cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk and protective behaviours for residential carbon monoxide poisoning

Background Unintentional, non-fire-related carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning is a leading cause of poisoning death and injury in the USA. Residential poisonings caused by faulty furnaces are the most common type of CO exposure. However, these poisonings are largely preventable with annual furnace inspections and CO alarm installation. Objective This study aimed to identify the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that might lead consumers to adopt these protective behaviours. Methods In August 2009, four focus groups (n=29) were conducted with homeowners in Chicago, Illinois, USA, to identify the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs that lead consumers to adopt risk and protective behaviours. Discussions were transcribed and the findings were analysed using an ordered meta-matrix. Results Focus group participants were aware of CO poisoning and supported the idea of regular furnace inspections. However, few participants consistently scheduled professional inspections for fear of costly repairs and unscrupulous contractors. Participants often owned CO alarms, but many did not locate them properly, nor maintain them. Some participants confused CO and natural gas and were unsure how to react if a CO alarm sounds. Participants stated that incentives, such as discounts and inspector selection tips, would make them more likely to schedule furnace inspections. Participants also identified trustworthy sources for CO education, including realtors, fire departments, home insurance agents and local media outlets. Conclusions Participants9 residential CO risk behaviours are not random but driven by underlying knowledge, attitudes and beliefs. Correcting misperceptions, providing incentives and partnering with trustworthy sources might encourage greater consumer adoption of protective behaviours.
Counterpoint: A Sensory Gating—Hippocampal Model of Schizophrenia

We propose a model for schizophrenia that incorporates findings of impaired auditory sensory gating with a possible structural abnormality of the hippocampus. The deficit in auditory sensory gating would be a genetic schizotaxic factor, necessary in the development of schizophrenia but not sufficient by itself. Genetic or acquired hippocampal dysgenesis or frank damage in combination with the sensory gating deficit would be necessary to produce the full-blown syndrome. We review the relevant literature and reply to Dr. E. Fuller Torrey's hypothesis.
ERG expression in chondrogenic bone and soft tissue tumours

Aim We studied ERG expression in a large series of chondrogenic bone and soft tissue tumours to assess the value of ERG as a possible marker of chondroid/cartilaginous differentiation. Methods Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded whole sections from 111 bone and soft tissue tumours with chondroid differentiation or a morphology that may mimic cartilaginous differentiation were retrieved. Immunohistochemistry was performed using anti-ERG monoclonal antibody directed against the N terminus. Nuclear staining was scored as negative ( 51%). Results Nuclear ERG expression was seen in all cases of soft tissue chondroma (8), chondromyxoid fibroma (7), chondroblastic osteosarcoma (6) and clear cell chondrosarcoma (1). 10/12 conventional chondrosarcomas were also positive for ERG. In cases of dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma, the well-differentiated component was positive in 7/9 cases, while all dedifferentiated foci were negative. In cases of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma, the hyaline cartilage component was positive in 2/4 cases, whereas the primitive component in all cases was negative. Variable positivity was identified in extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcomas (4/9), chondroblastomas (3/8) and mixed tumours/myoepitheliomas (2/11). Only 1/12 chordoma was positive for ERG (1+). Interestingly, 15/17 enchondromas were negative for ERG. Conclusions In this study, we further characterise the expression of ERG in mesenchymal tumours and found relatively constant nuclear ERG expression in selected chondrogenic tumours including conventional chondrosarcoma, chondromyxoid fibroma, chondroblastic osteosarcoma and clear cell chondrosarcoma. We also show that ERG may be a helpful ancillary tool in certain select diagnostic scenarios and that awareness of ERG expression in tumours with cartilaginous differentiation is important.
Pulmonary Valve Replacement in Tetralogy of Fallot Impact on Survival and Ventricular Tachycardia

Background— Pulmonary valve replacement (PVR) in repaired tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) reduces pulmonary regurgitation and decreases right ventricular (RV) dilation, but its long-term impact on ventricular tachycardia (VT) and mortality is unknown. This study aimed to determine the incidence of death and VT in TOF after PVR and to test the hypothesis that PVR leads to improvement in these outcomes. Methods and Results— A total of 98 patients with TOF and late PVR for RV dilation were identified. Matched control subjects were identified for 77 of these patients; control subjects had TOF with RV dilation but no PVR. Matching was done by age (±2 years) and baseline QRS duration (±30 ms). No significant differences were found in age, QRS duration, type or decade of initial repair, age at TOF repair, or presence of pre-PVR VT between the 2 groups; limited echocardiographic and magnetic resonance imaging data showed no difference in left ventricular function but more RV dilation among PVR patients than control sub...
Quantum critical point shifts under superconductivity: Pnictides and cuprates

We compare the position of an ordering transition in a metal to that in a superconductor. For the spin-density wave (SDW) transition, we find that the quantum critical point shifts by order $|\ensuremath{\Delta}|$, where $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ is pairing amplitude so that the region of SDW order is smaller in the superconductor than in the metal. This shift is larger than the $\ensuremath{\sim}{|\ensuremath{\Delta}|}^{2}$ shift predicted by theories of competing orders which ignore Fermi-surface effects. For Ising-nematic order, the shift from Fermi-surface effects remains of order ${|\ensuremath{\Delta}|}^{2}$. We discuss implications of these results for the phase diagrams of the cuprates and the pnictides. We conclude that recent observations imply that the Ising-nematic order is tied to the square of the SDW order in the pnictides but not in the cuprates.
Nitric oxide release during α1-adrenoceptor-mediated constriction of arterioles

We examined endothelial modulation of norepinephrine (NE)-mediated constriction in isolated, cannulated, first-order arterioles from skeletal muscle of rats. Acute arteriolar constrictor responses to NE (10(-9) to 10(-7) M) were significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced after either endothelial denudation or inhibition of nitric oxide synthase with NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (10(-4) M, 30 min). In contrast, arteriolar constrictions to NE were not different after treatment with either the cyclooxygenase inhibitor diclofenac (10(-6) M, 30 min) or the K+-channel blocker tetrabutylammonium (5 x 10(-5) M, 30 min). We also measured arteriolar responses to the vasoconstrictor PGF2alpha; responses were not altered by any of the experimental treatments, which indicates that this phenomenon is not ubiquitous to all vasoconstricting agents. Mechanistically, we examined vascular smooth muscle (VSM) and endothelial cell calcium. Both NE and PGF2alpha significantly increased VSM cell calcium measurements; however, endothelial cell calcium was significantly increased with NE or phenylephrine (an alpha1-adrenergic agonist) but not with PGF2alpha or UK-14304 (an alpha2-adrenergic agonist). Together these findings suggest that in rat cremaster first-order arterioles, NE stimulates an increase in VSM calcium via adrenergic receptors with subsequent increase in endothelial cell calcium, possibly via stimulation of alpha1-adrenergic receptors on the arteriolar endothelium. The burst in endothelial cell calcium may then lead to the production of nitric oxide, which diffuses to the VSM, attenuates constriction, and maintains at least some minimal level of blood flow.
Mechanistic Insights into Temperature-Dependent Trithiocarbonate Chain-End Degradation during the RAFT Polymerization of N-Arylmethacrylamides

Mechanistic insights into trithiocarbonate degradation during the RAFT polymerization of N-arylmethacrylamides are reported. Previous work by our group showed significant RAFT agent degradation during the polymerization of N-arylmethacryloyl sulfonamides at 70 °C. Herein we report the influence of methacrylamide structure on trithiocarbonate degradation during the RAFT polymerizations of N-phenylmethacrylamide (PhMA) and N-benzylmethacrylamide (BnMA) in DMF at 70 and 30 °C. UV–vis spectroscopy revealed trithiocarbonate degradation occurs exclusively after covalent addition of monomer to the RAFT agent, with 60% trithiocarbonate degradation occurring after 12 h during the polymerization of PhMA at 70 °C compared to only 3% degradation measured during the polymerization of BnMA under identical conditions. Small molecule analogues of trithiocarbonate-functional poly(PhMA) and poly(BnMA) were synthesized by single monomer unit insertion and the kinetics and byproducts of degradation investigated by in situ 1H...
Serotonergic mechanisms contributing to arousal and alerting

Serotonin (5-HT) is implicated in the regulation of both behavioral arousal and a brainstem alerting system that operates in wakefulness and in rapid eye movement sleep (REM). Activation of the brainstem alerting system is marked by the presence of ponto-geniculooccipital (PGO) waves that occur in association with orienting in wakefulness and spontaneously in REM. Local application of serotonergic agents into REM and PGO wave regulatory regions can alter REM, but there is conflicting evidence as to whether 5-HT in the brainstem can independently influence PGO wave generation. A potential site of action of 5-HT outside the brainstem is the amygdala, which can influence arousal as well as neurobiological responses to novel and significant stimuli. The amygdala also modulates the occurrence and amplitude of PGO waves. We discuss the linkages between arousal and alerting systems and the role 5-HT may play in their regulation at brainstem and amygdalar sites.
Effects of Time-Varying Inertias on Flight Dynamics of an Asymmetric Variable-Sweep Morphing Aircraft

Mission capability can be enabled by morphing an aircraft to optimize its aerodynamics and associated flight dynamics for each maneuver. Such optimization often consider the steady-state behavior of the configuration; however, the transient behavior must also be analyzed. In particular, the time-varying inertias have an effect on the flight dynamics that can adversely affect mission performance if not properly compensated. These inertia terms cause coupling between the longitudinal and lateral-directional dynamics even for maneuvers around trim. A simulation of a variable-sweep aircraft undergoing a symmetric morphing for an altitude change shows a noticeable lateral translation in the flight path because of the induced asymmetry.
Influence of Thiourea on Growth of Cells of Midbrain in Frogs.

Summary1. Tadpoles of Rana pipiens and Xenopus laevis in premetamorphic stages were placed in solutions of thiourea up to 35 days. After 8 days or longer significant slowing of metamorphosis was achieved. Commonly complete arrest of metamorphosis occurred. 2. Compared to values in control animals, the sizes of cells and nuclei of the mesencephalic V nucleus were significantly reduced, and the nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio was increased, i.e., the changes were toward values characterizing younger larval stages. 3. Similar treatment of juvenile postmetamorphic Xenopus gave comparable but less marked changes in cell and nuclear sizes. The changes were greatest in smaller animals.
Body fat distribution, obesity, overweight and stroke incidence in women and men--the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study.

OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that an elevated ratio of subscapular to triceps skinfold thickness (SFR), a measure of truncal obesity, is associated with increased incidence of stroke independent of overweight. DESIGN: Data from the NHANES I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study were analyzed. SUBJECTS: A cohort of 3652 women and 3284 men with complete data who had no history of stroke at baseline in 1971–1975. MEASUREMENTS: Incidence of stroke diagnosed at hospital discharge or death during the follow-up period through 1992; triceps and subscapular skinfold thickness (SSF) and body mass index (BMI) at baseline. RESULTS: In a complex relationship, higher SFR was associated with a mildly but significantly increased incidence of stroke only in white male former smokers. In white men, SSF showed a U-shaped association with stroke risk. In white men, stroke risk was elevated in the top quartile of BMI only in never smokers. In black women, stroke risk was significantly elevated in the bottom compared to the top quartile of BMI. No significant associations were seen in white women or black men. CONCLUSIONS: In white men, SSF showed a U-shaped association with stroke risk, which was elevated in the top quartile of BMI only in never smokers. Surprisingly, stroke risk was elevated in black women with the lowest BMI. More studies of these associations are needed, especially in black women.
Relationship between risk factors for hypertension and obesity and over-weight:A community-based survey in Shijingshan district of Beijing

Objective To understand prevalence of hypertension and other chronic diseases and their risk factors among local residents in Shijingshan district,Beijing.Methods By cluster sampling,1407 local residents aged 15 years and over were selected from Shijingshan district,Beijing for questionnaire survey and measurements for blood-pressure,body height and weight,fasting blood sugar level.Results Overall prevalence of hypertension was 30.7 percent,31.63 percent for males and 29.86 percent for females,and 35.4 percent for those aged 35 years or over and 42.1 percent for those aged 60 years or over,respectively,in an increasing tendency with age.There was statistically significant difference in prevalence of hypertension between varied age groups.Overall prevalence of diabetes was 10.95 percent,11.10 percent for males and 10.8 percent for females,respectively,and increased with age.Those with body mass index(BMI) equal to or more than 24 accounted for 18 percent,and those with BMI of 28 or more accounted for 15.7 percent of those aged 18 years or over,with more males than females.Fasting blood sugar level increased with age.Over weight,obesity and impaired fasting blood glucose all were risk factors for hypertension.Conclusion Prevalence of hypertension,diabetes and overweight are all higher among local residents in Shijingshan district than those in other areas of the country.Their awareness of basic knowledge of hypertension is insufficient.
Selective musculocutaneous nerve block and infraclavicular brachial plexus anesthesia. Case report.

Background and Objectives. Regional anesthesia of the upper extremity may be achieved by the infraclavicular approach to the brachial plexus. Methods. Advantages of this approach include profound anesthesia of the upper extremity with minimal risk of complications. Results. Isolated block of the musculocutaneous nerve may result by this approach if biceps muscle contractions are accepted as evidence of brachial plexus location by peripheral nerve stimulation. Conclusions. Stimulation of the musculocutaneous nerve in the infraclavicular region results in biceps muscle contraction. Inadequate anesthesia of the upper extremity may result due to exiting of the musculocutaneous nerve outside the axillary sheath in this region. Evidence of more distal stimulation (finger/wrist flexion) improves the likelihood of successful block of the brachial plexus by the infraclavicular route.
Refugees in Camps: Anatomy of an Identity Crisis

The previous chapter analyzes the interplay between geopolitics, border politics, and the creation of refugee movements. I now turn to refugees in camps, their predicaments, and the complex identities of refugee children. Encampment has long been an essential element of the humanitarian response to refugees — for several decades. The focus of the international humanitarian response in asylum countries has been to emphasize assistance at the expense of legal protection. Camps have become emblematic of this paradigm, as refugees frequently live for years or even decades in protracted camp settings with physical assistance while lacking access to the traditional durable solutions.
A Non-Modal Argument

In this chapter I shall defend a non-modal argument for God’s existence which does not have among its premises the claim that God is logically possible but which, since it establishes that God exists, proves indirectly that God is logically possible.
Restoration of Eroded and Degraded Soils

Restoration refers to the process of repairing and returning damaged or degraded soils (e.g., eroded agricultural soils, mined soils) to a condition similar to the predegradation level of capability for supporting plant growth and maintaining environmental quality. Degradation, which broadly refers to decline in soil’s capacity for a specific use (e.g., productivity, pollutant filtration, C sequestration) is somewhat a qualitative term. Thus, its quantitative parameterization is a high priority. In this textbook, the term restoration is used instead of reclamation, which sometimes refers to the processes of creating new lands.
Sometimes they save us, too.

I was planning my wedding and honeymoon when the terror attacks on the United States transpired in 2001. Like many others, I felt worried and anxious about the future of our country and about my own personal safety. Would dodging bombs and bullets be the new norm for Americans? Would I have to watch
Toward a Social Understanding of Mental Health

My goal in this chapter is to contest the deficit views of people who are discursively constructed as being mentally ill or disordered. In the following sections I review related work on how difference becomes pathologized, and draw on Vygotsky’s (1993) work in the field of defectology—an unfortunately named effort to integrate blind, deaf, and people otherwise lacking common physical traits into society’s streams of activity1—to provide a social understanding of mental health. This effort is undertaken in order to outline a social view of anomalous mental health makeups that is less oriented to individual illness (see Chap. 1) and more centered on adaptations made by the broader society to accommodate and support a wider range of mental health profiles (see Chap. 3).
JAK2 V617F in Patients with Idiopathic Thromboses in Common Locations.

Background: Polycythemia vera and essential thrombocytosis, two of the myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) often characterized by the recurrent somatic missense mutation JAK2 V617F, are associated with an increased risk of arterial and venous thrombosis. Although recent anecdotal reports have suggested the possibility of latent MPDs by finding JAK2 mutations in patients with abdominal venous thromboses (AVT), the usefulness of routine JAK2 V617F testing has not been assessed in a cohort of general hospital patients with idiopathic thromboses in common locations. Methods: To assess the utility of JAK2 V617F testing in patients undergoing thrombophilia workup, we identified all patients with negative molecular diagnostic tests for the Factor V Leiden (FVL) mutation and the prothrombin gene mutation (G20210A) over the course of one year at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. We then determined, by medical record review, the nature of the thrombotic events for which they were being evaluated, and tested their nucleated white blood cell DNA for the JAK2 V617F mutation using the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS)-PCR assay (which has a lower limit of detection of 5% mutant alleles). Results: From Februrary 2006 to February 2007, 111 patients had negative tests for both FVL and G20210A. Of these, our chart review revealed that 65 had documented thromboses without a history of malignancy or MPD. None of these were found to have the JAK2 V617F mutation. Laboratory hypercoaguability studies for thrombosis by type (from medical record review) were as follows: | | Protein C deficiency (%) | Protein S deficiency (%) | Anti-thrombin III deficiency (%) | Antiphospholipid Abs (%) | Elevated homocysteine (%) | JAK2 V617 mutation (%) | None (%) | |:------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------ | -------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------- | ---------------------- | -------- | | CVA/Stroke (n=10) | | 20 | | 10 | | | 70 | | DVT/PE (n=45) | 11 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 13 | | 60 | | AVT (n=6) | 33 | 33 | | | 17 | | 33 | | Other Arterial Thrombosis (n=4) | | 25 | | | 25 | | 50 | In terms of clinical risk factors, 27.6% of patients with documented thromboses had had surgery within the prior month, 26.2% were current smokers, and 31.4% of female patients were either pregnant or taking oral contraceptives. 29.2% of all patients had no clinical or laboratory thrombophilic risk factors. Conclusions: About two-thirds of our general hospital patients with thrombosis and negative tests for FVL and G20210A had another underlying thrombophilic risk factor. Adding JAK2 V617F mutation testing as a routine component of the thrombophilia diagnostic workup is not recommended, as it is unlikely to reveal evidence of a putative latent MPD.
A random tree search algorithm for Nash equilibrium in capacitated selfish replication games

In this paper, we consider a resource allocation game with binary preferences and limited capacities over large scale networks and propose a novel randomized algorithm for searching its pure-strategy Nash equilibrium points. It is known that such games always admit a pure-strategy Nash equilibrium and benefit from having a low price of anarchy. However, the best known theoretical results only provide a quasi-polynomial constant approximation algorithm of the equilibrium points over general networks. Here, we search the state space of the resource allocation game for its equilibrium points. We use a random tree based search method to minimize a proper score function and direct the search toward the pure-strategy Nash equilibrium points of the system. We demonstrate efficiency of our algorithm through some empirical results.
Las investigaciones en Cuba acerca de LGBTI. Posibilidades de incursión desde la comunicación

How have been the cubans investigations on communication about lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals and intersex developed? It is the question that gives reason to the present article, which has like objective to describe the trajectory of the above-mentioned studies, departing of the Analysis of contents and the bibliographic documentary revision. The main result is the systematization of evolution of the investigations on sociology, literary, history, psichology, medicine, theology and specially on communication about LGBTI, a theme little treated in the social and humanists cubans sciences. At the same time, it offers the possibilities to correct in the present and future the errors of the past and eliminating macho and sexist conceptions. Also is able to indicate the guidelines for a massmedia speech that promotes equity and respect to life.
Model Fit and Item Factor Analysis: Overfactoring, Underfactoring, and a Program to Guide Interpretation

In exploratory item factor analysis (IFA), researchers may use model fit statistics and commonly invoked fit thresholds to help determine the dimensionality of an assessment. However, these indices and thresholds may mislead as they were developed in a confirmatory framework for models with continuous, not categorical, indicators. The present study used Monte Carlo simulation methods to investigate the ability of popular model fit statistics (chi-square, root mean square error of approximation, the comparative fit index, and the Tucker-Lewis index) and their standard cutoff values to detect the optimal number of latent dimensions underlying sets of dichotomous items. Models were fit to data generated from three-factor population structures that varied in factor loading magnitude, factor intercorrelation magnitude, number of indicators, and whether cross loadings or minor factors were included. The effectiveness of the thresholds varied across fit statistics, and was conditional on many features of the underlying model. Together, results suggest that conventional fit thresholds offer questionable utility in the context of IFA.
Supporting Human Autonomy in a Robot-Assisted Medication Sorting Task

Medication management is a significant challenge for older adults, and the resultant drug-related problems are linked with hospitalizations and increased need for nursing homes. In this work, we explored the role of a socially assistive robot for one aspect of medication management: sorting. Specifically, we proposed a human-centric approach towards the design of a robot assisting in a medication sorting task. The approach is based on the analyses of occupational therapists who are trained in evaluating and assisting older adults in important self-care skills and emphasizes the role of autonomy on the part of the person performing a medication sorting task. We developed and evaluated two robot prototypes that assist a person in a medication sorting task. In both prototypes, evaluated by students \((\hbox {N}=31)\) at an American university, we found that subjects voluntarily greeting the robot experienced the emotion of the interaction differently from non-greeters. Greeters of the physical robot gave a lower emotional rating of the interaction, whereas greeters of the virtual robot found the emotion of the experience to be better than the non-greeters.
Improved therapy for medulloblastoma: targeting hedgehog and PI3K-mTOR signaling pathways in combination with chemotherapy.

// Nagendra K. Chaturvedi 1 , Matthew J. Kling 2 , Don W. Coulter 1 , Timothy R. McGuire 3 , Sutapa Ray 1 , Varun Kesherwani 4 , Shantaram S. Joshi 2 and J. Graham Sharp 2 1 Departments of Pediatrics, Hematology and Oncology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 69198, USA 2 Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 69198, USA 3 Pharmacy Practice, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 69198, USA 4 Pathology and Microbiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 69198, USA Correspondence to: Nagendra K. Chaturvedi, email: nchaturvedi@unmc.edu Keywords: medulloblastoma; hedgehog/PI3K-mTOR pathway; MYC; small molecule inhibitors; chemotherapy Received: December 21, 2017 Accepted: February 21, 2018 Published: March 30, 2018 ABSTRACT Aberrant activation and interactions of hedgehog (HH) and PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathways are frequently associated with high-risk medulloblastoma (MB). Thus, combined targeting of the HH and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways could be a viable therapeutic strategy to treat high-risk patients. Therefore, we investigated the anti-MB efficacies of combined HH inhibitor Vismodegib and PI3K-mTOR dual-inhibitor BEZ235 together or combined individually with cisplatin against high-risk MB. Using non-MYC- and MYC-amplified cell lines, and a xenograft mouse model, the in vitro and in vivo efficacies of these therapies on cell growth/survival and associated molecular mechanism(s) were investigated. Results showed that combined treatment of Vismodegib and BEZ235 together, or with cisplatin, significantly decreased MB cell growth/survival in a dose-dependent-fashion. Corresponding changes in the expression of targeted molecules following therapy were observed. Results demonstrated that inhibitors not only suppressed MB cell growth/survival when combined, but also significantly enhanced cisplatin-mediated cytotoxicity. Of these combinations, BEZ235 exhibited a significantly greater efficacy in enhancing cisplatin-mediated MB cytotoxicity. Results also demonstrated that the MYC-amplified MB lines showed a higher sensitivity to combined therapies compared to non-MYC-amplified cell lines. Therefore, we tested the efficacy of combined approaches against MYC-amplified MB growing in NSG mice. In vivo results showed that combination of Vismodegib and BEZ235 or their combination with cisplatin, significantly delayed MB tumor growth and increased survival of xenografted mice by targeting HH and mTOR pathways. Thus, our studies lay a foundation for translating these combined therapeutic strategies to the clinical setting to determine their efficacies in high-risk MB patients.
A Note Regarding Hopf's Umlaufsatz

We note an argument proving simultaneously Hopf's rotation angle theorem and the C1 Jordan curve theorem.
The queer digital touch of racial sight

Michael Jason Enriquez digitally altered celebrity headshots to make the celebrities look like they are wearing chola make-up. The “cholafied” headshot circulated on a Tumblr account, which at its ...
The Role of Plant Compounds in the Regulation of Rhizobium Nodulation Genes

Members of the genus Rhizobium are soil bacteria capable of forming symbiotic nitrogen fixing nodules with leguminous plants. Individual species of bacteria have a defined host-range; they are able to form nodules on a limited number of plant species.1 The bacteria invade the plant root through an emerging root hair causing the root hair to curl. The bacteria penetrate through several cell layers into the root via an infection thread which is a tube-like structure of plant cell wall.2 Early during the invasion process, in advance of the invading infection thread, inner cortical cells are stimulated to divide by the bacteria.3 It is apparent from this process that there is an ordered and specific exchange of biochemical signals between the plant and the invading bacteria.
Models and Ergodic Hierarchy

Before we enter in the present chapter, let us consider where we stand and where we are going. In the preceding chapter, we saw how Boltzmann’s quest for ergodicity led to an idealization — namely the notion of dynamical system — with precise enough a mathematical structure to support an unambiguous formulation of what is meant by an ergodic system. The next question should be whether such conditions are realistic enough to provide an adequate foundation to statistical mechanics. While we present some positive evidences in this chapter, we must preface this presentation by a warning. In the next chapter, we argue indeed that some doubts must be raised against unrestricted claims: it turns out that the condition of ergodicity — even in the version we called the “modified” ergodic hypothesis in Sect. 7.1 or its mathematical version in the equivalent defintions 7.2.2 and 7.2.3 — is too drastic to be satisfied by most finite Hamiltonian systems. The problem of how to save ergodic theory from this disaster is postponed to in Chap. 9.
Earth Satellites: Perturbations and Manoeuvres

After a spacecraft has been placed in an operational orbit about the Earth, subsequent manoeuvres will be required, either to correct the orbit or as demanded by the mission, eg. in order to rendezvous with another vehicle. Correction of orbits becomes necessary as a result of perturbations from the non-spherical shape of the Earth, the influence of the Sun, the Moon and any residual atmosphere, although the latter is significant only at relatively low altitudes (below 100 km). This chapter includes an analysis of perturbations and the necessary corrective manoeuvres but geostationary orbits are treated separately because of their singular nature and tight tolerances.
Los actos de lenguaje en la teoría y la crítica literaria

Les actes de langage d'apres Austin, Searle, Grice. Application de ces recherches a la problematique litteraire: distinction entre fiction et non-fiction, litteraire et non litteraire, concept de genre et redefinition des genres litteraires, analyse d'une oeuvre particuliere. (poeme n 209 de Daniaso Alonso, Poesia de la Edad media y poesia de tipo tradicional).
Future trends in electron beam technology for food processing

Abstract The food industry has to continually respond to society’s demands of environmental stewardship in the form of sustainability, biodegradable packaging material, reduced reliance on chemicals, “green” manufacturing, and reducing or managing food wastes. Electron beam (eBeam) technology can play a pivotal role in many of these contemporary challenges that the food industry faces. This concluding chapter provides an overview of how eBeam technology can address many of the challenges that the food industry will face in the coming years, as well as provide a snapshot of how eBeam technology can be combined with complementary technologies to improve the nutritional quality, microbiological safety, environmental sustainability, and aesthetic appearance of food.
PHYSICS AND COMPUTATIONS OF FLOWS WITH ADVERSE PRESSURE GRADIENTS

For flows with small to mild pressure gradients, turbulence models that satisfy the law of the wall generally result in better agreement with experiments. When the pressure gradients are large, most simple two-equation models fail to predict the onset and the size of the flow separation. The cause was found to be associated with the failure of the models to respond to non-equilibrium flows when large ratios of the turbulent kineticenergy generation to the energy dissipation rate were encountered. Recent improved models, such as SST and algebraic stress models, have corrected this deficiency by introducing an adjustment to the values of the turbulence model coefficient such that the resultant eddy viscosity decreases as the ratios of the generation of turbulent kinetic energy to the energy dissipation rates increase. Although this type of model adjustment has been found to be very successful for flows under strong adverse pressure gradients, it was not able to predict the overshoot of turbulent shear stress in the flow recovery region.
Intraocular lens implantation in children with monocular cataracts. 1974-1983

Two hundred twenty-five consecutive intraocular lens (IOL) implants performed by the same surgeon from 1977 to 1983 are reviewed. Ninety (40%) patients had traumatic cataracts and 135 (60%) patients had infantile cataracts. Fifty-four percent of the patients presented with preoperative complications. The most frequent were corneal scars (62%) in the traumatic cataract patients, and posterior lenticonus (18%), microphthalmia (16%), PHPV (14%), and optic nerve defects (12%) in the infantile cataract patients. The iris suture lens was implanted from 1973 to 1982, but the posterior chamber lens is now the most frequently implanted primary IOL. Flexible anterior chamber or iris suture IOLs are used as secondary implants. Follow-up ranged from six months to nine years. Postoperatively, 66% of the patients required spectacles for residual optical correction and 55% required occlusion for amblyopia. Postoperative complications consisted of post-pseudophakos membranes (13%), peripheral iris erosion (13%), iris sphincter erosion (18%), dislocated IOLs (7%) and corneal edema (4%). Secondary surgical procedures relating to the IOL were discissions of post-pseudophakos membranes (6 patients), refixation of dislocated lens (15 patients) and IOL removal (6 patients). The best corrected visual acuities during the course of the follow-up was 20/20 to 20/40 in 34% of the patients, 20/50 to 20/100 in 21%, 20/200 in 12%, and less than 20/200 in 33% of patients. Sixty percent of the traumatic cataract patients achieved 20/20 to 20/40 acuity and 17% of the infantile cataract patients achieved this level. Primary implantation patients achieved superior acuities over secondary implantations in both groups.
Ethical Poultry and the Bioethics of Poultry Production

In this paper, we consider the ethics of poultry production from different perspectives, applying both intrinsic and extrinsic ethical principles. We consider the perspectives of the animal, farmer, consumer, breeders, researchers, and policy-makers. Intrinsic ethical factors include feeling pain and experiencing suffering, self-awareness and consciousness, future planning ability, the value of being alive, and individual love of life. Extrinsic factors include human necessity and/or desire, human sensitivity to animal suffering, fear of causing brutality in humans, disapproval of other animals, and the religious status of animals. The development of systems to create more ethical poultry production systems is a work in progress, and in the evolution of ethical standards, moral progress and what can be described as more ethical poultry are evident.
Single nanomaterial level investigation of ZnO nanorod sulfidation reactions via position resolved confocal Raman spectroscopy

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials have been used as desulfurizing sorbents for gaseous streams, zinc sulfide (ZnS)-forming template lattices in nanomaterial synthesis, and agriculturally produced sulfur (S)-removing reagents from the environment. Although various nanoscale forms of ZnO have already been utilized widely for such purposes, there is currently a lack of fundamental insight into the sulfidation of ZnO nanomaterials at the single nanocrystal level. We demonstrate that position-resolved confocal Raman spectroscopy can be successfully used to reveal the sulfidation process of ZnO NRs occurring at the single nanomaterial level. We attained a single crystal level understanding of the facet-dependent sulfidation reactivity of ZnO NRs by tracking the same NRs with Raman spectroscopy before and after the sulfidation reaction and quantitatively analyzing various ZnS-induced phonon scattering intensities from different positions on the NRs. The trend in NR facet-dependent sulfidation reactivity is further substantiated by correlating it with the electron microscopy and fluorescence data measured from the same NRs. The insight obtained from this study may provide the much-needed fundamental knowledge base for designing optimal ZnO nanostructures beneficial to many technological and industrial applications exploiting the ZnO-to-ZnS conversion. Taken together with the well-established methods to synthesize ZnO nanomaterials of specific crystal shapes and structures, our findings from this study may be broadly applicable in formulating and optimizing more advanced, low-dimensional ZnO sorbents and scrubbers for highly effective S removal.
Kidney Pathophysiology, Toxicology, and Drug-Induced Injury in Drug Development:

Anatomically, the kidneys are paired, bean-shaped (in most mammals), excretory organs that lie in the retroperitoneum. High blood flow to the kidneys, together with high oxygen consumption, makes them more vulnerable to exposure, via the circulation, and subsequent injury related to high concentrations of xenobiotics and chemicals. In preclinical drug development and safety assessment of new investigational drugs, changes in kidney structure and/or function following drug administration in experimental laboratory animals need to be put in context with interspecies differences in kidney functional anatomy, physiology, spontaneous pathologies, and toxicopathological responses to injury. In addition, translation to human relevance to avoid premature drug termination from development is vital. Thus, detection and characterization of kidney toxicity in preclinical species and human relevance will depend on the preclinical safety testing strategy and collective weight-of-evidence approach including new investigational drug mechanism of action (MOA), preclinical and clinical interspecies differences, and MOA relevance to humans. This review describes kidney macroscopic and microscopic functional anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, toxicology, and drug-induced kidney toxicities in safety risk assessment and drug development.
Abklärung erhöhter Leberwerte – Update 2019

Bedingt durch die zentrale Stellung der Leber im Stoffwechsel sind leichtere oder schwerere Schadigungen der Leber keine Seltenheit. Da sich Schadigungen durch unterschiedliche Noxen mit ahnlichen pathologischen Befundkonstellationen prasentieren, ist die Unterscheidung zwischen harmlosen Minimalveranderungen, die sehr haufig sind, und echter Erkrankung nicht immer leicht zu treffen. Die meisten Veranderungen lassen sich durch einige wenige Untersuchungen bereits gut einordnen, in den verbleibenden Fallen ist die Vorstellung beim Experten jedoch sinnvoll.
On the Relationship between Object Modeling and the Subjective Response

AbstractThis paper summarizes exploratory research that is a first step toward objectively linking the three-dimensional light-field associated with object modeling to occupants' subjective impressions of a space. Computer models were created for six light settings studied by John Flynn for which he determined specific subjective impressions. The directional nature of the light-field was quantified for each light setting using a three-dimensional array of vector to scalar (V:S) illuminance ratios, which have been promoted by Christopher Cuttle as a method for characterizing three-dimensional modeling. The comparative analysis suggests that: 1) spaces with variation in the V:S ratio are preferred to spaces that have homogeneous ratios, 2) the combination of a lower V:S ratio (less than 1.2) coupled with low variance in the V:S ratio favors spaces that appear spacious, and 3) impressions of clarity may be related to a combination of the V:S ratio and illuminance.
Noncanonical Mechanisms for Direct Bone Marrow Generating Ang II (Angiotensin II) Predominate in CD68 Positive Myeloid Lineage Cells

Bone marrow (BM) Ang II (angiotensin II) is a major participant in the regulation of hematopoiesis and immunity. The novel tissue substrate Ang-(1–12) [angiotensin-(1–12)] and its cleaving enzyme c...
Teaching About the Authoritarian Personality: Effects on Moral Judgment.

In order to test the effectiveness of teaching in modifying moral judgments, 200 students were administered a test of moral judgments in mitigating circumstances. Two of the five classes received instruction about the authoritarian personality, while three classes served as controls and received no such information. In a pretest-posttest design, with effects of pretesting statistically analyzed, it was found that the students who were taught about the authoritarian personality made significantly less severe moral judgments (p’s < .001). In addition, females were more moralistic than males, and first born females were more moralistic than laterborn women. The results suggest that moral judgments can be experimentally manipulated to be less severe.
CHAPTER 6 – Turing Machines

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses turing machines. The device is, at any particular instant, scanning a square on a linear tape just like the one used by Post-Turing programs. The combination of the current internal state with the symbol on the square currently scanned is then supposed to determine the next action of the device. For Turing machine to be a finite set of quadruples, no two of which should begin with the same pair qisj. Actually, any finite set of quadruples is called a nondeterminisitc Turing machine. The chapter discusses deterministic Turing machines which satisfy the additional consistency condition forbidding two quadruples of a given machine to begin with the same pair qisj, thereby guaranteeing that at any stage, a Turing machine is capable of only one action. Any partial function that can be computed by a Post-Turing program can be computed by a Turing machine using the same alphabet. A finite set of quintuples no two of which begin with the same pair qisj is called a quintuple Turing machine, which is proved by a theorem that states any partial function that can be computed by a Turing machine can be computed by a quintuple Turing machine using the same alphabet.
El Sueño Americano? The Generational Progress of Mexican Americans Prior to World War II

We present new estimates of the outcomes of first-generation Mexicans and their descendants between 1880 and 1940. We find zero convergence of the economic gap between Mexicans and non-Mexican whites across three generations. The great-grandchildren of immigrants also had fewer years of education. Slow convergence is not simply due to an inheritance of poverty; rather, Mexican Americans had worse outcomes conditional on the father’s economic status. However, the gap between third-generation Mexican Americans and non-Mexican whites is about half the size today as it was in 1940, suggesting that barriers to Mexican American progress have significantly decreased over time.
“The Trump Effect”: How Does it Impact International Student Enrollment in U.S. Colleges?

Since Donald Trump took the office of President of the United States in 2017, international student enrollments have declined at U.S. colleges due to the “Trump Effect.” Anti-immigration rhetoric, personal safety threats, legal stress, and shifting requirements for both students and colleges means potential losses of billions of dollars in revenue and fewer degrees awarded by U.S. colleges. The loss of revenue aside, less diverse student bodies, fewer visiting scholars, and less international travel caused ripple effects throughout the global higher education landscape. This literature review explores the Trump effect, alternative explanations to the Trump effect, and suggests future research directions.
The holographic spacetime model of cosmology

This essay outlines the Holographic Spacetime (HST) theory of cosmology and its relation to conventional theories of inflation. The predictions of the theory are compatible with observations, and o...
Combining Cognitive Task Analysis and Participatory Design Methods to Elicit and Represent Task Flows

Representations of step-by-step procedures, such as task flows, are developed and used to support technology design and evaluation as well as for training purposes in complex work domains. However,...
Unifying atmospheric biology research for the U.S. scientific community.

A global COVID-19 pandemic, rising asthma and allergies - along with climate change impacting storm intensity and frequency - point to an urgent need to unify U.S. atmospheric biology research. To this end, we briefly define atmospheric biology, summarize its fragmented history and then outline how to unify the field to provide benefits for the U.S. science community and its citizens. Atmospheric biology refers to the study of concentrations, sources, sinks, transformation and impacts of airborne microorganisms inclusive of pollen, fungal spores, algae, lichens, bacteria, viruses, cellulose fibers, and other biomolecules or fragments of cells. Here our focus is biological particles, both respirable (PM10 ) and systemic (PM2.5 ). Due to its interdisciplinary dependencies and broadness of scales from nanometers to kilometers, atmospheric biology research is highly fragmented in the U.S. science community. It lacks shared paradigms and common vocabulary. This deficit calls for recognizing atmospheric biology as a research community in its own right, thereby linking human health to climate change. We need to recognize atmospheric biology's importance to national security and science diplomacy. Advanced atmospheric biology research is being conducted in Europe, Russia and China, not in the United States.
Abstract 35: Vessel Wall Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Symptomatic Intracranial Atherosclerosis: A Meta-Analysis

Background: Intracranial vessel wall MR imaging (VWI) may be able to identify imaging biomarkers of symptomatic plaque. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the strength of association of imag...