cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Imaginación: definición, utilidad y neurobiología

Imagination, distinct from imagery, memory, and cognition, is a poorly understood but fascinating cognitive ability of human beings. Herein, imagination is defined as 'the cognitive process which enables the individual to manipulate intrinsically generated phenomenal information in order to create a representation perceived by the mind's senses.' This definition is expanded within the context of the neurobiology of the brain and the possible purposes the imagination fulfills in daily living, human development, and normal behavior.
Beta-Amyloid Oligomer Formation in Physiological Solutions - a Study by Single-Molecule Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer

Formation of oligomers of β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides is a pivotal initial event associated with the pathogenicity of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using the single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) microscopy technique, we have detected the very beginning of the formation of Aβ peptide oligomers in physiological solutions. The existence of oligomers is identified from the FRET between dyes individually bonded to the N-terminus of the 40-unit peptides. Several dimers and oligomers identified by the varying FRET efficiency have been detected. The dimer with the highest stability is characterized to have a distance of 43 A between its two N-termini, in an anti-parallel structure that is similar to that of the dimer unit (anti-parallel hairpin) that has been previously identified in the fibrils.
Conquer glossophobia: Help students overcome their fear of public speaking

BRIEF SESSION DESCRIPTION:Explore techniques for overcoming the fear of public speaking and learn how to share this strategies with students.________________________________________________________________FULL ABSTRACT: In this session, techniques for overcoming the fear public speaking will be demonstrated, followed by attendees participating in some of these exercises. Variations of the exercises will be shared so that participants have many options to share with students. This knowledge will not only benefit the student in this class, but will benefit the student when making presentations in other classes and in the job world. They can be used by people of any age or any background, and in any discipline. Also, participants that have their own fear of public speaking would also be able to use these techniques when they present at a conference. As a take-away, a handoutwill be provided that lists additional public speaking resources for further learning, such as recommended pedagogical articles from journals as well as articles and videos from leaders in the field. Insights and lessons learned from presenter using these exercises in their own classroom as well as in training over 100 TED and TEDx speakers, working one-on-one with speakers at the Next Generation of Government Training Summit and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, and consulting with speakers through their company, Fireworks Communication Consultants will be also shared.
Projections of Twenty-First-Century Climate Extremes for Alaska via Dynamical Downscaling and Quantile Mapping

AbstractClimate change is expected to alter the frequencies and intensities of at least some types of extreme events. Although Alaska is already experiencing an amplified response to climate change, studies of extreme event occurrences have lagged those for other regions. Forced migration due to coastal erosion, failing infrastructure on thawing permafrost, more severe wildfire seasons, altered ocean chemistry, and an ever-shrinking season for snow and ice are among the most devastating effects, many of which are related to extreme climate events. This study uses regional dynamical downscaling with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model to investigate projected twenty-first-century changes of daily maximum temperature, minimum temperature, and precipitation over Alaska. The forcing data used for the downscaling simulations include the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) interim reanalysis (ERA-Interim; 1981–2010), Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Climate Model, versio...
Introduction: Sameness and Difference in the “New” South Africa—Desire and Nonhuman Resistance

This introductory chapter examines the contemporary state of post-apartheid South Africa by looking at the massacre at the Marikana platinum mines as an example of the failures to bring about a “new” South Africa or “rainbow” nation. It offers a brief overview of the colonial and apartheid periods before looking at the efforts to transform South African society away from its violent past through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and other efforts. Then the chapter outlines the potential of contemporary South African literature to foster new ways of thinking and relating, especially those novels featuring non-human animals and desire. It also scopes out the project’s contributions to the fields of animal studies, postcolonial studies, biopolitics, ecocriticism, and Deleuze studies.
Survival After Esophagectomy: A Propensity-Matched Study of Different Surgical Approaches.

Background Although open esophagectomy (OE) is considered the "gold standard" treatment for esophageal cancer, robotic-assisted minimally invasive esophagectomy (RAMIE), and laparoscopic/thoracoscopic minimally invasive esophagectomy (MIE) are becoming more common. This study aimed to compare short-term outcomes and overall survival of patients undergoing RAMIE, MIE, and OE. Methods The National Cancer Data Base was queried for patients who had OE, RAMIE, or MIE for esophageal cancer from 2010 to 2013. Three propensity-matched cohorts were generated, one for each surgical approach. Survival was examined in the unmatched and matched cohorts. Results We identified 9,217 patients who underwent RAMIE (581; 6.3%), MIE (2,379; 25.8%), or OE (6,257; 67.9%). In the unmatched cohort, 30-day mortality was higher after RAMIE. The RAMIE and MIE patients had more lymph nodes harvested than OE patients. Median survival was 48 months after RAMIE, 44 months after MIE, and 41 months after OE ( p = 0.121). The propensity-matched groups contained 569 patients each. There was a trend toward higher 30-day mortality in the RAMIE group. The number of lymph nodes harvested was similar among the groups. There were no significant differences in survival, with a median survival of 48 months after RAMIE, 49 months after MIE, and 44 months after OE ( p = 0.53). Conclusions We were unable to find significant differences in long-term survival of patients with esophageal cancer undergoing RAMIE, OE, or MIE. Surgeon experience and expertise may be more important than surgical approach for esophageal cancer.
Keynote: Peering into the post Moore's Law world

For decades, Moore's Law dimensional scaling has been the fuel that propelled the computing industry forward, by delivering performance, power and cost advantages with each new generation of silicon. Today, these scaling benefits are slowing to a crawl. If the computing industry wants to continue to make scalability the primary source of value in tomorrow's computing systems, we will have to quickly find new and productive ways to scale future systems. In this talk, I will highlight my work and the work of others that is rejuvenating scaling through the application of heterogeneous parallel designs. Leveraging these technologies to solve the scaling problem will be a significant challenge, as future scalability success will ultimately be less about “how” to do it and more about “how much” will it cost.
StatSym: Vulnerable Path Discovery through Statistics-Guided Symbolic Execution

Identifying vulnerabilities in software systems is crucial to minimizing the damages that result from malicious exploits and software failures. This often requires proper identification of vulnerable execution paths that contain program vulnerabilities or bugs. However, with rapid rise in software complexity, it has become notoriously difficult to identify such vulnerable paths through exhaustively searching the entire program execution space. In this paper, we propose StatSym, a novel, automated Statistics-Guided Symbolic Execution framework that integrates the swiftness of statistical inference and the rigorousness of symbolic execution techniques to achieve precision, agility and scalability in vulnerable program path discovery. Our solution first leverages statistical analysis of program runtime information to construct predicates that are indicative of potential vulnerability in programs. These statistically identified paths, along with the associated predicates, effectively drive a symbolic execution engine to verify the presence of vulnerable paths and reduce their time to solution. We evaluate StatSym on four real-world applications including polymorph, CTree, Grep and thttpd that come from diverse domains. Results show that StatSym is able to assist the symbolic executor, KLEE, in identifying the vulnerable paths for all of the four cases, whereas pure symbolic execution fails in three out of four applications due to memory space overrun.
Parametric Instabilities During High Power Helicon Wave Injection on DIII-D

High power helicon (whistler) waves at a frequency of 0.47 GHz are being considered for efficient off-axis current generation in high performance DIII-D plasmas and in K-Star [3]. The need for deploying helicon waves for current profile control has been noted in previous publications since penetration to the core of reactor grade plasmas is easier than with lower hybrid slow waves (LHCD) which suffer from accessibility limitations and strong electron Landau absorption in fusion grade high temperature plasmas. In this work we show that under typical experimental conditions in present day tokamaks with 1 MW of RF power coupled per antenna, the associated perpendicular electric fields of the order of 40 kV/m can drive strong parametric decay instabilities near the lower hybrid layer. The EXB and polarization drift velocities which are the dominant driver of the PDI can be comparable to the speed of sound in the outer plasma layers, a key measure of driving PDI instabilities. Here we calculate growth rates and convective thresholds for PDIs, and we find that decay waves into hot ion lower hybrid waves and ion cyclotron quasi modes dominate in the vicinity of the lower hybrid layer, possibly leading to pump depletion. Such instabilities in future reactor grade high temperature plasmas are less likely.
Rural–urban inequities in deaths and cancer mortality amid rapid economic and environmental changes in China

This paper examines rural–urban inequities in mortality and cancer mortality amid rapid economic growth and environmental degradation in China. SPSS and Joinpoint Regression were used to analyze the 2002–2015 datasets from all death registries in China and associated economic and environmental data. Death and cancer mortality rates among rural residents were higher and increased faster than urban residents. In particular, rural men 30–34 years old were 44% more likely to die from cancer and over 67% more likely to die from all causes, compared to their urban counterparts. Among rural women 15–19 years old, the death rate was 47% higher and the cancer mortality rate was 44% higher than among urban women. Death and cancer mortality rates tended to be positively associated with economic growth and air pollution variables. Rural–urban health inequities have widened in China, with rural youth at the greatest disadvantage. The anticipated health benefits from income growth may have been offset by the impact of air pollution, which calls for further investigation into the causes of rural–urban health inequities.
C-1002: Survivals approach 100% for mouse oocytes suspended in one-third concentration of vitrification media, vitrified, and warmed ultra-rapidly by an IR laser pulse

Vitrification is the most sought after route to the cryopreservation of animal oocytes and embryos and other cells of medical, genetic, and agricultural importance. Standard vitrification has been based on two firmly held premises. One is that the vitrification solution in which the cells are suspended must have a very high concentration of a mixture of non-electrolytic solutes, some of which can permeate the cell and some of which cannot. We have used EAFS10/10, a solution developed by Pedro et al., where E, A, F, and S refer to ethylene glycol (EG), acetamide, Ficoll, and sucrose. The total molality is 7.38 molal, of which 6.5 molal is permeating (EG and acetamide), and the remainder are non-permeating. The second premise is that avoiding ice formation in cells and obtaining high survivals demands the highest of cooling rates. Consequently, a series of devices have been developed over the past decades that achieve cooling rates of ⩾10,000 °C/min by using very small volumes of cell suspensions. One example is the Cryotop. So, current thinking is that successful vitrification requires that cells be suspended in high concentrations of protective solutes and that they be cooled at very high rates to below -100°C. We report here that neither of these beliefs hold for mouse oocytes. Rather, we find that if mouse oocytes are suspended in media that produce considerable osmotic dehydration before vitrification and are subsequently warmed at ultrarapid rates (10,000,000 °C/min) achieved by a laser pulse, nearly 100% will survive even when cooled rather slowly and when the concentration of solutes in the medium is only one third of the standard. Full paper published on-line 3/22/14 at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cryobiol.2014.02.005 . Research supported by NIH grant R01OD011201 .
Art imitates life: programming by example as an imitation game

Having the computer imitate recorded human actions is the basis for an experimental technology for programming, variously called "Programming by Example" or "Programming by Demonstration". This is an under-appreciated technology that holds the promise of revolutionizing programming and making it more accessible, especially to non-expert programmers. Because imitation is a natural learning strategy for people, it can help alleviate the barriers of abstraction and lack of short-term memory that makes programming difficult for people. Much past work has focused on how to represent the recorded actions, and how to generalize the resulting procedures so that they can be applicable to examples analogous to those on which the system is taught. This chapter will survey past work in the field and speculate on how the mechanics of imitative behavior might inform future developments, especially the feedback loop of verifying that imitative behavior has the desired result in new situations.
The Wolf-Rayet and O Star Content of Violent Starbursts

New population synthesis models for starburst regions have been computed, with an emphasis on the W-R population and the output of ionizing photons.
Infrared Spectroscopy of Adsorbates on Metals: Direct Absorption and Emission

Measurements of the vibrational spectra of monolayers or submono-layers of adsorbates on surfaces present a severe challenge to the infrared spectroscopist. In many cases, multiple surfaces cannot be used and small signals must be measured that are superimposed on background radiation that can be many orders of magnitude stronger. To be successful, an experiment must be both well conceived and well executed. The conventional approaches are transmittance and reflection-absorption spectroscopy. Hoffmann(1) and Ryberg(2) have reviewed the reflection-absorption technique. Many approaches have been used to enhance the size of the surface signal relative to the backgrounds. These include multiple reflection,(3,4) attenuated total internal reflection,(5) surface electromagnetic waves,(6) and Stark modulation,(7) as well as direct measurements of absorption and emission.
Silk Roads and Great Games: Prelude to Global Governance or Great Power Conflict?

The Islamic world has its own dreams of resurgence and global influence. They know that most of the mega-networks that China envisions will retrace the ancient routes of Muslim traders, seafarers, ...
The Role of Hyperglycemia in CD4 T Cell Survival and Differentiation

The major driving force in the pathogenesis of pre-diabetes and Type 2 Diabetes is thought to be chronic and low grade systemic inflammation. Immune cells are key players in the induction of this chronic inflammation; however, the type of immune cells and mechanisms underlying the rapidly progressing pathogenesis of this disease are unclear. Therefore, we examined whether hyperglycemia alters CD4 T cell activation, differentiation and survival. Dendritic cells and T cells were isolated from human peripheral blood and cultured with varying amounts of glucose. Using flow cytometry we found dendritic cells primed in hyperglycemic conditions induced CD4 T cells to exhibit a more activated phenotype capable of mobilization. This was evident by upregulation of the adhesion molecule CD11a. Additionally, these activated CD4 T cells had a lower degree of proliferation and decreased expression of the apoptotic protein caspase-3 compared to CD4 T cells primed by dendritic cells stimulated with a physiological concentration of glucose. We conclude that hyperglycemia drives CD4 T cells towards an activated immunophenotype, which could be assessed via flow cytometry in the clinic to further stratify patients with prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes and potentially predict those patients at highest risk for progression of the disease.
Response to letter regarding "An integrated physico-chemical approach for explaining the differential impact of FLASH versus conventional dose rate irradiation on cancer and normal tissue responses".

Response to Ling et al. regarding “An integrated physico-chemical approach for explaining the differential impact of FLASH versus conventional dose rate irradiation on cancer and normal tissue responses”
Safety and efficacy of the addition of bevacizumab (BV) to temozolomide (TMZ) and radiation therapy (RT) followed by BV, TMZ, and irinotecan (CPT-11) for newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM)

2015 Background: Standard GBM treatment includes TMZ and RT, and results in a median progression-free survival and median survival of 6.9 and 15.8 months, respectively. GBM have high concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), higher levels are associated with poorer prognosis. BV is a humanized antibody to VEGF with activity in recurrent GBMs. This study aims to improve the survival of newly diagnosed GBM patients by incorporating an anti-angiogenic agent with RT and TMZ, and adding a topoisomerase I inhibitor, and an anti-angiogenic agent to TMZ post-RT therapy. Methods: Patients received standard RT and TMZ at 75 mg/m2/day, with BV at 10 mg/kg every 14 days beginning a minimum of 28 days post-operatively. Following the completion of RT, patients received 6 cycles of BV, TMZ and CPT-11. Each cycle was 28 days. BV was given at a dose of 10 mg/kg on days 1 and 15, TMZ at 200 mg/m2 on days 1–5 and CPT-11 on days 1 and 15 at 125 mg/m2 for patients not on an enzyme inducing anti-epileptic dr...
Blowoff Characteristics of Laminar Partially Premixed Flames of Palm Methyl Ester/Jet A Blends

The blowoff characteristics of laminar partially premixed flames of prevaporized palm methyl ester (PME) and Jet A blends were studied over a range of equivalence ratios of 0.53–0.83 with and without heated coflow. The injector was designed to produce a uniform inner flow and had an inner diameter of 12.7 mm. The coflow velocity ranged up to 3.5 m/s. The flames were laminar and blue in color (dominated by homogeneous gas-phase reactions). The temperature profiles in all the flames were similar with a peak temperature of 1740 K. The blowoff velocity increased with equivalence ratio for all the flames; the difference in blowoff velocity of pure PME flames and pure Jet A flames was within experimental uncertainty. A Damkohler number (based on the velocity gradient at the jet boundary and chemical reaction timescale estimated from laminar flame velocity) of 2–8 characterized the blowoff velocity. As the coflow velocity was increased, the blowoff velocity was increased, and the differences between the values for the various flames became smaller.
Delayed Onset of an Intradural Epidermoid Tumor in the Lumbar Region Seven Years After Spinal Anesthesia for Childbirth: A Case Report.

Epidural or spinal anesthesia is commonly administered in births in the US, and the potential risks for epidermoid tumors are not well-characterized. We present the case of a 29-year-old female patient who developed an intradural epidermoid tumor in the lumbar spine, discovered seven years after spinal anesthesia for childbirth. MRI revealed a 4 cm tumor filling the entire spinal canal. Pathology confirmed the mass to be an epidermoid. Complete surgical resection of the intradural lesion was accomplished with full symptomatic relief. This case supports the relationship between delayed development of epidermoid tumors and spinal puncture in adult populations.
Characterization of film-evaporating microcapillaries for water-based microthrusters

Abstract Compact micronewton thrusters can provide attitude control for small satellites to increase mission duration and enable constellation flying. Micronewton thrust control can also enhance missions that require precision pointing such as space telescopes, laser interferometers, and laser communication relays. Film-Evaporating MEMS Tunable Array (FEMTA) is a novel micropropulsion device that generates thrust by heating a micron-scale water capillary to induce controlled film-evaporation. Thrust stand tests under high vacuum have shown that FEMTA can produce controllable thrust of 150 μN at 70 s specific impulse using 0.65 W of electrical power and ultra-pure deionized water as propellant. An undesired quiescent propellant loss rate is inherent to the current FEMTA design which limits its life span and reliability. To derive mitigations to this issue, the behavior of the fluid interface within the FEMTA micronozzle was characterized through direct experimentation. A test-bed FEMTA design was created which enabled direct observation of the liquid within the micronozzles and precise control over critical nozzle dimensions. These test-bed devices were used to measure contact angle, Laplace pressure, and total quiescent propellant loss rates for multiple nozzle configurations. Finally, a next generation FEMTA design was derived from the findings of these studies and its propulsive performance was measured under high vacuum on a micronewton thrust stand. Microfabrication was performed at Purdue’s Birck Nanotechnology Center and vacuum testing was completed at Purdue’s High Vacuum Lab.
Sexual Minority Stress, Mental Health Symptoms, and Suicidality among LGBTQ Youth Accessing Crisis Services

Sexual and gender minority youth are at elevated risk for suicide. Studies have separately established the relation between minority stress and mental health symptoms, as well as minority stress and suicidality. However, no known research has simultaneously examined different mental health mechanisms whereby minority stress may be associated with different suicidal experiences (e.g., suicidal ideation, suicide attempts). The present study used data from a national sample of 572 sexual and gender minority youth aged 12 to 24 (mean age = 17.59; SD = 3.13) recruited from an LGBTQ youth-focused suicide crisis prevention provider. Nearly one-third of the sample (30.2%) identified as transgender, genderqueer, or questioning. Nearly one quarter of the sample (24.3%) identified as gay, 17.1% as pansexual, 16.8% as bisexual, and 15.2% as lesbian. Structural equation modeling was used for mediation analyses to explain suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Serial mediation models were determined to be the best fit for both suicide-related outcomes. Minority stress was associated with depressive and PTSD symptoms, which were linked with suicidal ideation and attempt through hopelessness. The findings supported the hypotheses that minority stress would be associated with suicidality not just directly, but also indirectly through multiple mental health symptom pathways.
Unprotected sidewalls of implantable silicon-based neural probes and conformal coating as a solution.

Silicon-based implantable neural devices have great translational potential as a means to deliver various treatments for neurological disorders. However, they are currently held back by uncertain longevity following chronic exposure to body fluids. Conventional deposition techniques cover only the horizontal surfaces which contain active electronics, electrode sites, and conducting traces. As a result, a vast majority of today’s silicon devices leave their vertical sidewalls exposed without protection. In this work, we investigated two batch-process silicon dioxide deposition methods separately and in combination: atomic layer deposition and inductively-coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition. We then utilized a rapid soak test involving potassium hydroxide to evaluate the coverage quality of each protection strategy. Focused ion beam cross sectioning, scanning electron microscopy, and 3D extrapolation enabled us to characterize and quantify the effectiveness of the deposition methods. Results showed that bare silicon sidewalls suffered the most dissolution whereas ALD silicon dioxide provided the best protection, demonstrating its effectiveness as a promising batch process technique to mitigate silicon sidewall corrosion in chronic applications.
Metal-matrix composites embedded with piezoelectric PVDF sensors using ultrasonic additive manufacturing

Metal-matrix composites with active components have been investigated as a way to functionalize metals. As opposed to surface-mounted approaches, smart materials embedded in metals can be effectively shielded against the environment while providing in-situ sensing, health monitoring, actuation, or energy harvesting functions. Typical manufacturing approaches can be problematic, however, in that they may physically damage the smart material or degrade its electromechanical properties. For instance, non-resin-based embedment procedures such as powder metallurgy involve isostatic compression and diffusion bonding, leading to high process temperatures and breakdown of the electromechanical properties of the active component to be embedded. This paper presents the development and characterization of an aluminum-matrix composite embedded with piezoelectric polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) sensors using ultrasonic additive manufacturing (UAM). UAM incorporates the principles of solid-state, ultrasonic metal welding and subtractive processes to fabricate metal-matrices with seamlessly embedded smart materials and without thermal loading. As implemented in this study, the UAM process uses as-received, commercial Al 6061 tape foilstock and TE Connectivity PVDF film. In order to increase the mechanical coupling between the sensor and the metal-matrix without the aid of adhesives, the PVDF sensor is embedded with an empirically optimized pre-compression defined by the tape foils welded above the sensor. The specimen is characterized by tensile (d31 mode), bending (d31 mode), and compression tests (d33 mode) to evaluate its functional performance. Within the investigated load range, the specimen exhibits open-circuit sensitivities of 4.6 mV/N under uniaxial tension and 9.7 mV/N under compressive impulse tests with better than 95% linearity and frequency bandwidth of several kilohertz. The technology presented in this study could be applied for load and tactile sensing, impact detection and localization, thermal measurements, energy harvesting, and non-destructive testing applications.
Readability Analysis of the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Patient Educational Brochures

Introduction: Previous studies have shown patient education material (PEM) in ophthalmology has been written at levels exceeding appropriate reading levels. However, information for readability in ...
Abstract P203: Time-restricted Feeding Attenuates Hypertension In Mice

Hypertension is associated with inflammation and decreased kidney function. Studies of cardiovascular function have observed that time-restricted feeding (TRF), a form of intermittent fasting, is a...
Microspectrophotometry: I. Absorption spectra of colored oil globules in the chicken retina☆

Abstract Absorption spectra of intact colored globules in chicken retinas were obtained by the use of a microspectrophotometer. The three colored globules, red, yellow and green were examined in situ over the wavelength range 340–700 mμ. In addition, the absorption spectrum of a mixture of the colored globules, over the wavelength range 280–700 mμ, was determined. The results suggest that each globule contains a mixture of carotenoids, but that one carotenoid predominates in each colored globule, as follows: green-galloxanthin; yellow-lutein and/or zeaxanthin; red-astaxanthin. The ultraviolet spectrum of the globule mixture shows a strong broad absorption peak from 320-290 mμ, with fluorescence occurring for incident wavelengths of 270 mμ and below. The shapes of the absorption curves for each of these colored globules indicate that they can act as bandpass color filters if properly located relative to the photosensitive cone pigment.
Fitting in: the roles of social acceptance and discrimination in shaping the daily psychological well-being of Latino youth.

Objectives We examine how acculturation experiences such as discrimination and social acceptance influence the daily psychological well-being of Latino youth living in newly emerging and historical receiving immigrant communities. Methods We use data on 557 Latino youth enrolled in high school in Los Angeles or in rural or urban North Carolina. Results Compared to Latino youth in Los Angeles, Latino youth in urban and rural North Carolina experienced higher levels of daily happiness, but also experienced higher levels of daily depressive and anxiety symptoms. Differences in nativity status partially explained location differences in youths’ daily psychological well-being. Discrimination and daily negative ethnic treatment worsened, whereas social acceptance combined with daily positive ethnic treatment and ethnic and family identification improved, daily psychological well-being. Conclusions Our analysis contributes to understanding the acculturation experiences of immigrant youth and the roles of social context in shaping adolescent mental health.
RAISING MERET-IT-ES: EXAMINING AND CONSERVING AN EGYPTIAN ANTHROPOID COFFIN FROM 380–250 BCE

AbstractThe examination and treatment of the polychromed and gilded coffin of Meret-it-es required the participation of conservators, conservation scientists, the curator, preparators, a designer, wood scientists, and a structural engineer. Consolidation of the fragile, tented paint was done using either methyl cellulose or bulked Paraloid B-72. Space restrictions made it necessary to display the coffin upright, but x-ray radiography indicated that the aged Ficus wood has areas of potential weakness. Transmission ultrasound measurements (Sylvatest Duo, 22 kHz) were collected, and mechanical properties such as specific gravity, modulus of elasticity, and compression (parallel to the grain) of the wood were estimated to evaluate the risks from potential stress of raising the coffin upright. A Leica HDS 6000 laser and AT-901 laser tracker with T-Scan were used to capture point clouds of the inner coffin laying flat and then when raised to nearly vertical. This was done to see more precisely what movement, if...
Librarians and the terrible fix: economics of the big deal

Based on a paper presented at the 33rd UKSG Conference, Edinburgh, April 2010 The academic journal market is characterized by delegated purchasing, unreliable signals of demand and a complex, difficult-to-evaluate product. As a result, the demand for journals is highly inelastic to prices. Large commercial publishers have capitalized on this, by reducing competition through mergers and consolidations, offering ‘big deals’ and raising prices to levels far above average cost.We suggest that the demand for access to journal articles would be much more price elastic and the cost to the academic community would be lower if universities were to stop pur- chasing bundled site licenses at prices that greatly exceed average cost. While other libraries continue to purchase site licenses at inflated prices, a single university library cannot expect the price structure to change if it drops its big deal contract. Some libraries have saved money by hard bargaining. Others have saved even more by subscribing to only the most cost-effective single journals.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THIRD‐PARTY INDICES IN ASSESSING GLOBAL OPERATIONAL RISKS;*

In the face of global uncertainties and a growing reliance on third-party indices to obtain a snapshot of a country's operational risks, we explore the related questions: How accurately do third-party indices capture a country's operational risk, and how does the operational risk of the country, in turn, affect the volume of its import and export supply chains? We examine these questions by empirically investigating 81 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO) using archival data collected from UN agencies, independent think tanks, the WTO, and the Economist Intelligence Unit. We use seven third-party indices to gauge a country's internal environment and map those indices to corresponding country-specific operational risks to further understand the consequent effects of those operational risks on trading volume. Results provide strong evidence for the use of certain third-party indices in assessing operational risk. In addition, operational risks are found to negatively affect the volume of import and export supply chains, albeit in varying degrees.
Research on Vulnerable Populations

In this autobiographical account, the author discusses her life and career experiences and how these relate to her work in community organizing and social services. The author's own sense of marginality, which originated in her being a dark-skinned, white, female member of a North Carolina family, formed the basis of her concerns about populations facing vulnerability and risk. Although the author's research and writings have addressed diverse subjects, common themes emerge related to decision making and shared leadership and to helping vulnerable groups design and coordinate programs to serve their array of needs.
NON-VIOLENCE AND NONHUMANS: Foundations for Animal Welfare in the Thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer

This essay explores how the principles of ahimsa and reverence for life provide a foundation for animal welfare in the thought of Mohandas Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer, respectively. This exploration unfolds through a consideration of the contextual background of both thinkers, the scope of life to which they apply their respective principles, and both the ethical ramifications and limitations of this application. Within this common framework, the author delineates the striking commonalities and the significant disparities between Gandhi and Schweitzer. This comparison opens a common space within which ecologically-minded Hindus and Christians can dialogue, augmenting each other's positions by drawing on respected thinkers in their traditions. It also provides an opportunity, within the tensions highlighted at the intersection of Gandhi and Schweitzer's thought, to further construct a foundation for animal welfare in contemporary discussions.
Substrate-specific diffusion of select dicarboxylates through Chlamydia trachomatis PorB

Chlamydiae contain two porins, MOMP and PorB, that facilitate diffusion of solutes through the outer membrane. MOMP is a general porin that permits the diffusion of a wide variety of compounds including carbohydrates and amino acids. The relative inefficiency of PorB as a general porin and its low abundance in the outer membrane suggest that it may function as a substrate-specific porin. The tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle of chlamydiae is incomplete and to function would require the exogenous acquisition of 2-oxoglutarate or glutamate. A liposome-swelling assay for anions as well as an enzyme-linked liposome assay were used to demonstrate the efficient diffusion of dicarboxylates such as 2-oxoglutarate through PorB. These data demonstrate that PorB is a dicarboxylate-specific porin that may feed the chlamydial TCA cycle and provide chlamydiae with carbon and energy production intermediates.
Dimers of Melampomagnolide B Exhibit Potent Anticancer Activity against Hematological and Solid Tumor Cells.

Novel carbamate (7a–7h) and carbonate (7i, 7j, and 8) dimers of melampomagnolide B have been synthesized by reaction of the melampomagnolide-B-triazole carbamate synthon 6 with various terminal diamino- and dihydroxyalkanes. Dimeric carbamate products 7b, 7c, and 7f exhibited potent growth inhibition (GI50 = 0.16–0.99 μM) against the majority of cell lines in the NCI panel of 60 human hematological and solid tumor cell lines. Compound 7f and 8 exhibited anticancer activity that was 300-fold and 1 × 106-fold more cytotoxic than DMAPT, respectively, at a concentration of 10 μM against rat 9L-SF gliosarcoma cells. Compounds 7a–7j and 8 were also screened against M9-ENL1 and acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) primary cell lines and exhibited 2- to 10-fold more potent antileukemic activity against M9-ENL1 cells (EC50 = 0.57–2.90 μM) when compared to parthenolide (EC50 = 6.0) and showed potent antileukemic activity against five primary AML cell lines (EC50 = 0.76–7.3 μM).
Chemically synthesized nitrogen-doped metal oxide nanoparticles

This review focuses on the synthesis, physical properties, as well as applications of nitrogen-doped metal oxide nanoparticles, with special emphasis on titania-based nanomaterials. Due to the wide-spread impact of this research field we are unable to discuss all the excellent work conducted on this topic, and as such we have narrowed our review on chemically synthesized nanoparticles, in order to avoid unnecessary overlap with other excellent reviews on this topic. The potential applications of N-doped nanomaterials continuously increase and it is very likely that they will find application in the areas of energy conversion and environmental clean-up. On the other hand, the basic science of the doping and the enhanced photoactivity of these materials is still not fully understood and further studies on the chemical physics of these nanomaterials by our group are presented.
Temporary A-V sequential pacing using transluminal pacing electrodes.

A case is presented which describes the initiation of atrialventricular (A-V) sequential pacing using atrial epicardial wires and an in situ transluminal ventricular pacing probe. A 68year-old female with a permanent A-V sequential pacemaker was scheduled for elective aortocoronary bypass. Following sternotomy, pacing function was converted to ventricular pacing (WI) with the use of electrocautery. A Chandler® V-pacing probe was introduced through a Paceport® (American Edwards) pulmonary artery catheter and with a paced increase in ventricular rate, the cardiac output increased from 2.8 to 3.2 L · min-1. At the conclusion of cardiopulmonary bypass the patient was in sinus rhythm at a rate of 67 · min-1 and was paced to a faster rate using bipolar atrial epicardial wires. The patient subsequently developed intermittent heart block so temporary A-V sequential pacing was established using atrial epicardial wires and the in situ ventricular pacing probe. Pacing was achieved at routine generator output settings of seven milliamps (mA) for both atrium and ventricle and at an A-V interval of 0.120 sec. This resulted in an immediate increase in cardiac output from 3.3 to 4.1L- min-1. The compatability of these two pacing systems offers an increased margin of safety in cardiac surgery patients requiring atrial pacing, who are at risk for developing postoperative heart block.
Double solutions of boundary value problems for 2mth-order differential equations and difference equations

Abstract A double fixed-point theorem is applied to obtain the existence of at least two positive solutions for the boundary value problem, (−1) m y (2 m ) ( t ) = f ( y ( t )), t ϵ [0, 1], y (2 i ) (0) = y (2 i +1) (1) = 0, 0 ≤ i ≤ m −1. It is later applied to obtain the existence of at least two positive solutions for the analogous discrete boundary value problem, (−1) m Δ 2 m u ( k ) = g ( u ( k )), k ϵ {0, …, N }, Δ 2 i u (0) = Δ 2 i +1 u ( N + 1) = 0, 0 ⩽ m − 1.
Effects of Double Rotation on Homonuclear Spin Systems

Abstract The behavior of a homonuclear dipole-coupled spin system under double rotation (DOR) is investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance. We demonstrate, for a highly degenerate many-body spin system, that the coherence created by the fast spinning motion in DOR is not destroyed by the slow precession motion even when the precession frequency is significantly smaller than the dipole-dipole interactions. Therefore, the DOR technique can also be used to reduce line broadening arising from dipole-dipole interactions.
Recommendations for a system to photograph core segments and create stitched images of complete cores

High-resolution digital imagery of sediment cores increases researchers’ ability to examine, review, and disseminate complex and meaningful core data. The high cost of commercial core scanning systems currently limits the number of cores that are imaged. Here, we present a simple, inexpensive system that can be built in almost any laboratory environment and used to create complete core images. This system uses a stationary light source and a moving core tray (sledge) which provides for consistent lighting across multiple images. Polarized lens filters and diffuse light are used to minimize glare on the core surface. Our system also repurposes professionally engineered exercise equipment which, provides for precise core and camera movement. Once images are taken, stitching software is used to create the final core image. While there are many stitching programs on the market, none are explicitly aimed at stitching together many images in a single, straight line. We evaluated seven of the most common stitching programs and identified Hugin as the most useful for creating completed core images.
Progressive video coding for noisy channels

We extend the work of Sherwood and Zeger to progressive video coding for noisy channels. By utilizing a 3D extension of the set partitioning in hierarchical trees (SPIHT) algorithm, we cascade the resulting 3D SPIHT video coder with a rate-compatible punctured convolutional channel coder for transmission of video over a binary symmetric channel. Progressive coding is achieved by increasing the target rate of the 3D embedded SPIHT video coder as the channel condition improves. The performance of our proposed coding system is acceptable at low transmission rate and bad channel conditions. Its low complexity makes it suitable for emerging applications such as video over wireless channels.
Developmental regulation of Drosophila imaginal disc proteins: Synthesis of a heat shock protein under non-heat-shock conditions☆

A low-molecular-weight heat-shock protein is reported here to be synthesized in Drosophila imaginal discs under non-heat-shock conditions. This protein has been identified as hsp 23 by its mobility in SDS-gel electrophoresis, by its isoelectric point, and by its partial proteolytic digest pattern. This protein is shown to be synthesized in tissue from late-third-instar larvae using both in vitro and in vivo radiolabeling techniques. Tissues from late-third-instar larvae synthesize hsp 23 at a level much higher than tissues from mid-third-instar larvae. The increased synthesis of this protein at the end of third instar coincides with the rise in ecdysone titer that occurs at this time of development. The developmental regulation of this protein suggests that hsp 23 plays a role in normal development as well as in the heat-shock response.
Mothers' plans for children during the kindergarten hold‐out year

Interviews with 15 mothers were analyzed to investigate how these mothers, who chose to delay their child's kindergarten entry, organized their children's environments during the hold‐out year. Previous analyses of the interviews identified two categories of mothers, who were substantially different in their decision‐making. In the current paper we report that the two groups were also notably different in the activities they organized during the hold‐out year. A maturational theory valuing ‘the gift of time’ characterized one category of mothers; the others were motivated by a philosophy that gave them a more active role in shaping their child's experiences and environment. Understanding the implications of these contrasting theories allows educators to select approaches that are effective for each group.
Comparative Properties of Siloxane vs Phosphonate Monolayers on A Key Titanium Alloy

A direct comparison of surface loading, interface shear strength, and interface hydrolytic stability was made between a phosphonate and two siloxane monolayers formed on the native oxide surface of Ti-6Al-4V. Surface loading for the phosphonate was ca. four times greater (on a nanomole/area basis) than for the siloxanes; mechanical strengths per surface-bound molecule were comparable, but the hydrolytic stability (pH 7.5) of the siloxanes was poor. These results suggest that phosphonate monolayer interfaces are more desirable than comparable siloxane ones for applications where such interfaces contact even slightly alkaline water.
Algorithmic depth compensation improves quantification and noise suppression in functional diffuse optical tomography

Accurate depth localization and quantitative recovery of a regional activation are the major challenges in functional diffuse optical tomography (DOT). The photon density drops severely with increased depth, for which conventional DOT reconstruction yields poor depth localization and quantitative recovery. Recently we have developed a depth compensation algorithm (DCA) to improve the depth localization in DOT. In this paper, we present an approach based on the depth-compensated reconstruction to improve the quantification in DOT by forming a spatial prior. Simulative experiments are conducted to demonstrate the usefulness of this approach. Moreover, noise suppression is a key to success in DOT which also affects the depth localization and quantification. We present quantitative analysis and comparison on noise suppression in DOT with and without depth compensation. The study reveals that appropriate combination of depth-compensated reconstruction with the spatial prior can provide accurate depth localization and improved quantification at variable noise levels.