cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of supplementary selenium source on the performance and blood measurements in beef cows and their calves.

On December 2, 1999, 120 pregnant cows were weighed, their body condition scored, and then sorted into six groups of 20 stratified by BCS, BW, breed, and age. Groups were assigned randomly to six, 5.1-ha dormant common bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon [L.] Pers.) pastures for 2 yr to determine the effects of supplemental Se and its source on performance and blood measurements. During the winter, each group of cows had ad libitum access to bermudagrass/dallisgrass (Paspalum dilatatum Poir.) hay plus they were allowed limited access (1 to 4 d/wk) to a 2.4-ha winter-annual paddock planted in half the pasture. Treatments were assigned randomly to pastures (two pastures per treatment), and cows had ad libitum access to one of three free-choice minerals: 1) no supplemental Se, 2) 26 mg of supplemental Se from sodium selenite/kg, and 3) 26 mg of supplemental Se from seleno-yeast/kg (designed intake = 113 g/cow daily). Data were analyzed using a mixed model; year was the random effect and treatment was the fixed effect. Selenium supplementation or its source had no effect (P > or = 0.19) on cow BW, BCS, conception rate, postpartum interval, or hay DMI. Birth date, birth weight, BW, total BW gain, mortality, and ADG of calves were not affected (P > 0.20) by Se or its source. Whole blood Se concentrations and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activity at the beginning of the trial did not differ (P > or = 0.17) between cows receiving no Se and cows supplemented with Se or between Se sources. At the beginning of the calving and breeding seasons, cows supplemented with Se had greater (P or = 0.60) between the two sources. At birth and on May 24 (near peak lactation), calves from cows supplemented with Se had greater (P < or = 0.06) whole blood Se concentrations than calves from cows fed no Se. At birth, calves from cows fed seleno-yeast had greater (P < or = 0.05) whole blood Se concentrations and GSH-Px activities than calves from cows fed sodium selenite. Although no differences were noted in cow and calf performance, significant increases were noted in whole blood Se concentrations and GSH-Px activities in calves at birth as a result of feeding of seleno-yeast compared to no Se or sodium selenite.
The Importance of Heat Transfer in Hypothetical Core Disruptive Accident Analysis

In the very unlikely event of a loss-of-flow accident in a liquid-metal fast breeder reactor being accompanied by complete failure to scram, the reactor could go prompt critical, generating a large amount of neutronic heat on a millisecond time scale. We find that fuel-to-steel heat transfer has a minimal influence upon the neutronic energy deposition during the prompt burst but that it can play an important role in material behavior in later stages of the hypothetical core disruptive accident. Furthermore, results obtained indicate that calculations of thermodynamic potential energy through adiabatic expansion to one atmosphere are conservative if performed at the end of the prompt burst and that fuel-to-steel heat transfer may significantly reduce the available work energy within the next 20 ms.
Activism, Athletics, and Student Life at State Colleges in the 1950s and 1960s

This chapter explores campus life at state colleges in the 1950s and 1960s. Contemporary studies usually reported that students on these campuses eschewed active involvement in college life in favor of earning a degree and securing a job. As this chapter argues, however, students on these campuses built active student cultures, in great measure by advocating for football and athletics. In doing so, these students embraced the student life they saw on other campuses and argued that their campuses were real colleges. By the 1960s, they also embraced athletics as a way to push their campuses to be more open to diverse groups of students. Far from being uninterested in campus life, these students embraced active college lives that shaped their institutions in dramatic ways.
A multi-modal relative spatial access assessment approach to measure spatial accessibility to primary care providers

Two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) methods that account for multiple transportation modes provide more realistic accessibility representation than single-mode methods. However, the use of the impedance coefficient in an impedance function (e.g., Gaussian function) introduces uncertainty to 2SFCA results. This paper proposes an enhancement to the multi-modal 2SFCA methods through incorporating the concept of a spatial access ratio (SPAR) for spatial access measurement. SPAR is the ratio of a given place’s access score to the mean of all access scores in the study area. An empirical study on spatial access to primary care physicians (PCPs) in the city of Albuquerque, NM, USA was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of SPAR in addressing uncertainty introduced by the choice of the impedance coefficient in the classic Gaussian impedance function. We used ESRI StreetMap Premium and General Transit Specification Feed (GTFS) data to calculate the travel time to PCPs by car and bus. We first generated two spatial access scores—using different catchment sizes for car and bus, respectively—for each demanding population location: an accessibility score for car drivers and an accessibility score for bus riders. We then computed three corresponding spatial access ratios of the above scores for each population location. Sensitivity analysis results suggest that the spatial access scores vary significantly when using different impedance coefficients (p < 0.05); while SPAR remains stable (p = 1). Results from this paper suggest that a spatial access ratio can significantly reduce impedance coefficient-related uncertainties in multi-modal 2SFCA methods.
Effects of Imperfect Insulating Coatings on the Flow Partitioning between Parallel Channels in Self-Cooled Liquid Metal Blankets

Fully developed liquid-metal flow in a system of three straight rectangular ducts is investigated. The ducts are electrically coupled by common conducting walls covered with an imperfect insulating layer. A numerical model of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow in the system is described. Since no additional assumptions, such as in the core-flow solution, have been made, this model can be used for the analysis of MHD flow in parallel ducts with nearly perfect insulating coating. Any orientation of the applied uniform magnetic field is possible. Electrical conductivities of the dividing and exterior walls, and of the insulating layers in individual channels can be varied independently, as well as characteristics of insulation imperfections in each channel. A restriction of equal pressure gradients in all ducts is imposed, and the flow partitioning between parallel channels is examined. Results of the numerical simulation of the influence of insulation imperfections on flow distribution and velocity profiles are...
Effects of Online Care on Functional and Psychological Outcomes in Patients with Psoriasis: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract Background The impact of online care on patients’ functional and psychological outcomes is critical to determine yet still unknown. Objective To evaluate how a novel online health model that facilitates physician-patient collaboration compares with in-person care for improving psoriasis patients’ functional status and mental health. Methods This 12-month randomized controlled equivalency trial randomized psoriasis patients 1:1 to online or in-person care. Functional impairment and depression were assessed at baseline and at 3-month intervals using the 5-level EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-5L) and Patient Health Questionnare-9 (PHQ-9). Results 296 patients were randomized to online or in-person groups. The between-group difference in overall improvement in EQ VAS (EuroQol Visual Analogue Scale) was -0.002 (95% CI -2.749, 2.745), falling within equivalence margin ±8. The between-group difference in overall improvement in EQ-5D-5L index was 0 (95% CI -0.003, 0.003), falling within equivalence margin ±0.1. The between-group difference in overall improvement in PHQ-9 was -0.33 (95% CI -1.20, 0.55), falling within equivalence margin ±3. Limitations Slightly different attrition rates between online and in-person arms (11% versus 9%), but no impact on outcomes. Conclusion The online health model was equivalent to in-person care for reducing functional impairment and depressive symptoms in psoriasis patients.
Insight into the Electronic Structure of Formal Lanthanide(II) Complexes using Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectroscopy

Magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopy has been utilized to evaluate the electronic structure of the tris(cyclopentadienyl) rare-earth complexes [K(2.2.2-cryptand)][LnCp′3] (Ln = Y, La, Pr,...
Computational sustainability: computing for a better world and a sustainable future

Computer and information scientists join forces with other fields to help solve societal and environmental challenges facing humanity, in pursuit of a sustainable future.
Stop Traffic: Using Expert Witnesses to Disrupt Intersectional Vulnerability in Sex Trafficking Prosecutions

Sex trafficking thrives on intersectional inequality and reinforcing layers of vulnerability. Sex trafficking exists on a continuum of sexualized violence, from microaggressive sexual harassment to macroaggressive gang rapes, all of which create vulnerability in the victim and perfect sovereignty in the perpetrator. Sexualized violence performs power, as it is raced, classed, and gendered. Power not only requires performance, but it necessitates repetitive reenactments of domination in order to normalize its compulsive and pathological nature. Lynchings, police shootings, gang rapes, and sex trafficking are all performances of power on vulnerable bodies through which power perfects itself. The same inequality that creates the necessary preconditions for vulnerability to violence in the first instance, also obfuscates or masks power’s pathology and compulsivity in the investigative and adjudicative processes. By way of illustration, victim blaming renders the pathology of the perpetrator invisible because it removes accountability from the perpetrator and shifts blame onto the victim. Shifting blame onto the victim obfuscates or hides power’s omnipresence, compulsiveness, and pathology. The victim blaming process is pervasive, systemic, and entrenched. Without proper interventions, sex trafficking cases can become ritualized spectacle, where sexualized violence as well as its accompanying investigation and adjudication convince the factfinder of the pathology of the victim and the sovereignty of the perpetrator. The pathology that surrounds victims of sexualized violence adversely impacts their credibility and extends narratives about male entitlement to vulnerable bodies. The recent cases involving R. Kelly and Cyntoia Brown illustrate these points. In the case of singer, song writer Kelly, his videotaping sex with an underaged black female resulted in an acquittal.
Mapping the Germline and Somatic Mutation Interaction Landscape in Indolent and Aggressive Prostate Cancers

Background. A majority of prostate cancers (PCas) are indolent and cause no harm even without treatment. However, a significant proportion of patients with PCa have aggressive tumors that progress rapidly to metastatic disease and are often lethal. PCa develops through somatic mutagenesis, but emerging evidence suggests that germline genetic variation can markedly contribute to tumorigenesis. However, the causal association between genetic susceptibility and tumorigenesis has not been well characterized. The objective of this study was to map the germline and somatic mutation interaction landscape in indolent and aggressive tumors and to discover signatures of mutated genes associated with each type and distinguishing the two types of PCa. Materials and Methods. We integrated germline mutation information from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) with somatic mutation information from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) using gene expression data from TCGA on indolent and aggressive PCas as the intermediate phenotypes. Germline and somatic mutated genes associated with each type of PCa were functionally characterized using network and pathway analysis. Results. We discovered gene signatures containing germline and somatic mutations associated with each type and distinguishing the two types of PCa. We discovered multiple gene regulatory networks and signaling pathways enriched with germline and somatic mutations including axon guidance, RAR, WINT, MSP-RON, STAT3, PI3K, TR/RxR, and molecular mechanisms of cancer, NF-kB, prostate cancer, GP6, androgen, and VEGF signaling pathways for indolent PCa and MSP-RON, axon guidance, RAR, adipogenesis, and molecular mechanisms of cancer and NF-kB signaling pathways for aggressive PCa. Conclusion. The investigation revealed germline and somatic mutated genes associated with indolent and aggressive PCas and distinguishing the two types of PCa. The study revealed multiple gene regulatory networks and signaling pathways dysregulated by germline and somatic alterations. Integrative analysis combining germline and somatic mutations is a powerful approach to mapping germline and somatic mutation interaction landscape.
Design of a Novel Axial Flux Permanent Magnet Assisted Synchronous Reluctance Motor

Due to higher power and torque densities, and ease of construction, axial flux permanent magnet (AFPM) motors are used in various applications. Majority of the AFPMs use surface mounted permanent magnets for torque generation, which results lower saliency as well as lower reluctance torque. As a result, these motors provide narrow flux weakening range. Axial flux permanent magnet assisted synchronous reluctance motor (AFPMa-SynRM) is proposed in this paper which can provide higher reluctance torque in addition to the magnet torque with lesser amount of magnet material. A Taguchi method based approach has been conducted to optimize the torque per volume while minimizing the torque ripple of AFPMa-SynRM. Electromagnetic and flux weakening performances of AFPMa-SynRM have been compared with the benchmark axial flux interior permanent magnet (AFIPM) motor. This study indicates that AFPMa-SynRM can be a potential cost-effective solution with a better performance.
Relationships Between Tests of Strength, Power, and Speed and the 75-Yard Pursuit Run.

Post, BK, Dawes, JJ, and Lockie, RG. Relationships between tests of strength, power, and speed and the 75-yard pursuit run. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2019-The 75-yard pursuit run (75 PR) was designed to simulate a foot pursuit for law enforcement officers (LEOs). Currently, there has been no analysis of contributing physiological factors to performance in this test. The study purpose was to determine the relationships between the 75 PR and tests of linear speed, change-of-direction (COD) speed, and lower-body power and strength. Forty-three subjects (21 men and 22 women) completed 2 testing days. Day 1 consisted of the 75 PR, and linear speed (5- and 20-m sprint intervals) and lower-body power (standing broad jump, best lateral jump regardless of leg) tests. Day 2 included the COD speed (Illinois agility test [IAT], best 505 regardless of leg), lower-body power (vertical jump [VJ]), and strength (isometric mid-thigh pull: peak force, normalized peak force [nPF]) tests. Pearson's (men and women) and partial (combined controlling for sex) correlations (p < 0.05) determined relationships between the 75 PR and the performance tests. Significant relationships were found between the 75 PR and the jump tests (r = -0.53 to -0.68), 20-m sprint interval, IAT, and 505 (r = 0.55-0.82) in men, and between the 75 PR and the jump tests, nPF (r = -0.56 to -0.79), sprint intervals, IAT, and 505 in women (r = 0.54-0.84). When sexes were combined, significant relationships were observed between the 75 PR and the jump tests, nPF (r = -0.41 to -0.67), sprint intervals, IAT, and 505 (r = 0.43-0.78). Prospective LEOs should develop linear and COD speed, lower-body power, and relative strength to improve foot pursuit ability.
Home Is Where the Heart Is: Identity, Return and the Toleka Bicycle Taxi Union in Congo’s Equateur

Since the end of the 2006 post-war transition, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the international community have struggled to design, finance and implement a host of national and regional disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes. The weak capacity of implementing institutions, widespread corruption, funding gaps, Western-driven processes and a misdiagnosis of local needs have all been raised as core reasons behind failures. Little is known about how processes of ex-combatant return shape and reshape public authority, where former combatants return to, how they negotiate and experience ‘return’ and how viable ways of life are successfully constituted post return. While many ex-combatants in the DRC continue to be re-recruited into militia groups, one group that has reintegrated successfully is the Toleka—a several-thousand-strong group of ex-combatants who returned (or remained) in the provincial capital of Mbandaka (Equateur province). The Toleka formed a bicycle-taxi organization and unionized its membership, providing protections and collective-bargaining authority to the group, while providing a public good. It also helped to reshape identities, produce a sense of civilian solidarity and provide a bridging function from life in the military. This article looks at how this organization was formed, how the former fighters identified and capitalized on a local need and the conditions that allowed them to successfully unionize and protect their rights as they re-entered civilian life. Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews, this article seeks to understand a case of ‘successful’ return in a region with few such successes.
Combination of a chemical blend with CO2 huff-n-puff for enhanced oil recovery in oil shales

Abstract The oil recovery from extremely low permeability shale oil reservoirs by depressurization is only about 7–10% of the original oil in place (OOIP). The objective of this work is to evaluate a hybrid process of a chemical blend (CB) with CO2 huff-n-puff to improve the oil recovery in shale cores. The chemical blend contained an anionic surfactant and a persulfate salt in 2000 ppm KCl. Outcrop Mancos shale core plugs were injected with a light oil and the resulting cores were used to evaluate the liquid recovery factor during huff-n-puff cycles. Shale cores saturated with oil were subjected to CO2 huff-n-puff cycles at three pressures at 75 °C. Oil recovery efficiency of the CO2 with the chemical blend was compared with those treated with just CO2 huff-n-puff. Fluid volumes inside cores before and after huff-n-puff cycles were estimated from NMR T2 relaxation time data. D2O was used in the chemical blend to suppress the NMR response from injected blend. The findings from this study show that CO2 huff-n-puff is an effective technique to enhance oil recovery from oil shales. CO2 huff-n-puff was able to recover most of the added oil and a part of the initial fluid. Increasing pressure had a negligible effect on the oil recovery as long as the pressure was above 2800 psi. Application of the chemical blend with CO2 significantly improved the fluid recovery factor compared to pure CO2 huff-n-puff. First injecting a gas and the pressurizing the wells with the CB can improve the oil recovery factor in shale wells.
Wiwanyag Wachipi: Oglala Sun Dancing: Embodying Deep World Reciprocity through Gifting

Graham Harvey’s reconceptualisation of religion emphasises the relational world of indigenous peoples. His suggestion that religion revolves around negotiating with ‘our neighbours’ is particularly relevant to Native American ritual processes insofar as he extends ‘neighbours’ to other-species persons. Further, by emphasising ‘lived religion’, Harvey turns our attention to the significance of embodied religion as it expresses itself in ceremonial performances. Harvey’s approach is enriched by Ronald L. Grimes’ notion of the way in which indigenous rituals take us into the deep world of other-species communities through a gift exchange economy that promotes the wellbeing of everyone in the neighbourhood. The present discussion demonstrates the applicability of both Harvey’s and Grimes’ approaches to indigenous religious ritual processes by focusing on James R. Walker’s account of Oglala Sun Dancing. Walker constructs a fourstage ritual process from information he gathered while working as a physician on the Pine Ridge Reservation from 1896 to 1914. The entire process, from the declaration of the first candidates who announce their intention to make bodily sacrifices to the culmination of the ritual process in the last four days where the flesh sacrifices are made many months later, centres on re-establishing and promoting harmonious relations among the Oglala and between the Oglala and their other-species neighbours within the Sacred Hoop. The indigenous methodological approach interprets the process through Oglala cosmological and ontological categories and establishes the significance of Harvey’s approach to religion and Grimes’ approach to ritual in understanding embodied and lived religion.
Late Fetal Stage (Previable) Placenta (Second Trimester, 12–22 Weeks Post LMP)

Gross specimens from this stage of pregnancy show the most heterogeneity ranging from “completely fragmented” in earlier cases to an intact fetus and placenta in later cases. Restricting this discussion to the placenta, it is important to weigh placental tissue trimmed of umbilical cord and membranes for comparison to normal reference values (Table 1); attempt to ascertain the location and nature of the umbilical cord insertion site; describe any cystic, solid, or hemorrhagic lesions; and note any alterations in the color and consistency of the parenchyma, umbilical cord, and fetal surface. Despite the fragmented nature of some specimens, the general rules of sampling membranes, umbilical cord, full thickness parenchyma, and lesions with adjacent normal parenchyma apply (described in detail below for later specimens). In grossly unremarkable cases, three sections of placental tissue are usually sufficient.
A Religious Movement on Trial: Transformative Years, Judicial Questions and the Nation of Islam

The Nation of Islam (NOI) is one of the most controversial political-religious groups in the United States. Some define it as an exclusionary race-based group, while others see it as a genuine empowerment movement. Although it has been viewed as an unconventional fringe group, NOI represents an important syncretic movement of its time. Its approach to Islam was marked by a range of currents from the anti-colonial interpretive framework of the Ahmadiyya to Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association forging a highly dynamic narrative to explain the racial injustices and individual and collective requirements of future emancipation. Despite its strong anti-establishment discourse, NOI operates within the parameters legal and judicial system and seeks to reach out to new groups. As NOI faces the challenge of balancing its clashing inner currents rooted in its commitments to orthodox vs. vernacularized Islam or anti-systemic vs. accommodationist policies and often stigmatized by outside observers, it constitutes one of the most promising and precarious black movement.
Defending the Law Review -- A Response to Judge Posner and Professor Lindgren

I am fairly new to the publication game. I am not a professional writer. I was never a law review editor. My current teaching job does not mandate that I "publish or perish." On top of that, I believe that law reviews were invaluable in helping me write research papers during my time in law school. I enjoy reading law review articles to this day. In addition, I have enjoyed the privilege of having several of my own pieces accepted for publication as law review articles. Consequently, I have had positive experiences dealing with law review editors over the past few years. Therefore, despite those who challenge the viability of law reviews, law reviews were certainly good to me. Quite frankly, I like law reviews.
A Simple and Robust Protocol for in vitro Differentiation of Mouse Non-pathogenic T Helper 17 Cells from CD4 + T Cells

Functional and mechanistic studies of CD4+ T cell lineages rely on robust methods of in vitro T cell polarization. Here, we report an optimized protocol for in vitro differentiation of a mouse non-pathogenic T helper 17 (TH17) cell lineage. Most of the previously established protocols require irradiated splenocytes as artificial antigen presenting cells (APC) for TCR activation. The protocol described here employs plate-bound antibodies and a TH17-polarizing cytokine cocktail to activate and differentiate naive CD4+ T (Tnai) cells, reflecting a simple and robust protocol for in vitro TH17n differentiation. Using T cells that are genetically engineered with an IL-17 reporter, this protocol may enable the rapid production of a pure population of IL17-expressing CD4+ T cells for system biology studies and high-throughput functional screening.
A randomized controlled trial of transition from insulin pump to multiple daily injections using insulin degludec

Aim To evaluate two methods of transition from an insulin pump to multiple daily injections (MDI) using long-acting insulin degludec (IDeg). Materials and methods After a 1-week run-in period, adults with type 1 diabetes for longer than 1 year and HbA1c 48-69 mmol/mol (6.5%-8.5%), who had been using an insulin pump at least for 6 months, were randomly transitioned to either standard of care (discontinued insulin pump and started IDeg in 1:1 dose) or overlap (IDeg 1:1 at pump basal dose, but pump continued for the first 48 hours with a gradual basal reduction; 50% from 0-24 hours, 75% from 24-48 hours and then pump discontinued). Participants used blinded Dexcom G6 and the IDeg dose was not changed during the trial. Primary (% time above 180 mg/dL) and secondary (% time in 70-180 mg/dL and below 70 mg/dL) outcomes were compared between the two groups during 7 days of randomization. Results Age, gender, diabetes duration and basal/bolus insulin doses were similar between patients randomized to standard of care (n = 17) or overlap (n = 13) transition. Compared with overlap transition, the standard of care group spent 4.8% more time in hyperglycaemia (least square mean 4.8% [95% CI -3.3%, 12.9%]) and 5.3% less time in range (-5.3% [-12.6%, -2.0%]), without a significant difference in hypoglycaemia (0.5% [-2.3%,3.4%]). No treatment-related adverse events were noted in either group. Conclusion The overlap transition method may result in a significant improvement in time-in-range without increasing hypoglycaemia during the first week of transition from an insulin pump to MDI using IDeg in adults with type 1 diabetes.
Epitaxial Molybdenum Disulfide/Gallium Nitride Junctions: Low-Knee-Voltage Schottky-Diode Behavior at Optimized Interfaces

Low turn-on (knee) voltage (∼0.3 V) Schottky-diode behavior of a four-layer (4L) MoS2/GaN junction is achieved by optimizing the in situ interface preparation of the GaN substrate prior to MoS2 overlayer growth in a vacuum system using metallic molybdenum and hydrogen sulfide gas as precursors. The process leads to a clean nitrogen-terminated GaN surface that bonds well to the MoS2 film revealing a 2 × 2 reconstruction at the interface observed in low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Atomic force microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy provide clear images of the GaN terraces through the MoS2 overlayer confirming close adhesion and absence of oxygen and other contaminants. Density functional theory calculations predict the formation of the 2 × 2 superstructure at a clean interface. Transport measurements show diode behavior at an on/off ratio of ∼105 for ±1 V with a forward direction for the positive voltage applied to the MoS2 layer. Combining transport and photoelectron spectroscopy measurements with theory, we deduce a Fermi-level position in the MoS2 gap consistent with interface charge transfer from MoS2 to the substrate. The high performance of the MoS2/Gan diode highlights the technological potential of devices based on GaN/MoS2 interfaces.
Abdominal Panniculectomy: An Analysis of Outcomes in 238 Consecutive Patients over 10 Years.

Panniculectomy is a commonly performed body contouring procedure to address skin laxity and its related complications. This study aimed to assess clinical outcomes of abdominal panniculectomy and identify predictors of complications at a tertiary academic healthcare center. Methods A retrospective review of patients who underwent panniculectomy between January 2010 and January 2020 at our institution was performed. Exclusion criteria were a history of prior panniculectomy or abdominoplasty. Patient characteristics and clinical outcomes were collected. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed to assess the risk factors of complications. Results The mean age in the included 238 patients was 51.7 ± 12.7 years, and the mean body mass index (BMI) at the time of panniculectomy was 33 ± 7.5 kg/m2. Median resection weight was 2.7 kg (range: 0.15-14.6) and median length of hospital stay was 2 days (range: 0-24). Mean follow-up time was 50 ± 37 months. The rate of major complications was 22.3%. Revision surgery was performed in 3.4% of the cases. Multivariable analyses demonstrated that increase in BMI (P = 0.007) and active smoking (P = 0.026) were significantly associated with increased odds of major complication, and increase in BMI (P = 0.0004), history of venous thromboembolism (P = 0.034) and having a concomitant ventral hernia repair (P = 0.0044) were significantly associated with having a length of hospital stay of 3 days or more. Conclusions Panniculectomy is generally safe to perform, with major postoperative complication rate of 22.3% in our series. Increase in BMI and active smoking were significantly associated with having a major complication. Higher BMI, concomitant hernia repair, and a history of venous thromboembolism were associated with length of hospital stay of 3 days or more.
Notes toward an Ecological Conception of Bakhtin’s ‘Chronotope’

Key words: Bakhtin, chronotope, road, nature poetry, American novel, Robert Frost, Jack Kerouac, poetic interconnection Mikhail Bakhtin’s concept of the ‘chronotope’ as a set of space-time relations characterising a particular genre, motif or period deserves the special attention of ecocritics. Bakhtin believed that literary texts help to sustain the vitality of their discursive, social and even natural environment: chronotopic motifs reflect, negotiate and emphasize the status of the environment in contemporary discourse. The ‘road’ illustrates how rivalling space-time configurations play out in twentieth-century literature. Typically imagined as a means of overcoming space and time in the novel, it has been for poets a site of awareness of the subject’s connections with the environment, and of reflections on their own past and future. Palabras clave: Bakhtin, cronotopo, carretera, poesia de la naturaleza, novela norteamericana, Robert Frost, Jack Kerouac, interconexion poetica. El concepto de “cronotopo” de Mikhail Bakhtin como un conjunto de relaciones espacio-tiempo que caracterizan un genero, motivo o periodo en concreto, merece especial atencion de la ecocritica. Bakhtin creia que los textos literarios contribuyen a preservar la vitalidad de su ambiente discursivo, social e incluso del natural: los motivos cronotopicos reflejan, negocian y ponen de relieve la situacion del medio ambiente en el discurso contemporaneo. La “carretera” ilustra como las configuraciones rivales de espacio-tiempo se agotan en la literatura del siglo veinte. Imaginada tipicamente como una forma de superar el espacio y el tiempo en la novela, la carretera ha sido para los poetas un lugar de concienciacion de las conexiones del sujeto con el entorno, y de reflexiones sobre sus propios pasados y futuros.
Chemical Constituents of Murraya Euchrestifolia Hayata. Structures of Novel Carbazolequinones and Other New Carbazole Alkaloids

Thirteen carbazole alkaloids were isolated from Murraya euchrestifolia HAYATA (Rutaceae) collected in Taiwan. Four of them are novel carbazolequinones [murrayaquinone-A (7), -B (8), -C (9), and -D (10)], isolated for the first time from natural sources. Three of others are new alkaloids having the normal carbazole nucleus [murrayafoline-A (1), -B (2), and (+)-murrayazoline (11)]. These structures were elucidated from spectral data and chemical transformations.
Academic Meets Corporate: Science and Technology Library Services in the Corporate World

SUMMARY The Corporate Services Center of the University Libraries at The University of Akron is a model for regional collaboration between a University Library and local non-profit and business concerns. Through a variety of services, the Center seeks to build significant collections in common among members and focus library services to the benefit of all.
Modeling, Control and Simulation of a Novel Mobile Robotic System

We are developing an autonomous mo- bile robotic system to emulate six degree of freedom relative spacecraft motion during proximity opera- tions. A mobile omni-directional base robot provides x, y, and yaw planar motion with moderate accuracy through six independently driven motors. With a six degree of freedom micro-positioning Stewart platform on top of the moving base, six degree of freedom spacecraft motion can be emulated with high accu- racy. This paper presents our approach to dynamic modeling, control, and simulation for the overall sys- tem. Compared with other simulations that intro- duced significant simplifications, we believe that our rigorous modeling approach is crucial for the high fi- delity hardware in-the-loop emulation.
Taiwan's Application to the GATT: A New Urgency with the Conclusion of the Uruguay Round

On January 1, 1990, the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwan) submitted its formal application toj?in the world's major international trade regulatory regime, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (General Agreement or GATT).1 The ROC formally applied to join the GATT as the autonomous customs territory of "Taiwan, the Pescadores, Kinmen, and Matsu."2 The Taiwan government made concessions to the People's Republic of China (PRC or China) by applying as a customs territory and not as the "Republic of China."3 Taiwan's desire for membership is logical in light of its standing as the world's thirteenth largest trading nation, with holdings of more than $80 billion, the largest in the world.4 However, Taiwan's bid to join the GATT poses numerous political and legal issues, particularly because most countries do not recognize Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Moreover, the recognized sovereign of China, the PRC government, strongly opposes Taiwan's application.5 China contends that Taiwan's bid must follow its own acceptance to the GATT.6
The Library and Its Place in Cultural Memory: The Grande Bibliothèque du Québec in the Construction of Social and Cultural Identity

The province of Quebec, the sole province in Canada where the citizens are a French-language majority, is also the only province with its own national library. The Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec and other significant libraries around the world collect and preserve memory in ways that create a context for cultural recall. The first part of this article traces the heated debates that took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries over the creation of a public or municipal library in Montreal. The second part traces the events leading to the development of the Bibliotheque nationale du Quebec and its subsequent merger in 2005 with the Bibliotheque municipale de Montreal to form the Grande Bibliotheque, or "the new national library of Quebec." The stages of evolution of the Bibliotheque nationale/Grande Bibliotheque, in parallel with the development of public libraries in Quebec, can be viewed as a reflection of the evolution and metamorphosis of society and cultural memory in Quebec throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries to the present.
New Crystal Form of Recombinant Murine Interferon-β

Although we have reported (Matsuda, S., Kawano, G., Itoh, S., Mitsui, Y., and Iitaka, Y. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 16207–16209) that recombinant murine interferon-β produced in Escherichia coli was crystallized in an orthorhombic space group C2221 using polyethyleneglycol 8000 as precipitant, the crystals had an insufficient resolution and a marked tendency for orientational disorder around the c axis. We now report that another form of murine interferon-β crystals with little disorder was obtained in the presence of dioxane using ammonium sulfate as precipitant. The new crystals belong to a hexagonal space group P61 or P65 with a = b = 71.4 A and c = 79.6 A having only one murine interferon-β molecule in an asymmetric unit. The crystals are reasonably stable to x-rays and significantly diffract up to 2.2 A resolution when a synchrotron beam is used.
G-Protein types involved in calcium channel inhibition at a presynaptic nerve terminal.

The inhibition of presynaptic calcium channels via G-protein-dependent second messenger pathways is a key mechanism of transmitter release modulation. We used the calyx-type nerve terminal of the chick ciliary ganglion to examine which G-proteins are involved in the voltage-sensitive inhibition of presynaptic N-type calcium channels. Adenosine caused a prominent inhibition of the calcium current that was totally blocked by pretreatment with pertussis toxin (PTX), consistent with an exclusive involvement of Go/Gi in the G-protein pathway. Immunocytochemistry was used to localize these G-protein types to the nerve terminal and its transmitter release face. We used two approaches to test for modulation by other G-protein types. First, we treated the terminals with ligands for a variety of G-protein-linked neurotransmitter receptor types that have been associated with different G-protein families. Although small inhibitory effects were observed, these could all be eliminated by PTX, indicating that in this terminal the Gi family is the sole transmitter-induced G-protein inhibitory pathway. Second, we examined the kinetics of calcium channel inhibition by uncaging the nonselective and irreversible G-protein activator GTPγS, bypassing the receptors. A large fraction of the rapid GTPγS-induced inhibition persisted, consistent with a Go/Gi-independent pathway. Immunocytochemistry identified Gq, G11, G12, and G13 as potential PTX-insensitive second messengers at this terminal. Thus, our results suggest that whereas neurotransmitter-mediated calcium channel inhibition is mainly, and possibly exclusively, via Go/Gi, other rapid PTX-insensitive G-protein pathways exist that may involve novel, and perhaps transmitter-independent, activating mechanisms.
Introduction to Mitochondrial Toxicity

Mitochondria generate >90% of the energy in aerobically poised cells, but are also a major source of cytotoxic free radicals. These organelles contain their own genome, and they replicate independent of cell division. It is widely appreciated that chronic exposures to some antibacterial and antiviral drugs can interfere with mitochondrial gene expression and/or replication, leading to various toxicities, including hearing loss, lipodystrophy and lipoatrophies. It is now increasingly appreciated that xenobiotics also can directly undermine mitochondrial function on more acute time scales, either by inhibiting respiration, or by uncoupling electron transport from phosphorylation, and in some cases, by both mechanisms. Such drug-induced mitochondrial dysfunction varies across important classes of therapeutics, and potency is in accord with clinical disposition; compounds that most profoundly impair mitochondrial function have been withdrawn from the market, or dropped before the clinic because of various organ toxicities. Examples of drugs with known mitochondrial liabilities are discussed, especially in the context of modern drug development. Such drug toxicity was not widely detected because of inadequacies in typical cell-based and in vitro assays, but new, high throughput assays have been designed to reveal mitochondrial impairment earlier in drug development. Drug-induced organ toxicity is a function organ history and physiological scope, i.e., the bioenergetic and antioxidative reserve capacity that has to be eroded before crossing a threshold of toxicity. This threshold model supports a new model of idiosyncratic drug toxicity that also incorporates all the known risk factors for such a response. Keywords: mitochondria; mitochondrial transcription and translation; xidative phosphorylation; calcium homeostasis; uncoupling/inhibition; mitochondrial permeability transition; drug-induced toxicities; idiosyncratic drug reactions; methods to investigate mitochondrial dysfunction
Analysis of the tumor suppressor gene p53 in xeroderma pigmentosum fibroblasts

Genetic risk factor(s) for skin cancers have been described in patients with xeroderma pigmentosum (XP). The tumor suppressor gene, p53, is one of the most frequently mutated genes found in human tumors. To evaluate the role of XP-related genetic defects in the p53 gene, skin fibroblast cell lines derived from XP donors were analysed for mutations in exons 5-9 (the regions of gene highly susceptible for mutations) by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and nucleotide sequencing. Of the five XP-derived fibroblasts (complementation group A) and two control fibroblast cell lines, only one XP cell line showed an aberrant SSCP banding pattern in the region of the p53 gene (comprising the 7th exon and neighbouring intronic sequences). Nucleotide sequencing of this region confirmed a mutation in the 7th intron adjacent to the 7th exon, which did not affect the RNA splice site. These results suggest that constitutional/germ-line mutations in the p53 gene may not play a role in the occurrence of skin carcinomas in XP patients.
Comparison of methylene chloride and chloroform for the extraction of fats from food products

Ten food products with a wide range of total fat, fatty acid and sterol content were obtained from a supermarket in the Washington, DC area. These food products were extraced by a new method, using methylene chloride/methanol as the extraction solvent. The results were compared to the Folch et al. procedure, in which chloroform/methanol is the extraction solvent. Total fat was determined, and fatty acid methyl esters and sterol butyrates were prepared and measured by gas liquid chromatography. An analysis of variance indicated that methylene chloride is as effective as chloroform, a suspected carcinogen, in the Folch et al. extraction of total fat, fatty acids and sterols from foods.
Gaussian-Laplacian mixture model for electricity market

This paper develops a statistical modeling and estimation approach combining robust regression and long tail estimation. The approach can be considered as a generalization of Huber regression in robust statistics. A mixture of asymmetric Laplace and Gaussian distributions is estimated using an EM algorithm. The approach estimates the regression model, distribution body, distribution tails, and boundaries between the body and the tails. As an application example, the model is estimated for historical power load data from an electrical utility. Practical usefulness of the model is illustrated by stochastic optimization of electricity order in day-ahead market. The computed optimal policy improves the cost compared to the baseline approach that relies on a normal distribution model.
Fourth Annual Mario S. Verani, MD Memorial Lecture: Noninvasive imaging in coronary artery disease: Changing roles, changing players

This review has suggested that there is an interaction between the noninvasive assessment of coronary anatomic abnormality-through the CCS or coronary CTA-and the assessment of the functional consequences of disease by use of gated MPS, PET, or potentially, CMR. Additional information of clinical importance may come from the assessment of biomarkers of inflammation, such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein50 or, more recently, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2,51 which appears to be even more specific for vascular inflammation. Given the strength of the evidence supporting the use of MPS and PET, the ease and effectiveness with which these approaches can be used in patients with known disease and in the elderly, and the great untapped potential of these approaches in molecular imaging, it is likely that there will continue to be growth for several years in the use of MPS and PET for assessing patients with known or suspected cardiovascular disease. It is imperative that physicians recognize the potential that overuse of expensive diagnostic testing could “break the bank,” resulting in controls of utilization that would lessen the beneficial impact of the powerful tools we are so fortunate to have available.
Inelastic Scattering of Light by Paramagnetic Spin-Waves*)

Inelastic scattering of light by paramagnetic spin-waves in metals in a constant magnetic field is analyzed. A method to calculate the scattering cross section using the generalized self-consistent field method is introduced. The advantages and limitations of light scattering experiment with respect to EPR techniques in the study of these excitations are pointed out. Frequency shifts, polarization selection rules and line shapes of the Raman spectra for arbitrary orientation of the magnetic field are discussed. '4i ·a constant magnetic field as a result of local fluctuations of the magnetization. Such fluctuations, spin waves in non-magnetic metals, were detected experimental­ ly for the first time by Schultz and Dunifer using EPR techniques. 1 ) In this note we discuss the feasibility of studying paramagnetic spin waves by means of light scattering, and its advantages and limitations with respect to magnetic resonance experiments. As in the case of light scattering by spin waves in magnetically ordered materials 2 ) the interaction between the radiation field and the magnetization can result from: 1) a direct magnetic dipole coupling of the light with the spin wave magnetization, or 2) an indirect electric-dipole coupling via the spin-orbit interaction. Using a similar method to that devised by Bass and Kaganov, 2 ) for the study of light scattering in ferromagnetic dielectrics, and the results for spin suscep­ tibility as given in the literature, 3 ),;L), 5 ) it is possible to evaluate the intensity of the scattered light which results from the direct magnetic-dipole coupling. This calculation is briefly described in the Appendix. For Na and K this intensity is several orders of magnitude smaller than the intensitY: of the scattered light from processes involving the indirect electric-dipole coupling, discussed in this article. The latter mechanism was considered by Genkin and Genkin 6 ) to esti­ mate the absolute Raman cross section due to spin wave scattering in K. They suggest, on the basis of t~eir results for the integrated intensity of the scattered
'Wiring' of lactate oxidase within a low-redox potential electron-conducting hydrogel

Lactate electrodes based on electron-conducting hydrogels made by cross-linking lactate oxidase and the redox polymer formed upon complexing polyvinyl imidazole with [Os(dmo-bpy)2Cl]+/2+ (dmo-bpy = 4,4'-dimethoxy-2,2'-bipyridine) on vitreous carbon electrode surfaces were investigated. The redox potential of the hydrogels was -69 mV, versus the standard calomel electrode (SCE), and their lactate electro-oxidation current reached a plateau at +50 mV (SCE). Urate and acetaminophen were not electro-oxidized at this potential at rates that would interfere with the lactate assays, but ascorbate was catalytically oxidized by the gel. At 6 mM lactate concentration, switching of the atmosphere from argon to O2, reduced the current by 40 percent, showing that the rate of electron transfer from the reduced enzyme to the gel was slow.