cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Kinetic Study of Mediator-Template Assembly of Gold Nanoparticles

This paper describes a kinetic study of the mediator-template assembly of gold nanoparticles in solutions based on the spectrophotometric measurement of the surface plasmon resonance optical property. Gold nanoparticles of ∼5 nm diameter encapsulated with tetraoctylammonium bromide shells were studied as a model system. The core-shell nanoparticles were assembled into 3D spherical assemblies via a mediator-template assembly route in which a thioether-based multidentate ligand functions as a mediator and the tetraoctylammonium shell molecules function as a templating agent. In this report, the results were compared with those obtained for the assembly of gold nanoparticles in several different systems with features similar to the mediator-template assembly. The findings further provided further insights into understanding the kinetic factors governing the assembly of nanoparticles, and have important implications to the design and control of the nanostructures for sensory and catalytic applications.
Using torque-ripple-induced vibration to determine the initial rotor position of a permanent magnet synchronous machine

In this letter, a method of determining the initial position of the rotor of a permanent magnet synchronous machine is derived based upon signatures in torque-ripple-induced vibration. Although requiring a vibration sensor, the method requires no knowledge of machine parameters, is applicable to both surface- and buried-magnet machines, and can be used under no load. Hardware validation has been performed using a surface-magnet machine, wherein a maximum error of 2.1deg (electrical) has been achieved using a start-up routine that requires 50 ms to complete
A capacitance sensor for on-line monitoring of ultrathin polymeric film growth

An interdigitated metallic electrode array fabricated using standard photolithography and wet-etching techniques, is applied as a capacitance sensor. A theoretical model is developed which predicts a sensitivity of approximately 2 fF/monomolecular layer, well within the detection capability of modern digital bridges. Experimental data from Langmuir/Blodgett depositions of organic and polymeric films accurately confirm the theoretical predictions. The sensors have also provided the first real-time measurements of water exclusion from such films. >
Investigation of microtubule assembly and organization accompanying tension-induced neurite initiation

Pulling on the margin of embryonic chick sensory neurons induces neurite formation de novo. We find that these neurites contain microtubules within minutes after the application of tension and apparently normal microtubule arrays within 10–20 min. We wished to determine whether these microtubules reflected existing microtubules that were reorganized, e.g. pulled into the neurite by the applied forces, or whether they reflected primarily new assembly of tubulin. We investigated tension-induced neurite initiation in the presence of 4 nM vinblastine, a concentration that poisons net microtubule assembly but does not depolymerize extant polymers, thus separating new assembly from movements of existing microtubules. We find that vinblastine seriously compromises the ability of chick sensory neurons to initiate neurites in response to tension. The few poisoned neurites that did form were abnormal in several respects. In contrast to unpoisoned cells, poisoned neurites were prone to stretching and breaking while pulling, as though they lacked normal structural support. Indeed, poisoned neurites possessed only short microtubule fragments. We conclude that the microtubule array seen in tension-induced neurites reflects primarily new microtubule assembly, rather than existing microtubules that were reorganized to invade the neurite. This implies that tension applied to unpoisoned chick sensory neurons rapidly stimulates new microtubule assembly concomitant with neurite initiation. Examination of the tension-induced microtubules shows that both their spatial pattern and their acetylation are similar to that reported for normal growth cone-mediated neurites.
Increased Wind Revenue and System Security by Trading Wind Power in Energy and Regulation Reserve Markets

Due to the variability and limited predictability of wind power, wind producers participating in most electricity markets are subject to significant deviation penalties during market settlements, and system operators need to schedule additional reserve to balance the unpredicted wind power variations. This paper proposes a combined energy and regulation reserve market model to encourage wind producers to regulate their short-term outputs. With a reserve market designed with lower deviation penalties, wind producers can increase their revenue by optimally bidding in the energy and reserve markets to reduce their deviation penalties. Meanwhile, part of the intrahour wind variations, which would have appeared in the system energy balance, is diverted into the system regulation reserve. The system then benefits from facing less wind energy intrahour variations, demanding less short-term reserve for wind variations, and having additional fast, although variable, regulation reserve from wind plants, which are likely to enhance grid security and operations in high wind penetration scenarios. A test case is studied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed market model and bidding strategy on increasing the wind plant revenue and grid security.
CONJUGATE GRADIENT PRECONDITIONERS FOR VECTOR AND PARALLEL PROCESSORS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses conjugate gradient preconditioners for vector and parallel processors. Vector and parallel processors have caused program designers to select or develop algorithms that allow efficient use of these computers. The relatively simple tasks of solving linear systems of equations or performing matrix multiplication require, as a minimum, a reformulation of existing methods. At another extreme, radically new approaches, such as chaotic relaxation, are invented to accommodate large numbers of asynchronous processors, commonly referred to as multiple instructions, multiple data (MIMD) computers. Preconditioners considered in the chapter include Jacobi, incomplete Cholesky, polynomial approximation, block Jacobi, and block cyclic reduction. Performance data on Cray-1 is provided for finite five- and nine-point difference approximations to elliptic partial differential equations. The variable elements are generated randomly such that the diagonal element of a row is the negative sum of the off-diagonal elements except for the boundary equations.
High Temperature Fatigue

Demand for high performance power units has led to marked increases in metal operating temperatures which reach now.085 TM (oK). In parallel to these high steady state temperatures the fast temperature transients during the start or stop cycles have resulted in sharp temperature gradients at the surface of the components. These surface conditions are very demanding of the fatigue performance of advanced high temperature alloys. As a consequence, high temperature fatigue has been the subject of intensive research during the last 25 years, (see references 1, 2, 3) and excellent progress has been achieved in the understanding and the modelling of the phenomenon.
Shutting down the messenger: Antisense treatment for hypertriglyceridemia

Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are short (12 to 20) nucleic acid sequences that can bind to messenger RNA (mRNA) via Watson-Crick hybridization. Such binding inactivates the bound mRNA, effectively turning off the corresponding gene. Many human illnesses are caused by aberrant protein expression and signaling; therefore, these agents hold high potential to revolutionize the treatment of many human diseases. Although they were highly promising, the first generation of ASOs showed little therapeutic benefit because of their short half-lives, suboptimal affinity for mRNA, and poor tissue penetration. To overcome these limitations, newer ASOs are chemically modified to improve stability. Common modifications include replacing phosphates in the backbone with phosphorothioates and modifying the sugar moiety of the nucleic acids. Although recent interest in nucleic acid–based therapies has focused mainly on RNAi technology, the robust clinical results from ASO therapeutics are shifting the focus back to this class of agents. The study by Gaudet et al . is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging, phase 2 clinical trial examining ISIS 304801, an ASO targeting apolipoprotein C-III (APOC3), in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. A total of 85 patients were enrolled in two cohorts (ISIS 304801 only and ISIS 304801-fibrate). Treatment with ISIS 304801 resulted in dose-dependent and prolonged decreases in plasma APOC3 concentration in both cohorts. The investigators also observed concordant reductions (31.3% to 70.9%) in triglyceride concentrations. The results from this study suggest that ISIS 304801 is a highly promising therapy for hypertriglyceridemia, although these findings will need to be validated in a larger randomized phase III trial. Importantly, there is renewed excitement in the development of ASO therapeutics because of these promising data on ISIS 304801 as well as other ASO drugs. Future research should focus on how to optimize ASO therapeutics for each disease condition. D. Gaudet et al. , Antisense inhibition of apolipoprotein C-III in patients with hypertriglyceridemia. N. Engl. J. Med. 373 , 438–447 (2015). [[Abstract]][1] [1]: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1400283
The electrochemical transmission in I-Band segments of the mitochondrial reticulum.

Abstract Within the mitochondrial reticulum of skeletal muscle, the I-Band segments (IBS) traverse the cell and form a contiguous matrix with the mitochondrial segments at the periphery (PS) of the cell. A tight electrical coupling via the matrix between the PS and IBS has been demonstrated. In addition, oxidative phosphorylation complexes that generate the proton motive force (PMF) are preferentially located in the PS, while Complex V, which utilizes the PMF, is primarily located along the IBS. This has led to the hypothesis that PS can support the production of ATP in the IBS by maintaining the potential energy available to produce ATP deep in the muscle cell via conduction of the PMF down the IBS. However, the mechanism of transmitting the PMF down the IBS is poorly understood. This theoretical study was undertaken to establish the physical limits governing IBS conduction as well as potential mechanisms for balancing the protons entering the matrix along the IBS with the ejection of protons in the PS. The IBS was modeled as a 300 nm diameter, water-filled tube, with an insulated circumferential wall. Two mechanisms were considered to drive ion transport along the IBS: the electrical potential and/or concentration gradients between the PS to the end of the IBS. The magnitude of the flux was estimated from the maximum ATP production rate for skeletal muscle. The major transport ions in consideration were H+, Na+, and K+ using diffusion coefficients from the literature. The simulations were run using COMSOL Multiphysics simulator. These simulations suggest conduction along the IBS via H+ alone is unlikely requiring un-physiological gradients, while Na+ or K+ could carry the current with minor gradients in concentration or electrical potential along the IBS. The majority of conduction down the IBS is likely dependent on these abundant ions; however, this presents a question as to how H+ is recycled from the matrix of the IBS to the PS for active extrusion. We propose that the abundant cation–proton antiporter in skeletal muscle mitochondria operates in opposite directions in the IBS and PS to permit local recycling of H+ at each site driven by cooperative gradients in H+ and Na+/K+ which favor H+ entry in the PS and H+ efflux in the IBS. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled ‘EBEC 2016: 19th European Bioenergetics Conference, Riva del Garda, Italy, July 2–6, 2016,’ edited by Prof. Paolo Bernardi.
Revealing the Hidden Universe with Supercomputer Simulations of Black Hole Mergers

Supermassive black holes at the centers of galaxies power some of the most energetic phenomena in the Universe. Their observations have numerous exciting consequences for our understanding of galactic evolution, black hole demographics, plasma dynamics in strong-field gravity, and general relativity. When they collide, they produce intense bursts of gravitational and electromagnetic energy and launch powerful relativistic jets. Understanding these systems requires solving the highly-nonlinear and highly-coupled field equations of General Relativity and Relativistic Magnethodrodynamics. It is only with the use of sophisticated numerical techniques for simulations, data extraction and visualization, and running on petascale supercomputers of ten to hundreds of thousands of CPUs simultaneously that this problem is tractable. This talk will review some of the new developments in the field of numerical relativity, and relativistic astrophysics that allow us to successfully simulate and visualize the innermost workings of these violent astrophysical phenomena.
Green Epoxy Resin System Based on Lignin and Tung Oil and Its Application in Epoxy Asphalt

In this work, lignin-based epoxy was synthesized by reacting epichlorohydrin (ECH) and partially depolymerized lignin (PDL) and then used for modification of asphalt. The Diels–Alder adduct of methyl esters of eleostearic acid and maleic anhydride (ME-MA) was synthesized and used as a biobased curing agent. The structure of PDL-epoxy was characterized by FTIR and 31P NMR. Nonisothermal curing kinetics and thermal properties of the cured epoxy resins were studied by differential scanning analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. Curing behaviors of PDL-epoxy and a commercial epoxy DER332 were compared. Effects of epoxy content on rheological properties of the modified asphalt binder were studied using a parallel plate rheometer. Results show that the elastic behavior of asphalt binder at elevated temperatures was improved with increase in epoxy content.
The operational definition of competency-based education

Background As education in the United States pushes for accountability, educational programs across the country are attempting to find innovative ways to measure student learning outcomes. Competency-based education is one model favorable among many academic institutions and accreditation agencies because it links theory to practice (Clark, Competency-based education for social work: Evaluation and curriculum issues, 1976; Hall & Jones, Competency-based education: A process for the improvement of education, 1976; Johnstone & Soares, Change, 46, 2014, 12; Pace, Competency education series: Policy brief one, 2013). The research indicates that there is no standard definition of competency-based education and agreement on the criteria that encompass this model (Book, All hands on deck: Ten lessons from early adopters of competency-based education, 2014; Le, Wolfe, & Steinberg, The past and the promise: Today's competency education movement, 2014; Riesman, On competence: A critical analysis of competence-based reforms in higher education, 1979). Methods This research reviewed the literature on competency-based education and interviewed key informants from various disciplines to gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Results This research constructs an operational definition of competency-based education and then applies this definition to build an assessment tool to determine the extent that competency-based education exists in an academic program.
Communicating: a practical guide for the liaison psychiatrist.

To effectively communicate in a pediatric setting, the liaison psychiatrist must be aware of those elements that make successful communication possible. By paying close attention to the criticisms leveled at psychiatrists by pediatricians, to the pediatricians expectations of the consultant, to parental expectations, and to the discordant perceptions of diagnostic terms by parents and professionals, the liaison psychiatrist can then function as a catalyst who facilitates the understanding and treatment of illness.
Real-Time Processing of Continuous Physiological Signals in a Neurocritical Care Unit on a Stream Data Analytics Platform

Continuous high-volume and high-frequency brain signals such as intracranial pressure (ICP) and electroencephalographic (EEG) waveforms are commonly collected by bedside monitors in neurocritical care. While such signals often carry early signs of neurological deterioration, detecting these signs in real time with conventional data processing methods mainly designed for retrospective analysis has been extremely challenging. Such methods are not designed to handle the large volumes of waveform data produced by bedside monitors. In this pilot study, we address this challenge by building a prototype system using the IBM InfoSphere Streams platform, a scalable stream computing platform, to detect unstable ICP dynamics in real time. The system continuously receives electrocardiographic and ICP signals and analyzes ICP pulse morphology looking for deviations from a steady state. We also designed a Web interface to display in real time the result of this analysis in a Web browser. With this interface, physicians are able to ubiquitously check on the status of their patients and gain direct insight into and interpretation of the patient’s state in real time. The prototype system has been successfully tested prospectively on live hospitalized patients.
Belatacept Conversion in an HIV-Positive Kidney Transplant Recipient With Prolonged Delayed Graft Function

We report an HIV-positive renal transplant recipient with delayed graft function who was converted from tacrolimus to belatacept in an attempt to improve renal function. The patient had kidney biopsies at 4 and 8 weeks posttransplant that revealed acute tubular necrosis and mild fibrosis. After 14 weeks of delayed function, belatacept was initiated and tacrolimus was weaned off. Shortly after discontinuing tacrolimus, renal function began to improve. The patient was able to discontinue dialysis 21 weeks posttransplant. HIV viral load was undetectable at last follow-up. To our knowledge, this is the first report of belatacept use in a patient with HIV.
Treating myasthenia on consensus guide: Helpful and challenging but still unfinished business

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is the prototypic autoimmune disease and the most gratifying because it is treatable in most cases. Although in successful clinics it is no longer considered “gravis,” it does require high doses of corticosteroids to induce remission, and immunosuppressants, such as azathioprine, mycophenolate, cyclosporine, methotrexate, or tacrolimus, for steroid-sparing treatment, even though their efficacy is variable and based on small-scale underpowered trials.1–3 IV immunoglobulin (IVIg) and plasmapheresis provide life-saving short-term benefit for crises or difficult cases and probably account for the reduced mortality witnessed over the last 20 years.1
Why are Multinational Firms Mostly American

A note to the reader: The title of this chapter, taken from the first edition may seem dated in view of the rapid pace of acquisitions of US firms by firms headquartered in various foreign countries — especially in Japan and to a lesser extent in Great Britain. Sony acquired Columbia Records and then Columbia Pictures. Matsushita bought MCA–Universal, another of Hollywood’s major studios. Bridgestone Tire acquired Firestone Tire. These were the types of transactions that made the front pages of the major newspapers. In the latter part of the 1980s, there were usually more than a thousand of these acquisitions each year; and 30–40 percent of the acquisitions of US firms by firms headquartered abroad were by firms headquartered in Japan. US firms were continuing to expand their foreign investments, but the rate of growth of these investments was swamped by the investments of foreign firms in the United States. One striking feature was that a very large part of these new foreign investments in the United States involved the acquisition of established US firms; when US firms have gone abroad, in contrast, they often have built new factories on ‘greenfields.’
Colonial Governance and Religious Subjectivity

In this chapter I examine structures of Atlantic empire that rendered Africans in the Americas as colonial subjects. In the first half I explain the architecture of governance and specific institutions that constituted discrete mechanisms of colonial rule and authority over African peoples, free and enslaved. The aim here is to explicate the tactics of empire that rendered new rationalities and that shaped the very subjectivity of all the historical actors in both the limelight and shadows of its encompassing theater. In the second half I devote attention to the theological structures of the colonial formations that shaped the fundamental categories of experience in Black Christianization. Within these two broad fields of analysis – the one attentive to political structures, the other engaged with theological formations – one discerns a profound intersection of religion and empire that elucidates the significance of “slave religion” as such while making visible the more expansive and equally significant role of colonialism in the history of Black religion. Empire, the Company-State, and Rationalities of Freedom The most frequent efforts to account for the complex of institutions, tactics, and practices that have come to be referenced as “modernity” replicate two common problems. First, these accounts tend to focus on the developments internal to what is imagined as a continent of Europe, so that the causal factors of modernity's irruption (i.e., at the point of modernity's emergence) bear little or no relation to the social circumstances of the rest of Asia, or Africa, or the Americas. By this account, Europe brings newness to the world. Common here is a narrow focus on the Protestant Reformation, the rise of German publishing technology, and the concomitant phenomenon of mass literacy; the emergence of Western Christian philosophy (typically with no reference to its reliance on the Islamic philosophical schools and universities); the Magna Carta and its juridical iterations; the creation of European secular institutions; and the shift from feudalism to a capitalist economy. Perhaps most important to this fantastical racial imagining is the geopolitical sleight of hand that sunders the European cape from the Asian continent, as if the cape itself were its own continent.
Role of androgen receptor splice variants in prostate cancer metastasis.

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the most lethal cancers in western countries. Androgen receptor (AR) signaling pathway plays a key role in PCa progression. Despite the initial effectiveness of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT)for treatment of patients with advanced PCa, most of them will develop resistance to ADT and progress to metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). Constitutively transcriptional activated AR splice variants (AR-Vs) have emerged as critical players in the development and progression of mCRPC. Among AR-Vs identified to date, AR-V7 (a.k.a. AR3) is one of the most abundant and frequently found in both PCa cell lines and in human prostate tissues. Most of functional studies have been focused on AR-V7/AR3 and revealed its role in regulation of survival, growth, differentiation and migration in prostate cells. In this review, we will summarize our current understanding of regulation of expression and activity of AR-Vs in mCRPC.
Elections generate all binary relations on infinite sets

Abstract Every binary relation on an infinite set can be represented by an election in which each voter’s preferences are quasi-transitive and complete (except possibly not reflexive) and in which the electorate has smaller cardinality than or the same cardinality as the set of alternatives, depending on the cardinality of that set.
Saving a rural Ukrainian town's cultural heritage – a case study of effective partnerships in action

Using the Bolman and Deal (2013) framework for organisational diagnosis and managing planned change, this case study reviews the development, growth, impediments, current status and future prospects of the NGO Light of Culture. The historical town of Zhovkva in the Western Ukrainian countryside is only a 30-minute bus ride from L'viv, but it is a world apart from the commerce, tourism, urban development of its closest urban area. Started by one man with a vision, this NGO survived the collapse of the Soviet Union, corruption, economic downturns, financial crises and often a lack of public interest. Perseverance combined with vision and an engineering background lead to the formation of project-specific partnerships to keep the NGO operational and fulfil much of its mission to preserve the town's cultural heritage. The article concludes with a set of provocative questions for discussion and reflection.
Price Volatility and Market Frictions

How market frictions affect price volatility is an important issue in finance. In this paper we propose a derivation of the price volatility in the model of Bayesian updates. We link price volatility to the fundamental (asset) volatility and the participation rate of the informed trader and derive an equilibrium ratio of informed and uninformed traders. This ratio depends on frictions, such as tick size. Our model predicts that price volatility increases as tick size is reduced, and vice versa. Because the all-familiar tests of NYSE (2000) and NASDAQ (2001) decimalizations are inconclusive, we explore this hypothesis using the Russian Federation bond data surrounding the event of 1000-fold re-denomination of the ruble in 1998. Results show that volatility of bond yields declines sharply after the increase in the tick size. This finding strongly supports the contention that market frictions affect price volatility. Note: This paper is a new, significantly revised version of the Statistical Properties of an Informed Trading Model.
Subchondral Bone and the Osteochondral Unit: Basic Science and Clinical Implications in Sports Medicine.

Context:Articular cartilage injuries and early osteoarthritis are among the most common conditions seen by sports medicine physicians. Nonetheless, treatment options for articular degeneration are ...
Challenges and Instructional Approaches Impacting the Literacy Performance of English Language Learners.

For English Language Learners (ELLs), the process of becoming literate in English is daunting. Not only are these students faced with the same literacy challenges faced by native English-speaking students, but they are also challenged with extensive diversity issues relating to substantial differences in linguistic, cultural, and academic background experiences. This paper reviews the challenges faced by ELLs in learning to read in English. Subsequently the paper discusses the major instructional approaches designed to improve the literacy skill levels of these individuals.
Industrial Violence and the Legal Origins of Child Labor: Prologue: The Job

Around four in the afternoon on March 31, 1969, a welder's spark touched off a grain dust explosion at Circle E Ranch, a large-scale cattle feeding company near the town of Potwin in south-central Kansas. The force of the blast lifted the concrete roof on the lot's grain elevator and twisted the steel buildings that housed the feed mill at the heart of the operation. The accident injured four workers, three of them moderately. The fourth, Ted Pope, worked in the elevator that had borne the brunt. Fire shot up the lift that raised employees to the top of the structure, engulfing Pope in flames and leaving him with third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. The only places not burned were those protected by leather: his hands, his feet, and his waistline. Twenty-one years old at the time, Ted lay in an El Dorado, Kansas, hospital for months, undergoing repeated surgeries to reconstruct his body, especially the facial features that had been removed by the conflagration. After he recovered from his injuries, Pope returned to the feedlot, working a few years before crashing his motorcycle on a curve near town, a final accident that ended his short life. I had not known Ted before the explosion. I met him in the summer of 1972, when I worked at Circle E, as I would most summers growing up on the Kansas plains.
Not Really Single: The Deportation to Welfare Pathway for U.S. Citizen Mothers in Mixed-Status Marriage:

Working-class, Latin American men are increasingly removed from their families and exploited by the global market-driven for-profit detention system and then deported from the United States. Using ...
Optimum Corner Offset for Cubical Corrugated Boxes

Several C-flute single-wall regular slotted cubical corrugated boxes with dimensions from 12X12X12 to 22X22X22 were modified at the four corners with corner offsets from 1 inch to 8 inches to form diagonal (or “two-angle”) corners. They were conditioned at the standard test condition of 73 F  and 50% RH. The optimum corner offset varied from 22% of box dimension to 26% with an average of 24%. The maximum compression strength increased from the regular corner configuration from 23% to 62%, with an average of 44%. In addition, an average of 14% saving on material at optimum corner offset.
Supplying Biomass to Power Plants: A Model of the Costs of Utilizing Agricultural Biomass in Cofired Power Plants

U.S. power plants seek to diversify their fuel sources. Biomass energy is a renewable resource, generally with lower life-cycle greenhouse-gas emissions than fossil fuels. Prospective users need information about infrastructure, logistics, costs, and constraints for the full biomass life cycle. This model estimates the cost and availability of biomass energy resources from U.S. agricultural lands from the perspective of an individual power plant.
The Journey of Service Delivery Competence in Applied Sport Psychology: The Arc of Development for New Professionals

A fundamental issue in applied sport psychology is the development of competent professionals who can provide effective and ethical services to clients. The current study uses a qualitative longitu...
Facile benchtop reactor design using dendrimer-templating technology for the fabrication of polyethyleneimine-coated CuO nanoparticles on the gram scale

Although there has been a wealth of methods developed to produce nanoparticles (NPs), many still suffer from common limitations, such as the instability of the formed nanoparticles against self-aggregation and the inability to produce significant quantities of nanoparticles (gram level). In this regard, there is a growing need for the development of cost-effective, reliable, and scalable experimental protocols to synthesize stable nanoparticles with desired morphologies and controlled sizes. Hence, in this work, the authors explore the synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles via the construction of a multifunctional flow reactor that uses both polymer-templating and chemical reduction methods to produce nanoparticles at the gram scale. In particular, this flow reactor takes advantage of dendrimers and other polymers, such as polyethyleneimine, to control the size and morphology of the CuO NPs.Although there has been a wealth of methods developed to produce nanoparticles (NPs), many still suffer from common limitations, such as the instability of the formed nanoparticles against self-aggregation and the inability to produce significant quantities of nanoparticles (gram level). In this regard, there is a growing need for the development of cost-effective, reliable, and scalable experimental protocols to synthesize stable nanoparticles with desired morphologies and controlled sizes. Hence, in this work, the authors explore the synthesis of copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles via the construction of a multifunctional flow reactor that uses both polymer-templating and chemical reduction methods to produce nanoparticles at the gram scale. In particular, this flow reactor takes advantage of dendrimers and other polymers, such as polyethyleneimine, to control the size and morphology of the CuO NPs.
Defining pediatric community-acquired acute kidney injury: an observational study.

Background Pediatric acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with long-term morbidity and mortality; however, outcomes improve when AKI is detected earlier. Current definitions of AKI use baseline creatinine; community-acquired AKI (CA-AKI) is difficult to define and detect in the pediatric emergency department (ED) when no baseline creatinine is available. Our objective was to compare age- and gender-based creatinine norms to the traditional baseline (lowest creatinine in previous 3 months) to diagnose CA-AKI. Methods This was a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted in children 1 month-18 years of age seen in the pediatric ED in whom a creatinine was obtained. Results Per the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes AKI definition in encounters with baseline creatinine available, 343/2338 (14.7%) had CA-AKI. When the upper limit of the age- and gender-based creatinine norm was applied as a surrogate baseline creatinine, CA-AKI was diagnosed in 1.5% of encounters (239/15,486). Additionally, CA-AKI was diagnosed in 178 cases using the upper limit of age- and gender-based creatinine norms only, as these cases did not have a baseline creatinine. Conclusions Age- and gender-based creatinine norms can be applied as a surrogate baseline to detect CA-AKI in all children regardless of whether baseline creatinine is available, potentially detecting it earlier.
Production of Recombinant Transmembrane Proteins from Mammalian Cells for Biochemical and Structural Analyses

Eukaryotic integral membrane proteins are key components of various biological processes. Because they are implicated in multiple diseases, it is important to understand their mechanism of action by elucidating their structure and function. Complex technical challenges associated with the generation of recombinant membrane proteins severely impair our ability to understand them using structural and biochemical methods. Here, we provide a detailed procedure to address and mitigate difficulties involved in the large-scale heterologous overexpression and purification of eukaryotic membrane proteins using HEK293S GnTi- cells transduced with baculovirus. Two human proteins, hDHHC15 and hPORCN, are presented as examples, with step-by-step instructions for transient transfection and generation of baculoviruses, followed by overexpression and purification from HEK293S GnTi- cells. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC. Basic Protocol 1: Small-scale protein expression in mammalian HEK293T cells Basic Protocol 2: Generation of baculovirus from Sf9 (insect) cells Alternate Protocol: Enumeration-free method for generating P2 viral stock Support Protocol 1: Small-scale transduction of HEK293T cells with P2 baculovirus Basic Protocol 3: Large-scale viral transduction of HEK293S GnTi- cells Support Protocol 2: Large-scale membrane preparation from HEK293S GnTi- cells Basic Protocol 4: Large-scale purification of membrane proteins from HEK293S GnTi- cells.
The Future Perfect, Autopsy, and Enfreakment on the 19th-Century Stage

The public autopsies of 19th-century enfreaked performers remains a central issue in studies of 19th-century enslavement. While previously black performance studies focused on the instability of th...
Quantum formation of topological defects

We consider quantum phase transitions with global symmetry breakings that result in the formation of topological defects. We evaluate the number densities of kinks, vortices, and monopoles that are produced in $d=1$, 2, 3 spatial dimensions, respectively, and find that they scale as ${t}^{\ensuremath{-}d/2}$ and evolve toward attractor solutions that are independent of the quench timescale. For $d=1$ our results apply in the region of parameters $\ensuremath{\lambda}\ensuremath{\tau}/m\ensuremath{\ll}1$ where $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ is the quartic self-interaction of the order parameter, $\ensuremath{\tau}$ is the quench timescale, and $m$ is the mass parameter.
Gender Prevalence and Trends in Otology and Neurotology Publications.

OBJECTIVE To assess otology and neurotology authorship by gender, subject, and country of origin from 2000 to 2019. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective review of otology and neurotology publications in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019 from 10 prominent journals within otolaryngology. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Demographics for first through third and final authors, including gender, degree, coauthorship, as well as number of authors, subject matter, and region of origin for each publication. RESULTS A total of 4,411 neurotology articles published in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019 were analyzed. During the study period, the proportion of female authors increased from 22.3% in 2000 to 33.9% in 2019 (p < 0.0001). However, authorship position analysis demonstrated no increase in final female authorship (22.5% in 2019, from 19.4% in 2000, p = 0.112). Geographic region analysis demonstrated a similar overall global trend toward an increase in female authors. When considering author gender by position, North America, the Middle East, and Africa failed to demonstrate significant increasing trends for female final authors. Female final authors were also significantly less likely to have medical degrees than final male authors, (37.4% versus 78.6%, respectfully, p = < 0.0001). Finally, women published more often within the subjects of pediatrics and audiology (46.5% and 37.3% of final authors, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS Female authorship in otology and neurotology has increased globally. With the predominant number of articles originating from North America, and articles originating from North America failing to demonstrate an increase in female final authorship, overall, final female authorship did not change during the study period. PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE GAP AND EDUCATIONAL NEED There is no comprehensive study exploring gender distribution within only the specialty of otology and neurotology. While it is known that more women are becoming otolaryngologists, it is unknown if this increase is reflected in otology and neurotology publications, domestically and internationally. LEARNING OBJECTIVE To understand if gender biases and/or differences exist within otology and neurotology publications. DESIRED RESULT Identify trends in otology and neurotology publications to address particular barriers to female publication within the field.
Deconstructing Dante: How things fall apart in the Paradiso:

Much recent commentary on Dante’s Commedia focuses on Dante’s truth claims in the poem. Indeed, Teodolinda Barolini has proposed that “the fundamental question for all readers of Dante’s poem” is “...
Associations between infant sex and DNA methylation across umbilical cord blood, artery, and placenta samples.

DNA methylation (DNAm) is vulnerable to dysregulation by environmental exposures during epigenetic reprogramming that occurs in embryogenesis. Sexual dimorphism in environmentally induced DNAm dysregulation has been identified and therefore it is important to understand sex-specific DNAm patterns. DNAm at several autosomal sites has been consistently associated with sex in cord blood and placental foetal tissues. However, there is limited research comparing sex-specific DNAm across tissues, particularly differentially methylated regions (DMRs). This study leverages DNAm data measured using the Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip in cord blood (N = 179), placenta (N = 229), and umbilical artery samples (N = 229) in the PRogramming of Intergenerational Stress Mechanisms (PRISM) cohort to identify autosomal DMRs and differentially methylated positions (DMPs). A replication analyses was conducted in an independent cohort (GEO Accession GSE129841). We identified 183, 257, and 419 DMRs and 2119, 2281, and 3405 DMPs (pBonferroni < 0.05) in cord blood, placenta, and artery samples, respectively. Thirty-nine DMRs overlapped in all three tissues, overlapping with genes involved in spermatogenesis (NKAPL, PIWIL2 and AURKC) and X-inactivation (LRIF1). In replication analysis, 85% of DMRs overlapped with those identified in PRISM. Overall, DMRs and DMPs had higher methylation levels among females in cord blood and artery samples, but higher methylation levels among males in placenta samples. Further research is necessary to understand biological mechanisms that contribute to differences in sex-specific DNAm signatures across tissues, as well as to determine if sexual dimorphism in the epigenome impacts response to environmental stressors.
Elements of adaptive wavelet image compression

The adaptive wavelet image compression (AWIC) algorithm is a fast, simple wavelet-based image compression technique that follows the classical paradigm of image transformation, quantization, and entropy encoding. A key component of AWIC is a technique of channel symbol definition that provides greatly reduced Huffman table encoding costs, allowing optimal Huffman codewords to be generated and used for each level of the wavelet transformed image. Further optimizations for compression performance were achieved through empirical studies.
Biodegradable mulch performed comparably to polyethylene in high tunnel tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) production.

BACKGROUND High tunnels in the cool climate of north western Washington state improve the growing environment for crops otherwise suited to warmer climates. Biodegradable mulch may improve the sustainability of high tunnel vegetable production if it performs comparably to polyethylene. Four biodegradable mulch treatments (BioAgri, BioTelo, WeedGuardPlus and SB-PLA-10/11/12) were compared to black polyethylene and bare ground in high tunnels and open field settings to assess the impact of production system and mulch treatment on weed control, tomato yield, and fruit quality. RESULTS Fewer weeds grew in high tunnels than in the open field. High tunnels increased total and marketable fruit yields and increased individual fruit weight. High tunnel production increased juice content and pH of tomato fruit, but decreased total soluble solids, titratable acidity, and total phenolics compared to the open field. All mulch treatments except SB-PLA-10 controlled weeds. BioAgri, BioTelo and polyethylene increased total yields by 20%, though marketability was reduced 14% compared to bare ground and WeedGuardPlus treatments. CONCLUSION High tunnels can improve tomato yield and affect fruit quality in north western Washington. Biodegradable plastic mulches performed comparably to polyethylene in weed control, tomato yield, and fruit quality and may, therefore, improve the sustainability of high tunnel vegetable production. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry
The developmental regulation of amylolytic and proteolytic enzymes in the embryonic rat pancreas.

Abstract During the period of morphogenesis of the rat pancreas, the specific exocrine enzymes accumulation pattern from Day 13 through Day 14 to as late as Day 15 is a low and constant basal level of each specific protein (the protodifferentiated level). Subsequently, the levels of the exocrine enzymes increase dramatically. The specific activities of chymotrypsin(ogen), trypsin(ogen), (pro)carboxypeptidase A and B, and amylase increase approximately 1000-fold (differentiated stage). The inflection point of the typically sigmoid accumulation (plotted logarithmically) of the different enzymes occurs between 16½ and 18½ days. The initiation of these increases is not temporally coincident for all the proteins nor do the changes in specific activity of the enzymes appear to be coordinate. The levels of the enzymes in the adult pancreas average from several fold less to several fold more than those present in that of the newborn animal. Addition of agents implicated in altering the quantity of chymotrypsin and amylase in the adult animal have no effect on the in vitro embryonic accretion of these enzymes. Thus the levels appear to be independently modulated by unknown factors. Determinations in embryonic and adult tissues other than pancreas indicate that (pro)carboxypeptidase A activity is present in significant quantity only in the pancreas. In all cases, specific activities are considerably less than that of the pancreatic protodifferentiated level. This substantiates the existence of a protodifferentiated stage in pancreatic development. Enzyme assay of explants following organ culture of 13-day pancreatic rudiments yields a profile of specific protein accumulation coincident with that observed in vivo. Measurements of rates of biosynthesis of exocrine enzymes in vitro demonstrate a 30- to 60-fold increase during the developmental period studied (13 to 19 days). Inclusion of actinomycin D or 5-bromodeoxyuridine in vitro during the protodifferentiated period results in 90% inhibition of subsequent appearance of enzyme activity or biosynthesis (or both). Treatment at later times with these antimetabolites produces a progressively smaller effect. These results suggest that a DNA-linked process and, subsequently, RNA synthesis are required for expression of differentiated character. A multiphasic model of regulation in pancreatic organogenesis is discussed.
The Unregulables? The Perilous Confluence of Hedge Funds and Credit Derivatives

This Note examines credit derivatives, hedge funds, and the increase in systemic risk that results from the combination of the two. The issues considered include what method of regulation—entity, transaction, or selfregulation—provides the form and amount of disclosure that best addresses the risk that the markets as a whole will be affected by a financial shock. Emphasizing the role of traders and efficient capital markets, this Note proposes that a system of disclosure for derivatives similar to the Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine, or TRACE, system for corporate bonds would prevent rapid repricings that have the potential to shock the financial system.
Parallel algorithms for some computational problems

Publisher Summary The chapter presents a survey of parallel algorithms for finding the connected and biconnected components of a graph. The chapter classifies the various parallel algorithms for finding the connected components of undirected graphs according to two major criteria: the basic technique employed and the format of the input. The basic techniques used in these algorithms are breadth-first search, transitive closure, and vertex collapse. The most common form of input is adjacency matrix. The chapter presents several parallel minimum spanning tree algorithms for different types of parallel computational models. A minimum spanning tree of a weighted, connected, and undirected graph is defined as a set of edges of the graph that connects all vertices and whose total edge weight is minimum. The chapter discusses various other parallel graph algorithms for shortest path, maximum matching, planarity testing, and maximal independent set. It describes parallel algorithms for various nongraph-theoretic problems like arithmetic expression and polynomial evaluation, string matching, tree balancing, and alpha-beta search.
Specification and verification of the alternating bit protocol by temporal Petri nets

Temporal Petri nets are Petri nets in which certain restrictions on the firings of transitions are represented by formulas containing temporal operators. It is shown how temporal Petri nets can be used for formal specification and verification of the alternating bit protocol. The temporal Petri net which models the protocol is analyzed formally using the existing theory of omega -regular expressions and Buchi-automata. >