cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is Capital a Thing? Remarks on Piketty’s Concept of Capital

The thesis of my remarks is that Piketty’s overall position understands capital as something that exists within society, whereas I submit (on the grounds of Marx’s theory of society) that capital is the main category that determines the existence of capitalist society. Put differently, capital in the form of valorized labor determines the specific social form of capitalist society. Whereas Piketty’s position is built upon a positivistic concept of capital, I argue that capital is not ‘some-thing’; rather, capital is the central category of capitalist social reproduction. Capital, in other words, must describe the functioning of a social totality as a whole and cannot be related to a single aspect of it. Accordingly, though the focus on inequality is important, it tends to hide the real social organization of capitalist society.
Estimation of Theoretical Calorific Relationships as a Teaching Technique. A Review

Abstract A series of theoretical estimates of the efficiencies of metabolic and physiological processes which can be related to nutritional energetic measurements is presented. The examples and format were developed for, and have proven useful as, teaching aids in undergraduate and graduate courses in bioenergetics and are presented in the hope that others also might find them useful.
Genome-wide characterisation of the binding repertoire of small molecule drugs.

Most, if not all, drugs interact with multiple proteins. One or more of these interactions are responsible for carrying out the primary therapeutic effects of the drug. Others are involved in the transport or metabolic processing of the drug or in the mediation of side effects. Still others may be responsible for activities that correspond to alternate therapeutic applications. The potential clinical impact of a drug and its cost of development are affected by the sum of all these interactions. The drug development process includes the identification and characterisation of a drug's clinically relevant interactions. This characterisation is presently accomplished by a combination of experimental laboratory techniques and clinical trials, with increasing numbers of patient participants. Efficient methods for the identification of all the molecular targets of a drug prior to clinical trials could greatly expedite the drug development process. Combinatorial peptide and cDNA phage display have the potential for achieving a complete characterisation of the binding repertoire of a small molecule. This paper will discuss the current state of phage display technology, as applied to the identification of novel receptors for small molecules, using a successful application with the drug Taxol™ as an example of the technical and theoretical benefits and pitfalls of this method.
Taming the Computational Complexity of Combinatorial Auctions: Optimal and Approximate Approaches

In combinatorial auctions, multiple goods are sold simultaneously and bidders may bid for arbitrary combinations of goods. Determining the outcome of such an auction is an optimization problem that is NP-complete in the general case. We propose two methods of overcoming this apparent intractability. The first method, which is guaranteed to be optimal, reduces running time by structuring the search space so that a modified depth-first search usually avoids even considering allocations that contain conflicting bids. Caching and pruning are also used to speed searching. Our second method is a heuristic, market-based approach. It sets up a virtual multi-round auction in which a virtual agent represents each original bid bundle and places bids, according to a fixed strategy, for each good in that bundle. We show through experiments on synthetic data that (a) our first method finds optimal allocations quickly and offers good anytime performance, and (b) in many cases our second method, despite lacking guarantees regarding optimality or running time, quickly reaches solutions that are nearly optimal.
Sensitivity of the Creep-Rupture Properties of Waspaloy Sheet to Sharp-Edged Notches in the Temperature Range 1000–1400 Deg F

Time-dependent notch sensitivity of Waspaloy was observed at test temperatures from 1000 to 1300 deg F. Its occurrence in this range was dependent on the heat treatment. ?Overaging' eliminated the notch sensitivity. Optimum combination of smooth and notched specimen strengths for material solution treated at 1975 deg F were obtained by aging 24 hr at 1550 deg F. Necessary conditions for time-dependent notch sensitivity were (1) the notch specimen loads had to be below the approximate 0.2 percent offset yield strength; and (2 ) test data from smooth specimens had to indicate that small amounts of creep used up large fractions of creep-rupture life. No reasons were evident why these criteria will not prove applicable to other alloys.
Using dynamic configuration to manage a scalable multimedia distribution system

Multimedia applications and interfaces will change radically the way computer systems will look like in the coming years. Radio and TV broadcasting will assume a digital format and their distribution networks will be integrated to the Internet. Existing hardware and software infrastructures, however, are unable to provide all the scalability, flexibility, and quality of service (QoS) that these applications require. We present a framework for building scalable and flexible multimedia distribution systems that greatly improves the possibilities for the provision of quality of service in large-scale networks. We show how to use architectural-awareness, mobile agents, and a CORBA-based framework to support dynamic (re)configuration, efficient code distribution, and fault-tolerance. This approach can be applied not only for multimedia distribution, but also for any QoS-sensitive distributed application.
Genome-Scale Metabolic Model of Helicobacter pylori 26695

A genome-scale metabolic model of Helicobacter pylori 26695 was constructed from genome sequence annotation, biochemical, and physiological data. This represents an in silico model largely derived from genomic information for an organism for which there is substantially less biochemical information available relative to previously modeled organisms such as Escherichia coli. The reconstructed metabolic network contains 388 enzymatic and transport reactions and accounts for 291 open reading frames. Within the paradigm of constraint-based modeling, extreme-pathway analysis and flux balance analysis were used to explore the metabolic capabilities of the in silico model. General network properties were analyzed and compared to similar results previously generated for Haemophilus influenzae. A minimal medium required by the model to generate required biomass constituents was calculated, indicating the requirement of eight amino acids, six of which correspond to essential human amino acids. In addition a list of potential substrates capable of fulfilling the bulk carbon requirements of H. pylori were identified. A deletion study was performed wherein reactions and associated genes in central metabolism were deleted and their effects were simulated under a variety of substrate availability conditions, yielding a number of reactions that are deemed essential. Deletion results were compared to recently published in vitro essentiality determinations for 17 genes. The in silico model accurately predicted 10 of 17 deletion cases, with partial support for additional cases. Collectively, the results presented herein suggest an effective strategy of combining in silico modeling with experimental technologies to enhance biological discovery for less characterized organisms and their genomes.
Mitigation of Voltage Defect for High-Efficiency InP Diode Lasers Operating at Cryogenic Temperatures

The power conversion efficiency of cryogenically cooled InP-based diode lasers is limited by excess electrical voltage caused by the freeze-out of holes at low temperature. Hall-effect measurements are performed to determine the ionization energy of Zn in bulk InP and In0.90Ga0.10As0.24P0.76 (the values obtained are 18.6 and 11.6 meV, respectively). A laser design with an InGaAsP p-cladding layer shows a large decrease in the 77 K voltage defect relative to a more traditional InP design. Peak conversion efficiency of 73% and >10-W maximum power are reported at 1493 nm from a single 200-μm stripe laser operating at 77 K.
Generalization and evaluation of the process-based forest ecosystem model PnET-CN for other biomes

Terrestrial ecosystems play an important role in carbon, water, and nitrogen cycling. Process-based ecosystem models, including PnET-CN, have been widely used to simulate ecosystem processes during the last two decades. PnET-CN is a forest ecosystem model, originally designed to predict ecosystem carbon, water, and nitrogen dynamics of temperate forests under a variety of circumstances. Among terrestrial ecosystem models, PnET-CN offers unique benefits, including simplicity and transparency of its structure, reliance on data-driven parameterization rather than calibration, and use of generalizeable relationships that provide explicit linkages among carbon, water and nitrogen cycles. The objective of our study was to apply PnET-CN to non-forest biomes: grasslands, shrublands, and savannas. We determined parameter values for grasslands and shrublands using the literature and ecophysiological databases. To assess the usefulness of PnET-CN in these ecosystems, we simulated carbon and water fluxes for six Amer...
World Wide Web-Based Information Storage and Retrieval.

This paper describes the design and implementation of a system for computer generation of linked HTML documents to support information retrieval and hypertext applications on the World Wide Web. The approach is based on work by Salton and others, but extends the concept to be compatible with the World Wide Web browser environment by adding an interactive indexing technique that is well suited to the mouse‐based point‐and‐shoot input common to windowed browsers. The system does not require text query input, nor any client or host processing other than hypertext linkage. The goal of this work is to construct a fully automatic system in which original text documents are read and processed by a computer program that generates HTML files, which can be used immediately by Web browsers to search and retrieve the original documents. Thus, a user with a large collection of information — for instance, newspaper articles — can feed these documents to the program described here and produce directly, without further human intervention, the necessary files to establish World Wide Web home and related pages, to support interactive retrieval and distribution of the original documents.
Hyaluronic acid binding and acrosin activity are decreased in sperm from men with spinal cord injury

In this study, acrosin activity and hyaluronic acid binding were compared in sperm from men with spinal cord injury versus sperm from healthy controls. The results showed statistically significantly lower acrosin activity and statistically significantly lower hyaluronic acid binding in spinal cord injured patients compared with controls, indicating functional impairments that may diminish the capacity of the sperm to fertilize oocytes.
Guidelines and challenges for estimating the economic costs and benefits of adolescent substance abuse treatments

Many economic evaluations have been conducted for adult substance abuse treatments, but only a few have been conducted for adolescent-specific treatments. This is the first article to present rigorous methodological guidelines for estimating the economic costs and benefits of adolescent substance abuse treatments while also addressing the potential challenges associated with such research activities. A representative case study of two adolescent substance abuse treatment programs (one residential and one outpatient) is presented to show some of the initial steps of a comprehensive economic evaluation (e.g., cost analyses, selection of treatment outcome measures, and valuation of outcome measures via monetary conversion factors). Cost data were collected and analyzed using the Drug Abuse Treatment Cost Analysis Program. Monetary conversion factors were obtained and presented for a variety of treatment outcomes. The methodological guidelines, discussion of analytic challenges, and recommendations set forth in this article provide a foundation for future economic studies
Impacts of composted swine manure on weed and corn nutrient uptake, growth, and seed production

as synthetic fertilizer. Soil organic matter, P, K, and early-season NO3-N levels were greater in the (1) compost system. The N concentration of velvetleaf shoots, the P concentration of giant foxtail and common waterhemp shoots, and the K concentration of shoots of all three weed species also were greater in the (1) compost system. Compost application consistently increased common waterhemp height, common waterhemp biomass, and velvetleaf height, but increased velvetleaf biomass in only 1 yr and had no effect on giant foxtail height or biomass. Measurements of weed seed production, conducted in the final year of the study, showed that compost increased velvetleaf and common waterhemp seed production but had no effect on giant foxtail seed production. Compost consistently increased corn height and leaf K concentration but generally had no effect on corn yield. Results of this study indicate that large differences can exist among crop and weed species in their response to soil amendments. Depending on the weed species present, use of composted swine manure may increase requirements for weed management in corn production systems.
Leibniz and the Foundations of Physics: The Middle Years

Leibniz must appear as something of a paradox to the reader of the recent literature on his thought (i.e., that written after the seminal work of Russell and Couturat). The Leibniz who appears in the commentaries is almost invariably Leibniz the logician/metaphysician, concerned to argue for a world of individual substances, later monads, mind-like, immortal, containing all and reflecting all, concerned to argue that this is all there is to our world and to every other possible world. But, on the other hand, most of us know, if only dimly, that Leibniz was a physicist of some note in his day, and, as such, was concerned with the determination of the basic laws that govern the bodies of everyday experience, the same problem that worried Galileo, Descartes, Huygens, and Newton. But what status could the science of physics possibly have for a philosopher who, like Leibniz, seems to hold a metaphysics so distant from our common-sense conceptions of the world of physics? The perplexity is greater still when one finds, even in the standard works of Leibniz’s metaphysical corpus, like the Discourse on Metaphysics, numerous remarks to the effect that his metaphysics is intended to ground the true physics! What possible connection could there be between Leibniz’s metaphysical conception of what there really Is in the world, and his physics?
ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ICT ON THE RELIABILITY OF ACTIVE DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

The transition from passive to active distribution systems is attractive for the integration of distributed energy resources, improved reliability, and increased efficiency. This paper shares different concerns and approaches to assess the impact of information and communication technologies (ICTs) on the reliability of active distribution systems, based on the shared experiences of CIGRE Working Group C6.19 “Planning and Optimization Methods for Active Distribution Systems”. Particular consideration is given to co-simulation tool functionality, assessment, and data requirements. (4 pages)
Optical Guidance for UAV Following of Shorelines

Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) guidance without resorting to preprogrammed GPS signals promises to increase the flexibility in tasking for single or multiple UAVs. This paper reports on a guidance and autopilot system which successfully navigated along a curved shoreline. The project demonstrated that the near infrared (NIR) spectrum is particularly good for navigating on shorelines, since the land and water are easily distinguishable in these wavelengths. Also presented is a new control technique which is able to find control parameters in the image space. This overcomes the need for specialized edge extraction and path generation. Attitude control was maintained by the use of matched long wave infrared thermopiles.
Backcross Progeny from Interspecific Hybrids of Heliothis subflexa × H. virescens: Physiological Diapause, Winter Survival and Infusion into Natural H. virescens Populations

Backcross (BC) progeny resulting from interspecific hybridization of H. subflexa (Guenee) females × H. virescens (F.) males and backcrossed to H. virescens males eight times (BC8) entered physiological diapause, survived the winter, and emerged the following spring at the same time as H. virescens . Heliothis subflexa moths from diapausing pupae also emerged at ca. the same time as H. virescens . Diapausing BC and H. virescens pupae reacted similarly to all treatments with low temperatures in the laboratory. Diapausing BC and H. virescens pupae, in the absence of other factors such as free water, etc., withstood extremely low temperatures in the laboratory for short periods of time. Subsequent Be moth generations were collected after an initial release and also the following spring during the spring emergence period of H. virescens . When infused into the natural H. virescens population, BC moths carrying the sterile male trait entered diapause, survived the winter, and emerged the following spring.
Seasons, Searches, and Intentions: What The Internet Can Tell Us About The Bed Bug (Hemiptera: Cimicidae) Epidemic.

The common bed bug (Cimex lectularius L.) is once again prevalent in the United States. We investigated temporal patterns in Google search queries for bed bugs and co-occurring terms, and conducted in-person surveys to explore the intentions behind searches that included those terms. Searches for "bed bugs" rose steadily through 2011 and then plateaued, suggesting that the epidemic has reached an equilibrium in the United States. However, queries including terms that survey respondents associated strongly with having bed bugs (e.g., "exterminator," "remedies") continued to climb, while terms more closely associated with informational searches (e.g., "hotels," "about") fell. Respondents' rankings of terms and nonseasonal trends in Google search volume as assessed by a cosinor model were significantly correlated (Kendall's Tau-b P = 0.015). We find no evidence from Google Trends that the bed bug epidemic in the United States has reached equilibrium.
Osteogenic Sarcoma under the Age of Twenty-one: A Review Of One Hundred And Forty-five Operative Cases

A consecutive series of 145 central-type osteogenic sarcomas in the long bones of patients under the age of twenty-one years was studied by analysis of the interval from surgery to onset of pulmonary metastasis and the interval from the onset of pulmonary metastasis to death. The effects of the time of surgery, age, sex, race, preoperative duration of symptoms, location of tumor, and preoperative radiation on the course of the disease were analyzed. One hundred and twenty-one patients had pulmonary metastasis prior to the end of the study and died of their disease. Twenty-four patients were free of metastasis at the end of the study. The five-year survival rate was 17.4 per cent. Age and location of the tumor were found to affect the time of onset of pulmonary metastasis but not the five-year survival figure. The first two years after definitive surgery were shown to be the critical period for studying the course of the disease. The data analyzed in this study may offer a valuable control series against which future methods of treatment can be evaluated.
Shared Groundwater Resources Management

Transboundary water sharing between states results in conflicts originnated from water use, water quantity and quality issues. To avoid conflicts between countries that share transboundary groundwater resources, cooperation and negotiation, prevention, equitable water allocation and utilization, as well as exchange of information and data between states are essential. This chapter presents the groundwater resources management principles based on sustainable exploitation strategies that established a dynamic balance between the aquifer natural flows and storage and the flow imposed by exploitation. The transboundary groundwater resources models representative of the most common situations worldwide are presented and the management options for shared groundwater resources including separate, coordinate and joint management, delegation of responsibility, as well as sequential and flexible management are reviewed.
Disagreements, Problems, Possibilities

Most AI theorists and researchers would agree with Hofstadter’s arguments or at least be in close sympathy with them, as would information theorists like MacKay. Jackson, for example, contends that ‘There is no known a priori limit to the extensibility of a computer’s language capability other than those limits of a purely practical nature (memory size and processing speed)’ and that, ‘Although the difficulties involved with understanding natural language should not be minimized, no one has been able to show … that English is theoretically outside the language capability of all computers ….’1 However, a number of computer scientists and others, like Steiner, would deny that any formalism ever could simulate natural-language processes fully, even in theory. Weizenbaum’s opinions in that regard are well known and representative.
Interpolymer complexation between copovidone and carbopol and its effect on drug release from matrix tablets.

AbstractThe interaction between copovidone and Carbopol 907 is pH dependent. When the pH of an aqueous solution fell below pH 4.5, a water-insoluble complex began to form and precipitate. This complex resulted from a hydrogen-bond-induced interaction between the carboxylic groups in Carbopol 907 and the carbonyl groups of N-vinylpyrrolidone repeat units in copovidone. Consisting of these two polymers at an approximate 1:1 weight ratio, the complex was an amorphous material with a glass transition temperature of 157 °C. The interpolymer complexation in situ was applied to modify drug release properties of Carbopol 907-based theophylline matrix tablets. The effect of copovidone on drug release was dependent on the pH of the dissolution medium. In a 0.1 N hydrochloride acid solution at pH 1.2 and 50 mM acetate buffer at pH 4.0, an insoluble tablet matrix was formed as a result of the in situ interpolymer complexation, and theophylline was released therefore via Fickian diffusion. In a 50 mM phosphate buffer ...
Perspective on Global Measles Epidemiology and Control and the Role of Novel Vaccination Strategies

Measles is a highly contagious, vaccine preventable disease. Measles results in a systemic illness which causes profound immunosuppression often leading to severe complications. In 2010, the World Health Assembly declared that measles can and should be eradicated. Measles has been eliminated in the Region of the Americas, and the remaining five regions of the World Health Organization (WHO) have adopted measles elimination goals. Significant progress has been made through increased global coverage of first and second doses of measles-containing vaccine, leading to a decrease in global incidence of measles, and through improved case based surveillance supported by the WHO Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network. Improved vaccine delivery methods will likely play an important role in achieving measles elimination goals as these delivery methods circumvent many of the logistic issues associated with subcutaneous injection. This review highlights the status of global measles epidemiology, novel measles vaccination strategies, and describes the pathway toward measles elimination.
The inside story: timeline of events and communication leading up to superstorm sandy from the emergency manager perspective

ABSTRACTDuring impending storms, emergency managers (EMs) are tasked with various decisions and challenges, particularly whether to issue evacuation orders for their area. This study aims to understand the timeline of decisions made and actions taken leading up to Superstorm Sandy’s landfall from the EM perspective. A total of 23 in-depth interviews was conducted in New Jersey and New York. All municipal EMs interviewed first heard about what would become Superstorm Sandy between one and two weeks prior to landfall. From then on, municipal EMs monitored the storm using a variety of sources. The communication and information trail is top-down, starting with higher EM levels (i.e. federal and state) and ending with municipal, or local, EMs. Typically, voluntary evacuation orders were issued on Friday or Saturday, while mandatory evacuation orders began being issued on Saturday, two days before landfall, and continued until the day of landfall. Who issued the various evacuation orders depended on location. I...
Online Information Processing of Scent-Related Words and Implications for Decision Making

This paper takes a multi-method approach, combining neuroscience methods and behavioral experiments to investigate emotions triggered by olfactory-related information and related consumer decision-making outcomes. In the online context, olfactory information is limited to visual forms of triggering olfactory sensations. The effectiveness of using sensory congruent brand names in online ads to trigger emotions, and the influence on attitudes toward the ad, brand and purchase intentions are examined. Moreover, individual differences in olfactory sensitivity were considered, revealing moderating effects on cognitive and emotional processes. Findings provide managerial and organizational implications for online advertising, branding decisions and market segmentation decisions.
Optimal connectivity to cloud data centers

With the increasing dependency of cloud-based services, data centers (DC) have become a popular platform to satisfy customers' requests. Many large network providers now have their own geographically distributed data centers for cloud services, or have partnerships with third party data center providers to route customers' demand. When end customers' requests arrive at a Point-of-Presence (PoP) of a large Internet Service Provider, the provider having DCs in multiple geo-locations needs to decide which DC should serve the request depending on the geo-distance, cost of resources in that DC, availability of the requested resource at that DC, and congestion in the path from the customers' location to that DC. Therefore, an optimal connectivity scheme from the ingress PoP to egress DC is required among the PoPs and DCs to minimize the cost of establishing paths between a PoP and a DC while ensuring load balancing in both the link level and DC level. In this paper, we present a novel mix-integer linear programming (MILP) model for this problem. We show the efficacy of our model through various performance metrics such as average and maximum link utilization, and average number of links used per path.
SYNTHESIS–SYNLETT Lecture: Toward the Asymmetric Synthesis of Tetrapetalone A: Preparation of an Enantioenriched Indane Intermediate and Strategy for Endgame Glycosylation

A chiral auxiliary is employed to obtain, via Nazarov cyclization, a synthetic intermediate crucial to our previously reported synthesis of the tetrapetalone A core. This indane derivative, corresponding to the A and B rings of the tetrapetalone natural product skeleton, is then used to test an endgame strategy for installation of the β-rhodinosyl group on ring B. A palladium-catalyzed decarboxylative coupling is described that effects the exclusive formation of the desired β-glycosidic linkage, and the target rhodinose moiety can be obtained via hydrogenation.
Biomechanical simulation of traumatic brain injury in the rat.

Abstract Background Traumatic brain injury poses an enormous clinical challenge. Rats are the animals most widely used in pre-clinical experiments. Biomechanical simulations of these experiments predict the distribution of mechanical stress and strain across key tissues. It is in theory possible to dramatically increase our understanding of traumatic brain injury pathophysiology by correlating stress and strain with histological and functional injury outcomes. This review summarizes the state of the art in biomechanical simulation of traumatic brain injury in the rat. It also places this body of knowledge in the context of the wider effort to understand traumatic brain injury in rats and in humans. Methods Peer-reviewed research articles on biomechanical simulation of traumatic brain injury in the rat were reviewed and summarized. Findings When mathematical models of traumatic brain injury in the rat first emerged, they relied on scant data regarding biomechanical properties. The data on relevant biomechanical properties has increased recently. However, experimental models of traumatic brain injury in the rat have also become less homogeneous. New and modified models have emerged that are biomechanically distinct from traditional models. Interpretation Important progress in mathematical modeling and measurement of biomechanical properties has led to credible, predictive simulations of traditional, experimental models of traumatic brain injury in the rat, such as controlled cortical impact. However, recent trends such as the increasing popularity of closed head models and blast models create new biomechanical challenges. Investigators studying rat brain biomechanics must continue to innovate to keep pace with these developments.
Microfinance Participation and Women's Decision-Making Power in the Household in Bangladesh

This study draws from bargaining theory to examine whether microfinance, a range of financial instruments such as micro-loans to support micro-enterprises, affects women's participation in househol...
Transcatheter aortic valve replacement in the setting of left atrial appendage thrombus.

Objectives Left atrial appendage thrombus (LAT) was an exclusion criterion in the seminal transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) trials; however, such patients do undergo TAVR in the 'real-world' setting. This study sought to analyse outcomes after TAVR in patients with LAT or spontaneous echo contrast (SEC). Methods All patients undergoing TAVR at our institution between March 2009 and December 2014 were prospectively analysed. The presence of LAT or SEC was determined via a retrospective chart review. Primary outcomes included 30-day and 1-year neurological events as well as mortality. Results Of the 369 patients undergoing TAVR, 3.8% (14) were found to have LAT and 6.8% (25) were found to have SEC, and they were separately compared to patients who did not have LAT or SEC. Significant differences were noted between groups with regard to preoperative renal function, atrial fibrillation and ejection fraction. Preoperative atrial fibrillation was the only independent predictor of LAT. No perioperative complications were associated with the presence of LAT or SEC. Specifically, no patient with LAT or SEC experienced a postoperative neurological event. While neither LAT nor SEC was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, LAT was an independent predictor of 1-year mortality (odds ratio 3.573, 95% confidence interval 1.040-12.28; P = 0.042). Conclusions The current study suggests that TAVR may be performed in patients with LAT and SEC with a low risk of embolic complications. While neither was an independent predictor of 30-day mortality, LAT was an independent predictor of 1-year mortality. Larger studies are needed to better study this phenomenon.
Delayed Hemolytic Transfusion Reaction Due to Anti-Jsa in an Alloimmunized Patient With a Sickle Cell Syndrome

Delayed hemolytic transfusion reactions occur via an anamnestic immune response in patients previously alloimmunized by certain RBC antigens. Conventional pretransfusion antibody screening tests and crossmatches are unable to detect certain antibodies that potentially can cause these reactions because they may be present in low concentrations or have low affinity for their respective antigen or their indicator antigen may be absent from test RBCs. We report the second case of a delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction caused by an undetectable (by routine methods) anti-Js(a) in a patient with a sickle cell syndrome (hemoglobin SC disease) and multiple alloantibodies, in whom retrospective indirect antiglobulin tests enhanced by polyethylene glycol revealed the presence of weakly reactive anti-Js(a).
Cold-reacting antibodies: differences in the reaction of anti-I antibodies with adult and cord red blood cells

The reactions of anti-I cold-agglutinin antibodies with the red cells from normal adults (adult-I) and adult-i donors and from newborn infants have been investigated by the use of the C'1a Fixation and Transfer Test of Borsos and Rapp. Agglutination and high concentration of serum reduce the amounts of the C'1a fixation by these antibodies. Inhibition by serum is due to an inhibitor of C'1a. A single molecule of antibody is required for the fixation of one molecule of C'1a to either adult or cord cells. There was great variability in the amount of anti-I antibody and C'1a fixed by different adult cells and by different cord cells. Although the two ranges overlapped considerably, the amount of antibody fixed by cord cells was somewhat less than that fixed by adult cells. The difference between cord cells or "low-reactivity" adult-I cells and "high-reactivity" adult-I cells is not due to the presence of different or extra antigens on the latter since cord and "low-reactivity" adult I cells are able to absorb all antibody from the antiserum which reacts with "high-reactivity" adult-I cells. The difference between adult-I and cord cells (or adult-i cells) was reduced by pretreatment of the cells with papain and was increased by increasing the temperature at which the reactions were performed. These studies suggest that the difference between adult red cells and cord (or adult i) red cells with regard to the fixation of cold agglutinin antibody is due in large part to a difference in the "affinity" of the antibody and the antigen on the cell surface rather than to a major difference in the number of antigen sites.
An Integrated, Module Based, Flight Training Program

In an attempt to make flight training more consistent with present demands and future trends a modular flight training program has been developed which combines classrom instruction, computer aided and managed instruction, latest audio visual aids, state of the art ground training devices and unique mix of aircraft not generally found in college based flight training program. All these elements are integrated into a tightly controlled and carefully sequenced set of training objectives.
Consumption of a high fat diet promotes protein O-GlcNAcylation in mouse retina via NR4A1-dependent GFAT2 expression.

The incidence of type 2 diabetes, the most common cause of diabetic retinopathy (DR), is rapidly on the rise in developed countries due to overconsumption of calorie rich diets. Using an animal model of diet-induced obesity/pre-diabetes, we evaluated the impact of a diet high in saturated fat (HFD) on O-GlcNAcylation of retinal proteins, as dysregulated O-GlcNAcylation contributes to diabetic complications and evidence supports a role in DR. Protein O-GlcNAcylation was increased in the retina of mice fed a HFD as compared to littermates receiving control chow. Similarly, O-GlcNAcylation was elevated in retinal Muller cells in culture exposed to the saturated fatty acid palmitate or the ceramide analog Cer6. One potential mechanism responsible for elevated O-GlcNAcylation is increased flux through the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway (HBP). Indeed, inhibition of the pathway's rate-limiting enzyme glutamine-fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT) prevented Cer6-induced O-GlcNAcylation. Importantly, expression of the mRNA encoding GFAT2, but not GFAT1 was elevated in both the retina of mice fed a HFD and in retinal cells in culture exposed to palmitate or Cer6. Notably, expression of nuclear receptor subfamily 4 group A member 1 (NR4A1) was increased in the retina of mice fed a HFD and NR4A1 expression was sufficient to promote GFAT2 mRNA expression and O-GlcNAcylation in retinal cells in culture. Whereas palmitate or Cer6 addition to culture medium enhanced NR4A1 and GFAT2 expression, chemical inhibition of NR4A1 transactivation repressed Cer6-induced GFAT2 mRNA expression. Overall, the results support a model wherein HFD increases retinal protein O-GlcNAcylation by promoting NR4A1-dependent GFAT2 expression.
Niger: Patterns of Women’s Political Presence Since Independence

Kang examines women’s political rights in Niger from independence in 1960 to 2015. First, she focuses on women’s presence in the national legislature before and after the adoption of a gender quota law and finds that the quota was instrumental in improving women’s descriptive representation. Second, Kang examines attitudes toward female and male leaders, using polls conducted by Afrobarometer in 2013 and 2015. Last, the chapter assesses women’s and men’s political engagement, also drawing on data from Afrobarometer. Specifically, she examines whether women are less likely to contact parliamentarians than are men.
Prehospital Airway Management in Iraq and Afghanistan: A Descriptive Analysis.

Objectives Airway failures are the second leading cause of potentially preventable death on the battlefield. Improvements in airway management depend on identifying current challenges. We sought to build on previously reported data on prehospital, combat airway management. Methods We used a series of emergency department procedure codes to identify patients within the Department of Defense Trauma Registry from January 2007 to August 2016. This is a subanalysis of those with a documented prehospital airway intervention. Results Of the 28,222 patients in our dataset, 1379 (4.9%) had a documented prehospital airway intervention. Airway devices consisted of 49 airway adjuncts (17 nasopharyngeal airways, 2 oropharyngeal airways, remainder listed as unspecified), 230 cricothyrotomies, 1117 endotracheal intubations, and 27 supraglottic airways. Patients undergoing airway intervention were mostly members of the US military (42.2%). Compared with those without airway intervention, they were slightly younger (median 24 vs 25 years, P Conclusions Patients undergoing airway intervention were most frequently injured by explosive or gunshot wound. Intubations and cricothyrotomies were the most frequent airway interventions performed. Patients undergoing interventions were more critically injured, with higher mortality rates. Further research is needed to determine methods to reduce mortality in this critically injured population.
Muhammad al-Maghout & Ali Salem

Muhammad al-Maghout was a unique Syrian free-verse poet and a renowned columnist, who wrote television scripts and a number of successful political plays, especially with the comedian Duraid Lahham, which toured as far as the USA, Canada and Australia. Ali Salem was an Egyptian playwright who succeeded in combing serious intentions with commercialism in comedy, starting with his famous hit The School of Troublemakers. He refined the two major trends in theatre in a way that appealed to the general public, and became king of comedy.
Droplet Jumping on Superhydrophobic Copper Oxide Nanostructured Surfaces

Condensation has been widely explored because of its importance in numerous applications including water desalination, water harvesting, power generation, and thermal management. Previous studies have shown that the enhancement in condensation heat transfer can be achieved with the engineering of surface wettability by promoting dropwise condensation that has lower thermal resistances than film condensation. In this paper, we explore microscopic-level droplet dynamics using various copper surfaces by employing a simple two-step chemical method. Nanostructured copper surfaces are prepared by a chemical immersion method using alkaline solution and are further functionalized by using dodecanoic acid that provides the hydrophobicity. The wetting properties and corresponding condensation processes are examined using an optical microscope and environmental scanning electron microscope by capturing the real-time phase change process. The measurements confirm that the surface morphology with the largest feature ratio promotes droplet jumping events. The understanding of condensation behaviors associated with nanostructured copper oxide surfaces can provide design rules for efficient surface structures for numerous condensation applications.
Ultrasound imaging of brachial plexus trauma in gunshot injury.

Introduction Brachial plexus trauma related to gunshot (GS) injury requires early examination and characterization to ensure appropriate treatment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be contraindicated when there are metal fragments in a patient's body. Ultrasound (US) may present an alternative to imaging GS-related brachial plexus injury. Methods Three patients with GS-related brachial plexus injury who underwent US imaging evaluation at our institution were identified. A retrospective review of the patients' medical records was performed. Results US characterization of nerve abnormalities after GS injury to the brachial plexus was in agreement with electrodiagnostic and intraoperative findings. Discussion Information from the US reports was useful in preparation for brachial plexus reconstruction surgery. As such, US has unique utility when MRI cannot be performed. US imaging can provide useful characterization of the brachial plexus after GS injury when performed by an experienced operator. Muscle Nerve 59:707-711, 2019.
Nutrient Runoff Uptake Potential and Growth for Three U.S. Native Grasses and Tall Fescue

Little research has been conducted into the growth and nutrient uptake potential of native grasses for use in vegetated buffers, grassed waterways, and cover crops for the mitigation of agricultura...
Using Social Media to Track Geographic Variability in Language About Diabetes: Analysis of Diabetes-Related Tweets Across the United States.

Background: Social media posts about diabetes could reveal patients’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs as well as approaches for better targeting of public health messages and care management. Objective: This study aimed to characterize the language of Twitter users’ posts regarding diabetes and describe the correlation of themes with the county-level prevalence of diabetes. Methods: A retrospective study of diabetes-related tweets identified from a random sample of approximately 37 billion tweets from the United States from 2009 to 2015 was conducted. We extracted diabetes-specific tweets and used machine learning to identify statistically significant topics of related terms. Topics were combined into themes and compared with the prevalence of diabetes by US counties and further compared with geography (US Census Divisions). Pearson correlation coefficients are reported for each topic and relationship with prevalence. Results: A total of 239,989 tweets from 121,494 unique users included the term diabetes. The themes emerging from the topics included unhealthy food and drink, treatment, symptoms/diagnoses, risk factors, research, recipes, news, health care, management, fundraising, diet, communication, and supplements/remedies. The theme of unhealthy foods most positively correlated with geographic areas with high prevalence of diabetes (r=0.088), whereas tweets related to research most negatively correlated (r=−0.162) with disease prevalence. Themes and topics about diabetes differed in overall frequency across the US geographical divisions, with the East South Central and South Atlantic states having a higher frequency of topics referencing unhealthy food (r range=0.073-0.146; P<.001). Conclusions: Diabetes-related tweets originating from counties with high prevalence of diabetes have different themes than tweets originating from counties with low prevalence of diabetes. Interventions could be informed from this variation to promote healthy behaviors.
Extraglandular ocular involvement and morbidity and mortality in primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Purpose To report the significance of extraglandular ocular involvement and long-term systemic morbidity and mortality in primary Sjogren's Syndrome (SS). Methods This retrospective, longitudinal cohort study included consecutive patients with primary SS evaluated at a tertiary referral center. An electronic chart review was performed and all available data were extracted from clinic visits between October 1999 and March 2019. The primary outcome measures included occurrence of extraglandular ocular manifestations of SS, serological markers, prevalence of malignancy, and incidence of death. Results One hundred and twenty-six SS patients with minimum 3 years of follow-up (median 9.6, range 3.0-15.9 years, total of 1,235 patient-years) were included. Of those, 10 patients with inflammatory keratolysis or scleritis had 2.3 times greater likelihood of death compared to the rest of the cohort (OR = 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5 to 4.0, p = 0.01) due to SS related complications. The lifetime prevalence of any malignancy in the entire cohort was 15.5%. The most common hematologic malignancy was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (4.8%) and the most common solid malignancy was breast cancer (6.0%). Men SS patients were more likely to have a history of or concurrent malignancy compared to women (30.0% versus 13.7%, p = 0.16) and double the mortality (OR = 2.1, 95% CI 0.09 to 1.4, p = 0.04), independent of malignancy. Conclusions SS patients with serious ocular manifestations, particularly men, may be at greater risk for mortality due to SS complications. The eye seems to be the barometer of systemic disease activity.
Is Electronic Multitasking Always Viewed as a Counterproductive Meeting Behavior? Understanding the Nature of the Secondary Task.

This project explored social evaluations of electronic multitasking during work meetings, including factors that may affect whether it is seen as a counterproductive meeting behavior. We used an ex...
Contactless mapping of ceramic green density using optical coherence tomography

Abstract We propose a contactless method for mapping the density distribution of green ceramics using optical coherence tomography (OCT). A correlation was found between the OCT signal and density of green alumina tablets. Using this relationship, proof-of-concept mapping of model samples produced reasonable results, suggesting that high-speed, contactless mapping of the ceramic green density with micrometer-scale resolution is possible, owing to the unique features of OCT. This technique may contribute to more efficient and eco-friendly ceramics production.