cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Overcoming data limitations to identify a static nonlinearity in a biological signaling cascade

One important challenge in modeling biological systems is that of structure identification: how do we characterize unknown parts of a system using knowledge of the rest of the system along with data gathered from the input and output? Biological systems are particularly difficult to identify this way because measurements of such systems are often noisy. Furthermore, these measurements can be sparsewidely and unevenly spaced in timewhen collecting samples from the system requires considerable time and effort. These two issues severely limit the information available to accurately identify the unknown structure. Here, we consider the specific problem of identifying a static nonlinearity in a biological signaling cascade using noisy, sparse experimental measurements. By making the input and output subsystems in the cascade normalizable and normalizing the data gathered from those subsystems, we effectively incorporate additional information into each data point to reduce measurement noise. We then interpolate the normalized data to generate continuous input and output signals, which we can apply to the input and output subsystems in order to identify the nonlinearity connecting them. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this procedure by using it to identify the mechanism for ergosterol sensing by the Sre1 and Scp1 proteins in fission yeast.
The Xenoestrogen Bisphenol A Induces Inappropriate Androgen Receptor Activation and Mitogenesis in Prostatic Adenocarcinoma Cells

Treatment for prostatic adenocarcinoma is reliant on the initial androgen dependence of this tumor type. The goal of therapy is to eliminate androgen receptor activity, either through direct inhibition of the receptor or through inhibition of androgen synthesis. Although this course of therapy is initially effective, androgen-refractory tumors ultimately arise and lead to patient morbidity. Factors contributing to the transition from a state of androgen dependence to the androgen-refractory state are poorly understood, but clinical evidence in androgen-refractory tumors suggests that the androgen receptor is inappropriately activated in these cells. Thus, the mechanisms that contribute to inappropriate (androgen-independent) activation of the androgen receptor (AR) is an area of intensive research. Here we demonstrate that bisphenol A (BPA), a polycarbonate plastic monomer and established xenoestrogen, initiates androgen-independent proliferation in human prostatic adenocarcinoma (LNCaP) cells. The mitogenic capacity of BPA occurred in the nanomolar range, indicating that little BPA is required to stimulate proliferation. We show that BPA stimulated nuclear translocation of the tumor-derived receptor (AR-T877A), albeit with delayed kinetics compared with dihydrotestosterone. This translocation event was followed by specific DNA binding at androgen response elements, as shown by electrophoretic mobility shift assays. Moreover, the ability of BPA to stimulate AR-T877A activity was demonstrated by reporter assays and by analysis of an endogenous AR target gene, prostate-specific antigen. Thus, BPA is able to activate AR-T877A in the absence of androgens. Lastly, full mitogenic function of BPA is dependent on activation of the tumor-derived AR-T877A. These data implicate BPA as an inappropriate mitogen for prostatic adenocarcinoma cells and provide the impetus to study the consequence of BPA exposure on prostate cancer.
Was tun mit Metaphern? Überlegungen zur Bedeutung von Metaphern und Metapherntheorie für die Wissenschaftsgeschichte am Beispiel medizinischer Schockmetaphorik†

In recent decades, metaphors have attracted a great deal of interest within the history, philosophy, and sociology of science. The article takes the growing interest in epistemic metaphors as the starting point of a discussion of two conflicting motives prevalent in theories of metaphor and metaphoricity: On the one hand, metaphors are associated with the indeterminacy of scientific discovery and the emergence of new epistemic objects; and on the other hand, metaphors are said to provide a filter of possible meanings and vantage-points. It is argued that an approach, which aims to do justice to both tendencies, cannot exclusively rely on linguistic models but must expand its scope of inquiry to include the practical trajectories of a metaphor’s usage as well as the problematizations to which they respond, since both engender metaphorical meaning, albeit at the cost of semantic precision. The exemplary case discussed in the article, the psychologization of nervous shock in nineteenth century medical discourse, demonstrates that the incremental process of shock’s shifting semantics would be inadequately characterized as a metaphorical transfer. Instead, it is shown how the actualization of earlier meanings, in particular of shock as a state of altered consciousness, in novel professional and cultural contexts acted as a catalyst for the psychologization of shock and related nascent concepts such as psychic trauma. As a possible, and methodologically fruitful way of overcoming the one-sidedness of linguistic notions of metaphor, a combination of Jirgen Link’s concept of inter-discourse with a philosophical metaphorology (Blumenberg) is discussed in the final section of the paper.
Dealing with Postdeath Events

The author discusses and critiques the proposed estate tax regulations dealing with postdeath events and the deduction under section 2053.
Light Beam Travel around a Line Heat Source in Water

A heat source placed in quiescent fluid gives rise to a laminar convective plume. We compute the evolution of a laser beam due to the resultant index of refraction changes induced by the temperature profile.
Rate of Oxygen Isotope Exchange between Selenate and Water

The rate of oxygen isotope exchange between selenate and water was investigated at conditions of 10 to 80 °C and pH −0.6 to 4.4. Oxygen isotope exchange proceeds as a first-order reaction, and the exchange rate is strongly affected by reaction temperature and pH, with increased rates of isotope exchange at higher temperature and lower pH. Selenate speciation (HSeO4– vs SeO42–) also has a significant effect on the rate of isotope exchange. The half–life for isotope exchange at example natural conditions (25 °C and pH 7) is estimated to be significantly in excess of 106 years. The very slow rate of oxygen isotope exchange between selenate and water under most environmental conditions demonstrates that selenate-δ18O signatures produced by biogeochemical processes will be preserved and hence that it will be possible to use the value of selenate-δ18O to investigate the biogeochemical behavior of selenate, in an analogous fashion to the use of sulfate−δ18O to study the biogeochemical behavior of sulfate.
Neutron Total Cross Section Measurements at Intermediate Energy

New measurements of neutron total cross sections have been performed as a function of neutron energy up to 600 MeV using the WNR facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Transmission measurements were performed for eighteen target nuclei with 9 < A < 209 including isotopically enriched samples of 40Ca, 90Zr and 208Pb. While the goal of the experiment was to measure total cross sections above 100 MeV in small energy bins and with 1% statistical accuracy, much of the data at lower energy is significantly better than that. Rapid fluctuations In the cross sections of light nuclei below 20 MeV provide information on nuclear level density at high excitation energy. The overall dependence of the cross section on neutron energy can be interpreted in terms of optical models ranging in complexity from simple Ramsauer pictures to Dirac phenomenology. Preliminary results of some of these calculations will be presented.
Proximal Femur Bone Density Decreases up to 5 Years After Total Hip Arthroplasty in Young, Active Patients.

Abstract Background The number of young, active patients undergoing hip arthroplasty continues to increase. The purpose of this study was to evaluate femoral bone density over a 5-year period after hip arthroplasty in young, active patients. Methods A total of 96 patients (103 hips) with a presymptomatic University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) score ≥6 who had a total hip arthroplasty (THA; 45 hips) or surface replacement arthroplasty (SRA; 58 hips) were prospectively enrolled. UCLA and Harris Hip Scores were collected preoperatively and postoperatively, and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry scans were performed at 6 weeks, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years, and 5 years postoperatively. Bone density was analyzed for 7 traditional Gruen zones in both groups and 6 femoral neck zones in the SRA group. Bone density ratios were calculated for change in bone density compared with baseline. Results No differences were present in the preoperative or postoperative UCLA or Harris Hip Scores between the SRA and THA cohorts ( P = .07-.7). In the THA group, bone density never returned to baseline during the 5-year period in Gruen zones 1 (91.2% of baseline), 2 (94.8%), 6 (97.3%), and 7 (89.2%). There were no decreases in bone mineral density ratio for the femoral Gruen zones in the SRA group at any interval. Femoral neck bone density after SRA increased on the lateral, tension side up to 5 years postoperatively ( P Conclusion Young, active patients undergoing THA with cementless femoral fixation demonstrate reductions in bone density in the proximal femur in Gruen zones 1, 2, and 7 over time.
Rigel: flexible multi-rate image processing hardware

Image processing algorithms implemented using custom hardware or FPGAs of can be orders-of-magnitude more energy efficient and performant than software. Unfortunately, converting an algorithm by hand to a hardware description language suitable for compilation on these platforms is frequently too time consuming to be practical. Recent work on hardware synthesis of high-level image processing languages demonstrated that a single-rate pipeline of stencil kernels can be synthesized into hardware with provably minimal buffering. Unfortunately, few advanced image processing or vision algorithms fit into this highly-restricted programming model. In this paper, we present Rigel, which takes pipelines specified in our new multi-rate architecture and lowers them to FPGA implementations. Our flexible multi-rate architecture supports pyramid image processing, sparse computations, and space-time implementation tradeoffs. We demonstrate depth from stereo, Lucas-Kanade, the SIFT descriptor, and a Gaussian pyramid running on two FPGA boards. Our system can synthesize hardware for FPGAs with up to 436 Megapixels/second throughput, and up to 297x faster runtime than a tablet-class ARM CPU.
Precarity and Elemental Difference: On Butler’s Re-writing of Irigarayan Difference

It is widely accepted that Judith Butler’s work represents a fundamental departure from that of Luce Irigaray. However, in a 2001 essay, Butler suggests that Irigaray’s work plays a formative role in her own, and that the problematization of the biological and cultural distinction that Irigaray’s notion of sexual difference accomplishes must be rethought and multiplied rather than simply rejected. In this essay, I place the notion of precarity in the work of Butler alongside that of sexual difference in Irigaray, to show how together they seek to address violence to certain bodies through an approach that is at once ecological and political. I show that Butler’s concept of precarity has deep, largely unappreciated, roots in the work of Irigaray. Butler explores precarity as bodily multiplicity in ways that pluralize Irigaray’s own ethics and politics of difference. Butler is, in other words, rewriting sexual difference as precarity.
Early Splenic Flexure Intubation Competency Predicts Early Cecal Intubation Competency in Gastroenterology Fellows

Trainees learn colonoscopy skills at varying speeds. We hypothesized that a fellow’s ability to reliably reach the splenic flexure early in training could predict the number of procedures required to achieve competency in intubating the cecum. This was a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data. The most proximal site in the colon reached independently by GI fellows was recorded on consecutive colonoscopies. The number of procedures required to achieve splenic flexure intubation rate (SFIR) ≥ 90 % by cumulative summation learning curve and cecal intubation rate (CIR) ≥ 90 % by rolling average was calculated. Fellows were then dichotomized into “Early” versus “Late” learners based on the median number of procedures required to achieve SFIR ≥ 90 %. The number of procedures required to achieve CIR ≥ 90 % was then compared between the groups. Fellows achieved SFIR ≥ 90 % at a median of 37 colonoscopies. Fellows who achieved SFIR competency early achieved CIR ≥ 90 % at a mean of 208 procedures versus 352 procedures in the fellows who achieved SFIR competency late (p = 0.03). Data from a single academic medical center show that whether a trainee will learn endoscopy quickly compared to his/her peers can be predicted early in their endoscopy training by tracking SFIR. This knowledge could be used to customize endoscopy curriculum.
When Should You Transfuse a Patient Who Is Bleeding After Cardiopulmonary Bypass

A 68-year-old man with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and coronary artery disease (with a drug-eluting stent placed in the circumflex artery 2 years ago) presents with worsening angina over the past several months. Coronary catheterization reveals multi-vessel coronary artery disease with significant stenosis noted in the right coronary artery (RCA), left anterior descending artery (LAD), and circumflex artery (Cx). A coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) is scheduled, and you are the anesthesiologist. The patient tells you that he stopped taking clopidogrel 5 days ago, but took his aspirin and metoprolol that morning.
Systematic Instruction in Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence for Students With Reading Disabilities:

Letter-sound knowledge is a strong predictor of a student’s ability to decode words. Approximately 50% of English words can be decoded by following a sound-symbol correspondence rule alone and an a...
Les mégaprojets hydriques de l’ouest étasunien : histoire d’État(s) et gestion des ressources naturelles

Cet article propose une approche originale de l’histoire des politiques hydriques dans l’Ouest des Etats-Unis. En reconstituant la genese et la mise en œuvre des megaprojets (barrages, canaux, etc.) depuis le XXe siecle, il montre que ces politiques ne peuvent pas plus se resumer a une succession de protestations de populations locales soucieuses de preserver leur environnement ni a l’hegemonie incontestee des elites nationales et locales. Cette histoire met en avant le role joue par une architecture institutionnelle complexe et s’attache en particulier aux profils socio-professionnels des protagonistes influents dans le champ administratif ou s’elaborent les politiques hydriques. De ce point de vue, l’histoire des politiques hydriques apparait comme intimement liee au developpement de l’Etat americain. Sa reconstitution a utilise une pluralite de sources (revue de la litterature, collecte d’informations et de donnees secondaires, archives des protagonistes des conflits, litterature grise) ; elle s’appuie aussi sur des informations collectees a partir d’entretiens menes avec les responsables, anciens ou actuels, d’institutions publiques ou privees lies a la gestion de l’eau en Arizona.
Ventral Spontaneous Durotomy Following Vaginal Delivery.

Background Dural breaches have a diverse etiology, including spontaneous rupture and trauma. Most cases resolve with bed rest; in refractory cases, an epidural blood patch can be placed to obstruct further leakage. We discuss a unique case of a spontaneous ventral durotomy following vaginal delivery that was managed with injections of autologous blood through bilateral transforaminal needles. Case Description A previously healthy, 36-year-old pregnant woman presented to the inpatient maternity ward with positional occipital headaches and neck pain 24 hours after normal spontaneous vaginal delivery. Two dorsally placed epidural blood patches provided only transient relief. Computed tomography myelography revealed ventral cerebrospinal fluid leak. Targeted therapy was provided with computed tomography–guided ventral placement of a blood patch. Conclusions Spontaneous durotomy is a rare phenomenon and should be considered in patients who present with positional headaches. Ventrally targeted therapy via an epidural blood patch should be considered to provide optimal relief.
Geometry of carbon nanotubes and mechanisms of phagocytosis and toxic effects

A review of in vivo and in vitro toxicological studies of the potential toxic effects of carbon nanotubes is presented along with the analysis of experimental data and a hypothesis about the nanotube-asbestos similarity. Developments of the structure-activity paradigm have been reviewed along with the size effects and the classification of carbon nanotubes into eleven distinct classes (e.g., the high aspect ratio nanotubes, thick multi-wall nanotubes and short nanotubes). Scaling analysis of similarities between different classes of carbon nanotubes and asbestos fibers in the context of their potential toxicity and the efficiency of phagocytosis has been reviewed. The potential toxic effects of carbon nanotubes have been characterized by their normalized length, their aspect ratio and other parameters related to their inhalability, engulfment by macrophages and the effectiveness of phagocytosis. Geometric scaling parameters and the classification of carbon nanotubes are used to develop an updated parametric map for the extrapolation of the potential toxic effects resulting from the inhalation of long and short carbon nanotubes. An updated parametric map has been applied to the evaluation of the efficiency of phagocytosis involving distinct classes of carbon nanotubes. A critical value of an important nondimensional parameter characterizing the efficiency of phagocytosis for different nanotubes is presented along with its macrophage-based normalization. The present evaluation of the potential toxicological effects of the high aspect ratio carbon nanotubes is found to be in the agreement with other available studies and earlier scaling analyses.
The Structure of Promislow’s Continuous Free Product

In this paper, we analyze the “continuous free product” G described by Promislow [P]. Roughly speaking, the elements of Promislow’s group G are functions of the form f: [0, b] → ℝ with at most a finite number of discontinuities, where b ∈ ℝ is a non-negative real number. The multiplication in G is reminiscent of the path multiplication used to construct the fundamental group of a topological space.
Content Wizard: Concept-Based Recommender System for Instructors of Programming Courses

Authoring an adaptive educational system is a complex process that involves allocating a large range of educational content within a fixed sequence of units. In this paper, we describe Content Wizard, a concept-based recommender system for recommending learning materials that meet the instructor's pedagogical goals during the creation of an online programming course. Here, the instructors are asked to provide a set of code examples that jointly reflect the learning goals that are associated with each course unit. The Wizard is built on top of our course-authoring tool, and it helps to decrease the time instructors spend on the task and to maintain the coherence of the sequential structure of the course. It also provides instructors with additional information to identify content that might be not appropriate for the unit they are creating. We conducted an off-line study with data collected from an introductory Java course previously taught at the University of Pittsburgh in order to evaluate both the practicality and effectiveness of the system. We found that the proposed recommendation's performance is relatively close to the teacher's expectation in creating a computer-based adaptive course.
The role of periostin in lung fibrosis and airway remodeling

Periostin is a protein that plays a key role in development and repair within the biological matrix of the lung. As a matricellular protein that does not contribute to extracellular matrix structure, periostin interacts with other extracellular matrix proteins to regulate the composition of the matrix in the lung and other organs. In this review, we discuss the studies exploring the role of periostin to date in chronic respiratory diseases, namely asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Asthma is a major health problem globally affecting millions of people worldwide with significant associated morbidity and mortality. Periostin is highly expressed in the lungs of asthmatic patients, contributes to mucus secretion, airway fibrosis and remodeling and is recognized as a biomarker of Th2 high inflammation. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal interstitial lung disease characterized by progressive aberrant fibrosis of the lung matrix and respiratory failure. It predominantly affects adults over 50 years of age and its incidence is increasing worldwide. Periostin is also highly expressed in the lungs of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients. Serum levels of periostin may predict clinical progression in this disease and periostin promotes myofibroblast differentiation and type 1 collagen production to contribute to aberrant lung fibrosis. Studies to date suggest that periostin is a key player in several pathogenic mechanisms within the lung and may provide us with a useful biomarker of clinical progression in both asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Ring artifact reduction in synchrotron X-ray tomography through helical acquisition

In synchrotron X-ray tomography, systematic defects in certain detector elements can result in arc-shaped artifacts in the final reconstructed image of the scanned sample. These ring artifacts are commonly found in many applications of synchrotron tomography, and can make it difficult or impossible to use the reconstructed image in further analyses. The severity of ring artifacts is often reduced in practice by applying pre-processing on the acquired data, or post-processing on the reconstructed image. However, such additional processing steps can introduce additional artifacts as well, and rely on specific choices of hyperparameter values. In this paper, a different approach to reducing the severity of ring artifacts is introduced: a helical acquisition mode. By moving the sample parallel to the rotation axis during the experiment, the sample is detected at different detector positions in each projection, reducing the effect of systematic errors in detector elements. Alternatively, helical acquisition can be viewed as a way to transform ring artifacts to helix-like artifacts in the reconstructed volume, reducing their severity. We show that data acquired with the proposed mode can be transformed to data acquired with a virtual circular trajectory, enabling further processing of the data with existing software packages for circular data. Results for both simulated data and experimental data show that the proposed method is able to significantly reduce ring artifacts in practice, even compared with popular existing methods, without introducing additional artifacts.
Maintaining Professional Commitment as a Newly Credentialed Athletic Trainer in the Secondary School Setting.

Context: Professional commitment, or one's affinity and loyalty to a career, has become a topic of interest in athletic training. The expanding research on the topic, however, has omitted newly cr...
Fully optimized second-order homogenization estimates for the macroscopic response and texture evolution of low-symmetry viscoplastic polycrystals

Abstract In this paper, we present a finite-strain homogenization model for the macroscopic response of viscoplastic polycrystals deforming by crystallographic slip. The model makes use of the recently developed fully optimized second-order (FOSO) variational homogenization method, together with self-consistent estimates for the instantaneous response of a linear comparison composite (LCC) with optimally selected properties, to generate corresponding estimates for nonlinear viscoplastic polycrystals. The estimates are guaranteed to be exact to second order in the heterogeneity contrast, and to satisfy all known bounds. Unlike earlier second-order methods, the FOSO method has the distinct advantage that the macroscopic behavior and field statistics in the nonlinear composite can be conveniently extracted directly from the corresponding quantities in the LCC. Moreover, consistent homogenization estimates for the average strain-rate and spin fields in the grains are used to derive the evolution equations for the morphological and crystallographic textures of the polycrystals at large deformations. The FOSO method is then used for the first time to investigate the effects of rate sensitivity and grain anisotropy on the macroscopic response and field statistics of untextured (low-symmetry) HCP polycrystals. Comparisons with full-field simulations and earlier homogenization models show that the FOSO method is the most accurate to date. In addition, the FOSO method is used to predict the texture evolution for ice-like HCP polycrystals subjected to finite-strain loading conditions. It is found that the method is able to capture the strong basal texture that is observed experimentally in these materials under compression, leading to strong geometric softening/hardening effects, as well as strong viscous anisotropy in the overall response.
Manned mars rover powered by a nuclear reactor; Radiation shield analysis

This paper discusses a key element in the conceptual design of a nuclear reactor power system for a manned Mars rover is the analysis, design, and integration of the radiation shield. A shield analysis is carried out to characterize the thickness and spacing of shield layers to provide the minimum mass configuration that meets a dose rate requirement of 300 mSv/yr. The analysis utilizes a two-dimensional transport code to model the reactor and to provide a source term that is subsequently used to calculate dose rates as a function of reactor power level and shield layer thickness. Results show that a multilayered tungsten and lithium hydride (LiH) shield would satisfy the dose rate limit of 300 mSv/yr (30 rem/yr) to the rover crew. The position of two tungsten and LiH layers is varied to minimize secondary gamma-ray production and to optimize shield mass.
Contribution of Chemotherapy to the Toxicity of Pelvic Irradiation

Pelvic malignancies encompass a diverse group of diseases and account for enormous morbidity and mortality worldwide. Given the established role of surgery and with better understanding of the potential synergy between chemotherapy and radiation, an era of combined modality therapy for these malignancies began to emerge in the 1990s. Many single institution and intergroup trials were conducted, establishing the role of combined modality therapy in pelvic malignancies by showing an improved survival, offering organ preservation and limiting surgical complications. However, these benefits accrued at the cost of increased acute toxicities as a result of the combined chemoradiation therapy. Interestingly, limited data suggest no significant increase in late/chronic toxicities, but ongoing and stringent follow-up will be critical to accurately define this issue which is of major interest to all cancer survivors. In the presence of limited data, it would be safe to assume that there is a higher rate of late toxicities given increased early effects lead to increased late effects and perhaps we would have seen these finding if the landmark chemoradiation trials would have collected data on late toxicities. In this chapter, we will review the currently existent literature on acute and late toxicities encountered by combining chemotherapy with radiation in the comprehensive therapy of pelvic malignancies.
That vision thing.

The 1991 Janet Doe lecturer describes the vision held by the founders of the Medical Library Association of medical information being readily accessible to health professionals no matter how far they were located from major medical centers, and traces the pursuit of this vision to current outreach activities.
Large series examining laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding as a salvage solution for failed gastric bypass

Abstract Background The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) has long been considered the gold standard of weight loss procedures. However, there is limited evidence on revisional options with both minimal risk and long-term weight loss results. Objective To examine percent excess weight loss, change in body mass index (BMI), and complications in patients who underwent laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) over prior RYGB. Setting Academic hospital. Methods Retrospective analysis of a single-center prospectively maintained database. Three thousand ninety-four LAGB placements were reviewed; 139 were placed in patients with prior RYGB. Results At the time of LAGB, the median BMI was 41.3. After LAGB, we observed weight loss or stabilization in 135 patients (97%). The median maximal weight loss after LAGB was 37.7% excess weight loss and −7.1 change in BMI (P 10-year follow-up. Eleven bands required removal, 4 for erosion, 4 for dysphagia, and 3 for nonband-related issues. Conclusions LAGB over prior RYGB is a safe operation, which reduces the surgical risks and nutritional deficiencies often seen in other accepted revisional operations. Complication rates were consistent with primary LAGB. Weight loss is both reliable and lasting, and it can be considered as the initial salvage procedure in patients with failed gastric bypass surgery.
Analysis of Recombination Mechanisms in RbF-Treated CIGS Solar Cells

In this paper, we studied the effect of rubidium fluoride (RbF) post-deposition treatment (PDT) on the properties of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar cells. Specifically, the recombination mechanisms were analyzed by a series of characterizations including thermal and optical defect spectroscopies, temperature dependent current density–voltage measurements, and time resolved photoluminescence. It was found that the main effect of RbF PDT on the solar cell was an increase of the open circuit-voltage, $V_{{\text{oc}}}$ , by 30 mV due to a decrease of the values of the diode quality factor and reverse saturation current. Recombination mechanisms were identified as being in the CIGS space charge region, likely at the grain boundaries and near the CIGS surface. Breakdown of contributions to the $V_{{\text{oc}}}$ increase showed that part of it is due to an increase of the majority carrier concentration (16 mV) and another to the increase in the minority carrier lifetime (1 mV). The latest is mostly due to a reduction in the EV+0.99 eV deep-level trap density. An additional CIGS surface modification (contributing 13 mV), observed by the secondary ion mass spectrometry, is essential to explain the full change in $V_{{\text{oc}}}$ .
High Li+ and Mg2+ Conductivity in a Cu-Azolate Metal–Organic Framework

A Cu-azolate metal–organic framework (MOF) uptakes stoichiometric loadings of Groups 1 and 2 metal halides, demonstrating efficient reversible release and reincorporation of immobilized anions within the framework. Ion-pairing interactions lead to anion-dependent Li+ and Mg2+ transport in Cu4(ttpm)2·0.6CuCl2, whose high surface area affords a high density of uniformly distributed mobile metal cations and halide binding sites. The ability to systematically tune the ionic conductivity yields a solid electrolyte with a Mg2+ ion conductivity rivaling the best materials reported to date. This MOF is one of the first in a promising class of frameworks that introduces the opportunity to control the identity, geometry, and distribution of the cation hopping sites, offering a versatile template for application-directed design of solid electrolytes.
Lattice-Mismatch Strain and Confinement in Nanoscale Si/SiO2 Structures Fabricated Using Thermal Oxidation

The behavior of electron and hole transport in semiconductor materials is influenced by lattice-mismatch at the interface. It is well known that carrier scattering in a confined region is dramatically reduced. In this work, we studied the effects of coupling both the strain and confinement simultaneously. We report on the fabrication and characterization of nanoscale planar, wall-like, and wire-like Si/SiO2 structures. As the Si nanostructure dimensions were scaled down to the quantum regime by thermal oxidation of the Si, changes to the band structure and carrier effective mass were observed by both optical and electrical techniques. Transient-time response measurements were performed to examine the carrier generation and recombination behavior as a function of scaling. Signal rise times decreased for both carrier types by an order of magnitude as Si dimensions were reduced from 200 to 10 nm, meaning that the carrier velocity is increasing with smaller scale structures. This result is indicative of decreased Si bandgap energy and carrier effective mass. Photoluminescence measurements taken at 50K showed changes in the PL response peak energies, which illustrates changes in the band structure, as the Si/SiO2 dimensions are scaled.
Intermediate range order in supercooled water

The temperature dependence of the heights of the first and second x-ray diffraction peaks in supercooled water measured down to 244 K are found to display very different behaviours. While the first...
GP175 Mucosal atrophy and clinical correlation in children with ulcerative colitis

Background Mucosal healing is now preferred over clinical remission as a target endpoint in the treatment of Ulcerative Colitis (UC) as it has been demonstrated to reduce hospitalisation and corticosteroid use, to reduce the risk of colectomy and to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. In routine practice, the activity and severity of UC is based on combined clinical and endoscopic assessment in addition to histology. However, it is not clear whether the currently available histologic indices can help predict disease course and treatments. Mucosal atrophy (MA) describes a state of extensive mucosal architectural damage, causing irregularities in the morphology and distribution of the intestinal glands of the mucosa. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of MA in a paediatric cohort of newly diagnosed patients with UC and evaluate the relationship between the presence of MA, disease activity and treatments. Methods Children Results 176 patients with UC were included of which 21 (12%) had MA on biopsy at diagnosis (mean age 11.9 years, 51% female). Those with MA had higher PUCAI scores at three month (p=0.04), six month (p=0.01) and two year (p=0.01) follow up. MA patients had significantly higher rates of progression to immunomodulators (58% vs 44%) and biologics (25% vs 11%), were more likely to have a clinical relapse (p=0.04) and had shorter times to first relapse post diagnosis (p=0.01). Conclusion Children with UC and mucosal atrophy demonstrate a more severe disease course with higher disease activity scores and rates of relapse, which results in increased rates of progression to more intensive therapies. Further research into the mechanisms underlying the more severe disease course of mucosal atrophy patients is warranted.
The Populus PTD promoter imparts floral-predominant expression and enables high levels of floral-organ ablation in Populus, Nicotiana and Arabidopsis

We evaluated the utility of the promoter from the Populus PTD gene—homologous to the MADS box genes DEFICIENS and APETALA3—to genetically engineer reproductive sterility. Floral-predominant expression was confirmed via GUS reporter assays in two heterologous species (Arabidopsis and tobacco) and in an early-flowering poplar genotype. Using the PTD promoter to direct expression of the disarmed cytotoxin DTA resulted in sterile plants with otherwise normal growth at high frequency in all three species. Biomass production in greenhouse-grown, morphologically normal tobacco cytotoxin lines was indistinguishable from lines lacking the cytotoxin gene, confirming strong floral specificity of the promoter. These results suggest that the poplar PTD promoter may prove useful for transgene confinement without detrimental effects on yield.
Coxiella burnetii: international pathogen of mystery.

Coxiella burnetii is an intracellular bacterium that causes acute and chronic Q fever. This unique pathogen has been historically challenging to study due to obstacles in genetically manipulating the organism and the inability of small animal models to fully mimic human Q fever. Here, we review the current state of C. burnetii research, highlighting new approaches that allow the mechanistic study of infection in disease relevant settings.
Enterobacter Cloacae Device Endocarditis: Case Report, Scoping Study, and Guidelines Review.

While traditionally an infection of the endocardial surface of heart valves, infective endocarditis (IE), can atypically present as infection of cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIED), including permanent pacemakers (PPM) or automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (AICD). CIED endocarditis, similar to valvular IE, is generally caused by Gram-positive organisms such as Staphylococcus spp., most frequently S. Auerus, but is rarely caused by gram-negative bacteria, both HACEK and non-HACEK species. We present the case of Enterobacter cloacae CIED endocarditis. We also present a scoping study of previous case reports and case series highlighting the risk factors, surgical interventions, and mortality outcomes associated with E. Cloacae endocarditis. We also discuss the current guidelines and recommendations on antibiotic therapies for non-HACEK Gram-negative endocarditis and surgical management of infected CIED extraction and replacement.
Wellness Program Nonparticipation and Its Association With Employee Turnover.

Purpose:This study examines the association between nonparticipation in wellness activities and employee turnover risk.Design:Retrospective, cross-sectional analysis.Setting:Large university in the...
Acute Airway Inflammation Caused By Incomplete Ingestion of Extended-Release Diltiazem: A Case Report

Abstract Background Diltiazem in its extended-release formulation is widely prescribed and is generally well-tolerated. Currently, there are no published case reports of localized inflammation related to extended-release diltiazem causing either significant pill esophagitis or airway inflammation when swallowed incompletely. Case Report We present a case of an 85-year-old female who reported difficulty swallowing roughly 18 h after incomplete ingestion of an extended-release diltiazem tablet. She had mild stridor and visible right-sided neck swelling on examination. Imaging revealed a large inflammatory mass, which was believed to be a subacute to chronic neoplastic process when reviewed both by radiology and otolaryngology. Two days after presentation, however, the patient's symptoms and the inflammatory mass had resolved entirely. Why Should an Emergency Physician Be Aware of This? Extended-release diltiazem can cause an inflammatory mass when ingested incompletely, leading to possible acute airway compromise. Any invasive airway intervention should be approached with caution, given the degree of acute inflammation. Even in patients who do not require intervention, close observation until clinical improvement is warranted in symptomatic patients with a history of recent incomplete ingestion of extended-release diltiazem.
Focal cortical dysplasia

Abstract Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a malformation of cortical development characterized by a localized region of abnormal cerebral cortex. The International League Against Epilepsy has classified FCD into FCD I, which refers to abnormal cortical lamination, FCD II, which refers to abnormal cortical lamination with specific abnormal cell types, and FCD III, which is associated with a principal lesion. Patients with FCD usually present in childhood with focal epilepsy, and magnetic resonance imaging is the main imaging modality used for diagnosis. FCD is the most common cause of surgically treated intractable childhood epilepsy, and complete resection is important for seizure freedom. In the past decade, advances have been made in understanding the genetic etiology of FCD. Many FCDs are caused by germline and somatic mutations that lead to abnormal activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, and thus mTOR pathway inhibitors hold promise as future targeted therapies.
Meta-analytic evidence on personal shopping value

Value remains a prominently studied concept in marketing with the personal shopping value (PSV) scale by Babin et al., being one of the most applied tools to assess the value in any form. While the...
Room Temperature, Nanosecond, 60 mJ/pulse Fe:ZnSe Master Oscillator Power Amplifier System Operating over 3.6-5.2 µm

We report on room temperature Fe:ZnSe MOPA system tunable over 3.6-5.2 µm pumped by radiation of Q-switched 2.94 µm Er:YAG laser. The maximum output energy was measured to be 60mJ under 200mJ of pump energy.
Numerus surdus y armonía musical. Sobre el temperamento igual y el fin del reinado pitagórico de los números

Abstract The development of philosophical ideas throughout history has sometimes been assisted by the use of handcrafted instruments. Some paradigmatic cases, such as the invention of the telescope or the microscope, show that many philosophical approaches have been the result of the intervention of such instruments. The aim of this article is to show the determining role that stringed musical instruments with frets had in the crisis and generation of philosophical paradigms. In fact, just as the observations of the moon with the telescope broke more than a thousand years of Aristotelian hegemony, the fretted string instruments, predecessors of the guitar, played a central role in the collapse of one of the most influential approaches in the history of Philosophy: Pythagorism. We focus on the fundamental hallmarks of Pythagorism and on how, during the 16th century and from the fretted string instruments, the mathematical-musical notion of equal temperament emerged, which from the middle of the 19th century will be established as the prevailing philosophical-musical paradigm of the West.
Experiences of black women adult foster care providers for aging adults: negotiating power and care.

This study explored experiences of 23 Black women owners and operators of Adult Foster Care (AFC) homes for midlife and older adults. Semi-structured interview data focusing on multiple dimensions ...
Behavioral phenotyping of cancer pain in domesticated cats with naturally occurring squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue: initial validation studies provide evidence for regional and widespread algoplasticity

Feline oral squamous cell carcinoma (FOSCC) is a common and naturally occurring condition that recapitulates many features of human head and neck cancer (HNC). In both species, there is need for improved strategies to reduce pain caused by HNC and its treatment. Research to benefit both species could be conducted using pet cats as a comparative model, but this prospect is limited by lack of validated methods for quantifying FOSCC-associated pain. A prospective non-randomized pilot study was performed for initial validation of: (1) a pet owner administered quality of life questionnaire and visual assessment scoring tool (FORQ/CLIENT); (2) a clinician assessment questionnaire (UFEPS/VET); (3) electronic von Frey testing [EVF]; and (4) Cochet-Bonnet (COBO) aesthesiometry. To assess intra-rater reliability, discriminatory ability, and responsiveness of each assay, 6 cats with sublingual SCC and 16 healthy control cats were enrolled. The intra-rater reliability was moderate-to-good for the clinical metrology instruments and EVF (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] ≥ 0.68), but poor for COBO (ICC = 0.21). FORQ/CLIENT scores were higher (worse quality of life) in FOSCC cats vs healthy controls. The internal reliability of FORQ/CLIENT scoring was high (Cronbach α = 0.92); sensitivity and specificity were excellent (100% when using cut-offs determined using receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curves). For the FORQ/CLIENT, there was strong and inverse correlation between scores from the questions and visual assessment (r = - 0.77, r 2 = 0.6, P < 0.0001). For the UFEPS/VET, Cronbach's α was 0.74 (high reliability). Sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 94%, respectively, when using a cut-off score (3.5) based on ROC curves (Youden index of 0.94). Total UFEPS/VET scores were positively correlated with FORQ/CLIENT scores (r 2 = 0.72, P < 0.0001). Sensitivity of EVF and COBO ranged from 83 to 100% and specificity ranged from 56 to 94%. Cats with cancer were more sensitive around the face (lower response thresholds) and on the cornea (longer filament lengths) than control animals (P < 0.03). Reduced pressure response thresholds were also observed at a distant site (P = 0.0002) in cancer cats. After giving buprenorphine, EVF pressure response thresholds increased (P = 0.04) near the mandible of cats with OSCC; the length of filament required to elicit a response in the COBO assay also improved (shortened; P = 0.017). Based on these preliminary assessments, the assays described herein had reasonable inter-rater reliability, and they were able to both discriminate between cats with and without oral cancer, and respond in a predictable manner to analgesic therapy. In cats with tongue cancer, there was evidence for regional peripheral sensitization, and widespread somatosensory sensitization. These results provide a basis for multi-dimensional assessments of pain and sensitivity in cats with oral SCC.
Evidence for reversible morphologic phenotypes (sprouts) of cultured endothelial cells.

Abstract Confluent cultures of bovine aortic endothelial cells can manifest a unique second growth pattern commonly referred to as “sprouting”. In this study a method is described for separating sprouts from the typical endothelium by selective treatment with proteases. After brief treatment the endothelium lifts off as a single sheet while the sprouts remain firmly attached. Sprouts can then be removed with trypsin and quantitated, or if refed with medium, revert to endothelial morphology within 1 1 2 hours. Sprout formation can be affected by raising internal cellular cyclic AMP levels, via either 8-bromocyclic AMP or cholera toxin. Thus a technique exists for separating sprouts from typical endothelium, paving the way for quantitative studies on the effects of various factors on sprout formation.