cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Electrical Technique for the Measurement of the Peak Junction Temperature of Power Transistors

A technique is described which uses straightforward electrical measurement procedures to determine the peak junction temperature of power transistors. To determine the peak temperature, standard electrical measurement techniques are altered to account for the difference between the distributions of the calibration and measurement currents in the active area of the device. For relatively uniform temperature distributions, the electrically determined peak junction temperature is only about 6% or less below the infrared measured peak temperature whereas the standard electrically measured temperature is about 10 to 25% below the infrared measured peak temperature. For severely non-uniform temperature distributions, when only about 20% of the total active area of the device is dissipating power at steady state, the electrically determined peak temperature is within 11% of the infrared measured peak temperature while the standard electrically measured temperature is more than 40% below the infrared measured peak temperature. Device operating conditions for which the junction temperature as determined by standard electrical methods, infrared techniques, and the electrical peak temperature technique equals the manufacturer's specified maximum safe operating temperature are compared with one another and with the manufacturer's specified safe operating limits. It is suggested that the electrical peak temperature technique can be used to generate more realistic safe operating area limits and to determine the validity of specified safe operating limits of power transistors.
Using a Sample to Estimate Characteristics of One Population

In this section the theory developed in Part III is used to allow us to infer the characteristics of a population based on data from a sample. This is an essential part of statistical analysis because we often need to know about the parent population, but are not able to study every one of its members. For example, we might like to know what percentage of voters favor a particular political issue, but cannot survey all voters by phone; or we may need to know if a particular medication is effective, but cannot wait (or afford) to test it on every individual who contracts the disease before declaring it as effective or ineffective.
Rectal cancer in patients under the age of 50 years: the delayed diagnosis.

Abstract Background The incidence of rectal cancer in younger patients continues to increase. Because most of these patients do not meet criteria for routine colorectal cancer screening, diagnosis may be delayed, potentially resulting in adverse outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine whether patients under the age of 50 years with rectal cancer have a delay in diagnosis and treatment leading to a worse overall prognosis. Methods A case control study of patients diagnosed with rectal adenocarcinoma in an academic medical center from 1997 to 2007 under 50 years of age were matched 1:1 to randomly selected patients over the age of 50 years by sex and date of diagnosis. Time to diagnosis, time to treatment, staging of the American Joint Committee on Cancer, and 5-year overall survival were compared. Results The overall time to treatment from symptom onset was 217 days for patients under the age of 50 years versus 29.5 days if over 50 years of age ( P P = .39 and P = .54, respectively). Conclusions Patients with rectal cancer under the age of 50 years have symptoms for a considerable period of time before seeking medical care and are referred in less timely manner to specialists. However, the delay in diagnosis did not adversely impact stage on presentation or 5-year survival.
Single-pulse laser beam quality measurements using a CCD camera system.

We have assembled a CCD camera-based system that is capable of measuring laser beam quality on a single-shot pulsed basis. The system has been tested by using a He–Ne laser beam with added spatial distortion.
Heritable site-specific mutagenesis using TALENs in maize

Transcription activator-like effector nuclease (TALEN) technology has been utilized widely for targeted gene mutagenesis, especially for gene inactivation, in many organisms, including agriculturally important plants such as rice, wheat, tomato and barley. This report describes application of this technology to generate heritable genome modifications in maize. TALENs were employed to generate stable, heritable mutations at the maize glossy2 (gl2) locus. Transgenic lines containing mono- or di-allelic mutations were obtained from the maize genotype Hi-II at a frequency of about 10% (nine mutated events in 91 transgenic events). In addition, three of the novel alleles were tested for function in progeny seedlings, where they were able to confer the glossy phenotype. In a majority of the events, the integrated TALEN T-DNA segregated independently from the new loss of function alleles, producing mutated null-segregant progeny in T1 generation. Our results demonstrate that TALENs are an effective tool for genome mutagenesis in maize, empowering the discovery of gene function and the development of trait improvement.
Goal Setting Education and Counseling Practices of Diabetes Educators

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to identify goal setting education practices used by diabetes educators working with type 2 diabetes patients.MethodsData were collected by a mail questionnaire with 179 diabetes educators purposively selected from the 2008 American Association of Diabetes Educators membership listing.ResultsMany diabetes educators (52%) reported that more than 75% of their patients set goals for diabetes control. Independent factor patterns for the frequency of information collected from the patient for the first diabetes education session showed that educators either focused on patients’ self-management practices (exercise and dietary practices, knowledge, and social impacts of diabetes) or issues with learning about self-management, such as understanding the patient’s learning style and motivation for managing diabetes. Factor patterns overall showed diverse approaches to working with patients, including strategies used with patients struggling with dietary goals and the importance ...
Collaborative learning and other successful strategies for on-line homework

Central Michigan University has utilized the Internet and the Computer-Assisted Personalized Approach (CAPA) for homework in physics classes. Student activity on CAPA is automatically recorded and logged into the system's files. These log files have been examined to determine when students worked on their assignments. Additional information about the students and their habits were obtained through surveys and institutional data. An analysis of this data indicates that collaborative learning flourishes in an asynchronous environment, and significant relationships exist between study behavior and achievement.
Forward image computation with backtracing ATPG and incremental state-set construction

Image computation is a fundamental step in formal verification of sequential systems, including sequential equivalence checking and symbolic model checking. Since conventional Reduced Ordered Binary Decision Diagram (ROBDD) based methods can potentially suffer from memory explosion, there has been a growing interest in using Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) / Boolean Satisfiability (SAT) based techniques in recent years. While ATPG has been successful for computing pre-image, image computation presents a very different set of problems. In this paper, we present a novel backtracing-based ATPG technique for forward image computation. We carefully alter the ATPG engine to compute the image cubes and store them incrementally in a Zero-Suppressed Binary Decision Diagram (ZBDD). In order to improve the efficiency of image computation, we propose three heuristics: (i) gate-observability based decision selection heuristics to accelerate ATPG, (ii) search-state based learning techniques supported with a proof for correctness, and (iii) on-the-fly state-set minimization techniques to reduce the size of computed image set. Experimental results on ISCAS '89 and ITC '99 benchmark circuits show that we can achieve orders of magnitude improvement over OBDD-based and SAT-based techniques.
Pill popping problems: The non-medical use of stimulant medications in an undergraduate sample

Aims: The non-medical use of prescription stimulants (NMUPS) is an emergent health behaviour among undergraduate college students. This study examined the prevalence, primary motivations and risk factors associated with lifetime and current NMUPS among undergraduates.Methods: An anonymous survey examining the NMUPS behaviour was administered in-class to a sample of 1020 of traditional undergraduate university students.Findings: Findings indicated that 35% of students used a prescription stimulant at least once non-medically during their lifetime and 12% had done so in the previous 30 days. Results also indicated that the majority of current and lifetime non-medical users were motivated to engage in the behaviour to improve or enhance academic performance. Further, multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that students who engaged in current or lifetime NMUPS were more likely to be non-freshmen, affiliated with a Greek organization and diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD...
Age of depressed patient does not affect clinical outcome in collaborative care management.

AbstractClinical response and remission for the treatment of depression has been shown to be improved utilizing collaborative care management (CCM). Prior studies have indicated that the presence of mental health comorbidities noted by self-rated screening tools at the intake for CCM are associated with worsening outcomes; few have examined directly the impact of age on clinical response and remission. The hypothesis was that when controlling for other mental health and demographic variables, the age of the patient at implementation of CCM does not significantly impact clinical outcome, and that CCM shows consistent efficacy across the adult age spectrum. We performed a retrospective chart analysis of a cohort of 574 patients with a clinical diagnosis of major depression (not dysthymia) treated in CCM who had 6 months of follow-up data. Using the age group as a categorical variable in logistic regression models demonstrated that while maintaining control of all other variables, age grouping remained a non...
Induction of antioxidant and detoxification response by oxidants in cardiomyocytes: Evidence from gene expression profiling and activation of Nrf2 transcription factor

Mild or low doses of oxidants are known to prime cells towards resistance against further damage. In cardiomyocytes, we found that pretreatment with 100 microM H(2)O(2) prevents the cells from apoptosis induced by doxorubicin (Dox). Affymetrix microarray analyses of 28,000 genes reveal that H(2)O(2) treated cells reduced expression of genes encoding cytochrome c, mitochondrial complex I, III, IV and V and several contractile proteins. Elevated expression of antioxidant and detoxification genes appears as a dominant feature of the gene expression profile of H(2)O(2) treated cells. Most of the genes in this category contain an Antioxidant Response Element (ARE) in their promoters. Measurements of ARE promoter-reporter gene activity indicate a dose- and time-dependent activation of the ARE by H(2)O(2). Since the Nrf2 transcription factor regulates ARE-mediated gene expression, we overexpressed Nrf2 to test whether activation of Nrf2 is sufficient to induce cytoprotection. High levels of Nrf2 expression were achieved via adenovirus mediated gene delivery. Transduced Nrf2 was present in the nuclei and caused an increase in the expression of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), a representative downstream target of Nrf2. Unlike H(2)O(2) pretreated cells, the cells expressing high levels of Nrf2 were not resistant to Dox-induced apoptosis. Therefore, the cytoprotective effect of H(2)O(2) pretreatment is not reliant upon Nrf2 activation alone as measured by resistance against Dox-induced apoptosis.
The overlap slope and multilink interactions in multiperipherallike impact parameter amplitudes

We investigate the overlap function that results from a general multiperipherallike impact parameter structure for multiparticle production. In particular, we generalize the random-walk model in impact parameter to include interactions that extend over more than one link in the multiperipheral chain. It is found that reasonable values for both the magnitude and the shrinkage of the elastic slope can be easily obtained, due to collective effects in impact parameter space.
New Topics in Photobiology

The highlighting of new topics in photobiology, or of new advances in older subspecialties of photobiology, is meant to call to the attention of the reader those areas of photobiology which, in this author’s view, offer unusual opportunities for exciting research in the coming years. Additional examples are also given in the Conclusion sections of the preceding chapters.
Hospital disaster operations during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

OBJECTIVE: To study hospital disaster operations following a major United States disaster. DESIGN: Researchers interviewed all 51 hospital administrators and 49 of 51 emergency department (ED) charge nurses and emergency physicians who were on duty at the study hospitals during the 13-hour period immediately following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. SETTING: The 51 acute-care hospitals in the six northern California counties most affected by the Loma Prieta earthquake. MEASUREMENTS: Questionnaires and in-person interviews. RESULTS: The most frequently noted problem was lack of communications within and among organizations. Hospitals received inadequate information about the disaster from local governmental agencies. Forty-three percent of hospitals had inadequate back-up power configurations, and five hospitals sustained total back-up generator failures. Twenty hospitals performed partial evacuations. CONCLUSIONS: The Loma Prieta earthquake did not cause total disruption of hospital services. Hospitals need to work with local governmental agencies and internal hospital departments to improve disaster communications. Language: en
Women's load carriage performance using modular lightweight load-carrying equipment.

ABSTRACT The purposes of this study were to evaluate how Modular Lightweight Load-Carrying Equipment (MOLLE) fits women while walking on level surfaces with different loads, to examine women's load carriage performance before and after a simulated march using five load levels, and to examine the relationship between shoulder and leg muscle strength and load carriage performance of women while carrying loads using MOLLE. Seven physically active women carried five levels of load (no load, 20, 30, 40, and 50 pounds) using MOLLE. With increased loads, women showed increased double-limb support time, decreased single-limb support time, increased trunk forward inclination excursion, decreased knee excursion, decreased medial-lateral excursion of center of gravity (COG), and increased vertical excursion of COG. Hip abductor strength was a strong predictor of COG vertical excursion. Some women required modification of the padded hip belt to ensure weight distributed evenly around the pelvis.
Does soccer explain the world or does the world explain soccer? Soccer and globalization

Does soccer explain the world? Or does the world explain soccer? Is soccer a cause of global integration? Or does it result from global integration? These questions animate much recent writing on the beautiful game. Analysing this writing from the perspectives of the globalization of politics, economics and culture, this essay concludes that the game follows globalization trends more than it causes them in the realms of politics and economics. However, it shapes the cultural realm significantly by forming a hybrid, cosmopolitan ‘glocal’ culture. Soccer may not bring world peace or move global markets, but it does bring cultures together under the ‘sign of play’. It is a triumph of the global imaginary, if not yet a driving force in global politics or economics.
Robot-Assisted 3D Mapping of Search and Rescue Environments

In this paper a unique landmark identification method is proposed for identifying large distinguishable landmarks for 3D Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) in unknown cluttered urban search and rescue (USAR) environments. The novelty of the method is the utilization of both 3D (i.e., depth images) and 2D images. By utilizing a Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) -based approach and incorporating 3D depth imagery, we can achieve more reliable and robust recognition and matching of landmarks from multiple images for 3D mapping of the environment. Preliminary experiments utilizing the proposed methodology verify: (i) its ability to identify clusters of SIFT keypoints in both 3D and 2D images for representation of potential landmarks in the scene, and (ii) the use of the identified landmarks in constructing a 3D map of unknown cluttered USAR environments.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Research in Applications of Nanotechnology to Solid Propellants in the Twenty-first Century

Application and research conditions of nanometer catalysts and nanome te r metals are introduced in improving the properties of solid propellants.The cu rrent preparation problem of nanometer materials is also summarized.Finally the promising prospects are proposed for application of nanometer materials to soli d propellants.
Analysis of coronavirus transcription regulation

Insertion of an intergenic region from murine coronavirus mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) into an MHV defective interfering (DI) RNA led to transcription of subgenomic DI RNA in helper virus-infected cells. Using this system we studied how two intergenic regions positioned in close proximity affected subgenomic RNA synthesis. When two intergenic regions were separated by more than 100 nt, slightly less of the larger subgenomic DI RNA (synthesized from the upstream intergenic region) was made; this difference was significant when the intergenic region separation was less than about 35 nucleotides. Deletion of sequences flanking the two intergenic regions inserted in close proximity did not affect transcription. No significant change in the ratio of the two subgenomic DI RNAs was observed when the sequence between the two intergenic regions was altered. Removal of the downstream intergenic region restored transcription of the larger subgenomic DI RNA. These results demonstrated the downstream intergenic sequence was suppressing subgenomic DI RNA synthesis from the upstream intergenic region.
Bone resorptive activity of side-chain fluoro derivatives of 25-hydroxy- and 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in culture

Three side-chain fluorinated analogues of vitamin D3 were tested for their bone-resorbing activity on fetal rat forelimb bones in vitro. Two fluoro derivatives of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25-OH-D3), 24,24-difluoro-25-hydroxyvitamin D3 and 25-hydroxy-26,26,26,27,27,27-hexafluorovitamin D3, were compared with 25-OH-D3. The difluoro compound was approximately 7 times more potent than 25-OH-D3, and the hexafluoro analogue was approximately 40 times more potent than 25-OH-D3 in this system. In contrast, the 24,24-difluoro analogue of lα,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (lα,25-(OH)2D3) was slightly less potent than lα,25-(OH)2D3. The results indicate that the presence of fluoride groups on carbon atoms immediately adjacent to the 25-hydroxyl group enhances the in vitro bone-resorbing effects of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3. On the other hand, fluorination of the lα-hydroxylated compound on position 24 actually diminished rather than increased bone-resorptive activity.
Chiral discrimination by vibrational spectroscopy utilizing local modes.

Chiral discrimination of homochiral and heterochiral H-bonded complexes is a challenge for both experimentalists and computational chemists. It is demonstrated that a two-pronged approach based on far-infrared vibrational spectroscopy and the calculation of local mode frequencies facilitates the chiral discrimination of H-bonded dimers. The local H-bond stretching frequencies identify the strongest H-bonds and by this the dominating chiral diastereomer. This is shown in the case of peroxide, trioxide, hydrazine, glycidol, and butan-2-ol dimers as well as propylene oxide…glycidol complexes investigated with the help of second-order Moller–Plesset perturbation, coupled cluster, and density functional theory calculations where, in the latter case, the ωB97X-D functional was used for an improved description of H-bonding. In some cases, additional intermolecular interactions overrule the important role of H-bonding, which is found by calculating chirodiastaltic energies. Chirality 25:185–196, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral Nerve Injection Techniques

OBJECTIVE. Peripheral nerves are well seen using ultrasound (US) imaging, making US an ideal modality for image-guided nerve injections. This article provides a technical guide for common upper and lower extremity peripheral nerve injections, including the median, ulnar, and radial nerves in the upper extremity and the lateral femoral cutaneous, sciatic, common peroneal, tibial, and sural nerves in the lower extremity. CONCLUSION. US is an effective modality for use in common upper and lower extremity peripheral nerve injections. With correct technique, peripheral nerve injections can be performed safely and are useful for both diagnostic evaluation of and therapy for peripheral neuropathy.
Space Invaders: border crossing in Dan Halter’s Heartland

AbstractUsing springstone sculpture and woven paper photographs, the Zimbabwean-born artist Daniel Halter draws from African craft traditions to expose the precariousness of migrant experiences in South Africa. Halter, who lives in Cape Town, exposes the ironic tensions between hostility towards migrants and metaphors of inclusiveness in the post-apartheid nation. This essay reads metaphors of belonging, border crossing, and nationalism evoked by Halter’s materials and modes of production. Building from Ranjana Khanna’s work on demetaphorization – an undoing of discourses of community – and Edward Casey and Mary Watkin’s analysis of the border as always already undone by its lived functions, the essay argues Halter addresses the immigrant’s position uncovering the borderland as both a porous zone and a metaphor of exclusion. By weaving, Halter addresses this condition through an interdependency that, following Derrida’s work on hospitality, offers a framework to reconsider discourses of citizenship and na...
Defining religion in American law : Psychic Sophie and the rise of the Nones

The most important recent development in American religion is the dramatic increase in the number of people who claim no religious affiliation - the rise of the Nones. In this Working Paper, I discuss the social factors that explain the rise of the Nones - demography, politics, family, technology, a distrust of institutions generally - and explain what this development might mean for the definition of religion in American law. I focus on a recent federal appeals court case involving a self-styled spiritual adviser, “Psychic Sophie,” who claimed that following her “inner flow” constituted a religion meriting constitutional and statutory protection. I argue that the case is a close one. Protecting Nones as a religion would promote the important goals of state religious neutrality and personal autonomy. On the other hand, religion has always been understood in terms of community. Indeed, as Tocqueville saw, it is precisely religion’s communal aspect that makes it so important to liberal democracy. Granting Nones the status of a religion would fail to capture this important social benefit.
Word-internal “ambisyllabic” consonants are not multiply-linked in American English

Abstract There is an extensive literature on the syllabic affiliations of specific consonants that are typically referred to as ambisyllabic consonants. The standard view of such consonants is that they are multiply-linked to both the preceding and the following syllables (Gussenhoven, 1986; Hayes, 2009; Kahn, 1976, inter alia). In this article, we present the results of a production experiment probing the anticipatory nasalization patterns of nasal consonants with different syllabic affiliations in American English; we also present phonological data about obstruent devoicing patterns from Pennsylvania Dutchified English (PDE). Both lines of evidence suggest that when crucial confounds present in previous studies are removed, word-medial ambisyllabic consonants clearly pattern with word-medial codas and there is no evidence of any “intermediate” behavior. Furthermore, this is true of such consonants following both tense and lax vowels in our results.
A Hadith Condemned at Paris: Reactions to the Power of Impression in the Latin Translation of al-Ghazālī’s Maqāṣid al-falāsifa

Of the more than two-hundred articles of the Parisian Condemnation of 1277, one contains an arresting reference to a camel that is killed by a magician by means of sight alone through the power of the Evil Eye. While it is difficult to identify the sources of many doctrines in the edict with certainty, this article can be matched positively to a discussion of the soul’s power of impression in the Latin translation of al-Ghazali’s Maqāṣid al-falāsifa. The concept of impression was condemned on account of its association with the Agent Intellect and the theory of emanation, but many philosophers preserved the illustrative example of the camel even when refuting the attendant argument. Unbeknownst to the Latin world, however, this statement about a camel does not originate with al-Ghazali, but with the Prophet Muhammad. This study traces the origin of the article in the Condemnation of 1277 back through Arabic and Persian worlds and examines its reception in the Latin intellectual tradition from the twelfth to the fifteenth century. It also demonstrates that, despite condemnation’s influence and notoriety, its interpretation of this passage in al-Ghazali was not the dominant one in the Latin intellectual tradition. The majority of scholars instead interpreted this passage as al-Ghazali originally intended as an expression of speculative metaphysics, not magic.
Evaluating Nutritional Competencies and Needs in the Postsecondary Culinary Curriculum: A Delphi Study

The growing consumer demand for commercial foods, in addition to complications arising from obesity related health conditions, has sparked national campaigns, research projects, and monetary initiatives to overcome these health concerns. Research studies show that culinary and hospitality graduates are not knowledgeable in the area of nutrition. This study investigated the need to enhance current nutritional curriculum competencies taught in postsecondary culinary programs and to determine barriers to teaching nutritional concepts. Utilizing a Delphi technique and industry experts, results showed that experts agree that consumers are seeking healthier options while dining out. Experts agree that the foodservice industry as well as culinary/hospitality educators should have a proactive role in fighting the rising cost of obesity and health-related problems facing society. This is a critical time for educators to fill this role in the foodservice industry and society in the fight against obesity and related health problems.
Abstract 14525: Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Elastography as a Quantitative Non-Invasive Metric for Myocardial Stiffness: Initial Pilot Study in Patients With Cardiac Amyloidosis

Introduction: The biomechanical properties of myocardial tissue play an important role in cardiac function. Specifically in cardiac amyloidosis there is evidence that abnormal protein fibrils build...
Failure as an active agent in the development of creative and inventive mindsets

Abstract This study explores the ways in which high school student inventors define the terms failure and learning from failure as well as what they learn about creative failure while inventing that may be applicable to other contexts. A 14-year-old grants program for high school inventors served as the site of study. Findings from this study make visible participants’ emic understandings of creative failure. Discourse analysis revealed students’ preference for use of high points and low points to characterize creative failure as a part of a larger process of inventing instead of the notion of failure as an end point. This finding demonstrated student take-up of one of several ways of thinking as an inventor. It also added the transdisciplinary work of invention to previous studies in other disciplines such as mathematics in which creative failure was used by educators and taken up by students as a productive part of learning. This study goes a step further by uncovering ways two inventors selected as telling cases (Mitchell, 1984) describe their understandings of how what was learned from failure may transfer to other experiences. The epistemological and ontological frames guiding this study, and the interactional ethnographic methods used to analyze interview data, offer an approach to assess ways of thinking among individual students as well as the collective group of participants. Findings frame the change(s) in thinking about creative failure in words used by students to describe their understandings, as they reflect on their personal experiences to invent solutions to real-world problems.
Algorithm for treatment of advanced heart failure

Heart failure is a growing epidemic worldwide that confers a substantial medical and economic burden on our society. With the aging population and the improved treatment strategies made available over the last several decades including neurohormonal blockade, cardiac resynchronization, and multidisciplinary psychosocial interventions, the prevalence of advanced heart failure is increasing as patients with heart failure are living longer with parallel progression of their disease state. Judicious risk stratification and cautious patient selection are paramount in guiding appropriate therapies. It is imperative to understand the underlying pathophysiology, decision-making strategies, pharmacologic therapies, and comprehensive options in managing advanced heart failure. For patients who exhaust the widely available medical and surgical therapies, then additional algorithms and multidisciplinary decision teams must be in place for consideration of cardiac transplant or mechanical circulatory support device in this subcohort of advanced, end-stage heart failure.
Shakespearean spatial rules

Many games and simulations utilize modularized low-level code to move characters about in an environment. This requires extensive technical skill to translate basic high-level actions, as well as extensive time to write code, which includes very detailed instructions on what and when actions will occur across all agents. Other options exist such as mocap files; however, most are not highly dynamic, concerned with spatial positioning, or require human intervention to solve the problem.This paper presents an approach that utilizes play-scripts and natural language processing, along with some spatial reasoning rules to control characters in a virtual environment. Rules around grouping of characters, conversational space, theatre, and general behaviors are key in fully interpreting a play-script into movements on stage. These rules help us to achieve similar blocking for the Shakespearian play Hamlet, performed by virtual characters, as the director Sir Gielgud produced for his 1964 production of Hamlet.
Functionalized carbon nanotube adsorption interfaces for electron transfer studies of galactose oxidase.

Modified electrodes featuring specific adsorption platforms able to access the electrochemistry of the copper containing enzyme galactose oxidase (GaOx) were explored, including interfaces featuring nanomaterials such as nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Electrodes modified with various self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) including those with attached nanoparticles or amide-coupled functionalized CNTs were examined for their ability to effectively immobilize GaOx and study the redox activity related to its copper core. While stable GaOx electrochemistry has been notoriously difficult to achieve at modified electrodes, strategically designed functionalized CNT-based interfaces, cysteamine SAM-modified electrode subsequently amide-coupled to carboxylic acid functionalized single wall CNTs, were significantly more effective with high GaOx surface adsorption along with well-defined, more reversible, stable (≥ 8 days) voltammetry and an average ET rate constant of 0.74 s-1 in spite of increased ET distance - a result attributed to effective electronic coupling at the GaOx active site. Both amperometric and fluorescence assay results suggest embedded GaOx remains active. Fundamental ET properties of GaOx may be relevant to biosensor development targeting galactosemia while the use functionalized CNT platforms for adsorption/electrochemistry of electroactive enzymes/proteins may present an approach for fundamental protein electrochemistry and their future use in both direct and indirect biosensor schemes.
Teachers as co-authors of student writing: How teachers’ initiating texts influence response and revision in an online space

Abstract Several recent studies examine social aspects of online peer review writing environments, but little of this work focuses on how resulting social interactions affect student writing over time. Seeking to trace explicit and covert dialogic influences across middle school writers’ work, we analyze classroom texts created online to show how teachers’ initiating texts and peer reviews become critical pieces of students’ classroom writing and response. Our analysis first grouped the texts by phase (i.e. teacher’s initiating texts, first drafts, peer review feedback, revised drafts) to capture overall characteristics of these writing processes and products, then looked at each student’s writing across time to understand how multiple artifacts and writing cycles informed the work. This analytical approach foregrounds the dialogic nature of online writing and shows how a class responds to assignments. The empirical micro-analysis complicates classroom writing and revision research by showcasing how teachers and peers become un-credited “co-authors” of students’ texts. Beyond theorizing that students take up such influences in their work, as existing work has done, we trace how these texts influence students’ writing and peer review, examining the roles of teachers and peers in writing processes and products.
Leadership Preparation for Special Education and Inclusive Schools: Beliefs and Recommendations From Successful Principals:

This qualitative study examines the preservice learning experiences of principals who created inclusive schools for students with disabilities. Two research questions guided the study: (1) How do s...
Kurdish Matters: Signaling New Epistemologies of Difference

Kurdistan and Kurdish diasporas are often conceptualized in singular, essentialized, and monolithic terms. Instead of working through essentializing terms, this article intervenes to insert difference within the category of Kurdish diasporas. By engaging with Lisa Lowe's (1996) conceptualization of "heterogeneity, hybridity, and multiplicity," the article looks at the ways through which Kurdish diasporas differ both in relation to other diasporas and within itself. Instead of foregrounding the dominant and growing literature on Kurdish diasporas in Europe, this article introduces new destination sites for Kurdish diasporas that force us to engage with new epistemologies of difference operating within diasporic communities. In the process, this article challenges the ideas of Kurdish diasporas as a coherent, knoweable object of study and stressed the need to engage with the fluidity of Kurdish diasporas. Finally, this article introduces the articles for this special issue on Kurdish diasporas.
Pruning affects carbohydrate accumulation in the shoots and leaves of ‘Precoce de Tyrinthe’ apricot

SummaryThis study was conducted in Mut-Mersin, Turkey, to determine the effects of various times of pruning (no pruning = control; only summer (July, August, or September) pruning in 1994 and 1995; only winter pruning in 1995 and 1996; both summer + winter pruning in 1994-1995 and 1995-1996) on the carbohydrate contents of annual shoots and leaves of young ‘Precoce de Tyrinthe’ apricot trees. Although carbohydrate content in annual shoots was highest in the control trees during the first year, the summer + winter pruning gave the highest values in the second year. In 1995 total sugar and sucrose contents of the leaves was greatest following winter pruning, but starch content was higher in the leaves of control trees. The content of reducing sugars was greatest in leaves of trees pruned in both September + winter. In 1996, levels of total sugars and starch were highest following September pruning, starch content was highest in the control, and; reducing sugars in the leaves were highest following August + ...
The effects of betalain-rich concentrate supplementation in attenuating muscle damage following eccentric exercise

Betalains are bioactive pigments that have been shown to reduce muscle damage and enhance recovery from exercise. However, to date, studies have examined the effects of betalains on aerobic exercise alone, and thus, their possible benefits for muscle damage recovery following eccentric exercise is unknown. We, therefore, aimed to examine the effects of a betalain-rich concentrate (BRC) on indices of muscle damage following eccentric exercise. Eleven healthy, recreationally active males were randomly assigned into a treatment group (50 mg of BRC, containing 12.5 mg of betalains, 3 times per day for 3 days) or a control group and performed 30 maximal eccentric contractions of the elbow flexors. Maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), arm circumference (AC), muscle soreness (MS), and range of motion (ROM) were measured before, immediately after, and 24, 48, and 72 hr following eccentric exercise. Creatine kinase (CK) was measured before, 24, 48, and 72 hr following the eccentric exercise. No significant differences or interactions were observed for any of the variables (p = > .05); however, a non-significant trend with a large effect size (p = .07, ηp2 = 0.28) was found for the main effect for MVC. Although we failed to identify any statistically significant differences in any of the variables measured, the large effect size observed for MVC may have practical benefits in the enhancement of skeletal muscle recovery following eccentric exercise.
Machine Learning for Phone-Based Relationship Estimation: The Need to Consider Population Heterogeneity

Estimating the category and quality of interpersonal relationships from ubiquitous phone sensor data matters for studying mental well-being and social support. Prior work focused on using communication volume to estimate broad relationship categories, often with small samples. Here we contextualize communications by combining phone logs with demographic and location data to predict interpersonal relationship roles on a varied sample population using automated machine learning methods, producing better performance (F1 = 0.68) than using communication features alone (F1 = 0.62). We also explore the effect of age variation in the underlying training sample on interpersonal relationship prediction and find that models trained on younger subgroups, which is popular in the field via student participation and recruitment, generalize poorly to the wider population. Our results not only illustrate the value of using data across demographics, communication patterns and semantic locations for relationship prediction, but also underscore the importance of considering population heterogeneity in phone-based personal sensing studies.
Abstract P536: Healthy for Life: A Health Promotion Model Improving Confidence and Dietary Behaviors

Introduction: Poor diet is the leading risk factor for death globally. Community-based programs can have a positive impact on promoting healthy dietary attitudes and behaviors. The American Heart A...
Patchwork capital and postsecondary success: Latinx students from high school to college

In scholarly conversations of college readiness, the academic performance of Latinx students largely hinges on questions of culture. College success necessitates fluency in dominant cultural capita...
The Gender of Multiculturalism: Cultural Tokenism and the Institutional Isolation of Immigrant Women Faculty:

Much research on tokenism has focused on the organizational processes by which white women and racial minorities experience heightened surveillance at work and become occupationally immobile. Littl...
Survival and Surgical Approach among Women with Advanced Ovarian Cancer Treated with Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of surgical approach on overall survival (OS) for women with advanced, epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and determine the sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with surgical approach. DESIGN The primary exposure was surgical approach to interval cytoreduction, minimally invasive versus open, and was evaluated by intention to treat. Primary outcome was OS. Associations were examined using Chi-squared tests, Wilcoxon rank sum tests, and multivariate logistic regression. Survival analysis was performed with Kaplan-Meier methods and Cox proportional hazards. SETTING The National Cander Database was used to identify eligible patients. PATIENTS Women diagnosed with stage IIIC/IV EOC from 2010-2016. INTERVENTIONS Patients were included if they were treated with NACT within 90 days of diagnosis before interval cytoreductive surgery (CRS). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS A total of 8085 women were identified; 6713 (83%) underwent open interval CRS, and 1372 (17%) underwent minimally invasive interval CRS. The proportion undergoing minimally invasive CRS after NACT increased from 2% in 2010 to 11% in 2016, a nearly 6-fold increase. There was no difference in OS between women who underwent minimally invasive and open interval CRS (median OS 36.5 vs 35.2 months, HR 0.94, 95% CI, 0.86-1.04). After adjusting for demographic and clinical variables, including age, race, ethnicity, income, and Charlson/Deyo score, no difference in OS was observed (HR 0.95, 95% CI, 0.86-1.04). Women of older age (OR 1.35, 95% CI, 1.05-1.74) and Hispanic ethnicity (OR 1.46, 95% CI, 1.14-1.88) had increased odds of receiving minimally invasive CRS after NACT, whereas low income (<$38000/year) women had decreased odds (OR 0.76, 95% CI, 0.60-0.97, p = .03). Length of stay differed for patients undergoing minimally invasive versus open interval CRS (3 vs 5 days, p <.01), but there was no difference in need for postoperative readmission. CONCLUSIONS Minimally invasive CRS has similar survival outcomes to open CRS among women with EOC who have undergone NACT.
“In an African context”: Eustace Palmer’s critical studies of African women’s writing

Eustace Palmer’s volumes of criticism on African literature have provided a continually updated introduction to major African novelists and perceptive analyses of their works. In Of War and Women, ...
A Qualitative Study of the Barriers and Benefits to Resident Education in Ambulatory Surgical Centers.

OBJECTIVE As Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) become more common in academic medical centers, large hospital systems must determine how to shift resident education from inpatient to outpatient surgical centers. This study aims to define stakeholders’ views regarding the integration of surgical residents into ASCs. DESIGN Long-form interviews lasting 30 to 60 minutes were conducted. Interviews were hand-transcribed and analyzed by qualitative analysis to determine benefits of learning in ASCs for residents, challenges that arise from integrating residents, and recommendations to improve resident incorporation. SETTING Interviews were conducted using a video conferencing platform. PARTICIPANTS Residency program directors, attending surgeons, graduate medical learners, and a nursing manager were interviewed. Twenty-one total interviews were conducted, representing ten different departments. RESULTS Stakeholders agreed that residents benefit from being placed in ASCs because the fast, surgical pace allows the residents to engage in more cases. However, different stakeholders highlighted different challenges, all centered around the notion of inter-stakeholder conflict due to conflicting priorities among residents, attending physicians, and administration. Likewise, recommendations differed by stakeholder group–faculty members sought more defined learning objectives and enhanced communication, whereas residents desired that ambulatory surgical time be more structured. CONCLUSIONS Despite the pressures of rapid case turnover, stakeholders agreed that there are many benefits to resident education in ASCs. Findings related to challenges and recommendations support the need to strengthen communication between stakeholder groups and better plan for resident integration into ASCs.
Flavoured tobacco product restrictions in Massachusetts associated with reductions in adolescent cigarette and e-cigarette use

Background In the USA, many states do not pre-empt municipalities from enacting stricter tobacco-control policies than state or federal laws. Several municipalities in Massachusetts have passed progressive local laws aimed at reducing adolescent tobacco use. We exploited this variability to examine the associations between county-level flavoured tobacco product restrictions, tobacco 21 policies and smoke-free laws prohibiting e-cigarettes with adolescent cigarette and e-cigarette use in Massachusetts, and to assess whether policy effects varied by age. Methods We conducted difference-in-differences models to link changes in county-level tobacco-control policies to changes in adolescents’ use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes using 2011–2017 biennial Massachusetts Youth Health Surveys. Results Counties with greater implementation of flavoured tobacco product restrictions were associated with a decrease in the level of cigarette use among users (incidence rate ratio −1.56; 95% CI −2.54 to −0.58). A significant interaction (p=0.03) revealed the largest reductions among 14 and 18 year olds. Increasing flavoured tobacco product restrictions were also associated with reductions in the likelihood of e-cigarette use (OR −0.87; 95% CI −1.68 to −0.06). Increasing tobacco 21 restrictions were associated with decreases in cigarette use only among 18 year olds, while there was no evidence of associations between smoke-free laws with use of either tobacco product. Conclusions Adolescents in Massachusetts decreased their use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes in response to local restrictions that limited the sale of flavoured tobacco products to adult-only retail tobacco stores. Local legislation can reduce adolescent tobacco use and municipalities should enact stricter tobacco-control policies when not pre-empted by state law.
Sentencing & Corrections Law Commentary: Regulating Pregnancy

Research suggests that approximately 4-5 percent of women admitted to jail or prison are pregnant. Although these numbers are relatively small, given the complexity of pregnant women’s involvement in the criminal legal system, this commentary examines how current sentencing and corrections law treats pregnant women, and identifies gaps in the research. First, it looks at the impact of pregnancy on sentencing. Next, it reviews current law on childbirth, specifically focusing on the use of shackling during labor and delivery. Finally, it turns to what happens once a child is born, and briefly examines the issue of in-custody nursery programs.