cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Causality in Quantum Electrodynamics

Quantum mechanics, even in its early and simple phases, has often been regarded as a non-causal discipline. The argument supporting this view cites the uncertainty principle as prohibiting the ascertainment of complete knowledge concerning physical states upon which causal prediction could be based. Recent developments in atomic physics have added new and puzzling features to the problem of causality insofar as they operate, not only with intrinsically unmeasurable states, but also with time reversals which have been interpreted to mean that the effect can be prior to the cause. Feynman’s theory of quantum electrodynamics is particularly rich in unorthodox suggestions which tantalise philosophers. The purpose of the present paper is to exhibit them, appraise their methodological function and see in what manner they violate the rules of causal description. This purpose, it seems, is best achieved by a sequential discussion of three questions: What does causality mean in physics? What is the new method of quantum electrodynamics? Is this new method compatible with the causal doctrine in some satisfactory form?
Markov Modeling of Fault-Tolerant Wireless Sensor Networks

Technological advancements in communications and embedded systems have led to the proliferation of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in a wide variety of application domains. One commonality across all WSN application domains is the need to meet application requirements (e.g., lifetime, reliability, etc.). Many application domains require that sensor nodes be deployed in harsh environments (e.g., ocean floor, active volcanoes), making these sensor nodes more prone to failures. Unfortunately, sensor node failures can be catastrophic for critical or safety related systems. To improve reliability in such systems, we propose a fault-tolerant sensor node model for applications with high reliability requirements. We develop Markov models for characterizing WSN reliability and MTTF (Mean Time to Failure) to facilitate WSN application-specific design. Results show that our proposed fault-tolerant model can result in as high as a 100% MTTF increase and approximately a 350% improvement in reliability over a non-fault-tolerant WSN. Results also highlight the significance of a robust fault detection algorithm to leverage the benefits of fault-tolerant WSNs.
Angiogenesis in the Uterus: Potential Regulation and Relation to Tumor Angiogenesis

Except under certain pathological conditions such as wound healing and solid tumor growth, angiogenesis is a relatively rare event in the adult. One exception, however, is the angiogenesis that occurs during the cyclical changes in the female reproductive tract. Many factors, chemical as well as mechanical, have been shown to be capable of promoting or inhibiting angiogenesis in vivo and in vitro. However, despite intense research efforts, the mechanisms involved in the regulation of angiogenesis in vivo are not fully understood. In this article we briefly review the basic steps involved in angiogenesis and present examples of factors and conditions that may serve as potential regulators of angiogenesis in the nonpregnant uterus. Finally, we discuss some of the architectural, anatomical, and physiological differences between the microcirculatory beds established during normal, self-limited vessel growth and that associated with the uncontrolled, pathological vascular growth that accompanies tumor growth and metastasis.
Composition‐Size Effects in Nickel–Zinc Ferrite Nanoparticles Prepared by Aqueous Coprecipitation

Nickel–zinc ferrite nanoparticles across the solid solution range, Ni1−xZnxFe2O4, from nickel ferrite to zinc ferrite were prepared by aqueous precipitation of mixed nitrate solutions at the same pH of 12.3. There is a linear relationship between the nanoparticle diameter and composition, decreasing with increasing zinc concentration across the solid solution. The nanoparticles are highly resistant to coarsening and some of them are faceted, suggesting that they are close to thermodynamic equilibrium. Measurements of the surface charge density of the nanoparticles, based on simultaneous conductimetric and potentiometeric titration, are presented as a function of composition for the zinc-rich compositions. A trend exists between the surface charge density and the zinc concentration, suggesting that they may be stabilized by charge.
Thermodynamic Modeling of Fluid-Rock Interaction at Mid-Crustal to Upper-Mantle Conditions

Fluid-rock interaction is important in a wide range of settings in the middle crust to the upper mantle. Fluids are liberated in the crust during prograde metamorphism in convergent-margin settings. At greater depth, devolatilization of subducting lithosphere plays a major role in global element cycling, metasomatic alteration of the mantle, and the genesis of arc magmas. Mafic magmas produced in these settings may stall in the lower crust and liberate volatiles that metasomatize surrounding rocks and trigger production of silicic magmas of crustal derivation. Mounting evidence points to an important role for metasomatic alteration by saline brines in the genesis of some lower-crustal granulite-facies metamorphic terranes. Unlike shallow geothermal systems or low-grade metamorphic environments, there has been only limited progress in modeling the fluid-rock interaction that characterizes the deeper geologic systems enumerated above. Such phase-equilibrium models require as input the chemical potential, μ i μ i ≡ ( ∂ G i ∂ n i ) P , T (1) of the participating phases or species i , where G i is the Gibbs free energy of i , n i is the number of moles of i , P is pressure, and T is temperature. At the P and T of interest, μ i = μ i ∘ + R T l n a i (2) Where μ° is standard state chemical potential, a is activity, R is the gas constant, and T is absolute temperature. It is challenging to quantify the right-hand terms in Equation (2) at P and T ranging from the middle crust to the upper mantle. This is chiefly because of (1) limitations in our quantitative knowledge of key properties of relevant solutes and H2O, and (2) uncertainty in how properly to model solute activities at the requisite conditions. As a consequence, aqueous geochemists have been discouraged from plying their trade in the numerous deep geologic systems in which fluid-rock interaction may play a major role in the Earth’s chemical and physical evolution. …
Developmental Changes in Understanding an Illusion Based on Perceptual Adaptation: Effects of Feedback

Children and adults were exposed to an illusion created by perceptual adaptation, in which they perceived two identical bottles, held simultaneously in a different hand, as being different in weight. Prior research has shown that young children treat the perceived difference as real rather than illusory. In an initial study, feedback designed to signal the illusory nature of the weight difference led many third graders to acquire an erroneous rule. Older children and adults more often gave a correct response, although there was no clear evidence that they understood the illusion. In Study 2, confronting children with the discrepancy between the preillusion phase of the testing and the subsequent experience of an illusion helped them to infer an understanding of the illusion when the discrepancy was large. The results have implications for the development of the understanding of perceptual processes, the appearance-reality distinction, and the child's theory of mind.
Phoneme recognition via coupling landmark ISOMAP and Random Forests

In this paper we proposed the usage of a non-linear dimensionality reduction technique for the task of phoneme recognition. The classic ISOMAP(Tenenbaum et al) is computationally expensive, hence for large datasets is an ihnerently prohibitive, albeit we can approximate the quality of mapping via using landmark ISOMAP, which essentially is an approximation of ISOMAP with theoretical guarantees. The main gist of our solution is to increase the dimensionality of feature vector and then to project to a lower dimensional manifold. By performing this step we try to encapsulate non-linearities that exist in feature space that cannot be otherwise revealed.Classification of phonemes is performed via Random Forests which is computationally light and has strong probabilistic background. We accompany our work with experiments over a subset of phonemes drawn from TIMIT Database.
Feasibility of Gas-Expanded Lubricants for Increased Energy Efficiency in Tilting-Pad Journal Bearings

Lubricants are necessary in tilting-pad journal bearings to ensure separation betweensolid surfaces and to dissipate heat. They are also responsible for much of the undesir-able power losses that can occur through a bearing. Here, a novel method to reducepower losses in tilting-pad journal bearings is proposed in which the conventional lubri-cant is substituted by a binary mixture of synthetic lubricant and dissolved CO
Explicit Equations of Motion for Mechanical Systems With Nonideal Constraints

Since its inception about 200 years ago, Lagrangian mechanics has been based upon the Principle of D'Alembert. There are, however, many physical situations where this confining principle is not suitable, and the constraint forces do work. To date, such situations are excluded from general Lagrangian formulations. This paper releases Lagrangian mechanics from this confinement, by generalizing D'Alembert's principle, and presents the explicit equations of motion for constrained mechanical systems in which the constraints are nonideal. These equations lead to a simple and new fundamental view of Lagrangian mechanics. They provide a geometrical understanding of constrained motion, and they highlight the simplicity with which Nature seems to operate.
Mouse B Cell Activation is Inhibited by CD44 Cross-Linking

Lymphocyte activation and trafficking are indispensable to the immune system. CD44 is an adhesion molecule with known importance in T cell activation, lymphocyte trafficking, and tumor metastasis. Although CD44 has been shown to participate in the activation, rolling and adhesion, and homing of T cells, the role of CD44 on B cells is relatively unknown. The effects of CD44 cross-linking on murine B cell activation via CD40L was explored using the anti-CD44 mAbs RK3G9 and IM7. When immobilized on a plate, both RK3G9 and IM7 were found to strongly inhibit B cell proliferation and Ig production, especially at lower cell input concentrations. IgE inhibition was especially prominent. In contrast, soluble RK3G9 added to the B cell cultures had no effect. The inhibitory effect of anti-CD44 on B cell activation was not influenced by the addition of the anti-FcgammaRII, indicating that Fc cross-linking did not play a role in this inhibition. As Ig production requires several days for both B cell proliferation and differentiation to occur, the effects of delayed addition of immobilized anti-CD44 mAbs were studied, and the results indicated no inhibition after 96 hrs of culture. Finally, B cells were activated by either LPS or anti-IgM F(ab')2. While LPS-induced B cell activation was inhibited by immobilized anti-CD44 mAbs, anti-IgM activation was refractory. Interestingly, addition of both anti-IgM and CD40L or LPS resulted in some modulation of the inhibitory activity. These results suggest that CD44 cross-linking could control polyclonal B cell activation by CD40L, but allow sIgM/CD40L activation to continue.
Body-part categories of early-learned verbs: Different granularities at different points in development

This paper builds on our previous finding that early verbs are strongly related to body parts. One evidence for this relation is the strong word associations among adults between common verbs and body parts. Although many common verbs are related to body parts, the prior evidence suggests that some verbs are strongly related to highly specific body regions (e.g., fingers) and others to larger or more diffuse regions (e.g., hand and arm). Here we ask whether this granularity or specificity in associations is related to age of acquisition. We examine the structure of adult associations of common verbs to body parts as a function of age of acquisition for a 101 verbs normatively acquired between 16 to 30 months. And we propose a new analysis to look at the development of granularity over a short time period: 16 months and for a small number of verbs: 101. We generated verb clusters based on body parts features, and analysed how these body-partsbased clusters account for variance of age of acquisition (AoA) of verbs. By applying this analysis from the 50 earliest learned verbs to the 50 latest learned ones, we found several clusters relevant to AoA in different granularity of body parts. The results fit with growing behavioural and neuro-imaging results on the role of the body - and sensory-motor interactions in the world - in verb processing.
Reconciliation of Surface and Profiler Winds at ISS Sites

Abstract Integrated Sounding Systems (ISSs), which combine surface-based, balloon-borne, and radar observation capabilities, were deployed for the first time during the Intensive Observing Period (IOP) of the recent Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Response Experiment. This note addresses efforts to synthesize the data from these disparate platforms as well as avenues for future research that were opened in the process. The collaborative nature of the ISSs led to the application of different processing methods to the surface winds than were used with the winds measured by 915-MHz wind profilers. A new set of ship-based surface winds that are more directly analogous to the profiler winds has been developed. The statistical properties of these “AL-processed ISS surface winds” are shown to be similar to those of the land-based ISS surface winds, to the low-level profiler winds, and to surface winds measured at nearby buoys. A method of combining the surface and profiler winds from an ISS into one coherent dataset is...
Barrier Enhancing Signals

Lung alveolus, where gas exchange occurs, consists of blood capillary endothelium and alveolar epithelium, and the interstitial tissue layer. The endothelium and epithelium form the size-selective barrier that controls the exchange of fluid from the blood. Therefore, the integrity of vascular endothelium and epithelium is critical for lung function preservation and normal gas exchange. Movement of trans endothelial fluid and leukocyte flux occurs through paracellular gaps, which are formed at the sites of active inflammation between vascular endothelial cells. Paracellular gap formation is regulated by the balance of competing contractile forces that generate centripetal tension and adhesive cell–cell and cell–matrix tethering forces intimately linked to the actin- and myosin-based endothelial cytoskeleton. Actin and myosin microfilaments, critically involved in endothelial barrier regulation, are physically coupled to multiple membrane-spanning target proteins found in intercellular junctions and focal adhesion complexes. Intercellular contacts along the endothelial monolayer consist primarily of adherens and tight junctions, which link to the cytoskeleton to provide both mechanical stability and transduction of extracellular signals into the cell. In addition, dynamic actin polymerization at the endothelial cell periphery produces cortical structures that are essential to barrier enhancement by barrier enhancing agonists. Maturation of adherens and tight junctions not only forms a tight connection between cells with their surrounding environment but also initiates signaling pathways regulating cytoskeletal remodeling. On the other hand, these junctions are targets for various intracellular signaling pathways activated by barrier protective factors. In this chapter, recent studies on the molecular organization of cell–cell junctions and their signaling properties are described.
Blast Exposure Causes Dynamic Microglial/Macrophage Responses and Microdomains of Brain Microvessel Dysfunction

Exposure to blast overpressure (BOP) is associated with behavioral, cognitive, and neuroimaging abnormalities. We investigated the dynamic responses of cortical vasculature and its relation to microglia/macrophage activation in mice using intravital two-photon microscopy following mild blast exposure. We found that blast caused vascular dysfunction evidenced by microdomains of aberrant vascular permeability. Microglial/macrophage activation was specifically associated with these restricted microdomains, as evidenced by rapid microglial process retraction, increased ameboid morphology, and escape of blood-borne Q-dot tracers that were internalized in microglial/macrophage cell bodies and phagosome-like compartments. Microdomains of cortical vascular disruption and microglial/macrophage activation were also associated with aberrant tight junction morphology that was more prominent after repetitive (3×) blast exposure. Repetitive, but not single, BOPs also caused TNFα elevation two weeks post-blast. In addition, following a single BOP we found that aberrantly phosphorylated tau rapidly accumulated in perivascular domains, but cleared within four hours, suggesting it was removed from the perivascular area, degraded, and/or dephosphorylated. Taken together these findings argue that mild blast exposure causes an evolving CNS insult that is initiated by discrete disturbances of vascular function, thereby setting the stage for more protracted and more widespread neuroinflammatory responses.
Molecular-Genetic Testing in Penile, Scrotal, and Testicular Cancer

Malignant tumors of the penis, scrotum, and testes are rare, accounting for roughly 0.5 % of all male tumors. Presently the diagnosis of these tumors depends mainly on histologic examination, supplemented with immunohistochemistry. Over the past 20 years, however, many genetic changes have been identified that are largely specific to different tumors and tumor classes, such as 12p gains in testicular germ cell tumors. Although not commonly employed in the analysis of these tumors, molecular genetic testing is now available for many of these tumors and is becoming an increasingly important adjunct in their diagnosis and treatment. Here, we summarize what is known about the molecular pathology of these tumors and some of the molecular testing modalities currently available. We also briefly discuss the possible future molecular diagnostics of these tumors.
Thermal Stress Analysis of Gypsum Shell Cracking in Polyjet-Based Rapid Casting of Cellular Metals

Cellular (or lattice) metals are increasingly gaining attention for their having combinations of mechanical, thermal, and acoustic properties that provide potential opportunities for diverse multifunctional structural implementations. These include ultra-light structures with high specific strength and high specific strain, excellent impact absorption, acoustic insulation, heat dissipation media and compact heat exchangers. The emerging 3D printing technologies including direct and indirect additive manufacturing processes may accelerate the realization of their structural applications of cellular metals. For indirect additive manufacturing processes, sacrificial patterns are 3D printed with castable polymers, followed by metal filling into a mold cavity to make final cellular metals. With a high stiffness of a castable polymer, e.g., VisiJet® Procast, it is possible to build network lattice cellular structures, replacing wax which has been used for traditional investment casting processes. In general, a high thermal stress is expected during burning-out process of the rapid casing. Due to the castable polymer’s new properties, no literature is available on thermal stress between the castable polymer and ceramic shells for indirect additive manufacturing of cellular structures. The objective of this study is to investigate i) thermal stress by thermal expansion mismatch between a sacrificial pattern made of a castable polymer and a coated gypsum shell and ii) an effect of the thickness of the coated gypsum shell on thermal cracking. Starting with thermal analysis, glass transition temperature, melting temperature and thermal expansion coefficient are obtained from experiments. An analytical model for thermal stress analysis is constructed with thermo-mechanical constitutive equations and compatibility equations, followed by a failure analysis at the coated shells where gypsum is used for coating the sacrificial pattern. The thermo-mechanical analysis is conducted as a function of temperature and coated shell thickness followed by a numerical validation with a finite element (FE) based simulation. The castable polymer has the potential to be used as a base material for manufacturing 3D network cellular sacrificial patterns with thin cell walls over conventional wax materials due to its high modulus and low thermal expansion coefficient during the burning out process of the sacrificial pattern.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Prior oral contraceptive use and soy isoflavone exposure alter cytochrome P450s by two different mechanisms

B16 Estrogen exposure and metabolism are of current interest because they may play an important role in estrogen-sensitive cancers in postmenopausal women. We investigated the effects of long-term soy isoflavone (IF) consumption or premenopausal oral contraceptive (OC) use on postmenopausal expression of cytochrome P450 (CYP) mRNA, and whether IF directly affects CYP activity. One-hundred eighty-one female cynomolgus monkeys were randomized to receive OC or placebo for 28 months premenopausally, then ovariectomized and randomized to either an IF-free or IF-containing diet for 36 months. We measured mRNA levels of CYP1A1, CYP1B1, and CYP3A4 from total RNA isolated from liver and mammary samples obtained at necropsy using real-time RT-PCR. Long-term IF consumption did not significantly alter postmenopausal mammary CYP mRNA levels, while premenopausal OC administration reduced postmenopausal mRNA levels of all three enzymes assayed (50% reduction in both CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 mRNA and 80% reduction of CYP3A4 mRNA). Neither treatment changed any CYP mRNA level within the liver. To complement our studies in monkeys and increase our mechanistic understanding of IF effects, we also measured the effect of IF on CYP activity using a fluorogenic CYP activity assay in intact V79 cells stably transfected to express one of the three aforementioned CYP enzymes. Cells were preincubated with 1, 3, 10, or 30uM genistein, daidzein, or equol (a major metabolite of daidzein) added to the medium thirty minutes prior to addition of substrate for assay of activity. Overall, the activity of each CYP enzyme was altered in a dose-dependent and isoflavone-specific manner, with genistein exhibiting the most significant reduction of CYP1A1 and CYP1B1 activities. CYP1B1 activity was the enzyme most sensitive to IF pretreatment with each isoflavone achieving greater than 50% reduction in activity (approximate IC50 values of 2.1, 5.6, and 7.9uM for genistein, equol, and daidzein respectively). In summary, long-term mRNA expression of CYP isozymes involved in steroid hormone metabolism in the mammary tissues of postmenopausal non-human primates was reduced by prior OC exposure, but not by dietary IF consumption. However, our cell culture studies indicated that soy IF altered CYP activity acutely at concentrations achievable in the tissues of individuals on a diet including significant amounts of soy isoflavones. The strong reduction of CYP1B1 activity by IF could translate to reduced amounts of 4-OHE1, a precursor to mutagenic catecholestrogen quinones, produced in the tissue, thereby reducing the risk of estrogen-induced cancers. Finally, the reduction in CYP mRNA expression by OC exposure suggests that OC may actually attenuate the risk thought to be associated with metabolism of estrogens in this pathway.
Wronged beyond words On the publicity and repression of moral injury

In this article, I discuss cases in which moral grievances, particularly assertions that a moral injury has taken place, are systematically obstructed by received linguistic and epistemic practices. I suggest a social epistemological model for theorizing such cases of moral epistemic injustice. Towards this end, I offer a reconstruction of Lyotard’s concept of the differend, comparing it with Miranda Fricker’s concept of epistemic injustice, and considering it in light of some criticisms posed by Axel Honneth. Through this reconstruction and a series of examples, I demonstrate that a basic formal structure recurs in cases of discursively repressed moral injury, namely, a particular kind of dilemma. I argue that appreciating this dilemma pushes us in the direction of a form of non-ideal ethical theory and I conclude by elaborating a conception of moral reflective judgement that begins from particular experiences of moral injury and moves towards the creation of new moral universals.
Adapting the Systems Engineering Paradigm to Revitalize Program Control/Program Integration Processes into USAF Complex Systems Acquisition Programs

The Department of Defense continually looks at means to control the cost overruns, schedule slips and technical requirements creep so as to acquire high performing and highly complex weapons systems. This paper describes how the functions that comprise Program Integration would benefit by the proper application of Systems Engineering precepts. Program Integration requires the application of an interdisciplinary approach such as that which defines Systems Engineering. Many of the functions that define Program Integration, such as Risk Analysis, and Logistics support, already are considered Systems Engineering concepts or characteristics. The remaining Program Integration functions could likewise be incorporated under the overall Systems Engineering approach. The Air Force has struggled with getting the respective programs to transition to the Program Integration philosophy. Much of the issue relates to typical resource constraints. This paper addresses these implementation issues and makes recommendations centered on the use of Systems Engineering as the means to establish a fully functioning Program Integration effort that will result in highly-executing acquisition program offices that can execute their mission with a higher degree of success with respect to cost, schedule, and performance. Organizing such a function within an established engineering functional office are also be explored.
Numerical Simulation of the Strip Steel Induction Heating Process with Response Surface Methodology

The mathematical models of electromagnetic field and temperature field are determined,based on the principle of induction heating,via the ANSYS FEM software. The effect of the current density and frequency of the coil on electromagnetic field and temperature field is analyzed according to the simulation results. With surface corresponding method,the relation equation between temperature and current density and frequency is built. The current density has larger influence on temperature gradient according to differential equation of first order of current density and frequency.
Allopatric Speciation and Vicariance

In evolutionary biology in the 20th century few intellectual figures stand out like Ernst Mayr. His contributions are so numerous that it would be impossible to present them in this book’s limited format. However, chief among them was certainly his dogged devotion as a tireless advocate for the prevalence, in fact, the near universality, of the role of geographic isolation in speciation. He has numerous publications demonstrating the phenomenon of geographical speciation that predate his Systematics and the Origin of Species (Mayr, 1942), which is one of the three great documents of the evolutionary synthesis, but that book stands alone as a remarkably clear description of the phenomenon and its relevance to evolutionary biology.
T cells in rheumatoid arthritis: Paradigms and facts

Rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by a strong HLA-DRB1 association and a histologic picture consistent with an antigen recognition event by tissue-infiltrating T cells. Basic immunology has seen major progress in the understanding of the T-cell receptor-MHC-antigen interaction; however, the role of T cells and disease-associated HLA-DRB1 alleles in rheumatoid arthritis remains elusive. Recent studies on the genetics of the HLA-DRB1 association and the diversity of the repertoire of synovial T cells, and treatment studies with T-cell depleting antibodies, have suggested that the model of T cells recognizing an arthritogenic antigen in association with a HLA-DR molecule is too simplistic. The findings are more consistent with a regulatory role of T cells. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a unique T-cell repertoire that not only reflects the influence of disease-associated HLA-DRB1 alleles but also is greatly skewed by the clonal expansion of few CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell specificities. Understanding these repertoire changes appears to be promising not only in permitting understanding of the pathogenesis of this disease but also in designing T-cell-targeted treatment strategies.
Maehr, D. S., R. F. Noss, and J. L. Larkin. 2001. Large Mammal Restoration: Ecological and Sociological Challenges in the 21st Century. Island Press, Washington, D.C, 336 pp. ISBN 1-55963-817-6, price (paper), $24.00;

D. S. Maehr, R. F. Noss, J. L. Larkin. 2001. Large Mammal Restoration: Ecological and Sociological Challenges in the 21st Century. Island Press, Washington, D.C, 336 pp. ISBN 1-55963-817-6, price (paper), $24.00; ISBN 1-55963-816-8, price (hardcover), $52.00. We live in exciting times. Last week I saw my 1st wolves. Not in a fleeting biologist-glimpses-wolf encounter but from a paved road in Yellowstone, surrounded by parked cars and a gaggle of ordinary Americans as excited as I was that, against remarkable odds, the most developed nation on Earth had decided to restore a dangerous predator to its countryside. The restoration of large mammals in North American ecosystems is becoming a reality. This book— the product of a symposium held at the Wildlife Society in 1999—charts the planning, successes, and failures of that process. The book's focus is distinctly North American; this continent is, perhaps, unique in having the legislative framework, the money, and the (admittedly patchy) public support to carry out restoration, combined with tracts of undeveloped land large enough to make the prospect ecologically feasible. Indeed, the fact that species such as elk, white-tailed deer, and wolves were eradicated from huge areas by hunting and persecution—yet without major habitat destruction— is a remarkable testament …
Software and Computer Service Exports

The litany of the conventional intepretation reaches a more intense and focused pitch with regard to Indian software. Indian software exports reportedly reached US$ 329 million in 1993–4, up from $259.7 million in the previous year,1 and growing from $26 million in 1985. Although estimates of India's domestic sales of packaged software in 1994 ($495 million) represented only 0.6 percent of the world market in that year,2 the $322.5 million in software exports in 1993–4 were part of only $22 billion in exports from India.
Work and Its Discontents

In mid-Victorian Bradford, as elsewhere in England, the rise of industry forced people to find a new vocabulary to express what was new and distinctive about their world.1 Bradfordians, fascinated by the machine and the factory, repeatedly used mechanical analogies to describe both social relations and social structure.2 Often this took the form of parallels between the factory and daily life. The Reverend Benjamin Wood felt no embarrassment when he compared the social order to a weaver’s shuttle, or Saint Paul to an overlooker in his 1868 sermon to working men, for he spoke in a familiar idiom. The notion of the community as a factory or a mechanism frequently appeared in public discourse. Reverend Charles Robinson put it this way: Every community may be compared to a vast machine, in which every wheel is dependent on some other, so that the derangement of the smallest portion of it is fatal to the efficiency of the wholer.3
The association between common polymorphisms in genes related to inflammatory response and obesity with colorectal cancer in CLUE II

B107 Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that chronic inflammation and obesity are strongly associated with colorectal cancer. The propensity to mount an innate or adaptive immune response and to regulate energy consumption and metabolism is modified by germ-line variation. > Methods: We investigated the association of colorectal cancer with 17 candidate single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in key immune response related genes ( IL1B, IL6, IL8, TNF, IL10, CRP, RNASEL, TLR4 ) and genes involved in obesity/energy regulation ( LEP, ADIPOQ, PPARG, TCF7L2 ). Haplotype tagging SNPs were also chosen for the CRP , IL10 , and TLR4 genes, which showed promising associations in the candidate SNP analysis. Incident colorectal cancer cases (n=208) and matched controls (n=416) were identified between baseline in 1989 and 2002 among participants in a community-based cohort (CLUE II) in Washington County, Maryland. Single-locus association analysis was conducted using conditional logistic regression. > Results: Compared with the wild type genotype (AA) at the candidate IL10 -1082 locus (rs1800896), carrying one (odds ratio [OR], 0.79; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53 - 1.18) or two (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35 - 0.95) variant G alleles, a known higher producer of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, was associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer (P trend , 0.03). Carrying at least one variant allele (A) of a SNP in the second intron of adiponectin ( ADIPOQ , rs1501299) was associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer when compared with the CC genotype (OR, 1.42; 95% CI, 0.99 - 2.04; P trend , 0.09). No other statistically significant associations were observed for the candidate SNPs with colorectal cancer. The candidate SNP associations did not vary greatly by cancer subsite (colon vs. rectum). Evidence for effect modification (P interaction ≤ 0.07) by body mass index or aspirin/non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use was present for several of the candidate SNPs ( ADIPOQ , LEP -2548 [rs2167270], TLR4 -11381 [rs11536889], PPARG -Pro 12 Ala [rs1801282], IL8 -251 [rs4073]). Statistically significant associations with colorectal cancer were also observed for several tag-SNPs at the CRP (rs2794521, rs2808630, rs3093077, rs1417938), IL10 (rs1800890, rs3024496, rs3024498) and TLR4 (rs7873784, rs11536891) loci. However, the IL10 tag-SNPs associations were due to high linkage disequilibrium between the tag-SNPs and the candidate IL10 -1082 SNP. > Conclusions: Our prospective study suggests that polymorphisms in genes related to the innate or adaptive immune response or in obesity/energy regulation may be associated with risk for colorectal cancer. > >Funding: American Institute for Cancer Research, and NCI Contract N01-CO-12400
Developing photolabile protecting groups based on the excited state meta effect

Abstract We have recently developed a number of photolabile protecting groups (PPGs) for efficient release of carbonyl, hydroxyl, diol, carboxyl, and amino functionalities. These new PPGs are designed on the basis of the excited state meta effect. They share common features including structural simplicity, easy preparation, flexible structural modification, diverse protection methods, high protection and deprotection efficiency, tolerance of ambient conditions during irradiation, and remarkable stability toward chemical treatments. They can be potentially useful in a wide range of applications including organic synthesis, caging, and materials science.
Physical activity behavior change for older veterans after dysvascular amputation.

Objective Determine the feasibility of using a physical-activity behavior-change (PABC) intervention for increasing physical activity and reducing disability in Veterans 1–5 years following dysvascular lower-limb amputation (LLA).
Types of Integration

There are many different ways to integrate enterprises with each other, with their various autonomous divisions and with their hosted or nonhosted back-end application systems. In order to derive the spectrum of integration use cases for a generic B2B integration technology architecture it is mandatory to explore and to examine integration scenarios in more detail and in more depth. This chapter reviews an exhaustive set of integration scenarios from an integration technology point of view. The scenarios are described graphically.
Thirty-Day Readmission Risk Factors Following Single-Level Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion (TLIF) for 4992 Patients From the ACS-NSQIP Database.

Study Design:Retrospective cohort study.Objective:To describe the readmission rate and identify risk factors associated with 30-day readmission after transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) s...
Ethnicity, Race, and Postoperative Stroke Risk Among 53,593 Patients with Asymptomatic Carotid Stenosis Undergoing Revascularization.

Background The incidence of postoperative stroke after carotid endarterectomy is an uncommon event, and differences by racial and ethnic subgroups are not described fully in the literature. Objective To investigate the impact of race and ethnicity on postoperative stroke risk among patients with asymptomatic carotid stenosis undergoing carotid endarterectomy. Methods The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was searched for patients between the dates 2008 and 2015 to identify patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy with no history of stroke. Four racial and ethnic subgroups were included: non-Hispanic white, Hispanic white, non-Hispanic back, and non-Hispanic Asian. In addition to a descriptive statistical analysis, univariate and multivariate regression models were created to adjust for cardiovascular and perioperative risk factors and corrected for multiple comparisons. Results Among the 53,593 patients identified meeting the inclusion criteria, 788 (1.45%) patients experienced a stroke within 30 days. The non-Hispanic white group compared with the minority subgroups had a lower risk of postoperative stroke (1.43% vs. 1.67%, P = 0.18). The greatest difference was between the non-Hispanic white and Hispanic white groups, but this was not significant on multivariable analysis (odds ratio 1.40, 95% confidence interval 0.97–2.02, P = 0.08) after adjustment for risk stroke factors. The strongest predictors of postoperative stroke were perioperative blood transfusion, dependent functional status, and longer operative time. Conclusions There was no difference between the racial and ethnic groups and the proportion of postoperative stroke among patients undergoing revascularization for asymptomatic carotid stenosis.
Inquiry as an entry point to equity in the classroom

Although many policy documents include equity as part of mathematics education standards and principles, researchers continue to explore means by which equity might be supported in classrooms and a...
A Synthesis of Instructional Strategies in Geoscience Education Literature That Address Barriers to Inclusion for Students With Disabilities

People with disabilities make up the largest minority population in the U.S. yet remain sorely underrepresented in scientific disciplines that require components of field-based training such as the...
Apneic oxygenation reduces hypoxemia during endotracheal intubation in the pediatric emergency department.

Abstract Background Apneic oxygenation (AO) has been evaluated in adult patients as a means of reducing hypoxemia during endotracheal intubation (ETI). While less studied in pediatric patients, its practice has been largely adopted. Objective Determine association between AO and hypoxemia in pediatric patients undergoing ETI. Methods Observational study at an urban, tertiary children's hospital emergency department. Pediatric patients undergoing ETI were examined during eras without (January 2011–June 2011) and with (August 2014–March 2017) apneic oxygenation. The primary outcome was hypoxemia, defined as pulse oximetry (SpO2) Results 149 patients were included. Cohorts were similar except for greater incidence of altered mental status in those receiving AO (26% vs. 7%, p = 0.03). Nearly 50% of the pre-AO cohort experienced hypoxemia during ETI, versus Conclusions Apneic oxygenation is an easily-applied intervention associated with decreases in hypoxemia during pediatric ETI. Nearly 50% of children not receiving AO experienced hypoxemia.
Halogen Photoelimination from SbV Dihalide Corroles

Main-group p-block metals are ideally suited for mediating two-electron reactions because they cycle between M n and M n+2 redox states, as the one-electron state is thermodynamically unstable. Here, we report the synthesis and structure of an SbIII corrole and its SbVX2 (X = Cl, Br) congeners. SbIII sits above the corrole ring, whereas SbV resides in the corrole centroid. Electrochemistry suggests interconversion between the SbIII and SbVX2 species. TD-DFT calculations indicate a HOMO → LUMO+2 parentage for excited states in the Soret spectral region that have significant antibonding character with respect to the Sb-X fragment. The photochemistry of 2 and 3 in THF is consistent with the computational results, as steady-state photolysis at wavelengths coincident with the Soret absorption of SbVX2 corrole lead to its clean conversion to the SbIII corrole. This ability to photoactivate the Sb-X bond reflects the proclivity of the pnictogens to rely on the PnIII/V couple to drive the two-electron photochemistry of M-X bond activation, an essential transformation needed to develop HX-splitting cycles.
Purely Sequential Fixed Accuracy Confidence Intervals for P(X < Y) under Bivariate Exponential Models

This article deals with the estimation of the reliability or the availability parameter θ = P(X < Y) in a stress-strength model. We consider separate cases where (X, Y) has a bivariate exponential ...
Recent Studies of Residential Access Demand

In this chapter, we shall take a detailed look at four recent studies of the demand for access to the telephone network by households. The four studies are Perl (1983), Taylor and Kridel (1990), Bell Canada (Bodnar et al. 1988), and Train, McFadden, and Ben-Akiva (1987). The early 1980s saw a shift in focus from toll demand to access demand, particularly residential access demand. Competition in the toll market was shrinking the pool of revenue that for many years had been subsidizing residential local rates. The consequent upward pressure on local rates was causing concern that a large number of households would be forced to give up telephone service. There was especially concern that certain socio-demographic groups — low income, the elderly, black, hispanic — would be burdened disproportionately. Tiny access elasticities for the population at large might mask much larger values for specific groups.
Potential for phytoextraction of137 Cs from a contaminated soil

Potential for phytoremediation of a soil contaminated with radiocesium was investigated in three phases: (1) hydroponic screening for plant species capable of accumulating elevated levels of cesium in shoots, (2) investigation of several amendments for their potential to increase the bioavailability of 137Cs in the contaminated soil, and (3) bioaccumulation of radiocesium in shoots of plants grown in137 Cs-contaminated soil.
Solvent system for effective near-term production of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) with potential for long-term process improvement

Production of renewable chemicals to mitigate the deleterious effects of greenhouse gas emissions requires technologies that are cost-competitive with the fossil-fuel industry, require low capital investment, and produce high-value products. We report production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a valuable platform molecule from biomass-derived carbohydrates at high yields (>90%) and with excellent carbon balance (>95%) using an inexpensive solvent system composed of acetone and water. We demonstrate that HMF, a thermally unstable molecule, can be separated from this low boiling solvent system with high recovery (96%) and purity (∼99%). We show that fructose is selectively dehydrated in this solvent system from a mixture of glucose and fructose, a property that can be leveraged to integrate the proposed process with current processes for the production of high fructose corn syrup. Techno-economic analysis indicates that utilizing fructose as feedstock leads to low investment (16 MM$) and produces HMF at a minimum selling price (MSP) of $1710 per ton. The MSP can be further reduced to $1460 per ton by changing the feedstock to glucose.
Dynamic Systolic Compression of the Left Anterior Descending Coronary Artery as the First Clue of Postinfarction Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm.

Abstract Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm and left ventricular free wall rupture are rare but life-threatening complications of acute myocardial infarction. Dynamic systolic compression of the coronary arteries is almost always due to myocardial bridging. However, it has rarely been described in patients with ventricular aneurysms and pseudoaneurysms. We present a case of a patient with recent myocardial infarction who presented with recurrence of chest pain and coronary angiogram showing patent vessels however with systolic compression of the distal left anterior descending coronary artery as a first clue to postinfarct left ventricular pseudoaneurysm.
Is Public Cloud Computing Adoption Strategically the Way to Go for All the Enterprises

As cloud computing is moving from hype to reality, certain best practices and broad trends are emerging when it comes to private cloud vs. public cloud deployment debate. Cost, control and capabilities are key factors in decision making of enterprises on whether to migrate their existing applications on public or private cloud infrastructure. Over the first decade of cloud computing adoption, most of the enterprises began with over-conservatism towards public cloud, based mainly on concerns of steady state workload cost and control. The majority of enterprises have now settled in to middle ground approach with hybrid cloud based on their expectation of cost benefits and sustained control from private infrastructure for some of their applications. For new applications development, public cloud is increasingly favored for allocation of applications. Private cloud platforms e.g. VMware and Openstack have become easier to use and deploy. The private cloud platforms have closed the gap in ease of rapid application development as container platforms and cloud management have advanced in offering orchestration and capabilities competitive with public cloud services. However, public cloud platforms are suited for firms willing to sacrifice long-term application portability for less operational workload and short-term quicker development. The enterprises are keeping many of their applications on private infrastructure for security, compliance or auditing reasons. The enterprises should not oversimplify their cost considerations while identifying the applications that can run on either public or private cloud as this may leave risks of a lot of cost-saving opportunities on table. The key to cost analysis is to determine first, how well one can profile infrastructure capacity needs and second, how efficiently one can operate their private infrastructure.
UX methods in the data lab: arguing for validity

Based on a case study at a national science lab, this paper outlines strategies for demonstrating the value of technical communication research when working with subject matter experts in both data and domain sciences. This paper argues that technical communicators can find common goals with experts in highly technical fields using UX methods as the medium of identification, particularly in the realm of scientific computing. This paper outlines a qualitative usability method created for data scientists at the lab to validate highly specialized scientific visualization applications.
Factors Associated With Underestimation of Weight Among Adults Living in Puerto Rico.

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to examine the associations between underestimation of weight and sociodemographic, health, and dietary factors among adults living in a rural community in...