cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accumulation of Organic Matter in the Rome Trough of the Appalachian Basin and Its Subsequent Thermal History

We used geochemical data to examine the origin and preservation of organic matter contained in the lower part of the Huron Member of the Ohio Shale formation and the Rhinestreet Shale Member of the West Falls Formation (Devonian) in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, and Virginia. The thermal history of the organic matter was determined by relating relative temperatures experienced by the organic matter to the geologic setting. The organic matter in these formations is predominantly marine in origin and was most probably derived largely from algal organisms. Although the rate of production of marine organic matter may have been uniform within the basin, its preservation apparently was controlled by the existence of a set of fault-bounded anoxic subbasins associated with the Rome trough, a Cambrian structural complex. These subbasins apparently were anoxic because they limited oxygen recharge by circulating waters. Preservation of organic matter was also enhanced by periodic blooms of the alga Tasmanites and similar organisms in the waters above the subbasins during both early Huron and Rhinestreet deposition. A significant negative correlation was identified between the vitrinite reflectance peak temperature, an integrated measure of the thermal history of a rock, and the hydrogen index, a measure of the remaining hydrocarbon-generation potential of kerogen. Although peak temperatures were controlled by burial depth, excess heating occurred locally, perhaps by hot brines rising from depth through fractures associated with major structures in the study area.
Relationship between cognitive styles and users' task performance in two information systems

Studies have shown that cognitive styles have some impacts on user performance in various types of systems. The current study focused on the effects of cognitive styles on users' information-seeking task performance between an information visualization system and a generic information system. Thirty-two graduate students participated in a controlled laboratory experiment. Each of them completed an extended cognitive style analysis - wholistic analytic test (Extended CSA-WA test) on cognitive style, and then conducted eight information search tasks, four analytical and four aspectual, in one of two systems: a text-based system, Web of Science, or a visualization system called CiteSpace. Results demonstrated that users' cognitive styles showed effect on task performance. The Wholistic-Analytic (WA) ratio obtained from the CSA-WA test was shown to be significantly correlated with result correctness for analytical tasks. Users with lower WA ratios were also found to have significant lower result satisfaction for analytical tasks than for aspectual tasks. Also, we found significant system effect on users' search performance. These results indicate that cognitive style is an important factor affecting users' performance, so is system interface design. Research in both areas provides valuable indication for future information system design.
Improved Decision Making Through Simulation-Based Planning:

Real-time military planning and decision making involve several different modeling techniques, including rule-based, operator-based, and dynamic-model based approaches. While rule-based approaches are generally fast and are more appropriate for simple scenarios, simulation methods and dynamic models, indigenous to the simulation literature, are necessary to plan within environments involving large-scale uncertainty, multiple interacting elements and complex dynamics. Planning techniques must inter-operate to yield the best decisions, and we have found that simulation-based planning serves as an architecture for detailed model levels for both real-time and off-line decision making. We introduce simulation-based planning as a methodology for addressingthe complexity involved in Air Force missions while employing an example of air interdiction.
WHOLE GENOME COMPARISONS REVEALS A POSSIBLE CHIMERIC ORIGIN FOR A MAJOR METAZOAN ASSEMBLAGE

The availability of whole genome sequences from multiple metazoan phyla is making it possible to determine their phylogeny. We have found that a sea urchin and human define a clade that excludes a tunicate, contradicting both classical and recent molecular studies that place the tunicate and vertebrate in the Chordate phylum. Intriguingly, by means of a novel four taxa analysis, we have partitioned the 2000 proteins responsible for this assignment into two groups. One group, containing about 40% of the proteins, supports the classical assemblage of the tunicate with vertebrates, while the remaining group places the tunicate outside of the chordate assemblage. The existence of these two phylogenetic groups is robustly maintained in five, six and nine taxa analyses. These results suggest that major horizontal gene transfer events occurred during the emergence of one of the metazoan phyla. The simplest explanation is that the modern tunicate (as represented by Ciona intestinalis) began as a hybrid between a ...
Electron Beam Diagnostics Applied to High-Density Gasdynamic Laser Mixtures

A new, systematic study of the electron beam induced emission in N/sub 2/--CO/sub 2/--H/sub 2/O mixtures typical of those in gasdynamic lasers has been conducted. Vibrational temperatures of molecular nitrogen were successfully measured at density levels at least an order-of-magnitude above those normally used with an electron beam. The experimental studies were performed in an arc-heated free jet with densities up to those corresponding to a pressure of 20 torr at 300K. Comparisons of theoretical and experimental N/sub 2/ vibrational temperatures are presented which show that the data are not adversly influenced by the high density nor by the addition of CO/sub 2/ and H/sub 2/O so long as there is a relatively high flow velocity.
Connection between SVM+ and multi-task learning

Exploiting additional information to improve traditional inductive learning is an active research in machine learning. When data are naturally separated into groups, SVM+[7] can effectively utilize this structure information to improve generalization. Alternatively, we can view learning based on data from each group as an individual task, but all these tasks are somehow related; so the same problem can also be formulated as a multi-task learning problem. Following the SVM+ approach, we propose a new multi-task learning algorithm called svm+MTL, which can be thought as an adaptation of SVM+ for solving MTL problem. The connections between SVM+ and svm+MTL are discussed and their performance is compared using synthetic data sets.
The Internet and Social Work: The Next Generation

This article explores the next generation of Internet technologies that are relevant to the field of social work and related disciplines. It describes Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, social networking sites, tags, folksonomy, and wiki mechanisms; it introduces readers to the virtual world, Second Life; and it provides a glossary of useful terms. These new phenomena increase the capacity for practitioners to obtain and share information by enhancing traditional ways of communicating. It discusses how the Internet is changing the means by which individuals form social relationships and acquire and utilize knowledge. This article also raises essential issues that are emerging from this medium, and it stresses the importance for practitioners to understand this new medium and to participate in online communities.
Life Cost-Based FMEA Incorporating Data Uncertainty

Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA) is a design tool that mitigates risks during the design phase before they occur. Although many industries use the current FMEA technique, it has many limitations and problems. Risk is measured in terms of Risk Priority Number (RPN) that is a product of occurrence, severity, and detection difficulty. Measuring severity and detection difficulty is very subjective and with no universal scale. RPN is also a product of ordinal variables, which is not meaningful as a proper measure. This paper addresses these shortcomings and introduces a new methodology, Life Cost-Based FMEA, which measures risk in terms of cost. The ambiguity of detection difficulty and severity is resolved by measuring these in terms of time loss. Life Cost-Based FMEA is useful for comparing and selecting design alternatives that can reduce the overall life cycle cost of a particular system. Next, a Monte Carlo simulation is applied to the Cost-Based FMEA to account for the uncertainties in: detection time, fixing time, occurrence, delay time, down time, and model complex scenarios. This paper compares and contrasts these three different FMEAs: RPN, Life Cost-based point estimation, and Life Cost-Based using Monte Carlo simulation for data uncertainty.
Theory of electronic circular dichroism lineshapes

Abstract A microscopic, quantum field theory of lineshapes for electronic circular dichroism spectra is presented. A simple, model Hamiltonian for a single impurity in a crystal is considered. In this formalism, electron-photon coupling terms contribute directly to the magnetic transition dipole moment. Lineshape functions for absorbance and circular dichroism spectra are derived. Electronic circular dichroism spectra contain vibronic contributions which do not appear in absorbance spectra. This treatment does not require perturbation theory to obtain the vibrational contribution to the circular dichroism lineshape.
Natural killer cell function is intact after direct exposure to infectious hepatitis C virions.

Although hepatitis C virus (HCV) has been shown to readily escape from virus-specific T and B cell responses, its effects on natural killer (NK) cells are less clear. Based on two previous reports that recombinant, truncated HCV E2 protein inhibits NK cell functions via crosslinking of CD81, it is now widely believed that HCV impairs NK cells as a means to establish persistence. However, the relevance of these findings has not been verified with HCV E2 expressed as part of intact virions. Here we employed a new cell culture system generating infectious HCV particles with genotype 1a and 2a structural proteins, and analyzed direct and indirect effects of HCV on human NK cells. Antibody-mediated crosslinking of CD16 stimulated and antibody-mediated crosslinking of CD81 inhibited NK cell activation and interferon gamma (IFN-γ) production. However, infectious HCV itself had no effect even at titers that far exceeded HCV RNA and protein concentrations in the blood of infected patients. Consistent with these results, anti-CD81 but not HCV inhibited NK cell cytotoxicity. These results were independent of the presence or absence of HCV-binding antibodies and independent of the presence or absence of other peripheral blood mononuclear cell populations. Conclusion: HCV 1a or 2a envelope proteins do not modulate NK cell function when expressed as a part of infectious HCV particles. Without direct inhibition by HCV, NK cells may become activated by cytokines in acute HCV infection and contribute to infection outcome and disease pathogenesis. (HEPATOLOGY 2009;49:12-21.)
Pulling the Levers: Transformational Leadership, Public Service Motivation, and Mission Valence

This article contributes to our understanding of public service motivation and leadership by investigating ways in which organizational leaders can reinforce and even augment the potential effects of public service motivation on employees’ attraction to the organization’s mission (mission valence). The results contribute to two research questions. First, the findings provide new evidence on the sources of public service motivation. The authors find that transformational leadership is an organizational factor associated with higher public service motivation. Second, the article examines the relationship between transformational leadership and mission valence. The authors find that transformational leadership has an important indirect effect on mission valence through its influence on clarifying organizational goals and fostering public service motivation.
Spatial and Temporal Study of Climatic Variability on Grape Production in Southwestern Michigan

Daily climatic data were obtained from several sources to calculate growing degree days (GDD) for multiple sites in southwest Michigan, which contains the Lake Michigan Shore American Viticultural Area. The data were examined for spatial and temporal (1950 to 2011) patterns and trends over the region in order to better quantify the role of Michigan climate on juice grape production. The occurrence and severity of frost and freezing temperatures were also considered in this study, as subfreezing temperatures in late spring and early fall can have severe impacts on the region’s juice grape production and fruit quality at harvest. Michigan’s cool-cold climate has warmed in recent decades, particularly since 1980, with an average increase over the region of more than 3.7 GDD (base 10°C) per year. Southwestern Michigan was also found to have higher seasonal temperature variability when compared with Napa Valley (California). Since 1980, the season-to-season variability in Michigan has increased at a more rapid pace. The impacts of the increasing GDD have been positive for fruit quality, with a strong positive correlation between seasonal GDD and fruit maturation, indexed as total soluble solids (Brix). The growing season has also increased by 28 days in length since 1971. However, despite warmer temperatures, the number of days of potential frost and their seasonal variability in southwestern Michigan have remain unchanged, which continues to pose a risk for grapegrowers in the region. While it has become warmer in Michigan, and the spring warm-up is typically arriving earlier in the year, the number of days with damaging frost still has a profound impact on overall climate-related risk for grape production.
Evaluating test adequacy coverage of high level petri nets using spin

How to ensure the quality of complex software systems is a grand challenge. Formal methods and software testing techniques are two major complementary approaches for software quality assurance. In this paper, we present a unique approach that uses the simulation capability of the Spin model checker to evaluate the test adequacy of high level Petri nets based on various coverage criteria. In our approach, a high level Petri net is expressed as a program in Promela, the input language for Spin, and the simulation capability of Spin is used to execute the program and evaluate different test coverage criteria for high level Petri nets. We use high level Petri nets as a concrete formal specification method to demonstrate our approach, and our results can be easily generalized to other formal models as well.
Uncertainty-Robust Design of Interval Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Controller for Delta Parallel Robot

Type-2 Fuzzy Logic Controllers (T2 FLCs) have been recently applied in many engineering areas. While understanding the control potentials of T2 FLCs can still be considered an open question researchers, commonly claim superiority of T2 FLCs based on a limited exploration of the space of design parameters. The contribution of this work is based on a problem-driven design of uncertainty-robust Interval T2 (IT2) FLCs. The presented methodology starts with a baseline optimized T1 FLC. Next, a group of IT2 FLCs is designed using partially dependent approach by symmetrically blurring the membership functions around the original T1 fuzzy sets. This constrained design space allows for its systematic exploration and analysis. The performance of the designed controllers was evaluated on delta parallel robot hardware under two kinds of commonly encountered uncertainties: i) sensory noise and ii) uncertain system parameters. The experimental results showed that IT2 FLCs provide improved control performance against T1 FLCs when appropriate design of IT2 fuzzy sets is performed. In addition, it was demonstrated that excessive amount of “type-2 fuzziness” in the IT2 FLC design leads to rapid performance degradation.
Shared fuse macro for multiple embedded memory devices with redundancy

Customers designing increasingly complex integrated circuits are turning to ASIC vendors to help bring their products to market faster than their competitors. ASIC designs with large amounts of embedded memory must use fuse-enabled redundancy techniques to maintain price competitive yield. IBM has developed a data compression and shared fuse technique to accommodate large numbers of redundant elements in an ASIC. This technique minimizes or eliminates problems associated with a large number of fuses distributed within many embedded memories on an ASIC.
What is Bureaucratic Accountability and How can We Measure it

This article addresses both the theoretical question of defining accountability relationships in the bureaucratic context and the methodological question of how to describe and measure those relati...
OFFSPRING DISCRIMINATION WITHOUT RECOGNITION: CALIFORNIA TOWHEE RESPONSES TO CHICK DISTRESS CALLS

Abstract ABSTRACT Accurate offspring discrimination improves parental fitness by ensuring appropriate parental investment. In colonial avian species, offspring discrimination is often mediated by recognition of individual offspring vocalizations, but spatially segregated species do not necessarily need sophisticated recognition abilities if parents can use alternative information to distinguish offspring from nonoffspring. I experimentally tested the hypothesis that territorial California Towhee (Pipilo crissalis) parents use a location-based decision rule, instead of true vocal recognition of offspring, when deciding whether to respond to chick distress calls. Accurate responses to offspring distress calls should be favored by natural selection because they can have large fitness benefits if parents succeed in chasing away potential nest predators. Responses to nonoffspring, in contrast, may be costly and should not be favored by natural selection. Towhee parents were presented with a series of three pla...
Morphophysiologic Characterization of Peripheral Neuropathy in Zinc-Deficient Guinea Pigs:

Zinc-deficient guinea pigs develop a peripheral neuropathy characterized by abnormal posture and gait, hyperesthesia, slowed motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), and decreased sciatic nerve Na,K-ATPase activity. This study was designed to further investigate longitudinally the morphophysiologic features of the neuropathy. Weanling guinea pigs were fed a low-zinc (<1 mg/kg) diet ad libitum (-ZnAL), an adequate-zinc (100 mg/kg) diet ad libitum (+ZnAL), or the adequate diet restricted in intake ((+ZnRF). Electrophysiologic, morphologic, and biochemical parameters of peripheral nerves were examined at 2.5, 4.0, and 5.5 weeks. Serum zinc was significantly lower by 2.5 weeks and growth rate reduced by 4 weeks in -ZnAL animals. Postural abnormalities were first obvious at 4 weeks, although MNCVs were significantly slower in zinc-deficient animals at all time intervals. The conduction of sensory impulses, as measured by spinal cord somatosensory evoked potentials (sSSEP), was significantly slower in the -ZnAL animals at 5.5 weeks. Examination of teased preparations and histologic sections of sciatic nerves at 5.5 weeks revealed no degenerative lesions or differences in density of myelinated fibers (MF). The size frequency distribution of MF in all groups was unimodal, with a trend toward smaller myelinated nerve fibers in -ZnAL and +ZnRF animals. Sciatic nerve Na,K-ATPase activity in the -ZnAL animals was significantly reduced after 4 weeks of zinc deprivation. At 5.5 weeks, nerve concentrations of myo-inositol, glucose, fructose, and sorbitol were significantly decreased in -ZnAL animals compared with the +ZnRF and +ZnAL controls. The peripheral neuropathy associated with acute zinc deficiency is a parenchymatous axonal disorder characterized by slowed motor and sensory nerve impulse conduction and reduction in nerve Na,K-ATPase activity and nerve concentrations of simple sugars and their metabolites.
Development of an experimental imaging system for the micro-scale study of seepage-induced granular particle mobilization

This paper presents the results of the development and initial testing of an experimental micro-scale particle-mobilization imaging apparatus. The system consisted of three fundamental components: a system to induce seepage, a flow cell to house the porous media specimen, and an imaging system to visually capture the process of seepage-induced mobilization of individual granular particles. The imaging equipment consisted of two components: (1) a high-resolution, high-speed camera capable of capturing up to 1273 frames per second; and (2) a high magnification lens. The flow cell that housed the soil underwent four versions of improvements, with the most recent design allowing for the particle detachment process to be clearly captured by the imaging system. Fine silica sand was used to create the test specimens. The system proved to be capable of capturing the details of seepage-induced detachment of individual particles, and will be used for future investigations aimed at accomplishing two primary objectives: (1) quantification of the forces leading to particle detachment; and (2) relation of these mobilizing forces to the characteristics of permeating fluids and hydraulic conditions.
On Sea Level Variability and Trends in United States Coastal Waters and Relationships with Climate Factors

Significant portions of the United States (U.S.) property, commerce and ecosystem assets are located at or near the coast, making them vulnerable to sea level variability and change, especially relative rises. Although global mean sea level (MSL) and sea level rise (SLR) are fundamental considerations, regional mean sea level (RSL) variability along the boundaries of U.S. along the two ocean basins are critical, particularly if the amplitudes of seasonal to annual to inter-annual variability is high. Of interest is that the conventional wisdom of the U.S. agencies, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) which both contend that the sources of sea level rise are related principally to heat absorption and release by the ocean(s) to the atmosphere and vice versa, and by Polar glacier melting and freshwater input into the ocean(s). While these phenomena are of great importance to SLR and sea level variability (SLV), we assess a suite of climate factors and the Gulf Stream, for evidence of correlations and thus possible influences; though causality is beyond the scope of this study. In this study, climate factors related to oceanic and atmospheric heat purveyors and reservoirs are analyzed and assessed for possible correlations with sea level variability and overall trends on actionable scales (localized as opposed to global scale). The results confirm that oceanic and atmospheric temperature variability and the disposition of heat accumulation or the lack thereof, are important players in sea level variability and rise, but also that the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation, the El Nino-Southern Oscillation, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation, the Arctic Oscillation, the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation, Solar Irradiance, the Western Boundary Current-Gulf Stream, and other climate factors, can have strong correlative and perhaps even causal, modulating effects on the monthly to seasonal to annual to inter-annual to decadal to multi-decadal sea level variability at the community level.
The PREE after minimal acquisition: Goal box placement with single pellet reward

Two groups of rats were given goalbox placements directly over the food cup. Group P was rewarded with a single 1,000-mg pellet on Placements 1, 3, and 5, while Group C was rewarded on each placement. The usual PREE was obtained when Ss ran the full length of the alley. The study supports earlier results and extends them to a single pellet reward situation.
Trusting Publics: Generalized Social Trust and the Decision to Pursue Binding Conflict Management

Under which circumstances do two democracies involved in a dispute decide to pursue binding conflict management? I argue that the existing literature is incomplete. In order to fully understand why...
Scaling Effects in Perovskite Ferroelectrics: Fundamental Limits and Process‐Structure‐Property Relations

Ferroelectric materials are well-suited for a variety of applications because they can offer a combination of high performance and scaled integration. Examples of note include piezoelectrics to transform between electrical and mechanical energies, capacitors used to store charge, electro-optic devices, and nonvolatile memory storage. Accordingly, they are widely used as sensors, actuators, energy storage, and memory components, ultrasonic devices, and in consumer electronics products. Because these functional properties arise from a noncentrosymmetric crystal structure with spontaneous strain and a permanent electric dipole, the properties depend upon physical and electrical boundary conditions, and consequently, physical dimension. The change in properties with decreasing physical dimension is commonly referred to as a size effect. In thin films, size effects are widely observed, whereas in bulk ceramics, changes in properties from the values of large-grained specimens is most notable in samples with grain sizes below several micrometers. It is important to note that ferroelectricity typically persists to length scales of about 10 nm, but below this point is often absent. Despite the stability of ferroelectricity for dimensions greater than ~10 nm, the dielectric and piezoelectric coefficients of scaled ferroelectrics are suppressed relative to their bulk counterparts, in some cases by changes up to 80%. The loss of extrinsic contributions (domain and phase boundary motion) to the electromechanical response accounts for much of this suppression. In this article, the current understanding of the underlying mechanisms for this behavior in perovskite ferroelectrics is reviewed. We focus on the intrinsic limits of ferroelectric response, the roles of electrical and mechanical boundary conditions, grain size and thickness effects, and extraneous effects related to processing. In many cases, multiple mechanisms combine to produce the observed scaling effects.
Foot and Ankle Injuries in the Young Tennis Athlete

Foot and ankle injuries are quite common in tennis athletes. These include Achilles tendon injuries, ankle sprains and fractures, metatarsal fractures, midfoot sprains (Lisfranc), as well as forefoot injuries including turf toe. Plantar fasciitis and stress fractures also occur commonly in this population. Tennis participation places increased stresses on the foot and ankle due to the acute start and stop nature of the sport as well as sudden changes of direction. Foot and ankle injuries may be prevented by use of proper conditioning techniques, appropriate bracing and shoe wear, and stretching exercises before playing.
Eusebius of Emesa and the ‘Continuatio Antiochiensis Eusebii’

Richard Burgess, in his Studies in Eusebian and post-Eusebian chronology, argues convincingly for the existence of a hitherto unknown Antiochene continuation of Eusebius' Chronicle. While Burgess does much to advance understanding of fourth-century historiography, his conclusion that this effort derives from a pro-Nicene author is less convincing than his other arguments. Internal evidence in the fragments themselves, and circumstances surrounding the life of the fourth-century bishop Eusebius of Emesa, point to that prelate as the likely author of the source identified by Burgess.
Abstract 144A: Finding High-Value Healthcare in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background: Given the rising costs of medical care in the US, efforts at improving quality of care seek also to control expenditures with high-value healthcare - better quality and lower cost. Prior studies have used variations in Medicare reimbursements at the regional level, rather than individual hospital costs, to account for the unique patient case-mix of individual hospitals. To date, higher expenditures have been unrelated to clinical outcomes. We sought to explore variation using costs, rather than payment, and to study the links between inpatient hospital Medicare expenditures, hospital costs, and Medicare9s quality indicators. Methods: In New York State, we analyzed hospital discharges in 2008 for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the New York State Planning and Resource Cooperative System (SPARCS) database. Using SPARCS reported hospital charges and the Medicare cost-to-charge ratio we calculated, at the individual hospital level, the total costs and departmental-level ancillary costs (costs of specific hospital services) for patients discharged with a primary diagnosis of AMI. We compared total inpatient cost to Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care Medicare inpatient reimbursements, analyzed variation in ancillary costs by hospital cardiac program peer groups (based on highest-level capability), and related total costs to Medicare AMI quality scores. Results: The study analyzed data that represented 56,000 AMI cases in 150 hospitals. When comparing total costs to Medicare inpatient reimbursements, there was high correlation with an R-squared of 0.84. The mean ancillary costs per AMI discharge were $12,006 [standard deviation (SD) $4,301, coefficient of variation (COV) 0.358] for cardiac surgery-capable, $6,452 [SD $1,732, COV 0.268] for percutaneous coronary intervention-capable, $5,104 [SD $2,548, COV 0.499] for diagnostic catheterization-capable, and $4,167 [SD $2,756, COV 0.661] for non-invasive hospitals. There was no overall correlation between AMI total costs and Medicare composite AMI quality scores, yet 19.7% (28 out of 142 hospitals with AMI quality score reporting in 2008) of hospitals had above average quality scores, with lower than average total costs. Conclusions: In AMI hospitalizations, regional Medicare reimbursements have a strong correlation with total hospital costs. Hospitals vary greatly in their costs of caring for AMI patients. Though there is no overall association between the level of costs and performance on standardized quality scores, high-value healthcare in AMI does exist with numerous high-quality, low-cost hospitals. Examining the expenditures of these hospitals may be useful in identifying patterns of quality and cost-effective patient care. These findings support that high-spending is not necessary for high-quality, and that high-value healthcare can be realized.
Potentiels de vibration ultrasonore dans des solutions aqueuses d’amphiphiles

Les potentiels de vibration ultrasonore (PVU) des solutions de laurylsulfate de sodium (NaLS) et de bromure et iodure de laurylpyridinium (LPBr et LPI respectivement) ont ete mesures en fonction de la concentration C. Pour les trois amphiphiles le PVU depend de G dans tout le domaine de concentration etudie et, en particulier, dans le domaine submicellaire. Pour le NaLS le calcul montre que la dimerisation eventuelle des ions LS- est insuffisante pour expliquer la variation du PVU avec C pour les concentrations superieures a 0,001 M. Nos resultats semblent indiquer l’existence de petits agregats charges, plus larges que le dimere (LS)2 -2 , dans les solutions de NaLS de concentration comprise entre 0,001 M et la concentration critique de micellisation (CCM). Pour PLBr et LPI, l’amplitude du PVU passe par un maximum pour une concentration sensiblement egale a la CCM donnee par d’autres auteurs. Les valeurs du PVU calculees au moyen de la theorie de BOOTH et ENDERBY pour les solutions micellaires de NaLS sont bien plus larges que les valeurs experimentales. Une tentative d’explication est proposee pour ces differences.
Are There Differences in Gait Mechanics in Patients With A Fixed Versus Mobile Bearing Total Ankle Arthroplasty? A Randomized Trial.

Background Total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) is an alternative to arthrodesis, but no randomized trial has examined whether a fixed bearing or mobile bearing implant provides improved gait mechanics.
A kallikrein-targeting RNA aptamer inhibits the intrinsic pathway of coagulation and reduces bradykinin release.

SummaryBackground Plasma kallikrein is a serine protease that plays an integral role in many biological processes including coagulation, inflammation, and fibrinolysis. The main function of kallikrein in coagulation is the amplification of activated factor XIIa (FXIIa) generation which ultimately leads to thrombin generation and fibrin clot formation. Kallikrein is generated by FXIIa-mediated cleavage of the zymogen, prekallikrein which is usually complexed with the nonenzymatic cofactor, high-molecular-weight kininogen (HK). HK also serves as a substrate for kallikrein to generate the pro-inflammatory peptide, bradykinin (BK). Interestingly, prekallikrein-deficient mice are protected from thrombotic events while retaining normal hemostatic capacity. Therefore, therapeutically targeting kallikrein may provide a safer alternative to traditional anticoagulants with anti-inflammatory benefits. Objectives We sought to isolate and characterize an RNA aptamer that binds and inhibits plasma kallikrein and to elucidate its mechanism of action. Methods and Results Using convergent Systematic Evolution of Ligands by Exponential Enrichment (SELEX), we isolated an RNA aptamer that targets kallikrein. This aptamer, Kall1-T4, specifically binds to both prekallikrein and kallikrein with similar subnanomolar binding affinities and dose-dependently prolongs fibrin clot formation in an aPTT coagulation assay. In a purified in vitro system, Kall1-T4 inhibits the reciprocal activation of prekallikrein and FXII primarily by reducing the rate of FXIIa-mediated prekallikrein activation. Additionally, Kall1-T4 significantly reduces kallikrein-mediated HK cleavage and subsequent BK release. Conclusions We have isolated a specific and potent inhibitor of prekallikrein/kallikrein activity that serves as a powerful tool for further elucidating the role of kallikrein in thrombosis and inflammation. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Riding Shotgun with an LA Son: Narratives of Race, Place, and Mobility in Roy Choi’s Culinary Autobiography

This article analyzes the narratives embedded within chef Roy Choi’s cookbook L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food. Choi rose to success with his highly successful food truck empire, Kogi BBQ. While on one hand Choi’s story represents a new narrative for the next generation of American chefs, on the other his story operates as a modern retelling of the myth of immigrant mobility in America. Through his reflections on his life, city, and food he situates his cooking and his story as a pan-immigrant story of mobility, despite the social realities of Los Angeles and his road to success.
Fighting Words: Four New Document Finds Reignite Old Debates in Taijiquan Historiography

Martial arts historiography has been at the center of China’s culture wars and a cause celebre between traditionalists and modernizers for the better part of a century. Nowhere are the stakes higher than with the iconic art of taijiquan , where, based on a handful of documents in the Chen, Wu, and Yang lineages, traditionalists have mythologized the origins of taijiquan, claiming the Daoist immortal Zhang Sanfeng as progenitor, while modernizers won official government approval by tracing the origins to historical figures in the Chen family. Four new document finds, consisting of manuals, genealogies, and stele rubbings, have recently emerged that disrupt the narratives of both camps, and, if authentic, would be the urtexts of the taijiquan ‘classics’, and force radical revision of our understanding of the art. This article introduces the new documents, the circumstances of their discovery, their contents, and the controversies surrounding their authenticity and significance, as well as implications for understanding broader trends in Chinese culture and politics.
Computational Modeling of ATP/ADP Concentration at the Vascular Surface

Vascular endothelial cell (EC) responsiveness to blood flow-derived mechanical forces is important for normal vascular function, and abnormalities in EC mechanotransduction play an important role in vascular pathology. Mobilization of intracellular calcium is one of the early and important responses to flow in ECs. Because the extracellular presence of the adenine nucleotides ATP and ADP induces calcium mobilization in ECs, elucidating how flow regulates EC-surface ATP/ADP concentration is important for understanding the calcium flow response. Experimental measurement of ATP/ADP concentration at the EC surface is very difficult; therefore, efforts have focused on developing mathematical models that describe the effect of flow on the ATP/ADP concentration at the EC surface. This chapter reviews the various models that have been presented to date, highlights the models’ essential predictions, discusses the physiological implications of the model results, outlines the model limitations, and proposes some key directions for future modeling.
A feasibility study for MRI guided CMUT-based intracardiac echocardiography catheters

This paper presents an catheter prototype developed for testing feasibility of intracardiac echography (ICE) in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system. The presented catheter includes a capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) array at its tip, a 1m long catheter body with μ-coax cable based connections to a handle. The handle contains ultrasound pulser circuitry to generate the excitation pulse and receiver front-end to amplify the received ultrasound echo signals. The catheter tip also includes a tracking coil which is connected to the MRI system after it is routed through the handle. The catheter prototype is tested with imaging experiments under 1.5T open magnet MRI system. The visibility of the catheter under MRI is demonstrated through imaging of tracking coil signal without distorting the rest of the image. Ultrasound pulse/echo operation capability is successfully tested before and after MRI experiments indicating the feasibility of an ICE catheter that can be tracked under MRI.
Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among US Children and Adolescents, 2014-2016.

This study estimates the current prevalence of autism spectrum disorder among US children and adolescents from 2014 to 2016 using nationally representative data from the National Health Interview Survey.
MicroRNAs differentially expressed in prostate cancer of African-American and European-American men

African-American (AA) men have higher rates of prostate cancer incidence and mortality compared with European-American (EA) men. Although several socioeconomic and environmental factors may contribute to the disparity, recent studies suggest a biological component, including differential microRNA (miRNA) expression, to the disparity. miRNAs comprise a large family of about 22-nucleotide-long nonprotein coding RNAs that regulate gene expression posttranscriptionally and participate in the regulation of almost every known cellular process investigated to date. miRNAs have been associated with prostate cancer progression, and recent studies indicate that they are differentially expressed between AA and EA. They could therefore contribute, at least in part, to the disparity in prostate cancer between the two groups. In this review, existing evidence on differential miRNA expression between AA and EA prostate cancer patients or cell lines is summarized.
Uniform Interstate Enforcement of Vested Rights

"Instead of the Dutch theory of comity, the common law has worked out indigenously a theory of vested rights, which serves the same purpose, that is, the desire to reach a just result, and is not subject to the objections which can be urged against the doctrine of comity... Story accepted and developed this theory, which from his time has been the accepted theory in the English and American courts."3 And on another page: "The English and American judges have most consistently followed this theory."4
Carcinogenic Potential of Silica Compounds

1. Silicate fibers have been shown to produce cancer in man and animals. Cancer of the lung, pleura and peritoneum (mesothelioma), gastro-intestinal system and several other sites may frequently occur. This is now identified as an important pUblic health problem. 2. A variety of such fibers of different chemical and crystallographic structure are active: chrysotile, amosite, crocidolite, anthophyllite, tremolite. These have a number of trace element contaminants. 3. The mass of dust needed to produce disease is small (often less than 0.25–0.50 g in the lungs, in extensive asbestosis), although the number of particles and their surface area are very large. The amount of fibrous silicate dust exposure needed to produce cancer is as little as may occur in the households of asbestos workers or in neighborhoods about asbestos factories. 4. Not all tissues respond to the presence of these fibers with cancer; they may be found in some organs without increased cancer risk. At present the reasons for differences among tissues are not known. 5. Silica (quartz) does not reproduce these carcinogenic effects. Among silica exposed individuals, we have found no mesothelioma, nor increase in gastro-intestinal cancer. 6. While we have found, as expected, ample evidence of pulmonary fibrosis (silicosis), comparable with the extent of fibrosis with asbestos (asbestosis), there was a far smaller increase of lung cancer. There was thus a dissociation between fibrogenic and carcinogenic potentials of silica and asbestiform fibrous silicates. Further, silicotic fibrosis was associated with tendency to concomitant tuberculosis. This was not seen with asbestosis. 7. An influence of shape and size of the particles is currently being considered, on the basis of experimental studies. Appropriate human data are presently not available on this aspect of the problem.
Simulation-Based Policy Gradient and Its Building Control Application

The goal of this paper is to study the potential applicability of a stochastic approximation-based policy gradient method for optimal office building HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) control systems. A real-world building thermal dynamics with occupant interactions is the main focus of this paper. It is a complex stochastic system in the sense that its statistical properties depend on its state variables. In this case, existing approaches, for instance, stochastic model predictive control methods, cannot be applied to optimal control designs. As a remedy, we approximate the gradient of the cost function using simulations and use a gradient descent type algorithm to design a suboptimal control policy. We assess its performance through a simulation study of building HVAC systems.
Case 35: Orbital Foreign Body with Concern for Open Globe Requiring Exploration

A 17-year-old male presented with an orbital foreign body, tunneled conjunctival laceration, and a fundus exam with pre-retinal hemorrhage following a projectile injury. The limited view of the retina prevented exclusion of an open globe injury and the patient was taken to the operating room for exploration where the globe was found to be intact. In cases of ocular trauma where a limited examination prevents definitive exclusion of an open globe injury, the patient should be taken to the operating room for exploration.
Exploration of the Biosynthetic Potential of the Populus Microbiome

Natural products (NPs) isolated from bacteria have dramatically advanced human society, especially in medicine and agriculture. The rapidity and ease of genome sequencing have enabled bioinformatics-guided NP discovery and characterization. As a result, NP potential and diversity within a complex community, such as the microbiome of a plant, are rapidly expanding areas of scientific exploration. Here, we assess biosynthetic diversity in the Populus microbiome by analyzing both bacterial isolate genomes and metagenome samples. We utilize the fully sequenced genomes of isolates from the Populus root microbiome to characterize a subset of organisms for NP potential. The more than 3,400 individual gene clusters identified in 339 bacterial isolates, including 173 newly sequenced organisms, were diverse across NP types and distinct from known NP clusters. The ribosomally synthesized and posttranslationally modified peptides were both widespread and divergent from previously characterized molecules. Lactones and siderophores were prevalent in the genomes, suggesting a high level of communication and pressure to compete for resources. We then consider the overall bacterial diversity and NP variety of metagenome samples compared to the sequenced isolate collection and other plant microbiomes. The sequenced collection, curated to reflect the phylogenetic diversity of the Populus microbiome, also reflects the overall NP diversity trends seen in the metagenomic samples. In our study, only about 1% of all clusters from sequenced isolates were positively matched to a previously characterized gene cluster, suggesting a great opportunity for the discovery of novel NPs involved in communication and control in the Populus root microbiome. IMPORTANCE The plant root microbiome is one of the most diverse and abundant biological communities known. Plant-associated bacteria can have a profound effect on plant growth and development, and especially on protection from disease and environmental stress. These organisms are also known to be a rich source of antibiotic and antifungal drugs. In order to better understand the ways bacterial communities influence plant health, we evaluated the diversity and uniqueness of the natural product gene clusters in bacteria isolated from poplar trees. The complex molecule clusters are abundant, and the majority are unique, suggesting a great potential to discover new molecules that could not only affect plant health but also could have applications as antibiotic agents.
Homogeneous electrocatalytic oxidation of ammonia to N2 under mild conditions

We report that ruthenium polypyridyl complexes can catalyze ammonia oxidation to dinitrogen at room temperature and ambient pressure. During bulk electrolysis experiments, gas chromatography and mass spectrometry analysis of the headspace in the electrochemical cell showed that dinitrogen and dihydrogen are generated from ammonia with high faradaic efficiencies. A proposed mechanism where a hydrazine complex is the initial N–N bonded intermediate is supported by chemical and electrochemical experiments. This is a well-defined system for homogeneous electrocatalytic ammonia oxidation. It establishes a platform for answering mechanistic questions relevant to using ammonia to store and distribute renewable energy.