cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Liver Abscesses and Other Intrahepatic Disorders Liver Scans as Diagnostic Aids

Radioisotope liver scans are a valuable aid in detecting focal in flammatory disease in a child's liver. Good technic and equipment may visualize lesions as small as 1 cm in diameter. Differential diagnosis between abscesses and other mass lesions must be based on other clinical phenomena. The liver scan can reliably in dicate the size and location of lesions before surgical intervention, and allow comparative evaluation of resolution after therapy. The precision of this technic equals or surpasses hepatic angiography.
Cerebral white matter integrity mediates adult age differences in cognitive performance

Previous research has established that age-related decline occurs in measures of cerebral white matter integrity, but the role of this decline in age-related cognitive changes is not clear. To conclude that white matter integrity has a mediating (causal) contribution, it is necessary to demonstrate that statistical control of the white matter-cognition relation reduces the magnitude of age-cognition relation. In this research, we tested the mediating role of white matter integrity, in the context of a task-switching paradigm involving word categorization. Participants were 20 healthy, community-dwelling older adults (60-85 years), and 20 younger adults (18-27 years). From diffusion tensor imaging tractography, we obtained fractional anisotropy (FA) as an index of white matter integrity in the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum and the superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Mean FA values exhibited age-related decline consistent with a decrease in white matter integrity. From a model of reaction time distributions, we obtained independent estimates of the decisional and nondecisional (perceptual-motor) components of task performance. Age-related decline was evident in both components. Critically, age differences in task performance were mediated by FA in two regions: the central portion of the genu, and splenium-parietal fibers in the right hemisphere. This relation held only for the decisional component and was not evident in the nondecisional component. This result is the first demonstration that the integrity of specific white matter tracts is a mediator of age-related changes in cognitive performance.
Importance of coronary artery disease in sudden cardiac death.

Ventricular arrhythmias, pulseless electrical activity, and asystole can occur at the early stages of an acute coronary thrombotic occlusion, causing hemodynamic collapse, and resulting in “sudden cardiac death.” Recognizing this common pathway for adult cardiac arrest, the 2012 European Society
An efficient color image acquisition system for wireless handheld devices

The paper presents a low-cost, low-power, and yet highly effective, color image acquisition system for wireless handheld devices such as cellular camera phones and PDAs. In common color image acquisition systems, Bayer pattern image data are captured from a CMOS/CCD color image sensor and processed to generate a YCbCr color signal for the image compression engine. The proposed system uses a novel vertex-centered color interpolation algorithm for parallel interpolation of groups of pixels within a window and directly processes the image from the Bayer pattern data to the YCbCr color space. The proposed system also uses pseudo-median filtering on the Cb and Cr color channels to enhance image quality with low hardware complexity.
First Report of Powdery Mildew on Cornus florida in Connecticut Caused by Microsphaera pulchra

Powdery mildew of dogwood (Cornus florida L.) has been observed on landscape trees since 1992, and has been increasing in severity recently. In 1998, mildewed leaves (n = 100) were collected from e...
Tetracycline Resistance in Group A Streptococci: Emergence on a Global Scale and Influence on Multiple-Drug Resistance

A global sample of group A streptococci (GAS) revealed ≥80 separate acquisitions of tetracycline resistance. Of 244 clones, 38 and 25% displayed resistance to tetracycline and erythromycin, respectively; a relatively high proportion (15%) were resistant to both classes of drugs. tet(M) displayed a highly significant association with erm(B).
X-Ray Diffraction and TEM Studies of the Delamination of Copper Thin Films from Glass and Silica Substrates

The events associated with fractures along interfaces between copper thin films and glass substrates were investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In the as-bonded films the Bragg diffraction lines were shifted and broadened (relative to pure strain-free copper) due to residual in-plane tensile strains arising from the differences in thermal contraction between the copper and the substrates; TEM studies of these films in cross-section showed that the residual stresses had been relieved somewhat by dislocation densities as high as 10 10 lines/cm 2 in Cu/SiO 2 films. The passage of a crack along the Cu/glass interfaces led to a significant reduction in the line shift and a slight reduction in the line broadening. Thus dislocations generated by the fracture events ‘plastically relaxed’ the residual stresses present in the as-bonded Cu by superposing a compressive component onto the pre-existing in-plane tensile strains. This dislocation generation was confirmed by TEM studies. In addition, it was found that the greater the strength of an interface, the greater was the reduction in mean strain due to the fracture; this is consistent with a larger crack-tip plastic zone and the generation of greater numbers of dislocations in the Cu films by fracture along interfaces of higher toughness (i.e. bond strength).
Response effects to attitudinal questions about domestic violence against women: A comparative perspective

According to the national Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), between 10% and 90% of women in poorer countries agree that domestic violence against women is justified. Such wide variation in women’s responses raises concerns about the comparability of the underlying attitudinal question, and the validity of comparative research that assumes comparability. Using 67 DHS conducted in 48 countries between 1995 and 2007, we explored whether cross-national variation in women’s affirmative responses to this question were explained by cross-national variation in survey design, socioeconomic conditions, or both. Variation in survey design had considerable predictive power and accounted for a non-trivial amount of the variance in women’s affirmative responses. Including the survey-design variables also modestly altered associations of the outcome with structural variables of interest in comparative studies. These findings offer insights about future analyses and data collections on women’s attitudes about domestic violence against women.
Fluid flow modeling of resin transfer molding for composite material wind turbine blade structures

Resin transfer molding (RTM) is a closed mold process for making composite materials. It has the potential to produce parts more cost effectively than hand lay-up or other methods. However, fluid flow tends to be unpredictable and parts the size of a wind turbine blade are difficult to engineer without some predictive method for resin flow. There were five goals of this study. The first was to determine permeabilities for three fabrics commonly used for RTM over a useful range of fiber volume fractions. Next, relations to estimate permeabilities in mixed fabric lay-ups were evaluated. Flow in blade substructures was analyzed and compared to predictions. Flow in a full-scale blade was predicted and substructure results were used to validate the accuracy of a full-scale blade prediction.
Seizures in the elderly: impact on mental status, mood, and sleep.

Comorbidities of epilepsy have not been well explored in the elderly. Herein, we examined mental status, mood, and sleep in elderly patients with epilepsy, compared with age- and gender-matched community controls without epilepsy from the Einstein Aging Study. Testing included a mental status test, the Blessed Information Memory and Concentration (BIMC) test; Prime-MD Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) Depression and Anxiety Modules; and Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale. Persons with epilepsy (n = 31) had higher mean BIMC scores than controls (n = 31, BIMC 6.3 vs.1.2, P < 0.0001). Mean PHQ Depression scores were higher for cases than controls, indicating more depressive symptoms (4.2 vs 0.8, P = 0.006); six cases (18%) and no controls met screening criteria for depression. Mean PHQ Anxiety scores were also higher for cases than controls (3.7 vs 0.0, P = 0.001). Cases had poorer sleep scores in the categories of somnolence (P = 0.009) and shortness of breath/headache (P = 0.021). Thus, comorbidities of epilepsy in this elderly population included decreased mental status, a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety, and poorer sleep health when compared with agemates without epilepsy. Mental status impairment was not related to antiepileptic medication or mood disturbance. Further investigation will explore these associations prospectively.
MASS: modular architecture for sensor systems

Recent advances in low power microprocessors and power storage technology have allowed for the design of a broad range of sensor network platforms. Current sensor network platforms fall into one of two main categories, low power, application specific platforms and full featured general purpose platforms with higher power consumption. The former generally consist of a power-efficient microprocessor and a few application specific resources, while the latter generally have a general purpose processor and a full complement of resources available via a GPIO interface. General purpose platforms are readily available and can be adapted to almost any application but are less efficient with respect to power consumption than application specific solutions. Application specific solutions are extremely efficient and well suited to the problem they are designed for, but are time consuming and expensive to build. MASS is a modular sensor node architecture that enables rapid development of an application specific solution. While not as power-efficient as a completely custom solution, MASS provides application flexibility while being much more efficient than common-off-the-shelf general purpose sensor platforms. Because MASS is modular in both it's software and hardware design, it is straightforward to extend both the software platform and the hardware supporting it to suit an application. What this means is that a custom sensor network solution is now available at a much lower cost, and in a much shorter time-frame than was previously available. This makes a whole new class of sensor network applications feasible.
Classic Maya Directional Glyphs

The Classic Maya living in Southern Mesoamerica during the first millennium A.D. used a hieroglyphic writing system that included four directional glyphs. Scholars have differed with regard to the specific readings of these glyphs as well as on the question of whether they refer to the sun's path (east, zenith, west, nadir) or instead to the cardinal directions (east, north, west, south). Evidence bearing on the latter question is presented here, and a resolution proposed that in Classic times alternative programs of directional symbolism—one based on the sun's path, and another on the cardinal directions— were employed in Maya script and iconography. The unmarked normal referents of the "north" and "south" glyphs were zenith and nadir respectively, while the direction zenith also implied north and nadir also implied south. There was nonetheless a glyph referring specifically to "north," but not one referring specifically to "south." As part of the evidence for this resolution, new readings and interpretations based on a Cholan Mayan language are introduced for the Classic Maya directional glyphs. The proposed readings of these glyphs are *xin chan "zenith, north," *nahal ajaw "north," *mal puy "nadir, south," *hok' k'in "sunrise, east," and *k'ah k'in "sunset, west."
A comparison of rates of lymph node metastases between patients undergoing sentinel and axillary lymphadenectomy

Abstract Background: Recommendations regarding credentialing for sentinel lymphadenectomy in the staging of breast cancer emphasize the need for a trial period during which novice surgeons remove both the sentinel lymph node and the axillary packet, to demonstrate acceptably low rates of both operative failure and inaccuracy. Methods: We initiated sentinel lymph node mapping in our institution without planned axillary dissection. To establish our ability to accurately stage patients using sentinel lymphadenectomy, we compared 225 patients who underwent that procedure and 343 patients previously staged with axillary lymph node dissection. Results: No differences in node positivity were found between the two groups. Among sentinel lymphadenectomy patients, no differences were found between patients in the first and second half of the institutional experience. Conclusions: We question the need for a trial period of planned axillary node dissection with sentinel lymph node mapping, and review the evidence from other investigators regarding its necessity.
Dynamics of pile driving by the finite element method

Abstract It is proposed that the dynamics of pile driving based on the one-dimensional theory of wave propagation be analyzed by the finite element method. This approach enables one to continuously interpolate the displacement, velocity and acceleration profiles throughout the pile length. In contrast to the finite difference technique presented by E. A. L. Smith [1] and the finite element procedure presented by I. M. Smith [2] in which initial conditions are defined on the basis of a prescribed hammer velocity, the method presented herein defines initial conditions on the basis of a prescribed impact force versus time curve at the pile/hammer point of contact. Applications of the proposed technique to typical pile driving problems on an elastoplastic soil and using an implicit time-integration scheme are discussed using a numerical example.
CryptDB: protecting confidentiality with encrypted query processing

Online applications are vulnerable to theft of sensitive information because adversaries can exploit software bugs to gain access to private data, and because curious or malicious administrators may capture and leak data. CryptDB is a system that provides practical and provable confidentiality in the face of these attacks for applications backed by SQL databases. It works by executing SQL queries over encrypted data using a collection of efficient SQL-aware encryption schemes. CryptDB can also chain encryption keys to user passwords, so that a data item can be decrypted only by using the password of one of the users with access to that data. As a result, a database administrator never gets access to decrypted data, and even if all servers are compromised, an adversary cannot decrypt the data of any user who is not logged in. An analysis of a trace of 126 million SQL queries from a production MySQL server shows that CryptDB can support operations over encrypted data for 99.5% of the 128,840 columns seen in the trace. Our evaluation shows that CryptDB has low overhead, reducing throughput by 14.5% for phpBB, a web forum application, and by 26% for queries from TPC-C, compared to unmodified MySQL. Chaining encryption keys to user passwords requires 11--13 unique schema annotations to secure more than 20 sensitive fields and 2--7 lines of source code changes for three multi-user web applications.
Semantic Matching of Web Services Capabilities

The Web is moving from being a collection of pages toward a collection of services that interoperate through the Internet. The first step toward this interoperation is the location of other services that can help toward the solution of a problem. In this paper we claim that location of web services should be based on the semantic match between a declarative description of the service being sought, and a description of the service being offered. Furthermore, we claim that this match is outside the representation capabilities of registries such as UDDI and languages such as WSDL.We propose a solution based on DAML-S, a DAML-based language for service description, and we show how service capabilities are presented in the Profile section of a DAML-S description and how a semantic match between advertisements and requests is performed.
Virginity pledges among the willing: delays in first intercourse and consistency of condom use.

Purpose: We examine longitudinal relationships between virginity pledging in adolescence and both sexual initiation and condom use. Prior studies have had mixed results and may not adequately control for prepledge differences between pledgers and nonpledgers. Methods: Data came from a national sample of 12- to 17-year-olds surveyed in 2001 and reinterviewed 1 and 3 years later. Logistic regression models estimated the association between making a pledge and each outcome. Selection bias was reduced through propensity-score weighting and a rich set of demographic and psychosocial covariates. Results: Pledgers and nonpledgers differed substantially in preexisting characteristics. However, after propensity weighting and statistical controls, pledging was still associated with delayed intercourse. We estimate that in the absence of pledging 42.4% of virgins with characteristics indicating an inclination to pledge initiate intercourse within 3 years; in the presence of the pledge, 33.6% of such youth initiate intercourse. Among those who had sex during this period, pledging was unassociated with condom use. Among those who did not have sex during this period, pledging was unassociated with engagement in noncoital sexual behavior. Conclusions: Making a virginity pledge appears to be an effective means of delaying sexual intercourse initiation among those inclined to pledge without influencing other sexual behavior; pledging does not appear to affect sexual safety among pledgers who fail to remain abstinent. © 2008 Society for Adolescent Medicine. All rights reserved.
Stochastic Modeling for Serial-Batching Workstations with Heterogeneous Machines

The bottleneck workstation in semiconductor manufacturing is lithography. Lithography is a complex manufacturing system (CMS) and consists of multiple products, serial-batching operations, re-entrant process flows, and parallel non-identical machines. Existing stochastic models for such a CMS focus on simple extensions of the classical queueing theory. These models fail to question the applicability of the theory but try to modify model inputs on the first moment (average) and the second moment (variation). The implementation of these models has been unsatisfactory. In this paper, we provide a stochastic model of such a CMS. We model the arrival process of CMS by Poisson Process and the service process by Markov Decision Process. We propose a geometric-distribution based probabilistic dispatching model. The model is verified using a lithography workstation in a high-volume wafer fabrication facility. This study provides a theoretic framework and promis-ing results for serial-batching operation modeling in semicon-ductor manufacturing and other industries as well.
A Presidential Economic Scorecard: Performance and Perception

It is assumed that voters blame incumbents for poor economic performance but give credit when the economy is strong. A huge literature shows the impact of economic indicators and economic perceptions on vote choice and presidential popularity, but there is precious little research on whether public perceptions match economic reality. We propose a novel comparison of perceptions with performance by utilizing the Gallup Poll “most important” problem question. The average percentage that mentions unemployment, inflation, and the general economy over each presidential term from 1949 to 2008 is compared against the Presidential Economic Scorecard. The public correctly perceived unemployment and the general economy as salient national problems, but not inflation, and we speculate on why public perceptions do not correspond to actual inflation rates.
Nutrition and somatomedin. VI. Somatomedin activity and somatomedin inhibitory activity in sera from normal and diabetic rats.

Although serum from normal rats has somatomedin (cartilage-stimulating) activity, serum from diabetic rats often lacks somatomedin activity and can inhibit somatomedin activity when added to serum from normal rats; this is attributed to somatomedin inhibitor (s). To determine if both somatomedins and somatomedin inhibitor(s) could be present in whole serum with or without measurable somatomedin activity, somatomedin activity and somatomedin inhibitory activity were determined in rat serum after gel filtration on Sephadex G-200. Somatomedin activity was measured as the stimulation of SO4 uptake by rat cartilage in vitro, and somatomedin inhibitory activity was measured as the ability to suppress stimulation when samples were added to incubations containing serum from normal rats. At pH 7.0 (somatomedins presumably bound to carrier proteins), only somatomedin activity was found in serum from normal rats, while only somatomedin inhibitory activity was found in serum from diabetic rats. In contrast, at pH 2.4...
Dipstick Chemical Urinalysis: An Accurate Cost-Effective Screening Test

AbstractIn a double-blind prospective study of 200 sequential urine specimens the sediment count of leukocytes in the centrifuged urine (white blood cells per high power field) was compared to a chamber count of leukocytes in uncentrifuged urine (white blood cells per μl.). There was good correlation (coefficient of correlation 0.783, sensitivity 91.9 per cent, specificity 97.6 per cent and efficiency 96.6 per cent) between the more precise chamber count and the more commonly performed sediment count if the methodology of the sediment count was standardized.In a double-blind prospective study the results of the sediment count for leukocytes and erythrocytes were compared to the leukocyte esterase and hemoglobin dipstick results of urine specimens from 1,346 adults who underwent multiphasic screening. The dipsticks were found to be sensitive to physiologic limits for leukocytes and erythrocytes, with only 0.9 per cent false negative results for each. Formed elements in the urine not detectable by dipstick,...
Early-time dynamics of gluon fields in high energy nuclear collisions

Abstract Nuclei colliding at very high energy create a strong, quasi-classical gluon field during the initial phase of their interaction. We present an analytic calculation of the initial space-time evolution of this field in the limit of very high energies using a formal recursive solution of the Yang-Mills equations. We provide analytic expressions for the initial chromo-electric and chromo-magnetic fields and for their energy-momentum tensor. In particular, we discuss event-averaged results for energy density and energy flow as well as for longitudinal and transverse pressure of this system. Our results are generally applicable if τ 1 / Q s . The transverse energy flow of the gluon field exhibits hydrodynamic-like contributions that follow transverse gradients of the energy density. In addition, a rapidity-odd energy flow also emerges from the non-abelian analog of Gauss' Law and generates non-vanishing angular momentum of the field. We will discuss the space-time picture that emerges from our analysis and its implications for observables in heavy ion collisions.
Electron-Induced Cascade Showers in Copper and Lead at 1 GeV

The radial and longitudinal development of electron-photon showers has been measured in copper and lead at 1 GeV. A new technique using the thermoluminescent property of LiF has been employed to measure energy deposition. The resultant radial distributions and transition curves show good agreement with Monte Carlo calculations.
Seeing is Not Necessarily Believing

The instruments we use to test our hypotheses themselves embody hypotheses, and consequently they embody the uncertainties that are an integral element of all hypotheses. We need also be aware of the theoretical constraints that are embodied within the devices we use to make our measurements and observations of the world.
‘Ethical responsibility’ or ‘a whole can of worms’: differences in opinion on incidental finding review and disclosure in neuroimaging research from focus group discussions with participants, parents, IRB members, investigators, physicians and community members

Purpose To identify the specific needs, preferences and expectations of the stakeholders impacted by returning neuroimaging incidental findings to research participants. Methods Six key stakeholder groups were identified to participate in focus group discussions at our active neuroimaging research facility: Participants, Parents of child participants, Investigators, Institutional Review Board (IRB) Members, Physicians and Community Members. A total of 151 subjects attended these discussions. Transcripts were analysed using principles of Grounded Theory and group consensus coding. Results A series of similar and divergent themes were identified across our subject groups. Similarities included beliefs that it is ethical for researchers to disclose incidental findings as it grants certain health and emotional benefits to participants. All stakeholders also recognised the potential psychological and financial risks to disclosure. Divergent perspectives elucidated consistent differences between our ‘Participant’ subjects (Participants, Parents, Community Members) and our ‘Professional’ subjects (IRB Members, Investigators and Physicians). Key differences included (1) what results should be reported, (2) participants’ autonomous right to research information and (3) the perception of the risk–benefit ratio in managing results. Conclusions Understanding the perceived impact on all stakeholders involved in the process of disclosing incidental findings is necessary to determine appropriate research management policy. Our data further demonstrate the challenge of this task as different stakeholders evaluate the balance between risk and benefit related to their unique positions in this process. These findings offer some of the first qualitative insight into the expectations of the diverse stakeholders affected by incidental finding disclosure.
Eigenvalue and eigenvector computation for discrete and continuous structures composed of viscoelastic materials

Abstract Both discrete and continuous structures, with frequency and/or temperature dependent viscoelastic elements, gives rise to a nonlinear eigenvalue problem. An accurate computation of eigenvalues (natural frequencies) and eigenvectors (mode shapes) is essential for control, design sensitivities, and optimization studies. In this paper, a pth order approximation of a general nonlinear eigenvalue problem is formulated. A numerical approach to simultaneously compute the eigenvalues and associated left and right eigenvectors is presented. This method can be used for both discrete and continuous systems with viscoelastic elements. Numerical examples are presented here to demonstrate its effectiveness and for the validation purposes.
“Racism?!?. . . Just Look at Our Neighborhoods”: Views on Racial Discrimination and Coping Among African American Men in Saint Louis

Recent events in Ferguson underscore the need to better understand the unique challenges, stressors, and coping mechanisms of African American men. To this end, a focus group study was conducted in Saint Louis, a few miles from Ferguson. Although numerous stress-related themes were discussed, racial discrimination and structural racism emerged as pervasive stressors among these men. Participants described experiences of discrimination in multiple settings including workplace, school, and residential, and within the criminal justice system. Coping strategies included not only drinking and smoking but also religiosity and familial support. Men also mentioned that they found relief in simply discussing their stressors in a group setting. One implication of this study is to develop and implement group support models for this population.
Occurrence of Alate and Apterous Green Peach Aphids on Burley Tobacco in Kentucky

General observations in prior years have shown that heavy colonizations of the green peach aphid, Myaus persicae (Sulzer), usually do not appear on burley tobacco in Kentucky until the latter part of the growing season. Aphids are occasionally found on tobacco in the early part of the growing season, but the large populations almost invariably occur late in the season. The same situation also exists in southern Maryland, where aphids do not become a problem until late in the summer after the tobacco plants have attained some size (Savage and Harrison 1962).
Spectroscopic interrogations of isostructural metalloporphyrin-based metal-organic frameworks with strongly and weakly coordinating guest molecules

AbstractTwo isostructural metal-organic frameworks based on cobalt(II) and nickel(II) metalloporphyrin linkers, Co-PCN222 and Ni-PCN222, are investigated using resonance Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The spectroscopic consequences of framework formation and host–guest interaction with weakly and strongly coordinating guest molecules (acetone and pyridine) are assessed. Structure sensitive vibrational modes of the resonance Raman spectra provide insights on the electronic and structural changes of the porphyrin linkers upon framework formation. XANES and EXAFS measurements reveal axial binding behavior of the metalloporphyrin units in Co-PCN222, but almost no axial interaction with guest molecules at the Ni porphyrin sites in Ni-PCN222.
Industrialists and nonintegral corporatism

During the period of liberal–Fascism, Confindustria had never been forced to define itself as Fascist. It had retained an autonomous liberal identity, giving conditional and contingent support – as did liberals in general – to Mussolini as prime minister of duly constituted government, not to Mussolini as Duce, much less to Fascism per se. By the beginning of 1925, in the aftermath of the Matteotti crisis, the four-year liberal–Fascist convergence had broken down. No longer was there manifest concern shown by Mussolini for continuity with the traditional liberal state, nor was there further talk of normalization. By the end of 1925, foundations for a new, distinctively antiliberal state had already been laid, the final edifice to be fully erected in subsequent years. Forced at the end of 1924 to choose between liberal fiancheggiatori and intransigent Fascists, whose respective demands could no longer be reconciled within the faltering framework of liberal–Fascism, Mussolini tentatively sided with the intransigents. Within two years, however, they too would be neutralized, as the party was reduced to little more than a disciplined and pitifully dependent extension of the state. Quite apart from the need to substitute a new juridical order for the negated liberal state, more pressing problems (civil unrest, continuing Fascist violence, and four separate attempts on Mussolini's life) led to a whole series of party directives and repressive laws: the squads were demobilized, the party was “purified ”of recalcitrant elements, and local leadership was made subservient to the prefect.
The Birmingham Political Union and the Origins of the Union Campaign

Mr. Attwood had long had the project in contemplation, and we must admit that the prudence with which he has ever directed the Union, was guaranteed to us by that sagacity which enabled him to select the exact time for the formation of that Union.
A mathematical model for the role of N2O3 in enhancing nitric oxide bioavailability following nitrite infusion.

Nitrite infusion into the bloodstream has been shown to elicit vasodilation and protect against ischemia-reperfusion injury through nitric oxide (NO) release in hypoxic conditions. However, the mechanism by which nitrite-derived NO escapes scavenging by hemoglobin in the erythrocyte has not been fully elucidated, owing in part to the difficulty in measuring the reactions and transport on NO in vivo. We developed a mathematical model for an arteriole and surrounding tissue to examine the hypothesis that dinitrogen trioxide (N2O3) acts as a stable intermediate for preserving NO. Our simulations predict that with hypoxia and moderate nitrite concentrations, the N2O3 pathway can significantly preserve the NO produced by hemoglobin nitrite reductase in the erythrocyte and elevate NO reaching the smooth muscle cells. Nitrite retains its ability to increase NO bioavailability even at varying flow conditions, but there is minimal effect under normoxia or very low nitrite concentrations. Our model demonstrates a viable pathway for reconciling experimental findings of potentially beneficial effects of nitrite infusions despite previous models showing negligible NO elevation associated with hemoglobin nitrite reductase. Our results suggest that additional mechanisms may be needed to explain the efficacy of nitrite-induced vasodilation at low infusion concentrations.
The coexistence of natural and supernatural explanations within and across domains and development.

People across highly diverse cultural contexts use both natural and supernatural explanations to explain questions of fundamental concern such as death, illness, and human origins. The present study examines the development of explanatory coexistence within and across domains of existential concern in individuals in Tanna, Vanuatu. We examined three age groups: 7- to 12-year-old children, 13- to 18-year-old adolescents, and 19- to 70-year-old adults (N = 72). Within the domain of death, biological and spontaneous explanations were most common across all ages. For illness, children showed the highest rates of explanatory coexistence, while adolescents and adults favoured biological explanations. Within the human origins domain, theistic explanations were most common across the age groups. Overall, these data show that coexistence reasoning in these domains is pervasive across cultures, yet at the same time it is deeply contextually specific, reflecting the nuanced differences in local ecologies and cultural beliefs. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Individuals across highly diverse cultural contexts use both natural and supernatural explanations to understand the events that occur in their lives. Context and cultural input play a large role in determining when and how individuals incorporate natural and supernatural explanations. The development of explanatory coexistence has primarily studied explanations for isolated domains. What does this study add? We examined explanatory coexistence in a culture with recent conversion to Christianity and formal education. The current research examines how individuals reason within and across the domains of human origins, illness, and death. Developmental differences associated with explanatory coexistence are examined.
Dual-wavelength pump-probe microscopy analysis of melanin composition

Pump-probe microscopy is an emerging technique that provides detailed chemical information of absorbers with sub-micrometer spatial resolution. Recent work has shown that the pump-probe signals from melanin in human skin cancers correlate well with clinical concern, but it has been difficult to infer the molecular origins of these differences. Here we develop a mathematical framework to describe the pump-probe dynamics of melanin in human pigmented tissue samples, which treats the ensemble of individual chromophores that make up melanin as Gaussian absorbers with bandwidth related via Frenkel excitons. Thus, observed signals result from an interplay between the spectral bandwidths of the individual underlying chromophores and spectral proximity of the pump and probe wavelengths. The model is tested using a dual-wavelength pump-probe approach and a novel signal processing method based on gnomonic projections. Results show signals can be described by a single linear transition path with different rates of progress for different individual pump-probe wavelength pairs. Moreover, the combined dual-wavelength data shows a nonlinear transition that supports our mathematical framework and the excitonic model to describe the optical properties of melanin. The novel gnomonic projection analysis can also be an attractive generic tool for analyzing mixing paths in biomolecular and analytical chemistry.
Learning from the Learners: Preparing Future Teachers to Leverage the Benefits of Laptop Computers

ABSTRACTTechnology is changing the teaching and learning landscape. Teacher preparation programs must produce teachers who have new skills and strategies to leverage the benefits of laptop computers in their classrooms. This study used a phenomenological strategy to explain first-year college students' perceptions of the effects of a 1:1 laptop experience on their readiness for college and the uses of technology for instructional purposes by high school teachers. Participants in the study had experienced a 1:1 laptop initiative for two or more years while in high school. The study included interviews with 15 participants from two different countries and five different high schools. Recommendations from student voices in this study call for teacher preparedness beyond the levels of traditional teacher preparation curriculum. Teacher preparation programs and ongoing professional development need to embed curriculum with practical applications of technology integration for teachers so that they are truly cla...
The role of global bioethics in medical pedagogy

The study of global biomedical ethics warrants the attention, scholarship, and commitment afforded to the study of general medical ethics. While it is difficult to precisely define the field, it basically comprises the ethical provision of healthcare and investigation across borders, which takes into account disparate societal and individual normative values. Medical ethics is primarily patient-centric; global biomedical ethics is focused on patients insofar as they comprise communities. Global biomedical ethics eschews imperialist approaches. Instead, the field seeks to promote approaches that comport with relevant principled approaches. Ultimately, the field of global biomedical ethics orients the integrity of the medical profession within society. Global biomedical ethics is important for all clinicians and investigators, and should not be relegated to those who address disease that affects people in a region where the physician does not reside. The field contextualizes the practice of medicine and research within the world community. Global biomedical ethics inexorably enhances the doctor’s own propioperception of his profession and his place within the world.
Moments to Inspire Movement: Three Seminal Moments in Community Engagement

This article comprises edited remarks delivered on November 17, 2015, during the keynote luncheon panel at the 2015 IARSLCE Conference in Boston, MA. In these remarks, the author identifies three “seminal” moments in the field of community engagement: critical literature, the monetization of service hours, and two prominent “calls to action” in 2012, one from the National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012) and the other from the U.S. Department of Education. Reflecting on these three seminal moments, the author advocates for a community engagement practice that leverages the resources and capacity of institutions, their stakeholders, and communities in actual work that contests power to change the situations and circumstances that perpetuate inequality.
Institutional memory, institutional capacity: narratives of failed biomedical encounters in East Africa

AbstractThis paper focuses on a series of failed medical encounters that took place in East Africa in the 1950s and after, and explores how the organizations involved ‒ the Kenyan Division of Insect Borne Diseases, the East African Medical Survey, and the Tanzanian National Institute of Medical Research ‒ chose to document and remember these events. The examples focus on medical encounters characterized by disagreements and miscommunications that stymied productive work. In each case, failures were remembered in very stylized and restructured ways that stressed the validity of the science and the valor of the scientists while drawing on tropes of African communities as irrational and superstitious. Capacity is built and maintained by having a functional institutional memory, which includes recounting failure and an ability to integrate knowledge from failure, leading to new approaches. It is found that remembering failures in such stylized forms systematically diminished the functionality of their institu...
Chalcogenide phase change materials: An electronic perspective

Recently, phase change materials (PCMs) have gathered attention as promising systems for a variety of emerging electronic and optoelectronic applications, including digital memory, RF switches, and switchable absorbers [1-4]. Of particular interest for electronic applications are the chalcogenide glasses, which can be repeatedly switched between two distinct, non-volatile solid phases: crystalline and amorphous, where the crystalline phase is commonly electrically conductive and the amorphous phase is generally electrically resistive. Ternary chalcogenide glasses, such as germanium antimony telluride (GeSbTe or “GST”), have been extensively examined for applications in PCM-based nonvolatile memory [5, 6]. More recently, the binary chalcogenide germanium telluride (GeTe) has gained attention for applications in RF switching due to its very low resistance in the crystalline state, relatively high amorphous-to crystalline resistance ratio (which has been found to be up to 107 in thin films), and excellent RF performance (e.g., bandwidth > 10 THz, TOI > 65 dBm) [3]. Despite significant research efforts, our understanding of electronic transport in these materials, principally in relation to RF operation and behavior, remains limited. In this presentation, we will discuss recent work at the US Naval Research Laboratory targeted at better understanding the electronic behavior of chalcogenide-based PCM devices, particularly under high-field and variable temperature conditions, with a view towards advancing the field of PCM-based reconfigurable electronics.
CONGENITAL SUPERIOR VENA CAVA SYNDROME: A RARE CAUSE OF NONIMMUNE HYDROPS FETALIS

Congenital superior vena cava (SVC) syndrome is a very rare (single case report) cause for nonimmune hydrops fetalis (NIHF). Venous obstruction increases hydrostatic pressure and obstructs lymphatic drainage causing fluid accumulation in the SVC distribution. A 2.5 kg, pre-term, 34 week gestation,
Interdependence in Dating and Cohabiting Relationships: The Role of Cognitive Interdependence, Commitment, and Marital Intent

This study uses Interdependence Theory, specifically cognitive interdependence and the investment model of commitment, to further understand the impact of marital intent in cohabiting versus dating...
An Immobilized Enzyme Reactor for Spatiotemporal Control over Reaction Products

This paper describes a microfluidic chip wherein the position and order of two immobilized enzymes affects the type and quantity of reaction products in the flowing fluid. Assembly of the chip is based on a self-assembled monolayer presenting two orthogonal covalent capture ligands that immobilize their respective fusion enzyme. A thiol-tagged substrate is flowed over a region presenting the first enzyme-which generates a product that is efficiently transferred to the second enzyme-and the second enzyme's product binds to an adjacent thiol capture site on the chip. The amount of the three possible reaction products is quantified directly on the chip using self-assembled monolayers for matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry, revealing that the same microsystem can be spatiotemporally arranged to produce different products depending on the device design. This work allows for optimizing multistep biochemical transformations in favor of a desired product using a facile reaction and analytical format.
Peripheral tolerance and organ specific autoimmunity.

Concepts of specific immunotolerance were first introduced after the clonal selection theory gained acceptance. In early days Burnet and Lederberg formulated the simple concept that there was a fundamental difference between immature and mature, antigen-receptor bearing lymphocytes such that binding of antigen by the former would result in cell death, while binding to the latter would result in gain of effector function. At that time it was not known that immunocytes developed in distinct anatomical sites and thus would perhaps not encounter all self antigens as if they were circulating in the organism like mature lymphocytes. Even then this concept would fail to deal with proteins expressed only in adulthood. Nevertheless, this was the first theory of recessive tolerance that gained experimental support and by now is an established fact. A variant of that theme is the recently discovered receptor-deletion whereby immature B but not T cells change their receptors when confronted with antigen, perhaps because the antigen keeps the rearrangement process ongoing whereby already productive genes are deleted and new ones are being generated. Thus we have clonal or cellular deletion as well as receptor editing of immature lymphocytes as possible mechanism that affect immature lymphocytes whereby unresponsiveness is achieved without prior activation to effector function i.e. cytokine secretion, cytolytic activity or antibody production.
Complications and Definition of Success

Major complications related to atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation have been reported in 3% to 6% of procedures. These include pulmonary vein stenosis, thromboembolic events, phrenic and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, cardiac perforation and tamponade, and atrio—esophageal fistula. A better understanding of the pathophysiology of these events has decreased the current incidence to 1% to 2%. Formal evaluation of procedural effi cacy includes assessment of AF-free survival, although the format and extent of postprocedural rhythm evaluation and the signifi cance of asymptomatic AF remain controversial. Consensus guidelines for defi ning successful AF ablation are under development.
Antibiotic Therapy Using Phage Depolymerases: Robustness Across a Range of Conditions

Phage-derived depolymerases directed against bacterial capsules are showing therapeutic promise in various animal models of infection. However, individual animal model studies are often constrained by use of highly specific protocols, such that results may not generalize to even slight modifications. Here we explore the robustness of depolymerase therapies shown to succeed in a previous study of mice. Treatment success rates were reduced by treatment delay, more so for some enzymes than others: K1- and K5 capsule-degrading enzymes retained partial efficacy on delay, while K30 depolymerase did not. Phage were superior to enzymes under delayed treatment only for K1. Route of administration (intramuscular versus intraperitoneal) mattered for success of K1E, possibly for K1F, not for K1H depolymerase. Significantly, K1 capsule-degrading enzymes proved highly successful when using immune-suppressed, leukopenic mice, even with delayed treatment. Evolution of bacteria resistant to K1-degrading enzymes did not thwart therapeutic success in leukopenic mice, likely because resistant bacteria were avirulent. In combination with previous studies these results continue to support the efficacy of depolymerases as antibacterial agents in vivo, but system-specific details are becoming evident.
Are There Age Differences in Consolidated Episodic Memory

Background/Study Context: While most aging research on memory uses a retention interval of one hour or less, episodic consolidation takes longer (e.g., 6–24 hours for synaptic consolidation). In th...