cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Active Control Based Energy Harvesting for Battery-Less Wireless Traffic Sensors

A novel battery-less wireless sensor is developed that can be embedded in the road and used to measure traffic flow rate, speed and vehicle weight. Compared to the ubiquitous inductive loop based traffic sensor, the new sensor is expected to provide increased reliability, easy installation and low maintenance costs. Energy to power this sensor is harvested from the short duration vibrations that results when an automobile passes over the sensor. Since all of the earlier work in literature on vibration energy harvesting has focused on continuous sources of vibration, this paper focuses on short duration vibrations and on developing low power control algorithms that can be implemented on the sensor using an analog circuit. To this effect this paper develops and compares three control algorithms "fixed threshold switching", "maximum voltage switching" and "switched inductor" for maximizing this harvested energy. The "switched inductor" algorithm is shown to be the most effective at maximizing harvested energy.
Measuring Changes in American Party Reputations, 1939—2004:

Scholars increasingly emphasize that party reputations are valuable electoral assets. The authors measure temporal change in the parties’ relative reputations across several distinct policy areas and find that each party tends to have advantages on certain issues but that the patterns are far from permanent. Democrats have strong advantages on social welfare issues, but Republicans have made some gains. Republican advantages on taxes and “law and order” have been weaker. The authors also find that party competition has strengthened impressions of the parties. Results support the notion that parties carry a collective—if occasionally transitory—reputation on a host of issues.
Proton Pump Inhibitors in the Management of GERD

Introduction Management of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is based on the concept that gastric contents, principally acid and pepsin, are responsible for symptoms of reflux and esophageal injury. Pharmacologic treatment is based on the principle that controlling intragastric pH will affect esophageal healing and subsequently symptom relief.
Mechanisms of Arthritis Pain

Much is known about inflammation and peripheral damage associated with arthritic conditions. Less is known, however, about the pain that can accompany arthritis. Recent work has focused on activities within the central nervous system (CNS) such as central sensitization, higher order cortical pain processing, and deficiencies in descending neuromodulation to explain situations where arthritis pain seems discordant with the disease activity. These central mechanisms are also thought to account for many of the comorbid symptoms of chronic pain such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, cognitive disturbances, and mood disturbances. While traditional analgesics (e.g., NSAIDs opioids) may be appropriate for some aspects of arthritic pain, central pathology may be more responsive to agents such as serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), anticonvulsants, and psychosocial interventions. A balance between peripheral and central factors likely influences the perception of pain in arthritis. Optimal disease management relies upon matching the appropriate treatment to the relevant mechanisms.
Prognostic indices for survival during postcardiotomy intra-aortic balloon pumping. Methods of scoring and classification, with implications for left ventricular assist device utilization.

To define more clearly a salvageable patient group for possible utilization of a left ventricular assist device prior to multiple organ failure and irretrievability during postcardiotomy intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP), we made prospective and retrospective analyses to determine prognostic indices for survival. Serial left ventricular function curves (IABP on-off), scoring methods, hemodynamic and renal function tracking trajectories, survival versus nonsurvival data envelopes, and classification methods were developed and used. All patients requiring postcardiotomy IABP support who were in Class A survived; 80 percent of the patients in Class B survived. All patients who remained in Class C for 12 hours or more following operation with IABP support died. These preliminary analyses suggest that the postcardiotomy IABP-supported patient with a score of less than 6 who remains in Class C for 12 hours or more is at the highest possible risk and is a probable candidate for more effective support with a left ventricular assist device.
Regulating Vending in the Sidewalk Commons

Selling goods and services from the public sidewalk is becoming increasingly common - and controversial - in communities across the country. Through a street-level examination of vending in Los Angeles, California, where it flourishes despite being largely forbidden, I argue that sidewalk vending should be broadly legalized. The examination of vending also yields lessons concerning the relationship between private property and open access public property in general. Allowing use of open access public property, like the sidewalk, will not necessarily result in either the under-use of adjacent private property, or the over-use of public property. In other words, Garrett Hardin's "tragedy of the commons" may be avoided.
Yawed Effect on Wind Turbine Near Wake

Wind turbines rotation was motivated by the force of wind. In reality, wind doesn’t moving vertically to the wind turbine rotation plane, but in random directions instead. Therefore, the yawed effect has to be taken into consideration when study wind turbine aerodynamic performance. The purpose of this study is to compare the difference between the wind turbine near wake flow with yawed effect and without yawed effect aerodynamically. The research uses CFD technology to simulate the rotation movement and air flow pattern, which is completed in software Ansys Workbench.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Are Administrative Patent Judges Unconstitutional

As amended in 1999, 35 U.S.C. § 6 authorizes the Director of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to appoint all administrative patent judges of the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences. That method of appointment is almost certainly unconstitutional, and the administrative patent judges serving under such appointments are likely to be viewed by the courts as having no constitutionally valid governmental authority. The full extent of the problem was revealed in a recent statement to the press by a PTO spokeswoman, who disclosed that nearly two-thirds of the agency's administrative patent judges were appointed under the new statute. If administrative patent judges are being randomly assigned to three-judge panels, then a simple probability calculation shows that more than 95% of Board panels are likely to include at least one unconstitutionally appointed judge.
Dual inhibition of phosphoinositide 3-kinase and mammalian target of rapamycin as a novel therapeutic approach in human ovarian carcinoma

4970 Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) plays a central role in regulating cell growth and cell cycle progression, and is considered a promising therapeutic target for cancers with phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mTOR pathway activation, including ovarian cancer. However, recent studies have demonstrated that mTOR inhibition can increase levels of phosphorylated Akt (pAkt) due to the stabilization of insulin receptor substrate. This effect can limit the efficacy of mTOR inhibitors due to the growth promoting and anti-apoptotic effects of pAkt. Thus, we hypothesized that concomitant inhibition of PI3K and mTOR would enhance the effect of mTOR inhibition. We tested the effect of the mTOR inhibitor RAD001 (everolimus) and the dual pan-PI3K/mTOR inhibitor NVP-BEZ235 as single agents and in combination on three human ovarian cancer cell lines, SKOV3 and IGR-OV1 with constitutively active PI3K/Akt/mTOR signaling, and OVCAR5 cells with a low level of pathway activation. In SKOV3 cells, treatment with 10 nM RAD001 or 50 nM NVP-BEZ235 as single agents induced only a moderate reduction of cell viability by XTT assay (31% and 38%, respectively). However, combination treatment with RAD001 and NVP-BEZ235 reduced cell viability by 68%. Similar results were found in IGR-OV1 and OVCAR5 cells. The enhanced effects of dual inhibition were confirmed using the inhibitors rapamycin (mTOR) and LY294002 (PI3K). Two-way ANOVA statistical analyses showed that at low concentrations the interaction between RAD001 and NVP-BEZ235 was synergistic. Immunoblotting confirmed that 10 nM RAD001 induced a modest increase in pAkt levels in SKOV3, and up to 3-fold in OVCAR5, but inhibited pAkt in IGR-OV1 cells. NVP-BEZ235 at 50 nM decreased pAkt by up to 75% in SKOV3 and IGROV1 cells. These findings suggest that the cell viability response to dual inhibition of mTOR and PI3K is independent of the activation status of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway and the effect of RAD001 on Akt phosphorylation. In cell cycle distribution assays, treatment of cells with RAD001 and NVP-BEZ235 in combination caused a significantly greater increase in the proportion of cells in G0/G1 compared to single agent treatment. Furthermore, in the LSL-K-Ras G12D/+/PTEN loxP/loxP murine ovarian cancer model that is based on conditional deletion of the tumor suppressor gene PTEN and concomitant expression of constitutively active K-Ras, oral administration of either RAD001 (10 mg/kg) or NVP-BEZ235 (40 mg/kg) resulted in significantly reduced S6 ribosomal protein phosphorylation for RAD001, and decreased Akt phosphorylation for NVP-BEZ235 in tumor tissue of treated mice. In conclusion, our results indicate that the efficacy of mTOR inhibition can be significantly enhanced by concomitant inhibition of Akt phosphorylation. Dual inhibition of mTOR and PI3K could be utilized as a promising new therapeutic strategy in ovarian cancer.
Abstract 2918: Estrogen receptor coactivator MED1 in mammary progenitor/stem cell determination and tamoxifen resistance of breast cancer

Mediator has recently emerged as the central player to directly transduce signals from transcription factors to the transcription machinery. MED1 (also named TRAP220, DRIP205 and MED220) subunit of the Mediator complex has been shown to directly interact and mediate the transcription of nuclear receptors, in a ligand-dependent fashion, through two classical LxxLL motifs. We have recently generated MED1 LxxLL motifs mutant knockin mice and interestingly, found these mutations do not affect the overall survival and the development of most tissues. However, we did observe severe defects in pubertal mammary gland development of MED1-mutant mice. Consistent with this phenotype, expression of a number of known ERα-regulated genes was downregulated in MED1-mutant mammary epithelial cells and these genes could no longer respond to estrogen stimulation. Interestingly, along with the restricted expression of MED1 in luminal but not basal mammary epithelial cells, we observed a very significant increase in the luminal stem/progenitor cell population in the mammary glands of MED1 mutant mice. We have further crossed this MED1 mutant knockin mice with a MMTV-PyVT mouse model that produce mainly luminal type of mammary tumors. Our date indicate that, although MED1 mutations did not affect the time and number of tumors formed, it significantly impacted the tumor progression and cancer stem cell formation in this model. To further study the role of MED1 in human breast cancer, we examined MED1 protein expression by using human breast cancer tissue microarrays. Consistent with previously reports that MED1 coamplifies with HER2, we found MED1 protein expression level is correlated most strongly with HER2 status. Further study supports HER2 as a major upstream regulator responsible for MED1 phosphorylation at sites known to be critical for MED1 activation. Interestingly, we found an increased recruitment of phosphorylated MED1 but not corepressors SMRT or NcoR to endogenous ER target genes’ promoter by tamoxifen in HER2-overexpressing cells. Importantly, knockdown of MED1 significantly sensitized the otherwise resistant HER2 overexpressing cells to the tamoxifen treatment. These results support MED1 as a key convergence point between ER and HER2 signaling pathways in mediating endocrine resistance. In summary, our studies revealed new roles of MED1 in mediating ER functions in both mammary stem/progenitor cell determination and tamoxifen resistance of breast cancer, and support potential use of MED1 as a tissue-specific therapeutic target for the treatment of human breast cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2918. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2918
Elastic moduli's relation to microstructure properties in porous media using GSA modeling

Summary It’s well known that microstructure plays a significant role in determining the overall effective elastic and conductive properties of a porous medium. With the help of one accurate effective medium modeling method General Singular Approximation (GSA), we can numerically obtain the effective elastic and conductive properties with known mineral composition, elastic/conductive properties of all components and microstructure properties (Bayuk and Chesnokov, 1998; Bayuk and Rodkin, 1999; Bayuk et al, 2007; Chesnokov et al, 2009). In a general porous medium, microstructure properties mainly include independent parameters such as porosity, aspect ratio, connectivity. Given aspect ratio, porosity and crack density are interchangeable, so that we can also use crack density instead of porosity. GSA is one unique method in a sense that it can take into account all the 3 parameters, especially connectivity, which is included in GSA by introducing one empirical parameter called friability, but is missing from most of other effective medium models (Eshelby, 1957; Hudson, 1981; Nishizawa, 1982). The explicit relation between elastic moduli and microstructure will enhance our understanding and prediction the change of one from that of the other, or vice versa. It also can give us information of how sensitive the elastic moduli are due to each of microstructure parameters.
Diagnostic codes associated with hypnotic medications during outpatient physician-patient encounters in the United States from 1990-1998.

Study Objectives: This investigation tabulates the most common diagnostic codes associated with use of hypnotic medications during physician-patient encounters in the U.S. Design: Estimates were derived from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) from 1990 through 1998. Diagnoses were coded according to the International Classification of Disease-Clinical Modification-9th Edition (ICD-9-CM). Setting: The NAMCS collects outpatient visit data from nonfederal physicians of all specialties, except anesthesiology, pathology, and radiology. Participants: N/A Interventions: N/A Measurements and Results: Hypnotic medications were more commonly associated with psychiatric codes than with the symptom of insomnia. Primary insomnia did not appear among the codes most commonly associated with a hypnotic prescription. Conclusions: Hypnotics were more commonly associated with psychiatric codes than with insomnia codes, but it is unknown whether the coding accurately reflects the true diagnoses. Still, since there is minimal data on the efficacy and safety of hypnotics in persons with psychiatric disorders, these findings may signal a critical knowledge gap in the treatment of insomnia.
Construir Palmas? uma análise da construção da capital do Tocantins - DOI 10.5216/ag.v4i12.12788

This paper aims in analyzing, from a kind of a reading named “Praca do Sol” (Sun Square), which later on became “Praca dos Girassois” (Sunflowers Square), the building process of Palmas city, through its symbols and representations embodied in the buildings in this square . Readings of Bourdieu (1998), Harvey (1979) and Choay (1979) have allowed guiding the search to understand the meaning of names given to this square relating them to the deployment strategy of the Palmas city. It would appear, at this work, which cities 'postmodernists', if one can call the urban plan of Palms, in themselves are contradictory, because its materiality is unstable, and it is shaped by the media images imitation, and may be changed at the push of a button will be adapted where and how they want. The sun and the sunflowers, used to name the main town square, which were meant to reflect the anxiety of the planners and builders of Palmas city. The objectives were mutated according to the strategies that enabled Palmas to consolidate as a city. In the north, is no more sunflower plant that symbolizes the name of the square, rather, it is a singularity accepted by the residents, induced by a group of artisans. This look has allowed discussing points that reflect the goal of the creators of Palmas city.
THE EFFECT OF ERYTHROPOIETIC STIMULATION ON MARROW DISTRIBUTION IN MAN, RABBIT AND RAT AS SHOWN BY FE59 AND FE52.

Distribution of marrow within the skeleton has been determined in man, rabbits, and rats by in vivo labeling of the marrow compartment with radioiron and either assaying each bone separately for radioactivity or obtaining a gamma-ray image of the distribution of the marrow by whole body scanner or positron scintillation camera. In man, extension of marrow into unusual sites was demonstrated after prolonged and severe stimulation, excessive blood loss, or hemolysis for a long period. A rabbit made severely anemic by administration of phenylhydrazine for 7 days showed extension of marrow into the distal portion of the humeri and femora. In rats in which erythropoiesis was stimulated by erythropoietin administration there was no significant increase in total marrow volume and no change in distribution of marrow within the skeleton. The positron scintillation camera provides an excellent method for qualitative evaluation of the marrow distribution. It has sufficient resolving power to give a good picture of the distribution of marrow with Fe52 in a skeleton as small as that of the rat. The distribution apparent from the positron pictures has been confirmed by complete skeletal analysis of individual bones.
A Special Language

At the end of 1875 Gustave Flaubert wrote to George Sand: ‘I constantly do all I can to broaden my mind, and I write according to the dictates of my heart. The rest is beyond my control’.
Mitochrondrienfunktion und Kontraktilität im druckhypertrophierten Myokard

Hypertrophie des Herzmuskels infolge chronischer Druckbelastung (RVH) fuhrt zu herabgesetzter Kontraktilitat des Myokards bevor Herzinsuffizienzzeichen nachweisbar sind [7]. Untersuchungen an Papillarmuskeln zeigten, das die verminderte Kontraktilitat des druckhypertrophierten Myokards mit einem erhohten O2-Verbrauch verbunden ist [2]. Diese Befunde konnen im Sinne einer Entkopplung der oxydativen Phosphorylierung oder Storungen anderer Funktionen der Mitochondrien im hypertrophierten Herzmuskel gedeutet werden. In den vorliegenden Experimenten wurde versucht, die Mitochondrienfunktion im druckhypertrophierten Myokard durch Bestimmung verschiedener Indizes der oxydativen Phosphorylierung zu charakterisieren. Weiterhin wurde die mitochondriale Ca-Aufnahme- und Konzentration im perfundierten Herzen bestimmt, um mogliche Veranderungen des Ca-Stoffwechsels mit Anderungen der Kontraktilitat des hypertrophierten Myokards in Beziehung setzen zu konnen.
Ruthenium-Clotrimazole complex has significant efficacy in the murine model of cutaneous leishmaniasis

In previous studies we reported a novel series of organometallic compounds, RuII complexed with clotrimazole, displaying potent trypanosomatid activity with unnoticeable toxicity toward normal mammalian cells. In view of the promising activity of Ru-clotrimazole complexes against Leishmania major (L. major), the present work sought to investigate the anti-leishmanial activity of the AM162 complex in the murine model of cutaneous leishmaniasis. In addition, to facilitate the design of new therapeutic strategies against this disease, we investigated the mode of action of two Ru-clotrimazole complexes in L. major promastigotes. Overall, we demonstrate that AM162 significantly reduced the lesion size in mice exposed to L. major infection. In addition, Ru-clotrimazole compounds are able to induce a mitochondrial dependent apoptotic-like death in the extracellular form of the parasite based on labeling of DNA fragments, mitochondrial depolarization, cell cycle alteration profile and plasma membrane phospholipid externalization. Our findings reveal a promising efficacy of the Ru-clotrimazole AM162 complex for the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis, as well as pro-apoptotic activity and thus guarantees further evaluation in pre-clinical studies.
A continuity theory for lossless source coding over networks

A continuity theory of lossless source coding over networks is established and its implications are investigated. In the given model, source and side-information random variables X and Y have finite alphabets, and the input sequences are drawn i.i.d. according to a generic distribution PX,Y on (X,Y). We consider traditional source coding, where all demands equal source random variables. We define a family of lossless source coding problems that includes prior example network source coding problems as special cases. We show that the lossless rate region RL(PX,Y) is inner semi-continuous in PX,Y. We further show that for a special type of networks called super-source networks, where there is a super source node v* that has access to (X,Y) and any other node with access to some source random variable Xi is directly connected to v*, RL(PX,Y) is also outer semi-continuous in PX,Y. Based on the continuity of super-source networks with respect to PX,Y, we conjecture that RL(PX,Y) is also outer semi-continuous and therefore continuous in PX,Y for general networks.
Advancing Nursing Research in the Visual Era: Reenvisioning the Photovoice Process Across Phenomenological, Grounded Theory, and Critical Theory Methodologies

Photovoice is a powerful research method that employs participant photography for advancing voice, knowledge, and transformative change among groups historically or currently marginalized. Paradoxically, this research method risks exploitation of participant voice because of weak methodology to method congruence. The purposes of this retrospective article are to revisit current interdisciplinary research using photovoice and to suggest how to advance photovoice by improving methodology-method congruence. Novel templates are provided for improving the photovoice process across phenomenological, grounded theory, and critical theory methodologies.
Pioneer anomaly put to the test

Since 1998 astronomers have known that the space probes Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 are following trajectories that cannot be explained by conventional physics. Launched in 1972 and 1973, respectively, to explore the outer planets, the Pioneer craft are now at the edge of the solar system, with Pioneer 10 being some 86 astronomical units (about 13 billion kilometres) from the Sun. But they are not quite where they should be, based on the gravitational pull of the known bodies in the solar system.
Incidental Learning: A Brief, Valid Measure of Memory Based on the WAIS-IV Vocabulary and Similarities Subtests.

OBJECTIVE We assessed the validity of a brief incidental learning measure based on the Similarities and Vocabulary subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV). BACKGROUND Most neuropsychological assessments for memory require intentional learning, but incidental learning occurs without explicit instruction. Incidental memory tests such as the WAIS-III Symbol Digit Coding subtest have existed for many years, but few memory studies have used a semantically processed incidental learning model. METHODS We conducted a retrospective analysis of 37 veterans with traumatic brain injury, referred for outpatient neuropsychological testing at a Veterans Affairs hospital. As part of their evaluation, the participants completed the incidental learning tasks. We compared their incidental learning performance to their performance on traditional memory measures. RESULTS Incidental learning scores correlated strongly with scores on the California Verbal Learning Test-Second Edition (CVLT-II) and Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised (BVMT-R). After we conducted a partial correlation that controlled for the effects of age, incidental learning correlated significantly with the CVLT-II Immediate Free Recall, CVLT-II Short-Delay Recall, CVLT-II Long-Delay Recall, and CVLT-II Yes/No Recognition Hits, and with the BVMT-R Delayed Recall and BVMT-R Recognition Discrimination Index. CONCLUSIONS Our incidental learning procedures derived from subtests of the WAIS-IV Edition are an efficient and valid way of measuring memory. These tasks add minimally to testing time and capitalize on the semantic encoding that is inherent in completing the Similarities and Vocabulary subtests.
A Comparison of Helminth Faunas of Cope's Gray (Hyla chrysoscelis) and Green (Hyla cinerea) Treefrogs in Areas of Recent Niche Overlap

Abstract This study compares the helminth faunas between Cope's gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis) and green treefrogs (Hyla cinerea), in areas where they have recently overlapped due to range expansion by H. cinerea, to determine whether or not 2 species of frogs with a high degree of similarity in many of their life history traits also exhibit similarities in the composition of their helminth assemblages. Results of this study did not find significant differences in helminth species diversity when sympatric and allopatric populations of the same species of frog were compared. There was, however, a significant difference in helminth diversity among sympatric populations of H. chrysoscelis and H. cinerea, and this difference was in large part attributable to the significantly higher abundance of the gastrointestinal nematode Cosmocercoides variabilis among H. chrysoscelis. Additional studies will be required to determine whether the observed patterns are due to differences in arrival time, perch locations...
Conductive Arguments: Why is This Still a Thing?

Conductive arguments, as a separate category of reasoning, has experienced a revival. In 2010, the University of Windsor’s Centre for Research in Reasoning, Argumentation, and Rhetoric dedicated a two-day symposium to the topic and later published the proceedings. In this article, I argue against the existence of conductive arguments as a usefully distinct type of argument. Some of what are deemed conductive arguments are simply inductive arguments and some are best construed as subsets of the constituents of what is commonly called a position paper.
Masking properties of ceramics for veneer restorations.

Abstract Statement of problem The translucency and opacity of ceramics play a significant role in emulating the natural color of teeth, but studies of the masking properties and limitations of dental ceramics when used as monolayer restorations are lacking. Purpose The purpose of this in vitro study was to determine the translucency of 6 materials used for veneer restorations by assessing their translucency parameters (TPs), contrast ratios (CRs), and potential to mask dark tooth colors. Material and methods Ten square- or disk-shaped specimens (0.5-mm thickness, shade A2) were fabricated from Vitablocks Mark II (VMII; Vita Zahnfabrik), IPS e.max CAD LT (EMXC LT; Ivoclar Vivadent AG), IPS e.max CAD HT (EMXC HT; Ivoclar Vivadent AG), IPS Empress CAD LT (EMP LT; Ivoclar Vivadent AG), IPS e.max Press LT (EMXP LT; Ivoclar Vivadent AG), and CZR (CZR; Kuraray Noritake Dental Inc). Their luminance (Y) values over black and over white tiles were measured, followed by their color (CIELab) over black tiles and white tiles and shaded A2 (control group), A3.5, A4, and B4 acrylic resin blocks. All measurements were performed using a spectrophotometer in 2 different areas on each specimen. Then CRs, TPs, and color differences (over shaded backgrounds) were determined. Data were subjected to 1-way and 2-way ANOVA (α=.05) for analysis. Results Mean CR values of EMXP LT were significantly higher than those of the other tested materials, whereas VMII and EMXC HT had the lowest values ( P P P Conclusions Significant differences in translucency among the tested ceramics were revealed ( P P
Ultrasound-guided ankle joint injection

This chapter includes injection of the tibiotalar and subtalar joints and the five nerves for an ankle block.
Growing Up a Little Faster

In most well-functioning two-parent households, there is not much opportunity for children to enter into household decision making. Young children and even adolescents generally have little influence on familial matters. The children may decide on the decorating scheme for their rooms, select their own clothes, choose their friends and their hobbies. But household issues, such as when mealtimes are scheduled and which household jobs are assigned to the children, and familial issues, such as where the family will go on the parents’ vacation, tend to be decided by the parents, perhaps after limited consultation with the children. The maintenance and direction of the family unit is a parental responsibility.
Community Demographics and Readmission Rates: The Moderating Role of Hospital Community Orientation

The Affordable Care Act has placed greater emphasis on the reduction of hospital readmission rates and administrators may pursue a community orientation strategy in an effort to respond to these re...
Lasting legacies of historical clearcutting, wind, and salvage logging on old-growth Tsuga canadensis-Pinus strobus forests

Abstract Disturbance events affect forest composition and structure across a range of spatial and temporal scales, and subsequent forest development may differ after natural, anthropogenic, or compound disturbances. Following large, natural disturbances, salvage logging is a common and often controversial management practice in many regions of the globe. Yet, while the short-term impacts of salvage logging have been studied in many systems, the long-term effects remain unclear. We capitalized on over eighty years of data following an old-growth Tsuga canadensis-Pinus strobus forest in southwestern New Hampshire, USA after the 1938 hurricane, which severely damaged forests across much of New England. To our knowledge, this study provides the longest evaluation of salvage logging impacts, and it highlights developmental trajectories for Tsuga canadensis-Pinus strobus forests under a variety of disturbance histories. Specifically, we examined development from an old-growth condition in 1930 through 2016 across three different disturbance histories: (1) clearcut logging prior to the 1938 hurricane with some subsequent damage by the hurricane (“logged”), (2) severe damage from the 1938 hurricane (“hurricane”), and (3) severe damage from the hurricane followed by salvage logging (“salvaged”). There were no differences in current overstory composition between the different disturbance histories, as most areas shifted strongly away from pre-hurricane composition through nearly complete elimination of P. strobus and corresponding increases in hardwoods (Betula and Acer spp.), while T. canadensis remained dominant. In contrast, eight decades later, structural characteristics remain distinct between logged, hurricane, and salvaged sites. Specifically, trees were larger in the logged and salvaged sites, and pit and mound structures were largest and most abundant in the hurricane site. Tree densities and coarse woody debris biomass was greater in the hurricane site than the logged sites, but not significantly different from salvaged sites. These findings underscore the long-term influence of salvage logging on forest development, indicating convergence in overstory composition over time between logged, salvaged, and non-salvaged areas, but persistent structural differences, especially in microtopographic structures and live tree development. Future salvage logging efforts should consider these impacts and provide a greater range of unsalvaged areas across the landscape to maintain important structural legacies over the long term.
Trajectory based pre-key exchange scheme for seamless vehicular networks connectivity

In vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs), security services including authentication and privacy protection should be provided and the system must be robust against malicious attacks for reliable communication. In this paper, we present an efficient pre-key establishment scheme using trajectory information that allows vehicles to exchange the secret keys with the infrastructures in advance along the route. Our scheme minimizes the momentary disconnection during the transition of key establishment. The extensive simulation is conducted to evaluate the system performance and security issues are analyzed. The experiment results show that our scheme enhances the efficiency of communication and reduces overhead of key establishment while providing security features.
Assessment of change in knowledge about research methods among delegates attending research methodology workshop.

Aim: In an era of evidence based medicine research is an essential part of medical profession whether clinical or academic. A research methodology workshop intends to help participants, those who are newer to research field or those who are already doing empirical research. The present study was conducted to assess the changes in knowledge of the participants of a research methodology workshop through a structured questionnaire. Methods: With administrative and ethical approval, a four day research methodology workshop was planned. The participants were subjected to a structured questionnaire (pre-test) containing 20 multiple choice questions (Q1-Q 20) related to the topics to be covered in research methodology workshop before the commencement of the workshop and then subjected to similar posttest questionnaire after the completion of workshop. The mean values of pre and post-test scores were calculated and the results were analyzed and compared. Results: Out of the total 153 delegates, 45(29 %) were males and 108 were (71 %) females. 92 (60%) participants consented to fill the pre-test questionnaire and 68 (44%) filled the post-test questionnaire. The mean Pre-test and post-test scores at 95% Confidence Interval were 07.62 (SD ±3.220) and 09.66 (SD ±2.477) respectively. The differences were found to be significant using Paired Sample T test (P Conclusion: There was increase in knowledge of the delegates after attending research methodology workshops. Participatory research methodology workshops are good methods of imparting knowledge, also the long term effects needs to be evaluated.
The primacy of ethics: Hobbes and Levinas

At several points in his writings, Levinas is implicitly critical of Hobbes's view that the political order is required to restrict violent conflict and competition and make morality possible. This paper makes Levinas's criticisms explicit by comparing Hobbes's descriptions of human nature and human relations with Levinas's radically different descriptions of the ethical relation of responsibility and the consequent kinship of the human community. I use insights from Levinas to argue that ethics cannot be reduced to politics and that the primacy of the ethical relation provides a more adequate description of human relations and justice in the human community.
DIFFERENTIATION OF HELPER T CELLS OPERATIVE IN ANTIBODY SYNTHESIS AND CELL MEDIATED LYMPHOLYSIS (CML)

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the differentiation of helper T cells operative in antibody synthesis and cell-mediated lympholysis (CML). The chapter presents a study in which asplenic and eusplenic mice were bred and maintained in a colony from breeding stock provided by Dr. M.E. Gershwin. Experimental animals of both sexes were studied and all mice were produced by mating +/+ females and Dh/+ males. Balb/c mice and C57BL/6 mice were obtained. Cells from pooled lymph nodes and splenic tissue were teased into supplemented RPMI-1640 medium. After sedimentation of heavier tissue fragments, viability was determined for suspended cells by exclusion of trypan blue dye. The CML assay was adapted from the method of Simpson. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes in Dh/+ and +/+ mice were generated by culturing 2 × 107 lymph node cells with an equal number of x-irradiated Balb/c spleen cells as allogenic stimulators. The reduction in CML varied throughout the experiments but was considered significant at values greater than 15% and reached values as high as 50% reduction relative to eusplenic mice.
Issues of Adolescent Medicine

Adolescence, from the Latin “adolescer”—to grow up, is defined as the period of life between the onset of puberty and maturity, the state or process of growing up from childhood to adulthood. This process is best understood as a combination of complementary and interlocking developmental phenomena. Although the complexity of these events defies easy categorization, simplicifation is required for the sake of understanding this journey from childhood to adult status. For the purpose of this discussion the processes of adolescence will be divided into five categories of development: physiologic, psychologic, psychosexual, cognitive, and social. Often as a result of accomplishing these tasks, and at times because of a failure adequately to negotiate these tasks, the adolescent becomes subject to health risks that are particular to the age and of import to all who address the needs of youth.
A Knowledge-sharing Perspective on Supplier Development Activities

Based on knowledge resource theory, this study introduces a framework to organize supplier development activities from a knowledge-sharing perspective. In this framework, supplier development activities are classified into two categories: knowledge-sharing activities and knowledge-sharing enablers. Together, they create value for a supply chain. This framework contributes to understanding of a key issue in the practice of supply chain management – supplier development activities – and does so from a knowledge-sharing perspective. Results of preliminary content analysis support the framework and its mappings. Research results from larger-scale study along the lines indicated here can provide useful guidance for companies to carry out supplier development in practice and for researchers to accommodate supplier development in their future research.
Nicotine and electronic cigarette (E-Cig) exposure decreases brain glucose utilization in ischemic stroke.

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that nicotine exposure decreases glucose transport across the blood-brain barrier in ischemia-reperfusion conditions. We hypothesize that nicotine can also dysregulate brain parenchymal glucose utilization by altering glucose transporters with effects on sensitivity to ischemic stroke. In this study, we investigated the effects of nicotine exposure on neuronal glucose utilization using an in vitro ischemic stroke model. We also tested the effects of e-Cig vaping on ischemic brain glucose utilization using an acute brain slice technique. Primary cortical neurons and brain slices were subjected to oxygen-glucose deprivation followed by reoxygenation to mimic ischemia-reperfusion injury. We estimated brain cell glucose utilization by measuring the uptake of [3 H] deoxy-d-glucose. Immunofluorescence and western blotting were done to characterize glucose transporters (GLUTs) and α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) expression. Furthermore, we used a glycolytic stress test to measure the effects of nicotine exposure on neuronal glucose metabolism. We observed that short- and long-term nicotine/cotinine exposure significantly decreased neuronal glucose utilization in ischemic conditions and the non-specific nAChR antagonist, mecamylamine reversed this effect. Nicotine/cotinine exposure also decreased neuronal GLUT1 and up-regulated α7 nAChR expression and decreased glycolysis. Exposure of mice to e-Cig vapor for 7 days likewise decreases brain glucose uptake under normoxic and ischemic conditions along with down-regulation of GLUT1 and GLUT3 expressions. These data support, from a cerebrovascular perspective, that nicotine and/or e-Cig vaping induce a state of glucose deprivation at the neurovascular unit which could lead to enhanced ischemic brain injury and/or stroke risk. OPEN PRACTICES: Open Science: This manuscript was awarded with the Open Materials Badge. For more information see: https://cos.io/our-services/open-science-badges/.
A Personalized Recommendation System to Support Diabetes Self-Management for American Indians

The epidemic of diabetes in American Indian (AI) communities is a serious public health challenge. The incidence and prevalence of diabetes have increased dramatically with accompanying increases in body weight and diminished physical activity. In this paper, we propose a proactive diabetes self-care recommendation system specifically for AI patients. It recommends healthy life style to users to fight for their diabetes. Thanks to the quasi-ubiquitous use of cellphones in most AI tribes, we choose cellphones as the platform to provide smart personal care for AI patients. By integrating the AI users’ ontological profile with general clinical diabetes recommendation and guidelines, the system can make personalized recommendations (e.g., food intake and physical workout) based on the special socioeconomic, cultural, and geographical status particularly to AI patients. The proposed system was implemented as mobile applications. Evaluations performed by use case studies and human expert verification demonstrate the effectiveness of the system.
On the theory of economic MPC: ELOC and approximate infinite horizon EMPC

Abstract In recent years, the notion of Economic Model Predictive Control (EMPC) has gained significant interest. Despite a marked improvement in economic performance, it has been shown that this performance will degrade substantially if implemented with a horizon that is not sufficiently large. In the current effort, it is shown that if applied to a particular reaction process, EMPC performance will abruptly collapse at a critical horizon size. To alleviate this issue, we develop an Infinite Horizon EMPC (IH-EMPC) formulation. While this IH-EMPC problem is computationally intractable, it does lead to an approximation of the optimal policy. The resulting Approximate IH-EMPC (AIH-EMPC) is identical to the original finite horizon EMPC, but includes a final cost term that represents the objective function from the finite horizon to infinity. With two example systems, a chemical reactor and a power system with energy storage, it is shown that the AIH-EMPC policy is virtually insensitive to its computational horizon size.
Benefits And Costs Of Electricity Pre-Clean Air Act United States

This paper exploits the historical expansion of U.S. thermal power generation between 1940 and 1960 to study the costs and benefits associated with steam electricity. We analyze three related issue...
An ultraviolet-curable, core-shell vaccine formed via phase separation.

One of the central challenges in the field of vaccine delivery is to develop a delivery method that maintains antigen stability while also enabling control over the system's release kinetics. Addressing these challenges would not only allow for expanded access to vaccines worldwide but would also help significantly reduce mortality rates in developing countries. In this article, we report the development of single-injection vaccine depots for achieving novel delayed burst release. Synthesized poly(e-caprolactone) and poly(e-caprolactone) triacrylate were used to form stationary bubbles within an aqueous solution of 10% carboxymethylcellulose. These polymeric bubbles (referred to as "polybubbles") can then be injected with an aqueous solution of cargo, resulting in the formation of a polymeric shell. The puncture resulting from cargo injection self-heals prior to ultraviolet (UV) curing. UV curing and lyophilization were shown to enhance the stability of the polybubbles. BSA- CF 488 and HIV1 gp120/41 were used as the antigen in the study as a proof-of-concept. Further endeavors to automate the production of polybubbles are underway.
Quantum dot therapeutics: a new class of radical therapies.

Traditional therapeutics and vaccines represent the bedrock of modern medicine, where isolated biochemical molecules or designed proteins have led to success in treating and preventing diseases. However, several adaptive pathogens, such as multidrug-resistant (MDR) superbugs, and rapidly evolving diseases, such as cancer, can evade such molecules very effectively. This poses an important problem since the rapid emergence of multidrug-resistance among microbes is one of the most pressing public health crises of our time—one that could claim more than 10 million lives and 100 trillion dollars annually by 2050. Several non-traditional antibiotics are now being developed that can survive in the face of adaptive drug resistance. One such versatile strategy is redox perturbation using quantum dot (QD) therapeutics. While redox molecules are nominally used by cells for intracellular signaling and other functions, specific generation of such species exogenously, using an electromagnetic stimulus (light, sound, magnetic field), can specifically kill the cells most vulnerable to such species. For example, recently QD therapeutics have shown tremendous promise by specifically generating superoxide intracellularly (using light as a trigger) to selectively eliminate a wide range of MDR pathogens. While the efficacy of such QD therapeutics was shown using in vitro studies, several apparent contradictions exist regarding QD safety and potential for clinical applications. In this review, we outline the design rules for creating specific QD therapies for redox perturbation; summarize the parameters for choosing appropriate materials, size, and capping ligands to ensure their facile clearance; and highlight a potential path forward towards developing this new class of radical QD therapeutics.
Ferric uptake regulator (Fur) reversibly binds a [2Fe-2S] cluster to sense intracellular iron homeostasis in Escherichia coli.

The ferric uptake regulator (Fur) is a global transcription factor that regulates intracellular iron homeostasis in bacteria. The current hypothesis states that when the intracellular "free" iron concentration is elevated, Fur binds ferrous iron, and the iron-bound Fur represses the genes encoding for iron uptake systems and stimulates the genes encoding for iron storage proteins. However, the "iron-bound" Fur has never been isolated from any bacteria. Here we report that the Escherichia coli Fur has a bright red color when expressed in E. coli mutant cells containing an elevated intracellular free iron content because of deletion of the iron-sulfur cluster assembly proteins IscA and SufA. The acid-labile iron and sulfide content analyses in conjunction with the EPR and Mossbauer spectroscopy measurements and the site-directed mutagenesis studies show that the red Fur protein binds a [2Fe-2S] cluster via conserved cysteine residues. The occupancy of the [2Fe-2S] cluster in Fur protein is ∼31% in the E. coli iscA/sufA mutant cells and is decreased to ∼4% in WT E. coli cells. Depletion of the intracellular free iron content using the membrane-permeable iron chelator 2,2´-dipyridyl effectively removes the [2Fe-2S] cluster from Fur in E. coli cells, suggesting that Fur senses the intracellular free iron content via reversible binding of a [2Fe-2S] cluster. The binding of the [2Fe-2S] cluster in Fur appears to be highly conserved, because the Fur homolog from Hemophilus influenzae expressed in E. coli cells also reversibly binds a [2Fe-2S] cluster to sense intracellular iron homeostasis.