cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Who do migrant associations represent? The role of ‘ethnic deservingness’ and legal capital in migrants’ rights claims in Turkey

ABSTRACTConsidering that established migrant associations often play an active role in migrants’ rights advocacy, the relationship between them and the growing numbers of irregular migrants needs careful scrutiny. Looking at the encounters between irregular Bulgarian Turkish migrants and associations established by their co-ethnics who hold Turkish citizenship in Turkey, our ethnographic evidence shows that co-ethnic migrant associations mobilise the legal frame of ‘ethnic deservingness’ with the intention of welcoming co-ethnics to the Turkish homeland. In the absence of other formal organisations for rights advocacy, associations’ appeals to this frame emerge as a civic resource for the irregular newcomers in their permanent residency claims. At the same time, the same frame hides unequal power relations within co-ethnic communities, that is, newcomers’ peripheral positions within associations and the economic costs of filing claims via associations. This situation creates a representational gap in the ...
Gauss meets Canadian traveler: shortest-path problems with correlated natural dynamics

In a variety of real world problems from robot navigation to logistics, agents face the challenge of path optimization on a graph with unknown edge costs. These settings can be generally formalized as the Canadian Traveler Problems (CTPs) [13]. Although in many applications the edge costs have dependencies resulting from world dynamics, CTPs with such structure have received considerably less attention than those with independent edge costs, largely because the dependence structure is often problem-specific and difficult to state compactly. Yet, in a wide variety of navigation tasks, spatial correlations between edge traversal costs are governed by natural phenomena such as winds, congestion, or ocean currents, which are conveniently described with a well-understood machine learning model --- Gaussian Process (GP). In this article, we propose a synthesis of CTPs and GPs, the Gaussian Traveler Problem (GTP). In GTPs, an agent observes the costs of graph edges when traversing them, and uses the observed costs to adjust its belief over other edges via Gaussian Process updates. Examples of GTP instances include aircraft, traffic, and vessel navigation, to name just a few. Computing optimal agent behavior for a GTP turns out to be equivalent to solving a Partially Observable MDP with continuous observation space. We present an approximate algorithm for solving GTPs with efficient machine-learning and decision-making components, whose design is influenced by the challenges of real-world problems. Despite the intractability of computing an optimal policy, our experiments in the aircraft navigation scenario with real wind data demonstrate that our framework can significantly improve upon state-of-the-art techniques for planning airplane routes.
Clinical Issues for Working With Patients and Family Members Dealing With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

ABSTRACTThis article is based on a clinician’s personal experience working with patients and family members dealing with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Two key issues for a clinician to consider in working with this population is the constant overshadowing of grief as the patient experiences loss of body functions over time, and the need to find personal meaning in the experience of this disease. Families fit into two main types and their specific needs for intervention and support are discussed. Differentiation is made between primary and secondary caregiver, and the danger of primary caregiver spiraling down the cycle of burden, a dyadic relational process leading to burnout.
Oscillator strengths for the magnesium isoelectronic sequence

The relativistic random-phase approximation is used to calculate the excitation energies and absorption oscillator strengths for the 3s/sup 2/ /sup 1/S/sub 0/-3s3p /sup 1/P/sub 1/, -3s4p /sup 1/P/sub 1/, -3s5p /sup 1/P/sub 1/, and -3s3p /sup 3/P/sub 1/ transitions of selected elements of the magnesium isoelectronic sequence through nuclear charge Z = 92. The results are compared with previous theoretical and experimental values. The data, plotted as a function of Z/sup -1/ enable us to study deviations from the predictions of the nonrelativistic Z-expansion theory.
Liquefaction of Granular Soils at the Microscale

In this study, we introduce results of a novel coupled pore-scale model of pore-fluid interacting with discrete particles for soil liquefaction. A mircoscale idealization of the solid phase is achieved using the discrete element method (DEM) while the fluid phase is modeled at a mesoscale using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The fluid forces applied on the particles are calculated based on the momentum exchange between the fluid and particles. The proposed approach is used to model liquefaction of a saturated granular soil deposit subjected to seismic excitations. Results of conducted simulations suggest that liquefaction is due to reduction in void space during shaking that leads to buildup in pore-fluid pressure.
Platinum Azaporphyrins for Near Infrared Organic Light Emitting Diodes

We developed three platinum azaporphyrin emitters for near infrared OLED applications. The devices based on PtNTBP, cis-PtN2TBP, and PtNTNP exhibit emission peak at 848nm, 846nm and 918nm with EQE of 2.76%, 1.47%, and 0.87% respectively.
Long-term experimental evolution in Escherichia coli. III. Variation among replicate populations in correlated responses to novel environments

Twelve populations of Escherichia coli were founded from a single clone and propagated for 2000 generations in identical glucose-limited environments. During this time, the mean fitnesses of the evolving populations relative to their common ancestor improved greatly, but their fitnesses relative to one another diverged only slightly. Although the populations showed similar fitness increases, they may have done so by different underlying adaptations, or they may have diverged in other respects by random genetic drift. Therefore, we examined the relative fitnesses of independently derived genotypes in two other sugars, maltose and lactose, to determine whether they were homogeneous or heterogeneous in these environments. The genetic variation among the derived lines in fitness on maltose and lactose was more than 100-times greater than their variation in fitness on glucose. Moreover, the glucose-adapted genotypes, on average, showed significant adaptation to lactose, but not to maltose. That pathways for use of maltose and glucose are virtually identical in E. coli, except for their distinct mechanisms of uptake, suggests that the derived genotypes have adapted primarily by improved glucose transport. From consideration of the number of generations of divergence, the mutation rate in E. coli, and the proportion of its genome required for growth on maltose (but not glucose), we hypothesize that pleiotropy involving the selected alleles, rather than random genetic drift of alleles at other loci, was the major cause of the variation among the derived genotypes in fitness on these other sugars.
An epidemic analysis of measles virus genotype H1 in 2013 of Xicheng district,Beijing

Objective To strengthen the genotype of the measles monitoring,we carried out the measles virus nucleic acid detection in 2013,Beijing. Methods Using Fluorescent PCR method to identify measles viral nucleic acid,and then amplified by RT-PCR with the positive samples whose products were sequenced and sequence analyzed. Results There were 21 RT-PCR products in total 41 measles suspected cases in 2013 of Xicheng District,Beijing. After sequencing analysis,we found 16 genotype H1. The phylogenetic relationships between the genotype H1 of measles virus gene sequences which we have got with the World Health Organization( WHO) genotype Hrepresentative strains MVi / Hunan. CHN /0. 93 /7 / H1 gene belong to a branch of the same tree,moreover the homology of nucleo tide and amino acid were 97. 1% ~ 97. 6% and 95. 3% ~ 98. 0%. Conclusion The measles cases increased significantly in 2013 of Beijing,the mainly genotype is the local genotypes,in order to achieve measles elimination plan,effective control and prevention of measles are important.
Analyzing and visual programming internet of things and autonomous decentralized systems

Abstract The development of Internet of Things, fueled by cloud computing and big data processing from upper level, and by ubiquitous sensory and actuator devices from the lower level, has taken a sharp turn towards integrating the entire information, computing, communication, and control systems. This special issue selected seven papers from the 2015 IEEE twelfth International Symposium on Autonomous Decentralized Systems (ISADS). These papers cover the latest research on IoT and ADS based system science and system engineering methods; the wearable sensor network development and applications; and data analysis for security and reliability in IoT and ADS applications. As an addition to these selected topics, this guest editorial paper also adds IoT education and dissemination aspects to this special issue. As the IoT research and applications expand explosively into all the domains, schools and universities must prepare students to understand and to be able to program the IoT devices. This paper presents a visual programming environment that allows students without programming background to learn the key concepts of computing and IoT devices, and to program IoT devices into different application systems.
HPV Vaccination: Overcoming Parental and Physician Impediments.

Family physicians have an opportunity to significantly reduce rates of cervical and oropharyngeal cancers with a safe and effective HPV vaccine. We should listen and address parental concerns, but also strongly recommend all childhood immunizations and use every opportunity to administer them.
Cholinergic and noncholinergic submucosal neurons dilate arterioles in guinea pig colon

Outside diameter of isolated submucosal arterioles in guinea pig colon were monitored to examine vasodilator innervation to these gastrointestinal microvessels. Electrical stimulation of intrinsic submucosal ganglia dilated submucosal arterioles that had been preconstricted with vasopressin or norepinephrine. In approximately 50% of arterioles examined, the muscarinic receptor antagonist 4-diphenylacetoxy-N-methylpiperidine methiodide (4-DAMP, 10 nM) abolished nerve-evoked vasodilations; 4-DAMP (500 nM) only partially inhibited the response in the other 50%. No significant differences in the nerve-evoked vasodilations were observed after extrinsic denervation of sympathetic and sensory fibers and removal of myenteric neurons by surgical myectomy. Immunohistochemistry demonstrated both substance P (SP) and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) fiber projections to arterioles after sensory denervation and myectomy. Superfusion with muscarine and SP, but not with VIP or calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), also dilated the arterioles; concentrations of muscarine and SP producing half-maximal responses were 35 and 6 nM, respectively. However, local pressure ejection of both CGRP and VIP dilated the arterioles. The SP receptor antagonist [D-Arg1,D-Phe5,D-Trp7,9,Leu11]SP reduced vasodilations in response to ganglionic stimulation as well as to pressure ejection of both SP and VIP. This study demonstrates that submucosal arterioles in the guinea pig distal colon receive a cholinergic as well as a noncholinergic vasodilator input from neurons in the submucosal plexus. SP and VIP are both likely candidates as the noncholinergic vasodilator transmitter to colonic gastrointestinal microvessels.
Photoaffinity Labeling of Lysophosphatidylcholine Acyltransferase from Developing Castor Bean Endosperm

Acyltransferases play key roles in the biosynthesis of phospholipids and triacylglycerol. The membrane-bound acyltransferases have proven to be extremely recalcitrant to biochemical purification. We have used photoaffinity ligands bearing azido groups for site-directed covalent labeling of proteins [1]. The method described here opens up a new and potentially rewarding approach for the identification of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) acyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.23) from developing castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) endosperm using [(3-iodo-4-azidosalicyl)-12-amino]dodecanoyl-CoA (ASD-CoA) and [(3-iodo-4-azidosalicyl)-12-amino]dodecanoyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphocholine (N3-LPC). This enzyme catalyzes the acylation of LPC to form phosphatidylcholine (PC). It has been suggested that the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids in oilseeds may largely be controlled by the action of this acyltransferase [2].
Agency and Activism as Elements in a ‘Pedagogy of Hope’: Moving Beyond ‘This Class Is Depressing’

In classes that address gender and sex, students are asked to understand the roles these categories play in systems of social stratification. Whether they are already highly conscious of the effects of these systems through extended personal experience, or are coming to a new awareness of social inequity through our classes, students can have a negative affective reaction to this course content, finding it overwhelming, disempowering, and depressing. Inspired by bell hooks’ version of a “pedagogy of hope,” this paper considers the affective elements of learning, addressing the difficulties students can face with the emotional impact of course material. It also discusses several teaching strategies intended to help move students beyond the emotional crisis by making agency and activism explicit elements of the learning process.
Validity and Reliability Evidence of the Engineering Professional Responsibility Assessment Tool

Background The development of social responsibility is important for educating holistic engineers, able to work across social and cultural boundaries to solve complex social issues. A way is needed to measure effective interventions for increasing social responsibility. Purpose/Hypothesis This article describes the Engineering Professional Responsibility Assessment (EPRA) instrument and provides evidence of its usability, validity, and reliability. The EPRA measures students' social responsibility attitudes and operationalizes the professional social responsibility development model, which describes the development of personal and professional social responsibility in engineers. The EPRA is intended to be used by educators to assess curricular interventions aimed at changing students' views of social responsibility. Design/Method The EPRA was developed in an iterative manner, using five different survey administrations with adjustments made to the instrument between each. Data from the final survey with 1,000 student responses were used to develop evidence of validity through expert feedback, structural equation modeling, multidimensional item response theory, and convergent evidence of validity and evidence of reliability using ordinal alpha. Results Evidence of validity and reliability indicates the appropriateness of the EPRA to measure social responsibility attitudes in engineering students. Conclusions The evidence of reliability and validity shows that the EPRA may be a useful tool to assess engineering student views of social responsibility, changes in those views over time, and the effectiveness of educational interventions intended to affect these attitudes.
Abstract 12094: Transient Outward Current (Ito) Gain-of-Function Mutation, G600R, in the KCND3 --Encoded Kv4.3 Channel and Brugada Syndrome

Introduction: Brugada syndrome (BrS) is a sudden death predisposing genetic condition associated so far with mutations in 8 BrS-susceptibility genes and is believed to account for 20% of autopsy negative sudden unexplained death syndrome (SUDS) cases. Given the prominent role of the transient outward current (I to ) in BrS pathogenesis, we hypothesize that rare gain-of-function mutations in KCND3 may serve as a pathogenic substrate for BrS and SUDS even though no mutations in the KCND3 —encoded Kv4.3 α-subunit have been described. Methods: KCND3 comprehensive mutational analysis was conducted using PCR, DHPLC, and direct sequencing of DNA derived from 14 unrelated BrS patients (13 males, 36.0 ± 9.3 years, 70% white) and 122 unrelated SUDS cases (75 males, 17.5 ± 12.3 years, 89% white). DNA from 780 healthy individuals was examined to assess allelic frequency for all identified non-synonymous variants. The putative BrS- and SUDS-associated mutation was engineered by site directed mutagenesis and co-expressed with wild-type KChIP2 in HEK293 cells to re-capitulate the I to current. Wild-type and mutant I to currents were recorded using the whole cell patch clamp technique. Results: Both a BrS and SUDS case (2/136, 1.5%) hosted the same novel missense mutation, G600R, absent in > 1500 reference alleles (p 1 -V 3 , spontaneous atrial fibrillation, and a significant paternal family history of sudden death. The G600R-positive SUDS case was a 23-year-old male unexplained drowning victim with no significant past medical history. Both cases were BrS1–8 genotype negative. Co-expression of Kv4.3-G600R plus KChIP2-WT significantly increased I to current density from −20 mV to +40 mV compared to Kv4.3-WT plus KChIP2-WT (n = 14 and 10 for each group, p Conclusions: This study provides the first molecular and functional evidence implicating a KCND3 gain-of-function mutation in the pathogenesis of BrS and SUDS with the potential for a lethal arrhythmia being precipitated by a biogenic increase in I to current.
Hospital admission volume does not impact the in-hospital mortality of acute pancreatitis.

Abstract Background Multiple factors influence mortality in Acute Pancreatitis (AP). Methods To evaluate the association of demographic, clinical, and hospital factors with the in-hospital mortality of AP using a population-based administrative database. The Maryland HSCRC database was queried for adult (≥18 years) admissions with primary diagnosis of AP between 1/94-12/10. Organ failure (OF), interventions, hospital characteristics and referral status were evaluated. Results There were 72,601 AP admissions across 48 hospitals in Maryland with 885 (1.2%) deaths. A total of 1657 (2.3%) were transfer patients, of whom 101 (6.1%) died. Multisystem OF was present in 1078 (1.5%), of whom 306 (28.4%) died. On univariable analysis, age, male gender, transfer status, comorbidity, OF, all interventions, and all hospital characteristics were significantly associated with mortality; however, only age, transfer status, OF, interventions, and large hospital size were significant in the adjusted analysis. Patients with commercial health insurance had significantly less mortality than those with other forms of insurance (OR 0.65, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.82, p = 0.0002). Conclusion OF is the strongest predictor of mortality in AP after adjusting for demographic, clinical, and hospital characteristics. Admission to HV or teaching hospital has no survival benefit in AP after adjusting for OF and transfer status.
On magnetic plucking configurations for frequency up-converting mechanical energy harvesters

Abstract Magnetic plucking applies the strategy of frequency up-conversion in inertial energy harvesting when the energy source, such as human motion, provides excitations with very low and irregular frequencies. In a typical implementation, a slower moving inertial mass magnetically plucks a piezoelectric cantilever beam which converts mechanical energy to electrical energy at a higher frequency. We categorize several feasible magnet configurations to achieve plucking. We classify these as either in-plane (the beam is deflected in the plane of proof mass motion) or out-of-plane (the beam is deflected orthogonal to the plane of proof mass motion). Whereas in-plane plucking induces a clean ring down due to its inherent jump phenomenon, out-of-plane plucking enables the capability of fabricating multiple piezoelectric beams on a single substrate. This paper presents an analysis of three different out-of-plane plucking configurations along with the in-plane repulsive configuration based on a three-dimensional analytical cube permanent magnet model. We derive a magnetically plucked piezoelectric beam model to investigate the dynamic characteristic for different plucking configurations. After validating the model with experimental results we extend the simulation into a larger driving frequency domain to compare two types of magnet configurations in terms of power generation.
Statins in Cardio-Oncology

Statins are among the most widely prescribed pharmacological agents. Since first described in 1978 as hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG–CoA) reductase competitive inhibitor agents, statins have been the subject of extensive preclinical, animal, and clinical studies. Their utility and pleiotropic effects extend beyond lipid lowering effects in patients with hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Statins may be useful in cancer patients who may have traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as hyperlipidemia or have established ASCVD. Recently their use in oncology population has gained significant attention as a tumor suppressor agent or adjunct to chemotherapy. Some observational studies have suggested that statins may reduce cancer-related mortality and may have some protective effect from chemotherapy- and radiotherapy-induced cardiovascular toxicity. However, randomized controlled trials are needed to inform guidelines for using statins in oncology population for preventive and therapeutic goals.
Automatic Generation and Classification of Minimal Meaningful Propositions in Educational Systems

Truly effective and practical educational systems will only be achievable when they have the ability to fully recognize deep relationships between a learner’s interpretation of a subject and the desired conceptual understanding. In this paper, we take important steps in this direction by introducing a new representation of sentences – Minimal Meaningful Propositions (MMPs), which will allow us to significantly improve the mapping between a learner’s answer and the ideal response. Using this technique, we make significant progress towards highly scalable and domain independent educational systems, that will be able to operate without human intervention. Even though this is a new task, we show very good results both for the extraction of MMPs and for classification with respect to their importance.
Abstract P127: Angiotensin II Priming Enhances Prostaglandin E2 Vasoconstrictor Effects

Prostaglandins are key modulators of blood pressure and arterial tone. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), is a prostanoid that has vasodepressor effects; however, under certain circumstances PGE2 can induce vasopressor responses. Recent reports demonstrated that sub-threshold concentrations of vasoconstrictors augment PGE2-mediated constriction in rat femoral arteries. However, whether angiotensin II (Ang II) could affect PGE2-mediated contraction is not known. Using a wire myograph, we demonstrated that PGE2 had no significant effect on mouse femoral arterial rings at doses up to 1 μM. However, priming of arterial rings with 1 nM Ang II potentiated PGE2-evoked constriction in a concentration dependent manner (Area Under the Curve, AUCuntreated 1.784 ± 0.353, AUCAng II 23.27± 9.820, P<0.05). We tested femoral arteries from EP1, EP2, and EP3 receptor knockout mice. Only the EP3-/- arteries were unable to respond to PGE2 after Ang II priming (figure below). Pretreatment of arterial rings with 1 μM losartan, an angiotensin receptor antagonist, blocked PGE2-induced constrictor effects primed with Ang II (% of KCl, Ang II 21.72 ± 5.296, Ang II + losartan 3.025 ± 1.046, n=3). We have determined that re-addition of extracellular Ca2+ to a Ca2+-free artery restores PGE2-induced contractions (n=5) and that the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y-27632 blocks contraction (n=3). Taken together these data are consistent with angiotensin AT1 and prostaglandin EP3 receptors mediating a synergistic Rho-kinase-dependent contractile response. We are continuing to investigate the relationship between Ang II and PGE2 to determine the physiological relevance this may have in modulating blood pressure. ![][1] [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
The Finite Province of Humorous Meaning: Preliminary Clarifications, Tension of Consciousness, Epoché, and Form of Spontaneity

Humor possesses its aesthetic and subjective/objective dimensions, and its tension of consciousness is shown to be non-pragmatic, resistant to pragmatic seriousness. This lessened tension permits unconscious movements and affects to surface in oblique and disguised ways and depends upon spontaneous, passive associations that predominate over willed reactions, as the psychological theories of Freud and Bergson suggest. A comic epoche, which can include comic times and places, transposes interlocutors into the humorous province, within which they are withdrawn from everyday life and yet find themselves capable of penetrating insight into it insofar as what is familiar is defamiliarized. The form of spontaneity of humor can involve an intertwining of humorous and pragmatic intentional strands (as when one uses humor to achieve mastery over another person or group). The emancipation from pragmatic imperatives, then, results not only from adopting the humorous attitude but in finding oneself comic through the eyes of another different from oneself. Humor diminishes anxieties about death and failures at pragmatic mastery. It relies more on communicative signs than theory does and less on symbols than the religious province of meaning.
The Demagogue's Mechanism: Groups, Space, and the Mind

These cognitive underpinnings of prejudice do not depend on individual differences, for everyone must categorize, in order to function. “Orderly living depends on it” (Allport, 1954). Categorization thus must vary, if it varies, according to context. – Susan Fiske Why does social geography affect our behavior? Why can it lead to group-based bias? Why is it so powerful that it can overcome the forces of the modern world that work to close the spaces between us? In this chapter, I will answer these questions. It is the centrality of both groups and space in the mind that helps to explain why group-based biases – taking forms as disparate as voter turnout and violent conflict – are affected by social geography. Groups are a central part of the way our minds organize the world. Space is, too. Within our minds, space acts as a demagogue, shaping our mental images of groups. Not long ago, I boarded a flight from Boston to Washington, DC. Across the aisle was a light-skinned Arab woman in a hijab, the Muslim headscarf, and her Black Muslim husband. Despite all my best intentions as a liberal – one married to a Muslim woman, no less – that simple blue scarf turned my mind to every negative stereotype about the danger of Muslims on planes. When our own prejudices are laid bare, we realize how easily negative stereotypes can be brought to the surface. This is an awful, awful way to react to somebody. I have in-laws who detest flying because they are aware of the prejudices their fellow travelers have about them. Near the end of the short flight, I looked over and saw the woman unwrapping her headscarf and thought to myself, “She must not be very religious if she will adjust her scarf in public.” But rather, it turned out, as far as I know, that she wasn't Muslim or Arab at all. She was just a non-Muslim woman with a scarf around her head, tucked in a certain way that made it look like a hijab. This event stuck in my memory because it was remarkable to feel the accessibility of my stereotypes change so quickly, away from those associated with a Muslim woman and toward those associated with a non-Muslim, “American” woman married to a Black man.
DECAY OF 13.2-h /sup 87m/Y, 80.3-h /sup 87g/Y, AND 2.83-h /sup 87m/Sr.

The decays of $^{87m}\mathrm{Sr}$ and the isomers of $^{87}\mathrm{Y}$ have been investigated using Ge(Li) and Si(Li) $\ensuremath{\gamma}$- and x-ray detectors and a Si(Li) electron and positron detector. Half-lifes of 13.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.2, 80.3\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3, and 2.83\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.05 h have been determined for $^{87m}\mathrm{Y}$, $^{87g}\mathrm{Y}$, and $^{87m}\mathrm{Sr}$, respectively. Positron branching has been observed from $^{87m}\mathrm{Y}$ with an intensity of 0.75% to the ground state of $^{87}\mathrm{Sr}$, and from $^{87g}\mathrm{Y}$ to $^{87m}\mathrm{Sr}$ with an intensity of 0.16%. The maximum ${\ensuremath{\beta}}^{+}$ energy in the decay of $^{87m}\mathrm{Y}$ was determined to be 1150\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}40 keV. The electron-capture branch from $^{87m}\mathrm{Sr}$ to $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ has been measured as 0.30\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.08%. $\mathrm{Log}\mathrm{ft}$ values have been computed and $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay hindrances discussed. The systematic variations in $M4$ half-lives are also discussed.
Social and Familial Childrearing: An Examination of Daycare and the Modern Family:

American families' need for out-of-home childcare increases at an accelerated rate each year; yet our society lacks a policy for—and even a national commitment to—high-quality daycare. Such a natio...
DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS WITHOUT LINEAR TERMS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses differential equations without linear terms. It has been conjectured that systems are locally topologically equivalent at 0 if 0 is a “canonical” hyperbolic point of differential equation. This has now been shown if f satisfies additional conditions; there are counterexamples if these conditions are not met. This has now been extended to give an algebraic characterization of the linearizability of a matrix Riccati system. Algebras for the general case m > 2 have also been defined and the nilpotents and idempotents used to give a topological algebraic characterization of in the two-dimensional case (n = 2).
Circulating microRNAs are upregulated following acute aerobic exercise in obese individuals.

Abstract Introduction/purpose MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of non-coding RNAs, are involved in the regulation of gene expression and numerous biological processes, including inflammation and metabolism in obese populations. Emerging research indicates that physical activity provides health-related benefits in obesity-associated inflammatory diseases. This study examined how acute aerobic exercise would mediate the changes in plasma level of inflammation-related circulating miRNA (ci-miRNA) expression (miR-21, miR-126, miR-130b, miR-221, and miR-222) in obese and normal-weight subjects. Methods Twenty-four subjects (12 obese and 12 normal-weight) were recruited to participate in a 30-min aerobic exercise (75% VO2max). Blood samples were taken prior to exercise, immediately following exercise, 1 h, and 2 h into recovery for analysis of target ci-miRNAs in plasma. Results A higher baseline levels of ci-miRNAs (miR-126, miR-130b, miR-221, and miR-222) were found in obese subjects than normal-weight subjects. In response to acute aerobic exercise, obese subjects exhibited a higher increase in plasma level of all ci-miRNAs: miR-21, miR-126, miR-130b, miR-221 and miR-222, even after controlling for VO2max and insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Furthermore, all miRNA area-under-the curves “with respect to increase” (AUCi) were higher in obese subjects and also positively correlated with each other, even after controlling for VO2max and HOMA-IR. Conclusion These findings indicate that acute aerobic exercise elicits a higher elevation in plasma level of inflammatory ci-miRNAs in obese than normal-weight individuals, irrespective of cardiorespiratory fitness and indicator of metabolic syndrome (HOMA-IR).
The Swampland Spectrum Conjecture in Inflation

The quantum gravity conjectures that aim to separate the landscape from the swampland among the low energy theories were originally formulated in the context of scalar field spaces spanned by moduli. Because these conjectures have implications for cosmology they have recently been considered in a more general context for scalar field theories with potentials, in particular inflation. From an effective field theory perspective the presence of a potential induces a natural metric that makes the distance measure $D_V$ along scalar field trajectories dependent on the potential. The present paper proposes a modified formulation in terms of $D_V$ of those conjectures that involve trajectory distances.
A TeamSTEPPS® implementation plan for recently assigned interns and nurses.

Interns and newly assigned nurses are expected to assimilate rapidly and begin functioning as members of interprofessional teams. This mixed-method pilot research assessed the impact of a Team Stra...
Incidence, Predictors, and Outcomes of In-Hospital Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting.

AbstractBackground: Post-operative acute coronary ischemia is an uncommon complication of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). However, data on the incidence and outcomes of early coronary ische...
Finepoints: Partitioned Multithreaded MPI Communication

The MPI multithreading model has been historically difficult to optimize; the interface that it provides for threads was designed as a process-level interface. This model has led to implementations that treat function calls as critical regions and protect them with locks to avoid race conditions. We hypothesize that an interface designed specifically for threads can provide superior performance than current approaches and even outperform single-threaded MPI.
Flame Synthesis of Nanostructured Transition Metal Oxides: Trends, Developments, and Recent Advances

Abstract This chapter focuses on the application of flames for the synthesis of transition metal oxide (TMO) nanostructures. It contains trends, developments, and recent advances in the flame synthesis of TMOs. TMOs are among the most highly sought-after nanomaterials owing to their unique properties. It has been shown that by the simple conversion of a bulk material into tiny structures a remarkable modification of their properties relative to their bulk can occur. Additionally, the alteration of the elemental composition of the nano- and micron-sized structures (i.e., 1D and 3D) from its bulk material can significantly enhance the material properties, fostering many innovative applications. Historically, flames have been used for the synthesis of TMOs at the industrial scale. These flame processes introduce the source material in the form of aerosol or flame spray pyrolysis. These methods have resulted in synthesis aggregates and powders composed of chain-like spheroidal primary particles. Most recently it has been shown that the manipulation of some parameters (e.g., flame chemistry and temperature, introduction of source material, etc.) can result in the flame synthesis of TMOs with unique morphology and dimensionality. Recent research has led to the flame synthesis of more exotic TMOs, including core–shell and well-mixed TMOs. A brief introduction to the properties and applications of nano-sized TMOs along with a brief description of conventional methods for their synthesis are presented.
Gene therapy for atrial fibrillation - How close to clinical implementation?

Abstract In this review we examine the current state of gene therapy for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. We describe advances and challenges in successfully creating and incorporating gene vectors into the myocardium. After summarizing the current scientific research in gene transfer technology we then focus on the most promising areas of gene therapy, the treatment of atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachyarrhythmias. We review the scientific literature to determine how gene therapy could potentially be used to treat patients with cardiac arrhythmias.
Representation of Women Among Invited Speakers at Medical Specialty Conferences

Background: Gender-related differences have been found among invited speakers in select professional and medical societies. We examined whether similar disparities existed among keynote speakers, p...
Validation of the Integrative Hope Scale in a Chinese college student population

Recently, the Integrative Hope Scale (HIS) was developed and validated in several Western cultures. Because of its multidimensional structure and its relational components, we wondered if IHS could...
Testbed for Real Time Control and Parameter Estimation

The electromagnetic constants of permanent magnet synchronous motors used in vector control equations are typically determined during manufacturing for each individual motor. AC electric motor control is widely needed and used in industrial applications, including process industry and robotic. automation. In practical applications, motor parameters can be changed broadly depending on environment and conditions. However, these motor parameters are not actually constant, but have some small variance depending on the context of use. Therefore, it is beneficial for motor control & power efficiency to have a way to accurately estimate and update these parameters in real-time, thus further optimizing motor performance. The goal of this project is to design a real-time control and parameter estimation technology for a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors and drive.
Isolation of TSCD11 Gene for Early Chloroplast Development under High Temperature in Rice.

Chloroplasts are essential for photosynthesis and play key roles in plant development. High temperature affects structure of chloroplasts and metabolism in plants. The seryl-tRNA synthetase plays an important role in translation of proteins. Although seryl-tRNA synthetase has been widely studied in microbes and animals, few studies have reported about its role in chloroplast development under high temperature in rice. In this study, we isolated a novel temperature-sensitive chlorophyll-deficient 11 (tscd11) mutant by ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) mutagenesis of japonica variety Wuyujing7. The tscd11 mutant developed albino leaves at the 3-leaf stage under high temperature (35 °C), but had normal green leaves under low temperature (25 °C). Consistent with the albino phenotype, impaired chloroplasts, decreased chlorophyll content and increased ROS accumulation were found in the tscd11 mutant at 35 °C. Fine mapping and DNA sequencing of tscd11 revealed a missense mutation (G to A) in the eighth exon of LOC_Os11g39670 resulted in amino acid change (Glu374 to Lys374). The TSCD11 gene encodes a seryl-tRNA synthetase localized to chloroplast. Complementation test confirmed that the point mutation in TSCD11 is responsible for the phenotype of tscd11. TSCD11 is highly expressed in leaves. Compared with the wild type (WT), mutation in TSCD11 led to significant alteration in expression levels of genes associated with chlorophyll biosynthesis, photosynthesis and chloroplast development under high temperature. TSCD11, encoding a seryl-tRNA synthetase localized to chloroplast, is vital to early chloroplast development at high temperature in rice, which help to further study on the molecular mechanism of chloroplast development under high temperature.
Introduction. Vulnerability and Victimhood in Mexico’s War on Drugs: A Human Rights Crisis

The book analyzes the political potential of the vulnerability of undocumented migrants, journalists, and mourning relatives of victims of severe crimes in cultural productions about the current human rights crisis caused by the War on Drugs in Mexico. To frame the selected fiction and non-fiction narratives of vulnerability, I characterize the War on Drugs as a “necropolitics” enforced by state and non-state actors who seek to administer the different criminal markets by expanding their power to the control of territories, information, and society. Following Judith Butler, vulnerability does not cancel out resistance. With this in mind, I attest to the political potential that vulnerability harbors for thinking about victims’ survival strategies and these three groups’ modes of organization and collective action against this necropolitical power.
The effects of nicotine and cannabis co-use during adolescence and young adulthood on white matter cerebral blood flow estimates.

Co-use of cannabis and nicotine is common among adolescents/young adults and is associated with poorer psychological and physical outcomes, compared with single substance use. Little is known about the impact of co-use on the developing brain. Preliminary investigation of the effects of nicotine on white matter (WM) cerebral blood flow (CBF) in adolescents/young adults and its potential moderation by cannabis use. Adolescent/young adult (16–22 years old) nicotine and tobacco product users (NTP; N = 37) and non-nicotine users (non-NTP; N = 26) underwent a neuroimaging session comprised of anatomical, optimized pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling, and diffusion tensor imaging scans. Groups were compared on whole-brain WM CBF estimates and their relation to past-year cannabis use. Follow-up analyses assessed correlations between identified CBF clusters and corresponding fractional anisotropy (FA) values. Group by cannabis effects were observed in five clusters (voxel-wise alpha < 0.001, cluster-wise alpha < 0.05; ≥ 11 contiguous voxels): non-NTP exhibited positive correlations between CBF and cannabis use in all clusters, whereas no significant relationships were observed for NTP. Greater CBF extracted from one cluster (including portions of right superior longitudinal fasciculus) was associated with reduced FA for non-NTP group only. This is the first investigation of WM health as indexed by CBF, and its association with FA, in adolescents/young adults with nicotine and/or cannabis use. Results suggest that cannabis use by itself may be related to increased CBF in WM fiber tracts demonstrating poorer structural intergrity, yet the occurrence of even infrequent NTP use (greater than once per month) appears to diminish this relationship.
Distance from the endocrinology clinic and diabetes control in a rural pediatric population.

Objective We analyzed the impact of geographic distance from the clinic on adherence to recommended clinic visits and diabetes control among patients with type 1 diabetes (T1D) seen in a pediatric endocrinology clinic serving a rural region in eastern North Carolina. Methods We retrospectively included patients with T1D age ≤20 years seen in our clinic during 2017. Outcomes were tracked until June 2018. Distance from the clinic was determined according to the zone improvement plan (ZIP) code of patient address. Visit adherence was defined based on the number of attended visits during the study period, aiming for 1 every 3 months. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was measured at the first and last visits during the review period. Results The analysis included 368 patients, of whom 218 (59%) completed at least 1 visit every 3 months. The median HbA1c was 9.1 (interquartile range [IQR]: 8.0, 10.3) at the initial visit, and 9.3 (IQR: 8.0, 11.1) at the final visit. Median distance from the clinic was 56 km (IQR: 35, 86). On multivariable logistic regression, greater distance from the clinic was associated with lower odds of visit adherence (odds ratio per 10 km: 0.93; 95% confidence interval: 0.87, 0.99; p=0.030). Neither distance to the clinic nor clinic visit adherence were associated with HbA1c. Conclusions Patients living further away from the clinic were less likely to adhere to the recommended visit schedule, but distance was not correlated with HbA1c levels. Further work is needed to assist families living far from the clinic with adhering to recommended visits.
Genetically regulated expression underlies cellular sensitivity to chemotherapy in diverse populations.

Most cancer chemotherapeutic agents are ineffective in a subset of patients; thus, it is important to consider the role of genetic variation in drug response. Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) in 1000 Genomes Project populations of diverse ancestries are a useful model for determining how genetic factors impact the variation in cytotoxicity. In our study, LCLs from three 1000 Genomes Project populations of diverse ancestries were previously treated with increasing concentrations of eight chemotherapeutic drugs, and cell growth inhibition was measured at each dose with half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) or area under the dose-response curve (AUC) as our phenotype for each drug. We conducted both genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and transcriptome-wide association studies (TWAS) within and across ancestral populations. We identified four unique loci in GWAS and three genes in TWAS to be significantly associated with the chemotherapy-induced cytotoxicity within and across ancestral populations. In the etoposide TWAS, increased STARD5 predicted expression associated with decreased etoposide IC50 (P = 8.5 × 10-8). Functional studies in A549, a lung cancer cell line, revealed that knockdown of STARD5 expression resulted in the decreased sensitivity to etoposide following exposure for 72 (P = 0.033) and 96 h (P = 0.0001). By identifying loci and genes associated with cytotoxicity across ancestral populations, we strive to understand the genetic factors impacting the effectiveness of chemotherapy drugs and to contribute to the development of future cancer treatment.
Bilateral metallic hip implants: Are avoidance sectors necessary for pelvic VMAT treatments?

Abstract Purpose Metallic hip implants (MHI) are common in elderly patients. For pelvic cancers radiotherapy , conventional approaches consist of MHI avoidance during treatment planning, which leads, especially in case of bilateral MHI, to a decreased quality or increased complexity of the treatment plan. The aim of this study is to investigate the necessity of using avoidance sectors (AvSe) using a 2-arcs coplanar pelvic volumetric modulated arc-therapy (VMAT) planning. Methods We evaluated: (1) The dose calculation error of a static 6 MV open beam traversing a MHI; (2) The magnitude of an error's decrease within the planning target volume (PTV) for a 360° VMAT treatment without AvSe as compared to the static open beam; (3) The dosimetric influence of MHI misalignment generated by patient's repositioning rolls during image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT). Results (1) In the static 6 MV beam configuration, for distances between 0.5 cm and 6 cm from the MHI, the median (maximum, number of points) dose calculation error was −1.55% (−2.5%, 11); (2) Compared to the static open beam, in the 360° VMAT treatment without AvSe a simulated error was decreased by a factor of 4.4/2.4 (median/minimum); (3) MHI anterior-posterior misalignment exceeding 0.6 cm, resulted in error at PTV surface of >2%. Conclusions A standard 2 coplanar arcs 360° VMAT treatment, with dedicated artifact reduction algorithms applied, decreased the error of static beam traversing MHI, in patients presenting a bilateral MHI and might be used to treat the pelvic region without MHI avoidance.
Mourning and Memory in the Age of COVID-19

Contemporary disasters are frequently accompanied by a rush to memorialization. Although there have been significant grassroots efforts to memorialize the tremendous losses that the United States has sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been no coordinated national commemoration, no single place or moment that has channeled public grief in a genuinely collective manner. While acknowledging the political dynamics at play, I also go beyond them to consider the challenges that COVID-19 poses for meaning-making: how it creates obstacles to both ritual and narrativization. Drawing on literary approaches to sociology, I consider how the discipline can respond humanely to ongoing disruption and the protracted sense of liminality that it creates.