cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Theoretical Perspectives for Understanding International Interdependence

In Power and Interdependence, Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye make a major contribution to the discipline by explicating a theoretical model for conceptualizing interdependence and isolating a set of variables that will enhance further understanding of the politics of such issues. What is needed next is a series of studies that explores the interrelationships among the variables Keohane and Nye identify. Because these interrelationships will surely vary with interdependency contexts within which bargaining takes place, five such contexts are outlined. Until this research is done, the advice that Keohane and Nye offer policy makers in the developed countries must be considered premature. The essay concludes with some critical comments about Keohane and Nye's discussion of political realism.
Clinical questions raised by clinicians at the point of care: a systematic review.

Importance In making decisions about patient care, clinicians raise questions and are unable to pursue or find answers to most of them. Unanswered questions may lead to suboptimal patient care decisions. Objective To systematically review studies that examined the questions clinicians raise in the context of patient care decision making. Data Sources MEDLINE (from 1966), CINAHL (from 1982), and Scopus (from 1947), all through May 26, 2011. Study Selection Studies that examined questions raised and observed by clinicians (physicians, medical residents, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, dentists, and care managers) in the context of patient care were independently screened and abstracted by 2 investigators. Of 21 710 citations, 72 met the selection criteria. Data Extraction and Synthesis Question frequency was estimated by pooling data from studies with similar methods. Main Outcomes and Measures Frequency of questions raised, pursued, and answered and questions by type according to a taxonomy of clinical questions. Thematic analysis of barriers to information seeking and the effects of information seeking on decision making. Results In 11 studies, 7012 questions were elicited through short interviews with clinicians after each patient visit. The mean frequency of questions raised was 0.57 (95% CI, 0.38-0.77) per patient seen, and clinicians pursued 51% (36%-66%) of questions and found answers to 78% (67%-88%) of those they pursued. Overall, 34% of questions concerned drug treatment, and 24% concerned potential causes of a symptom, physical finding, or diagnostic test finding. Clinicians’ lack of time and doubt that a useful answer exists were the main barriers to information seeking. Conclusions and Relevance Clinicians frequently raise questions about patient care in their practice. Although they are effective at finding answers to questions they pursue, roughly half of the questions are never pursued. This picture has been fairly stable over time despite the broad availability of online evidence resources that can answer these questions. Technology-based solutions should enable clinicians to track their questions and provide just-in-time access to high-quality evidence in the context of patient care decision making. Opportunities for improvement include the recent adoption of electronic health record systems and maintenance of certification requirements.
Thermal formation of serine octamer ions

Vigorous evaporation of aqueous serine solutions yields abundant protonated serine octamer ions. So does pyrolysis of L-serine crystals in a corona discharge.
Activation of CNT nano-to-micro contact via electrical breakdown

The "healing" of nano-to-micro electrical contact between a single carbon nanotube (CNT) and silicon micro structure has been demonstrated using the technique of electrical breakdown. Experimental results show that the resistance of an in-situ synthesized CNT was "healed" from an original value of infinite to 7 MOmega. The experimental breakdown voltage is 10 V and the electrical field is estimated as 5times107 V/cm for a 2 nm-thick native oxide layer, which is consistent with the analytical breakdown value. This process helps improving the resistance of nano-to-micro contacts and increase device yield by activating seemingly non-functional CNTs in nano electromechanical systems (NEMS).
Economic democracy : meaningful, desirable, feasible?

Daedalus Summer 2007 To some, economic democracy is self-evidently a good thing if it means spreading economic opportunities more widely, giving workers a greater say in the workplace, and allowing communities to participate in the investment decisions that shape their future. Indeed, a classic argument has it that political democracy–universal suffrage, civic freedoms, and all that is needed to make them practical and effective–will work better if accompanied by ‘social’ or ‘economic’ democracy. Absent the latter, real civic participation will be low and big money will corrupt the political process, especially in complex societies where commercial networks can shape political agendas and the cost of campaigning is high. While few deny the need to reform the way elections are run and 1⁄2nanced– a source of recurrent scandal in nearly every rich country–another line of thought would challenge the conclusion that it makes sense to aim for economic democracy. The very phrase is thought to be a contradiction in terms, or a category mistake. Economic processes are too complex to be governed by votes and electioneering. Governments can and must lay down some basic ground rules, but, as Friedrich Hayek showed, they lack the locally speci1⁄2c information required to run complex enterprises effectively, still less to plan the entire economy. On the one hand, consumer needs are too intricate and changeable; on the other, the myriad of speci1⁄2c investment opportunities at the local level can never be known at the planning center. While Hayek’s critique of central planning was in many ways compelling, it failed to acknowledge the extent to which markets rely on the wider social context in which they are embedded. It also did not demolish the argument that public initiative and collective resources are necessary to meet large-scale and manifest threats.1 Robin Blackburn
The role of endosymbiotic bacteria in the nutrition of Solemya velum: Evidence from a stable isotope analysis of endosymbionts and host

C, N, and S stable isotope compositions were investigated in tissues of the protobranch bivalve Solemya velum. This species is known to harbor endosymbiotic chemoautotrophic bacteria. C and N isotope values were also examined in an enriched bacterial fraction, separated from intact gills by differential centrifugation. The bacterial fraction and host tissues had similar δ13C values, suggesting that endosymbiotic bacteria provide as much as 98% of the carbon requirements of S. velum. The δ15N values of both S. velum and the endosymbionts were comparable and considerably lower than those of bivalve controls that do not harbor endosymbionts. Uptake of pore-water ammonium by the endosymbionts and subsequent translocation of nitrogenous compounds to the host may account for the low δ15N of S. velum. In this context, the symbionts may provide 100% of the host nitrogen. The δ34S values of S. velum suggest the use of biogenically produced H2S as a source of S. The stable isotope ratios of sulfur and nitrogen are among the lowest reported for animal tissues. This study attempts to estimate the nutritional significance of bacterial endosymbionts by analyzing the stable isotope ratios of both bacteria and host tissue.
Time-frequency distribution analysis of waveguide modes

It is shown that an analysis of scattering from an open-ended waveguide cavity can be accomplished by time-frequency distribution (TFD) techniques. Three TFDs are used for scattering analysis of a circular waveguide cavity. Propagating modes and cutoff frequencies can readily be determined from the TFD, whereas neither time nor frequency representations will provide such information. >
Shedding Light or Casting Shadows? The Penumbra Metaphor, Privacy and Privileged Communication

(2009). Shedding Light or Casting Shadows? The Penumbra Metaphor, Privacy and Privileged Communication. Free Speech Yearbook: Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 55-63.
Response to comment. Is incretin-based therapy ready for the care of hospitalized patients with type 2 diabetes?

We thank Drs. Deane and Horowitz (1) for bringing this work to our attention. Their results provide further support for our contention that glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) therapy represents a safe and effective intervention to improve glycemic control in critically ill, hospitalized patients both with and without preexisting type 2 diabetes. In agreement with us (2), they recognize that “insulin has substantial limitations, particularly as excess dosing precipitates hypoglycemia” (1), and a number of recent trials have failed to demonstrate any benefit in morbidity or mortality in critically ill hospitalized patients who receive intensive insulin therapy (3 …
Potential Performance Costs Associated with Large-Format Tiled Displays for Surgical Visualization

Twenty-five participants performed a surgical training task on a large format display created from one projector or by tiling the images from a 4-, or 9-projector array. Utilizing a large-format display consisting of tiled projector images brings the potential benefits of increased display size with the potential threats to performance of inherent visual artifacts. The effect of these artifacts on performance and subjective workload was assessed. Results indicate that while display size did not affect performance on the surgical task, differences in mental workload were observed. Although a global measure of workload indicated that the tiled displays were the least demanding to use, participants reported deploying additional but highly specific cognitive resources when using these same displays. Their resource shifts seemed to involve adjustments to the perceived control gains created by enhanced size and also degraded ability to compare target sizes in the larger display, possibly due to the obscuring ef...
A Deadlock-Free High-Throughput Tree Algorithm for Random Access over Fading Channels

We recently proposed a random access scheme which combines the widely used binary exponential backoff (BEB) algorithm with a cross-layer tree algorithm (TA), which relies on successive interference cancellation (SIC) with first success (FS). It was shown that BEB and SICTA/FS complement each other nicely and the proposed protocol can afford a maximum stable throughput (MST) as high as 0.6 without packet loss. However, although BEB-SICTA/FS avoids the deadlock problem caused by the error propagation of successive interference cancellation (SIC), it may still suffer from deadlock effects induced by the "level skipping" under harsh wireless channels. In this paper, we develop a novel BEB-SICTA/F1 protocol, which is a modified version of BEB-SICTA/FS. Our analysis and simulations demonstrate that this simple modification can afford high-throughput random access while completely avoiding deadlock problems.
Characterization of the RokA and HexA Broad-Substrate-Specificity Hexokinases from Bacteroides fragilis and Their Role in Hexose and N-Acetylglucosamine Utilization

Bacteroides fragilis, a human gastrointestinal commensal and an opportunistic pathogen, utilizes simple and complex sugars and polysaccharides for growth in the large intestine and at sites of infection. Because B. fragilis lacks transport-linked sugar phosphorylation systems, cytoplasmic kinase(s) was expected to be required for the phosphorylation of hexoses and hexosamines. We have now identified two hexose kinases that are important for growth of B. fragilis on glucose, mannose, and other sugars. One kinase (RokA), a member of the ROK family of proteins, was found to be the sole kinase for activation of N-acetyl-d-glucosamine (NAG). The other kinase (HexA) is responsible for the majority of the glucose kinase activity in the cell, although a hexA deletion mutant strain was not defective for growth on any substrate tested. Deletion of both the rokA and hexA kinase genes resulted in inability of the cell to use glucose, mannose, NAG, and many other sugars. We purified RokA and determined its approximate molecular mass to be 36.5 kDa. The purified RokA protein was shown to phosphorylate several substrates, including glucose, NAG, and mannose, but not N-acetylmannosamine or N-acetylneuraminic acid. Phylogenetic analysis of RokA showed that it is most similar to kinases from the Cytophaga-Flavibacterium-Bacteroides group, while HexA was most similar to other bacterial hexokinases and eukaryotic hexokinases.
Divide and conquer in granular computing topological partitions

Divide and conquer are classical problem solving strategy. Implicitly the divide is a mathematical partitioning; no overlapping is allowed. However, in practices the divide cannot be very clean; some degree of overlapping is unavoidable. A binary granulation, which is a granulation defined by a binary relation, is not a partition; so overlapping does exist. However, by looking at the problem skillfully a binary granulation can be interpreted as a topological partition. By a topological partition is a partition in which each equivalence class has a neighborhood. These neighborhoods do overlap. So a granulation is a "topological divide and conquer".
Limits of Nanomechanical Resonators

The authors have constructed nanotube-based nanomechanical resonators designed to investigate the upper limits of nanomechanical resonator frequency and quality factor. The ultra-high-frequency resonator relies on abacus-style inertial clamps of metal deposited along the length of the nanotube beam to shorten its effective length and thus raise its resonant frequency. The high-Q nanoresonator design utilizes the unique telescoping property of multiwalled carbon nanotubes to obtain a pristine surface, which may help reduce dissipation.
Diffusion tensor imaging in neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus

Neuropsychiatric systemic lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. We used Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) to assess white matter abnormalities in seventeen NPSLE patients, sixteen SLE patients without NPSLE, and twenty age- and gender-matched controls. NPSLE patients differed significantly from SLE and control patients in white matter integrity of the body of the corpus callosum, the left arm of the forceps major and the left anterior corona radiata. Several possible mechanisms of white matter injury are explored, including vascular injury, medication effects, and platelet or fibrin macro- or microembolism from Libman-Sacks endocarditis.
EMI Study for the Interleaved Multi-Channel PFC

For high power application the interleaved multichannel PFC is becoming more and more popular. It can effectively reduce the input ripple current due to the ripple cancellation effect. It is generally believed that the reduced input ripple current will lower down the DM EMI noise magnitude, which will make the DM Alter smaller. However, for most of today's PFC, running in the frequency range of 75 kHz ~ 150 kHz, the conventional 2-channel interleaving technique cannot help to reduce the EMI filter size at all. In this switching frequency range, the EMI filter design is based on the 2nd order harmonic, which cannot be reduced by the conventional interleaving. In this paper, a 2-channel PFC operating with 90 degree phase shift is introduced. It can cancel the 2nd order harmonic and reduce the 3rd order harmonic, and the EMI filter size can be reduced. This novel interleaving strategy can be further extended to other switching frequency range and other multi-channel interleaved PFC.
Pseudotumor of the Tracheal-Laryngeal Junction with Unusual Morphologic Features Caused by Rhodococcus equi Infection

Infectious pseudotumors are unusual proliferations of histiocytes in response to certain microbial organisms. Occasionally this process may involve large airways, producing a mass lesion that may cause respiratory obstruction. Infectious pseudotumors can be confused with malignancy in their radiologic appearance and clinical presentation. We present a case of an aggressive endotracheal pseudotumor associated with Rhodococcus equi infection in a patient with advanced HIV disease. Microscopically, the lesion was composed of sheets of epithelioid histiocytes with large, strongly eosinophilic intra-cytoplasmic granules and features of malakoplakia. In this report, we review the literature of these unusual lesions and compare them to cases of conventional malakoplakia involving the large airways. We also explore the pathogenetic mechanisms that may contribute to the distinctive histologic appearance of Rhodococcus-associated pseudotumors.
The Fostering of Social Integration and Retention through Institutional Practice

This article presents institutional practices that spring from empirically grounded forces that influence social integration and retention. We present 20 recommendations for implementation by eight...
The use of variable geometry sprays with low pressure injection for optimization of diesel HCCI engine combustion

A numerical study of the effects of injection parameters and operating conditions for diesel-fuel HCCI operation is presented with consideration of Variable Geometry Sprays (VGS). Methods of mixture preparation are explored that overcome one of the major problems in HCCI engine operation with diesel fuel and conventional direct injection systems, i.e., fuel loss due to wall impingement and the resulting unburned fuel. Low pressure injection of hollow cone sprays into the cylinder of a production engine with the spray cone angle changing during the injection period were simulated using the multi-dimensional KIVA-3V CFD code with detailed chemistry. Variation of the starting and ending spray angles, injection timing, initial cylinder pressure and temperature, swirl intensity, and compression ratio were explored. As a simplified case of VGS, two-pulse, hollow-cone sprays were also simulated. The results show that VGS is effective in minimizing wall wetting and allows wall wetting to be decoupled from ignition timing control. Using VGS, the initial gas temperature, boost/throttling pressure, and compression ratio are effective parameters in ignition timing control. Variation of swirl intensity is effective to ensure fuel vapor-air mixing, and to prevent the formation of rich regions with high NOx emissions. The results indicate that VGS is a promising methodology to be used to control diesel-fueled HCCI engine operation, and it deserves further experimental and numerical study.
Social Engagement After Nursing Home Admission: Racial and Ethnic Disparities and Risk Factors.

Older adults admitted to nursing homes (NHs) are at risk for low social engagement, which has associations with medical, psychological, and social well-being. Minorities may be at a disadvantage for social engagement because of their racial or ethnic group identity. This study assessed whether there were racial/ethnic disparities in social engagement among older adults (N = 15,927) at 1 year after their NH admission using multi-level predictors. No racial or ethnic-based disparities in social engagement were found; hence, an analysis of risk factors at NH admission that predicted low social engagement at 1 year for all residents was conducted. Significant risk factors for low social engagement were low social engagement at admission, deficits in activities in daily living and cognition, problems with vision and communication, and residing in an NH in an urban community. Results highlight the importance of initiating interventions to increase social engagement at the time of NH admission.
Lysine Acetylation Facilitates Spontaneous DNA Dynamics in the Nucleosome.

The nucleosome, comprising a histone protein core wrapped around by DNA, is the fundamental packing unit of DNA in cells. Lysine acetylation at the histone core elevates DNA accessibility in the nucleosome, the mechanism of which remains largely unknown. By employing our recently developed hybrid single molecule approach, here we report how the structural dynamics of DNA in the nucleosome is altered upon acetylation at histone H3 lysine 56 (H3K56) that is critical for elevated DNA accessibility. Our results indicate that H3K56 acetylation facilitates the structural dynamics of the DNA at the nucleosome termini that spontaneously and repeatedly open and close on a ms time scale. The results support a molecular mechanism of histone acetylation in catalyzing DNA unpacking whose efficiency is ultimately limited by the spontaneous DNA dynamics at the nucleosome temini. This study provides the first and unique experimental evidence revealing a role of protein chemical modification in directly regulating the kin...
Genome Sequence Analysis of Staphylococcus equorum Bovine Mastitis Isolate UMC-CNS-924

ABSTRACT Intramammary infections in dairy cattle are frequently caused by staphylococci, resulting in mastitis and associated economic losses. A draft genome sequence was determined for Staphylococcus equorum UMC-CNS-924, isolated from the milk of a Holstein cow, to better understand the genetic basis of its pathogenesis and adaptation to the bovine mammary gland.
Contribution of a slowly inactivating potassium current to the transition to firing of neostriatal spiny projection neurons

1. Neostriatal spiny projection neurons display a prominent slowly depolarizing (ramp) potential and long latency to spike discharge in response to intracellular current pulses. The contribution of a slowly inactivating A-current (IAs) to this delayed excitation was investigated in a neostriatal slice preparation using current pulse protocols incorporating information based on the known voltage dependence, kinetics, and pharmacological properties of IAs. 2. Depolarizing intracellular current pulses evoked a slowly developing ramp potential that could last for seconds without reaching steady state and continued until either the pulse was terminated or spike threshold was reached. The slope of the ramp potential was dependent on the level of depolarization achieved by the membrane, and the apparent activation threshold for this ramp depolarization was approximately -65 mV. 3. Application of low concentrations of 4-aminopyridine (4-AP, 30-100 microM) or dendrotoxin (DTX, 30 nM), which are known to selectively block IAs, reduced both the slope of the ramp potential and the latency to first spike discharge. As has been described previously, blockade of inward Na+ and Ca2+ currents with tetrodotoxin (TTX, 1 microM) and cadmium (400 microM) also reduced the slope of the ramp depolarization. 4. A conditioning-test pulse protocol was used to examine the voltage dependence of inactivation of the ramp potential and long first spike latency. In the absence of a conditioning pulse, the test pulse evoked a slowly rising ramp potential and a spike with a long latency to discharge. A conditioning depolarization to approximately -60 mV decreased the slope of the ramp potential and the latency to first spike discharge evoked by the test pulse. A conditioning hyperpolarization to potentials below -100 mV, increased first spike latency. Application of a low concentration of 4-AP (100 microM) abolished the influence of prior membrane potential on the slope of the ramp depolarization and the latency to first spike discharge. 5. The kinetics of recovery from inactivation of the 4-AP-sensitive current were studied in the presence of TTX and cadmium by depolarizing cells to approximately -50 mV and then stepping to approximately -90 mV for increasing periods of time (0.5-5.0 s) before delivering a test pulse. The amplitude of the test pulse response decreased as a function of the hyperpolarizing step duration. When the test pulse response amplitudes were plotted against the hyperpolarizing step duration, the points reflected an exponential decay with an average time constant of 2.05 +/- 1.38 (SD) s.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Leaving College Prematurely The Experiences of Nontraditional-Age College Students With Depression

This qualitative study examines the experiences of former nontraditional-age students with depression and reasons that led them to leave college prematurely. Constant comparative methods were used ...
Magnetically Actuated Microfluidic Transistors: Miniaturized Micro-Valves Using Magnetorheological Fluids Integrated With Elastomeric Membranes

We present a magnetically actuated microfluidic transistor (valve), an on-chip micro-valve that uses magnetorheological fluids micropatterned onto an elastomeric membrane to develop an ultra-compact solution for digital control of microfluidic circuits. We simulated the micro-valves theoretically and also characterized micro-fabricated devices experimentally. We simulated the effects of channel and valve geometry on the deformability of the valve. We experimentally characterized the effects of channel and valve geometry on the ability to reversibly close channels fully. We characterized the microfabricated valves in the flow rate range of 0.02–1 $\mu \text{l}$ /min. Among the various kinds of valves examined, for lower flow rates, circular valves with a 700 $\mu \text{m}$ diameter in 300 $\mu \text{m}$ width channel, and in higher flow rates, rectangular valves 700 $\mu \text{m}$ wide in the same channel show the best ability in terms of valve closure and response time. The fabrication and the integration of the proposed valve are compatible with a range of polymer microfabrication technologies having the advantage of simple fabrication, small size, and no external power requirement. These valve structures can be promising solutions for pumping and active flow control for portable analytical instrumentation, point-of-care diagnostic devices, and even wearable microfluidic devices. [2015-0296]
A Betrayal of Enlightenment: EU Expansion and Tõnu Õnnepalu’s Border State

This essay focuses on the ways in which the EU’s preliminary steps towards integration and eastward expansion in the early 1990s are represented in Tonu Onnepalu’s Piiririik (Border State, 1993), published in the year of the Maastricht Treaty. Taking the EU as the self-declared heir of the European Enlightenment project of democracy, liberty, equality and progress, the essay looks at what Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer have termed the ‘dialectic of Enlightenment’: specifically, the way that the project of emancipation became coupled to the destructive potentials of reason and imperial domination. The essay contends that Border State focuses on these latter aspects of the dialectic and offers an original and highly critical vision of the failures of post-Maastricht Europe.
Using Bayesian Statistics to Model Uncertainty in Mixture Models: A Sensitivity Analysis of Priors

The Bayesian estimation framework has specific benefits that can aid in the estimation of mixture models. Previous research has shown that the use of priors to capture (un)certainty in latent class...
Partner Perspectives on Closed Loop Systems

Objective : Closed loop automated insulin delivery systems have the potential to transform diabetes management. Partners and relationships will be increasingly affected by these innovations. We examine current understanding of the partner’s role in type 1 diabetes (T1D) management and technology, and provide an example of how to elicit partners’ perspectives in technology research. Research Design and Methods : We conducted a literature review and a small focus group with the partners of participants enrolled in a 5-day hybrid closed loop (HCL) clinical trial. Couples’ questionnaire ratings of diabetes-related distress and hypoglycemia concerns were described. Results : Partners play an integral and often helpful role in managing diabetes. They also report significant diabetes-related distress and fear of hypoglycemia, which have implications for relationships. Closed loop systems offer potential benefits such as hypoglycemia prevention and partners’ online access to glucose data (“remote monitoring”). However, disruptive alerts, technical glitches, maintenance tasks, device size, and other drawbacks may strain partners and relationships. A partner focus group elicited several novel themes. Partners gained valuable insights about T1D from remote monitoring and identified hypoglycemia prevention as a major benefit. For all partners, hypoglycemia worries decreased during system use. However, partners also cited vicarious frustrations with the system, concerns about remote monitoring disrupting couple communication, and needs for technology-specific partner education. Conclusion : Closed loop systems stand to affect partners and relationships. As researchers continue to design closed loop systems and devise their integration into standard clinical care, it will be vital to assess partner perspectives to increase satisfaction and success with this technology.
Bayesian calibration of terrestrial ecosystem models: a study of advanced Markov chain Monte Carlo methods

Abstract. Calibration of terrestrial ecosystem models is important but challenging. Bayesian inference implemented by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) sampling provides a comprehensive framework to estimate model parameters and associated uncertainties using their posterior distributions. The effectiveness and efficiency of the method strongly depend on the MCMC algorithm used. In this work, a differential evolution adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) algorithm is used to estimate posterior distributions of 21 parameters for the data assimilation linked ecosystem carbon (DALEC) model using 14 years of daily net ecosystem exchange data collected at the Harvard Forest Environmental Measurement Site eddy-flux tower. The calibration of DREAM results in a better model fit and predictive performance compared to the popular adaptive Metropolis (AM) scheme. Moreover, DREAM indicates that two parameters controlling autumn phenology have multiple modes in their posterior distributions while AM only identifies one mode. The application suggests that DREAM is very suitable to calibrate complex terrestrial ecosystem models, where the uncertain parameter size is usually large and existence of local optima is always a concern. In addition, this effort justifies the assumptions of the error model used in Bayesian calibration according to the residual analysis. The result indicates that a heteroscedastic, correlated, Gaussian error model is appropriate for the problem, and the consequent constructed likelihood function can alleviate the underestimation of parameter uncertainty that is usually caused by using uncorrelated error models.
Technology, Diversity, Web Accessibility, and ALA Accreditation Standards in MLIS

This paper discusses an interconnection between diversity and technology: web accessibility for all, including people with disabilities. Qualitative interviews were conducted with eight MLIS professors and two students or recent alumni. Findings showed attitudes regarding teaching web accessibility and recruitment of a diverse student body varied between professors who were familiar with web accessibility and those who were not. Participants who were familiar with web accessibility often thought it should be included within ALA Standards for Accreditation. Findings suggested that, in one school, incorporating diversity in their curriculum, including web accessibility, allowed recruitment of a more diverse student body and was furthering diversity-related curriculum content. At another school, a professor expressed concern about recruiting a diverse student body, particularly students with disabilities. The research suggests that stronger practices for teaching technology, teaching diversity, and recruiting diverse students could assist the field of LIS to further realize its inclusive goals.
Several problems of the polyphasic approach in the modern cyanobacterial system

The taxonomic criteria for cyanobacteria were substantially changed with the introduction of electron microscopy and molecular analyses. The system must be modified according to the results following from these studies and the genetic diversification in various clades must be used as an obligatory basic method for cyanobacterial classification. However, cytomorphological and ecological data cannot be neglected. It is necessary to discover always the relations, correlations, interactions, and coincidences between the genetic basis and morphological and ecological markers. They can have various taxonomic values in various clades and their importance must be re-evaluated in different taxa, but they cannot be omitted. Therefore, cryptic, morpho-, and ecospecies also appear based on different kinds and combinations of characters. The “polyphasic approach” is a methodological procedure that has been a means of dealing with all these problems. From this approach, the modern cyanobacterial system resulted in which numerous genera were divided into more generic entities, as well as making problematic the use of some traditional expressive characters, such as unicellularity vs. filamentous forms, the presence of sheaths, type of branching, presence of aerotopes, etc. The nomenclatural rules for phototrophic organisms must be respected even in this new system.
"Super Bowl Babies": Do Counties with Super Bowl Winning Teams Experience Increases in Births Nine Months Later?

Following the claim of a highly publicized National Football League (NFL) commercial, we test whether the Super Bowl provides a positive exogenous shock to fertility in counties of winning teams. U...
Evolutionary models in the Early Triassic marine realm

Abstract The relative influences of extrinsic compared to intrinsic drivers of evolutionary change have long been theorized and debated in the fossil record. Ecological recoveries from mass extinction events present records in which to examine these contrasts. Competition in a low diversity world, reproductive strategy, reconstruction of trophic systems and ecological specialization represent possible intrinsic controls on diversification. Feedback between diversity and abundance shifts of marine organisms with biogeochemical cycling and environmental conditions act as extrinsic controls on recovery process and rate. Disentangling these evolutionary pressures is a major challenge for understanding evolutionary recovery from mass extinction. The end-Permian mass extinction (251.88 Ma) represents the largest mass extinction in Earth history and led to an extended recovery interval which lasted the duration of the Early Triassic (~ 4.8 Myr) and beyond. Recent analyses suggest that the survivors of the mass extinction were biased toward organisms with higher metabolic rates that were more resilient against the volatile environmental changes that pervaded the Early Triassic including extreme temperature events, low pH, and low oxygen conditions. We use the Early Triassic recovery of gastropods, echinoids, and ammonoids to examine the processes of taxonomic and ecological evolution in response to, or in spite of, extrinsic environmental perturbations. The case studies of benthic gastropods and echinoids, when compared to pelagic ammonoids reflect similarities and differences in recovery following the end-Permian mass extinction. Gastropods and echinoids exhibit evidence of strong extrinsic environmental limitations which implicate the availability of refugia as a control on recovery. Low initial taxonomic diversity of survivors may have also limited the evolutionary recovery of both clades. Abundant and diverse microgastropod assemblages are interpreted as an adaptation to extreme environmental conditions. The morphological diversity of disarticulated echinoid spines and plates described in the southwestern United States, and examination of phylogenetic ghost lineages hints at a significant “hidden diversity” of Early Triassic echinoids. Ammonoids experienced taxonomic resets but are shown to be resilient to repeated environmental perturbations in the Boreal Ocean over the duration of the Early Triassic. Ammonoids may have adapted to persistent latitudinal temperature gradients and oxygen minimum zones that developed in the Early Triassic ocean basins.
Transduodenal cystoduodenostomy for pancreatic pseudocyst in two young children

Abstract Pancreatic pseudocysts are uncommon in children and tend to arise secondary to trauma or an episode of acute or chronic pancreatitis. Those that fail initial conservative management and become too large and/or complicated often require intervention. While successful endoscopic management is possible in the pediatric population, young children represent a special challenge and usually warrant surgical management. Here, we describe two cases involving young children with pancreatic pseudocysts successfully managed by transduodenal cystoduodenostomy.
Fault-Tolerant Service Composition Based on Low Cost Mechanism

As the prevalence of the web service, service composition is becoming an efficient and cost-effective way to develop business applications. However, since the dynamics of the web service, how to deliver composite service with better performance is a significant and challenging problem. This paper proposes a low cost mechanism for fault tolerant composite service. This mechanism uses a fault model to detect the faults in the composition. According to the types of the fault and the performance prediction, appropriate fault handling strategy will be applied. In this way, useless re-planning can be avoided and the effectiveness of the fault handling can be insured. The experimentation shows the better performance of the proposed mechanism.
Testing for Differences in Risk Exposure Among Assets

One purpose of asset pricing models is to explain empirical differences in the time-averaged returns among risky assets. Of interest is whether differences in risk exposure can explain differences in average returns. In the framework of asset return regression systems, the problem is to test equality of parameter values across equations. We examine the performance of Wald and score tests of cross-equation restrictions, with robustness to empirically documented residual heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. The tests display distortions, but in simulation they perform well when applied parsimoniously. We use the tests to examine the risk exposure of stocks sorted by firm size.
Narcolepsy without Cataplexy

Narcolepsy is a chronic sleep disorder that can have profound effects on an individual's quality of life. It is characterized by the classic tetrad of excessive daytime sleepiness, sleep paralysis, hypnagogic or hypnopompic hallucinations, and cataplexy. There are, however, many patients who do not experience cataplexy as part of their disorder and therefore a meticulous history and utilization of polysomnography and multiple sleep latency tests are vital for proper diagnosis. Treatment is comprised of a combination of pharmaceutical modalities and behavior modification, which are essential to achieve optimal clinical management.
Management of Distal Radius Fracture-Associated TFCC Lesions Without DRUJ Instability

Fractures of the distal end of radius account for nearly 20% of all fractures seen in a routine emergency room and are commonly associated with intercarpal ligamentous injuries and other soft tissue disruptions [6]. The structure most frequently injured in distal radial fractures is the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) [15, 21, 24, 27]. In one cadaveric study where a hyperextension force was applied to cadaveric wrists until a distal radial fracture occurred, an injury to the TFCC occurred in 63% of the specimens followed by injuries to scapholunate ligament (32%) and to lunotriquetral ligament (17%) [20]. The TFCC consists of the central fibrocartilage, the dorsal and palmar distal radioulnar ligaments, the sheath of extensor carpi ulnaris tendon, the ulnar collateral ligaments, and the ulnocarpal ligaments. It works as a single unit that aids in movements, stability, and load sharing at the wrist. The central area of TFCC is avascular and called the debridement zone, whereas, the peripheral zone enjoys an extensive blood supply and is termed the repair zone [25] (Fig. 5.1).
Development of Synaptic Substrates for Drug Actions in Immature Brain

Studies of the effects of drugs and hormones on the immature brain must of necessity proceed from an understanding of the nature of the neural and synaptic substrate that constitutes the primary target of action of the pharmacological agent under investigation. Unfortunately this has rarely been possible for the obvious reason that there is a paucity of data available on the organization and properties of different subsystems during the development of the central nervous system in different species. Development implies change, and this cardinal feature of maturation introduces variables in the assessment of drug action in immature animals which may be major determinants of overt effects. An instructive example of the manner in which the developmental processes may influence drug actions is illustrated in Fig. 1 which summarizes data obtained over a decade ago in studies of the effects of topically applied aliphatic ω-amino acids on the immature brain (Purpura, 1961a). In these studies local responses elicited by cortical surface stimulation were utilized to determine the responsiveness of axodendritic synaptic pathways (Purpura, 1961b) to e-amino caproic acid, a six-carbon aliphatic ω-amino acid which in adult animals produces rapid potentiation of superficial negative responses and subsequent convulsant activity (Purpura et al., 1959).
Response to H. Floris Cohen's essay review on Newtonian scholarship.

Long ago, George Sarton set down criteria for reviewers. In addition to insisting on the need to compose ‘faithful’ reviews, he cautioned against four types of unfit reviewers: the ‘egoist’, the ‘obscure’ reviewer, the one who is noncommittal, and the pedantic critic. Unfortunately, Cohen's review comes short on several counts. Cohen writes that he intends to examine what is ‘new’ in the three books he reviews, and whether the results therein contained are ‘worth learning’ (p. 687). Cohen denies being given to ‘misplaced hero worship’, insisting that his sole aim is to assess whether ‘scholarly novelty’ (p. 693) has been attained. Nevertheless, given his repeated rebuke of the authors under review for ‘failing to refer back to [Richard] Westfall's work’ on Newton – now nearly half a century old – it seems that he grounded his critique principally on Westfall's interpretation.
The Enigma of Feline Dentition

Understanding the dental anatomy of the cat is the first step towards recognizing oral pathological changes. There is much confusion about the correct numbering sequence for the cat dentition. This...
Embodied and Operational Energy Analysis of Passive House–Inspired High-Performance Residential Building Envelopes

Abstract High-performance building envelopes are designed to achieve target reductions in operational energy (OE). However, these wall assemblies often require initial, upfront investments in mater...
Intra-Nuclear Tensile Strain Mediates Reorganization of Epigenetically Marked Chromatin During Cardiac Development and Disease

ABSTRACT Environmental mechanical cues are critical to guide cell fate. Forces transmit to the nucleus through the Linker of Nucleo- and Cytoskeleton (LINC) complex and are thought to influence the organization of chromatin that is related to cell differentiation; however, the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we investigated chromatin reorganization during murine cardiac development and found that cardiomyocytes establish a distinct architecture characterized by relocation of H3K9me3-modified chromatin from the nuclear interior to the periphery and co-localization to myofibrils. This effect was abrogated in stiff environments that inhibited cardiomyocyte contractility, or after LINC complex disruption, and resulted in the relocation of H3K27me3-modified chromatin instead. By generating high-resolution intra-nuclear strain maps during cardiomyocyte contraction, we discovered that the reorganization of H3K9me3-marked chromatin is influenced by tensile, but not compressive, nuclear strains. Our findings highlight a new role for nuclear mechanosensation in guiding cell fate through chromatin reorganization in response to environmental cues.
Specialized spatial cognition is associated with reduced cognitive senescence in a food-caching bird

Senescence, the gradual reduction and loss of function as organisms age, is a widespread process that is especially pronounced in cognitive abilities. Senescence appears to have a genetic basis and can be affected by evolutionary processes. If cognitive senescence is shaped by natural selection, it may be linked with selection on cognitive abilities needed for survival and reproduction, such that species where fitness is directly related to cognitive abilities should evolve delayed cognitive senescence likely resulting in higher lifetime fitness. We used wild food-caching mountain chickadees, which rely on specialized spatial cognition to recover thousands of food caches annually, to test for cognitive senescence in spatial learning and memory and reversal spatial learning and memory abilities. We detected no signs of age-related senescence in spatial cognitive performance on either task in birds ranging from 1 to 6 years old; older birds actually performed better on spatial learning and memory tasks. Our results therefore suggest that cognitive senescence may be either delayed (potentially appearing after 6 years) or negligible in species with strong selection on cognitive abilities and that food-caching species may present a useful model to investigate mechanisms associated with cognitive senescence.
Craniofacial Trauma on the Modern Battlefield: Initial Management and Techniques

This review focuses on the literature from the recent conflicts in Iraq/Syria and Afghanistan as well as techniques for addressing combat related craniofacial trauma. This review also includes practical lessons, techniques, tips, and “pearls” from several military experts with operational deployment experience. Craniofacial trauma is increasing in incidence in modern conflicts due to improved body armor and the use of IEDs. The most common injuries are soft tissue defects, midface fractures, and mandible fractures. Recent data from Operation Inherent Resolve shows that these injuries are increasing in their complexity with many patients having injury to multiple sites on the head and neck. Many of these injuries can be safely and effectively addressed in theater through debridement, immediate reduction and repair of the fractures, and closure of the soft tissue. Craniofacial injuries are an increasing proportion of the surgical care provided by deployed surgeons and all military surgeons should be familiar with their basic management.