cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assumptionbased Truth Maintenance

We present a new view of problem solving motivated by a new kind of truth maintenance system. Unlike previous truth maintenance systems which were based on manipulating justifications, this truth maintenace system is, in addition, based on manipulating assumption sets. As a consequence it is possible to work effectively and efficiently with inconsistent information, context switching is free, and most backtracking (and all retraction) is avoided. These capabilities motivate a different kind of problem-solving architecture in which multiple potential solutions are explored simultaneously. This architecture is particularly well-suited for task where a reasonable fraction of the potential solutions must be explored.
Reversal by triton WR-1339 of ethynyloestradiol-induced hepatic cholesterol esterification.

RATS TREATED WITH ETHYNYLOESTRADIOL HAVE MARKED HYPOLIPIDAEMIA: serum cholesterol is decreased to 5%, triacylglycerol to 10% and phospholipid to 70% of control concentrations. Loss of serum cholesterol follows an exponential decay, with a half-life of 1.13+/-0.09 days. After 4 days of treatment, serum cholesterol concentrations remain relatively constant (ranging from 1 to 20mg/100ml) for at least 30 days. There is a concomitant 20-fold decrease in the d<1.21 fraction of serum proteins and a similar decrease in serum apolipoproteins as measured by sodium dodecyl sulphate/10%-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. The activity of hepatic microsomal acyl-CoA-cholesterol O-acetyltransferase (EC 2.3.1.26) was significantly increased by ethynyloestradiol treatment (P<0.05). This activation caused hepatic cholesteryl esters containing mainly C(18:1) fatty acids to increase linearly as serum cholesterol concentrations decreased (r=0.9675, P<0.001). Triton WR-1339, a non-ionic detergent that inhibits lipoprotein catabolism, was used to estimate hepatic lipid secretion by measuring the increment in serum lipids after its administration. At 15h after Triton WR-1339 administration, serum cholesterol concentrations were increased equally in both control and ethynyloestradiol-treated rats. In contrast, the increment of serum triacylglycerol of treated rats was 40% of that found in control rats, indicating that ethynyloestradiol inhibits hepatic triacylglycerol secretion. Triton WR-1339 inhibited the oestrogen activation of hepatic microsomal acyl-CoA-cholesterol O-acyltransferase and restored hepatic cholesteryl ester concentrations to normal values. These data suggest that ethynyloestradiol and its pharmacological ;antagonist' Triton WR-1339 alter hepatic triacylglycerol secretion via a mechanism associated with changes in hepatic cholesterol esterification.
Mentalization and Metaphor, Acknowledgment and Grief: Forms of Transformation in the Reflective Space

This paper illustrates the clinical application of current theorizing about mentalization and reflective functioning and shows how it can synergize with established analytic concepts. The paper presents a single case, that of a middle-aged woman patient with a moderate but significant history of trauma and presenting with narcissistic/borderline and masochistic dynamics. Unlike some applications of the new concepts, however, this paper does not focus the case presentation around them but instead shows how a number of processes contribute to the development of mentalization. These include corrective engagement in enacted repetitions of the patient's past mistreatment, the development of a central metaphor that allows for proto-reflection and playing with painful affects, and a mourning process precipitated by the death of a family member to whom she is ambivalently attached. In the course of the presentation, then, a variety of psychoanalytic concepts are applied, such that the paper works as a synthesis o...
Consumer groups for Ghanaian fabric products, based on aesthetics and socially responsible shopping behavior

AbstractRecent fashion trends using African prints are combined with a desire to provide outreach to artisans in Ghana, West Africa, leading to an investigation of mainstream consumer groups in the United States. The purpose of this research was to identify US consumer segments based on aesthetic preferences, purchase intentions and socially responsible behavior (willingness to support artisans) with regard to products made from Ghanaian fabrics. This research identified ethnic apparel consumer segments based on consumer characteristics. First, Cultural Creatives, a psychographic scale, compared consumers regarding aesthetics/benefits of ethnic apparel and consumers’ willingness to support Ghanaian artisans. Next, clusters were compared according to demographics: age, ethnicity and education. Lastly, clusters were compared by purchase intention (of apparel and accessories), aesthetic preferences for fabrics (ie print size, as garment trim, as home furnishings) and social comfort (ie comfort wearing among ...
Accelerator Systems for Injection Molding

Abstract A reciprocating screw injection press has been used to evaluate various accelerator combinations in NR, SBR, EPDM, and NBR. A laboratory mold was used which includes a 75 mm × 125 mm × 2 mm sheet, three molded dumbbells (size Die C), a compression pellet and a Goodrich Flexometer pellet. The total volume of the mold is approximately 85 cm3. Those observations have confirmed that the following relationships exist for high temperature vulcanization, particularly in an injection press. (1) Tensile modulus is reduced at higher curing temperatures for all four polymer systems. (2) In NR and SBR, it is possible to obtain moduli at high temperature comparable to moduli at lower temperatures by increasing the accelerator level while maintaining a constant sulfur concentration. (3) There is a correlation between rheometer cure time (t90) and injection molding cure times. The correlation is good enough to rank the cure time of various stocks, but not good enough to predict cure times. (4) Injection molded ...
Burden of disease due to ambient air pollution: a review of recent studies

Health impacts of ambient air pollution have received more and more attention, how to quantitatively describe the health effects of ambient air pollution is the focus and difficulty of research on environment and health. In recent years, the burden of disease index have been used to evaluate the health effects of ambient air pollution: the last major update of the Global Burden of Disease 2010 estimated that urban outdoor air pollution, in terms of PM2.5, contributed to 76 million disability-adjusted life year(DALY), and O3 contributed to 2.5 million DALY; In European countries, about 30-140 DALY attributed to O3 per million people; In Beijing in 2004-2008, an interquartile range(IQR) increase in PM2.5, PM10, SO2, and NO2 was related to years of life lost(YLL) of 15.8, 15.8, 16.2 and 15.1, respectively. The burden of disease evaluating the atmospheric pollution hazards can develop environmental policy for the government and to provide more direct evidence for health intervention measures. This article reviewed the research progress on burden of disease due to major ambient air pollutants.
Analysis of Economy Growthmania

In 20th century,science and technology developed at high speed and global economy grew quickly and the thought of economic liberalism and the ideal kingdom of market economy received great challenge.The growth of economy had been regarded as the panacea.This thought caused the growth of economy to sink into growthmania.Under the condition that the growth of economy had been considered the only target of social and human development,natural resources and environment were paid greatly for economy growth.The economic thought of post-modernism proposed the steady-state economy to balance population and the total amount of artificial products.Economic growth should be stable,sustainable and based on the people's living condition.We should prevent the growth of economy from falling into growthmania and avoid dissimilation of economic growth.
Expression of MUC1 Gene in the Tissues of Gastric Carcinoma and Pre-cancerous Lesion with BC2 Antibody and its Significance

Objective To elucidate the association between expression of MUC1 gene in the tissues of gastric carcinoma and intestinal metaplastia and its clinicopathological factors.Methods MUC1 core protein was detected in the normal gastrointestinal mucosa and tissues of intestinal metaplasia and gastric carcinoma with BC2 antibody by immunohistochemical SP method.Reaults MUC1 core protein was diffusely distributed in human normal gastric mucosa(100%),mainly located in the perinuclear area of epithelial cells and cytoplasm of mucous neck cells and basal glandulae,the positive rates of core protein in the tissues of intestinal metaplasia and gastric carcinoma were 79 3%,82 6% respectively.No association was found between the expression of MUC1 gene in the cancerous tissues and the patientssexes,locations and size of cancerous tissues,metastases of lymph node,types of differentiation,depth of invasiveness,clinical stages and laurens types( P 0 05).But,the number of clinical stages Ⅰ～Ⅱ was significantly lower in those patients whose cancerous tissues were strongly positive staining than those with moderately and weakly posivive staining ( P 0 05),No difference was found between expression of MUC1 gene and different types of intestinal metaplasia ( P 0 05).Conclusion These results indicated that MUC1 core protein detected by BC2 antibody might be a useful marker for the progression of gastric carcinoma and associated with its clinicopathological factors,but no association with types of intestinal metaplasia.
Effects of solder wettability of resist materials on solder filling with Injection Molded Solder (IMS) technology

Injection Molded Solder (IMS) is an advanced solder bumping technology that the solder bumps can be made by injected pure molten solder through the masks. In this study, we investigated effects of solder wettability of resist mask on solder filling performance by solder flow simulation with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software and experiments with IMS technology. It was confirmed by the simulation that more solder was injected into opening of resist mask with lower contact angle. To vary solder wettability of resist mask experimentally, a metal (Sn) was deposited on patterned resist surface including sidewall of resist openings. Solder wettability measurements and solder filling evaluations were performed. Dynamic contact angle measurements showed improved solder wettability of Sn deposited resist mask with an appropriate substrate temperature control compared with no metal deposited resist mask. It was confirmed that solder filling was improved with the metal deposition and the optimized IMS temperature profile. Improvement of solder wettability of resist mask can widen IMS process window in terms of injection pressure and it is important especially for finer pitch application where higher injection pressure is required.
Using genetic information: the individual and the community.

Genetic information is both individual and communal (species and family). Responsible use of this information requires exploration of a proper relationship between individual and communal values, rights, needs and decision-making. The individual/community issue is also important for dealing with the differences of emphasis between Western and non-Western cultures in this regard. Non-Western cultures emphasize community but also value the individual, while Western cultures know extreme individualism is counter-productive. This paper will discuss the individual-community relationship as it impacts on various problem areas in the utilization of genetic information, e.g. test results which impact family as well as individuals and which impact institutional projected costs while also making problematic individual access to employment, insurance and health care. The paper will also address the pernicious import of the paradigm of genetic essentialism which exaggerates individual responsibility while neglecting institutional and communal responsibility in genetic matters.
Pericardiectomy as a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure

A 70-year-old man presented with recent onset, predominantly right-sided heart failure. Echocardiogram demonstrated features of hypertensive heart disease and was suggestive of, but non-diagnostic for, constrictive pericarditis (CP). CT demonstrated mild pericardial thickening. Right heart catheterisation showed elevation and equalisation of diastolic pressures in all cardiac chambers with early rapid filling, minimal ventricular interdependence, and no dissociation of intrathoracic and intracardiac pressures. While several features pointed towards CP, the minimal ventricular interdependence and no dissociation of intrathoracic and intracardiac pressures suggested other pathology. Diagnostic pericardiectomy was performed, after which the central venous pressure decreased from 22 to 12 mm Hg. Pathology revealed pericardial fibrosis. The patient experienced sustained resolution of his heart failure. A potential explanation for lack of CP criteria was the presence of hypertensive heart disease. CP needs to be considered when approaching patients with heart failure as diagnostic evaluation can be multifaceted and treatment curative.
ENFit® Feeding Tube Connectors: A Primer for the Radiology Nurse

Abstract Patients requiring enteral nutrition (tube feeding) often have feeding tubes placed or replaced by the interventional radiology team. New enteral connectors are now available on enteral devices to prevent misconnections between systems that should not connect. These new patient-access connectors, called ENFit ® , are being now introduced for the purpose of improving patient safety. Transitioning to these new connectors pose challenges for the interventional radiology suite, and the radiology nurse can lead the team in making this change.
Utilizing Forster resonance energy transfer to extend spectral response of PCDTBT:PCBM solar cells

Abstract Light harvesting in the near-infrared part of the solar spectrum is important to achieve high efficiency polymer solar cells (PSCs). In this work, we demonstrate that we take an existing polymer:fullerene blend and extend its spectral response into the near-IR region by adding a small amount near-IR absorbing dye in the blend. The polymer studied in this work is Poly[ N -9′-heptadecanyl-2,7-carbazole- alt -5,5-(4′,7′-di-2-thienyl-2′,1′,3′-benzothiadiazole)] (PCDTBT). By adding only 2.5% squaraine dye to the blend, we were able to extend the spectral response of the resulting devices 100 nm into the near-IR spectral region. We show that the enhanced light harvesting is due to efficient Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between PCDTBT and the squaraine dye, resulting in an increase in power conversion efficiency. This type of ternary polymer solar cells is unique in that it allows the use of a small amount of selected dyes to extend light harvesting in infrared region.
Datasets for Mobile, Wearable and IOT Research

The advent of affordable devices with sensors and communication capabilities has led to the proliferation of computing paradigms, such as the Internet of Things (IoT), mobile devices, and wearable technologies. For the sake of simplicity, we use the umbrella term "small devices" for these technologies. At the same time, in the past decade, the increasing availability of large datasets has shifted scientists' attention toward data science, and defined new trends in computation. Even some scientists call it an evolutionary shift that has changed the pace of scientific progress, i.e., the "fourth paradigm" [1].
The Other’s Discourse

This chapter is an explication of the eighth section (“The other’s Discourse”) of “The Freudian Thing.” The start of this section continues to spell out the critical upshots for ego psychology of the prosopopoeia of the talking lectern from the previous section (“Interlude”). Via this prosopopoeia, Lacan here accuses the ego psychologists of anti-analytically exploiting transferences and engaging in indoctrination, projection, suggestion, and infantilization vis-a-vis their analysands. However, he proceeds to acknowledge that the ego has a legitimate, albeit limited, use-value in the analytic process. Although, for Lacan, the ego is inherently defensive and resistant as regards the unconscious, it can and does serve as a negative index for the returns of the repressed (via its slips, stumbles, weakness, or fragmentation).
Cloud-Based parallel implementation of an intelligent classification algorithm for fault detection and diagnosis of HVAC systems

Artificial Immune Recognition System (AIRS) is an algorithm inspired by animal immune system in the biological world. It is specialized in solving pattern recognition problems. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems are widely installed in modern buildings to provide the occupants with a satisfactory indoor environment. HVAC systems are the some of the most power consuming equipment in buildings, and a malfunctioning HVAC system will consume more energy and lead to an uncomfortable indoor environment. Thus, efficient Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) of an HVAC system is essential for achieving energy savings. Cloud computing is a recently emerging research area that allows customers to use limited local computing resources to solve large scale computing problems. In this paper, a cloud based on OpenStack is utilized to host the AIRS in handling the FDD problem for an HVAC system simulated in Trnsys.
Record-Replay Architecture as a General Security Framework

Hardware security features need to strike a careful balance between design intrusiveness and completeness of methods. In addition, they need to be flexible, as security threats continuously evolve. To help address these requirements, this paper proposes a novel framework where Record and Deterministic Replay (RnR) is used to complement hardware security features. We call the framework RnR-Safe. RnR-Safe reduces the cost of security hardware by allowing it to be less precise at detecting attacks, potentially reporting false positives. This is because it relies on on-the-fly replay that transparently verifies whether the alarm is a real attack or a false positive. RnR-Safe uses two replayers: an always-on, fast Checkpoint replayer that periodically creates checkpoints, and a detailed-analysis Alarm replayer that is triggered when there is a threat alarm. As an example application, we use RnR-Safe to thwart Return Oriented Programming (ROP) attacks, including on the Linux kernel. Our design augments the Return Address Stack (RAS) with relatively inexpensive hardware. We evaluate RnR-Safe using a variety of workloads on virtual machines running Linux. We find that RnR-Safe is very effective. Thanks to the judicious RAS hardware extensions and hypervisor changes, the checkpointing replayer has an execution speed comparable to the recorded execution. Also, the alarm replayer needs to handle very few false positives.
Synthesis of Metalloproteins Involved in Photosynthesis: Plastocyanin and Cytochromes

The introduction of a metal cofactor broadens the catalytic repertoire of a protein catalyst by facilitating certain types of chemical reactions. The chemistry of the cofactor depends upon the type of coordinating ligands, and also upon the geometry of the metal-containing active site. Metalloprotein biosynthesis requires 1) mechanisms of metal acquisition and transport to the sub-cellular compartment where metal delivery to the active site of the metalloprotein can occur, and 2) mechanisms of coordinate regulation of polypeptide synthesis with cofactor synthesis (for organic cofactors like heme) or assimilation (for inorganic cofactors like the Md4 cluster). The copper-responsive accumulation of copper-containing plastocyanin and heme-containing cytochrome c6 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has served as a model for studies of regulation of metalloproteins by metals because the simple growth requirements of Chlamydomonas facilitate studies of metal metabolism. In a fully copper-supplemented medium, plastocyanin accumulates in C. reinhardtii but Cyt c6 does not. As the medium is depleted of copper (<×106 Cu/cell), mechanisms for adaptation to copper-deficiency are induced. These include degradation of plastocyanin, transcriptional activation of Cyc6 and Cpx1 genes (encoding Cyt c6 and coprogen oxidase, respectively), and induction of copper transport and cupric reductase activity. Studies of chloroplast metalloprotein assembly in Chlamydomonas have focused primarily on the heme proteins, with the c-type cytochromes being the best studied examples. The occurrence and distribution in the genome databases of Ccs genes required for chloroplast c-type cytochrome maturation suggests that they represent a third family of cytochrome maturation components, distinct from the Cyt c/c1 heme lyases of mammalian and fungal mitochondria and also distinct from the components identified in most proteobacteria and plant mitochondria. Approaches for the analysis of the assembly of other cofactor-containing chloroplast proteins are discussed.
A Study of Children’s Metalinguistic Abilities: Method

One hundred children, 20 each of ages 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 years, were tested. Each child received a series of five tasks over several short testing sessions. The tasks, in the order in which they were administered, were conservation, comprehension, synonymy, acceptability, and phonemic segmentation. The reason for including the comprehension task lies in the nature of the synonymy task. For this reason, the synonymy task will be described before the comprehension task. The other tasks will be described in the order in which they were administered.
RD or Not RD: Using Experimental Studies to Assess the Performance of the Regression Discontinuity Approach.

Background:This article explores the performance of regression discontinuity (RD) designs for measuring program impacts using a synthetic within-study comparison design. We generate synthetic RD da...
Supercompliant and Soft ( CH 3 NH 3 ) 3 Bi 2 I 9 Crystal with Ultralow Thermal Conductivity

In this Letter, we show the phonon dispersion of (CH_{3}NH_{3})_{3}Bi_{2}I_{9} single crystals at 300 K measured by inelastic x-ray scattering. The frequencies of acoustic phonons are among the lowest of crystals. Nanoindentation measurements verified that these crystals are very compliant and considerably soft. The frequency overlap between acoustic and optical phonons results in strong acoustic-optical scattering. All these features lead to an ultralow thermal conductivity. The fundamental knowledge obtained from this study will accelerate the design of novel hybrid materials for energy applications.
Clinical assessment of sensory processing sensitivity

Abstract This chapter covers four topics. First, we explore assessment of sensory processing sensitivity (SPS) (in one individual, as opposed to conclusions drawn in research settings), including the best use of the highly sensitive person (HSP) scale; sorting out the trait from other similar traits such as high sensation seeking (which is independent of high sensitivity); and taking into consideration the person’s history, which greatly affects presentation of symptoms. Second, we examine specific issues arising when working with HSPs. For example, the advantages and disadvantages of both client and therapist having this trait, versus the therapist not having it. Third, we consider how to approach the three most common problems reported by HSP clients, namely, issues due to being easily overstimulated, having strong emotional responses, and exhibiting low self-esteem. Finally, we discuss issues that often occur for HSPs in their relationships and at work, and provide strategies that may be especially beneficial for the highly sensitive in a therapeutic context. Overall, working with these clients can provide considerable rewards, often by simply helping them see how their sensitivity has been affecting their lives, for better and for worse.
Ex-vivo cultured human corneoscleral segment model to study the effects of glaucoma factors on trabecular meshwork

Glaucoma is the second leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide. Primary open angle glaucoma (POAG), the most common form of glaucoma, is often associated with elevation of intraocular pressure (IOP) due to the dysfunction of trabecular meshwork (TM) tissues. Currently, an ex vivo human anterior segment perfusion cultured system is widely used to study the effects of glaucoma factors and disease modifying drugs on physiological parameters like aqueous humor (AH) dynamics and IOP homeostasis. This system requires the use of freshly enucleated intact human eyes, which are sparsely available at very high cost. In this study, we explored the feasibility of using human donor corneoscleral segments for modeling morphological and biochemical changes associated with POAG. Among the number of corneas donated each year, many are deemed ineligible for transplantation due to stringent acceptance criteria. These ineligible corneoscleral segments were obtained from the Lions Eye Bank, Tampa, Florida. Each human donor anterior corneoscleral segment was dissected into four equal quadrants and cultured for 7 days by treating with the glaucoma factors dexamethasone (Dex) or recombinant transforming growth factor (TGF) β2 or transduced with lentiviral expression vectors containing wild type (WT) and mutant myocilin. Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining analysis revealed that the TM structural integrity is maintained after 7 days in culture. Increased TUNEL positive TM cells were observed in corneoscleral quadrants treated with glaucoma factors compared to their respective controls. However, these TUNEL positive cells were mainly confined to the scleral region adjacent to the TM. Treatment of corneoscleral quadrants with Dex or TGFβ2 resulted in glaucomatous changes at the TM, which included increased extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins and induction of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Western blot analysis of the conditioned medium showed an increase in ECM (fibronectin and collagen IV) levels in Dex- or TGFβ2-treated samples compared to control. Lentiviral transduction of quadrants resulted in expression of WT and mutant myocilin in TM tissues. Western blot analysis of conditioned medium revealed decreased secretion of mutant myocilin compared to WT myocilin. Moreover, increased ECM deposition and ER stress induction was observed in the TM of mutant myocilin transduced quadrants. Our findings suggest that the ex-vivo cultured human corneoscleral segment model is cost-effective and can be used as a pre-screening tool to study the effects of glaucoma factors and anti-glaucoma therapeutics on the TM.
Beliefs or Classroom Context: What Matters Most to Novice Urban Teachers’ Enactment of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy?

Education scholarship is unclear about what matters most to novice teachers’ enactment of culturally responsive instructional practices. To better understand the factors that contribute to novice teachers’ instructional decision-making, the authors used Role Theory as a framework for an in-depth analysis of three first-year urban teachers who completed the same teacher preparation program. Classroom observation data of the three teachers indicated that one of the teachers used culturally responsive instructional practices frequently, one used them occasionally, and one only rarely. To understand this range in use, surveys and interviews measured the school context and cognitive variables that influenced each teachers’ perception of their professional role. Findings indicate that the key factor affecting use of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) was the degree to which each teacher experienced consistent or conflicting role demands between their school context and their personal beliefs about teaching. The role consensus experienced by one teacher supported her frequent use of CRP, while the role conflict experienced by the second teacher was attributed to her occasional use, and the role overload experienced by the third teacher explained her rare use of CRP. Implications for preparing teachers to deliver CRP in unfamiliar and complex environments are discussed.
Spin-flip scattering in magnetic tunnel junctions: From current-voltage characteristics to spin-transfer torque

We examine room temperature current-voltage (IV) characteristics of $\mathrm{CoFeB}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}|\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{MgO}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}|\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{CoFeB}$ type of perpendicularly magnetized tunnel junctions developed for memory applications. From their nonlinear bias voltage dependence, a conductance ``cross-scaling'' is seen that is consistent with the involvement of inelastic spin-flip scattering in electrodes. A phenomenological model is constructed that connects the parameters of spin-flip scatter-related inelastic events with both magnetoresistance and spin-transfer torque. The model provides measurable, electrode-specific properties such as interface exchange stiffness as it affects spin-torque performance.
Prevalence and potential genetic determinants of young sudden unexplained death victims with suspected arrhythmogenic mitral valve prolapse syndrome.

Background Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) is largely considered a benign condition. However, MVP is over-represented consistently in sudden unexplained death in the young (SUDY) cohorts. Objective To determine the prevalence and potential genetic underpinnings of suspected arrhythmogenic MVP in a referral cohort of SUDY cases. Methods In this retrospective study, medical records/autopsy reports and whole exome molecular autopsy (WEMA) results for 77 SUDY victims (27 female; average age at death 20.6 ± 8.9 years) were reviewed for evidence of myxomatous MVP and left ventricle (LV) fibrosis. Variants detected in the prespecified 147 WEMA gene panel with a minor allele frequency ≤ 0.001 in public exomes/genomes were classified using the 2015 American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) guidelines. Results Overall, 6 of 77 (7.8%; 2 female; average age at death 20.7 ± 6.9 years) SUDY cases had MVP as the lone abnormal postmortem finding. The majority had bileaflet involvement (5/6; 83%) and microscopic LV fibrosis (5/6; 83%). In 2 SUDY cases (33%), subjects were diagnosed with MVP by echocardiography prior to death. Unexpectedly, an ACMG pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) was more likely to be detected in SUDY cases with MVP than those without (3/6 [50%] vs 9/71 [13%]; P Conclusion This WEMA series provides additional evidence that the combination of MVP and LV fibrosis underlies an unexpected number of SUDY cases. Whether P/LP variants in cardiomyopathy/channelopathy-susceptibility genes contribute to the pathogenesis of arrhythmogenic MVP requires further investigation.
Approaches to Novel Isomeric Nucleosides as Antiviral Agents

The finding that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is the etiologic agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) has focused considerable attention on the design and synthesis of compounds that would inhibit the replication of this and related viruses. A key enzyme encoded by HIV and involved in its replication is the multifunctional HIV reverse transcriptase (HIV RT) which has provided a molecular target for the design of potential anti-HIV therapeutic agents. Among the HIV RT targeted inhibitors are the dideoxynucleosides, 2′,3′-dideoxyadenosine (ddA), 2′,3′-dideoxyinosine (ddI), 2′,3′-dideoxyguanosine (ddG), 2′,3′-dideoxycytidine (ddC), and dideoxynucleoside derivatives such as 3′-α-azido-3′-deoxythymidine (AZT) (Scheme I).1-17
Inhibition of the Type IB GTP Cyclohydrolase (LB262)

The type IB GTP cyclohydrolase (GCYH-IB) is a tunnel-fold enzyme that catalyzes the complex conversion of GTP to 7,8-dihydroneopterin triphosphate in the biosynthesis of folate and the tRNA modifie...
Discretion in Executive Incentive Contracts: Theory and Evidence

We examine the role of discretion in executive incentive contracts, and explore the trade-offs firms face in choosing among imperfect objective measures of individual performance, potentially more accurate but non-verifiable subjective measures, and overly broad objective measures of company-wide performance that include the performance of all agents in the firm. We generate implications and test the model empirically using a proprietary dataset of executive bonus plans. Consistent with our model, we find that discretion is less important in determining CEO pay than the pay of other executives. We also find that discretion is relatively important in determining executive bonuses at larger and privately held firms and that more diversified firms are relatively less likely to compensate their business unit managers based on firm-wide performance. Finally, we consider (and largely dismiss) tax-related explanations for our results.
Laparoscopic training on bench models: better and more cost effective than operating room experience?

Abstract Background: Developing technical skill is essential to surgical training, but using the operating room for basic skill acquisition may be inefficient and expensive, especially for laparoscopic operations. This study determines if laparoscopic skills training using simulated tasks on a video-trainer improves the operative performance of surgery residents. Study Design: Second- and third-year residents (n = 27) were prospectively randomized to receive formal laparoscopic skills training or to a control group. At baseline, residents had a validated global assessment of their ability to perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy based on direct observation by three evaluators who were blinded to the residents' randomization status. Residents were also tested on five standardized video-trainer tasks. The training group practiced the video-trainer tasks as a group for 30 minutes daily for 10 days. The control group received no formal training. All residents repeated the video-trainer test and underwent a second global assessment by the same three blinded evaluators at the end of the 1-month rotation. Within-person improvement was determined; improvement was adjusted for differences in baseline performance. Results: Five residents were unable to participate because of scheduling problems; 9 residents in the training group and 13 residents in the control group completed the study. Baseline laparoscopic experience, video-trainer scores, and global assessments were not significantly different between the two groups. The training group on average practiced the video-trainer tasks 138 times (range 94 to 171 times); the control group did not practice any task. The trained group achieved significantly greater adjusted improvement in video-trainer scores (five of five tasks) and global assessments (four of eight criteria) over the course of the four-week curriculum, compared with controls. Conclusions: Intense training improves video-eye-hand skills and translates into improved operative performance for junior surgery residents. Surgical curricula should contain laparoscopic skills training.
Modeling of people flow in public transport vehicles

Nowadays, there is a big necessity of modeling groups of people behavior. The knowledge of crowd dynamics is very useful in developing different facilities. The article contains a description of a model of passengers flow in public transport vehicles. The model is created on the basis of tram NGT-6, used by MPK SA in Krakow (Public Transport Company). The model proposed is based on Cellular Automata Technology combined with Multi-Agent theory. The interactions among passengers (agents) are included. The dimensions and the shape of an agent make it possible to take into account the real behavior of a passenger.
Factors Influencing the Neighborhood Supply of Childcare in Massachusetts

Using factor analysis, ordinary least squares estimation, and maximum-likelihood ordered probit estimation, we examine the relationship between the socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods and their supply of licensed childcare. We find that the supply of licensed childcare in Massachusetts is strongly and significantly related to the number of children in the population: the larger the population of children, the more abundant the community's supply of childcare services. We also find that the supply of licensed childcare is strongly and significantly related to certain socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods. Specifically, we find that, relative to more socioeconomically sound neighborhoods, the supply of licensed full-day center care is significantly lower in socioeconomically distressed neighborhoods, that is, in high density neighborhoods with a high proportion of poor children receiving public assistance and living in one-parent homes. We also find that the supply of full-day center care is significantly lower in neighborhoods with high proportions of infants and toddlers, high levels of residential mobility, high ratios of adult males to females, and low ratios of adults to young children. We find that socioeconomically distressed neighborhoods are better served by licensed family childcare homes but that they have a more limited supply of licensed family childcare homes than more socioeconomically sound neighborhoods. We find that the supply of licensed family childcare homes is strongly and significantly related to the labor force participation of neighborhood residents.
Measuring information integration

Background To understand the functioning of distributed networks such as the brain, it is important to characterize their ability to integrate information. The paper considers a measure based on effective information, a quantity capturing all causal interactions that can occur between two parts of a system.
Does tallgrass prairie restoration enhance the invasion resistance of post-agricultural lands?

There is building interest in the use of ecological restoration to enhance the biotic invasion resistance of disturbed lands. However, few studies have rigorously examined the effect of community restoration on biotic invasion resistance under conditions of controlled invader propagule pressure. Results are presented from a field experiment conducted in a post-agricultural grassland in eastern Kansas to explore the interplay of tallgrass prairie restoration and invader propagule pressure in modulating plant invasion. Seed additions of multiple native and non-native species were used to provide a general test of biotic invasion resistance under varied propagule availability. Restoration increased plant diversity, increased above ground productivity, reduced the availability of light, soil moisture and bare soil microsites and strongly suppressed the invasion of all species sown into the experiment, including the highly invasive exotic legume, Lespedeza cuneata. In the absence of restoration, L. cuneata rapidly dominated plots where it had been sown, particularly at the highest propagule pressure. Results of multiple regression modelling suggested that restoration most likely increased community resistance to L. cuneata invasion through changes in functional guild composition rather than through changes in species diversity. Overall our study indicates that restoration of abandoned agricultural land to native tallgrass prairie can enhance invasion resistance in the face of substantial invader propagule pressures by altering community composition to dominance by native species that are efficient in utilizing resources.
High-efficiency time-reversed ultrasonically encoded optical focusing using a large-area photorefractive polymer

Time-reversed ultrasonically encoded (TRUE) optical focusing focuses light beyond one transport mean free path by phase-conjugating the ultrasonically tagged light. However, in previous works, only a small portion of the tagged light was phase-conjugated by using a photorefractive Bi12SiO20 crystal, due to its small active area (1x1 cm2). In this work, we report high-efficiency TRUE focusing using a large-area photorefractive polymer (5x5 cm2), which demonstrated ~40 times increase in focused energy. Further, we imaged absorbers embedded in a turbid sample of thickness of ~12 transport mean free paths.
Comparison of the conformation, hydrophobicity, and model membrane interactions of diphtheria toxin to those of formaldehyde-treated toxin (diphtheria toxoid): formaldehyde stabilization of the native conformation inhibits changes that allow membrane insertion.

Toxoids are inactivated protein toxins that are used in vaccines. The behavior of diphtheria toxin reacted with formaldehyde (diphtheria toxoid) was compared to that of diphtheria toxin in order to understand the nature of the changes that occur in toxoids upon protein reaction with formaldehyde. Despite the intramolecular cross-links in the toxoid, the conformations of the toxoid and the toxin were very similar in both the native and low pH-induced membrane-penetrating states as judged by fluorescence and hydrophobicity properties. However, the toxoid underwent thermal-, low-pH-, and guanidinium chloride-induced conformational changes only at more extreme conditions than needed to induce such changes in the toxin. This implies that formaldehyde modification stabilizes the native conformation relative to several conformations that involve different degrees of unfolding. The stabilization to conformational changes induced by low pH is particularly interesting because low pH induces partial unfolding of the...
Marx in Hell: The Critique of Political Economy as Katabasis

This paper examines one of the many Judeo-Christian allusions in Marx's corpus, his citations of Dante in the “1859 Preface” and the preface to the first edition of Capital. It demonstrates that Ma...
What is the evidence for intraluminal colonization of hemodialysis catheters

Hemodialysis catheter–related bloodstream infections are potentially devastating, leading to increased morbidity, mortality, and cost of care. Prospective studies published over the past 15 years shed light on the pathogenesis of these infections. The data suggest that the intraluminal microbial colonization of hemodialysis catheters often precedes bloodstream infection. This finding supports strategies aimed at preventing or eradicating intraluminal colonization.
Implementation of Soil Lime Requirement by a Single‐Addition Titration Method

Abstract Buffers for determining a soil's lime requirement (LR) sometimes contain hazardous chemicals. Our objective was to implement a single‐addition titration with calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] to determine the LR of soils. The soil pH buffering capacity is calculated from the rise in pH from a single addition of base. The LR is calculated from the soil pH buffering capacity, the target pH, and initial soil pH. The LR of 531 randomly selected client samples determined by single‐addition titration were slightly higher than by the Adams–Evans (AE) buffer procedure when LRs were less than 1800 lb per acre. The new procedure recommended about 11% less lime than AE at LRs greater than 1800 lb per acre. Independent evaluations of samples that gave the most widely different LR revealed that the single‐addition titration was more accurate and more precise than the AE buffer.
Activation of Synaptic Group II Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors Induces Long-Term Depression at GABAergic Synapses in CNS Neurons

Metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)-dependent homosynaptic long-term depression (LTD) has been studied extensively at glutamatergic synapses in the CNS. However, much less is known about heterosynaptic long-term plasticity induced by mGluRs at inhibitory synapses. Here we report that pharmacological or synaptic activation of group II mGluRs (mGluR II) induces LTD at GABAergic synapses without affecting the excitatory glutamatergic transmission in neurons of the chicken cochlear nucleus. Coefficient of variation and failure rate analysis suggested that the LTD was expressed presynaptically. The LTD requires presynaptic spike activity, but does not require the activation of NMDA receptors. The classic cAMP-dependent protein kinase A signaling is involved in the transduction pathway. Remarkably, blocking mGluR II increased spontaneous GABA release, indicating the presence of tonic activation of mGluR II by ambient glutamate. Furthermore, synaptically released glutamate induced by electrical stimulations that concurrently activated both the glutamatergic and GABAergic pathways resulted in significant and constant suppression of GABA release at various stimulus frequencies (3.3, 100, and 300 Hz). Strikingly, low-frequency stimulation (1 Hz, 15 min) of the glutamatergic synapses induced heterosynaptic LTD of GABAergic transmission, and the LTD was blocked by mGluR II antagonist, indicating that synaptic activation of mGluR II induced the LTD. This novel form of long-term plasticity in the avian auditory brainstem may play a role in the development as well as in temporal processing in the sound localization circuit.
A Seven-Point Finite Difference Method for Improved Grid Orientation Performance in Pattern Steamfloods

This paper presents a novel seven-point finite difference approximation for simulations of adverse mobility ratio displacements. The method is based on partitioning of a two-dimensional flow domain into regular or nearly regular hexagons. The accuracy of the method for pattern steam floods of heavy oil reservoirs is compared to five- and nine-point approximations. For five-spot floods, the accuracy of the seven-point method is good and comparable to that of the nine-point scheme. For seven-spot floods, the seven-point method provides good numerical accuracy at substantially less computational work than five- or nine-point methods. For nine-spot floods, only the nine-point method is found to give accurate results. 16 references, 10 figures, 3 tables.
Skeletal indicators of locomotor behavior in living and extinct carnivores

ABSTRACT In this paper, I assess the correspondence between locomotor function (climbing, digging, and running) and skeletal morphology in living carnivores. Published behavioral observations are used to assign fifty-three extant carnivore species to four broad locomotor categories: arboreal, scansorial, terrestrial, and semi-fossorial. Body weight and measurements of claw shape, relative size of fore and hind claws, olecranon size and orientation, astragalar shape, and manus and hindlimb proportions are presented for each species. The correspondence between locomotor type and morphologic indices is examined with bivariate and multivariate (discriminant function) analyses. Results demonstrate that osteological indices are good predictors of locomotor behavior among extant carnivores. Arboreal and scansorial carnivores exhibit relatively more curved claws, longer proximal phalanges, and shorter metatarsals than do terrestrial taxa; semi-fossorial carnivores differ from other locomotor types in having relat...
Insights into miRNA regulation of the human glycome

Glycosylation is an intricate process requiring the coordinated action of multiple proteins, including glycosyltransferases, glycosidases, sugar nucleotide transporters and trafficking proteins. Work by several groups points to a role for microRNA (miRNA) in controlling the levels of specific glycosyltransferases involved in cancer, neural migration and osteoblast formation. Recent work in our laboratory suggests that miRNA are a principal regulator of the glycome, translating genomic information into the glycocode through tuning of enzyme levels. Herein we overlay predicted miRNA regulation of glycosylation related genes (glycogenes) onto maps of the common N-linked and O-linked glycan biosynthetic pathways to identify key regulatory nodes of the glycome. Our analysis provides insights into glycan regulation and suggests that at the regulatory level, glycogenes are non-redundant.