cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Successful Treatment of Pseudomonas cepacia Endocarditis with Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole

A patient with a history of alcoholism and drug abuse who developed Pseudomonas cepacia endocarditis is described. The organism was found to be resistant in vitro to all common antimicrobial agents except chloramphenicol and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Treatment failed with penicillin and streptomycin and later with chloramphenicol. Orally administered trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, however, resulted in sterilization of the patient's blood and aortic valve which was resected 27 days after the start of therapy. A 6-week course of therapy was completed and, to date (6 months after treatment), there has been no recurrence.
Overwhelmed by smartphones? A qualitative investigation into mobile information overload

In this poster, we describe the concept of mobile information overload – a type of information overload that comes along with the increasingly ubiquitous use of mobile devices and mobile information and communication technologies. We also identify key issues around mobile information overload based on the literature and present the results of a pilot study that investigates (1) how people experience mobile information overload, (2) what factors cause mobile information overload, and (3) what coping strategies people use to mitigate the problem.
US high-technology export controls in a changed global environment, firm size, and competitiveness

Summary form only as given. With policies that impose barriers to export sales that do not exist for domestic sales, exporting of high technology products with actual or potential military applications have faced different treatment in the United States, for national security reasons. This paper explored the direct and indirect implications of high-technology export controls for the high-technology industry, by firm size and the overall US economy, using a fully specified recursive regression model on time series data for a 15 year period. An indirect effect is observed-whereby the export performance of particularly small high technology firms which appears to contribute positively to US global competitiveness, is adversely affected by export controls. Intuitively, small firms may depend more on direct export sales than the big firms which have other means (foreign direct investment, the use of overseas affiliates for foreign sales, etc.) of reaching international markets.
Subacute Pb Exposure During Development and Unbaited Tunnel Maze Performance in Mice

Although research has linked chronic, low-level Pb exposure to behavioral and cognitive changes in humans and animals, far less is known about the effects of transient, subchronic Pb exposure during early postnatal development. The need to understand such effects is underscored by the possibility that subchronic Pb exposure may not produce chronically elevated blood-Pb levels, but may produce long-term behavioral changes. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of low-level Pb exposure on unbaited tunnel maze performance in Binghamton Heterogeneous Stock mice. Mice were either nontreated or given subchronic sodium acetate, 5, 10, or 25 mg/kg Pb acetate intragastrically on postnatal (PN) days 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. No further Pb exposures were given after postnatal day 18. Blood-Pb measurements were taken from selected mice on PN 18, 19, 23, 28, and 38. On PN 38-42, all mice were individually tested in an unbaited tunnel maze under nondeprived conditions. Locomotor activity, exploration, and experience-dependent changes in cul-de-sac entries were recorded. Although Pb did not affect bodyweight and blood-Pb levels were below 10 microg/dl at the time of behavioral testing, a history of low-level preweaning Pb exposure caused a dose-dependent increase in cul-de-sac entries. This behavioral change was dissociable from changes in bodyweight, degree of exploration or an a priori bias to enter cul-de-sacs. The current results support the hypothesis that brief, subchronic Pb exposure during development produces behavioral changes that last well beyond the exposure period, even when blood Pb declines to within "acceptable" levels (l0 microg/dl).
Fe-based Fischer-Tropsch synthesis catalysts containing carbide-forming transition metal promoters

Abstract Surprisingly, although the impacts of promoters such as K and Cu on the activity of Fe catalysts have been studied extensively, the effects of many other potential promoters for Fe catalysts similar to the commercial Ruhrchemie catalyst have not been significantly investigated or compared directly in a comprehensive study reported in the literature. In this study, the impact of adding various different transition metals (Cr, Mn, Mo, Ta, V, W, and Zr) on the catalytic properties of precipitated bulk Fe-based catalysts was investigated using the same preparation method and reaction conditions. All of the Fe catalysts prepared in this study exhibited high BET surface areas with excellent metal distributions. The addition of the third metal in addition of Fe and Cu (all except W) increased the activity of the Fe catalyst for CO hydrogenation and for the water–gas shift (WGS) reaction, with Cr-, Mn- and Zr-promoted Fe-based catalysts exhibiting the highest catalytic activities. However, hydrocarbon selectivity was not affected by the presence or type of added third metal. The enhanced activity of the Fe catalyst by third metal promotion (with the exception of Mn and Zr) appears to have been primarily due to a higher degree of Fe dispersion on the surface of catalyst whereas the higher activities observed for Mn- and Zr-promoted Fe catalysts were especially due to higher TOF chem values based on CO chemisorption.
Computational methods for electric power systems

Introduction The Solution of Linear Systems Gaussian Elimination LU Factorization Condition Numbers and Error Propagation Relaxation Methods Conjugate Gradient Methods Generalized Minimal Residual Algorithm (GMRES) Systems of Nonlinear Equations Fixed Point Iteration Newton-Raphson Iteration Continuation Methods Secant Method Numerical Differentiation Power System Applications Sparse Matrix Solution Techniques Storage Methods Sparse Matrix Representation Ordering Schemes Power System Applications Numerical Integration One-Step Methods Multistep Methods Accuracy and Error Analysis Numerical Stability Analysis Stiff Systems Step-Size Selection Differential-Algebraic Equations Power System Applications Optimization Least Squares State Estimation Linear Programming Nonlinear Programming Power System Applications Eigenvalue Problems The Power Method The QR Algorithm Arnoldi Methods Singular Value Decomposition Modal Identification Power System Applications
Wetland Restoration and Invasive Species: Apple snail (Pomacea insularum) Feeding on Native and Invasive Aquatic Plants

The apple snail Pomacea insularum is an aquatic invasive gastropod native to South America that has the potential to cause harm to aquatic ecosystems, wetland restoration, and agriculture. To predict the potential impact of this snail on aquatic ecosystems, we tested the feeding rate of P. insularum, under laboratory nonchoice experiments, for 3 species of invasive macrophytes and 13 species of native aquatic plants that are important for wetland restoration and health. High levels of consumption were recorded for four native species (Ceratophyllum demersum, Hymenocallis liriosme, Ruppia maritima, and Sagittaria lancifolia) and three invasive species (Colocasia esculenta, Alternanthera philoxeroides, and Eichhornia crassipes). In contrast, less than 10% of the biomass of Spartina alterniflora, Scirpus californicus, Thalia dealbata, and Typha latifolia was consumed by P. insularum over the test period. The palatability of macrophytes was negatively correlated with dry matter content, making our results generalizable to all regions where this invader may be present. Based on our results, wetland restoration in areas invaded by P. insularum should focus on emergent structural species with low palatability. Apple snails should not be considered as agents of biocontrol for invasive plants; although apple snails fed on invasive plants at a high rate, their consumption of many native species was even greater.
CT colonography: does it satisfy the necessary criteria for a colorectal screening test?

Existing and emerging colorectal screening tests can be assessed in terms of the key categories of diagnostic performance, procedural risks, patient acceptability, and cost-effectiveness. To push a new screening test to acceptance, it need not outperform existing strategies in all of these criteria. Rather, a relative advantage in one criterion combined with acceptable performance in the others may be considered adequate. For computed tomographic colonography (CTC), a strong case can be made that this test meets or exceeds optical colonoscopy, the current screening standard, in all of these categories. Published data, including our own experience with CTC screening, will be reviewed to support this claim. Reasons why CTC has not yet achieved its full potential as a valuable screening test for colorectal cancer prevention will also be considered.
Production of chimeras in the deer mouse Peromyscus maniculatus bairdi

The production of intraspecific chimeras in the deer mouse, Peromyscus maniculatus, was undertaken to make mammals of another genus useful for studies of reproductive biology, developmental genetics, and embryonic development. Peromyscus was generally amenable to the same experimental procedures and techniques employed in producing Mus musculus chimeras. We found that Peromyscus embryos could be successfully manipulated and cultred in vitro. Fertilized eggs and 2-cell embryos continue cleavage when cultured in vitro and form morulae and blastocysts. Almost all the 4- and 8-cell embryos that were aggregated remained together and developed, after 1 day of culture in vitro, to form chimeric morulae and blastocysts. However, certain changes had to be made in the chimera-making procedure employed for M. musculus to accomodate some of the differences in reproductive physiology and behavior of Peromyscus. The methods for the preparation of donor females and of foster mothers had to be modified in order to obtain embryos on the scheduled day of the experiment, and to obtain pseudopregnant foster mothers. With these revised precedures, three P. m. bairdi chimeras were produced. Two are healthy fertile males displaying chimerism in the fur. The other chimera was delivered dead at 17 days of gestation, after its foster mother died. Chimerism was detected in the retinal epithelium of the eye by the presence of black pigmented patches contributed by the wild-type genotype, and unpigmented patches, contributed by the blonde mutant genotype. By developing the procedures enabling the production of the first chimeras in this genus, we have demonstrated that Peromyscus is a suitable animal for exacting technical manipulations in the laboratory.
Optics measurement resolution and BPM errors

We study the impact of BPM resolution on optics measurements at various levels of complexity: (1) Formula linking a given distribution of BPM resolutions to the degree of precision to which any beam trajectory can be determined based on these BPM's. (2). Formula for the precision achievable in a generalized experimental scheme measuring transfer matrices in the presence of (potentially coupled) orbit errors. (3) Formula constructed from results of (1) and (2) to relate the precision of the transfer matrix measurement to the signal-to-noise ratio of the BPM system. (4) Criterion defined to summarize how well the overall optical behavior of a large modular beam transport system can be quantified. The results from (1), (2) and (3) are used to arrive at the final analytical expression providing a generic criterion on BPM resolution for such systems. Realistic examples are discussed.
Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Blocks Caspase-3-Independent and Caspase-Dependent Pathways to Cell Death

Earlier reports have shown that herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) mutants induce programmed cell death and that wild-type HSV blocks the execution of the cell death program triggered by viral gene products, by the effectors of the immune system such as the Fas and tumor necrosis factor pathways, or by nonspecific stress agents such as either osmotic shock induced by sorbitol or thermal shock. A report from this laboratory showed that caspase inhibitors do not block DNA fragmentation induced by infection with the HSV-1 d120 mutant. To identify the events in programmed cell death induced and blocked by HSV-1, we examined cells infected with wild-type virus or the d120 mutant or cells infected and exposed to sorbitol. We report that: (i) the HSV-1 d120 mutant induced apoptosis by a caspase-3-independent pathway inasmuch as caspase 3 was not activated and DNA fragmentation was not blocked by caspase inhibitors even though the virus caused cytochrome c release and depolarization of the inner mitochondrial membrane. (ii) Cells infected with wild-type HSV-1 exhibited none of the manifestations associated with programmed cell death assayed in these studies. (iii) Uninfected cells exposed to osmotic shock succumbed to caspase-dependent apoptosis inasmuch as cytochrome c was released, the inner mitochondrial potential was lost, caspase-3 was activated, and chromosomal DNA was fragmented. (iv) Although caspase-3 was activated in cells infected with wild-type HSV-1 and exposed to sorbitol, cytochrome c outflow, depolarization of the inner mitochondrial membrane, and DNA fragmentation were blocked. We conclude that although d120 induces apoptosis by a caspase-3-independent pathway, the wild-type virus blocks apoptosis induced by this pathway and also blocks the caspase-dependent pathway induced by osmotic shock. The block in the caspase-dependent pathway may occur downstream of caspase-3 activation.
Connecting with customers: A better strategy for customer satisfaction in Indian call centers

The Indian call center workers of a large computer manufacturer receive lower customer service ratings than their America counterparts despite superior repair outcomes. Indian call center managers are unable to bridge the gap between the customer service ratings of their Indian call centers and American call centers despite accent training and significantly more technical training. This study uses a quantitative coding system to identity one technique that successful Indian call center workers used to improve the customer experience. This work in progress describes the technique and provides examples. It also examines the effect the technique has on customer satisfaction in the small data set of call center calls the study examines. Finally, this study seeks to identify ways to verify the success of the technique and pursue further research.
Design and Implementation of an Inexpensive LIDAR Scanning System with Applications in Archaeology

This paper describes the development of a system and associated software capable of capturing 3D LIDAR data from surfaces up to 20m from the sensor. The chief concern of this initial system is to minimize cost which, for this initial system, is approximately $10.5k (USD). Secondary considerations for the system include portability, robustness, and size. The system hardware consists of two motors and a single-point sensor, capable of measuring the range of a single surface point location. The motors redirect the emitted laser along lines nearly equivalent to that specified by a spherical coordinate system generating a spherical range image, r = f ( φ, θ). This article describes the technical aspects of the scanner design which include a bill-of-materials for the scanner components and the mathematical model for the measured 3D point data. The designed system was built in 2007 and has since been used in the field twice: (1) for scanning ruins and underground cisterns within Mayan cities near Merida, Mexico and (2) for scanning the ruins of a Crusader castle at Apollonia-Arsuf, located on the Mediterranean shore near Herzliya, Israel. Using this system in these vastly different environments has provided a number of useful insights or "best practices" on the use of inexpensive LIDAR sensors which are discussed in this paper. We also discuss a measurement model for the generated data and an efficient and easy-to-implement algorithm for polygonizing the measured 3D (x,y, z) data. Specific applications of the developed system to archaeological and anthropological problems are discussed.
The Cat as a Model for Human Obesity and Diabetes

Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder of cats and is a risk factor for diabetes. Similar to developments in obese people, obese cats show peripheral tissue insulin resistance and may demonstrate glucose intolerance when challenged with pharmacological amounts of glucose. However, they compensate well for the insulin resistance and do not show elevated glucose concentrations when monitored during their regular daily routine, including postprandial periods. This is possible because obese cats in the fasted and postprandial state are able to maintain hepatic insulin sensitivity and decrease endogenous glucose production, which allows them to maintain normoglycemia. Also dissimilar to what is seen in many obese humans, cats do not develop atherosclerosis and clinical hypertension. The time course for progression to overt diabetes of obese cats is unknown. One might speculate that diabetes develops when the liver finally becomes insulin resistant and/or insulin secretion becomes too low to overcome increased glucose production. In addition, amyloid, demonstrated to be deposited in islet of chronically obese cats, may contribute to a reduction in insulin secretion by reducing functional β-cell mass.
Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles are not Cytotoxic or Clastogenic in Human Skin Cells

The application of nanoparticle technology is rapidly expanding. The reduced dimensionality of nanoparticles can give rise to changes in chemical and physical properties, often resulting in altered toxicity. People are exposed dermally to titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles in industrial and residential settings. The general public is increasingly exposed to these nanoparticles as their use in cosmetics, sunscreens and lotions expands. The toxicity of TiO2 nanoparticles towards human skin cells is unclear and understudied. We used a human skin fibroblast cell line to investigate the cytotoxicity and clastogenicity of TiO2 nanoparticles after 24 h exposure. In a clonogenic survival assay, treatments of 10, 50 and 100 μg/cm2 induced 97.8, 88.8 and 84.7% relative survival, respectively. Clastogenicity was assessed using a chromosomal aberration assay in order to determine whether TiO2 nanoparticles induced serious forms of DNA damage such as chromatid breaks, isochromatid lesions or chromatid exchanges. Treatments of 0, 10, 50 and 100 μg/cm2 induced 3.3, 3.0, 3.0 and 2.7% metaphases with damage, respectively. No isochromatid lesions or chromatid exchanges were detected. These data show that TiO2 nanoparticles are not cytotoxic or clastogenic to human skin cells.
Do Advance Directives Direct

Resolution of long-standing debates about the role and impact of advance directives—living wills and powers of attorney for health care—has been hampered by a dearth of appropriate data, in particular data that compare the process and outcomes of end-of-life decision making on behalf of patients with and without advance directives. Drawing on a large ethnographic study of patients in two intensive care units in a large urban teaching hospital, this article compares aspects of the medical decision-making process and outcomes by advance-directive status. Controlling for demographic char- acteristics and severity of illness, the study finds few significant differences between patients without advance directives and those who claim to have them. Surprisingly, these few differences hold only for those whose directives are in their hospital chart. There are no significant differences between those with no directive and those claiming to have a copy at home or elsewhere. The article considers the implications if direc- tives seemingly must be in hand even to show modest effects. Do advance direc- tives direct? The intensive care unit data provide far more support for the growing body of literature that casts doubt on their impact than studies that promote the use of them.
CONFLICT IN ACADEMIC DEPARTMENTS: AN ANALYSIS OF DISPUTES OVER FACULTY PROMOTION AND TENURE

Because the academic department is the foundational unit of U.S. universities, conflict in that setting is both theoretically and practically important. This analysis focuses on divisiveness in votes for promotion and tenure in departments at a large research university. The findings suggest that the departments most likely to experience very split voting patterns are those with larger instructional loads for faculty, low levels of internal curricular specialization, and “soft” disciplinary paradigms. The implications of these results for research and practice are discussed.
A Cage for Holding Female Tobacco Hornworms at Light Traps

Blacklight (BL) traps baited with virgin female tobacco hornworms, Manduca sexta (L.), collect appreciably more males than unbaited traps because of the attraction to the pheromone produced by the females (Hoffman et al. 1966). A test is planned in which baited traps will be used in an attempt to suppress populations of hornworms over an entire area. However, a necessary prerequisite for such a test is a container that will hold the female moths at the trap. Also, we wished to keep them alive as long as possible, since they produce the pheromone for at least the 1st 5 days of life (Cantelo and Smith 1971), and we would benefit greatly if they would not have to be replaced often. Ideally, such a container should be designed to permit them to feed and thus live their full life expectancy; however, this moth feeds only while it hovers in flight and, because of its 4-in.-long proboscis, must be substantially above the feeding site. Since it was not practicable to construct and install containers of sufficient size to permit feeding activity at each of the 250 traps that are to be used in the suppression experiment, we designed a cage that would permit them to live as long as possible without feeding.
Enhanced efficiency of internal combustion engines by employing spinning gas

The efficiency of the internal combustion engine might be enhanced by employing spinning gas. A gas spinning at near sonic velocities has an effectively higher heat capacity, which allows practical fuel cycles, which are far from the Carnot efficiency, to approach more closely the Carnot efficiency. A remarkable gain in fuel efficiency is shown to be theoretically possible for the Otto and Diesel cycles. The use of a flywheel, in principle, could produce even greater increases in efficiency.
Chemiluminescence Determination of Trace Amount of Dimethoate in Environmental Water Sample with Sequential Flow Injection

Based on the fact that in an acidic medium of HCl,intense chemiluminescence(CL)was induced by the oxidative reaction between Ce(Ⅳ)and the hydrolyzate of dimethoate produced in an alkaline solution of NaOH,and on the application of sequential injection(SI)technique,a method of SI-CL for determination of traces of dimethoate in environmental water samples was proposed.The tri-zone injection mode was used and the related reagents and water sample were combined in 3portions as follws:(a)0.3mol·L-1 NaOH solution and 8g·L-1HPC solution,(b)water sample and(c)0.035mol·L-1 Ce(Ⅳ)solution and 1.2mol·L-1 HCl solution,with their injection volumes of(a)200μL,(b)200μL and(c)80μL.Values of intensity of CL was found to keep linear relationship with mass concentration of dimethoate in 2ranges of 1to 100μg·L-1 and 100 to 800μg·L-1,with detection limit(3σ)of 0.17μg·L-1.Values of recovery found were in the range of 85.7%to 119%.
Phage selection restores antibiotic sensitivity in MDR Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Increasing prevalence and severity of multi-drug-resistant (MDR) bacterial infections has necessitated novel antibacterial strategies. Ideally, new approaches would target bacterial pathogens while exerting selection for reduced pathogenesis when these bacteria inevitably evolve resistance to therapeutic intervention. As an example of such a management strategy, we isolated a lytic bacteriophage, OMKO1, (family Myoviridae) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that utilizes the outer membrane porin M (OprM) of the multidrug efflux systems MexAB and MexXY as a receptor-binding site. Results show that phage selection produces an evolutionary trade-off in MDR P. aeruginosa, whereby the evolution of bacterial resistance to phage attack changes the efflux pump mechanism, causing increased sensitivity to drugs from several antibiotic classes. Although modern phage therapy is still in its infancy, we conclude that phages, such as OMKO1, represent a new approach to phage therapy where bacteriophages exert selection for MDR bacteria to become increasingly sensitive to traditional antibiotics. This approach, using phages as targeted antibacterials, could extend the lifetime of our current antibiotics and potentially reduce the incidence of antibiotic resistant infections.
Urine specific gravity measurement: reagent strip versus refractometer.

OBJECTIVE To compare the results of urinalysis screenings for specific gravity (SG) using the reagent strip and the refractometer. SETTING United Hospital, Grand Forks, North Dakota. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION United Hospital is a 384-bed teaching hospital. PRODUCT COMPARISON: The Ames Multistix 10 SG reagent strip (Miles, Inc., Elkhart, IN 46515) was compared with the TS Meter (Leica, Inc., Deerfield, IL 60015). MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENT The degree of correlation between the results produced by each method. RESULTS The percentage of difference between the means of the direct strip readings and the refractometer readings was 9.68%. The percentage of difference between the means of the adjusted strip readings and the refractometer readings was 22.58%, which was significantly different. When the direct strip readings and the refractometer readings were plotted together on a graph, the points were widely scattered; this fact, and a correlation coefficient of 0.725, suggest that random error occurred in both methods. Analysis of the slope and intercept of the correlation indicated systematic error. CONCLUSION The reagent strip method of measuring SG is accurate only in a narrow range of "average" values, and should not be used as the basis for medical diagnoses.
Medical Genetics: An Overview

The pediatrician can provide the focus for bringing a wide variety of important genetic services to substantial numbers of patients and their families. Through close collaboration between primary physicians and secondary or tertiary centers with defined medical genetic expertise, an optimal mechanism can be envisioned for the delivery of quality genetic health services.
Overview of the effects of beta-adrenergic receptor agonists on animal growth including mechanisms of action

The beta-adrenergic receptors (beta-AR) are present on the surface of almost every type of mammalian cell. These receptors are stimulated physiologically by the neurotransmitter, norepinephrine and the adrenal medullary hormone, epinephrine. There are three subtypes of beta-AR, namely, beta1-AR, beta2-AR, and beta3-AR; the pharmacological and physiological responses of an individual cell result from the particular mixture of the three beta-AR subtypes present on that cell. Species-specific structure (amino acid sequence) also causes modification of the function of a given beta-AR subtype. Knowledge of the beta-AR subtypes present in various cell types, coupled with knowledge of receptor structure (sequence), will allow an understanding of the complexity of physiological function regulated by beta-AR. Oral administration of some beta-AR agonists increases muscle and decreases fat accretion in cattle, pigs, poultry, and sheep. The large number of physiological functions controlled by beta-AR suggests that the mechanism(s) for the observed changes in carcass composition may be extremely complex. Any proposed mechanism must begin with the possibility of direct effects of the agonist on skeletal muscle and adipocyte beta-AR. However, many other mechanisms, such as modification of blood flow, release of hormones, or central nervous system control of feed intake may contribute to the overall effects observed with a given beta-AR agonist in a given species. Furthermore, the pharmacodynamic properties of a particular agonist are complex and expected to vary among species as well as within the same species at different ages or when fed different diets.
Proresolving Lipid Mediators Restore Balance to the Vulnerable Plaque.

Atherosclerosis, the precursor to acute coronary syndromes, is a disease of chronic inflammation triggered initially by the focal subendothelial retention of apolipoprotein B100–containing lipoproteins and exacerbated by other risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes mellitus, and hypertension.1,2 The persistence of these stimuli promotes a cycle of nonresolving inflammation that promotes atherosclerotic lesion development and, most importantly, progression to the unique types of necrotic plaques that cause ACS. In order for inflammation to resolve, there must not only be an abatement of initiating risk factors but also an initiation of proresolving molecular and cellular pathways that act to restore tissue homeostasis and promote repair. On the basis of the observations of human and animal atherosclerotic plaque features, genetic and therapy-based causation studies in mice, and cell culture studies with macrophages, researchers over the past two decades have proposed that defective resolution drives atherosclerosis progression. For example, advanced atherosclerosis is characterized by failure to reduce plaque inflammatory cell number, inefficiency in removing dying cells, and suboptimal tissue repair. However, the molecular basis of defective inflammation in atherosclerosis remained to be precisely defined. Article, see p 1030 The inflammation resolution program is carried out by several molecular and cellular effectors. Among these are a superfamily of unsaturated fatty acid–derived lipid mediators referred to as specialized proresolving mediators or SPMs. SPMs are biosynthesized by inflammatory cells during self-limited inflammation and, by interacting with specific cell-surface receptors on immune cells and other cell types, trigger processes that dampen inflammation and promote tissue repair. Moreover, exogenously administered SPMs and other proresolving mediators have shown efficacy in triggering resolution of several types of chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis. Although characterized within human arterial cells in the early 1990s by Brezinski et al,3 a comprehensive and direct cataloging of SPMs within atherosclerotic lesions is only …
Evaluation of the Bacteriological Safety of Low-Salt Miso.

Studies were done to evaluate the safety of three different low-salt (2.36 to 5.79% NaCl) misos inoculated with different bacterial pathogens. Clostridium botulinum types A and B (inoculum level of ca. 120 spores/g) did not produce toxin in any of the misos within 18 wk at 25°C. Staphylococcus aureus , Salmonella typhimurium and Yersinia enterocolitica (inoculum level of ca. 103 to 104 CFU/g) progessively died in all of the misos held at either 10 or 25°C. The miso samples, which were obtained from Japan (3.75 and 5.79% NaCl) and California (2.36% NaCl), had water activities of 0.843, 0.835 and 0.875, respectively, and pH values of 5.26, 5.30 and 4.73, respectively. Results indicate that low-salt misos with these properties are not likely to be bacteriological health risks.
Cultural Meanings and the Aggregation of Actions: The Case of Sex and Schooling in Malawi.

How can cultural understandings simultaneously diverge from and contribute to aggregate patterns of action? On one hand, shared cognitive associations guide people’s everyday actions, and these act...
Thermoelectric energy harvesting for the gas turbine sensing and monitoring system

Abstract A compact thermoelectric energy harvester is developed to harvest the thermal energy from the hot surface of the gas turbine, providing continuous and reliable power for the sensing and monitoring system in the gas turbine. An experimental prototype is built and the performances of the energy harvester with different electrical load resistances and source temperatures are characterized. A mathematical iterative method, taking account of Thompson Effect, line spacing gap heat leakage, material property variations, and thermal resistance of the ceramic covering layer, is used to analyze the performance of the segmented thermoelectric generator (TEG) module with good accuracy. Based on this model, the temperature profiles and heat fluxes along the thermo-elements, efficiency, and heat leakage through the filling gap material are analyzed. The prototype, with a source temperature of 325 °C, has a voltage output of 2.4 V and power output of 0.92 W, which is more than enough to power a sensor node in the gas turbine. A higher power output can be expected with some improvement on the prototype design.
JOSE GIMENO SACRISTAN AND THE TASKS OF THE CRITICAL SCHOLAR/ACTIVIST IN EDUCATION

The article provides the background (globalisation) where critical education scholarship and activist is necessary to advance progressive educational theories and practices. The author portrays Jose Gimeno Sacristan as a living example of the struggles he is arguing for, based upon his entire work. On the nature of critical educational studies, the author supports the need for critical scholars and, furthermore, he argues on the relevance of a long tradition of radical sociologists as well as educationalists, in favour of counter-hegemonic educational as well as political practices. He points to the risks of perverting issues like social justice, economic equality, human rights and sustainable environments as they are becoming increasing currency among scholars and politically correct speech. These risks are larger nowadays when universities are adopting and embracing meritocratic aspirations and when they dettach from real life problems of large amounts of the population. While there is a worsening of living conditions and indeed of progressive education practices; educational scholars tend to focus on socially irrelevant issues. He then moves onto the nine tasks in which critical analysis in education must engage: 1) bear witnees to negativity; 2) point to contradictions and to spaces of possible action; 3) a broadening of what counts as research; 4) not to throw-out ‘elite knowledge’ but to reconstruct its form and content in order for it to serve to genuinely progressive needs; 5) keeping traditions of radical and progressive work alive; 6) critiziging such traditions, in a supportive way, when they are not adequate to deal with current realities; 7) act in concert with the progressive social movements against hegemonic policies; 8) to act as a deeply committed mentor demonstrating being both an excellent researcher and a committed member of society; 9) using the privileges one has as a scholar and activist.
Applications of the Josephson Effect

In just a little more than a decade the Josephson effectl) has evolved from the status of a concept in theoretical physics to an officially adopted technique for maintaining international voltage standards.2) This rapid development reflects the very fundamental importance of Josephson’s discovery for which he shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1973. Many other applications of Josephson’s discovery have been carried out in the general area of unique and sensitive quantum-electronic devices. The intent of this paper is to present a summary of some of this development, with special emphasis on the Standards application to experts unfamiliar with superconducting phenomena.
To Identify Hot Spots in Power Lines Using Infrared and Visible Sensors

The detection of power transmission lines is highly important for threat avoidance, especially when aerial vehicle fly at low altitude. At the same time, the demand for fast and robust algorithms for the analysis of data acquired by drones during inspections has also increased. In this paper, different methods to obtain these objectives are presented, which include three parts: sensor fusion, power line extraction and fault detection. At first, fusion algorithm for visible and infrared power line images is presented. Manual control points describe as feature points from both images were selected and then, applied geometric transformation model to register visible and infrared thermal images. For the extraction of power lines, we applied Canny edge detection to identify significant transition followed by Hough transform to highlight power lines. The method significantly identify edges from the set of frames with good accuracy. After the detection of lines, we applied histogram based thresholding to identify hot spots in power lines. The paper concludes with the description of the current work, which has been carried out in a research project, namely SCIADRO.
English Learners in K–12 Mathematics Education: A Review of the Literature:

Alongside the increased presence of students classified as English learners (ELs) in mathematics classrooms exists a persistent pattern of the marginalization of ELs. Educators have sought research...
Escaping collective responsibility in fluid party systems: Evidence from South Korea

Abstract How does the public evaluate politicians' reactions to crises that damage their party's image? Using an experimental survey design and the 2016 South Korean political scandal, we explore which strategies allow politicians to avoid electoral accountability for corruption in their party. The scandal prompted some politicians from the president's party to participate in protests calling for her impeachment, make statements criticizing her leadership, or join a new splinter party. We find that all of these strategies both increase electoral support and decrease perceptions of corruption. However, leaving the party is the least successful at increasing electability and politicians are more likely to gain votes if instead they take a clear position against corrupt politicians. Our findings have implications for accountability in weakly institutionalized party systems, where politicians, faced with a party brand crisis, have incentives to switch parties to escape electoral consequences, as opposed to reforming the party from within.
Stretchable Conjugated Polymers: A Case Study in Topic Selection for New Research Groups.

ConspectusThe field of π-conjugated (semiconducting) polymers has been underwritten largely because of the promise of flexible (and increasingly, stretchable) devices for energy and health care. Our research group has spent much of the past six years studying the mechanical properties of conjugated polymers. Mechanically robust materials can extend the life spans of devices such as solar cells and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels and enable high throughput processing techniques such as roll-to-roll printing. Additionally, wearable and implantable devices, including electronic skin, implantable pressure sensors, and haptic actuators, benefit by having moduli and extensibilities close to those of biological tissue.At the time of our laboratory’s inception, however, the optoelectronic properties of conjugated polymers were understood in much greater depth than their mechanical properties. We therefore set out, as our laboratory’s first research topic, to understand the molecular and microstructural...
Enhancement of a VEX Robot with an Onboard Vision System

This paper documents the augmentation of Raspberry PI (plus its camera module) to a typical VEX robot, yielding a mobile robot with onboard image processing capability. The VEX robot denotes a robot constructed using the VEX robotic kit, which is controlled and programmed by the Cortex microprocessor that comes with the kit. Though the Cortex microprocessor is powerful enough for motion control and processing sensors such as integrated encoder, sonar range sensor, and touch sensor, the current VEX robotic kit does not provide a true vision sensor that allows real-time image processing. To enhance the functionality of the VEX robot, a Raspberry PI (with its camera module) is introduced to the robotic system, where the PI will be dedicated for image processing. Information extracted from the video sequence are then sent via UART port to the Cortex, which controls the basic motion of the robot. Detailed procedures to construct the vision-enhanced VEX robot is described. The resulting robotic system with the Raspberry PI and Cortex combination greatly expands the usage and application domain of the robot, making it suitable for more complex and advanced tasks such as vision-based control, visual servoing, and visual tracking. This paper also provides a sample lesson plan that consists of basic motion in 2D (controlling the mobile base only), trajectory generation in 3D (controlling a robotic arm on top of the mobile base), and examples of advanced topics (e.g., vision-based control). We believe these projects will significantly improve an existing robotics curriculum, enhance students’ hand-on skills, and lead to more challenging undergraduate projects.
252 Pap screening rates in systemic lupus erythematosus women at an academic center compared to non-SLE women with racial comparisons

Background Compared with the general population, women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) tend to have higher rates of cervical neoplasia and pre-malignant lesions and in particular, SLE women treated with immunosuppressant therapies such as methotrexate, azathioprine and mycophenolate mofetil may be at even higher risk when compared to SLE women treated with antimalarials alone. Previous studies have suggested suboptimal cervical cancer screening among SLE patients and racial disparity studies have also shown that black SLE patients endure delayed SLE diagnosis and higher morbidity and mortality from SLE related disease compared to non-black SLE patients. Methods This was a cross-sectional study using electronic health records to identify women aged 21–65 years old with ICD code of SLE M32.9, positive ANA and who have prescription for hydroxychloroquine on their medication list. We compared this to controls (women 21–65 years of age with a ICD code of asthma ICD J45*, negative ANA and excluded patients with SLE diagnosis). For both groups we excluded patients who underwent hysterectomy with removal of the cervix. We used statistical calculator to ‘N-1’ Chi-squared test Results Much higher proportion of SLE women are overdue for pap smears compared to non SLE women (60.09% vs 51.21% p=0.0022). Non-SLE women are more likely to be up to date on pap screening compared to SLE women (48.59% vs 39.90% p=0.0117). SLE women who are up to date on pap screening and who have had previous positive HPV pap testing had a similar rate of HPV positivity compared to non-SLE patients (28.70% vs 20.60% p=0.163). There was a significant difference when we compared black SLE patients to white SLE patients with regards to overdue status ( 56.60% vs 43.49% p=0.0197), overdue status with prior HPV positivity in black SLE versus white SLE patients (70% vs 30% p=0.0455) and also higher rate of HPV positivity in black SLE versus white SLE patients (66.02% vs 33.97% p≤0.0001).When we compared pap overdue black SLE vs black non-SLE we found higher number of black SLE patients were overdue versus black non-SLE (56% vs 46.36% p=0.0144) however the inverse was noted for white SLE and white non-SLE (43.39% vs 53.63% p=0.0263). Conclusions This study suggests that women with SLE are at a significantly higher risk of falling behind on PAP smears when compared to women without SLE. Significant racial disparities between black SLE women and white SLE exist at our institution. Black SLE patients have a significant higher rate of HPV positivity compared to white SLE patients. Increased rate of HPV positivity and lower rates of screening in black SLE patients in conjunction with the known increased risk of cervical neoplasia due to SLE disease itself and due to immunomodulators used to treat SLE signifies that treating physicians should be mindful of the importance of preventative measures, such as cervical screening and HPV vaccination in the SLE population in particular black SLE patients. Funding Source(s): This abstract is not funded
Rate of penetration (ROP) optimization in drilling with vibration control

Abstract Drilling optimization is typically tackled by optimizing the rate of penetration (ROP). However, most ROP optimization models do not consider the effect of drilling vibrations, a major ROP inhibitor. To resolve this limitation, this paper introduces a workflow that combines the ROP optimization process with a machine learning-based vibration model. This model determines optimal drilling parameters that not only increase ROP but mitigate excessive vibrations. Analytical ROP models are used to model the ROP in a given formation. An optimization algorithm (gradient ascent with random restarts) is used to find the optimal drilling control parameters, weight on bit (WOB) and revolutions per minute (RPM), required to improve ROP ahead of the bit. The vibrations classification model is used as an equality constraint for the optimization algorithm, to set bounds on the optimization space, ensuring that the selected optimal parameters do not result in excessive vibrations when implemented. The model, when evaluated on field data, shows an improvement of ROP by 14.1% (10 ft/h) on average across all formations when compared to the measured data. A case study has been discussed to illustrate the use of this approach in drilling practice. This model introduces a novel way to couple drilling ROP models with vibration models to improve ROP and to mitigate vibrations.
Assessing the Impact of Time to Cystectomy for Variant Histology of Urothelial Bladder Cancer.

Abstract Objective To determine if the timing of radical cystectomy for variant histology of urothelial carcinoma has an impact on survival. Variant histology has been associated with aberrant behavior compared to pure urothelial carcinoma, however the timing of surgery for these patients has not been studied. Materials and Methods We identified 363 patients with cT2-T4N0M0 urothelial carcinoma who underwent radical cystectomy without perioperative intravesical and/or systemic therapy from 2003 to 2014. Clinicopathologic data were compared between pure urothelial carcinoma and variant histology. The time from diagnosis to radical cystectomy was analyzed as a continuous variable and dichotomized at 4-, 8-, and 12-weeks to determine impact on oncologic outcomes. Results Patients with variant histology, when compared to those with pure urothelial carcinoma, were more likely to present with extravesical disease (P Conclusion For patients with variant histology, delays in surgery were associated with an increased risk of death.
A new framework for understanding aggregate structure in asphalt mixtures

Aggregate size distribution is an important parameter in asphalt mixture design and performance. The main objective of this study is to develop a framework to define the aggregate structure of asph...
The effects of conflicting cues on the perception of misarticulations

Four word pairs produced by functionally misarticulating children were assessed using phonetic transcription and spectrographic analysis. The transcribers tended to perceive the subjects as neutralizing word-final contrasts. Spectrographic analysis, however, revealed conflicting sets of cues in the children’s productions, with some cues favoring one phonemic interpretation but other cues favoring a different one. Adult listeners tend to resolve such conflicts in the direction of one phonemic interpretation, and may therefore assign two contrastive productions to the same phoneme. At the same time, however, the presence of conflicting cues may indicate a child’s partial awareness of an underlying phonemic contrast. These findings reinforce the need to supplement perceptual analysis with instrumental analysis when assessing a child’s phonological competence.