cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High‐Temperature Properties and Ferroelastic Phase Transitions in Rare‐Earth Niobates (LnNbO4)

Phase transition and high-temperature properties of rare-earth niobates (LnNbO4, where Ln = La, Dy and Y) were studied in situ at high temperatures using powder X-ray diffraction and thermal analysis methods. These materials undergo a reversible, pure ferroelastic phase transition from a monoclinic (S.G. I2/a) phase at low temperatures to a tetragonal (S.G. I41/a) phase at high temperatures. While the size of the rare-earth cation is identified as the key parameter, which determines the transition temperature in these materials, it is the niobium cation which defines the mechanism. Based on detailed crystallographic analysis, it was concluded that only distortion of the NbO4 tetrahedra is associated with the ferroelastic transition in the rare-earth niobates, and no change in coordination of Nb5+ cation. The distorted NbO4 tetrahedron, it is proposed, is energetically more stable than a regular tetrahedron (in tetragonal symmetry) due to decrease in the average Nb–O bond distance. The distortion is affected by the movement of Nb5+ cation along the monoclinic b-axis (tetragonal c-axis before transition), and is in opposite directions in alternate layers parallel to the (010). The net effect on transition is a shear parallel to the monoclinic [100] and a contraction along the monoclinic b-axis. In addition, anisotropic thermal expansion properties and specific heat capacity changes accompanying the transition in the studied rare-earth niobate systems are also discussed.
Differences in bone mineral density of fixation points between lumbar cortical and traditional pedicle screws.

Abstract Background Context The use of a novel lumbar pedicle cortical bone trajectory (CBT) screw has recently gained popularity, allowing for a minimally invasive approach and potentially improved screw purchase. However, to date, no studies have identified the ideal patient population to utilize this technology. Purpose This study reports the bone mineral density (BMD) using Hounsfield units (HUs) along a CBT screw pathway. Patients with a greater difference in density of bone in the lumbar vertebrae between the fixation points of the CBT and traditional pedicle screw may be optimal candidates to realize the advantages of this technique. Study Design/Setting A cross-sectional observational anatomic study was carried out. Patient Sample The sample comprised 180 randomly selected patients with lumbar computed tomography imaging from L1 to L5 spinal levels. Outcome Measures This study used computed tomography image-derived HUs as a metric for BMD. Methods A total of 180 patients without previous lumbar surgery with computed tomography imaging of the lumbar spine met the inclusion criteria. Patients were chosen randomly from an institutional database based on age (evenly distributed by decade of life) and gender. Hounsfield units were measured at the expected end fixation point for both a cortical (superior/posterior portion of the vertebral body) and traditional pedicle trajectory (mid-vertebral body). Results Hounsfield unit values measured at the end fixation point for the CBT screw were significantly greater than that of the traditional pedicle screw in all age groups. The relative difference in HU values significantly increased with each decade of age (p Conclusions Bone mineral density as measured by HU values for the fixation point of the CBT screw is significantly greater than that of the traditional pedicle screw. This difference is even more pronounced when comparing osteoporotic and elderly patients to the general population. The data in this study suggest that the potential advantages from the CBT screw such as screw purchase may increase linearly with age and in osteoporotic patients.
GaAs Solar Cells Grown by Hydride Vapor-Phase Epitaxy and the Development of GaInP Cladding Layers

The high cost of high-efficiency III–V photovoltaic devices currently limits them to niche markets. Hydride vapor-phase epitaxy (HVPE) growth of III–V materials recently reemerged as a low-cost, high-throughput alternative to conventional metal–organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) growth of high-efficiency solar cells. Previously, we demonstrated unpassivated HVPE-grown GaAs p-n junctions with good quantum efficiency and high open-circuit voltage $(V_{{\rm oc}})$ . In this work, we demonstrate the growth of GaInP by HVPE for use as a high-quality surface passivation layer to GaAs solar cells. Solar cells grown with GaInP window layers show significantly improved quantum efficiency compared with unpassivated cells, increasing the short-circuit current $(J_{{\rm SC}})$ of these low-cost devices. These results show the potential of low-cost HVPE for the growth of high-quality III–V devices.
The Influence of Mood on Willingness to Spend and Unplanned Purchasing

This study explores the impact of mood on two important aspects of consumer behavior: willingness to spend, and perceived likelihood of making unplanned purchases. Previous research suggests that mood state plays an important role in influencing various aspects of decision-making and risk-taking behavior. The current study extends this stream of research into the context of consumer behavior. Preliminary findings suggest that affect does influence consumers, and that this influence differs for males and females.
Understanding fibromyalgia syndrome.

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is characterized by generalized pain and musculoskeletal tenderness, fatigue, nonrestorative sleep, and morning stiffness. People with FMS often report that they "hurt all over." Many describe the pain as aching, exhausting, or nagging. Pain is most commonly associated with tender points in the suboccipital area of the neck, shoulders, chest wall, elbows, knees, hips, and back (see illustration at right). Muscle cramping and spasms are common. Although classified as a chronic pain syndrome, FMS may produce "flares" of acute pain. In fact, pain may become so severe that it limits range of motion and functional ability. Often denied or misunderstood, FMS has been described as an invisible illness. Because people with the syndrome don't look sick, their clinicians, family, and friends may fail to respond empathetically. Over time, such insensitivity may produce selfdoubt and diminished self-worth. The condition often is mislabeled as rheumatism, fibromyositis, and myositis. Unlike stiffness associated with arthritis, pain from FMS doesn't diminish with activity. In addition to pain, signs and symptoms of FMS include dry eyes and mouth, swelling, sleep myoclonus, paresthesias, poor posture, weight gain, cold sensitivity, exercise intolerance, difficulty concentrating, visual deficits, balance disturbances, and anxiety. Febrile Low cervic Occiput
"Smart, but Shifty: Trustworthiness and the Contingent Appeal of Brokers"

A wealth of research documents the benefits of network brokerage both to the broker in the form of professional outcomes and to the network in terms of innovation (Burt, 2004; Burt, 2001,; Kilduff ...
Public service communications satellite

Health, education, public safety, and information transfer applications of public service communications satellites are discussed with particular attention to the use of communications satellites to improve rural health delivery. Health-care communications requirements are summarized. The communications system concept involves small inexpensive stationary, portable, and moving ground terminals which will provide communications between any two points in the U.S. with both fixed and moving terminals on a continuous 24-hour basis. User requirements, wavebands, and privacy techniques are surveyed.
Modeling potentiometric measurements in topological insulators including parallel channels

The discovery of spin-polarized states at the surface of three-dimensional topological insulators (TI) like Bi${}_{2}$Te${}_{3}$ and Bi${}_{2}$Se${}_{3}$ motivates intense interests in possible electrical measurements demonstrating unique signatures of these unusual states. Here we show that a three-terminal potentiometric set-up can be used to probe them by measuring the voltage change of a detecting magnet upon reversing its magnetization. We present numerical results using a nonequilibrium Green's function (NEGF)-based model to show the corresponding signal quantitatively in various transport regimes. We then provide an analytical expression for the resistance (the measured voltage difference divided by an applied current) that agrees with NEGF results well in both ballistic and diffusive limits. This expression is applicable to TI surface states, two-dimensional electrons with Rashba spin-split bands, and any combination of multiple channels, including bulk parallel states in TI, which makes it useful in analyzing experimental results.
Measures of Political Talk Frequency: Assessing Reliability and Meaning

ABSTRACTAlthough many insights about political conversation have been gleaned from survey data, researchers have yet to engage in serious and intense scrutiny of the measures used to assess political discussion habits. Analyzing three types of data (two three-wave panel studies, social network data from 25 intact groups, and a cognitive interview), this paper examines the reliability of (and meaning ascribed to) self-reported political discussion frequency measures. Results of Study 1 and Study 2 suggest that self-report measures of political discussion exhibit strong internal consistency at a given time point, but substandard reliability within individuals over time and between members of a dyad. Study 3 demonstrates substantial variability in survey respondents’ definitions of political discussion, with more expansive definitions of politics related to higher reports of political discussion frequency. Directions for future research to enhance understanding and improve the reliability of political discus...
The Feature of Property Right Contracts of Institutional Shareholders and it Influence on the Structure of Corporate Governance

The contracts of property right of institutional shareholders include agency contract of different institutional shareholders according to the contracting principle of equality,willingness and fairness as concerns the defining,adjusting,allocating,transferring and performing the property rights.The property right contract of institutional shareholder enjoys the advantage of the agency of trade expenses,yet the long chain of agency will increase the cost in the trade.Thus the property rights contract of institutional shareholder is of great importance to the corporate governance.
Children's hospital at home

Rugby Children's Hospital at Home is an innovative community-based service for acutely ill children (Box 1). It enables children to be cared for at home during their illness by offering a plan of care in partnership with the child's parents. The child is visited as frequently as needed to ensure his or her safety and according to the child's condition (Samwell, 2000).
Analyzing firm-specific social media and market

Discussion content in firm-specific social media helps managers understand stakeholders' concerns and make informed decisions. Despite such benefits, the over-abundance of information online makes it difficult to identify and focus on the most important stakeholder groups. In this study, we propose a novel stakeholder-based event analysis framework that uses online stylometric analysis to segment the forum participants by stakeholder groups, and partitions their messages into different time periods of major firm events to examine how important stakeholders evolve over time. With this approach, we identified stakeholder groups from a sample of six companies in the petrochemical and banking industries, using more than 500,000 online message postings. To evaluate the proposed system, we conducted market prediction within the identified groups, and compared the prediction performance with traditional approaches that did not account for stakeholder groups or events. Results showed that some stakeholder groups identified by our system had stronger relationships with firms' market performance, compared to the entire set of web forum participants. Incorporating event-induced temporal dynamics further improved the prediction performance. Web forums can be use to evaluate the impact of events on company stakeholders."Investor" group showed the best prediction performance for all stock variables.The framework is best for analyzing historical events to support future decisions.
Bourdieu-Rezeption in der deutschsprachigen Soziologie

Auch wenn Pierre Bourdieus Soziologie im deutschsprachigen Raum zu den derzeit einflussreichsten Theorien zahlt, begann ihre Rezeption hier erst relativ spat. Bourdieu wurde in weiten Kreisen erst nach der deutschen Ubersetzung seines Hauptwerks Die feinen Unterschiede im Jahr 1982 wahrgenommen und konzentrierte sich zunachst vor allem auf die Lebensstilforschung. In den 1990er-Jahren breitete sich die Rezeption in alle Bereiche der Soziologie aus, bis mit Bourdieus Tod 2002 seine Transformation in einen Klassiker begann und eine Bourdieu-Scholastik entstand.
Path constraints in tychastic and unscented optimal control: Theory, application and experimental results

In recent papers, we have shown that a Lebesgue-Stieltjes optimal control theory forms the foundations for unscented optimal control. In this paper, we further our results by incorporating uncertain mixed state-control constraints in the problem formulation. We show that the integrated Hamiltonian minimization condition resembles a semi-infinite type mathematical programming problem. The resulting computational difficulties are mitigated through the use of the unscented transform; however, the price of this approximation is a solution to a chance-constrained optimal control problem whose risk level is determined a posteriori. Experimental results conducted at Honeywell are presented to demonstrate the success of the theory. An order of magnitude reduction in the failure rate in obtained through the use of an unscented optimal control that steers a spacecraft testbed driven by control-moment gyros.
The New Rich and Their Unplanned Births: Stratified Reproduction under China's Birth-planning Policy

This article explores the creation and ramifications of a stratified reproductive system under China's state control of reproduction. Within this system, an emerging group of "new rich" are able to circumvent birth regulations and have unplanned births because of their financial capabilities and social networks. While China's birth-planning policy is meant to be enforced equally for all couples, the unequal access to wealth and bureaucratic power as a result of China's widening social polarization has created disparate reproductive rights and experiences. This article identifies three ways in which reproductive privileges are created. It further explores how a stratified reproductive system under state population control reinforces social polarization. While many socially marginalized couples are unable to register their unplanned children for citizenship status and social benefits, the new rich are able to legitimate their births and transfer their privilege and status to their children, thus reproducing a new generation of elites.
Genetic identification of leptin neural circuits in energy and glucose homeostases.

Leptin, a hormone produced in white adipose tissue, acts in the brain to communicate fuel status, suppress appetite following a meal, promote energy expenditure and maintain blood glucose stability1,2. Dysregulation of leptin or its receptors (LEPR) results in severe obesity and diabetes3–5. Although intensive studies on leptin have transformed obesity and diabetes research2,6, clinical applications of the molecule are still limited7, at least in part owing to the complexity and our incomplete understanding of the underlying neural circuits. The hypothalamic neurons that express agouti-related peptide (AGRP) and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) have been hypothesized to be the main first-order, leptin-responsive neurons. Selective deletion of LEPR in these neurons with the Cre–loxP system, however, has previously failed to recapitulate, or only marginally recapitulated, the obesity and diabetes that are seen in LEPR-deficient Leprdb/db mice, suggesting that AGRP or POMC neurons are not directly required for the effects of leptin in vivo8–10. The primary neural targets of leptin are therefore still unclear. Here we conduct a systematic, unbiased survey of leptin-responsive neurons in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice and exploit CRISPR–Cas9-mediated genetic ablation of LEPR in vivo. Unexpectedly, we find that AGRP neurons but not POMC neurons are required for the primary action of leptin to regulate both energy balance and glucose homeostasis. Leptin deficiency disinhibits AGRP neurons, and chemogenetic inhibition of these neurons reverses both diabetic hyperphagia and hyperglycaemia. In sharp contrast to previous studies, we show that CRISPR-mediated deletion of LEPR in AGRP neurons causes severe obesity and diabetes, faithfully replicating the phenotype of Leprdb/db mice. We also uncover divergent mechanisms of acute and chronic inhibition of AGRP neurons by leptin (presynaptic potentiation of GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) neurotransmission and postsynaptic activation of ATP-sensitive potassium channels, respectively). Our findings identify the underlying basis of the neurobiological effects of leptin and associated metabolic disorders. A subset of neurons in the hypothalamus is identified as the primary site of action for regulating energy balance and glucose homeostasis by leptin.
Forms of cooperation and their use in trade sphere

The article presents theoretical base of entrepreneurs and some opportunities and threats of its practical application characterizes forms of cooperation. In the report there are named cooperation associations in Slovak and Czech Republics. The findings of research of cooperation activities in practice at the Slovak market are the part of this article.
There is a Beginning

Perhaps this book on surrender—and—catch begins thus (or even: thus begins). After this walk. After this — so it might seem — initiatory walk. For it is to walk, between the stones and the walls between which the Walking goes, to communicate with the gates and the houses, the ochre paint, or the outrageous red, on the walls around the olive gardens, to greet the forbidding fort, whose walls preclude the view of our cupola, our campanile, our civic tower. And the cypresses: black brush slips in the towering sky — for the weather is not good. The olive trees shimmer, shivering in their own mean color of graygreen against the dark-gray lumpiness of a sky. And yet: nothing can happen because one returns home, out of the wind that makes itself known as possibly not joking, and there it is still and warming, and soon expectant. Expectant? These words. I can wait a while.
Ocean Models in Climate Problems

Ocean climate models are reviewed, with emphasis on modelling large-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions. Feedbacks between the thermohaline circulation and atmospheric transport processes are discussed, and how they can be represented in ocean-only models through careful choices of the surface boundary conditions. A theoretical analysis of large-scale air-sea heat exchanges is presented, together with a possible implementation into a numerical model through surface thermal boundary conditions. Proper representation of large-scale freshwater exchange between ocean and atmosphere requires an explicit model of atmospheric moisture transport; an example is presented in which the interaction of the atmospheric hydrological cycle with the thermohaline circulation destabilizes the thermohaline circulation.
A systematic review of design and technology components of educational digital resources

Abstract With the rise of the Internet and the proliferation of online content, the design and evaluation of educational digital resources (EDRs) are pressing and challenging issues. They warrant an investigation of what exactly are the features that increase the quality of EDRs. In a previous professional development program, we trained and supported teachers in evaluating and selecting EDRs with the support of a scientifically validated rubric. In this present study, through quantitative, qualitative, and text-mining methods, we analyzed the review data of 1200 resources produced that professional development program in order to provide a big picture of the quality of currently available products, and to identify the features that characterize quality digital resources. Our findings suggest the need for digital repositories to reflect or make visible how resources fit particular instructional design models.
Pain Issues in Individuals with Limited Ability to Communicate Due to Neurocognitive Impairments

The treatment and assessment of pain in the neurocognitively impaired is challenging. While self-report is the most reliable way to assess pain in patients, those with neurocognitive impairment open have trouble communicating with healthcare providers. Treatment of pain in this population relies heavily on a multidisciplinary approach. Certain medications can cause further sedation, cognitive impairment, and should be carefully considered using a risk/benefit analysis. Caregivers can play an important role in management of the neurocognitively impaired patient, including safe dispensing of medications.
Knowledge and testing preferences for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and Trichomonas vaginalis infections among female undergraduate students

Objective: Our goal was to evaluate knowledge and testing preferences for Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), and Trichomonas vaginalis (TV) infections.Participants: We surveyed female undergraduates attending the University of California, Los Angeles, in May 2017.Methods: Using an online survey, we collected demographic information and information on 793 participants' health care seeking behavior, sexual activity, sexually transmitted infection (STI) knowledge, and STI screening preferences. We used conjoint analysis to evaluate testing preferences of hypothetical STI tests.Results: On knowledge questions of CT and NG infections, 193 (27.7%) participants scored >80% correct. Cost had the largest impact on willingness to use a hypothetical STI test, accounting for 41.5% of preference, followed by specimen type (17.4%), and location of testing (16.4%).Conclusions: Knowledge regarding STIs was low. Educational programs implemented through the university health center might increase testing rates. A free, urine-based, home STI test may be desirable for undergraduate females.
Convexity, III: Hansen–Jensen–Pedersen (HJP) Inequality

Jensen’s inequality in its original form says that if f is a scalar convex function (on an open convex set, A, of a vector space, V) and if \(\{x_j\}_{j=1}^n \subset A; \, 0 \le \theta _j \le 1, \, j=1,\dots ,n\) with \(\sum _{j=1}^n \theta _j = 1\), then \(f(\sum _{j=1}^n \theta _j x_j) \le \sum _{j=1}^n \theta _j f(x_j)\).
Communicating Explanatory Synthesis

The T-R-E-A-T paradigm and the doctrine of explanatory synthesis are both organizational methodologies and substantive theories designed to improve the substance of legal writing. The TREAT paradigm doctrine holds that the presentation of legal discourse in a carefully constructed order not only promotes clarity and satisfies audience expectations but also maximizes the communicative potential and persuasiveness of the substance of the material. Explanatory synthesis (the “E” of TREAT) improves the substance of legal writing by combining precedents and revealing the factors and policies that determine the outcome of these precedents. Explanatory synthesis follows the path of inductive reasoning through exploration of the species of situations where a given legal rule has been applied to produce a concrete outcome (i.e., the cases), and derives the genera of principles of interpretation and application of the rule that can be presented in legal writing.
Prostate cancer survivorship care plans: What we are failing to tell men after treatment?

311Background: Survivorship care plans (SCPs) present essential information about cancer treatment and follow-up recommendations for cancer survivors. We describe the completeness of prostate cance...
Design and Electrochemical Characterization of Spiral Electrochemical Notification Coupled Electrode (SENCE) Platform for Biosensing Application.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is considered to be an important biomarker associated with many diseases. During any physiological inflammation, the level of CRP reaches its peak at 48 h, whereas its half-life is around 19 h. Hence, the detection of low-level CRP is an important task for the prognostic management of diseases like cancer, stress, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular diseases, and so on. There are various techniques available in the market to detect low-level CRP like ELISA, Western blot, etc. An electrochemical biosensor is one of the important miniaturized platforms which provides sensitivity along with ease of operation. The most important element of an electrochemical biosensor platform is the electrode which, upon functionalization with a probe, captures the selective antibody–antigen interaction and produces a digital signal in the form of potential/current. Optimization of the electrode design can increase the sensitivity of the sensor by 5–10-fold. Herein, we come up with a new sensor design called the spiral electrochemical notification coupled electrode (SENCE) where the working electrode (WE) is concentric in nature, which shows better response than the market-available standard screen-printed electrode. The sensor is thoroughly characterized using a standard Ferro/Ferri couple. The sensing performance of the fabricated platform is also characterized by the detection of standard H2O2 using a diffusion-driven technique, and a low detection limit of 15 µM was achieved. Furthermore, we utilized the platform to detect a low level (100 ng/mL) of CRP in synthetic sweat. The manuscript provides emphasis on the design of a sensor that can offer good sensitivity in electrochemical biosensing applications.
SEVENTEEN – VECTORS IN SPACE

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the development of a theory of vectors in the plane to the vectors in space and discusses that there are great similarities between the two notions. Any point in space can be represented by an ordered triple of real numbers. (a, b, c), where a, b, and c are real numbers. The set of ordered triples of that form is called real three-dimensional space and is denoted R3. It is the most common representation of a point in R3, which is very similar to the representation of a point in the plane by its x- and y-coordinates; however, there are many ways to represent a point in R3. The chapter discusses the vectors in R3 and lines in R3 and describes the properties of vector functions in R3. It describes a new product called the cross product or vector product, which is defined only in R3. A surface in space is defined as the set of points satisfying the equation F(x, y, z) = 0. For example, the equation F(x, y, z) = x2 + y2 + z2 − 1 = 0 is the equation of the unit sphere. The chapter discusses quadric surfaces. It also reviews some of the most commonly encountered surfaces in R3. The chapter discusses two common ways to represent points in space. The first is the generalization of the polar coordinate system in the plane. The second new coordinate system in space is the spherical coordinate system.
Abstract WP134: 3K3A-APC Protects Pericyte-deficient Mice From Ischemic Brain Injury

Pericytes play a key role in maintaining the blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity. BBB disruption occurs during early stages after ischemic stroke. However, the role of pericytes in the pathogenesis...
Women's employment and fertility in a global perspective (1960-2015).

BACKGROUND Scant research explores the association between women's employment and fertility on a truly global scale due to limited cross-national comparative standardized information across contexts. METHODS This paper compiles a unique dataset that combines nationally representative country-level data on women's wage employment from the International Labor Organization with fertility and reproductive health measures from the United Nations and additional information from UNESCO, OECD, and the World Bank. This dataset is used to explore the linear association between women's employment and fertility/reproductive health around the world between 1960 and 2015. RESULTS Women's wage employment is negatively correlated with total fertility rates and unmet need for family planning and positively correlated with modern contraceptive use in every major world region. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that these findings hold for nonagricultural employment only. CONTRIBUTION Our analysis documents the linear association between women's employment and fertility on a global scale and widens the discussion to include reproductive health outcomes as well. Better understanding of these empirical associations on a global scale is important for understanding the mechanisms behind global fertility change.
A Review of Steel Processing Considerations for Oxide Cleanliness

Control of non-metallic inclusions is essential for the production of high-quality steel. This review summarizes processes that change inclusion compositions and concentrations during secondary steelmaking—slower changes are limited by reaction between bulk steel and slag or refractory, and faster changes involve direct additions to the steel bath. An example of the former is conversion of alumina inclusions to spinels during ladle treatment, while reoxidation and calcium treatment are typical exemplars of the fast changes. For the slower changes, inclusions approach equilibrium with the liquid steel and conceptually simple kinetic models correctly describe inclusion evolution during ladle treatment. Disequilibrium from faster changes persists for several minutes under typical ladle conditions, with small-scale inhomogeneity in the steel. Fast scanning electron microscopy with microanalysis has facilitated detailed study of these inclusion evolution processes by providing information on inclusion composition, size, and shape. Machine learning methods are likely to be increasingly important in analysis of the results. Such methods have already shown promise to improve classification of inclusions and recognizing inclusion clusters, from analyses of polished sections. Several unresolved issues that require future study are noted.
Effect of Nanoparticle Size and Natural Organic Matter Composition on the Bioavailability of Polyvinylpyrrolidone-Coated Platinum Nanoparticles to a Model Freshwater Invertebrate

The bioavailability of dissolved Pt(IV) and polyvinylpyrrolidone-coated platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) of five different nominal hydrodynamic diameters (20, 30, 50, 75, and 95 nm) was characterized in laboratory experiments using the model freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Dissolved Pt(IV) and all nanoparticle sizes were bioavailable to L. stagnalis. Platinum bioavailability, inferred from conditional uptake rate constants, was greater for nanoparticulate than dissolved forms and increased with increasing nanoparticle hydrodynamic diameter. The effect of natural organic matter (NOM) composition on PtNP bioavailability was evaluated using six NOM samples at two nanoparticle sizes (20 and 95 nm). NOM suppressed the bioavailability of 95 nm PtNPs in all cases, and DOM reduced sulfur content exhibited a positive correlation with 95 nm PtNP bioavailability. The bioavailability of 20 nm PtNPs was only suppressed by NOM with a low reduced sulfur content. The physiological elimination of Pt accumulated after dissolved Pt(IV) exposure was slow and constant. In contrast, the elimination of Pt accumulated after PtNP exposures exhibited a triphasic pattern likely involving in vivo PtNP dissolution. This work highlights the importance of PtNP size and interfacial interactions with NOM on Pt bioavailability and suggests that in vivo PtNP transformations could yield unexpectedly higher adverse effects to organisms than dissolved exposure alone.
Integrating contemplative pedagogy and anti-oppressive pedagogy in geography higher education classrooms

Geographers have long advocated for decolonizing geographic research and curriculum to produce forms of anti-oppressive knowledge and learning. While these calls have become more prominent in recen...
The C. elegans TspanC8 tetraspanin TSP-14 exhibits isoform-specific localization and function

Tetraspanin proteins are a unique family of highly conserved four-pass transmembrane proteins in metazoans. While much is known about their biochemical properties, the in vivo functions and distribution patterns of different tetraspanin proteins are less understood. Previous studies have shown that two paralogous tetraspanins that belong to the TspanC8 subfamily, TSP12 and TSP-14, function redundantly to promote both Notch signaling and bon morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling in C. elegans. TSP-14 has two isoforms, TSP-14A and TSP-14B, where TSP-14B has an additional 24 amino acids at its N-terminus compared to TSP-14A. By generating isoform specific knock-ins and knock-outs using CRISPR, we found that TSP-14A and TSP-14B share distinct as well as overlapping expression patterns and functions. While TSP14A functions redundantly with TSP-12 to regulate body size and embryonic and vulva development, TSP-14B primarily functions redundantly with TSP-12 to regulate postembryonic mesoderm development. Importantly, TSP-14A and TSP-14B exhibit distinct subcellular localization patterns. TSP-14A is localized apically and on early and late endosomes. TSP-14B is localized to the basolateral cell membrane. We further identified a di-leucine motif within the Nterminal 24 amino acids of TSP-14B that serves as a basolateral membrane targeting sequence, and showed that the basolateral membrane localization of TSP-14B is important for its function. Our work highlights the diverse and intricate functions of TspanC8 tetraspanins in C. elegans, and demonstrates the importance of dissecting the functions of these important proteins in an intact living organism.
Development of Apical Blebbing in the Boar Epididymis

Microvesicles are of increasing interest in biology as part of normal function of numerous systems; from the immune system (T cell activation) to implantation of the embryo (invasion of the trophoblasts) and sperm maturation (protein transfer in the epididymis). Yet, the mechanisms involved in the appearance of apical blebbing from healthy cells as part of their normal function remain understudied. Microvesicles are produced via one of two pathways: exocytosis or apical blebbing also termed ectocytosis. This work quantifies the histological appearance of apical blebbing in the porcine epididymis during development and examines the role of endogenous estrogens in regulating this blebbing. Apical blebbing appears at puberty and increases in a linear manner into sexual maturity suggesting that this blebbing is a mature phenotype. Endogenous estrogen levels were reduced with an aromatase inhibitor but such a reduction did not affect apical blebbing in treated animals compared with their vehicle-treated littermates. Epididymal production of apical blebs is a secretion mechanism of functionally mature principal cells regulated by factors other than estradiol.
Arteriovenous malformations of the anterior mandibular gingiva. Use of the Doppler ultrasonic flowmeter for delineation of the lesions at surgery.

Abstract The Doppler ultrasonic flowmeter is an electronic device that enables the surgeon to have an audible hemodynamic portrayal of the vasculature with which he is working. Use of the unit as a diagnostic tool and intraoperative adjuvant has proved to be of great value in the making of meaningful decisions during operative procedures involving blood vessels or anomalies of blood vessels. The instrument is relatively inexpensive, portable, lightweight, completely atraumatic, and without the associated morbidity and mortality of arteriography. It is a useful tool in the delineation of arteriovenous malformations and angiomas.
Sea level anomalies exacerbate beach erosion

Sea level anomalies are intra-seasonal increases in water level forced by meteorological and oceanographic processes unrelated to storms. The effects of sea level anomalies on beach morphology are unknown but important to constrain because these events have been recognized over large stretches of continental margins. Here, we present beach erosion measurements along Onslow Beach, a barrier island on the U.S. East Coast, in response to a year with frequent sea level anomalies and no major storms. The anomalies enabled extensive erosion, which was similar and in most places greater than the erosion that occurred during a year with a hurricane. These results highlight the importance of sea level anomalies in facilitating coastal erosion and advocate for their inclusion in beach-erosion models and management plans. Sea level anomalies amplify the erosive effects of accelerated sea level rise and changes in storminess associated with global climate change.
FREERIDE-G: Supporting Applications that Mine Remote FREERIDE-G: Supporting Applications that Mine Remote

Analysis of large geographically distributed scientific datasets, also referred to as distributed data-intensive science, has emerged as an important area in recent years. An application that processes data from a remote repository needs to be broken into several stages, including a data retrieval task at the data repository, a data movement task, and a data processing task at a computing site. Because of the volume of data that is involved and the amount of processing, it is desirable that both the data repository and computing site may be clusters. This can further complicate the development of such data processing applications. In this paper, we present a middleware, FREERIDE-G (FRamework for Rapid Implementation of Datamining Engines in Grid), which support a high-level interface for developing data mining and scientific data processing applications that involve data stored in remote repositories. Particularly, we had the following goals behind designing the FREERIDE-G middleware: 1) Support high-end processing, i.e., use parallel configurations for both hosting the data and processing the data, 2) Ease use of parallel configurations, i.e., support a high-level API for specifying the processing, and 3) Hide details of data movement and caching. We have evaluated our system using three popular data mining algorithms and two scientific data analysis applications. The main observations from our experiments are as follows. First, FREERIDE-G is able to scale the processing extremely well when the number of data server and compute nodes are scaled evenly. Second, when only the number of compute nodes are scaled, our target class of applications achieve modest additional speedups. Finally, for applications that involve multiple passes on the dataset, caching remote data provides significant improvement.
Is there a viable European social and economic model

In this lecture, I argue that the efficiency cost of generous but well designed social insurance need not be very large, and that there is indeed a viable European model, based on three legs: competition in goods markets, insurance in labor markets, and the active use of macroeconomic policy.
Burn Hazard of Isopropyl Alcohol in the Neonate

Isopropyl alcohol is a commonly used disinfectant. In the hospital setting, alcohol pledgets have occasionally been substituted for conducting electrode paste beneath limb electrodes. To our knowledge, there are no reports of complications of this or any other use of isopropyl alcohol in the nursery. We report two cases of second-and third-degree burns in premature infants. CASE REPORTS Case 1 A 756-gm female infant of 27 weeks9 gestation was born vaginally to a 22-year-old primigravida following 36 hours of bleeding. Apgar scores were 2 and 6 at one and five minutes, respectively. Initially, the infant required vigorous resuscitation, followed by gradual clinical deterioration on day 1, including increasing hypotension, ventilator dependency, and intraventricular hemorrhage.
A vasoactive intestinal peptide-like cotransmitter at cholinergic synapses between rat myenteric neurons in cell culture

Intracellular recording and immunochemical techniques were used to study synaptic transmission between individual pairs of rat myenteric plexus neurons in cell culture. This report describes the synaptic connections made by “dual function” presynaptic neurons that evoked slow postsynaptic depolarizations (slow EPSPs) in the same neurons in which they also evoked fast nicotinic cholinergic EPSPs. The slow EPSPs occurred only when presynaptic neurons were stimulated at frequencies of 5 Hz or higher. During the slow EPSPs, slope input resistance increased. The slow EPSPs were not detectably voltage-dependent, and they reversed sign at the estimated K+ equilibrium potential, suggesting that they resulted from a synaptically mediated decrease in resting K+ conductance. Several lines of evidence suggested that dual- function neurons evoke slow EPSPs by releasing a vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP)-like cotransmitter. (1) Immunocytochemical staining revealed VIP-like immunoreactivity in all physiologically identified dual-function neurons. (2) Responses to exogenously applied VIP mimicked the slow EPSPs. (3) Superfusion of cultures with anti-VIP antisera blocked the slow EPSPs reversibly, as did application of desensitizing doses of VIP. These findings suggest that during periods of increased activity, subsets of cholinergic myenteric neurons release a VIP-like cotransmitter that enhances postsynaptic excitability. The effects of the cotransmitter may help to compensate for decreases in nicotinic EPSPs that occur during increased presynaptic activity.
A Proposal for A Scalable Internet Multicast Architecture

We propose a new network and system architecture for multicast in the Internet. Our main objectives are to find a cost-effective way to scale to a large number of multicast groups whose members are geographically dispersed; and to enable small and less capable devices to participate in group communications. In order to preserve the efficiency of data distribution gained by multicast, while avoiding the control complexity previously exhibited by IP multicast, we propose the use of an overlay network for multicast services. We construct “virtual” multicast trees, which consist of unicast connections joining multicast servers in the network. These servers represent their end users who are interested in communicating together, and replicate and forward data on their behalf. A network design problem is presented to study the implication of such overlay network. On top of this network communication channel, we devise a transport layer and system architecture to provide crucial functionalities to applications. In addition, we propose a multicast mechanism that involves only end-systems. This allows accelerated application deployment without the need of network infrastructure support. To gain experience of the interfacing between applications and the multicast communication channel, we implement a multicast middleware package and prototype applications for future experiments.
Engagement vs. isolationism: China's transplant system.

Throughout history when confronting significant moral or ethical issues there is frequently a battle between engagement and isolationism. No singular strategy can claim universal success, those on opposite sides are prone to criticize the other, and progress cannot be assured with either strategy, but engagement and isolationism are at opposite ends of the political spectrum when dealing with such problems. At times, different actors can play roles that enable engagement while simultaneously continuing to isolate. Armand Hammer’s role, as trusted messenger between isolationist United States and isolationist Soviet Union in the 1970s, helped lead to engagement through detente and ultimately reconciliation between the United States and the Soviet Union (1). Thus was the situation with China and their transplant system in the 1990s through the mid-2000s. China proceeded with their transplant system development in isolation and the world generally did not recognize how it was developing until the early 2000s when the ethical issues became so significant that it was impossible to ignore (2).
Query Algebra Operations for Interval Probabilities

The groundswell for the ‘00s is imprecise probabilities. Whether the numbers represent the probable location of a GPS device at its next sounding, the inherent uncertainty of an individual expert’s probability prediction, or the range of values derived from the fusion of sensor data, probability intervals became an important way of representing uncertainty. However, until recently, there has been no robust support for storage and management of imprecise probabilities. In this paper, we define the semantics of traditional query algebra operations of selection, projection, Cartesian product and join, as well as an operation of conditionalization, specific to probabilistic databases. We provide efficient methods for computing the results of these operations and show how they conform to probability theory.
Electronic cooling in Weyl and Dirac semimetals

Energy transfer from electrons to phonons is an important consideration in any Weyl- or Dirac-semimetal-based application. In this work, we analytically calculate the cooling power of acoustic phonons, i.e., the energy relaxation rate of electrons which are interacting with acoustic phonons, for Weyl and Dirac semimetals in a variety of different situations. For cold Weyl or Dirac semimetals with the Fermi energy at the nodal points, we find that the electronic temperature ${T}_{e}$ decays in time as a power law. In the heavily doped regime, ${T}_{e}$ decays linearly in time far from equilibrium. In a heavily doped system with short-range disorder we predict that the cooling power of acoustic phonons is drastically increased because of an enhanced energy transfer between electrons and phonons. When an external magnetic field is applied to an undoped system, the cooling power is linear in magnetic field strength and ${T}_{e}$ has square-root decay in time, independent of magnetic-field strength over a range of values.
A low power adaptive transmitter architecture for low band UWB applications

An adaptive CMOS UWB transmitter architecture based on programmable pulse position modulation (PPPM) is proposed. It can operate in high-speed mode and power-saving mode depending on various QoS constrains. When the data rate is the primary concern, the transmitter operates at high-speed mode. When the power consumption becomes the major constrain, the transmitter can switch to power-saving mode. The high frequency 80 MHz clock is generated from a 10 MHz low frequency reference by a DLL-based frequency multiplier. The proposed adaptive UWB transmitter has been designed and simulated by using TSMC 0.18/spl mu/m CMOS process. Simulation results shows proposed transmitter can provide a flexible knob for cross-layer QoS optimization with low power consumption.
Destination nowhere: a potential dilemma with ventricular assist devices.

Increasingly, ventricular assist devices (VADs) are used as destination therapy for those who are not candidates for heart transplantation. Although these devices can benefit patients by improving their functional status and quality of life, they can, in some cases, facilitate an end-point known as