cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Four structurally distinct neuron-specific olfactomedin-related glycoproteins produced by differential promoter utilization and alternative mRNA splicing from a single gene

Four structurally related neuron-specific 1B426b mRNAs, designated AMY, BMY, AMZ, and BMZ, have been isolated from rat brain cDNA libraries. The four mRNAs are related to one another by their shared M region and by two pairs of alternative 5' (A, B) or 3' (Y, Z) regions. All four possible combinations were detected. The four transcripts are derived by differential promoter utilization (to generate A or B 5' ends) and alternative splicing (to generate Y or Z 3' ends) of the primary transcripts of the single D2Sutle gene. All four mRNAs were detected in most brain regions, but were enriched within the cortex and hippocampus. In the pituitary only the two A-type and in the adrenal glands only the two B-type mRNAs were detected. In situ hybridization shows a highly heterogeneous distribution across brain regions, paralleling the Northern blot results and additionally identifying the reactive cells as neurons. The cDNAs encode related glycoproteins of 125, 153, 457, and 485 amino acids, which have been detected immunochemically. The AMZ and BMZ proteins show significant sequence similarity with olfactomedin, an extracellular matrix protein of bullfrog olfactory epithelium, suggesting the possibility of a matrix-related function for these rat glycoproteins in neurons and neurosecretory cells.
An empirical comparison of market efficiency: Electronic marketplaces vs. traditional retail formats

Abstract Researchers have found that price dispersion and market inefficiency exists in electronic marketplaces. Little attention has been bestowed to explore difference in market efficiency between traditional and electronic marketplaces. This study integrates both product and channel preference factors to analyze differences in market efficiency between electronic and traditional shopping environments. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to calculate market efficiency for single-channel and multi-channel shoppers. Results show that market efficiencies vary across consumer segments and products. In summary, this paper enhances understanding of market efficiency by incorporating behavioral segment and product characteristics into the explanatory framework.
An improved analytical model for shear modulus of fiber reinforced laminates with damage

Abstract When loaded normal to the fiber direction, transverse cracks often form in the matrix of polymeric composites. Transverse softening has been widely studied, where agreement between models and experiment is common. By comparison, shear softening from transverse cracks has received little attention, and tends not to agree with predictions. The discrepancy between models and observations may be due to the presence of a traction between the crack surfaces. A closed form solution is proposed for the shear stress–strain field of a cracked laminate by replacing the cracks with cohesive zones. The constitutive equations of the crack laminate were derived including the effects of internal tractions and transverse stress on the shear modulus. The analytical solution resulted in good agreement with experimental measurements.
An adaptive kalman filter for removing baseline wandering in ECG signals

Baseline wandering interference misleads ECG anno- tators from accurate identification of the ECG features. Previous work that deals with baseline wandering removal requires the identification of the QRS complex or other ECG features prior to baseline removal. This paper proposes an adaptive Kalman filter for the real time removal of baseline wandering using a polynomial approximation independent of the signal characteristics. A state space model is used with an adaptive Kalman filter to estimate the state variables, including the baseline wandering approximation from the previous values of the original ECG signal. This approach is applied to the (PTB) Diagnostic ECG Database and to a ECG signal disturbed by white noise and a second order baseline wandering. The results show accurate and improved baseline wandering estimation and removal as compared to moving averaging and cubic spline techniques.
Viral multiplicity of attachment and its implications for human immunodeficiency virus therapies.

The multiplicity of attachment (MOA) of a virion in any particular time interval is the average number of cellular attachment opportunities that must be blocked to keep the virion in suspension. MOA is usually proportional to incubation time and cell concentration. Low MOA (like low multiplicity of infection) is required for reproducible assay of adsorptive blockers, and high MOA by itself can produce spurious synergies between adsorptive blockers, e.g., soluble CD4 (sCD4) and some antibodies. Poliovirus and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) data show that viral neutralization conforms quantitatively to MOA and kinetic theory over large ranges of incubation times and target cell concentrations. Extrapolating sCD4 data beyond conditions achievable in vitro to those in vivo predicts that sCD4 concentrations above the strain-specific sCD4-gp120 dissociation constant are required to block lymphoid HIV significantly, in at least semiquantitative agreement with clinical results. The extrapolation is applicable to humoral neutralization data as well. MOA analysis also indicates that although completely stopping the attachment of individual virions to cells may still be an effective therapeutic strategy against established HIV infection, merely retarding attachment probably is not. The concept of MOA holds great promise for improving the therapeutic relevance of in vitro data and can be applied to any infectious agent, to many processes that impair or enhance infection steps, and to many assay end points, not just infection.
Attachment styles of Oregonians who request physician-assisted death

Objective:Qualitative analyses suggest that requests for physician-assisted death (PAD) may often be the culmination of a person's lifelong pattern of concern with issues such as control, autonomy, self-sufficiency, distrust of others, and avoidance of intimacy. Such characteristics may be measured by attachment style. We compared family members’ reports of attachment style in Oregonians who did and did not request PAD.Method:Eighty-four family members of terminally ill patients who requested PAD before death and 63 members of a comparison group that included family members of terminally ill Oregonians who died without requesting PAD rated their loved ones' attachment style in a one-time survey.Results:Individuals who requested PAD were most often described as having dismissive personality styles (56%) compared to 41% of comparison individuals, and on continuous measures of relational style, the highest mean score among PAD requesters was for dismissive style. There were marginally significant differences in the proportions of each attachment style when comparing the two groups (p = 0.08).Significance of results:Patients’ attachment styles may be an important factor in requests for PAD. Recognition of a patient's attachment style may improve the ability of the physician to maintain a constructive relationship with the patient throughout the dying process.
Flockfs, a moderated group authoring system for wireless workgroups

This paper describes the design and implementation of a group authoring system for wireless users. Our analysis of the behavior of various groupware systems using wireless user availability traces showed that prior systems would have performed poorly, especially during peak availability durations when many group members were simultaneously available. These results motivate our design choices. flockfs maintains one updateable copy of the shared content on each group member's node. It also hoards read-only copies of each of these updateable copies in any interested group member's node. The various copies are reconciled using a moderation operation; each group member manually incorporates updates from all the other group members into their own copy. The various document versions will eventually converge into a single version through successive moderations. The system assists with this process by automatically logging the provenance of all causal reads of contents from other replicas into the author versions. A prototype userspace file system implementation of flockfs exhibits acceptable file system performance and update propagation latency.
Fading channels in energy-harvesting receivers

We consider the operation of an energy harvesting receiver in a point-to-point fading channel with additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN). Knowledge of the channel state information is not available at the transmitter. The limited rate of harvesting energy at the receiver along with the time variation of the channel can degrade the performance of the system. However, we will show that channel state knowledge at the receiver can improve the performance of the system. We propose a channel-selective sampling strategy that optimizes a tradeoff between the energy costs of sampling and decoding at the receiver. Based on this tradeoff, we derive a policy maximizing the communication rate and we characterize an energy-constrained rate region. We extend the results to the receivers with finite battery capacity.
Study of Cellular Adhesion with Scanning Acoustic Microscopy

A mechanical scanning acoustic reflection microscope was applied to living cells (e.g., osteoblasts) to observe their undisguised shapes and to evaluate their adhesive conditions at a substrate interface. A conditioned medium was collected from a bone-metastatic breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, and cultured with an immature osteoblast cell line, MC3T3-E1. To characterize the cellular adhesion, MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts were cultured with or without MDA-MB-231 conditioned medium for 2 days, then assayed with the scanning acoustic reflection microscope. At 600 MHz the scanning acoustic reflection microscope clearly indicated that MC3T3-E1 cells cultured with MDA-MB-231 conditioned medium had both an abnormal shape and poor adhesion at the substrate interface. The results arc compared with those obtained with laser scanning con- focal microscopy and are supported by a simple multilayer model.
The Liberation Procedure Decision- Making Experience for People With Multiple Sclerosis

Despite the absence of scientific evidence demonstrating the efficacy of the “liberation procedure” in treating multiple sclerosis (MS), thousands of MS patients worldwide have undergone the procedure. The study objective was to explore the experience of liberation procedure decision making for individuals with MS. Fifteen adults in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, each participated in an in-depth interview. The data analysis revealed three groups of people: “waiters,” “early embracers,” and “late embracers.” Using van Manen’s hermeneutic phenomenological approach, we identified three themes each in the stories of the early and late embracers and four themes in the waiters’ stories. A characteristic of the late embracers and waiters was skepticism, whereas desperation set the embracers apart from the waiters. With a deeper understanding of the experience, nurses can be more attuned to the perspectives of MS patients while helping them make informed decisions about undergoing the liberation procedure.
Transcriptome and Secretome Analyses of Phanerochaete chrysosporium Reveal Complex Patterns of Gene Expression

The wood decay basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium was grown under standard ligninolytic or cellulolytic conditions and subjected to whole-genome expression microarray analysis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry of extracellular proteins. A total of 545 genes were flagged on the basis of significant changes in transcript accumulation and/or peptide sequences of the secreted proteins. Under nitrogen or carbon limitation, lignin and manganese peroxidase expression increased relative to nutrient replete medium. Various extracellular oxidases were also secreted in these media, supporting a physiological connection based on peroxide generation. Numerous genes presumed to be involved in mobilizing and recycling nitrogen were expressed under nitrogen limitation, and among these were several secreted glutamic acid proteases not previously observed. In medium containing microcrystalline cellulose as the sole carbon source, numerous genes encoding carbohydrate-active enzymes were upregulated. Among these were six members of the glycoside hydrolase family 61, as well as several polysaccharide lyases and carbohydrate esterases. Presenting a daunting challenge for future research, more than 190 upregulated genes are predicted to encode proteins of unknown function. Of these hypothetical proteins, approximately one-third featured predicted secretion signals, and 54 encoded proteins detected in extracellular filtrates. Our results affirm the importance of certain oxidative enzymes and, underscoring the complexity of lignocellulose degradation, also support an important role for many new proteins of unknown function.
MySong: automatic accompaniment generation for vocal melodies

We introduce MySong, a system that automatically chooses chords to accompany a vocal melody. A user with no musical experience can create a song with instrumental accompaniment just by singing into a microphone, and can experiment with different styles and chord patterns using interactions designed to be intuitive to non-musicians.We describe the implementation of MySong, which trains a Hidden Markov Model using a music database and uses that model to select chords for new melodies. Model parameters are intuitively exposed to the user. We present results from a study demonstrating that chords assigned to melodies using MySong and chords assigned manually by musicians receive similar subjective ratings. We then present results from a second study showing that thirteen users with no background in music theory are able to rapidly create musical accompaniments using MySong, and that these accompaniments are rated positively by evaluators.
QoS guarantees and performance analysis in mobile wireless ATM networks

Current research in wireless ATM networks focuses on its design, its protocol stack, data link layers, and issues related to mobility management functions but QoS guarantees during handoff has received limited attention. We present a new framework in this paper to allocate resources to both new calls and handoff calls based on the resource availability at the intermediate nodes also. The criterion for determining a route for a call is based on a combination of the resource availability at the links and the QoS requirements. We propose an algorithm that assigns the resources to the links proportional to the resource availability so as to reduce congestion on the heavily used links, and thereby reducing the chance of call failure and handoff failure. Another contribution in this paper is the performance analysis of wireless ATM network. The effects of different mobility parameters, blocking probability and handoff failure are examined for homogeneous traffic condition. We also present results about delay under heterogeneous traffic conditions.
Integrated risk reduction framework to improve railway hazardous materials transportation safety

Rail transportation plays a critical role to safely and efficiently transport hazardous materials. A number of strategies have been implemented or are being developed to reduce the risk of hazardous materials release from train accidents. Each of these risk reduction strategies has its safety benefit and corresponding implementation cost. However, the cost effectiveness of the integration of different risk reduction strategies is not well understood. Meanwhile, there has been growing interest in the U.S. rail industry and government to best allocate resources for improving hazardous materials transportation safety. This paper presents an optimization model that considers the combination of two types of risk reduction strategies, broken rail prevention and tank car safety design enhancement. A Pareto-optimality technique is used to maximize risk reduction at a given level of investment. The framework presented in this paper can be adapted to address a broader set of risk reduction strategies and is intended to assist decision makers for local, regional and system-wide risk management of rail hazardous materials transportation.
An E_*_B Analyzer to Study the Particle Fluxes, Energy and Charge State in the Scrape-Off Layer of Tokamaks

Abstract We present a new E × B analyzer for the measurement of charged particle fluxes and of the energy distribution and the charge state of the ions. The device is based on the fact that (1) the drift velocity v D = E × B /B 2 is independent of the kind of particle and its parallel velocity v ∥ and (2) that E × B fields have the property of stigmatic focusing (trochotron mass spectrometer). The particles (electrons and ions) passing through an entrance slit penetrate an E × B region. The gross effect is the deviation of the trajectories by an angle tanα = v D v ∥ which depends on the particle energy. An array of charged particle collectors is placed behind the E × B field region. The position of the impact on the array is a measure of v ∥ , i.e. of the parallel energy. For impurities, the distribution of implanted atoms on the collector shows density peaks located at equally spaced nodes occurring at positions corresponding to time-of-flights being multiples of the gyration period. The distance between nodes is a measure of the charge state of the ions. The analyzer is used to study the scrape-off layer of PDX and hydrogen fluxes at different energies are presented.
R -sequenceability and R *-sequenceability of abelian 2-groups

A group of order n is said to be R-sequenceable if the nonidentity elements of the group can be listed in a sequence a,, a,, . . . , a,_ 1 such that the quotients a; ‘az, a; ’ a3, . , a;?,a,_ r, a.-_‘,a, are distinct. An abelian group is R*-sequenceable if it has an R-sequencing a,, a,, . . , a,, _ 1 such that a,_ ra, + r = ai for some i (subscripts are read modulo n - 1). Friedlander, Gordon and Miller (1978) showed that an R*-sequenceable Sylow 2-subgroup is a sufficient condition for a group to be R-sequenceable. In this paper we also show that all noncyclic abelian 2-groups are R*-sequenceable except for Tz x ZT4 and ZTz x ?Xz x T1.
An analog front-end receiver with desensitization to input capacitance for free space optical communication

Optical wireless (OW) communication links are emerging as a promising broadband wireless access technology. This paper presents an analog front-end receiver that is designed to overcome challenges faced by high-speed optical wireless links requiring wide field-of-view (FOV), high dynamic range imaging receivers for signal acquisition/ tracking. This receiver employs a capacitive feedback transimpedance amplifier (TIA), with a self-biased automatic gain control (AGC) circuit to increase the input dynamic range. The receiver is designed for integration with wide FOV detectors with associated capacitance up to 5 pF and its performance is insensitive (within 5%) to an order of magnitude variation in input capacitance. The self-biased AGC allows 42 dB dynamic range in received optical power to accommodate varying link ranges and different OW system configurations. The receiver achieves a maximum gain of 52 dBOmega, -3 dB bandwidth of 523 MHz at 5 pF input capacitance, and variable TIA gain from 52 dBOmega to 32 dBOmega without instability. The input referred noise is 18.6 pA/radic(Hz) for 5 pF input capacitance. The front-end receiver is implemented in a 0.5 mum CMOS process and occupies an area of 0.06 mm2 not including pads.
Melting point depression study of polyacrylonitrile

Melting point depressions were determined by dilatometric and microscopic measurements for polyacrylonitrile in dimethylformamide and in γ-butyrolactone. These data give for the glass transition and melting point of the pure polymer 104 and 317°C., respectively. Both the heat and entropy of fusion are low. This suggests that the high melting point of polyacrylonitrile is due to its extended molecular conformation rather than to strong attractions between the molecules in the crystalline state. Average crystallization rates measured dilatometrically indicate that the optimum temperature for crystallization from solutions in the concentration range 17–27% is only 21°C. above the glass transition temperature. On either side of the optimum temperature the rate decreases sharply, and although crystallization then continues for a longer time the amount of crystallinity finally developed is less. For 15–20% solutions the viscosity increases abruptly as the glass transition is approached, and decreases rapidly at about 25°C. below the true melting point. The shear dependence is large at low temperatures but appears to vanish at 25°C. below the melting point. As the temperature is raised a narrow region is observed for each concentration in which the viscosity exhibits an anomalous increase. These temperatures stand in good agreement with the optimum temperature for crystallization as determined dilatometrically. The foregoing observations suggest the presence of molecular aggregates which are held together by regions of small and imperfect crystallites. In addition to the low entropy of fusion, additional evidence for the extended shape of polyacrylonitrile molecules is provided by estimates based on dilute solution measurements. The interaction between nearest-neighbor nitrile dipoles was investigated in an attempt to correlate large unperturbed dimensions with the molecular structure. This dipolar interaction is repulsive, and its magnitude depends upon the rotational position of the two nitrile groups. By adding a further contribution representing the steric repulsion the total rotational potential is estimated for isotactic and syndiotactic sequences. The dipolar interaction is much larger than the steric repulsion, and the rotation about successive chain bonds must be cooperative to avoid certain high energy conformations. This requirement probably explains the low flexibility and high extension of polyacrylonitrile molecules. The total rotational potential for an isotactic sequence favors the same helical conformation observed in crystalline isotactic polyolefins, while for a syndiotactic sequence some type of helical conformation appears to be preferred rather than the extended planar zigzag.
Cyclic One-Factorizations

We say a one-factorization. F of K2n is cyclic if there exists an automorphism α of F which acts on the vertices of K 2n as a cycle of length 2n. Cyclic one-factorizations were introduced in [85].
Regulator Attitudes and the Environmental Race to the Bottom Argument

Concerns that interstate economic competition will lead states to relax their environmental regulation, potentially resulting in a race to the bottom, remain commonplace in both academic and public policy debates about state environmental policy. Most of the existing empirical work examining the race to the bottom argument tests the behavioral predictions of the argument. In this article, I focus on the attitudinal predictions. Specifically, I examine whether state regulators express beliefs consistent with what we would expect to observe if a race to the bottom dynamic operates within state regulatory decision making. Studying data from the State Environmental Managers Survey, I find that state regulators are sensitive to the effects that their regulatory decisions have on industry investment decisions and that their agencies are influenced by the regulatory decision making of economic competitor states.
Cesarean section in Cincinnati, Ohio, 1950-1959

Summary 1. All of the cesarean sections- 6,265-performed in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 10 year period 1950-1959 are reviewed. 2. Twenty-three mothers died within one year of cesarean section. No mortality rate on this or any other basis is calcula ted. 3. The gross perinatal loss rate was 7.6 per cent. 4. The results of cesarean section in transverse lie are reported and compared with the results in similar cases of vaginal delivery in Buffalo. 5. The results in cesarean section for premature separation of the placenta are presented and are compared with those in similar cases of patients delivered vaginaity in Atlanta. 6. The fetal and maternal results in diabetes, prolapse of the cord, repeat sections, elective sections, and sections at the extremes of reproductive life are given. 7. Perinatal mortality figures in elective and emergency repeat sections are compared. Elective repeat section appears to have the lesser perinatal loss rate. 8. The hazard of neonatal death of a normal term-sized baby delivered by elective section proved to be 0.24 per c nt in our community. 9. A downward trend is noted in sterilization. 10. A plea is entered for the establishment of an acceptable classification category for cases with a multiplicity of borderline indications for sec tion. 11. Serious complications were rare. The majority are discussed. 12. Brief consideration is given to morbidity and the use of antibiotics. Morbidity among Negro women was found to be higher than among white patients. The significance of morbidity is questioned. 13. Incidental appendectomy in 193 cases is discussed. 14. A possible increase in bleeding complications of late pregnancy in patients with section scars was noted. 15. It is concluded that cesarean section is the best method of delivery in the majority of cases where there is real or potential threat to the life or health of either mother or baby, or both.
Can't Stop the Signal: The Library in Space and Transformational Copyright Law-Specifying Fair Use in the Public Interest

If it were the case that full-text copying of entire books presents an obvious prima facie case of copyright infringement clearly unprotected by any application of the fair use doctrine as currently understood, the Google library in space would lead to an easy legal conclusion. Or if, instead, it were the case that copying by a virtual machine for purposes limited to indexing and subsequent recall and retrieval of short fragments is very like a natural person's reading and then remembering prior references (and is either clearly not a violation or is obviously a privileged fair use), then the Google library project would be equally easy to resolve under ordinary copyright law. It seems odd, however, that the problem is claimed to be easy, but in two opposite directions simultaneously. The Library project is both difficult and important because it occurs in an objective cyberspace having characteristic values and evident consequences. If not handled with an understanding of cyberspace, the juridical reaction to the library in space runs the risk either of retarding cyberspace by crippling its objective values, or of disfiguring the law itself. The October, 2008, proposed settlement agreement does not clarify matters. The parties to the proposed agreement have agreed to disagree on the underlying legal issues, but have come to terms about how to divide resulting revenues. The mere fact of the existence of such an agreement, assuming it is approved by the court, will almost certainly itself influence the development of the practice relating to new technological uses of information claimed to be protected by intellectual property law. This article proposes that the law would be better served by a candid adoption of a new, mediating factor for fair use in cyberspace: "the nature and place of use," specified for rule-based application in copyright law. This factor would provide a recognizably copyright-style solution that preserves cyberspace values while providing a predictable, principled and workable rule of law. The new factor takes into account the possibility of both direct and secondary liability, using ideas from new institutional economics, and with an appreciation of new technological uses. The recent settlement of lawsuits against Google only underscores the importance of getting the legal issues right.
Effect of surface stoichiometry on the band gap of the pyrite FeS 2 (100) surface

Systematic spin-polarized density functional calculations were performed for a series of pyrite FeS${}_{2}$(100) surfaces to clarify the effect of surface stoichiometry on stability, electronic structure, and band gap. While the bulk FeS${}_{2}$ is nonmagnetic, the topmost layer of the stoichiometric and S-deficient FeS${}_{2}$(100) surfaces are spin polarized, with magnetic moments of 2 ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\mathrm{B}}$ or 4 ${\ensuremath{\mu}}_{\mathrm{B}}$ per Fe. These surfaces also have sizeable band gaps, 0.56--0.72 eV; they hence can be useful for spintronic and photovoltaic applications. On the contrary, S-rich surfaces have small-gaps, 0.3 eV, which might be responsible to the low open-circuit voltage of pyrite solar cells.
A Theoretical Foundation of Goal Representation Heuristic Dynamic Programming

Goal representation heuristic dynamic programming (GrHDP) control design has been developed in recent years. The control performance of this design has been demonstrated in several case studies, and also showed applicable to industrial-scale complex control problems. In this paper, we develop the theoretical analysis for the GrHDP design under certain conditions. It has been shown that the internal reinforcement signal is a bounded signal and the performance index can converge to its optimal value monotonically. The existence of the admissible control is also proved. Although the GrHDP control method has been investigated in many areas before, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of presenting the theoretical foundation of the internal reinforcement signal and how such an internal reinforcement signal can provide effective information to improve the control performance. Numerous simulation studies are used to validate the theoretical analysis and also demonstrate the effectiveness of the GrHDP design.
Application of transparent texture technique in real-time rendering

In a large-scale and complicated scene, in order to achieve real-time display and control and advance real-time rendering speed, we adopt transparent texture mapping technique for implementing vision effect without being distorted. This paper mainly discusses the basic theories of transparent texture and application combined with other three key techniques, making certain models' proportion and silhouette, how to deal with leak circs, and successful application in transformer substation simulation system which achieves perfect effect.
Increased expression of AT-1/SLC33A1 causes an autistic-like phenotype in mice by affecting dendritic branching and spine formation

The import of acetyl-CoA into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) by AT-1/SLC33A1 regulates Ne-lysine acetylation of ER-resident and -transiting proteins. Specifically, lysine acetylation within the ER appears to influence the efficiency of the secretory pathway by affecting ER-mediated quality control. Mutations or duplications in AT-1/SLC33A1 have been linked to diseases such as familial spastic paraplegia, developmental delay with premature death, and autism spectrum disorder with intellectual disability. In this study, we generated an AT-1 Tg mouse model that selectively overexpresses human AT-1 in neurons. These animals demonstrate cognitive deficits, autistic-like social behavior, aberrations in synaptic plasticity, an increased number of dendritic spines and branches, and widespread proteomic changes. We also found that AT-1 activity regulates acetyl-CoA flux, causing epigenetic modulation of the histone epitope H3K27 and mitochondrial adaptation. In conclusion, our results indicate that increased expression of AT-1 can cause an autistic-like phenotype by affecting key neuronal metabolic pathways.
Predicting Cognitive Executive Functioning with Polygenic Risk Scores for Psychiatric Disorders

Executive functions (EFs) have been proposed as an endophenotype for psychopathology because EF deficits are associated with most psychiatric disorders. To examine this hypothesis, we derived polygenic risk scores for autism, attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, major depression (MDD), and schizophrenia, using genome-wide data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium as discovery samples. We then examined the relationships between these polygenic risk scores and three separable EF components measured with a latent variable model. We also examined the relationship between genetic risk for ADHD and MDD and their respective symptom counts and lifetime diagnoses. We found no evidence for larger effect sizes for EFs as endophenotypes for psychiatric disorders. However, larger sample sizes will be important in examining this relationship further.
Etymology of Squiligee and Squeegee

Squiligee is a historical spelling of the name for a scraping implement with a rubber-edged blade set on a handle. Variant forms include squilgee, squilagee, and squillage. The instrument is better...
A university information system made robust against natural disasters by taking advantage of remotely distributed campuses

We present an information system designed for a university on the basis of its experiences with the 2011 East Japan earthquake. This system has two levels of security: 1) The website for public relations and the e-mail systems for communications that will work continuously even in the case of commercial power failure. 2) The personal computer systems that will be down during power failure but will restart working without any loss of data as soon as the power supply is back. The former has been implemented by employing a private cloud computing platform and a public one in combination. The latter is implemented by a file storage system that keeps the original copy on-premise in a campus and its backup copy in one of the other campuses. Its operations have shown that the communication traffic among the campuses increased only by half in order to keep the data safe against natural disasters.
More than skin deep? Potential nicotinamide treatment applications in chronic kidney transplant recipients

More than skin deep? Potential nicotinamide treatment applications in chronic kidney transplant recipients
Scary Truths: Morality and the Differently Abled Mind in Lars von Trier’s The Kingdom

Marchbanks challenges the common construction of Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier as a provocateur preoccupied with offending his audiences’ sensibilities by incorporating graphic violence and explicit, sexual material into his films. In the miniseries The Kingdom (1994, 1997), von Trier deploys such elements not only to amuse and shock, but also to illuminate ethical failures within contemporary medicine, particularly as concern patients with non-normative bodies and minds. His work tests the limits of the educated and able-minded character’s ability to respond to stress in a productive way, and provides a complementary, complex reappraisal of the individual whose mental faculties have been permanently compromised.
Composite materials with controllable macromechanical properties based on MEMS-assisted structural manipulation of low-dimensional subcomponents

We report an approach to achieve composite materials with wide-ranging macroscale mechanical properties through the three-dimensional structural manipulation of low-dimensional subcomponents. Such composites could be useful in MEMS actuators based on highly compliant mechanisms, or in mechanical metamaterials with highly anisotropic mechanical properties (e.g., negative Poisson ratio). The presented composites possess a multilayer structure comprising alternating high modulus and low modulus subcomponent materials (i.e., permalloy (Ni 80 Fe 20 ) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer), within which lithographically-patterned pores are present. By controlling the pore geometries/orientations and the individual metal/elastomer layer thicknesses in the microscale, in-plane and out-of-plane mechanical properties (i.e., tensile and bending moduli) are substantially tailored.
Localized vibrations at vacant sites in cubic crystals

Abstract The existence of localized high frequency modes at a vacancy is studied for models of copper, iron and sodium with central short range forces. The vacancy represents a softening of the crystal but some force constants increase under the atomic readjustment and these may produce localized modes. In copper a mode of symmetry A 2u , is found which is slightly above the continuum. No localized modes were found in iron or sodium. The perturbation of the dynamical matrix was too extensive to apply the Green function method so that the total spectrum could not be studied. A molecular approximation is used in which shells of atoms near the vacancy are free to vibrate. This gives a lower bound to the frequency which increases as more shells are released. The dynamical matrix is factored by use of symmetry coordinates, complete tables of which are given for the group O h . Up to 20 movable shells and 30 symmetry coordinates are considered. A method of combining the molecular calculations for the few strongly perturbed shells with the properties of the unperturbed crystal at larger distances is developed by an adaptation of the theory of “effective moduli”. It speeds convergence and gives the asymptotic behavior of the mode. The experimental observation of localized modes of a vacancy in a metal appears to be difficult.
Access to Palliative Care Consultation and Advance Care Planning for Adults with High-Risk Leukemia.

Abstract Background: Although strong evidence supports early palliative care (PC) and consistent advance care planning (ACP) for patients with poor-prognosis Stage IV solid tumors, best practice standards have not been established for hematologic malignancies. Our primary objective was to describe current access to specialty PC consultation and ACP for inpatients with high-risk leukemia. Secondary objectives were to describe components of ACP and PC practices. Methods: We enrolled all patients with high-risk leukemia (acute leukemia ≥65 years or relapsed leukemia >18 years) admitted to the University of North Carolina Cancer Hospital from October 1, 2015, to August 1, 2016. Structured chart reviews provided data on demographics, disease characteristics, PC consultation, frequency and components of documented ACP, and quality measures for PC practices. Results: Of 50 high-risk leukemia patients, 52% were 65 years of age or older with a new diagnosis of acute leukemia and 48% were under the age of 65 with r...
Ineffability in Comparative Philosophical Perspective

In this essay I compare over and philosophize about The Comparison Project’s thirteen public lectures on ineffability, twelve of which appear in this volume as academic essays. These lectures collectively represent a diverse array of religious and aesthetic traditions and communities: Indian Buddhism, Christian Neoplatonism, Visual Art, Music, Daoism, West African religion, Sikhism, Advaita Vedānta, Zen Buddhism, Poetry, Literature, Kabbalah, and Sufism. My essay compares these discourses of ineffability with respect to the four questions that guided The Comparison Project’s lecture series on ineffability: (1) What is ineffable? (2) How is its ineffability expressed? (3) For what reasons is it ineffable? (4) To what ends is it ineffable? I then offer explanations of the significant similarities and differences produced by these comparisons. Finally, I raise evaluative questions about ineffability in comparative perspective. My conclusions are unique, or at least unexpected: not only absolute but also relative ineffability is incoherent, at least logically; and religion involves the overcoming of ineffability, not its attainment.
Procedures for Complete Urinalysis/Confirmation Testing

Further correlation of all results, from simple manual tests to chemical and microscopic findings, must correlate well before results are released. This is more of a challenge with automation, where results are accepted at face value and never questioned. When manually ‘dip sticking’ a sample, the appropriate amount of time in seconds must be adhered to avoid negative or erroneous results. Validity of results may be compromised with improper collection, and often evident during this phase of testing.
Relation between work of adhesion and work of fracture for simple interfaces

A study was conducted of the relation between work of adhesion and work of fracture for adhesive-substrate systems exhibiting fracture at the interface. Materials and test conditions were selected to eliminate contributions from irreversible, energy-consuming processes in the bulk of the adhesive or substrate. Values for W a were determined from contact angle measurements made at room temperature with the adhesive in the liquid state; values for F were determined from inverted blister tests conducted at temperatures low enough for the adhesive to be in the solid state. The independent variable, W a, ranged from about 40 mJ/m2 to 144 mJ/m2. The dependent variable, F, was found to range from 0.12 J/m2 to 20 J/m2, with most under 5 J/m2. The excess of F over W a was found to increase exponentially with W a, and was proof of the occurrence of irreversible processes in specimens as they were loaded and fractured. The exponential behavior of (F − W a) with W a suggested that the irreversible process was orientation hardening. The absence of detectable permanent deformation of any kind in the bulk substrates or at the fracture surfaces, plus the incapability of the adhesives to sustain significant irreversible processes, led to the conclusion that the orientation hardening must have taken place in the substrate, within a thin layer (and small volume) adjacent to the interfacial plane.
Comparison of Manual to Automatic Unloading During Relaxation Tests

Relaxation tests are commonly made using the two following procedures: first by using a special machine, load is removed automatically in many small steps as the strain tends to increase. In the second procedure, a creep machine is used, and the load is reduced manually whenever the strain reaches a certain limit. In this case, the number of stress steps down is relatively small. One of a pair of specimens was tested by each method for several materials and the relaxation curves compared. They were found to be in good agreement when the magnitude of the stress step down is chosen in a particular manner. The factors involved in this choice are discussed in detail. The incremental creep curves obtained at each stress level of the manual test are compared with the normal creep curves at constant load. The previously reported disagreement between the results of these two methods of relaxation testing are discussed, and an explanation is offered.
Update: The Purnell Theory and Model for Culturally Competent Health Care:

The Purnell model and theory were created in 1998 and received input for clarity and parsimonious assumptions from several faculty at the University of Delaware. Initially, they were used in education and clinical practice settings to develop them further and to determine their usefulness in those settings. Since that time, changes have been made with additional assumptions, variant characteristics of culture, and an extensive assessment guide that can be used by all health professionals.
Value function approximation for direct control of switched power converters

We consider the problem of controlling switched-mode power converters using model predictive control. Model predictive control requires solving optimization problems in real time, limiting its application to systems with small numbers of switches and a short horizon. We propose a technique for using off-line computation to approximate the model predictive controller. This is done by dividing the planning horizon into two segments, and using a quadratic function to approximate the optimal cost over the second segment. The approximate model predictive algorithm minimizes the true cost over the first segment, and the approximate cost over the second segment, allowing the user to adjust the computational requirements by changing the length of the first segment. We conclude with two simulated examples.
Galvanic corrosion in a eutectic high entropy alloy

Abstract Eutectic high entropy alloys, with lamellar arrangement of solid-solution phases, offer a unique combination of high strength and elongation to overcome the strength-ductility trade-off seen in conventional alloys. However, there is very limited understanding of the passivation mechanisms in these complex alloys. Here, localized corrosion behavior of AlCoCrFeNi2.1 eutectic high entropy alloy was evaluated in NaCl solution using scanning vibrating electrode technique (SVET). Overall, the AlCoCrFeNi2.1 alloy showed very similar corrosion current density to 304 stainless steel in NaCl solution. The microstructure of the eutectic alloy consisted of L12/B2 lamellar structure with L12 containing higher fraction of Cr, Co and Fe, while B2 had higher concentration of Al and Ni. For both un-polarized and polarized conditions, preferential dissolution of the B2 phase was found to be the predominant corrosion initiation mechanism. This was attributed to the higher content of Cr and Co in the L12 matrix. The B2 phase was anodic with respect to the L12 matrix in the localized micro-galvanic cells formed in the microstructure. Tactical partitioning of constituent elements maybe used as an effective design strategy for developing corrosion resistant eutectic alloys with excellent mechanical properties.
Impact of leptin deficiency compared with neuronal-specific leptin receptor deletion on cardiometabolic regulation

The main goal of this study was to compare the impact of total body leptin deficiency with neuronal-specific leptin receptor (LR) deletion on metabolic and cardiovascular regulation. Liver fat, dia...
Explaining Chronic Illness and Self-Rated Health Among Immigrants of Five Hispanic Ethnicities

The largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States, Hispanics, especially Hispanic immigrants, have been considered healthier than groups of other ethnicity (including Whites, the majority). However, chronic illnesses such as cancer and diabetes are often seen in this culturally, ethnically diverse group. The present study had two aims. First was to explain two health outcomes, which were presence of chronic illness (any of the five common conditions cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, cancer, and/or diabetes/prediabetes) and self-rated health, in terms of links to certain factors in acculturation, social status, health, social support, and lifestyle. Second was to determine how uniform these links might be across five ethnic groups: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central/South American. We combined data from 17 years of the National Health Interview Survey (1999–2015) and subjected these secondary measures to logistic and linear regression, separately by ethnicity, to explain both outcomes. With few exceptions, results generally linked illness/health to the tested independent variables. Additionally, results confirmed ethnicity to moderate the outcomes’ associations with the independent variables. Ethnicity-specific analysis showed the two outcomes to exhibit dissimilar relationships with certain independent variables across ethnic groups. Research that (as has been common) lumps together respondents whose Hispanic ethnicities may differ disregards some meaningful variation rather than accounting for it. In future research—and in subsequent evidence-based policy/practice development—all essential sociocultural factors, including ethnicity, should be carefully outlined, advancing good health for the entire Hispanic immigrant population.