cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Participating Elements in the Replication of Iteron-Containing Plasmids

The presence of Rep-binding iterons is a hallmark, not only of many prokaryotic plasmid orfs but of chromosomal, viral (phage), and eukaryotic ori’s(5, 75, 92) as well. This chapter focuses primarily on the prokaryotic plasmid members of the Rep/iteron family, which is referred to as iteron-containing plasmids (ICPs). Several extensive reviews on a variety of aspects of plasmid biology have been written, and this review serves as an extension of the earlier works. Sequence conservation in the adjacent major and minor grooves has been demonstrated for iterons from prokaryotic and eukaryotic ori’s. It is likely, then, that a diverse set of Rep proteins can utilize the intrinsic instability of specific base pairs within iterons to bind DNA and facilitate its melting. The chapter discusses what appeared to be a rather well-understood system, λdv. It exemplifies the autorepressor model originally developed to explain the control of Escherichia coli chromosomal replication, and discusses some of the additional DNA sequences and host proteins that likely contribute to the regulation of ICPs. The chapter discusses molecular mechanism of ori activation, and focuses on Rep/iteron-mediated replication of minimal ICPs in E. coli. The contributions of plasmids to the development of modern molecular biology were astutely articulated a decade ago. Currently, the need for ongoing and vigorous support of basic and applied research on plasmids continues, with an imperative to solve practical issues of fundamental societal importance. A prime example is the emergence and alarming spread of bacterial resistance to multiple antibiotics.
Forgiveness in the Context of the Armenian Experience

Can Armenians forgive the Turks for the 1915 genocide? While Armenians have endured many forms of oppression and calamities throughout their history, as victims of the first genocide of the 20th century they have been in the unfortunate position of forming a collective identity with this national tragedy as a backdrop. The wounds have yet to heal as the perpetrators continue to deny that they engaged in genocide.
Risk for Opioid Misuse Among Emergency Department Cancer Patients.

OBJECTIVES: One of the most challenging areas of emergency medicine practice is the management and treatment of severe and persistent pain, including cancer-related pain. Emergency departments (EDs) in the United States frequently provide care for patients with cancer and an increasing concern is the potential for opioid misuse in this patient group. The authors determined the risk for opioid misuse among ED cancer patients with pain and assessed demographic and clinical factors associated with increased misuse risk. The Texas state prescription monitoring program was also queried for evidence of multiple opioid prescriptions for comparing low- and high-risk groups. METHODS: The Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain-Revised (SOAPP-R) was administered to assess risk for opioid misuse among cancer patients presenting to the ED of a comprehensive cancer center in the United States. Eligibility criteria included: 1) presentation for treatment of chronic cancer-related pain while taking a prescribed schedule II opioid for analgesia, 2) age of 18 years or older, 3) ability to speak English, and 4) ability to understand the study and give written informed consent. RESULTS: Of 934 ED patients screened for the study, 290 were eligible and 209 participated (72% response rate). On the basis of the recommended SOAPP-R cutoff score of 18, a total of 71 of the 209 patients (34%) were categorized as having a high risk of misuse. Of note, 15% and 4% of all patients reported past or current use of illicit substances, respectively. The total number of annual opioid prescriptions (17.8 vs. 12.6; p = 0.023) differed between the high- versus low-risk groups. Multivariable analyses showed that depression (odds ratio [OR] = 3.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.45 to 6.48; p = 0.003), poor coping (OR = 1.08, 95% CI = 1.03 to 1.13; p = 0.001), and illicit substance use (OR = 28.30, 95% CI = 2.97 to 269.24; p = 0.029) were significantly associated with high risk of opioid misuse. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of opioid misuse among cancer patients is substantial. Screening for opioid misuse in the ED is feasible. Language: en
Characterization of weld metal microstructure in a Ni-30Cr alloy with additions of niobium and molybdenum

Abstract Additions of niobium (Nb) and molybdenum (Mo) were made to an Alloy 690 base alloy in order to investigate the formation of a eutectic constituent at the end of solidification and to evaluate the effect of the eutectic liquid on backfilling (or healing) of solidification cracks. Solidification cracking was induced using the cast pin tear test (CPTT) and regions of backfilling were located and characterized via optical and electron microscopy. Computational predictions of fraction eutectic and composition of the eutectic constituent were compared to experimental findings and were found to correlate well in both cases. The extent of crack backfilling increased significantly with increasing Nb content, but the addition of Mo did not seem to influence the amount of eutectic constituent or the degree of backfilling. SEM/EDS analysis confirmed that the eutectic composition is constant and that increasing Nb above 4 wt% has little effect on expanding the solidification temperature range, but has a beneficial effect on mitigating solidification cracking by a crack healing effect.
Validation of association rules by interactive mosaic plots

Association Rules have been proposed by Agrawal et al. (1993) in the context of market basket analysis. They were invented to provide an automated process, which could find connections among items, that were not known before, especially to answer questions like: “which items are likely to be bought together?”. Typically, the data to be examined consists of customer purchases, i.e. a set of items bought by a customer over a period of time. The standard way of storing such data is the following: To be able to identify each customer the transactions are stored with unique numbers, the transaction identification (TID). Beside that, we have a set of different items, the so-called itemset. \(\mathcal{I} = \{ {i_1},{i_2}, \ldots,{i_m}\}\). The data or database D is a set of purchases (transactions), where each transaction T includes a set of items, such that \(T \subset \mathcal{I}\). A transaction T is said to contain a set of items X, if X is a subset of T.
Ecological risk evaluation of port in Bohai Bay

The rapid development of ports has brought great economic benefits to the region; however,it has also caused some ecological risk. Ecological risk assessment is the basic of the risk management. In order to enhance the risk management,ecological risk assessment is necessary,which is of fundamental importance to set controlling plans. In the present study,we take Tianjin Port as a case,and firstly use the relative risk model( RRM) to evaluate the ecological risk of the port. Tianjin Port is located in the Bohai Bay. This bay is a semi-enclosed bay,which is located in the western region of Bohai Sea in northern China. The Bohai Bay has been conditioned strongly,historically,by different anthropogenic pressures. In particular,during the recent three decades,with rapid industrialization and urbanization,the seashore area of Bohai Bay were reclaim for agriculture and aquiculture,and subsequent occupation of those areas for urban,industrial and port developments have provoked a dramatic reduction in size. Based on the RRM,we divide the Tianjin port into four risk units,including Beijiang Wharves,Nanjiang Wharves,Dongjiang Wharves,and Lingang Wharves. Two main habitat types( the coastal wetland and nearshore waters),two risk sources( Transportation and wharves),three kinds of ecological receptors( zoobenthos,phytoplankton,and zooplankton),were identified and to calculate the comprehensive ecological risk value. In the present study,the risk grades can be classed five grades. When the risk value rang from 0 to 2,is the weak risk. The value is from 2 to 4 is the low risk,4 to 6 is the middle risk,6 to 8 is the relatively high risk,and more than 8 is the high risk. The results showed that the risk of the transportation is higher than the wharves risk in the two risk source. The risk of the nearshore water is higher than the coastal wetland in four risk units. For the risk of the ecological receptors, we found that the zoobenthos was significantly more influenced than both the phytoplankton and zooplankton. There were three class risk grades in the present study. The first grade is the Beijiang Wharves,with the risk value of 10. 77,belonging to the high risk area. Nanjiang Wharves is belonged to the relatively high risk area,with the risk value of 6. 12. The risk value of Dongjiang Wharves,and Lingang Wharves was 4. 76 and 4. 92,respectively,suggesting that they were in the grade of the middle risk level.
An efficient Monte Carlo interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin method for elastic wave scattering in random media

Abstract This paper develops and analyzes an efficient Monte Carlo interior penalty discontinuous Galerkin (MCIP-DG) method for elastic wave scattering in random media. The method is constructed based on a multi-modes expansion of the solution of the governing random partial differential equations. It is proved that the mode functions satisfy a three-term recurrence system of partial differential equations (PDEs) which are nearly deterministic in the sense that the randomness only appears in the right-hand side source terms, not in the coefficients of the PDEs. Moreover, the same differential operator applies to all mode functions. A proven unconditionally stable and optimally convergent IP-DG method is used to discretize the deterministic PDE operator, an efficient numerical algorithm is proposed based on combining the Monte Carlo method and the IP-DG method with the L U direct linear solver. It is shown that the algorithm converges optimally with respect to both the mesh size h and the sampling number M , and practically its total computational complexity only amounts to solving a few deterministic elastic Helmholtz equations using a Gaussian elimination direct linear solver. Numerical experiments are also presented to demonstrate the performance and key features of the proposed MCIP-DG method.
OIL REPLACEMENT BY THE COMBINATION OF ENZYNE AND RHAMNOLIPID FERMENTATION LIQUOR

Aiming at the technological problem that enzyme does not improve water absorbent index in the oil replacement in high permeability reservoirs,by means of simulating formation oil recovery,replacement and interface tension experiment,as well as the mechanism of replacement adjustment of marcro-molecule micellar in rhamnolipid fermentation liquor,the combination agent of enzyme and rhamnolipid fermentation liquor of concentration 0.8% is applied to replace oil,the recovery rate is obtained and the curves of water cut,pressure and recovery rate in different phases are analyzed.Through the comparison of interface tension and the effect of oil replacement,it is shown that combination replacement of rhamnolipid fermentation liquor and enzyme matches well,and apparently improves recovery of high permeability reservoirs.
Product Configuration Based on CBR and GBOM

After the traditional bill of material was analyzed,the product configuration process based on GBOM and CBR was studied,focusing on the object-oriented technology to build the GBOM model and shortest distance algorithm used with the analytic hierarchy process(AHP)to derive the most similar case.This method can derived a most similar case to customer requirement from a large number of similar cases.Finally,a reducer product family,for example,describes the practical application of the method.
Status and Plans for TFTR

AbstractRecent research on TFTR has emphasized optimization of performance in deuterium plasmas, transport studies and studies of energetic ion and fusion product physics in preparation for the D-T experiments that will commence in July of 1993. TFTR has achieved full hardware design parameters, and the best TFTR discharges in deuterium are projected to QDT of 0.3 to 0.5.The physics phenomena that will be studied during the D-T phase will include: tritium particle confinement and fueling, ICRF heating with tritium, species scaling with tritium, collective alpha-particle instabilities, alpha heating of the plasma and helium ash buildup. It is important for the fusion program that these physics issues be addressed to identify regimes of benign alpha behavior, and to develop techniques to actively stabilize or control instabilities driver by collective alpha effects.
Unusual glycogenic hepatopathy causing abnormal liver enzymes in a morbidly obese adolescent with well‐controlled type 2 diabetes: resolved after A1c was normalized by metformin

Summary We report, for the first time, a case of an accumulation of glycogen in the liver causing elevation of liver enzymes in a 15-year-old morbidly obese adolescent male with well-controlled type 2 diabetes. Notably, the patient did not have poorly controlled type 1 diabetes and did not require insulin. After normalization of the A1c with metformin, elevated liver enzymes returned to normal.
Technological Interrelatedness and Lock-In in the British Economy, 1870–1930

By the turn of the twentieth century, the resources of the British economy were concentrated in the production of a narrow range of output emanating from staple industries such as cotton and coal, and in traditional (that is, mid nineteenth century) techniques of production. In 1907, 46 per cent of Britain’s net industrial output was accounted for by just three industries — coal, iron and steel, and textiles (Aldcroft, 1968, p. 23).1 As was noted in Chapter 6, the same industries also dominated Britain’s exports. For example, cotton textiles alone made up 25 per cent of Britain’s total visible exports in 1910, whilst textiles as a whole accounted for fully 37 per cent (Elbaum, 1990, p. 1257). At the same time, Britain’s manufacturers were slow to adopt new technology. By 1913, for example, new ring frame technology accounted for 87 per cent of all spindles in the US cotton industry, compared to just 19 per cent in the British cotton industry (Lazonick, 1986, p. 19).
Bet-hedging against larval herbivory and seed bank mortality in the evolution of heterocarpy

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Bet-hedging strategies maximize long-term geometric fitness at the cost of reduced arithmetic fitness by offsetting different mortality risks. Heterocarpic systems accomplish bet-hedging through the production of two or more fruit types that vary in dormancy and dispersal ability. It is unknown whether heterocarpy also offsets predispersal mortality risks. To address this question, we investigated whether heterocarpy in Grindelia ciliata (Asteraceae) also offsets mortality risks posed by a seed predator Schinia mortua (Noctuidae) to increase plant fitness. METHODS We conducted two manipulative experiments to quantify critical life history components of this plant-insect interaction. We measured predispersal achene mortality from herbivory, postdispersal achene mortality in the seed bank, and seedling emergence. These measurements were then used in deterministic models to evaluate evolutionary consequences of predispersal seed mortality in G. ciliata. KEY RESULTS Dormant achene types were less vulnerable to herbivory but more susceptible to mortality in the seed bank due to delayed seed emergence. Nondormant achene types experienced high predispersal mortality but low seed bank mortality due to rapid germination. Our herbivore-dependent model improved fit between observed and expected proportions of dormant and nondormant G. ciliata achenes and showed that heterocarpy could evolve in the absence of postgermination mortality. CONCLUSIONS Our study provides empirical support of how predispersal herbivory can be equally important to postdispersal seed mortality risks in the evolution and maintenance of a heterocarpic reproductive system and expands understanding of how bet-hedging theory can be used to understand this unique reproductive strategy.
Optimal treatment and stochastic modeling of heterogeneous tumors.

In this work we review past articles that have mathematically studied cancer heterogeneity and the impact of this heterogeneity on the structure of optimal therapy. We look at past works on modeling how heterogeneous tumors respond to radiotherapy, and take a particularly close look at how the optimal radiotherapy schedule is modified by the presence of heterogeneity. In addition, we review past works on the study of optimal chemotherapy when dealing with heterogeneous tumors. Reviewers: This article was reviewed by Thomas McDonald, David Axelrod, and Leonid Hanin.
Rad51 Degradation: Role in Oncolytic Virus-Poly(ADP-Ribose) Polymerase Inhibitor Combination Therapy in Glioblastoma.

Background Clinical success of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARP i ) has been limited to repair-deficient cancers and by resistance. Oncolytic herpes simplex viruses (oHSVs) selectively kill cancer cells, irrespective of mutation, and manipulate DNA damage responses (DDR). Here, we explore potential synthetic lethal-like interactions between oHSV and PARP i . Methods The efficacy of combining PARP i , oHSV MG18L, and G47Δ in killing patient-derived glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs) was assessed using cell viability assays and Chou-Talalay synergy analysis. Effects on DDR pathways, apoptosis, and cell cycle after manipulation with pharmacological inhibitors and lentivirus-mediated knockdown or overexpression were examined by immunoblotting and FACS. In vivo efficacy was evaluated in two GSC-derived orthotopic xenograft models (n = 7-8 per group). All statistical tests were two-sided. Results GSCs are differentially sensitive to PARP i despite uniform inhibition of PARP activity. oHSV sensitized GSCs to PARP i , irrespective of their PARP i sensitivity through selective proteasomal degradation of key DDR proteins; Rad51, mediating the combination effects; and Chk1. Rad51 degradation required HSV DNA replication. This synthetic lethal-like interaction increased DNA damage, apoptosis, and cell death in vitro and in vivo. Combined treatment of mice bearing PARP i -sensitive or -resistant GSC-derived brain tumors greatly extended median survival compared to either agent alone (vs olaparib: P ≤.001; vs MG18L: P = .005; median survival for sensitive of 83 [95% CI = 77 to 86], 94 [95% CI = 75 to 107], 102 [95% CI = 85 to 110], and 131 [95% CI = 108 to 170] days and for resistant of 54 [95% CI = 52 to 58], 56 [95% CI = 52 to 61], 62 [95% CI = 56 to 72], and 75 [95% CI = 64 to 90] days for mock, PARPi, oHSV, and combination, respectively). Conclusions The unique oHSV property to target multiple components of DDR generates cancer selective sensitivity to PARP i . This combination of oHSV with PARP i is a new anticancer strategy that overcomes the clinical barriers of PARP i resistance and DNA repair proficiency and is applicable not only to glioblastoma, an invariably lethal tumor, but also to other tumor types.
A Simplified Form of Block-Iterative Operator Splitting and an Asynchronous Algorithm Resembling the Multi-Block Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers

This paper develops what is essentially a simplified version of the block-iterative operator splitting method already proposed by the author and P. Combettes, but with more general initialization conditions. It then describes one way of implementing this algorithm asynchronously under a computational model inspired by modern high-performance computing environments, which consist of interconnected nodes each having multiple processor cores sharing a common local memory. The asynchronous implementation framework is then applied to derive an asynchronous algorithm which resembles the alternating direction method of multipliers with an arbitrary number of blocks of variables. Unlike earlier proposals for asynchronous variants of the alternating direction method of multipliers, the algorithm relies neither on probabilistic control nor on restrictive assumptions about the problem instance, instead making only standard convex-analytic regularity assumptions. It also allows the proximal parameters to range freely between arbitrary positive bounds, possibly varying with both iterations and subproblems.
Use of Nelore clarifide molecular markers for predicting reproductive rates in heifers

Studies indicate that the Molecular Value Prediction (MVP) for reproductive characteristics, such as Early Pregnancy Probability (EPP) and Age at First Calving (AFC), can be used as a tool to predict the future reproductive performance of cows (Evans et al., 1999; Doyle et al., 2000; Donoghue et al, 2004). The aim of this study was to evaluate correlations between MVP (EPP and AFC) and reproductive performance of Nellore beef heifers. A total of 908 heifers (263.0 ± 27.4 Kg, 17.6 ± 1.0 months), on Brachiaria decumbens pasture with protein supplementation (0.1% BW) were genomically evaluated (CLARIFIDE Nelore, Zoetis). All heifers were submitted to a protocol for cyclicity induction, followed by synchronization of ovulation and TAI. Heifers that did not become pregnant to TAI were resynchronized and then exposed to natural service for 90 days. Ultrasound evaluations were performed to evaluate the cyclicity induction protocol (CL presence at beginning of TAI protocol) and the pregnancy rate at the end of the breeding season. Statistical analyzes were conducted in SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) using the PROC LOGISTIC to evaluate the binomial variables and the PROC GLM to evaluate continuous variables. There was an effect of EPP-MVP on the response to cyclicity induction protocol (P = 0.005), in which each percentage point increase in EPP-MVP improved by 5% the probability of cyclicity induction. Heifers with lower value for AFC-MVP tended (P = 0.1) to have better pregnancy rate at the end of the breeding season. The EPP-MVP and AFC-MVP provided by CLARIFIDE Nelore genomic tool allowed the identification of heifers with higher probability to respond to cyclicity induction protocol and that tended to have a higher probability of pregnancy at the end of breed season.
Quantization of Translatory Motion

Each of us learns about the physical world through (a) experiencing various processes in one’s own body, (b) interacting with external objects close at hand and far away, (c) constructing and manipulating devices, (d) observing and measuring reactions of the resulting instruments, and (e) studying accounts of the experiences, manipulations, and measurements of others.
A general approach to ensuring the stability of unsymmetrical FDTD subgridding schemes

An unsymmetrical FDTD subgridding scheme can support complex-valued eigenvalues, which renders an explicit time marching of the FDTD absolutely unstable. However, an unsymmetrical numerical system is often unavoidable to preserve the accuracy of a subgridding scheme. In this work, we develop an accurate FDTD subgridding algorithm suitable for arbitrary subgridding settings with arbitrary grid ratios. Although the resulting system matrix is also unsymmetrical, we develop a time marching method to overcome the stability problem without sacrificing the matrix-free marching of the original FDTD. This method is general, which can be used to make other unsymmetrical subgridding algorithms stable as well. Numerical experiments with various grid ratios have demonstrated the accuracy, stability, and efficiency of the proposed method.
Decoding communities in networks

According to a recent information-theoretical proposal, the problem of defining and identifying communities in networks can be interpreted as a classical communication task over a noisy channel: memberships of nodes are information bits erased by the channel, edges and nonedges in the network are parity bits introduced by the encoder but degraded through the channel, and a community identification algorithm is a decoder. The interpretation is perfectly equivalent to the one at the basis of well-known statistical inference algorithms for community detection. The only difference in the interpretation is that a noisy channel replaces a stochastic network model. However, the different perspective gives the opportunity to take advantage of the rich set of tools of coding theory to generate novel insights on the problem of community detection. In this paper, we illustrate two main applications of standard coding-theoretical methods to community detection. First, we leverage a state-of-the-art decoding technique to generate a family of quasioptimal community detection algorithms. Second and more important, we show that the Shannon's noisy-channel coding theorem can be invoked to establish a lower bound, here named as decodability bound, for the maximum amount of noise tolerable by an ideal decoder to achieve perfect detection of communities. When computed for well-established synthetic benchmarks, the decodability bound explains accurately the performance achieved by the best community detection algorithms existing on the market, telling us that only little room for their improvement is still potentially left.
Eye gaze patterns reveal how we reason about fractions

ABSTRACTFractions are defined by numerical relationships, and comparing two fractions’ magnitudes requires within-fraction (holistic) and/or between-fraction (componential) relational comparisons. To better understand how individuals spontaneously reason about fractions, we collected eye-tracking data while they performed a fraction comparison task with conditions that promoted or obstructed different types of comparisons. We found evidence for both componential and holistic processing in this mixed-pairs task, consistent with the hybrid theory of fraction representation. Additionally, making within-fraction eye movements on trials that promoted a between-fraction comparison strategy was associated with slower responses. Finally, participants who performed better on a non-numerical test of reasoning took longer to respond to the most difficult fraction trials, which suggests that those who had greater facility with non-numerical reasoning attended more to numerical relationships. These findings extend pri...
The teleos of metallo-reduction and metallo-oxidation in eukaryotic iron and copper trafficking.

Eukaryotic cells, whether free-living or organismal, rely on metallo-reductases to process environmental ferric iron and cupric copper prior to uptake. In addition, some free-living eukaryotes (e.g. fungi and algae) couple ferri-reduction to ferro-oxidation, a process catalyzed by a small cohort of multi-copper oxidases; in these organisms, the ferric iron product is a ligand for cell iron uptake via a ferric iron permease. In addition to their support of iron uptake in lower eukaryotes, ferroxidases support ferrous iron efflux in Chordata; in this process the release of the ferrous iron from the efflux transporter is catalyzed by its ferroxidation. Last, ferroxidases also catalyze the oxidation of cuprous copper and, as metallo-oxidases, mirror the dual activity of the metallo-reductases. This Perspective examines the teleos of the yin–yang of this redox cycling of iron and copper in their metabolism.
Face, Content, and Construct Validations of Endoscopic Needle Injection Simulator for Transurethral Bulking Agent in Treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence.

Introduction and Objectives Endoscopic injection of urethral bulking agents is an office procedure that is used to treat stress urinary incontinence secondary to internal sphincteric deficiency. Validation studies important part of simulator evaluation and is considered important step to establish the effectiveness of simulation-based training. The endoscopic needle injection (ENI) simulator has not been formally validated, although it has been used widely at University of California, Irvine. We aimed to assess the face, content, and construct validity of the UC, Irvine ENI simulator. Methods Dissected female porcine bladders were mounted in a modified Hysteroscopy Diagnostic Trainer. Using routine endoscopic equipment for this procedure with video monitoring, 6 urologists (experts group) and 6 urology trainee (novice group) completed urethral bulking agents injections on a total of 12 bladders using ENI simulator. Face and content validities were assessed by using structured quantitative survey which rating the realism. Construct validity was assessed by comparing the performance, time of the procedure, and the occlusive (anatomical and functional) evaluations between the experts and novices. Trainees also completed a postprocedure feedback survey. Effective injections were evaluated by measuring the retrograde urethral opening pressure, visual cystoscopic coaptation, and postprocedure gross anatomic examination. Results All 12 participants felt the simulator was a good training tool and should be used as essential part of urology training (face validity). ENI simulator showed good face and content validity with average score varies between the experts and the novices was 3.9/5 and 3.8/5, respectively. Content validity evaluation showed that most aspects of the simulator were adequately realistic (mean Likert scores 3.9-3.8/5). However, the bladder does not bleed, and sometimes thin. Experts significantly outperformed novices (p Conclusion The ENI simulator shows face, content and construct validities, although few aspects of simulator were not very realistic (e.g., bleeding).This study provides a base for the future formal validation for this simulator and for continuing use of this simulator in endourology training.
A Call for Programmatic Assessment of Undergraduate Students' Conceptual Understanding and Higher-Order Cognitive Skills.

In response to empirical evidence and calls for change, individual undergraduate biology instructors are reforming their pedagogical practices. To assess the effectiveness of these reforms, many instructors use course-specific or skill-specific assessments (e.g., concept inventories). We commend our colleagues’ noble efforts, yet we contend that this is only a starting point. In this Perspectives article, we argue that departments need to engage in reform and programmatic assessment to produce graduates who have both subject-matter knowledge and higher-order cognitive skills. We encourage biology education researchers to work collaboratively with content specialists to develop program-level assessments aimed at measuring students’ conceptual understanding and higher-order cognitive skills, and we encourage departments to develop longitudinal plans for monitoring their students’ development of these skills.
Identifying and Understanding the Gaps in Care Experienced by Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Patients at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Purpose: In an effort to counteract the differences in improvement in survival rates of adolescents and young adults (AYA), compared to other age groups with cancer, the University of Iowa Hospital...
Het steindler-effect bij het obstetrisch plexus-brachialisletsel

De indicatie voor een neurochirurgische hersteloperatie bij kinderen met een obstetrisch plexus-brachialisletsel (OPBL) is een parese van de m. biceps < MRC 3 op de leeftijd van 3 maanden. Er wordt gekeken naar elleboogflexie tegen de zwaartekracht. Sommige kinderen kunnen echter ook hun elleboog buigen zonder activiteit van de m. biceps. Een veelvoorkomende truc is de elleboogflexie met behulp van het steindler-effect. Hierbij wordt de elleboog gebogen met behulp van de m. extensor carpi radialis, de hand is dan in pronatiestand. Doel van het huidige onderzoek was om vast te stellen welk type zenuwletsel (axonotmesis, neurotmesis of avulsie) kinderen hadden die hun elleboog buigen met het steindler-effect. Door middel van statusonderzoek zijn 28 kinderen met een OPBL (geboren 1997-1999) onderzocht die bij bezoek aan het plexusteam in Leiden actieve elleboogflexie lieten zien met behulp van het steindler-effect. Wij vonden dat bij 72% van deze kinderen een ernstig zenuwletsel bestond, waarvoor neurochirurgische reconstructie noodzakelijk was. Goed differentieren tussen elleboogflexie op basis van de activiteit van de m. biceps en het steindler-effect is belangrijk om vast te stellen of er een ernstig zenuwletsel bestaat, zodat kinderen die neurochirurgische expertise (en soms een zenuwoperatie) nodig hebben tijdig worden herkend.
E: Host-pathogen coevolution under in situ conservation

In this final scenario, we briefly present the key argument for establishing genetic reserves: to allow the dynamic coevolutionary process for crop resistance to evolve under changing pathogen virulence. Population genetic studies play an important role in assessing variation patterns in the host vis-a-vis the pathogen, and in attempting to predict the dynamic properties of such agroecosystems. Genetic reserves have been proposed for the in situ conservation of many threatened wild or weedy relatives of crop plants, as well as certain landraces with a model of endemic balance in which useful sources of resistance genes evolve where the disease or pest is prevalent. In his classic book, Burdon (1987) provided cogent arguments for studying genetic variation and evolution in many such natural situations. Clearly, conservation genetics will be enriched in both theory and useful new applications. Also note that several researchers have suggested the role of coevolutionary forces in the evolution of sex and in the maintenance of polymorphisms (e.g., Anderson and May, 1982; Hamilton, 1980).
Dermal Absorption Modelling

The focus of this chapter is on modeling the absorption of chemical pollutants into and across human skin. The skin is a primary route of systemic exposure to a number of environmental pollutants either directly as neat chemicals, in aqueous solution when exposure is to polluted water, or in complex solvents when exposure occurs secondary to contact at industrial waste sites. These differences in exposure modalities may significantly modulate the extent of dermal absorption seen and thus should be factored into any risk assessment.
Quantification of memory communication

Communication in parallel applications is a combination of data transfers internally at a source or destination and across the network. Previous research focused on quantifying network transfer costs has indirectly resulted in reduced overall communication cost. Optimized data transfer from source memory to the network interface has received less attention. In shared memory systems, such memory-to-memory transfers dominate communication cost. In distributed memory systems, memory-to-network interface transfers grow in significance as processor and network speeds increase at faster rates than memory latency speeds. Our objective is to minimize the cost of internal data transfers. The following examples illustrating the impact of memory transfers on communication, we present a methodology for classifying the effects of data size and data distribution on hardware, middleware, and application software performance. This cost is quantified using hardware counter event measurements on the SGI Origin 2000. Our analysis technique identifies the critical data paths in point-to-point communication. For the SGI O2K, we empirically identify the cost caused by just copying data from one buffer to another and the middleware overhead. We use MPICH in our experiments, but our techniques are generally applicable to any communication implementation.
Trends in Information Centers

This study examines the key issues facing information centers ICs by identifying and comparing the issues that IC managers rated as most important in two surveys, one in 1986 and the second in 1989. Both surveys elicited 21 issues, with the 1989 survey adding four new issues while deleting four issues from the 1986 survey. The study compares and contrasts the two sets of issues to discover those that increased in importance, decreased in importance, or remained the same. The findings provide insights into the changing nature of the IC's function in organizations.
Scanning Tunneling Microscopy-Based Fabrication of Nanometer Scale Structures

We describe several STM-based techniques that we have developed for the fabrication of nanometer scale structures at room temperature. The techniques utilize processing with the biasing voltage/current of the tip of the microscope. Tunable laser radiation coupled to the gap induces multiphoton excitation or ionization processes of precursor gasses thus providing material selectivity to the process. We have made structures whose sizes range from a few hundred nanometers down to the size of individual atoms or molecules, on graphite, chemically passivated silicon, photoresist coated silicon, and organometallic-coated silicon surfaces. On the other hand, at small enough tunneling gaps, the chemical potential collapses allowing the tip to suck material off the surface, hence producing grooves. We have been able to fabricate continuous micrometer long lines of smallest widths ever (as small as 40 A). We used this capability to fabricate all sorts of two-dimensional patterns: triangular, rectangular, circular, parallel lines, grids, and others in the shape of alphabets. In addition, we are in the process of integrating this capability with novel molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) methods to fabricate and analyze two and three dimensional nanometer scale structures such as quantum wires and dots, quantum gratings, arrays of quantum dots etc. We are presently using these techniques to construct and test the quantum interference transistor, a micrometer size metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) with a nanometer scale grating or grid embedded in its gate area. These advances have important implications to mass storage of information, which may lead to great reductions in the sizes of electronic circuits and devices.
Breastfeeding ketoacidosis: A rare but important diagnosis for emergency physicians to recognize

We report a case of lactation ketoacidosis in a 22-year-old female who was breastfeeding two infants while dieting. She appeared non-toxic, but had a serum bicarbonate of 7meq/L, a pH of 7.07, and moderate serum ketones. She responded well to simple carbohydrate replenishment and brief cessation of breastfeeding. Emergency Physicians should be aware of this entity so as to avoid unnecessary morbidity and to begin prompt treatment.
Let the names of justice multiply: transitions, retroactives, and transversals

So-called transitional justice has become more universal and in doing so now approximates a more general sense of justice, law, or the rule of law. The inquiry of the essay proceeds by way of a brief analysis of ‘transitional justice’ and related qualifying terms, such as ‘restorative’, ‘reconciliatory’, and ‘retroactive’. I consider the plausibility of identifying, deflating, or reducing each of them, with, or, to, the rule of law, or other general justicial notions. I illustrate the analysis, in a condensed form, through a case study of the Preamble to the Carcross/Tagish First Nation Constitution, a particular situation in the context of indigenous politics on the Canadian scene, one that focuses on negotiation of land-claims and self-government agreements in an historical epoch of continuing colonization and partial decolonization. I conclude by proposing that there is positive promise in the perpetual reconstruction of justice, or constitutionalizing.
Automatic Halo Management for the Uintah GPU-Heterogeneous Asynchronous Many-Task Runtime

The Uintah computational framework is used for the parallel solution of partial differential equations on adaptive mesh refinement grids using modern supercomputers. Uintah is structured with an application layer and a separate runtime system. Uintah is based on a distributed directed acyclic graph of computational tasks, with a task scheduler that efficiently schedules and executes these tasks on both CPU cores and on-node accelerators. The runtime system identifies task dependencies, creates a task graph prior to the execution of these tasks, automatically generates MPI message tags, and automatically performs halo transfers for simulation variables. Automating halo transfers in a heterogeneous environment poses significant challenges when tasks compute within a few milliseconds, as runtime overhead affects wall time execution, or when simulation variables require large halos spanning most or all of the computational domain, as task dependencies become expensive to process. These challenges are magnified at production scale when application developers require each compute node perform thousands of different halo transfers among thousands simulation variables. The principal contribution of this work is to (1) identify and address inefficiencies that arise when mapping tasks onto the GPU in the presence of automated halo transfers, (2) implement new schemes to reduce runtime system overhead, (3) minimize application developer involvement with the runtime, and (4) show overhead reduction results from these improvements.
Tailored bistability in mechanically pre-stressed laminated composites through planform design

Bistable composites are attractive for morphing structures because they can hold deformed shapes without actuation and can be driven by compact, embedded smart actuators such as piezoelectric laminae and shape memory alloys. Mechanically-prestressed bistable composites exhibit weakly-coupled cylindrical shapes when their prestressed laminae are orthogonal to each other. High-order analytical models have been developed to model the stability and actuation of mechanically-prestressed composites with two sources of residual stress. Based on these models, this paper presents a study on the effect of planform shape on shape-bifurcation phenomena in bistable plates. A high-order analytical model is presented and the shapes of composites with linearly-tapered planform are calculated. Model-based parametric studies are presented to calculate the sensitivity of stable shapes and actuation forces to variations in planform taper, spatial positions of the prestressed layers, and aspect ratio. The results guide the selection of geometric parameters for the design of bistable composites.
One Dimensional Sound Fields

Sound in air that we hear with our ears consists of minute fluctuations in the ambient atmospheric air pressure. If we limit our attention to one dimensional spaces (like inside a narrow tube), we can write down a model for the fluctuating sound pressure. It helps to think of the total air pressure, P(t) as the sum of the static, ambient pressure \(P_0\) and the minute acoustic fluctuation, p(t), \(P(t)=P_0+p(t)\). Of course, if the pressure changes at a point in space, even by a tiny fluctuating amount, we would also expect the density (or total mass of the molecules of the gas for a given volume) to also change depending on the change in pressure.
The Influence of Rate of Cooking, Cooking Temperature, and Degree of Doneness on Volatile Compounds Related with Flavor and Tenderness

ObjectivesThis study evaluated the influence of oven temperature and steak degree of doneness (DOD) on flavor related volatile compounds at different depths within a steak (surface, mid, center). Materials and MethodsBeef strip loin steaks were randomly assigned to cookery treatment combinations (n = 20) at 30 replicates each. Individual steaks served as the experimental unit. Four oven temperatures (65.5°C, 177°C, 246°C, 343°C) and 6 DOD (57°C, 63°C, 68°C, 74°C, 79°C, 85°C) were utilized. After cooking, steaks were chilled, vacuum packaged, and frozen. Steaks were then allocated to groups of 10 within each set of 30 replicates that represented 3 replications for chemical analysis. The replicates were then sliced parallel to the cooked surface at a thickness of 0.4-mm to produce 3 layers (surface, middle and center). Individual volatile compounds were analyzed through a split-plot one-way ANOVA, where treatment combinations were the whole plot and steak layer was the sub-plot. ResultsA total of 71 volatile compounds were quantitated (ng/g cooked sample). Of these, 32 quantitated volatile compounds were impacted by a 2-way interaction of TRT×LAYER (P ≤ 0.05). Eight Maillard reaction compounds had a 2-way TRT×LAYER interactions (P ≤ 0.05). Among Maillard products, Strecker aldehydes, pyrazines and sulfur compounds differentiated (P ≤ 0.05) in agreement with the surface layer differing to mid and center. Twenty-two lipid derived compounds quantitated had a 2-way TRT×LAYER interactions (P ≤ 0.05). Thirty-four quantitated volatile compounds were impacted by the main effect of layer (surface, mid, center) within a steak (P ≤ 0.05). Only 8 out of 71 volatile compounds were impacted by the main effect of treatment combinations (P ≤ 0.05). Among lipid derived compounds, hexanal concentrations differed (P ≤ 0.05) at each layer (surface, middle and center)- being highest in center and lowest in surface. The same was not apparent for maillard derived compounds, where the majority of the quantitated volatile compounds differed at each layer (P ≤ 0.05) but were highest in surface layer and lowest in center. ConclusionPrevious research has shown that compounds of similar pathways follow the same path with respect to volatile compounds formation on being cooked. Treatment combinations influenced both Maillard reaction and lipid derived volatile compounds. The greatest impact of treatment combinations seems to have occurred with lipid derived products where variation of lipid volatile compounds was reduced within surface layer.
From unexceptional to doubly exceptional surface waves

An exceptional surface wave can propagate in an isolated direction, when guided by the planar interface of two homogeneous dielectric partnering mediums of which at least one is anisotropic, provided that the constitutive parameters of the partnering mediums satisfy certain constraints. Exceptional surface waves are distinguished from unexceptional surface waves by their localization characteristics: the fields of an exceptional surface wave in an anisotropic partnering medium decay as a combined linear-exponential function of distance from the interface, whereas the decay is purely exponential for an unexceptional surface wave. If both partnering mediums are anisotropic, then a doubly exceptional surface wave can exist for an isolated propagation direction. The decay of this wave in both partnering mediums is governed by a combined linear-exponential function of distance from the interface.
Characterization of shape memory polymer foam hemostats in in vitro hemorrhagic wound models

Shape memory polymer foam hemostats are a promising option for future hemorrhage control in battlefield wounds. To enable their use as hemostatic devices, they must be optimized in terms of formulation and architecture, and their safety and efficacy must be characterized in animal models. Relevant in vitro models can be used for device optimization to help mitigate the excess use of animals and reduce costs of clinical translation. In this work, a simplified gunshot wound model and a grade V liver injury model were constructed. The models were used to characterize the effects of shape memory polymer foam hemostat geometry on wall pressures, application/removal times, hemorrhage (fluid loss), and fluid absorption in comparison with clinical controls. It was found that there is no benefit in over-sizing the hemostatic device relative to wound volume and that geometry effects are dependent upon the wound type. These models provide a rapid means for elucidation of promising hemostat geometries and formulations for use in future in vivo testing.