cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Low-δD hydration rinds in Yellowstone perlites record rapid syneruptive hydration during glacial and interglacial conditions

Hydration of silicic volcanic glass forms perlite, a dusky, porous form of altered glass characterized by abundant “onion-skin” fractures. The timing and temperature of perlite formation are enigmatic and could plausibly occur during eruption, during post-eruptive cooling, or much later at ambient temperatures. To learn more about the origin of natural perlite, and to fingerprint the hydration waters, we investigated perlitic glass from several synglacial and interglacial rhyolitic lavas and tuffs from the Yellowstone volcanic system. Perlitic cores are surrounded by a series of conchoidal cracks that separate 30- to 100-µm-thick slivers, likely formed in response to hydration-induced stress. H2O and D/H profiles confirm that most D/H exchange happens together with rapid H2O addition but some smoother D/H variations may suggest separate minor exchange by deuterium atom interdiffusion following hydration. The hydrated rinds (2–3 wt% H2O) transition rapidly (within 30 µm, or by 1 wt% H2O per 10 µm) to unhydrated glass cores. This is consistent with quenched “hydration fronts” where H2O diffusion coefficients are strongly dependent on H2O concentrations. The chemical, δ18O, and δD systematics of bulk glass records last equilibrium between ~110 and 60 °C without chemical exchange but with some δ18O exchange. Similarly, the δ18O of water extracted from glass by rapid heating suggests that water was added to the glass during cooling at 400 °C) experimental data. The thick hydration rinds in perlites, measuring hundreds of microns, preserve the original D/H values of hydrating water as a recorder of paleoclimate conditions. Measured δD values in perlitic lavas are −150 to −191 or 20–40 ‰ lower than glass hydrated by modern Yellowstone waters. This suggests that Yellowstone perlites record the low-δD signature of glacial ice. Cooling calculations, combined with the observed high water diffusion coefficients noted for 60–150 °C, suggest that if sufficient hot water or steam is available, any rhyolite flow greater than ~5 m thick can develop the observed ~250-µm hydration rinds within the expected timescale of cooling (weeks–years). As the process of hydration involves shattering of 30- to 100-µm-thick slivers to expose unhydrated rhyolite glass, the time required for hydration may be even shorter. Rapid hydration and formation of relatively thick-walled glass shards allow perlites to provide a snapshot view of the meteoric water (and thus climate) at the time of initial alteration. Perlites retain their initial hydration D/H signal better than thin-walled ash, which in contrast hydrates over many thousands of years with time-averaged precipitation.
The Ram Relaxation Technique: A Painless Biopsy Method. A Shave Biopsy Approach Without Injectable Anesthesia or Needles.

Background Shave skin biopsies are essential procedures wherein physicians diagnose dermatologic lesions. The protocol for skin biopsies entails a lidocaine/epinephrine injection. This study suggests an alternative, novel method of performing a shave biopsy that avoids pain, needles, and injectable anesthesia, termed the Ram Relaxation Technique (RRT). Objective To present a new technique that physicians may chose to form when faced with dermatological biopsies that are painless and needle free. Patients and methods Randomly selected, patients were presented to the authors' offices with abnormal skin lesions that required a shave biopsy. The patients were offered the choice of having an anesthetic injection (1% lidocaine, 1:100,000 epinephrine) or the alternative method (RRT) before the biopsy. Twenty patients (n = 20, 10 men, 10 women) chose the alternative method (RRT) and were the focus of this study. These patients who chose RRT were asked to scale their pain on a scale of 0 to 10 (0 = no pain, 1-3 = mild, 4-6 = moderate, and 7-10 = severe pain). Results Fourteen of the 20 patients stated that they experienced no pain (0), 5 experienced mild pain, and 1 patient experienced moderate pain. Conclusion This study demonstrates an alternative and nearly pain-free method for superficial shave biopsies of the skin for certain patients in the appropriate clinical setting with the appropriate, superficial papule lesions. Dermis lesions, melanocytic lesions, and macular lesions are not ideal candidates given the risk for misdiagnosis, and more pain, respectively.
Operationalizing Sustainable Recreation across the National Forest System: A Qualitative Content Analysis of Six Regional Strategies

Sustainability, as an institutional and professional goal has gained momentum in the parks and recreation field over the past two decades. The scholarly literature has been dominated by articles contributing science-based management frameworks to inform agency decisions about sustainability. Needed also are action-oriented, case study research or evaluation studies where the objective is to inductively generate grounded theory and best management practices by studying the phenomena in action. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the USDA Forest Services’ institutional goal of operationalizing Sustainable Recreation across the National Forest System. This study goal is informed by a literature synthesis of research focused on sustainable science, sustainability constraints, and institutional change and transformation as well as background on the Forest Services’ Framework for Sustainable Recreation. The objectives of this research study were to develop a deeper understanding of the contextual factors, vision and goals, action steps, and performance measures associated with the Forest Services’ operationalizing of their national Framework for Sustainable Recreation. Given the action-oriented and applied focus agenda of this research, the research study employed a conventional, qualitative content analysis methodology to analyze six Regional Sustainable Recreation Strategies. Results from this qualitative content analysis provide an empirical window into how the USDA Forest Service is mobilizing to integrate sustainability into their managed recreation operations. Study results elaborate two contrasting visions for managed recreation in the Forest Service—one a more limited vision of operating within agency budgetary limits and the other a more expansive vision of investing in the managed recreation program. The regional Sustainable Recreation Strategies studied here also varied considerably in the level of specificity directed towards the forest-level operationalizing of sustainable recreation objectives and priority action steps. Study results also suggest that operationalizing sustainable recreation across the National Forest System will result in new types of recreation service delivery partnerships with external stakeholder groups to leverage scarce public dollars and to improve the level of service. Finally, there was little mention in the Framework for Sustainable Recreation or the six regional strategies analyzed here for the contribution of management-science partnerships. Regional or national forums are needed that convene managers and scientists to develop an action-oriented science agenda for operationalizing sustainable recreation across the National Forest System. These same collaborative forums could benefit managers of other public recreation lands and the parks and recreation field collectively. Subscribe to JPRA
Volumetric-based image guidance is superior to marker-based alignments for stereotactic body radiotherapy of prostate cancer.

PURPOSES The aim of this study was to evaluate a dual marker-based and soft-tissue based image guidance for inter-fractional corrections in stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) of prostate cancer. METHODS/MATERIALS We reviewed 18 patients treated with SBRT for prostate cancer. An endorectal balloon was inserted at simulation and each treatment. Planning margins were 3 mm/0 mm posteriorly. Prior to each treatment, a dual image guidance protocol was applied to align three makers using stereoscopic x ray images and then to the soft tissue using kilo-voltage cone beam CT (kV-CBCT). After treatment, prostate (CTV), rectal wall, and bladder were delineated on each kV-CBCT, and delivered dose was recalculated. Dosimetric endpoints were analyzed, including V36.25 Gy for prostate, and D0.03 cc for bladder and rectal wall. RESULTS Following initial marker alignment, additional translational shifts were applied to 22 of 84 fractions after kV-CBCT. Among the 22 fractions, ten fractions exceeded 3 mm shifts in any direction, including one in the left-right direction, four in the superior-inferior direction, and five in the anterior-posterior direction. With and without the additional kV-CBCT shifts, the average V36.25 Gy of the prostate for the 22 fractions was 97.6 ± 2.6% with the kV x ray image alone, and was 98.1 ± 2.4% after applying the additional kV-CBCT shifts. The improvement was borderline statistical significance using Wilcoxon signed-rank test (P = 0.007). D0.03 cc was 45.8 ± 6.3 Gy vs. 45.1 ± 4.9 Gy for the rectal wall; and 49.5 ± 8.6 Gy vs. 49.3 ± 7.9 Gy for the bladder before and after applying kV-CBCT shifts. CONCLUSIONS Marker-based alignment alone is not sufficient. Additional adjustments are needed for some patients based kV-CBCT.
Neural cell adhesion molecule as a regulator of cell-cell interactions.

Progress in the investigation of cell-cell interactions in tissue formation has been particularly rapid in recent years (for review see Rutishauser and Jessell, 1988). A fundamental hypothesis throughout this work has been that these interactions reflect specific molecular complementarity mediated by distinct components at the cell surface. In addition, it is generally assumed that the developmental control of these events occurs through regulation of expression of the molecules directly involved.
Beyond Private Gain: The Public Benefits of Higher Education

Governments have provided longstanding support for higher education in the United States and elsewhere. The original justification for such support was that higher education, like primary and secondary education, confers critical and sizable benefits on the public. This justification was supported by philosophical reasoning and backed by qualitative and anecdotal evidence. In the decades after World War II, economists devised a more precise analytical method for assessing whether private and public investments in education are justified. Building on Adam Smith’s original conception of human capital, economists such as Milton Friedman, Gary Becker, and Jacob Mincer developed the “human capital” theory as a way of understanding and estimating the value of education to both individuals and society. This framework, which focuses on comparing the costs of education with the wage gains that accrue to individuals when they acquire more education, lends itself quite naturally to quantitative analysis. Guided by this framework, empirical work on human capital has been extremely influential in encouraging the view that the benefits of higher education are mainly private, for which the individual should, in large measure, pay. This perspective, championed by economists, has overshadowed the view of higher education as conferring sizable public benefits. This chapter revisits the public benefits of higher education, with particular (but not exclusive) emphasis on the U.S. experience. It focuses on the nature and magnitude of these benefits and the extent to which they have been inadequately addressed. We are careful to define social benefits to include the private benefits enjoyed directly by the individual, such as a higher trajectory of post-school earnings. But social benefits also include public benefits: those benefits that society derives from higher education beyond those enjoyed by the individual himself or herself.1 Note that “social” does not mean “non-economic.” It refers, instead, to all benefits (economic or other) that accrue to society as a whole (including the portion of those benefits that accrue to individuals). The first section of this chapter reviews aspects of American history concerning the public purposes served by higher education. It also critically examines the economic
The New Boss Same as the Old Boss? Incumbency and the Decline of Conservative Rule in the Brazilian Northeast

For decades, conservative political machines have controlled the state governments of the Northeast region by distributing patronage and dominating vast areas of the interior of these states through clientele networks. Most of these governments were turned out in 2006 by leftist opponents, who relied on support in urban centers. The re-election of some of these leftist governors in 2010 coincided with the shifting of support in poor, rural districts away from conservative machines. This preliminary study maps these spatial shifts in three states – Bahia, Ceara, and Maranhao – and tests various determinants of these changes that are exogenous and endogenous to state politics. The study finds some support for the influence of presidential coattails, the strategic use of public spending, and political alliances in the success of leftist incumbents making incursions into territories dominated by conservatives. But conservative incumbents also demonstrated that they could use these resources to effectively defend their bailiwicks and hold onto power.
Bottom-up fault management in composite web services

We propose an approach for managing bottom-up faults in composite Web services. We define bottom-up faults as abnormal conditions/defects or changes in component services that may lead to run-time failures in composite services. The proposed approach uses soft-state signaling to propagate faults from components to composite services. Soft-state denotes a class of protocols where state (e.g., whether a service is alive) is constantly refreshed by periodic messages. Its advantages include implicit error recovery and easier fault management, resulting in high availability. We introduce a bottom-up fault model for composite services. Then, we propose a soft-state protocol for bottom-up fault propagation in composite services. Finally, we present experiments to assess the performance of our approach.
The Perpetual Immigrant and the Limits of Athenian Democracy

In the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, immigrants called 'metics' (metoikoi) settled in Athens without a path to citizenship. Galvanized by these political realities, classical thinkers cast a critical eye on the nativism defining democracy's membership rules and explored the city's anxieties over intermingling and passing. Yet readers continue to treat immigration and citizenship as separate phenomena of little interest to theorists writing at the time. In The Perpetual Immigrant and the Limits of Athenian Democracy, Demetra Kasimis makes visible the long-overlooked centrality of immigration to the originary practices of democracy and political theory in Athens. She dismantles the interpretive and political assumptions that have led readers to turn away from the metic and reveals the key role this figure plays in such texts as Plato's Republic. The result is a series of original readings that boldly reframes urgent questions about how democracies order their non-citizen members.
Abstract 925: In silico models accurately predict in vivo response for IL-6 blockade in head and neck cancer

The purpose of this study is to create and validate a mathematical model describing the effect of interleukin-6 (IL-6) on head and neck cancer growth and cancer stem cell fraction. Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC) is the seventh most-common solid tumor with about 55,000 new cases diagnosed every year. Malignant features of HNSCC cells are derived from a shift towards more stem-like features, as postulated by the cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis. CSCs encompass a unique cellular subpopulation characterized by multipotency, uniquely high tumorigenic potential, and self-renewal. These cells function as putative drivers of tumor initiation, therapeutic evasion, metastasis, and recurrence. Though they are an appealing conceptual target, CSC directed cancer therapies remain scarce. High levels of both serum IL-6 and tumor IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) expression are strongly correlated with poor patient survival. Endothelial cell-secreted IL-6 enhances the tumorigenic potential and self-renewal of head and neck CSCs. Furthermore, interruption of the IL-6 pathway results in a decreased fraction of HNSCC CSCs. Efficacy and optimal administration of the FDA approved rheumatoid arthritis IL-6R antibody Tocilizumab in HNSCC is not known. Here we used a multi-scale mathematical model that operates at the intracellular, molecular, and tissue level to investigate the impacts of endothelial cell-secreted IL-6 signaling on the crosstalk between tumor cells and ECs during tumor growth. This endothelial cell - tumor cell (EC-TC) model was used to study the effect of tocilizumab treatment on HNSCC, and particularly the CSC fraction. Our ordinary differential equation model is the first of its kind to include full occupancy dynamics between endothelial-cell produced IL-6, IL-6R, and the competitive IL-6R inhibitor Tocilizumab. In order to biologically validate the utility of our mathematical model, we performed a series of in-vivo experiments using HNSCC cell lines and human endothelial cells co-embedded in a porous scaffold and implanted in SCID mice flank. Tumor volumes were measured serially. CSC fraction was determined in HNSCC cell lines using flow cytometry for aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) high/CD44 high proportion. Without artificial tuning to the laboratory data, our model provided superb predictive agreement to the decrease in tumor volumes observed in TCZ treated mice (r = 0.947, p Citation Format: Fereshteh Nazari, Alexandra E. Oklejas, Jacques E. Nor, Alexander T. Pearson, Trachette L. Jackson. In silico models accurately predict in vivo response for IL-6 blockade in head and neck cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 925.
Interacting with Distant Objects in Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) applications can leverage the full space of an environment to create immersive experiences. However, most empirical studies of interaction in AR focus on interactions with objects close to the user, generally within arms reach. As objects move farther away, the efficacy and usability of different interaction modalities may change. This work explores AR interactions at a distance, measuring how applications may support fluid, efficient, and intuitive interactive experiences in room-scale augmented reality. We conducted an empirical study (N = 20) to measure trade-offs between three interaction modalities-multimodal voice, embodied freehand gesture, and handhelds devices-for selecting, rotating, and translating objects at distances ranging from 8 to 16 feet (2.4m-4.9m). Though participants performed comparably with embodied freehand gestures and handheld remotes, they perceived embodied gestures as significantly more efficient and usable than device-mediated interactions. Our findings offer considerations for designing efficient and intuitive interactions in room-scale AR applications.
Streamlining the Electronic Component Derating Process: An Electrical Engineering Perspective

Electronic component derating is widely-adopted in industry as a means to improve the reliability of printed circuit board assemblies by ensuring the maximum applied stresses for each electronic component does not exceed 50-90% of the supplier's rating. The process for performing derating analyses was largely unchanged at Rockwell Automation for the last twenty years. Recently, the derating process was reimaged from an electrical engineering point-of-view and a software tool was created to support the new process. The derating software interfaces with several internal and external databases and significantly automates the derating process. A benefit of the new process and software tool is a projected 50-75% reduction in the time is takes to perform the derating process relative to the old derating process. This paper describes the streamlined process, derating software tool, and implementation challenges to enable automation.
Designing Algorithms for the EMU Migrating-threads-based Architecture

The decades-old memory bottleneck problem for data-intensive applications is getting worse as the processor core counts continue to increase. Workloads with sparse memory access characteristics only achieve a fraction of a system's total memory bandwidth. EMU architecture provides a radical approach to the issue by migrating the computational threads to the location where the data resides. The system enables access to a large PGAS-type memory for hundreds of nodes via a Cilk-based multi-threaded execution scheme. EMU architecture brings brand new challenges in application design and development. Data distribution and thread creation strategies play a crucial role in achieving optimal performance in the EMU platform. In this work, we identify several design considerations that need to be taken care of while developing applications for the new architecture and we evaluate their performance effects on the EMU-chick hardware. We also present a modified BFS algorithm for the EMU system and give experimental results for its execution on the platform.
'State of Emergency': Black Death and Life under the Neoliberal State

Chicago activists launched a hunger strike in 2015 fighting to keep Walter Dyett High School open. It proceeded for more than a month before its participants ended the strike abruptly. The 12 Black advocates for bringing STEM education to the Washington Park neighborhood of Chicago’s South Side came to the conclusion that their deaths would not be seen as significant in a system that saw the closure of the school as economically feasible. But, what is the role of Black Death in a neoliberal system? This paper places the Dyett Hunger Strike in context with natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina of 2005 and the 1995 Heat Wave in Chicago, Illinois. It also uses this framework to examine the Flint Water Crisis that has been ongoing since 2013. This research investigates the ways that Black Death operates not as a subtext for the struggling infrastructures and state-based frameworks in densely-populated metropolitan areas. Rather, I argue, the deaths of Black people - especially the poor - are inherent to the neoliberal cities within which many Black citizens live. Using case study method, I find that Black Death rarely moves state-based leadership toward restorative action. Given the new forms of Black migration to large metropoles in the United States, this research has major implications.
MicroRNAs and Long Non-Coding RNAs and Their Hormone-Like Activities in Cancer.

Hormones are messengers circulating in the body that interact with specific receptors on the cell membrane or inside the cells and regulate, at a distal site, the activities of specific target organs. The definition of hormone has evolved in the last years. Hormones are considered in the context of cell–cell communication and mechanisms of cellular signaling. The best-known mechanisms of this kind are chemical receptor-mediated events, the cell–cell direct interactions through synapses, and, more recently, the extracellular vesicle (EV) transfer between cells. Recently, it has been extensively demonstrated that EVs are used as a way of communication between cells and that they are transporters of specific messenger signals including non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Circulating ncRNAs in body fluids and extracellular fluid compartments may have endocrine hormone-like effects because they can act at a distance from secreting cells with widespread consequences within the recipient cells. Here, we discuss and report examples of the potential role of miRNAs and lncRNAs as mediator for intercellular communication with a hormone-like mechanism in cancer.
Anticoagulation: a practical guide for strabismus surgeons

An increasing number of surgical strabismus patients are taking oral anticoagulant and antiplatelet agents, with more diverse mechanisms of action than those used in the past. The decision as to whether to continue these drugs throughout the perioperative period is difficult and must be based on the balance between hemorrhagic and thrombotic risk. To help guide strabismus surgeons with clinical management in these cases, we review potential hemorrhagic complications of strabismus surgery and examine the use of anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs during the perioperative period. Surgical strategies that might help minimize intraoperative hemorrhage in patients on anticoagulant therapy are also discussed.
The Business Case for Hiring Military Veterans/Reservists: Stock Price Performance of Military Friendly Firms

The reasons for hiring military veterans/reservists are well documented, including such factors as leadership, teamwork, and resilience. Research shows that veterans/reservists perform at higher levels, have lower turnover rates after the first job, and advance more rapidly in Federal civil service organizations. However, the impact of hiring veterans/reservists on a firm’s financial performance remains unexplored. Using GI Job’s list of “2016 Top 100 Military Friendly Firms,” we demonstrate that the 64 publicly traded “military friendly” firms on this list had a statistically significant higher return (median 7.23 percentage points and a mean 5.18 percentage points higher) than comparable firms not identified as military friendly. These findings provide compelling evidence of the financial benefits associated with employing military veterans/reservists in response to the call for more empirical research on the impact of veterans in civilian organizations. In addition to encouraging businesses to consider hiring veterans/reservists, our results may be beneficial for career counselors, human resource and development managers, and others who interact with veterans, as well as for veterans themselves.
Cannabinoids, Endocannabinoids and Sleep

Sleep is a vital function of the nervous system that contributes to brain and bodily homeostasis, energy levels, cognitive ability, and other key functions of a variety of organisms. Dysfunctional sleep induces neural problems and is a key part of almost all human psychiatric disorders including substance abuse disorders. The hypnotic effects of cannabis have long been known and there is increasing use of phytocannabinoids and other formulations as sleep aids. Thus, it is crucial to gain a better understanding of the neurobiological basis of cannabis drug effects on sleep, as well as the role of the endogenous cannabinoid system in sleep physiology. In this review article, we summarize the current state of knowledge concerning sleep-related endogenous cannabinoid function derived from research on humans and rodent models. We also review information on acute and chronic cannabinoid drug effects on sleep in these organisms, and molecular mechanisms that may contribute to these effects. We point out the potential benefits of acute cannabinoids for sleep improvement, but also the potential sleep-disruptive effects of withdrawal following chronic cannabinoid drug use. Prescriptions for future research in this burgeoning field are also provided.
Indoline-6-Sulfonamide Inhibitors of the Bacterial Enzyme DapE

Inhibitors of the bacterial enzyme dapE-encoded N-succinyl-L,L-diaminopimelic acid desuccinylase (DapE; EC 3.5.1.18) hold promise as antibiotics with a new mechanism of action. Herein we describe the discovery of a new series of indoline sulfonamide DapE inhibitors from a high-throughput screen and the synthesis of a series of analogs. Inhibitory potency was measured by a ninhydrin-based DapE assay recently developed by our group. Molecular docking experiments suggest active site binding with the sulfonamide acting as a zinc-binding group (ZBG).
Key factors in a rigorous longitudinal image-based assessment of retinopathy of prematurity

To describe a database of longitudinally graded telemedicine retinal images to be used as a comparator for future studies assessing grader recall bias and ability to detect typical progression (e.g. International Classification of Retinopathy of Prematurity (ICROP) stages) as well as incremental changes in retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). Cohort comprised of retinal images from 84 eyes of 42 patients who were sequentially screened for ROP over 6 consecutive weeks in a telemedicine program and then followed to vascular maturation or treatment, and then disease stabilization. De-identified retinal images across the 6 weekly exams (2520 total images) were graded by an ROP expert based on whether ROP had improved, worsened, or stayed the same compared to the prior week’s images, corresponding to an overall clinical “gestalt” score. Subsequently, we examined which parameters might have influenced the examiner’s ability to detect longitudinal change; images were graded by the same ROP expert by image view (central, inferior, nasal, superior, temporal) and by retinal components (vascular tortuosity, vascular dilation, stage, hemorrhage, vessel growth), again determining if each particular retinal component or ROP in each image view had improved, worsened, or stayed the same compared to the prior week’s images. Agreement between gestalt scores and view, component, and component by view scores was assessed using percent agreement, absolute agreement, and Cohen’s weighted kappa statistic to determine if any of the hypothesized image features correlated with the ability to predict ROP disease trajectory in patients. The central view showed substantial agreement with gestalt scores (κ = 0.63), with moderate agreement in the remaining views. Of retinal components, vascular tortuosity showed the most overall agreement with gestalt (κ = 0.42–0.61), with only slight to fair agreement for all other components. This is a well-defined ROP database graded by one expert in a real-world setting in a masked fashion that correlated with the actual (remote in time) exams and known outcomes. This provides a foundation for subsequent study of telemedicine’s ability to longitudinally assess ROP disease trajectory, as well as for potential artificial intelligence approaches to retinal image grading, in order to expand patient access to timely, accurate ROP screening.
Works in Progress: Coming in the Fall 2016 Edition

Emerging scholars in the field of community engagement in higher education will develop the future trajectory of our shared work based on innovative theoretical frameworks and subsequent research findings. To support IARSLCE’s mission of supporting new scholars in service-learning and community engagement, _IJRSLCE’s_ “Works in Progress” section will publish drafts of research studies or manuscripts in progress along with feedback and critiques from scholars and _IJRSLCE_ reviewers. This unique platform will allow a comprehensive review of up-and-coming work while providing a space for other emerging scholars in the field to understand the review and publication process.
Non-queueing Equilibriums, Innovation Rates, Structure of Economies, and Venture Capital

This study develops a general equilibrium model within which self revelation of ability - that is not accompanied by any signaling - is compatible with arrival at rational expectations equilibriums (REE). In the model, economic agents either are 'confident', 'overconfident', or 'under-confident' about their ability. Neither of overconfidence nor under-confidence is assumed; on the contrary, the two behavioral biases arise in context of establishment of mathematical boundaries on behaviors of economic agents. In the REE within which all agents are overconfident, innovations are not as robust as they are assumed to be, yet ubiquity of sub-optimality is not discernible. In the REE within which all agents are under-confident, innovations are optimal, yet there exist innovations that, ideally are within reach, but yet are not embarked upon, as such not achieved. We arrive then at existence of a structural difference between effects of either of overconfidence or under-confidence. In the REE within which confident, overconfident, and under-confident agents all mass at the same time on the same path, agents are accepted on basis of their self revelations, yet there exists a procedural mechanism, which facilitates a fully revealing REE within a single period. The structure produced by the formal theoretical model is shown to provide a robust explanation for each of structure of industries that subsist within countries, and activities of venture capitalists. In this respect, while the conventional wisdom asserts necessity of transition to a services and knowledge based economy for maximization of economic development, study findings provide unequivocal evidence that manufacturing initiatives feasibly can support economic development that persists in perpetuity.
Guidelines for Developing a Critical Thinking Assessment Tool for Respiratory Therapy Education

Background: Critical thinking is defined as the ability to apply higher cognitive skills based upon evidence-based practice. Critical thinking is a skill respiratory therapists (RT) utilize every day in their clinical practice. Due to the key role this plays in patient care, critical thinking development is a vital aspect of respiratory therapy education. However, as of now, there is no standardized tool for measuring respiratory therapy students’ critical thinking skills as they relate to the field of respiratory care. Purpose: Identify the guidelines for the development of a critical thinking assessment tool for use in respiratory therapy education programs using a non-experimental, descriptive research methodology. Methods: Participants in this study were program directors and directors of clinical education of entry-to-practice Bachelor’s degree respiratory therapy programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Respiratory Care (CoARC). The research involved surveying a panel of experts, gathering their opinions on how to best assess critical thinking in RT competencies, and the best testing format to assess critical thinking. The responses from the survey can be used as the basis for developing a critical thinking assessment tool specific to respiratory therapy students. Results: Across all four critical thinking domains clinical simulation was the most frequently selected testing method. Across a variety of different competencies, application was the most selected critical thinking domain to be tested. Conclusions: Based on expert opinion, application would be the best domain utilized when assessing and measuring respiratory therapy students’ critical thinking skills. Due to the high selection of clinical simulation as the preferred testing method, experts believe this format would be best to assess students’ ability to apply the competencies of respiratory therapy.
Interactive Online Configurator via Boolean Satisfiability Modeling

Manufacturing companies widely use interactive configurators to specify product variants. These variants are created from different combinations of individual components. Constraints are usually imposed as relations between components to rule out invalid product configurations. The configurator and its underlying algorithm ensure the product specified by the user satisfies all constraints. We provide a method that models the online configurator as a series of highly parallelizable boolean satisfiability problems (SAT). Our methodology is facilitated by state-of-the-art tools such as the Microsoft Z3 theorem prover. Additionally, we confirm that the configurator problem is NP-complete. Hence, using SAT solving is not only natural but canonical.
Polymethylation Scores for Prenatal Maternal Smoke Exposure Persist Until Age 15 and Are Detected in Saliva

Background: Prenatal maternal smoking has negative implications for child health. DNA methylation signatures can function as biomarkers of prenatal maternal smoking. However little work has assessed how DNA methylation signatures of prenatal maternal smoking vary across ages, ancestry groups, or tissues. In the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, we tested whether prenatal maternal smoking was associated with salivary polymethylation scores for smoking in participants. We assessed the consistency of associations at ages 9 and 15, their portability across participants from African, European, and Hispanic genetic ancestries and the accuracy of exposure classification using area under the curve (AUC) from receiver operating curve analyses. Results: We created saliva polymethylation scores using coefficients from a meta-analysis of prenatal maternal smoke exposure and DNA methylation in newborn cord blood. In the full sample at age 9 (n=753), prenatal maternal smoke exposure was associated with a 0.52 (95%CI: 0.36, 0.67) standard deviation higher polymethylation score for prenatal smoke exposure The direction and magnitude of the association was consistent when stratified by genetic ancestries. In the full sample at age 15 (n=746), prenatal maternal smoke exposure was associated with a 0.46 (95%CI: 0.3, 0.62) standard deviation higher polymethylation score for prenatal smoke exposure, and the effect size was attenuated among the European and Hispanic genetic ancestry samples. The polymethylation score was reasonably accurate at classifying prenatal maternal smoke exposure (AUC age 9=0.77, P value<0.001, age 15=0.77, P value<0.001). The polymethylation score showed higher classification accuracy than using a single a priori site in the AHRR gene (cg05575921 AUC=0.74, P value=0.03; age 15=0.73, P value=0.01). Conclusions: Prenatal maternal smoking was associated with DNA methylation signatures in saliva samples, a clinically practical tissue. Polymethylation scores for prenatal maternal smoking were portable across genetic ancestries and more accurate than individual DNA methylation sites. DNA polymethylation scores from saliva samples could serve as robust and practical clinical biomarkers of prenatal maternal smoke exposure.
Dilute Russell's Viper Venom Clotting Time (DRVVT) is Useful for the Routine Monitoring of Newer Non-Vitamin K Anticoagulants

The newer non-vitamin K anticoagulants such as rivaroxaban (Bayer Healthcare) (R), apixaban (BMS/Pfizer) (A) and dabigatran (Boehringer Ingleheim) (D) have been approved to manage thrombotic and ca...
The 'Incendiary' Effect of White Phosphorous in Counter-Insurgency Operations

Voluntarily choosing to restrain a specific means or method of warfare in furtherance of counter-insurgency strategy has contemporary precedent and is congruent with established doctrine. Requiring all white phosphorous use in contemporary counter-insurgency operations to comply with the heightened requirements articulated in Protocol III of the CCW is a clear policy decision, versus an international legal obligation, and is best communicated through a supplemental measure in theater-specific rules of engagement. Though establishing a policy barrier when international law allows for white phosphorous use may seem a subtle and insidious way to subvert a commander’s ability to conduct operations, in the counter-intuitive nature of COIN operations, reducing unnecessary force results in increased local support and eventual isolation of the insurgency. Victory comes from this isolation, not from physical destruction of the insurgent; thus, it is a mistake to view the limiting of a highly controversial weapon in counter-insurgency as an infringement upon force protection. Defeating an insurgency requires unorthodox approaches, and only the military force that is “able to overcome” the “institutional inclination to wage conventional war” can be successful.
Historical Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections, 1788–2004

We have atlases and then there are atlases. We have environmental, commercial, and political atlases as well as those for countries, states, and cities (all too few). Occasionally a truly unique at...
Relapsing cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa associated with streptococcal infections

Background Polyarteritis nodosa is an aggressive, often fatal form of vasculitis associated with multi-organ involvement. Cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa is purported to be a more benign form of this disorder with involvement limited to the skin. Methods The identification of a female patient from childhood to adulthood documenting repeated episodes of cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa following bouts of recurrent streptococcal pharyngitis. Results Repeated bouts of streptococcal pharyngitis at ages 11, 28, and 33 years were followed by episodes of cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa, documented by histopathologic skin changes and clinical presentation, and confirmed by therapeutic management. Conclusions Various infectious and non-infectious conditions have been linked both to the initiation and relapse of this disease. We describe a patient with recurrent episodes of cutaneous polyarteritis nodosa spanning a period of over 20 years with each episode appearing to be linked to a prior streptococcal infection.
Building RBF neural network topology through potential functions

In this paper we propose a strategy to shape adaptive radial basis functions through potential functions. DYPOF (DYnamic POtential Functions) neural network (NN) is designed based on radial basis functions (RBF) NN with a two-stage training procedure. Static (fixed number of RBF) and dynamic (ability to add or delete one or more RBF) versions of our learning algorithm are introduced. We investigate the change of cluster shape with the dimension of the input data, the choice of univariate potential function, and the construction of multivariate potential functions. Several data sets are considered to demonstrate the classification performance on the training and testing exemplars as well as compare DYPOF with other neural networks.
Serostatus of Primary Partner Impacts Sexual Behavior Inside and Outside the Relationship: A Description of HIV-Positive MSM in Primary Relationships

Abstract The present study combines qualitative and quantitative data to describe sexual risk-taking behavior among HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) who are in established primary relationships. Individual characteristics and beliefs, and relationship dynamics associated with having an HIV-positive primary partner (e.g., seroconcordant) versus an HIV-negative/unknown primary partner (e.g., discordant) are also discussed. Data are from the Seropositive Urban Men's Study (SUMS), where sexually active HIV-positive MSM participated in a semi-structured interview and a self-administered survey. Comparisons were made between men with HIV-positive primary partners (seroconcordant) and men with HIV-negative/unknown primary partners (serodiscordant). Unprotected anal sex with a primary partner was reported significantly more among men with seroconcordant primary partners than men with serodiscordant primary partners although there is considerable risk among both groups. Men with seroconcordant primary ...
Down–up algebras over a polynomial base ring &#x1d542;[t1,…,tn]

We study a class of down–up algebras &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ) defined over a polynomial base ring &#x1d542;[t1,…,tn] and establish several analogous results. We first construct a &#x1d542;-basis for the algebra &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ). As an application, we completely determine the center of &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ) when char &#x1d542; = 0, and prove that the Gelfand–Kirillov dimension of &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ) is n + 3. Then, we prove that &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ) is a noetherian domain if and only if β ≠ 0, and &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ) is Auslander-regular when β ≠ 0. We show that the global dimension of &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ) is n + 3, and &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ) is a prime ring except when α = β = ϕ = 0. Finally, we obtain some results on the Krull dimensions, isomorphisms and automorphisms of &#x1d49c;(α, β, ϕ).
Structural Analysis of the Regulatory Domain of ExsA, a Key Transcriptional Regulator of the Type Three Secretion System in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs a type three secretion system to facilitate infections in mammalian hosts. The operons encoding genes of structural components of the secretion machinery and associated virulence factors are all under the control of the AraC-type transcriptional activator protein, ExsA. ExsA belongs to a unique subfamily of AraC-proteins that is regulated through protein-protein contacts rather than small molecule ligands. Prior to infection, ExsA is inhibited through a direct interaction with the anti-activator ExsD. To activate ExsA upon host cell contact this interaction is disrupted by the anti-antiactivator protein ExsC. Here we report the crystal structure of the regulatory domain of ExsA, which is known to mediate ExsA dimerization as well as ExsD binding. The crystal structure suggests two models for the ExsA dimer. Both models confirmed the previously shown involvement of helix α-3 in ExsA dimerization but one also suggest a role for helix α-2. These structural data are supported by the observation that a mutation in α-2 greatly diminished the ability of ExsA to activate transcription in vitro. Additional in vitro transcription studies revealed that a conserved pocket, used by AraC and the related ToxT protein for the binding of small molecule regulators, although present in ExsA is not involved in binding of ExsD.
Long-term plasma exchange in a case of Refsum's disease

Refsum's disease (Heredopathia atactica polyneuritiformis) is caused by accumulation of phytanic acid in all body tissues due to an inherited failure of alphaoxidation of branched chain fatty acids. Plasmapheresis has been reported to be beneficial by removal of phytanic acid from the blood. We describe a patient with Refsum's disease in whom long-term plasmapheresis did not improve clinical, biochemical or electrophysiological parameters.
ESR spin trapping studies on the OH* free radical reactions of idebenone.

Abstract Experiments have been performed using oxidized (ID-O) and reduced (ID-H) idebenone in various spin trapping systems. The following results were obtained. (1) ID-O does not have any detectable scavenger effect on the OH• free radicals when they are generated by means of Fenton reaction and trapped using DMPO, PBN or 4-POBN. (2) ID-H represents a serious competition for all spin traps used in capturing OH• free radicals. The mechanism of this competition is, however, not a direct reaction, but it is based on the rather quick autoxidation of the dissolved ID-H generating O 2 • radicals. They interact with the OH• radicals (or with the OH-spin adducts) by means of electron donation to them. This statement has been proven by showing (i) that O2• radicals generated during the autoxidation of ID-H can directly be trapped on DMPO; (ii) the effect of ID-H on the OH• free radicals is abolished if SOD is added to the system; (iii) the O 2 • radicals generated by ID-H autoxidation reduce directly the OH-spin adducts on various kinds of nitroxide type spin traps (e.g. TEMPO, TMPN). (3) The rate of autoxidation of ID-H in solution is about an order of magnitude faster than that of ubiquinone. Similar differences could be observed in the rate of reduction of the oxidized forms of both compounds by Na-borohydride. The results fully explain the in vitro protective effect of ID-H against lipid peroxidation of artificial membranes.