesis presents advances in the use of Canonical Structures, a programming language construct of the Coq proof assistant equivalent to the notion of type classes. It provides a new model for developping hierarchies of mathematical structures using dependent records, and, as an illustration, reformulates the common formal proof of the correctness of the RSA cryptosystem, providing facilities for algebraic reasoning along with a formalization in type theory of the necessary mathematical notions (including cyclic groups, automorphism groups, group isomorphisms). We provide an extension of the Canonical Structure inference mechanism using phantom types, and apply it to treating the notion of partial functions. Next, we consider a generic treatment of several forms of subgroup definitions occurring in the formalization of the Feit-Thompson theorem, a large library of fomalized algebra developed in the Mathematical Components team at the MSR-INRIA joint laboratory. We show that a unified treatment of those 16 subgroups allows us to shorten menial proofs and obtain more composable definitions. We formalize a correspondence between the study of those group functorials, and some common and useful group-theoretic properties represented as the class of groups verifying them. We conclude in exploring the possibilities for analyzing the functoriality of those definitions by inspecting their type, and suggest a path towards obtaining instances of a parametricity result in Coq.
The Global and Local Politics of Refugee Management in the Horn: Ethiopian Refugee Policy and Eritrean Refugee Agency

A focus on the burdened refugee-hosting state has led to gaps in our understanding of the politics of refugee management. Based on a multi-sited ethnographic study, we explore how the management of refugees operates as a form of transnational state-making and the refugee political agency that results. Focusing on education among Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, we argue that refugees’ decisions about secondary migration are shaped by their sense of political belonging and trust, or lack thereof, in the caretaking capacity of the host state and, in turn, that the way the host state situates refugees depends on whether or not caring for a particular refugee population enables that state to strengthen their international and regional reputation by doing so.
para-Formylation of nitroarenes via vicarious nucleophilic substitution of hydrogen with tris(benzotriazol-1-yl)methane

Abstract Reaction of nitroarenes 1 with tris(benzotriazol-1-yl)methyl 2 anion afforded para -bis(benzotriazol-1-yl)methylated products 3 which, upon treatment with zinc bromide and hydrochloric acid, yielded the corresponding p -nitroarylaldehydes 4 in good yields.
Maltreatment and Emotional Development

The family environment has strong impacts on children’s emotional development. Although children can adapt to a high degree of variation in the type of input they receive, child maltreatment is a species-atypical experience that disrupts the biological systems that underlie children’s social and emotional development. In this chapter we describe the consequences of maltreatment on children’s emotional development, focusing on alterations in (1) emotion perception, recognition, and attention, (2) emotion expression, (3) regulation of negative emotions and stress, and (4) reward processing. We consider several target mechanisms through which child maltreatment impacts these aspects of emotion processing, including behavioral, physiological, cognitive, and neurobiological pathways. We also discuss clinical implications of this body of research, including the potential for designing effective interventions aimed at targeting specific emotional biases associated with the experience of maltreatment.
Procesamiento del arte y política: La España de la Guerra Civil vista desde El Laberinto Mágico de Max Aub

During the Spanish Civil War, Max Aub was part of that collective of Republicans that fled the country escaping from death once Franco reached power. As a writer, Aub used all his energy to compile in a series of six novels -The Magic Labyrinth- as many events as possible that were connected to the three years prior to the beginning of the dictatorship. His goal was, mainly, to compile events, as a chronist. In these chronicles, a fundamental topic arises: the effects of war on the production, reception and preservation of art. Writers, painters, musicians find themselves, suddenly, between cross fire. It seems impossible not to take sides. At least that is what Aub does, and he explains the shift in his ars poetica in Historia de la Novela Espanola Contemporanea, where he distances himself from his former mentor, Ortega y Gasset. Thus, he abandons the path of the dehumanization of art and focuses more in a realist literature, that shows the artist in the middle of war.
Feminism, Capitalism, and Critique: Essays in Honor of Nancy Fraser

… the key is to avoid metaphysical entanglements. We should adopt the pragmatic view that there are a plurality of different angles from which sociocultural phenomena should be understood. Which is...
Learning good manufacturing practices in an escape room: Validation of a new pedagogical tool.

IntroductionChemotherapies are handled using Good Manufacturing Practices, which ensure asepsis and high-quality production. Continuous education is compulsory and usually includes theoretical and ...
Using Charter Schools to Alleviate Racial Exclusion in Rural America: An Innovative Idea or a Trojan Horse?

Racial segregation has remained a lasting legacy of rural schools in southern states. Our article explains a case where community leaders created a diverse charter school to change its historical p...
First-principles study of an S =1 quasi one-dimensional quantum molecular magnetic material

We use density functional theory to study the structural, magnetic, and electronic structures of the organometallic quantum magnet ${\mathrm{NiCl}}_{2}\text{\ensuremath{-}}4\mathrm{SC}{({\mathrm{NH}}_{2})}_{2}$ (DTN). Recent work has demonstrated the quasi one-dimensional nature of the molecular crystal and studied its quantum phase transitions at low temperatures. The system includes a magnetoelectric (ME) coupling and, when doped with Br, the presence of an exotic Bose-glass state. Using the generalized gradient approximation with inclusion of a van der Waals term to account for weak intermolecular forces and by introducing a Hubbard $U$ term to the total energy, we systematically show that our calculations reproduce the magnetic anisotropy, the intermolecular exchange coupling strength, and the magnetoelectric effect in DTN, which have been observed in previous experiments. Further analysis of the electronic structure gives insight into the underlying magnetic interactions, including what mechanisms may be causing the ME effect. Using this computationally efficient model, we predict what effect applying an electric field might have on the magnetic properties of this quantum magnet.
Recursive Frame Analysis: Reflections on the Development of a Qualitative Research Method

The origin of recursive frame analysis (RFA) is revisited and discussed as a postmodern alternative to modernist therapeutic models and research methods that foster hegemony of a preferred therapeutic metaphor, narrative, or strategy. It encourages improvisational performance while enabling a means of scoring the change and movement of the contextual organization of communication. Here we revisit the origin of RFA, its subsequent development, and new directions it may pursue both in the domains of organizing therapeutic discourse and post hoc critical analysis. Key Words: Therapy Research, Qualitative Methods, Cybernetics, Recursive Frame Analysis, Improvisational Therapy. In the mid to late 80’s Bradford Keeney developed a qualitative research method named “recursive frame analysis” (RFA). A brief history and summary of its development can be found in Chenail (1990, 1991, 1995). Here we provide some reflection on its early development and propose some ways in which the tool can be further elaborated and utilized by researchers, practitioners, and clinical teachers. Our intention is to highlight the unique way in which RFA is a contribution to both organizing the whole of therapy in real time, and in critically dissecting a clinical case in post hoc analysis.