cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Asymmetry of tubuloglomerular feedback effector mechanism with respect to ambient tubular flow.

The contribution of preglomerular resistance changes to the tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) effector response was evaluated by micropuncture in hydropenic rats. Studies were performed in free-flowing nephrons to compare the fractional compensation (C) for perturbations in late proximal flow (VLP) with associated changes in glomerular capillary hydrostatic pressure (PGC). VLP was monitored by a noninvasive optical technique, and PGC was monitored by direct capillary micropuncture. Data were employed in conjunction with a model of glomerular filtration to analyze the TGF effector mechanism. C varied with the applied perturbation (VH), showing a single peak near the natural operating point. In contrast, the effect of TGF on PGC was asymmetric about the operating point, such that PGC was sensitive only to large positive perturbations. The model predicts that changes in preglomerular resistance account for only a small fraction of the integrated TGF response to small disturbances in the ambient state of the ne...
Hardware and Software Co-design

The goal of hardware and software co-design is to search a very large design space to find reasonable system architectures for application-specific systems. To plausibly formulate this design space, let alone efficiently search it, typically some assumptions about the design are made. It may be working from a template, using a library of predesigned components, or using particular objective functions to drive a search. Even a few assumptions make the design problem much more tractable. Hardware/software co-design is not a pushbutton solution to embedded system design. The techniques described in earlier chapters of the book to implement many of the components of the embedded system identified by co-synthesis are still needed. Co-synthesis, however, can help organize the search for reasonable architectures. A variety of platforms can be used as the target for co-design, ranging from systems-on-chips to field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). Hardware/software co-synthesis can start from either programs or task graphs. Platform-driven co-synthesis allocates processes onto predefined hardware architecture, tuning the parameters of that architecture during synthesis. Co-synthesis algorithms that do not rely on platforms must often make other assumptions—such as fixed-component libraries—to make their search spaces more reasonable. Reconfigurable systems complicate co-synthesis because scheduling and floor-planning interact. Hardware/software co-simulation links heterogeneous simulators together through a simulation bus to provide a uniform view of time across hardware and software execution.
The prevalence of exercise prescription-related course offerings in United States pharmacy school curricula: Exercise is Medicine

Exercise training has proven to be beneficial in the prevention of disease. In addition, exercise can improve the pathogenesis and symptoms associated with a variety of chronic disease states and can attenuate drug-induced adverse effects. Exercise is a drug-free polypill. Because the benefits of exercise are clear and profound, Exercise is Medicine, a joint initiative between the American Medical Association and American College of Sports Medicine, was launched in 2007 to call on all health care providers to counsel patients and prescribe exercise in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease states. Pharmacists play an increasing role in direct patient care and are the most accessible health care providers in the community. Thus, pharmacists should be knowledgeable in counseling patients on the frequency, intensity, time, and type of exercise that is appropriate for various conditions and disease states. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of didactic course offerings in United States pharmacy school curricula regarding training in exercise prescription. School websites were accessed for information regarding course offerings in PharmD programs. No United States pharmacy schools offered courses that were dedicted to the role of exercise in disease prevention or exercise prescription in disease management. Ninety percent of pharmacy schools did not offer courses with the keywords "exercise," "fitness, or "physical activity" in the title or description. The data suggest that student pharmacists are not adequately trained to counsel patients on the benefits of exercise or exercise prescription.
Very High Salivary Streptococcus Mutans Predicts Caries Progression in Young Children.

Purpose Culturing mutans streptococci (MS) from children's saliva has high utility in caries risk assessment. The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to examine its ability in predicting caries progression and determine sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratios of a very high ["too numerous to count (TNTC) MS test result. Methods 200 preschoolers (3.3±1.2 years, 50 percent no recoverable MS, 50 percent TNTC MS at first dental visit) were followed for five or more years. Caries experience of both groups was compared to identify predictors of caries presence and its progression. Results Controlling for demographic, oral health, and dental visit factors, TNTC preschoolers had both greater presence and extent of caries at the first dental visit (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 8.0, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] 2.5 to 25.5) and caries progression at five or more years (aOR 6.0, 95 percent CI 2.4 to 15.0). Fewer TNTC preschoolers remained caries free over five years or longer (13 percent versus 77 percent for no MS). Overall, sensitivities and specificities exceeded 75 percent. Conclusions Despite engagement in preventive dental care, children with TNTC MS were six times more likely to experience cavity increments than preschoolers with no recoverable MS at first visit.
US Medical Schools’ Awareness of Their Students Who Smoke, Cessation Programs Available, and the Potential Impact on Residency Match

Introduction Hospital systems are adopting strict nicotine-free policies excluding hiring individuals who smoke, including residents for graduate medical training. This study was conducted to (1) determine medical schools' awareness of these policies, (2) awareness of their students' smoking behaviors, and (3) the smoking cessation programs that they provide. Methods A survey was developed to learn about the smoking policies of medical schools in the United States: how school leadership estimates smoking prevalence among their students, what those estimates are, and what programs are in place to help students quit smoking. Questions were asked about awareness of policies restricting hiring smokers including applicants for residency training. Opinions were solicited on including smoking status in medical school applications. The online survey was sent to the Deans of student affairs at US medical schools. Results Of the 160 schools invited to participate, 84 (53%) responded. Most medical schools (92%) are smoke-free and 97% have policies specifically prohibiting tobacco use on campus. Estimates of student smoking prevalence varied from 0% to 34% with a mean of 6%. More than half of schools (52%) had no smoking-cessation programs to help students. Despite recent trends in policies that prohibit smokers from being hired into residency training programs, only 22% were aware of such policies. There were no statistically significant differences by school size, location or category (allopathic, osteopathic, public or private). Conclusions Medical schools need to be aware of new hiring policies and take steps to identify and help their students quit smoking to ensure all students can secure residency training upon graduation. Implications This study draws attention to recent policies that preclude hiring medical students who smoke for post graduate (residency) training. Our study demonstrates a lack of appreciation of these policies by medical school administration in the United States. Our study also provides information on smoking rates of medical students, as well as the prevalence and use of smoking cessation programs available through schools of medicine. The study supports the need for medical schools to identify and aid students who smoke to become nicotine-free so that they can secure residency training positions.
A comparative study between two open-circuit fault detection and localization techniques in a threephase inverter fed induction motor

The present paper is intended for the detection and diagnosis of open-circuit faults in a three phase voltage inverter fed induction motor. Two techniques are being presented and used in order to achieve the open-circuit faults detection and localization. The paper concludes with a comparison between both these two techniques supported by some simulation and experimental results in order to illustrate the merits and effectiveness of each of them.
Analysis of output-based error estimation for finite element methods

In this paper, we develop a priori estimates for the convergence of outputs, output error estimates, and localizations of output error estimates for Galerkin finite element methods. Output error estimates for order p finite element solutions are constructed using the Dual-Weighted Residual (DWR) method with a higher-order p>p dual solution. Specifically, we analyze these DWR estimates for Continuous Galerkin (CG), Discontinuous Galerkin (DG), and Hybridized DG (HDG) methods applied to the Poisson problem. For all discretizations, as h0, we prove that the output and output error estimate converge at order 2p and 2p (assuming sufficient smoothness), while localizations of the output and output error estimate converge at 2p+d and p+p+d. For DG, the results use a new post processing for the error associated with the lifting operator. For HDG, these rates improve an additional order when the stabilization is based upon an O(1) length scale.
Mechanistic Models Fit to Variable Temperature Calorimetric Data Provide Insights into Cooperativity

Allostery pervades macromolecular function and drives cooperative binding of ligands to macromolecules. To decipher the mechanisms of cooperative ligand binding it is necessary to define at a microscopic level the structural and thermodynamic consequences of binding of each ligand to its allosterically coupled site(s). However, dynamic sampling of alternative conformations (microstates) in allosteric molecules complicates interpretation of both structural and thermodynamic data. Isothermal titration calorimetry has the potential to directly quantify the thermodynamics of allosteric interactions, but usually falls short of enabling mechanistic insight. This is because 1) its measurements reflect the sum of overlapping caloric processes involving binding-linked population shifts within and between microstates, and 2) data are generally fit with phenomenological binding polynomials that are underdetermined. Nevertheless, temperature-dependent binding data have the potential to resolve overlapping thermodynamic processes, while mechanistically constrained models enable hypothesis testing and identification of informative parameters. We globally fit temperature-dependent isothermal titration calorimetry data for binding of 11 tryptophan ligands to the homo-undecameric trp RNA-binding Attenuation Protein from Bacillus stearothermophilus using nearest-neighbor statistical thermodynamic models. This approach allowed us to distinguish alternative nearest-neighbor interaction models, and quantifies the thermodynamic contribution of neighboring ligands to individual binding sites. We also perform conventional Hill equation modeling and illustrate how comparatively limited it is in quantitative or mechanistic value. This work illustrates the potential of mechanistically constrained global fitting of binding data to yield the microscopic thermodynamic parameters essential for deciphering mechanisms of cooperativity in a wide range of ligand-regulated homo-oligomeric assemblies.
Toward Smaller, More Useable Clinical Confocal Microscopes with Advanced Scanning and Integrated Wide-Field Guidance

MEMS 3D scanning dramatically shrinks an instrument while preserving image quality, enabling pencil probes or endoscopic tools with the performance of benchtop instruments. An integrated wide-field camera provides real-time dermoscopic guidance during confocal sampling.
Self Organization in Auditory Neural Models

On its sensory side, the nervous system has many modalities (vision, audition, olfaction, etc.), and in each case the central computing machinery appears to be organized as a series of layered structures. If the computing machinery in each case uses the same self-organization algorithm and we can discover that algorithm, then we will have a powerful tool for design of artificial sensory systems. For example, the algorithm could be used in robotics to yield a specialized architecture for each sensory modality in a robot, even for sensory modalities not present in animals.
Bifurcation in deformation mechanism to overcome strength-ductility paradox in metal-ceramic multilayer thin-films

Nanocrystalline multilayer thin-films are manufactured in configurations of alternating porous ceramic (TiN) layers of relatively high thickness (hceramic) with metal (Ti) layers of low thicknesses (0.8 nm < hmetal < 34 nm) and keeping a constant modulation ratio (η ∼ hceramic/hmetal ∼ 17.5). As hmetal decreases, the overall co-deformation mechanism in the multilayer films bifurcates into the dislocation dominant confined layer slip (CLS) mechanism in the metal and diffusional creep dominant processes in the porous ceramic layer at hmetal ∼ 6.7 nm. This bifurcation leads to simultaneously achieving the highest strain hardening rate due to the CLS mechanism in one layer and the highest strain rate sensitivity value due to the diffusional flow in the other and overcoming the strength-ductility paradox in multilayer thin-film materials at low temperatures.
Environmental DNA analysis of river herring in Chesapeake Bay: A powerful tool for monitoring threatened keystone species

Environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling has emerged as a powerful tool to detect and quantify species abundance in aquatic environments. However, relatively few studies have compared the performance of eDNA-based abundance estimates to traditional catch or survey approaches in the field. Here, we have developed and field-tested a qPCR assay to detect eDNA from alewife and blueback herring (collectively known as ‘river herring’), comparing eDNA-based presence and abundance data to traditional methods of quantification (ichthyoplankton sampling and adult observations). Overall, the qPCR assay showed very high target specificity in lab trials, and was successful in detecting river herring for 11/12 Chesapeake Bay tributaries in spring 2015 and 2016, with 106 out of 445 samples exhibiting positive eDNA hits. We found a strong correlation between eDNA abundance and ichthyoplankton count data (Spearman’s Rho = 0.52), and Phi-tests (correlation of presence/absence data) showed higher correlation between eDNA and ichthyoplankton data (Phi = 0.45) than adult data (Phi = 0.35). Detection probability was significantly lower on western vs. eastern shore tributaries of Chesapeake Bay, and blueback herring and alewife were more likely detected on the western and eastern shores, respectively. Temporal patterns of eDNA abundance over the spring spawning season revealed that alewife were present in high abundances weeks ahead of blueback herring, which aligns with known differences in spawning behavior of the species. In summary, the eDNA abundance data corresponded well to other field methods and has great potential to assist future monitoring efforts of river herring abundance and habitat use.
WHO’S YOUR FAMILY? AFRICAN AMERICAN CARING FOR OLDER ADULTS LIVING WITH DEMENTIA

The nature and outcome of family caregiving are different for various racial and ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to use qualitative methods to examine and characterize family networks of African American family caregivers (n = 26) who provided care to family members living with dementia (n = 18). We used data generated from a parent study that addressed family involvement in health promotion activities for African American older adults with dementia. Analysis of data using sociograms and thematic analysis identified three themes that characterized these African American family caregiving networks: 1) complexity; 2) familism; and 3) religiosity. The findings suggest that narrowly defining family caregivers as dyads of caregiver and care recipient does not reflect how these family networks function. A better understanding of the complex functioning of these networks may help explain physical and psychological well-being outcomes for persons living with dementia and their family members.
How close are we to incorporating measurable residual disease into clinical practice for acute myeloid leukemia

Assessment of measurable residual disease, also called "minimal residual disease," in patients with acute myeloid leukemia in morphological remission provides powerful prognostic information and complements pretreatment factors such as cytogenetics and genomic alterations. Based on data that low levels of persistent or recurrent residual leukemia are consistently associated with an increased risk of relapse and worse long-term outcomes, its routine assessment has been recommended by some experts and consensus guidelines. In addition to providing important prognostic information, the detection of measurable residual disease may also theoretically help to determine the optimal post-remission strategy for an individual patient. However, the full therapeutic implications of measurable residual disease are uncertain and thus controversy exists as to whether it should be routinely incorporated into clinical practice. While some evidence supports the use of allogeneic stem cell transplantation or hypomethylating agents for some subgroups of patients in morphological remission but with detectable residual leukemia, the appropriate use of this information in making clinical decisions remains largely speculative at present. To resolve this pressing clinical issue, several ongoing studies are evaluating measurable residual disease-directed treatments in acute myeloid leukemia and may lead to new, effective strategies for patients in these circumstances. This review examines the common technologies used in clinical practice and in the research setting to detect residual leukemia, the major clinical studies establishing the prognostic impact of measurable residual disease in acute myeloid leukemia, and the potential ways, both now and in the future, that such testing may rationally guide therapeutic decision-making.
White Matter Microstructure in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder and Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

Objective Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) codifies severe, chronic irritability. Youths with bipolar disorder (BD) also present with irritability, but with an episodic course. To date, it is not clear whether aberrant white matter microstructure—a well-replicated finding in BD—can be observed in DMDD and relates to symptoms of irritability. Method We acquired diffusion tensor imaging data from 118 participants (BD = 36, DMDD = 44, healthy volunteers (HV = 38). Images of fractional anisotropy (FA), axial diffusivity (AD), and radial diffusivity (RD) were processed with tract-based spatial statistics controlling for age and sex. The data were also used to train Gaussian process classifiers to predict diagnostic group. Results In BD vs DMDD, FA in the corticospinal tract was reduced. In DMDD vs HV, reductions in FA and AD were confined to the anterior corpus callosum. In BD vs HV, widespread reductions in FA and increased RD were observed. FA in the anterior corpus callosum and corticospinal tract was negatively associated with irritability. The Gaussian process classifier could not discriminate between BD and DMDD, but achieved 68% accuracy in predicting DMDD vs HV and 75% accuracy in predicting BD vs HV. Conclusion Aberrant white matter microstructure was associated with both categorical diagnosis and the dimension of irritability. Alterations in DMDD were regionally discrete and related to reduced AD. In BD, we observed widespread increases in RD, supporting the hypothesis of altered myelination in BD. These findings will contribute to the pathophysiological understanding of DMDD and its differentiation from BD. Clinical trial registration information: Studies of Brain Function and Course of Illness in Pediatric Bipolar Disorder; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ; NCT00025935 ; Child & Adolescent Bipolar Disorder Brain Imaging and Treatment Study; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ; NCT00006177 .
Renewing Urban Education: Learning Cycles and the Pedagogy of Possibility

Learning cycles were developed in Brazil as an innovative project in order to address the needs and characteristics of the country’s growing heterogeneous urban population. This new school model aims at reducing dropout rates and student failure as well as providing a non-interrupted school experience for diverse learners. In this article, the author describes and analyzes the main elements of learning cycles and compares them to the traditional grade system. The model may not have immediate application in the American educational system, but it does force us to consider urban education from a different and renewed perspective, particularly given socio-economic disparities in society and a growing culturally and linguistically diverse student population.
Protocol for Correcting Residual Errors with Spectral, ULtrasound, Traditional Speech therapy Randomized Controlled Trial (C-RESULTS RCT).

Speech sound disorder in childhood poses a barrier to academic and social participation, with potentially lifelong consequences for educational and occupational outcomes. While most speech errors resolve by the late school-age years, between 2 and 5% of speakers exhibit residual speech errors (RSE) that persist through adolescence or even adulthood. Previous findings from small-scale studies suggest that interventions incorporating visual biofeedback can outperform traditional motor-based treatment approaches for children with RSE, but this question has not been investigated in a well-powered randomized controlled trial. This project, Correcting Residual Errors with Spectral, ULtrasound, Traditional Speech therapy Randomized Controlled Trial (C-RESULTS RCT), aims to treat 110 children in a parallel randomized controlled clinical trial comparing biofeedback and non-biofeedback interventions for RSE affecting the North American English rhotic sound /ɹ/. Eligible children will be American English speakers, aged 9–15 years, who exhibit RSE affecting /ɹ/ but otherwise show typical cognitive-linguistic and hearing abilities. Participants will be randomized, with stratification by site (Syracuse University or Montclair State University) and pre-treatment speech production ability, to receive either a motor-based treatment consistent with current best practices in speech therapy (40% of participants) or treatment incorporating visual biofeedback (60% of participants). Within the biofeedback condition, participants will be assigned in equal numbers to receive biofeedback in the form of a real-time visual display of the acoustic signal of speech or ultrasound imaging of the tongue during speech. The primary outcome measure will assess changes in the acoustics of children’s production of /ɹ/ during treatment, while a secondary outcome measure will use blinded listeners to evaluate changes in the perceived accuracy of /ɹ/ production after the completion of all treatment. These measures will allow the treatment conditions to be compared with respect to both efficacy and efficiency. By conducting the first well-powered randomized controlled trial comparing treatment with and without biofeedback, this study aims to provide high-quality evidence to guide treatment decisions for children with RSE. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT03737318, November 9, 2018.
The research progress on the relationship between 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α, oxidative stress and Henoch-Schonlein purpura

8-iso-prostaglandin F2α is a stable end product of lipid peroxidation of cell membrane lipid arachidonic acid under oxidative stress, which is formed by non-enzymatic beta lysis and recombination.It is an ideal index for evaluating the degree of lipid peroxidation and damage.Oxidative stress can damage biological molecules, cause cell death and tissue damage, and participate in the process of Henoch-Schonlein purpura and kidney damage.This article reviews the oxidative stress state and lipid peroxidation process of the body, the production and significance of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α, the mechanism of oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of Henoch-Schonlein purpura and renal damage, and the important clinical significance of measuring 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α for Henoch-Schonlein purpura, which will provide evidence for future targeted therapy. Key words: 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α; Oxidative stress; Henoch-Schonlein purpura; Kidney disease
Perceived Gender Match and Accepting Alcohol Offers From Peers in Emerging Adulthood

Aims Emerging adulthood (ages 18-25) has been associated with elevated alcohol use, yet little is known regarding gender identity and drinking contexts in this population. Our goals were to examine the effects of perceived gender match on alcohol use decision-making in social settings among emerging adults. Methods Participants (N = 135; 64% white, 11 transgender) completed measures of alcohol consumption, alcohol expectancies and motives, and the Collegiate-Simulated Intoxication Digital Elicitation using an established Internet panel. We conducted a series of univariate analyses to examine the relation between perceived gender match and behavioral willingness (BW) to accept alcohol in a social context. Results Participants identifying as men were significantly more likely to accept offers of alcohol when compared with women. While men and women did not differ in terms of BW when participants perceived a gender-matched actor making the offer, when there was a gender mismatch, women had significantly lower BW when compared with men. Though transgender participants were more likely to endorse hazardous drinking behaviors, there were no observable effects of transgender identity on BW. Conclusion In this sample, we found that men have a higher BW for alcohol than women and that trans identified persons are at increased risk for alcohol misuse. These findings support the need for more research examining the effect of gender identity on patterns of alcohol use and decision-making in mixed-gender contexts for emerging adults.
A Coupled-Inductor Dc Breaker with STFT-Based Arc Detection

This paper demonstrates the use of a coupled-inductor dc breaker to isolate the load from the source in case of a shunt fault as well as a slowly developing series arc fault. The design of the breaker allows it to automatically stop conducting in case of a sudden change in output current. The breaker can be designed to ensure that it does not misidentify a desired step change in load current as a fault. In addition a Texas Instruments digital signal processor is used to implement a short-time Fourier transform that continuously analyzes the load current. Based on the frequency content of the signal, the DSP is able to detect a sustained arc and signal the breaker to open. A simulation to demonstrate this concept is included in the paper along with an implementation of the short-time Fourier transform on an experimental setup.
Bariatric Surgery in the Elderly

Morbid obesity in the elderly is a growing global epidemic with severe health consequences leading to a decrease in both length and quality of life. Bariatric surgery has been shown to be superior to current medical therapies in the induction and maintenance of weight loss and improvement in weight-related diseases. The four most common bariatric surgery procedures presently being done in the USA are sleeve gastrectomy, RYBG, AGB, and DS. They have been found to be safe and effective in the elderly with marked improvement in weight- and obesity-associated comorbidities.
Trends in Surgical Critical Care Training Among General Surgery Residents: Pursuing an Ideal Curriculum

BackgroundThe Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) provides no specific guidelines for surgical critical care (SCC) training during general surgery residency. Growing emphas...
Trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder severity, and positive memories.

Positive memories play an important role in the aetiology and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, most trauma research/clinical work has focused solely on the role of trau...
The New Normal?: Public Opinion, Partisan Division, and the Trump Doctrine

While partisanship has always been one of the largest factors accounting for public attitudes toward foreign policy, opinion dynamics about the Trump Doctrine largely mirror the hyper-partisanhip seen in domestic politics. Although broad inclinations regarding foreign policy (e.g., role of the United States in the world, importance of trade, multilateralism) appear not to have changed in a dramatic manner, attitudes regarding the highlighted aspects of the Trump Doctrine, such as immigration, China, and trade, have become more partisan. This chapter considers these issues in reference to attitudes on the role of the United States in the world, foreign policy goals and priorities, threats, means, and policies toward Iran, Russia, China, trade, and immigration. Given the hyper-partisan political discourse among leaders that tends to focus on issues that divide the public, continued partisan differences will likely to remain.
The Role of Physics-Based Simulators in Robotics

Physics-based simulation provides an accelerated and safe avenue for developing, verifying, and testing robotic control algorithms and prototype designs. In the quest to leverage machine learning f...
Effects of implant buccal distance on peri-implant strain: A Micro-CT based finite element analysis

Bone-implant mechanics is one of the factors that contribute to implant stability and success. In this work, voxel-based finite element models were built based on the micro-CT images of human cadaveric mandible specimens before and after implant placement. The computed results show high strain at the bone-implant contact locations and the buccal and lingual bone plates. The strain concentration in the thinner buccal plates was more substantial than that in the thicker lingual plates. The average values of maximum principal strain in the buccal and lingual ROIs were in good agreement with those measured using mechanical testing coupled with micro-CT and digital volume correlation. The implant position was then virtually changed in the models to be placed lingually or buccally. The computed strain in the buccal bone decreased when the implant was placed away from the buccal plate. The strain in lingual bone also deceased when the implant was moved from the center of the alveolar socket towards the lingual or buccal plate. The results indicate that the distance from implant to the buccal plate can affect the mechanical stimuli in bone, especially in the buccal plate, which may subsequently affect the bone remodeling process and buccal bone resorption.
Capital Punishment of Unintentional Felony Murder

Under the prevailing interpretation of the Eighth Amendment in the lower courts, a defendant who causes a death inadvertently in the course of a felony is eligible for capital punishment. This unfortunate interpretation rests on an unduly mechanical reading of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Enmund v. Florida and Tison v. Arizona, which require culpability for capital punishment of co-felons who do not kill. The lower courts have drawn the unwarranted inference that these cases permit execution of those who cause death without any culpability towards death. This Article shows that this mechanical reading of precedent is mistaken, because the underlying justifications of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence require a rational selection for death of only the most deserving and deterrable offenders, and this in turn requires an assessment of culpability. We argue that the Supreme Court should address this open question in Eighth Amendment law and that it should correct the lower courts by imposing a uniform requirement of at least recklessness with respect to death for capital punishment of felony murder.
Becoming a Leader: Emergence of Leadership Style and Identity:

This conceptual paper presents a model for understanding how new leaders’ styles of leadership emerge and self-identity changes. New leaders’ interpersonal orientation, power motivation, and regula...
Sedation and Acute Encephalopathy in a Pediatric Patient Following Ingestion of Delta-8-Tetrahydrocannabinol Gummies

BACKGROUND Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC) is an isomer of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9 THC), the primary psychoactive cannabinoid in the marijuana plant. Typically found at lower concentrations in marijuana, delta-8 THC exhibits psychoactive properties similar to delta-9 THC. Products containing delta-8 THC are readily available across the US and currently there is a lack of available confirmatory testing specific to delta-8 THC as there is cross-reactivity to other naturally occurring cannabinoids in standard immunoassays. Pediatric exposures to this substance are on the rise. CASE REPORT We present a case with laboratory confirmation of a previously healthy 2-year-old girl ingesting approximately 15 mg/kg of delta-8 THC gummies. The patient arrived minimally responsive and requiring intubation for encephalopathy. Laboratory confirmation of delta-8 THC exposure is not routinely available with common testing modalities. A urine drug screen preformed in the hospital was positive for delta-9 THC. With the collaboration of the Drug Enforcement Administration's Toxicology Testing Program, detection and confirmation of delta-8 THC was performed in the serum and urine using liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry. CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of delta-8 THC-containing products in the illicit drug market is increasing rapidly. Delta-8 THC products are now available in gas stations and in headshops. The clinical presentation of delta-8 THC exposure is similar to known effects of delta-9 THC exposure. These similarities limit the clinicians' abilities to determine the specific substance ingested. Symptomatic and supportive care remains an effective treatment for cannabinoid toxicity.
Domain wall conductivity in semiconducting hexagonal ferroelectric TbMnO 3 thin films

Although enhanced conductivity of ferroelectric domain boundaries has been found in BiFeO3 and Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 films as well as hexagonal rare-earth manganite single crystals, the mechanism of the domain wall conductivity is still under debate. Using conductive atomic force microscopy, we observe enhanced conductance at the electrically-neutral domain walls in semiconducting hexagonal ferroelectric TbMnO3 thin films where the structure and polarization direction are strongly constrained along the c-axis. This result indicates that domain wall conductivity in ferroelectric rare-earth manganites is not limited to charged domain walls. We show that the observed conductivity in the TbMnO3 films is governed by a single conduction mechanism, namely, the back-to-back Schottky diodes tuned by the segregation of defects.
Linear Spaces Associated with Graphs

The reader will be familiar with vector spaces over the rational, real and complex fields and with vectors as ordered n-tuples of these numbers. These ideas can be extended to more general fields.
On the Optimality of Degree of Declustering

We present a data partitioning technique for shared-nothing database systems. A unique feature of our scheme is that it organizes a multicomputer system into groups of even number of PNs; and each relation is assigned to one of these groups in such a way to minimize contention among concurrent queries. Thus, a fixed degree of declustering is used for all base relations in this scheme. Our simulation results demonstrate that this approach provides significantly better performance than those of conventional methods which independently determine a degree of declustering for each of the base relations. These schemes totally ignore the requirement of interquery parallelism. Obviously, an appropriate degree of declustering represents a good trade-off between interquery and intraquery parallelism for our strategy. To investigate this issue, we perform extensive simulations to study the effect of various system and workload parameters on the optimality of the degree of declustering. We found that it is influenced primarily by the parallel processing overhead. With this finding, we develop a mathematical model to determine the optimal degree of declustering for a given system.
Large-Eddy Simulation Using Projection onto Local Basis Functions

In the traditional approach to LES for inhomogeneous flows, the resolved fields are obtained by a filtering operation (with filter width Δ). The equations governing the resolved fields are then partial differential equations, which are solved numerically (on a grid of spacing h). For an LES computation of a given magnitude (i.e., given h), there are conflicting considerations in the choice of Δ: to resolve a large range of turbulent motions, Δ should be small; to solve the equations with numerical accuracy, Δ should be large. In the alternative approach advanced here, this conflict is avoided. The resolved fields are defined by projection onto local basis functions, so that the governing equations are ordinary differential equations for the evolution of the basis-function coefficients. There is no issue of numerical spatial discretization errors. A general methodology for modelling the effects of the residual motions is developed. The model is based directly on the basis-function coefficients, and its effect is to smooth the fields where their rates of change are not well resolved by the basis functions. Demonstration calculations are performed for Burgers’ equation.
Solution study of the Escherichia coli DNA polymerase III clamp loader reveals the location of the dynamic ψχ heterodimer

Several X-ray crystal structures of the E. coli core clamp loader containing the five core (δ′, δ, and three truncated γ) subunits have been determined, but they lack the ψ and χ subunits. We report the first solution structure of the complete seven-subunit clamp loader complex using small angle X-ray scattering. This structure not only provides information about the location of the χ and ψ subunits but also provides a model of the dynamic nature of the clamp loader complex.
Evaluation of alternariol and alternariol methyl ether for mutagenic activity in Salmonella typhimurium

Alternariol and alternariol methyl ether were tested in the Ames Salmonella typhimurium assay, and both were shown, with and without metabolic activation, to be nonmutagenic to strains TA98 and TA100. The finding of other investigators that alternariol methyl ether is weakly mutagenic to TA98 without metabolic activation could have resulted from the presence of a small amount of one of the highly mutagenic altertoxins in the alternariol methyl ether originally tested.
Comparison between printed folded monopole and inverted F antennas for wireless portable devices

This article describes a comparison between a printed Folded Monopole Antenna (FMA) and a printed Inverted F Antenna (IFA), which is widely used for wireless communication applications. Both antennas are very attractive because of their low profile and low cost. The comparison is carried out using both simulation and measurement results. The conclusion is that, by using a matching network, better performance is achieved with the FMA because it has a longer electrical length compared with an IF A with the same physical length.
Consolidation of molybdenum disilicide based materials by hot isostatic pressing (HIP): comparison with models

Abstract Monolithic molybdenum disilicide (MoSi 2 ) powder and MoSi 2 powders blended with ductile and brittle reinforcements were consolidated by hot isostatic pressing (HIP). The extent of densification of the consolidated samples as a function of temperature, pressure and time was determined by precision density measurements. HIP diagrams were constructed based on theoretical models. Material properties, required as input for the HIP map software, were compiled or extrapolated from published literature, experimentally determined and in some cases were estimated from the rule of mixtures. The model predictions were compared with experimental data and dominant mechanisms of densification were identified.
Superintendent Competencies and Attributes Required for Success: A National Study Comparing Construction Professionals’ Opinions

This article describes the results of the culmination of three phases of exploratory sequential mixed methods research intended to determine the competencies and attributes required by a construction superintendent to be successful. In the third research phase, surveys were completed by 469 participants working in commercial, residential, heavy-civil, mechanical, electrical, metal stud and drywall aspects of the construction industry in the United States. The high response rate may indicate interest in the subject. Participants included superintendents, project managers, project engineers, vice presidents, presidents and others working in various positions in the construction industry. The results indicate there is very little difference in the perceptions of participants as to the most important competencies and attributes required for a construction superintendent to be successful. There are only nine out of the 42 competencies and attributes with any significant statistical difference in importance as ...
Selected enzyme activities in Mya arenaria hemolymph

1. The activities of lysozyme, acid and alkaline phosphatases, beta-glucuronidase, amylase, lipase, glutamate-oxalacetate transaminase, and glutamate-pyruvate transaminase in the whole hemolymph and 4000 g pellets and supernatants of Mya arenaria were determined. 2. All of these enzymes, except for amylase, occurred in whole hemolymph as well as in the 4000 g pellet and supernatant. 3. Based on earlier observations, these enzymes are believed to be of cellular origin within hemolymph cells. 4. In the case of amylase, it only occurred in the whole hemolymph and/or serum and is believed to have originated from the crystalline style.
Small bowel motility and transit after aortic surgery.

Abstract Objective: The inability to tolerate feedings after aortic surgery prolongs hospitalization. The aim of this study was to define jejunal manometric and small bowel transit characteristics associated with the ileus that follows transperitoneal aortic surgery. Methods: Five male patients who underwent transperitoneal infrarenal aortobifemoral bypass had intraoperative placement of a jejunal multilumen catheter. The open abdomen allowed precise placement of pressure recording ports at 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, and 38 cm past the ligament of Treitz. Three-hour manometric studies were done after surgery and for 3 postoperative days. The migrating motor complex was identified visually on the manometric tracings, and pressure waves were identified with computer and a motility index calculated. Motility data were compared with healthy control data previously reported in the literature. Small bowel transit was determined with barium and serial abdominal radiographs. Results: All patients had ileus develop with return of bowel sounds at 2 to 7 days (median, 6 days) and flatus at 3 to 9 days (median, 7 days) after surgery. Jejunal motor activity was present within 6 hours of surgery, but the motility index was less in patients then in control subjects. The postoperative migrating motor complexes differed from control subjects in having more phase I, less phase II, and more frequent phase IIIs. Phase III retrograde migration was common in the patients but not in the control subjects. Small bowel transit was 2 days or greater in all patients. Conclusion: Motor activity is present in the jejunum shortly after aortic surgery. However, the activity is decreased in intensity and the fasting cycle differs from control subjects. Retrograde migration of phase III is the most likely abnormality, resulting in delayed small bowel transit. The data would predict a high rate of enteral feeding intolerance early after surgery. Future studies should focus on pharmacologic manipulation to rapidly return small bowel motility to a more normal state after aortic surgery. (J Vasc Surg 2002;36:19-24.)
Removal of carbonyl sulfide and hydrogen sulfide from synthesis gas byChlorobium thiosulfatophilum

The anaerobic, photosynthetic bacteriumChlorobium thiosulfatophilum utilizes CO2 as its carbon source and operates at the mesophilic temperature of 30‡C. It requires incandescent light for growth and compounds such as H2S, S‡, S2O32−, or H2 as a source of electrons. Of these compounds, H2S as sulfide is the preferred electron donor, with other compounds utilized only when sulfide has been depleted from the medium. The organism is also capable of indirectly utilizing carbonyl sulfide (COS), since COS reacts with water to form CO2 and H2S. This work presents kinetic information on the rate of growth ofC. thiosulfatophilum, as well as the rates of uptake of both H2S and COS. The growth is dependent on light intensity according to a Monod type relationship.
Constructing gene-expression based survival prediction model for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) in all stages and early stages

Lung cancer has been the top leading cancer type for the past two decades and the overall survival rate for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) remains at a low rate of 15 percents. Current lung cancer prognosis using staging system has been studied and proven to be not accurate enough, especially on early stages. Therefore, a new prognostic model is desired. Using gene expression values of 442 Affymetrix U133A microarray data, we identified a 15-gene and a 12-gene signatures and constructed prediction models for NSCLC overall survival. The set of 442 samples were separated into three sets: UM/HLM as training set (n=256), MSK as first test set (n=104), and DFCI as second test set (n=82). The 15-gene signature was identified from combination of t-test and RFLIEFF feature selection. By fitting the 15 genes into Cox proportional hazard model and using the median risk scores as the cut-off, patients in training set and both testing sets were stratified into two distinct survival groups significantly (log-rank P £ 0.02) in KM analysis. This model was further studied on early stage patients. In KM analysis, the stratification was not significant on MSK stage 1 (log-rank P = 0.12) but significant on DFCI stage 1 (log-rank P = 0.02). The model was able to further stratified stage 1B patients into two distinct risk groups (log-rank P = 0.00765) as well. The 12-gene signature was identified from combination of t-test, SAM statistics, and RELIEFF feature selection. Naive-Bayes classifier was used to construct the prognostic model based on 5-year survival data. The 12-gene model also provided significant stratifications (log-rank P £ 0.001) in KM analysis on both training and test sets. Furthermore, the 12-gene model significantly stratified stage 1 patients on both test sets (log-rank P £ 0.04) in KM analysis. Consistent to 15-gene, this 12-gene model was able to significantly stratified stage 1B patients (log-rank P = 0.0047) but not stage 1A patients. Results showed that both signatures were as significant as other published gene signatures of larger size. Also, these two gene signatures shared two common genes and the performances on the two prognostic models were comparative. Therefore, in addition to comparing the predictive performance of the models, we used IPA to further study the biological relevance of both signatures.