cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
“Un hombre sin barbas”: the Transgender Protagonist of La Monja Alférez (1626)

ABSTRACTCatalina de Erauso was born in San Sebastian at the end of the sixteenth century. When she was four years old, her parents placed her in El Antiguo convent, from which she escaped a decade later. Once free, she cut off her hair, dressed as a page and traveled throughout the Peninsula for four years before embarking for the Indies, where she worked as a merchant, soldier and muleteer for nearly two decades without being outed. Fighting under an assumed name in Chile, Erauso rose to the rank of second lieutenant. In 1617, after killing a man over a card game, Erauso confessed that she was a woman and a virgin to avoid execution. She thus became an instant and enduring celebrity, known by the somewhat misleading epithet “Lieutenant Nun,” whose story circulated in letters, petitions, relaciones, a memoir and a comedia. Most accounts of Erauso’s adventures titillate audiences by recounting gender bending “grandes hazanas”, but ultimately affirm her anatomic femininity. In stark contrast, Juan Perez de ...
Approximate Method for Computing the Effect of a Finite Catalytic Wall on Laminar Heating Rates in an Equilibrium-Air Flowfield

The ability to predict surface heating rates as well as shear and pressure forces is fundamental to the analysis and design of the thermal protection system (TPS) of hypersonic vehicles. Approximate engineering codes that can be used to rapidly predict heating rates are extremely useful in the preliminary or conceptual design phase, while more detailed and expensive Navier-Stokes codes are generally used to provide more accurate heating rate predictions for final design. A heating code, called UNLATCH3, had been used successfully with unstructured inviscid flowfield codes to compute laminar and turbulent heating on general three-dimensional vehicles using unstructured grids and the heating rates over most of the vehicle have been shown to compare favorably with results from both boundary-layer and Navier-Stokes calculations. This code includes the capability to calculate both laminar and turbulent heating rates for either perfect gas or equilibrium air chemistry with radiation equilibrium wall boundary conditions and an approximate expression has been added to account for the effect of velocity gradient on heating. In the flight environment it has been assumed the flow both in the inviscid flowfield and in the boundary layer are in local chemical equilibrium. This is equivalent to assuming that the local chemical reaction rates are infinite so that the chemical constituents at each point within the flowfield are always at their local equilibrium value. However, in reality the chemical reaction rates are finite and in many cases the fluid, particularly in the boundary layer near the surface, remains in a state of chemical nonequilibrium. For moderate flight velocities associated with return from earth orbit some of the energy in the fluid near the surface remains bound up in the dissociation of the oxygen and nitrogen molecules. In these cases the heat transfer to the surface is reduced below the level associated with equilibrium flow. Dr. George Inger has developed an approximate boundary layer analysis for recombination dominated flows which can be used with equilibrium air chemistry heating calculations such as those obtained with the UNLATCH3 code to approximate the effect of finite surface catalysis on heating. In this paper the procedure developed by Dr. Inger will be presented and used within the UNLATCH3 code to calculate the heating on the Shuttle orbiter returning from earth orbit for a finite catalytic wall. The results will be compared with both Navier-Stokes calculations and with flight data.
Weld pool edge extraction method based on passive light via coarse localization and component tree model

In order to get clear and reliable edge of the weld pool,this paper proposed a new weld pool edge extraction method based on passive light via component tree model.It achieved the focused weld pool region by applying region coarse localization method on the welding seam image.It used component tree model to extract the edge of the weld pool according normali-zed gradient magnitude image.Compared with the traditional method,the experimental result shows that the precision of weld pool extraction is greatly improved.
Rates of ethanol clearance and activities of the ethanol-oxidizing enzymes in chronic alcoholic patients.

The rates of ethanol disappearance from the blood and the activities of the hepatic ethanol-oxidizing enzymes were determined in 25 male chronic alcoholic patients during ethanol ingestion and in half of this group following withdrawal. During ingestion, the mean rate of ethanol disappearance from the serum and the activity of the reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH)-dependent ethanol-oxidizing system were enhanced in the alcoholic patients when compared with control subjects. By contrast, there was no increase in the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase. In the repeat studies, performed in 12 patients (divided into three groups of 4 each) after 7, 14, and 21 days of withdrawal from alcohol, the mean rate of ethanol disappearance from the serum decreased to normal within 7 days, while the activity of the NADPH-dependent ethanol oxidizing system did not decrease significantly until 21 days after discontinuation of the ethanol. Alcohol dehydrogenase activity was increased 7 days after withdrawal from ethanol, returning to normal after 21 days. These observations suggest that increases in the activity of the NADPH-dependent ethanol-oxidizing system may contribute to, but do not fully explain, the enhanced rates of ethanol clearance in actively imbibing chronic alcoholics.
GeneTransfection for Metastasis Research Using Animal Models

One means of testing a candidate gene for involvement in the metastatic process is to alter the expression of that gene in a tumor cell and then to test the metastatic potential of the altered cells. In designing such experiments, it is crucial to take into account the factor of tumor heterogeneity (1). Some cell lines or cultures contain highly heterogeneous populations in regard to metastasis. Upon cloning these cells, some clones will be highly metastatic, but others will not. Thus, selection of a clone itself might skew the results if only a few clones are evaluated. Furthermore, the use of pooled populations after transfection must be considered with caution because the population may contain cells with a variety of metastatic potentials. To avoid these problems, it is necessary to do a preliminary experiment in which the chosen parental cell is subcloned and the subclones are tested for metastatic behavior. If the subclones have a similar metastatic potential to the parental line, then it should be a suitable recipient for metastasis studies. If, however, there is considerable variability in the subclones, either the subclones can be tested for stability or another more stable cell line should be sought.
Social Networks of Educated Nematodes

Entomopathogenic nematodes are obligate lethal parasitoids of insect larvae that navigate a chemically complex belowground environment while interacting with their insect hosts, plants, and each other. In this environment, prior exposure to volatile compounds appears to prime nematodes in a compound specific manner, increasing preference for volatiles they previously were exposed to and decreasing attraction to other volatiles. In addition, persistence of volatile exposure influences this response. Longer exposure not only increases preference, but also results in longer retention of that preference. These entomopathogenic nematodes display interspecific social behavioral plasticity; experienced nematodes influence the behavior of different species. This interspecific social behavioral plasticity suggests a mechanism for rapid adaptation of belowground communities to dynamic environments.
Measurement of blood flow in hypospadias flaps with subvisual doses of fluorescein.

AbstractHypospadias flap viability is determined most often by direct observation or injection of visual doses of fluorescein and observation with a Woods lamp. We support the use of a dermofluorometer and subvisual doses of fluorescein to measure tissue fluorescence in predicting flap viability.
Search for the lowestT = 2 state in14C by inelastic electron scattering

A search for the lowest-energyT = 2 state in14C has been attempted employing inelastic electron scattering techniques. Spectra obtained at 61 and 81 MeV incident-electron energy and 145.7° scattering angle fail to reveal significant structure at the predicted resonance energy. The implications of this result are discussed in terms of the particle-hole model and the ground-state structure of the14B analogue of this level.
Proposing a New Debrief Checklist for TeamSTEPPS® to Improve Documentation and Clinical Debriefing

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to propose a new debrief checklist for the Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety TeamSTEPPS® curriculum. Background. The current debrief checklist provided in the TeamSTEPPS® curriculum focuses on how the team performed, while leaving out the order of events that transpired during the team's time together. A failure to discuss the order of events can lead to improper or inadequate documentation, which can result in clinical error and increased litigation. Aim. In this article, I explain how the shared mental model, acquired during an actual or simulated clinical event needs to progress to the team debriefing to improve documentation. I propose an improved debrief checklist that is based on practice in numerous healthcare facilities and simulation centers worldwide. Conclusion. The TeamSTEPPS® curriculum should be updated to the new debrief checklist with the shared goal of reducing litigation and billing errors, while increasing patient safety.
Complexity as a streamflow metric of hydrologic alteration

We explore the potential of using a complexity measure from statistical physics as a streamflow metric of basin-scale hydrologic alteration. The complexity measure that we employ is a non-trivial function of entropy. To determine entropy, we use the so-called permutation entropy (PE) approach. The PE approach is desirable in this case since it accounts for temporal streamflow information and it only requires a weak form of stationarity to be satisfied. To compute the complexity measure and assess hydrologic alteration, we employ daily streamflow records from 22 urban basins, located in the metropolitan areas of the cities of Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, in the United States. We use urbanization to represent hydrologic alteration since urban basins are characterized by varied and often pronounced human impacts. Based on our application of the complexity measure to urban basins, we find that complexity tends to decline with increasing hydrologic alteration while entropy rises. According to this evidence, heavily urbanized basins tend to be temporally less complex (less ordered or structured) and more random than basins with low urbanization. This complexity loss may have important implications for stream ecosystems whose ability to provide ecosystem services depend on the flow regime. We also find that the complexity measure performs better in detecting alteration to the streamflow than more conventional metrics (e.g., variance and median of streamflow). We conclude that complexity is a useful streamflow metric for assessing basin-scale hydrologic alteration.
Chapter 1. Bending the Curve: Ten Scalable Solutions for Carbon Neutrality and Climate Stability

We are living in a world of over seven billion people, with annual greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 50 billion tons a year and rising steadily. If continued unabated, the world is on target to warm by about 2 °C in less than 40 years, pushing the climate to a regime unlike any that has been witnessed in the last million years. Nonetheless, we still have time to avert such a catastrophic scenario, or delay its occurrence by several decades to provide human societies and the ecosystem with the time to adjust. In order to mitigate the possibility of climate disruption, we need to recognize that fossil fuel based technologies have become outdated and transform the energy system to that of low-carbon, sustainable and secure energy systems. In addition, we have to mitigate emissions of the four short-lived climate pollutants to bring immediate relief from climate change and protect vulnerable societies. Stability of the climate system involves not only the centrality of scientific and technological advancements and investments, but also necessary shifts in social structure and behavior by individuals, communities and societies worldwide as well as market based instruments, sub-national collaborations and governance structure. Fortunately, living laboratories—such as the State of California and the University of California system, which has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2025—provide demonstrable solutions which hold promise in alleviating the climate warming in the next generation. These jurisdictions are tiny emitters in the global picture, but they offer the potential for leverage through demonstrating (Figure 1) new technologies as well as workable institutions that cut emissions. We outline 10 pragmatic solutions—a “kit of parts” rooted in California but scalable to the world—that taken together, can “bend the curve” of the upward trajectory of human-caused warming trends. Wholesale transformation of our current fossil fuel based energy systems towards sustainable energy is among the greatest of societal challenges—and opportunities—faced in the 21st century.
FLEXIBLE NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES AND APPROPRIABILITY: INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND FIRST-MOVER

Prior research argues that higher levels of innovation require less flexible, or more formalised, new product development (NPD) processes; that is, there is a negative relationship between level of innovation and flexible NPD processes. In this paper, we investigate the moderating role of firms’ appropriability strategies, intellectual property (IP) and first-mover, on the use of flexible NPD processes for different levels of innovation (radical, more innovative, and incremental). Using the Product Development and Management Association Foundation’s 2012 Comparative Performance Assessment Study, this research shows that the greater use of IP and first-mover appropriability strategies is associated with an increased use of flexible NPD processes as the level of innovation moves from incremental to radical. Therefore, the results show that the greater use of these appropriability strategies weakens the negative relationship between level of innovation and flexible NPD processes.
A Comparison – Contrast of Keynes's 1933-1935 IS-LM Model Incorporating Degree of Confidence (The State of the News) with Hicks' 1937 IS-LM Model without Degree of Confidence: D. Champernowne Got It Right in 1936

Between 1933 and 1935, Keynes used his own original version of the IS-LM model in his lectures concerning his new approach to economic theory, the General Theory. This model explicitly incorporated the degree of confidence that decision makers have in their calculated expectations, which is a probabilistic concept, in both the IS curve and LM curve in the variable termed the “State of the News”. Keynes did not explicitly emphasize this model in the General Theory because he could not explicitly make use of his interval valued approach to probabilities, which occurs if there is any state less then complete confidence. Instead, he substituted a generalized version, his D-Z model, of AC Pigou’s special theory of an aggregate demand function and an aggregate supply function, for his original IS-LM model. Keynes carried out this analysis in chapter 3, the appendix to chapter 19, chapter 20, and chapter 21 of the General Theory. This allowed him to specify his Aggregate Supply Curve, which is a locus of all expected, possible D-Z intersections that satisfy the necessary and sufficient first and second order conditions for maximizing economic profits in a purely competitive world in the short run with one variable input, labor, and one fixed input, capital. Keynes was able to do this because he replaced Pigou’s realized prices and profits with a set of expected prices and expected profits, expectations, that incorporated the idea of definite, numerical, as well as indefinite non-numerical (intervals) probability. Champernowne explicitly incorporated the State of the News into both of his IS-LM functions as independent variables and explicitly showed that his variable, which would shift both curves, was missing from the classical and neoclassical models where expectations are strictly based only on a concept of precise probability. Hicks read Champernowne’s paper before he submitted his own paper for publication in Econometrica in 1937. He deliberately left this variable out because he knew that it did not fit into the classical model he had created for comparison with Keynes’s model and did not understand what Keynes was talking about because his concept of probability interpreted the probability estimate as being the confidence expressed by a decision maker. Nevertheless, Hicks then attempted to rectify this situation by specifying a completely, infinitely elastic left tail for his LM curve that did reflect, but in an ad hoc manner, the lack of confidence of decision makers in the state of the news.
Projected precipitation changes within the Great Lakes and Western Lake Erie Basin: a multi-model analysis of intensity and seasonality

The Great Lakes region encompasses the largest freshwater lake network in the world and supports a diverse network of agriculture, transportation, and tourism. Recently, Lake Erie has experienced increased hypoxia events, which have been attributed to agricultural practices and changes in run-off. Here we examine the projected changes in extreme precipitation events to address concerns regarding regional agriculture, surface run-off, and subsequent water quality. Precipitation projections within the overall Great Lakes Basin and the Western Lake Erie Basin subregion are examined using climate model simulations of varying spatial resolutions to understand historical precipitation and projected future precipitation. We develop three model ensembles for the historical period (1980–1999) and the mid-century (2041–2060) that cover a range of spatial resolutions and future emissions scenarios, including: (1) 12 global model members from the fifth Climate Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5) using Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5, (2) ten regional climate model (RCM) members from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program driven by CMIP3 global models using the A2 emissions scenario, and (3) two high resolution RCM simulations (RCM4) driven by CMIP5 global models using the RCP 8.5 scenario. For the historical period, all model ensembles overestimate winter and spring precipitation, and many of the models simulate a summer drying that is not observed. At mid-century, most of the models predict a 10–20% increase in precipitation depending on the time of year. Daily probability distribution functions from three model ensembles reveal spring seasonal increases in high precipitation event probabilities when compared to the historical period, suggesting an increase in the frequency of high intensity precipitation at mid-century. Overall, the presence of lakes or higher spatial resolution does not ensure improved representation of historical processes, and more complex interactions between large-scale dynamics, local feedbacks, and physical parameterizations drive the model spread.
Matrix Profile V: A Generic Technique to Incorporate Domain Knowledge into Motif Discovery

Time series motif discovery has emerged as perhaps the most used primitive for time series data mining, and has seen applications to domains as diverse as robotics, medicine and climatology. There has been recent significant progress on the scalability of motif discovery. However, we believe that the current definitions of motif discovery are limited, and can create a mismatch between the user's intent/expectations, and the motif discovery search outcomes. In this work, we explain the reasons behind these issues, and introduce a novel and general framework to address them. Our ideas can be used with current state-of-the-art algorithms with virtually no time or space overhead, and are fast enough to allow real-time interaction and hypotheses testing on massive datasets. We demonstrate the utility of our ideas on domains as diverse as seismology and epileptic seizure monitoring.
Auditory stimulus intensity gradients and response to methylphenidate in ADD children.

Using an auditory stimulus intensity paradigm, we obtained both event related potentials (ERPs) and press and release reaction times (RT) from a large sample of children with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). The ERP gradients to three tone intensities were used to classify the children as augmenters (steep gradients), moderates, or reducers (shallow or negative gradients). The RT data were used to classify the children as strong or sensitive, following neo-Pavlovian guidelines. The children were then cross-classified on these two dimensions and compared on cognitive, behavioral, and performance measures. The groups were also compared in response to two dosage levels of methylphenidate. Based on prior studies, we hypothesized that: 1. ERP augmenters would respond as well to the low as high dose but that reducers would respond better to high than low dose; and II. sensitive types (RT measure) would do better on the higher dose and strong types on the low dose. The first hypothesis was confirmed on a performance task but not on behavioral ratings. At the lower dose, augmenters improved most and reducers least on a 10-minute coding task presumed to require sustained attention. There was no support for the second hypothesis either in ratings or performance. The ERP augmentation measure was significantly related to teacher rated attentiveness; i.e., reducers and moderates were rated more adversely. The RT sensitivity measure tended to be related to achievement; i.e., strong types had lower reading and spelling scores. The ERP and RT sensitivity measures were not significantly correlated.
Interactive Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury and Anxiety Sensitivity on PTSD Symptoms: A Replication and Extension in Two Clinical Samples

Traumatic brain injury is prevalent and linked with heightened risk for post-traumatic stress symptoms, yet little research has investigated the role of well-established cognitive-affective risk factors in explaining this association. The present study addressed this gap by evaluating if elevations in anxiety sensitivity global score and subscales (cognitive concerns, physical concerns, social concerns) potentiated the effects of traumatic brain injury history on post-traumatic stress symptoms in two clinical samples: trauma-exposed smokers (n = 256; study 1) and trauma-exposed treatment-seeking adults (n = 117; study 2). Both samples revealed a significant interaction such that traumatic brain injury was more strongly linked with post-traumatic stress symptoms among those with high anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns. In addition, anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns demonstrated a stronger relationship with post-traumatic stress symptoms among those with a traumatic brain injury history. Taken together, these results of both studies underscore the importance of anxiety sensitivity cognitive concerns in the association of traumatic brain injury and posttraumatic stress symptoms.
Discrepancy Between Neurosurgery Morbidity and Mortality Conference Discussions and Hospital Quality Metric Standards.

Objective Medical institutions use quality metrics to track complications seen in hospital admissions. Similarly, morbidity and mortality (M&M) conferences are held to peer review complications. The purpose of this study was to compare the complications identified in a cohort of patients within 30 days of neurosurgical intervention with those captured in a cohort of M&M conferences. Methods All complications that occurred within 30 days of surgery were obtained for patients admitted to the neurosurgical service between May and September 2013. All patients discussed in M&M conference between August 2012 and February 2015 were included in a second data set. Complications were subdivided into 4 categories and compared between the 2 cohorts. Results A total of 749 postoperative complications were identified, including 52 urinary tract infections, 52 pneumonias, 15 deep vein thromboses, 19 strokes, 75 seizures, 25 wound infections, 6 cardiac arrests, and 162 reoperations. Eighty-five M&M cases were reviewed, identifying 9 strokes, 3 seizures, 8 wound infections, 13 hematomas, 7 intraoperative errors, and 11 postoperative deaths. The M&M cohort showed higher rates of neurologic complications (P Conclusions Both neurosurgical service inpatient complications and complications discussed in M&M provide valuable opportunities for identifying areas in need of quality improvement. As the United States moves toward an outcomes reimbursement model, neurosurgical programs should adjust M&M conferences to reflect both technical operative complications as well as more common complications.
Structural Differences in Hippocampal and Entorhinal Gray Matter Volume Support Individual Differences in First Person Navigational Ability.

Abstract The ability to update position and orientation to reach a goal is crucial to spatial navigation and individuals vary considerably in this ability. The current structural MRI study used voxel-based morphometry (VBM) analysis to relate individual differences in human brain morphology to performance in an active navigation task that relied on updating position and orientation in a landmark-free environment. Goal-directed navigation took place from either a first person perspective, similar to a person walking through the landmark-free environment, or Survey perspective, a bird’s eye view. Critically, the first person perspective required a transformation of spatial information from an allocentric into an egocentric reference frame for goal-directed navigation. Significant structural volume correlations in the hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and thalamus were related to first person navigational accuracy. Our results support the theory that hippocampus, entorhinal cortex, and thalamus are key structures for updating position and orientation during ground-level navigation. Furthermore, the results suggest that morphological differences in these regions underlie individual navigational abilities, providing an important link between animal models of navigation and the variability in human navigation.
Incredible Years® Parent and Child Programs for Maltreating Families

The purpose of this chapter is to describe the conceptual grounding and content of the evidence-based IY parent and child programs, including research evidence and to discuss the rationale for use of both these programs with families involved with child maltreatment. A brief summary of the methods for working with families involved with child welfare agencies and a case study is provided as well as references to other articles that provide more specific details for how to deliver the parent and child programs with fidelity to this population.
3-[123I]Iodo-5-(pyridine-2-ylethynyl)benzonitrile ([123I]IPEB): A new SPECT ligand for metabotropic glutamate receptor subtype 5 (mGluR5)

325 Objectives Recent development of PET radiotracers for mGluR5 enables us to elucidate the role of mGluR5 in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Huntington’s disease in vivo. Those successes will bring more demand for mGluR5 radiotracers in the future. However, short half-life of PET isotope and limited number of PET radiochemistry facilities will not be able to catch up with the future demands for mGluR5 research and clinical application. Those problems can be solved by the development of SPECT radiotracers with longer half-life isotopes. Recently several promising iodine compounds were proposed as mGluR5 negative allosteric modulators. Here, we report the radiosynthesis of [123I]IPEB and its preliminary SPECT-CT imaging in normal mouse brain. Methods Bromo-precursor of [123I]IPEB was prepared by Sonogashira coupling between 2-ethynylpyridine and 3,5-dibromobenzonitrile. The bromine of the precursor was converted into iodine via tributylstannyl group to synthesize nonradioactive IPEB. Radioiodine displacement reaction with [123I]iodide and bromo-precursor mediated by copper(I) catalyst produced [123I]IPEB. SPECT scan was carried out in C57/BL6 mouse model 30 min after administration of [123I]IPEB (300 μCi i.v.) using 4 heads with 16 steps and frame time of 30 sec. SPECT imaging was followed by CT. Results Bromo-precursor and nonradioactive IPEB were prepared by one step with 64% yield and three step synthesis with overall 23% yield respectively. Radioiodination was completed up to 40% RCY with >98% radiochemical purity. [123I]IPEB did cross BBB, and showed high uptake in striatum, hippocampus, and olfactory bulb corresponding the previous studies with mGluR5 PET radiotracers. Conclusions We developed promising SPECT radiotracer for mGluR5 with 2-3 steps synthesis. [123I]IPEB displayed high uptake in the brain regions where mGluR5 is abundant. This SPECT ligand will be a promising candidate for translational studies. Research Support NIBIB-R01EB012864 and NIMH-R01MH91684 to ALB
Aerodynamic Benefits from Close-Following

Many believe that the highway congestion experienced in virtually all major urban areas in the United States is the most serious impediment to continued economic growth. Space limitations and cost will probably preclude the construction of significant quantities of new highway in the immediate future. As estimated from several recent freeway projects in Los Angeles, highway construction cost in Los Angeles County is approaching $12 million/lane per mile. To make a modest increase of 25% in the number of highway lane-miles in the Los Angeles County urban area would represent an investment of the order of $12 billion. (The costs are presumed to be similar for other urban areas in the United States.) It is not realistic to suppose that funding support of this magnitude would be available, or necessarily advisable. Rather, it is the more efficient use of the presently available highway system that is the focus of the automated highway (AHS) concept. To improve the operation of the highway system, two solutions might be considered: either decrease the average vehicle width to produce more lanes of traffic, or increase the traffic flow of existing lanes. Automobiles and trucks can be made narrower but not significantly so, and only at great cost. The second choice is more compelling because large improvements in the flow (or throughput) along a highway are possible by incorporating the orderly movement of vehicles, together with a reduction in the longitudinal spacing between vehicles. Both items are contained in the close-following concept.
Women's Relationships:: Female Friendship in Toni Morrison's Sula and Love, Mariama Ba's So Long a Letter and Sefi Atta's Everything Good Will Come

This study analyzes female friendship in four novels written by black diasporic women and examines the impact of race, class and gender on women‘s relationships. The novels emphasize how women face the challenges of patriarchal institutions and other attempts to subjugate then through polygamy, neo-colonialism, constraints of tradition, caste prejudice, political instability and the Biafra war. This dissertation uses characterization and plot analysis to explore the different stories and messages the novels portray. As findings this study foregrounds the healing powers of female bonding, which allows women to overcome prejudice and survive, to enjoy female empowerment, and to extend female friendship into female solidarity that participates in nation building. However, another conclusion focuses on the power of patriarchy which constitutes a threat to female bonding and usually causes women‘s estrangement. INDEX WORDS: Women‘s relationships, Female friendship, Female bonding, Sisterhood, Female solidarity, Female Empowerment WOMEN‘S RELATIONSHIPS: FEMALE FRIENDSHIP IN TONI MORRISON‘S SULA AND LOVE, MARIAMA BA‘S SO LONG A LETTER AND SEFI ATTA‘S EVERYTHING GOOD WILL COME
Living Sustainably: What Intentional Communities Can Teach Us About Democracy, Simplicity, and Nonviolence, by A. Whitney Sanford, Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 2017, viii + 292 pp., $50.00 (hardback), ISBN 978 0 8131 6863 0

In an era in which Americans are increasingly concerned about unsustainable food and energy systems and loss of social community, Whitney Sanford set out to explore potential solutions offered by i...
Obesity, but not hypohydration, mediates changes in mental task load during passive heating in females.

Background The independent effects of hypohydration and hyperthermia on cognition and mood is unclear since the two stresses often confound each other. Further, it is unknown if obese individuals have the same impairments during hyperthermia and hypohydration that is often observed in non-obese individuals. Methods The current study was designed to assess the independent and combined effects of mild hypohydration and hyperthermia on cognition, mood, and mental task load in obese and non-obese females. Twenty-one healthy females participated in two passive heating trials, wherein they were either euhydrated or hypohydrated prior to and throughout passive heating. Cognition (ImPACT), mental task load (NASA-TLX), and mood (Brunel Mood Scale; BRUMS) were measured before and after a 1.0 °C increase in core temperature (TC). Results After a 1.0 °C TC elevation, hypohydration resulted in greater (p 0.05). Hyperthermia, regardless of hydration status, impaired (∼5 A.U) measures of memory-based cognition (verbal and visual memory), and increased mental task load, while worsening mood (p 0.05). Conclusion These data indicate that hyperthermia independently impairs memory-based aspects of cognitive performance, mental task load, and leads to a negative mood state. Mild hypohydration did not exacerbate the effects of hyperthermia. However, obese individuals had increased mental task load during hyperthermia.
Structure and Spectroscopy of Furan:H2O Complexes

An analysis of the 1:1 complex of furan and water is presented. In this study, computation and matrix isolation FTIR were used to determine stable complexes of furan:water. Density functional theory and Moller–Plesset second-order, perturbation theory calculations found four, unique geometries for the complex. Two complexes were characterized by C–H···O interactions, one complex was characterized by O–H···O, and the fourth complex was characterized by O–H···π. Optimizations completed using B3LYP, B3LYP-GD3BJ, M05-2X, and MP2 showed the most stable species to be bound by O–H···O interactions. Matrix isolation experiments of mixtures of furan and water held in nitrogen at 15 K showed evidence of stable complexes when probed by FTIR. These signatures grew in intensity when matrices were annealed at 30 K. These vibrational features were predominately associated with perturbation of the water monomer. Additionally, the spectra of complexes containing water isotopologues were recorded. Analysis of spectral feat...
Mathematical Models of Cell Response Following Heating

The cells of the cardiovascular system can experience temperature excesses of a few degrees during a diseased state or of tens of degrees during a thermal therapy treatment. These raised temperatures may be acute or of long duration. The multiple cell lines that compose each tissue then react, in approximate order of increasing thermal insult, by expressing heat shock proteins, undergoing apoptosis, or suffering necrosis. Mathematical models of the response of cells could aid in planning and designing thermal therapies. The multi-factor nature of the cell response makes it challenging to develop such models. The models most used clinically are mathematically simple and based on the response of representative tissues. The model that might provide the most fundamental understanding of the biochemical response of cells requires many parameters, some of which are difficult to measure. None of the semi-empirical models that provide improved prediction of cell fate have been widely accepted to plan therapies. There remain great opportunities for developing mathematical models cell response.
Our Mindsets: The Answer Has Been Hiding in Plain Sight

This chapter speaks to how old mindsets produce old behaviors and old results in a new world. New ways of thinking about people as partners need to replace older, more traditional human-resource-based viewpoints. I develop the notion that, especially in times of change, businesses need the support of their people to embrace change and adapt quickly; to volunteer their best thinking and commitment. That means that leaders will have to change in order to earn that support by how they think about and treat their people every day. The alternative is to lose support when it is needed most. Two Simple Truths are introduced.
The growing relevance of biological ene reactions

The ene reaction involves the addition of an 'ene' to an 'enophile.' The retro-ene reaction is the reverse of the ene reaction. In recent years various biological molecules have been found to form covalent intermediates (ene-adducts) that might be the result of an ene reactions. Such adducts have been characterized or implicated for dihydropyridines and pyridininum cofactors derived from vitamin B3, such as the reduced and oxidized forms of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH/NAD); flavin cofactors derived from vitamin B2, such as flavin adenine dinucleotide, FAD, and flavin mononucleotide, FMN; vitamin C; the oxime intermediate of nitric oxide synthase; tyrosine; and other biomolecules. Given the ubiquitous nature of these cofactors, it might be speculated that the formation of ene-adducts is a more common principle in biochemistry.
TiO2-carbon nanoporous composites prepared via ZnO nanoparticle-templated carbonization of glucose adsorb and photodegrade organic pollutants in water

Abstract We report the ZnO nanoparticle-templated formation of nanoporous carbon (NTC) embedded with TiO2 nanoparticles for the adsorption and photodegradation of organic pollutants in water. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) studies indicate that NTC and NTC-TiO2 exhibit two types of porosities with average pore diameters of 2.8 and 11.5 nm, while Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) surface area analysis revealed the surface area of 302 and 230 m2/g, respectively. These materials exhibit fast adsorption kinetics against methylene blue, ofloxacin, and tetracycline in water. Exposure of NTC-TiO2 to UV-light results in higher contaminant adsorption due to the active photodegradation which prevents the saturation of the nanocomposite.
The role of leaders in laboratory safety: With an example from industry

Infectious disease research, like any scientific enterprise, is dependent on technology, subject matter experts, hard work …and engaged leadership. The pace of progress in research and development of vaccines, drugs, diagnostics or foundational knowledge is always more rapid when laboratory organizational cultures are collaborative and communication is open. Relationships of trust between individual scientists and with their leaders in an organization further fuel productivity. Laboratory safety is sometimes seen as just another administrative function, but that is far from the case. A focus on safety in an infectious disease laboratory not only protects the staff and the community around the lab; it also contributes to a healthy and vibrant organizational culture and even enhances productivity. Key words: High-containment laboratory; Biological safety; Leadership; Organizational culture
Aminoacyl-tRNA Synthetases and tRNAs for an Expanded Genetic Code: What Makes them Orthogonal?

In the past two decades, tRNA molecules and their corresponding aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) have been extensively used in synthetic biology to genetically encode post-translationally modified and unnatural amino acids. In this review, we briefly examine one fundamental requirement for the successful application of tRNA/aaRS pairs for expanding the genetic code. This requirement is known as “orthogonality”—the ability of a tRNA and its corresponding aaRS to interact exclusively with each other and avoid cross-reactions with additional types of tRNAs and aaRSs in a given organism.
Studying the Effects of Optimal Fleet Management of Plug-In Electric Vehicles on the Unit Commitment Problem Considering the Technical and Social Aspects

In this chapter, the effects of fleet management (FM) of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) on the generation scheduling and unit commitment (UC) problem of a generation system are studied considering the technical and social aspects of the problem. The objective function of generation company (GENCO) is to minimize the operation cost of generation system by the optimal FM of PEVs considering low, moderate, and high PEV penetration levels. Herein, the drivers are categorized in three different social classes based on their income level including low-income, moderate-income, and high-income. In this study, the behavior of each social class of drivers is modelled based on the reaction of drivers with respect to the value of incentive, suggested by the GENCO, to transfer their charging demand from the peak period to the off-peak one. A sensitivity analysis is performed for the total cost of problem with respect to value of incentive considering different PEV penetration levels and various social classes of drivers. Moreover, the value of error (due to the unrealistic modelling of drivers’ social class) in the optimal value of incentive, minimum total cost of problem, and generation scheduling and commitment of generation units is investigated.
Semi-Parametric Efficient Policy Learning with Continuous Actions

We consider off-policy evaluation and optimization with continuous action spaces. We focus on observational data where the data collection policy is unknown and needs to be estimated from data. We take a semi-parametric approach where the value function takes a known parametric form in the treatment, but we are agnostic on how it depends on the observed contexts. We propose a doubly robust off-policy estimate for this setting and show that off-policy optimization based on this doubly robust estimate is robust to estimation errors of the policy function or the regression model. We also show that the variance of our off-policy estimate achieves the semi-parametric efficiency bound. Our results also apply if the model does not satisfy our semi-parametric form but rather we measure regret in terms of the best projection of the true value function to this functional space. Our work extends prior approaches of policy optimization from observational data that only considered discrete actions. We provide an experimental evaluation of our method in a synthetic data example motivated by optimal personalized pricing.
Proton affinity studies of nickel N2S2 complexes and control of aggregation

The thiolate ligands of [NiFe]-H2ase enzymes have been implicated as proton-binding sites for the reduction/oxidation of H+/H2. This study examines the ligand effect on reactivity of NiN2S2 complexes with an array of acids in methanol solution. UV–Vis absorption spectroscopy is utilized to observe the transformation from the monomeric species to a trimetallic complex that is formed after proton-induced ligand dissociation. Nickel complexes with a flexible (propyl and ethyl) N to N linker were found to readily form the trimetallic complex with acids as weak as ammonium (pKa = 10.9 in methanol). A more constrained nickel complex with a diazacycloheptane N to N linker required stronger acids such as 2,2-dichloroacetic acid (pKa = 6.38 in methanol) to form the trimetallic complex and featured the formation of an NiN2S2H+ complex with acetic acid (pKa = 9.63 in methanol). The most strained ligand, which featured a diazacyclohexane backbone, readily dissociated from the nickel center upon mixture with acids with pKa ≤ 9.63 and showed no evidence of a trimetallic species with any acid. This research highlights the dramatic differences in reactivity with proton sources that can be imparted by minor alterations to ligand geometry and strain.
Psychometric Properties of a Comprehensive Parenting Practice Measure for Parents of Adolescents

Many measures exist that assess parenting skills and practices. Few comprehensive measures for parents of adolescents (13–17 years) exist. The aim of the current study was to develop a comprehensive assessment measure of parenting practices based on items from existing measures. Research and clinical settings can benefit from the advancement of a valid and more inclusive measure of parenting to assess youth behavior and functioning. This study utilized a sample that included 387 caregivers and youth (mean age of youth = 13.6, SD = .59) from a longitudinal study examining contextual influences on youths’ substance use initiation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted on 12 parent-report measures of parenting. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on a second sample, which included peers (N = 362, mean age of peers = 13.6, SD = 1.09) and peers’ caregivers of the youth included in the original sample. The EFA results indicated a three-factor solution (i.e., parental knowledge and affective relationships, parental control, parental communication and involvement), which was supported in the CFA. The final measure demonstrated strong internal consistency and satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity. This study supported the sound psychometrical features of the Parenting Practice Measure (PPM), a comprehensive measure of parenting quality for adolescent samples. The PPM can serve as a tool for clinicians to design more targeted treatment plans and evaluate the effectiveness of treatments when working with parents with children in the early teenage years.
Interpretable Machine Learning for Perturbation Biology

Systematic perturbation of cells followed by comprehensive measurements of molecular and phenotypic responses provides an informative data resource for constructing computational models of cell biology. Models that generalize well beyond training data can be used to identify combinatorial perturbations of potential therapeutic interest. Major challenges for machine learning on large biological datasets are to find global optima in an enormously complex multi-dimensional solution space and to mechanistically interpret the solutions. To address these challenges, we introduce a hybrid approach that combines explicit mathematical models of dynamic cell biological processes with a machine learning framework, implemented in Tensorflow. We tested the modelling framework on a perturbation-response dataset for a melanoma cell line after drug treatments. The models can be efficiently trained to accurately describe cellular behavior, as tested by cross-validation. Even though completely data-driven and independent of prior knowledge, the resulting de novo network models recapitulate some known interactions. The main predictive application is the identification of combinatorial candidates for cancer therapy. The approach is readily applicable to a wide range of kinetic models of cell biology.