cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Maternal Diet During Gestation and Lactation Modifies the Severity of Salt-Induced Hypertension and Renal Injury in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats

Environmental exposure of parents or early in life may affect disease development in adults. We found that hypertension and renal injury induced by a high-salt diet were substantially attenuated in Dahl SS/JrHsdMcwiCrl (SS/Crl) rats that had been maintained for many generations on the grain-based 5L2F diet compared with SS/JrHsdMcwi rats (SS/Mcw) maintained on the casein-based AIN-76A diet (mean arterial pressure, 116±9 versus 154±25 mm Hg; urinary albumin excretion, 23±12 versus 170±80 mg/d). RNAseq analysis of the renal outer medulla identified 129 and 82 genes responding to a high-salt diet uniquely in SS/Mcw and SS/Crl rats, respectively, along with minor genetic differences between the SS substrains. The 129 genes responding to salt in the SS/Mcw strain included numerous genes with homologs associated with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, or renal disease in human. To narrow the critical window of exposure, we performed embryo-transfer experiments in which single-cell embryos from 1 colony (SS/Mcw or SS/Crl) were transferred to surrogate mothers from the other colony, with parents and surrogate mothers maintained on their respective original diet. All offspring were fed the AIN-76A diet after weaning. Salt-induced hypertension and renal injury were substantially exacerbated in rats developed from SS/Crl embryos transferred to SS/Mcw surrogate mothers. Conversely, salt-induced hypertension and renal injury were significantly attenuated in rats developed from SS/Mcw embryos transferred to SS/Crl surrogate mothers. Together, the data suggest that maternal diet during the gestational-lactational period has substantial effects on the development of salt-induced hypertension and renal injury in adult SS rats.
Upregulation of Fas ligand by simian immunodeficiency virus - a nef-arious mechanism of immune evasion?

AIDS is the end result of a prolonged dynamic war of attrition between virus and host, marked by prodigious rates of viral replication opposed by host immune responses and remarkable rates of T cell regeneration (([1][1]), ([2][2])). Understanding the ultimate failure of the host immune responses to
Bridging the Gap: International Organizations as Organizations

This article attempts to build a bridge between the study of international organizations and the sociology of organizations. Comparisons between functionalism in the two fields are found to be especially important in understanding different treatments of international organizations. We suggest that a number of concepts from the sociology of organizations can be effectively used to illuminate issues in international organizations. We focus on organizational performance and its determinants in environment, technology, goals, and structure. The authors' current work in international population planning and social forestry shows how the sociological concepts can offer useful perspectives and hypotheses for the study of international organizations.
The Gender Gap in Alcohol Consumption during Late Adolescence and Young Adulthood: Gendered Attitudes and Adult Roles

We utilize data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth young adult sample (N = 1,488) to investigate whether gender role attitudes and the occupation of and transition to three adult roles (i.e., employment, marriage, and parenthood) contribute to the maintenance of the gender gap in the frequency and quantity of alcohol use. Our results indicate that traditional gender role attitudes are related to less frequent drinking for both men and women, but role attitudes are not associated with the number of drinks consumed. We also find that employment and transitions to employment increase the frequency and quantity of drinking, but less so for women compared to men. Furthermore, marriage, parenthood, and transitions to parenthood are related to less frequent drinking for women only. In terms of the number of drinks consumed, only employment and transitions to employment distinguish men and women. Employment is related to increased quantity of drinking for men, but decreased drinking for women, while t...
Characterization of the KIF3C Neural Kinesin-like Motor from Mouse

Proteins of the kinesin superfamily define a class of microtubule-dependent motors that play crucial roles in cell division and intracellular transport. To study the molecular mechanism of axonal transport, a cDNA encoding a new kinesin-like protein called KIF3C was cloned from a mouse brain cDNA library. Sequence and secondary structure analysis revealed that KIF3C is a member of the KIF3 family. In contrast to KIF3A and KIF3B, Northern and Western analysis indicated that KIF3C expression is highly enriched in neural tissues such as brain, spinal cord, and retina. When anti-KIF3C antibodies were used to stain the cerebellum, the strongest signal came from the cell bodies and dendrites of Purkinje cells. In retina, anti-KIF3C mainly stains the ganglion cells. Immunolocalization showed that the KIF3C motor in spinal cord and sciatic nerve is mainly localized in cytoplasm. In spinal cord, the KIF3C staining was punctate; double labeling with anti-giantin and anti-KIF3C showed a clear concentration of the motor protein in the Golgi complex. Staining of ligated sciatic nerves demonstrated that the KIF3C motor accumulated at the proximal side of the ligated nerve, which suggests that KIF3C is an anterograde motor. Immunoprecipitation experiments revealed that KIF3C and KIF3A, but not KIF3B, were coprecipitated. These data, combined with previous data from other labs, indicate that KIF3C and KIF3B are “variable” subunits that associate with a common KIF3A subunit, but not with each other. Together these results suggest that KIF3 family members combinatorially associate to power anterograde axonal transport.
Possible alterations in correspondence associated with asymmetric convergence.

Available nonius horopter data in asymmetric convergence has been reanalyzed by computing the binocular disparity of each horopter datum point relative to the Vieth - Muller circle. The results of this analysis on the best available data indicate that some corresponding points do shift upon asymmetric gaze. Because such convergence postures involve different eye movement innervational patterns, it is suggested that this is the cause of these apparent alterations. Some of the remaining data showed nonsystematic changes in experimental errors, suggesting that unintentional shifts in fixation may have occurred; unintentional tactile cues (used in making the actual settings) may have been present; and sampling errors may have influenced these particular findings.
Lithium Drift Rates and Oxygen Contamination in Germanium

The unpredictable variations in lithium drift rates of various commercially available germanium crystals have made the production of germanium gamma-ray detectors rather difficult. Some asreceived germanium ingots have shown diffusion constants D reduced by nearly three decades. Because drift time varies inversely with D, the time required to drift such germanium to make large-volume detectors can become too long to be practical. The drift rates and lithium precipitation kinetics of such germanium were investigated to determine if they were correlated. We have examined the lithium precipitation kinetics in 24 samples cut from 13 different germanium crystals covering a wide range of drift rates. These samples were cut from both zone-leveled and pulled crystals from three vendors.
Analyzing Ethics in the Administration of Interscholastic Sports Three Key Gender-related Ethical Dilemmas Faced by Educational Leaders

Athletic administrators and decision makers within interscholastic athletics are expected to embrace a code of ethics that serves as a set of rules to guide their professional behavior. Included within this code are areas of controversy that present gender-related ethical dilemmas for administrators. Three specific ethical dilemmas involve (1) providing equitable participation opportunities for students, (2) instituting ethical hiring practices for coaches, athletic administrators and educational leaders and (3) creating an environment and organizational culture that embraces fairness. This article examines these three critical dilemmas.
Points of general relativistic shock wave interaction are ‘regularity singularities’ where space–time is not locally flat

We show that the regularity of the gravitational metric tensor in spherically symmetric space–times cannot be lifted from C 0,1 to C 1,1 within the class of C 1,1 coordinate transformations in a neighbourhood of a point of shock wave interaction in General Relativity, without forcing the determinant of the metric tensor to vanish at the point of interaction. This is in contrast to Israel9s theorem, which states that such coordinate transformations always exist in a neighbourhood of a point on a smooth single shock surface. The results thus imply that points of shock wave interaction represent a new kind of regularity singularity for perfect fluids evolving in space–time, singularities that make perfectly good sense physically, that can form from the evolution of smooth initial data, but at which the space–time is not locally Minkowskian under any coordinate transformation. In particular, at regularity singularities, delta function sources in the second derivatives of the metric exist in all coordinate systems of the C 1,1 -atlas, but due to cancellation, the full Riemann curvature tensor remains supnorm bounded .
Gravity Models: Formal Development

In this chapter, the classes of gravity models developed in Chapter 2 are formalized, and are shown to be characterized by the axioms in Chapter 2. We begin in Section 4.2 below by developing a formal specification of the various gravity model classes within the probabilistic framework of Chapter 3. In Section 4.3, we examine in more detail certain of the illustrations of these model classes developed in Chapter 2. In Section 4.4, the general behavioral axioms of Chapter 2 are then formalized within the framework of Chapter 3. The central results of the chapter are developed in Section 4.5. First, the aggregate characterizations of general gravity representations presented in Section 2.2.3(A) of Chapter 2 are formally established in Theorem 4.1. Next, the local characterizations of general gravity representations in Section 2.2.3(B) of Chapter 2 are established in Theorem 4.2. The characterizations of exponential gravity representations in Section 2.4.3 of Chapter 2 are then established in Theorem 4.3. Finally in Section 4.6, the generalizations of gravity models discussed in Sections 2.5.2 and 2.5.3 of Chapter 2 are formally developed within the framework of Chapter 3.
A Wireless Electronic Monitoring System for Securing Milk from Farm to Processor

The department of homeland security and the department of health and human services have targeted bulk food contamination as a focus for attention. Milk transport falls into three of the 17 targeted national infrastructure protection plan sectors including agriculture-food, public health and commercial facilities. The current manual methods of securing milk are paper intensive and prone to errors. The bulk milk transportation sector requires a security enhancement that will both reduce recording errors and enable normal transport activities to occur while providing security against unauthorized access. Our group has developed a milk transport security system which is an electromechanical access control and communication system that assures the secure transport of milk, milk samples, milk data, and security data between locations, and specifically between dairy farms, transfer stations, receiving stations, and milk plants. It includes a security monitoring system installed on the milk transport tank, a hand held device, optional printers, data server, and security evaluation software. The system operates automatically and requires minimal or no attention by the bulk milk hauler/sampler. The system is compatible with existing milk transport infrastructure, and has the support of the milk producers, milk transportation companies, milk marketing agencies, and dairy processors. The security protocol developed is applicable for transport of other bulk foods both nationally and internationally.
Urbanization impacts on the structure and function of forested wetlands

The exponential increase in population has fueled a significant demographic shift: 60% of the Earth's population will live in urban areas by 2030. While this population growth is significant in its magnitude, the ecological footprint of natural resource consumption and use required to sustain urban populations is even greater. The land use and cover changes accompanying urbanization (increasing human habitation coupled with resource consumption and extensive landscape modification) impacts natural ecosystems at multiple spatial scales. Because they generally occupy lower landscape positions and are linked to other ecosystems through hydrologic connections, the cascading effects of habitat alteration on watershed hydrology and nutrient cycling are particularly detrimental to wetland ecosystems. I reviewed literature relevant to these effects of urbanization on the structure and function of forested wetlands. Hydrologic changes caused by habitat fragmentation generally reduce species richness and abundance of plants, macroinvertebrates, amphibians, and birds with greater numbers of invasives and exotics. Reduction in soil saturation and lowered water tables result in greater nitrogen mineralization and nitrification in urban wetlands with higher probability of NO− 3 export from the watershed. Depressional forested wetlands in urban areas can function as important sinks for sediments, nutrients, and metals. As urban ecosystems become the predominant human condition, there is a critical need for data specific to urban forested wetlands in order to better understand the role of these ecosystems on the landscape.
Association of germline mutations in the fumarate hydratase gene and uterine fibroids in women with hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer.

Objective To investigate the risk of uterine fibroids and other reproductive risk factors in women with hereditary leiomyomatosis and renal cell cancer (HLRCC). Design Case-control study. Setting National Institutes of Health, Rockville, Maryland. Patients A family-based case-control study was conducted between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2006, including 105 women from families with HLRCC ascertained throughout North America. A telephone interview was conducted with all participants using a standardized questionnaire that elicited information about their menstrual, pregnancy, uterine fibroid, and hormonal contraceptive use history. Diagnosis of uterine fibroids was confirmed by pathologic diagnosis and by medical record review. DNA was extracted from blood samples and was screened for germline mutations in the fumarate hydratase ( FH ) gene. Main Outcome Measures FH germline mutation status, presence of uterine fibroids, age at diagnosis, and symptoms and treatment of uterine fibroids. Results Of 105 women, 77 reported a history of uterine fibroids. Regardless of uterine fibroid status, 75 of 105 women had a germline mutation in FH ( FHmut positive). The risk of uterine fibroids in FHmut -positive women was statistically significantly increased compared with that in FHmut -negative women (odds ratio [OR], 7.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.9-20.0), as it was among women clinically affected with HLRCC compared with those clinically unaffected with HLRCC (8.6; 3.1-24.0). The median age at uterine fibroid diagnosis for FHmut -positive women (28 years) was significantly younger than that for FHmut -negative women (38 years) ( P =.03). Women with a germline mutation in FH or clinically affected with HLRCC reported younger age at menarche ( P FHmut -negative women ( P = .02) or women who were clinically unaffected with HLRCC. Women with HLRCC were more likely to have had treatment for uterine fibroids (OR, 4.6; 95% CI, 1.4-15.8), including hysterectomy ( P =.02) at an earlier age compared with women who were clinically unaffected with HLRCC. Conclusions This study provides the first evidence (to our knowledge) that women with germline mutations in FH and with clinical HLRCC have an increased risk of developing uterine fibroids. These women also have a younger age at uterine fibroid diagnosis and are more likely to have treatment for uterine fibroids at a younger age than women without HLRCC in their families.
Insurance coverage for pharmacogenomic testing in the USA

The completion of the Human Genome Project has led to claims that we are on the verge of entering the era of 'personalized medicine'. Some initial, highly visible successes have positioned pharmacogenomics as the poster child for this new era. Many commercial referral laboratories are offering pharmacogenomic assays. In the US healthcare system, payers have had a significant impact on utilization of new drugs and technologies. Payers are frequently characterized as a barrier to the rapid dissemination of innovative therapies. In reality, payers are frequently the only group that scrutinize these new therapies for utility. As such, they play a critical role in assuring that their members are receiving appropriate care.
The evolution of activity capacity

The capacities of animals for activity (burst speed, maximal exertion, endurance) are examined in relation to their selective importance in extant populations and the pattern of their evolution in major animal taxa. Activity capacities have been demonstrated to be both heritable and highly variable in natural populations and hence susceptible to natural selection. Some field studies have demonstrated significant positive associations between activity capacities, particularly burst speed, and survivorship; other studies have not. The potential for such selection therefore clearly exists, although it may not operate in all populations. Comparative studies of major taxa have linked endurance capacities to maximal rates of oxygen consumption; speed and exertion are correlated with capacities for anaerobic metabolism, either the catabolism of phosphagens or the production of lactic acid or octopine, depending on taxon. In vertebrates, the primitive metabolic pattern involved the use of aerobic metabolism to support moderate swimming performance, supplemented by bursts of activity fuelled through lactic acid production. Because of much greater locomotor costs, the transition of vertebrates onto land entailed a decrease in endurance, which was greatly expanded again only after the evolution of the higher rates of aerobic metabolism characteristic of the birds and mammals. These greater aerobic capacities may have been selected for thermoregulatory reasons and/or for increased activity capacity itself.
A two-stage clustering technique for automatic biaxial gating of flow cytometry data

Measurement of various markers of single cells using flow cytometry has several biological applications. These applications include improving our understanding of behavior of cellular systems, identifying rare cell populations and personalized medication. A common critical issue in the existing methods is approximation of the number of cellular populations which heavily affects the accuracy of results. In this work, we propose a novel technique to estimate the number of dominant subtypes and identify them in flow cytometry datasets. Our experimentation on 42 flow cytometry datasets indicates high performance and accurate clustering (F-measure > 91%) in identifying the main cellular populations.
A procedure for detecting the number of signal components in a radar measurement

This paper uses statistical selection theory to detect the multiplicity of the smallest eigenvalue of the covariance matrix, computed using measured multichannel multipulse radar data. We propose a selection procedure to estimate the multiplicity and value of the smallest eigenvalue(s). We derive the probability of a correct selection, P(CS), and the least favorable configuration (LFC) for our procedures. Under the LFC, the P(CS) attains its minimum over the vector space of all eigenstructures. Therefore a minimum sample size can be determined from the probability of CS under the LFC, P(CS/LFC), in order to implement our new procedure with a guaranteed probability requirement. The techniques described can be applied to the analysis of measured data collected from any multichannel radar. As such, a new solution to the adaptive beamforming problem arises out of the application of ranking and selection theory to the radar problem. First, the number of interfering signals present in a data vector is estimated using our new procedure. Then, optimal rank reduction can be achieved given this knowledge. And finally, adaptive processing for interference rejection and target detection can be performed using any of the standard techniques. The techniques discussed may be generalized.
Roots of Hate: The Political Root

At various times throughout the modern period, the myth of a “Jewish world conspiracy” has attracted adherents. Jews have been accused of plotting to take over the world by undermining the existing social and political order. The myth of the “Jewish world conspiracy” springs from diverse sources. As one source of the myth, Yehuda Bauer has pointed to the medieval anti-Jewish Christian accusation that, as the people of the devil, Jews, like the devil, aim to control the world. Others have highlighted the charge that Jews aim to avenge their century-old oppression by Christians, or the idea that Jews inherently strive for national and/or world power. Before the emergence of revolutionary socialist parties in the last decades of the nineteenth century, subscribers to the myth that the Jews covertly planned to take control of the world believed they had proof in what they perceived was the inordinate Jewish presence as “court Jews,” advising and financing rulers; in the role Jews allegedly played as leaders and members of the supposedly antichurch and liberal Freemasons (a secretive international fraternity for mutual help, advancing religious and social equality); and in the establishment by prominent Jews in 1860 of the Paris-based Alliance Israelite Universelle (the first international organization to represent worldwide Jewish interests). In more recent times, Jews were assumed to be the backers or originators of radical and subversive movements whose chief aim was allegedly to bring down the reigning national political order.
Aging and Memory in Animals

Aging is often accompanied by a decline in memory and other cognitive capacities. Research in animal models has begun to illuminate the basis of these effects, pointing to the likely involvement of altered synaptic plasticity mechanisms in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. Integrative, multidisciplinary approaches, spanning research in animals and humans, show promise in developing strategies to promote healthy neurocognitive aging.
Acceleration of cyanate ester trimerization by dicyanamide RTILs

Abstract This work presents dicyanamide-containing ionic liquids as a new initiator system for cyanate ester resins. The cure effect was found in many dicyanamide-containing ionic liquids with diverse cations, and the dicyanamide was found to incorporate directly into the triazine network. The dicyanamide initiator provides an alternative to metal and hydroxyl catalysts, and produces a novel, ionic thermoset polymer. This polymer offers a new range of cure schedules, and opens the door to further research in degradation prevention, ionic thermosets, and nanocomposites.
LVRT of a MW-level wind turbine unit with a direct-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator

By studying the low voltage ride through(LVRT) capability of a MW-level variable speed wind turbine unit with a direct-driven permanent magnet synchronous generator(PMSG),an improved DC link voltage control strategy was proposed.This strategy can suppress dynamic over-voltage at DC buses by adjusting DC current and controlling the generator output.Compared with the traditional control strategy,the improved one uses the double closed-loop control structure with the current inner loop and the DC link voltage outer loop in the boost chopper converter.And its inverter has also the double closed-loop structure with the current inner loop and the rotating speed outer loop.The simulation results show that the improved control strategy can effectively improve the LVRT capability of a variable speed wind turbine unit with a PMSG.
Proton pump inhibitor-induced Sweet's syndrome: report of acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis in a woman with recurrent breast cancer.

Results: Proton pump inhibitors have previously been associated with cutaneous adverse reactions including maculopapular rash, subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus and toxic epidermal necrolysis. However, drug-induced Sweet’s syndrome has not been observed in patients receiving proton pump inhibitors. The reported woman developed Sweet’s syndrome after initial exposure and subsequent repeat challenge to proton pump inhibitors; subsequent studies also observed recurrence of her breast cancer presenting as metastases to her stomach and bone. Conclusions: Drug-induced Sweet’s syndrome has most commonly been associated with granulocyte colony stimulating factor in oncology patients. Malignancy-associated Sweet’s syndrome has been observed in patients with solid tumors, including breast cancer. Confirmation of proton pump inhibitorinduced Sweet’s syndrome, by repeat challenge with another medication in the same class of drug, was observed in a woman with breast cancer; although the subsequent discovery of recurrent breast cancer presenting as gastric mucosa and vertebral metastases also raises the possibility of concurrent paraneoplastic Sweet’s syndrome, her Sweet’s syndrome symptoms and lesions resolved without recurrence while her recurrent metastatic visceral malignancy persisted. In summary, medication-associated Sweet’s syndrome can occur in oncology patients and proton pump inhibitors should be added to the list of medications associated with the potential to cause drug-induced Sweet’s syndrome.
The psychoanalytic treatment of ulcerative colitis revisited

A review of the literature indicates that very little is known about the role of psychological factors in the etiology, exacerbation, and treatment of ulcerative colitis. Most phenomenological consensus seems to take place around recognizing that the patient has great difficulty in expressing aggression and is frightened of loss of control. Episodes of ulcerative colitis are often related to the sudden loss of an important love-object and/or severe narcissistic wounding. Chronic narcissistic rage is not at the center of the psychological phenomena as I (Chessick, 1985) have described it in narcissistic psychosomatic disorders. In ulcerative colitis, acute episodes of object loss, narcissistic wounding, or bitter disappointment, along with a sense of entrapment and helplessness, produce the threat of an explosion of uncontrollable rage. Such an explosion would result in disruption of the patient's life and expulsion from significant and needed relationships. This produces an acute internal conflict, hopelessness, and despair, with the danger of resolution by paranoid projection. Why in these patients these events seem to be followed by changes in the colonic mucosa is simply unknown, nor is it clear whether they are related to these changes directly or indirectly. The defensive inability to feel the archaic rage at early significant caretakers or their later life substitutes is clearly an important determinant of the psychosomatic condition. I believe that the treatment problems raised by the patient presented here are fairly typical of what will be encountered in any effort to psychoanalyze a patient with ulcerative colitis. Perhaps because of the failure of Alexander's specificity hypothesis, there has been a loss of interest in the psychoanalytic treatment of such patients, and this is regrettable because at least some of them, like the present case, respond well and it makes a vital difference in their future. One certainly cannot say that psychoanalytic treatment represents any sort of "cure" for ulcerative colitis, but it seems clear that resolving underlying psychopathology to whatever extent is possible lessens the chance for ulcerative colitis to be exacerbated by stressful events, such as severe narcissistic wounding or substantial unexpected object loss, because the ego has been strengthened and the patient has an improved tension-reduction capacity. Psychoanalysts should not be afraid to consider the treatment of such patients as long as they are not in the acute phase of the disease. Acute manifestations require active medical, pharmacological, and supportive psychological intervention.
Management of pseudoaneurysm following patch grafting for coarctation of the aorta

The management of a pseudoaneurysm following patch grafting for coarctation of the aorta is described.
Attention and changes in neural selectivity

ABSTRACT Attention increases our perceptual awareness of the details of a stimulus, but the neurophysiological basis for this improvement is yet to be understood. One possibility is that attention increases the specificity of, or “sharpens”, the population of neurons that encode a stimulus. We tested this idea by using adaptation of the fMRI signal to infer the amount of overlap in the neural populations representing changes in object rotation. These measurements were made both with and without attention directed to the objects. It was assumed that if attention sharpens the population response there would be less overlap in the neural populations representing two different object views, resulting in less adaptation and a greater measured signal. We observed a pattern of signal changes consistent with this prediction. The implications of these findings are discussed as well as the possible singleneuron mechanisms that could lead to greater population selectivity.
The Cambridge Companion to the Literature of London

London has provided the setting and inspiration for a host of literary works in English, from canonical masterpieces to the popular and ephemeral. Drawing upon a variety of methods and materials, the essays in this volume explore the London of Langland and the Peasants' Rebellion, of Shakespeare and the Elizabethan stage, of Pepys and the Restoration coffee house, of Dickens and Victorian wealth and poverty, of Conrad and the Empire, of Woolf and the wartime Blitz, of Naipaul and postcolonial immigration, and of contemporary globalism. Contributions from historians, art historians, theorists and media specialists as well as leading literary scholars exemplify current approaches to genre, gender studies, book history, performance studies and urban studies. In showing how the tradition of English literature is shaped by representations of London, this volume also illuminates the relationship between the literary imagination and the society of one of the world's greatest cities.
Xunzi’s Metaethics

One of the most contested issues in the interpretation of Xunzi is how his theory of morality answers metaethical questions. What is the nature and origin of morality? Do human beings construct it, or does it exist independently of them? What is the relation of morality to the natural world and whatever might have created or imparted order to that world? Is there a single true or correct morality or a plurality of such moralities? It will be argued that interpretations attributing apparently different metaethical positions to Xunzi can in fact agree on some important elements that should go into any plausible interpretation of Xunzi. Furthermore, this essay defends the possibility that, contrary to what some interpreters have thought, Xunzi could simultaneously be both a constructivist and an absolutist in his metaethics. Nevertheless, the conclusion here is that the Xunzi yields no unambiguous metaethical theory. There are at least three reasons for this inconclusiveness. First, Xunzi’s main concerns were not to answer metaethical questions. Second, the synthetic and original nature of his theorizing makes it difficult to pin him down. And third, there is significant looseness and variability in the meaning of the terms with which we ourselves formulate the metaethical questions, terms such as ‘constructivism,’ ‘realism,’ ‘relativism,’ and ‘absolutism.’
Expressive aphasia caused by Streptococcus intermedius brain abscess in an immunocompetent patient

Background Brain abscess is an uncommon but life-threatening infection. It involves a focal, intracerebral infection that begins in a localized area of cerebritis and develops into a collection of pus, surrounded by a well-vascularized capsule. Brain abscess still poses a significant problem in developing countries but rarely in developed countries. Predisposing factors vary in different parts of the world. With the introduction of antibiotics and imaging studies, the mortality rate has decreased between 5% and 15%. If left untreated it may lead to serious neurologic sequelae. The temporal lobe abscess can be caused by conditions like sinusitis, otitis media, dental infections, and mastoiditis if left untreated or partially treated. Additionally, in neurosurgical procedures like craniotomy, the external ventricular drain can get infected, leading to abscess formation. Case presentation We present the case study of an elderly female patient who presented with expressive aphasia caused by brain abscess, secondary to Streptococcus intermedius infection. The 72-year-old female with a medical history of hypertension came to hospital for evaluation with word-finding difficulty, an expressive aphasia that began a few days prior to presentation. Computed tomography of the head showed a left temporal lobe mass-like lesion, with surrounding vasogenic edema. The patient was empirically started on courses of antibiotics. The next day, she was subjected to magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, which showed a left temporal lobe septated rim-enhancing mass lesion, with bright restricted diffusion and diffuse surrounding vasogenic edema consistent with abscess. The patient was also seen by the neurosurgery department and underwent stereotactic, left temporal craniotomy, with drainage, and resection of abscess. Tissue culture grew S. intermedius sensitive to ampicillin sulbactam. Subsequently her expressive aphasia improved. Conclusion Brain abscess has a high mortality, however a significant proportion of patients with appropriately treated abscess recover completely and can survive without significant neurologic damage. Advanced imaging modalities may yield more accurate methods of differentiation of mass lesions in the brain. Biopsy of brain lesion with early initiation of appropriate antibiotics will change the outcome.
Decreased transport time to the surgical intensive care unit.

Abstract Introduction Extended stay in the emergency department (ED) is associated with worse outcomes in critically ill trauma patients. We conducted a human factors analysis to better understand impediments for patient flow when a surgical ICU (SICU bed is available in order to reduce ED LOS. Methods This is a retrospective review of all trauma patients admitted to a protected SICU through the ED during 2011 and 2014. In 2010, a 24-hour protected SICU bed protocol was implemented to make a bed readily available. During 2013 human factors analysis helped to describe flow disruptions; related interventions were introduced to facilitate rapid transport from the ED to SICU. The interventions required the following prior to CT scanning: immediate ICU bed orders placed by the ED physician and ED to ICU personnel communication. Direct transport from the CT scanner to the ICU was mandated. Data including patient demographics, injury severity, ED LOS, ICU LOS, and hospital LOS was collected and compared between 2011 (PRE) and 2014 (POST). Results A total of 305 trauma patients admitted from the ED to the SICU were analyzed; 174 patients in 2011 (PRE) and 131 in 2014 (POST). Average age was 46 years and patients had a mean admission GCS and injury severity score (ISS) of 12.3 and 15.9, respectively. The cohorts were similar in age, mechanism of injury, initial vital signs, and injury severity. After implementing the human factors interventions, decreases were noted in the mean ED LOS (2.4 v. 3.0 hours, p=0.005) and ICU LOS (4.0 v. 4.8 days, p=0.023). No differences in hospital LOS or mortality were observed. Conclusions While an open SICU bed protocol may facilitate rapid transport of trauma patients from the ED to the ICU, additional human factors interventions emphasizing improved communication and coordination can further reduce time spent in the ED. Level of Evidence Level IV, Economic/Decision.
Toward site-specific and self-sufficient robotic fabrication on architectural scales

Contemporary construction techniques are slow, labor-intensive, dangerous, expensive, and constrained to primarily rectilinear forms, often resulting in homogenous structures built using materials sourced from centralized factories. To begin to address these issues, we present the Digital Construction Platform (DCP), an automated construction system capable of customized on-site fabrication of architectural-scale structures using real-time environmental data for process control. The system consists of a compound arm system composed of hydraulic and electric robotic arms carried on a tracked mobile platform. An additive manufacturing technique for constructing insulated formwork with gradient properties from dynamic mixing was developed and implemented with the DCP. As a case study, a 14.6-m-diameter, 3.7-m-tall open dome formwork structure was successfully additively manufactured on site with a fabrication time under 13.5 hours. The DCP system was characterized and evaluated in comparison with traditional construction techniques and existing large-scale digital construction research projects. Benefits in safety, quality, customization, speed, cost, and functionality were identified and reported upon. Early exploratory steps toward self-sufficiency—including photovoltaic charging and the sourcing and use of local materials—are discussed along with proposed future applications for autonomous construction.
Nonlinear Asymptotic Regulation of Space Station Accommodating Periodic Aerodynamic Disturbance

Abstract This paper considers nonlinear regulation and angular momenta management of the space station in the presence of of disturbance torque. The aerodynamic disturbance torque is treated as the output of an exosystem which is Poisson stable. An output zeroing submanifold for the regulation of pitch angle, and roll and yaw axis angular momenta is obtained. A control law is obtained such that in the closed-loop system the trajectories converge to this manifold and the desired equilibrium state is attained. For the synthesis of the controller, the states associated with the exosystem are generated using measurement on the attitude angles and angular rates. Simulation results are presented to show that in the closed-loop system, pitch attitude regulation and momenta management are accomplished in spite of the presence of the aerodynamic disturbance inputs
Conclusion: Reading for the Middle of the Everyday

The “middles” or light filler of periodicals, like the middlebrow, are as difficult to define as the everyday itself. This brief conclusion explore late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century discussions of the woman journalist in relation to her distaste for writing lighter fare. Though discussions of the middlebrow have generally focused on the interwar period, in this conclusion I consider the feminist “middles” of turn of the century periodical culture as precursors and as complicating examples, since the “middles” of feminist periodicals so consistently troubled dominant visions of domestic femininity.
Is weight associated with severity of acute respiratory illness

Obesity was an independent risk factor for severe disease in hospitalized adults during the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza season. Few studies have investigated the association between weight and severity of acute respiratory illnesses in children or in adults seeking care in the emergency department (ED) during other winter respiratory seasons. We prospectively and systematically enrolled patients ≥2 years of age who presented to the ED or inpatient setting in a single geographic region with fever/acute respiratory illness over four consecutive winter respiratory seasons (2010–2014). We collected demography, height and weight, and high risk co-morbid conditions. Multivariable logistic regression was used for prediction of hospital admission (primary outcome), length of stay and supplemental oxygen requirement among those hospitalized, and antibiotic prescription (secondary outcomes). We enrolled 3560 patients (N = 749 children, 2811 adults), 1405 (39%) with normal weight, 860 (24%) with overweight, and 1295 (36%) with obesity. Following multivariable logistic regression, very young or very old age (p < 0.001) and high-risk conditions (p < 0.001) predicted hospitalization. Risk of hospitalization was decreased for adults with overweight [aOR 0.8 (95% CI 0.6–1.0)], class 1 obesity [aOR 0.7 (95% CI 0.5–1.0)], and class 2 obesity [aOR 0.6 (95% CI 0.4–0.8)] compared to normal-weight. Class 3 obesity was associated with supplemental oxygen requirement in adults [aOR 1.6 (95% CI 1.1–2.5)]. No association was seen in children. Overweight and obesity were not associated with increased risk of hospitalization during winter respiratory seasons in children or adults.
Building Secure Cryptographic Transforms, or How to Encrypt and MAC.

We describe several notions of “cryptographic transforms,” symmetric schemes designed to meet a variety of privacy and authenticity goals. We consider goals, such as replay-avoidance and in-order packet delivery, that have not been fully addressed in previous works in this area. We then provide an analysis of possible ways to combine standard encryption and message authentication schemes in order to provably meet these goals. Our results further narrow the gap between the provable-security results from the theoretical community and the needs of developers who implement real systems.
The Family of the KdV Equations

The ubiquitous Korteweg de-Vries (KdV) equation [14] in dimensionless variables reads $$ u_t+ auu_x+ u_{xxx}= 0, $$ (13.1) where subscripts denote partial derivatives. The parameter a can be scaled to any real number, where the commonly used values are a=±1 or a=±6. The KdV equation molels a variety of nonlinear phenomena, including ion acoustic waves in plasmas, and shallow water waves. The derivative ut characterizes the time evolution of the wave propagating in one direction, the nonlinear term uux describes the steepening of the wave, and the linear term uxxx accounts for the spreading or dispersion of the wave. The KdV equation was derived by Korteweg and de Vries to describe shallow water waves of long wavelength and small amplitude. The KdV equation is a nonlinear evolution equation that models a diversity of important finite amplitude dispersive wave phenomena. It has also been used to describe a number of important physical phenomena such as acoustic waves in a harmonic crystal and ion-acoustic waves in plasmas. As stated before, this equation is the simplest nonlinear equation embodying two effects: nonlinearity represented by uux, and linear dispersion represented by uxxx. Nonlinearity of uux tends to localize the wave whereas dispersion spreads the wave out. The delicate balance between the weak nonlinearity of uux and the linear dispersion of uxxx defines the formulation of solitons that consist of single humped waves. The stability of solitons is a result of the delicate equilibrium between the two effects of nonlinearity and dispersion.
Testing Ovarian Function

The two aspects of ovarian function—estrogen production and follicular maturation leading to ovulation—are highly interdependent phenomena. Since follicular maturation critically depends on several hormonal factors, a crucial one being the local (intraovarian) concentration of estradiol, it is perhaps correct to perceive estrogen production as the primary function of the ovary. Without adequate estrogen synthesis, follicular maturation will not occur, nor will the hormonal stage be set for ovulation, i.e., rupture of the mature Graafian follicle. Thus, the tests that evaluate adequacy of ovarian function can be viewed in terms of tests that are aimed at evaluating estrogen synthesis by the granulosa cells of the ovaries, tests that evaluate if ovulation has occurred, tests that evaluate the hypothalamo—pituitary axis, tests that evaluate uterine responsiveness to the changing sex-steroid milieu, and tests that evaluate the entire female genital tract for patency and suitability for sperm viability (Table 79).
A chance encounter changes everything

Vijay Sankaran is a practicing pediatric hematologist and researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. His laboratory uses insights from human genetics to study blood cell production in health and disease.
Random mutagenesis of human deoxycytidine kinase for cancer gene therapy using megaprimer PCR of whole plasmid

3362 Human deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) is an important enzyme in the salvage pathway of deoxyribonucleosides. This enzyme displays broad substrate specificity and is capable of phosphorylating deoxycytidine analogs in addition to deoxycytidine. Deoxycytidine kinase is responsible for the initial phosphorylation of anti-neoplastic agents, such as gemcitabine. The goal of this project is to create mutant dCK enzymes with enhanced activity towards the prodrug, gemcitabine, for suicide gene therapy of cancer. Suicide gene therapy offers the advantage of selective eradication of tumor tissue while sparing normal tissue from damage. This is accomplished through the introduction of a gene encoding an enzyme into cancer cells followed by prodrug administration. Upon administration of the prodrug, the enzyme converts the prodrug selectively into its toxic form, thereby resulting in the elimination of cancer cells. To improve prodrug activation both error-prone polymerase chain reaction and regio-specific random mutagenesis using megaprimer PCR of whole plasmid (MEGAWHOP) were performed. These two random mutagenesis approaches are especially applicable to structure/function studies of enzymes, and can lead to the development of enzymes with altered or novel functions. In addition, MEGAWHOP allows for the rapid and efficient creation of a random library without the tedious cloning steps involved in traditional random mutagenesis protocols. Screening for dCK variants with increased sensitivity towards gemcitabine is ongoing. Transformants produced by MEGAWHOP will be surveyed for enhanced prodrug specificity in an E. coli complementation system. Variants with increased sensitivity towards gemcitabine will be further analyzed biochemically and in cell culture models. Data obtained from this mutagenesis study will reveal important structural and functional information regarding catalysis, structural integrity, and substrate specificity that will provide insight for further enzyme improvements and novel anti-cancer drug design. Additionally, the creation of improved dCK variants for gene therapeutic applications will (i) allow the use of low prodrug doses, (ii) reduce toxic side effects, and (iii) enhance tumor ablation. Furthermore, this research is significant because it will provide an exciting, novel alternative for gene therapy applications for a wide variety of cancers.
Cyber-based design for additive manufacturing using artificial neural networks for Industry 4.0

Additive Manufacturing (AM) requires integrated networking, embedded controls and cloud computing technologies to increase their efficiency and resource utilisation. However, currently there is no ...