cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterizing soil spatial variability with apparent soil electrical conductivity: Part II. Case study

Geospatial measurements of apparent soil electrical conductivity (EC a) are recognized as a means of characterizing soil spatial variability at field and landscape scales. However, inconsistencies in the measurement and interpretation of field- and landscape-scale geospatial EC a measurements have resulted in data sets that are unreliable and/or incompatible. These inconsistencies are, in part, a consequence of the lack of ECa-survey protocols that provide standardized guidelines to assure reliability, consistency, and compatibility. It is the objective of this paper to apply EC a-survey protocols to a soil quality assessment to demonstrate their utility in characterizing spatial variability. The soil quality assessment was conducted on a 32.4-ha field on the westside of central California’s San Joaquin Valley where a mobile electromagnetic induction (EM) survey was performed following outlined protocols. The EM survey consisted of ECa measurements taken at 22,177 locations in April 2002. A responsesurface sampling design was used to identify 40 sites where soil-core samples were taken at 0.3-m increments to a depth of 1.2 m. Duplicate samples were taken at eight sites to evaluate the local-scale variability. Soil samples were analyzed for a variety of physico-chemical properties associated with soil quality for an arid zone soil. Analysis characterized the soil as montmorillonitic, saline, and sodic Abbreviations: ANOVA, analysis of variance; CEC, cation exchange capacity; CV, coefficient of variation; ECa, apparent soil electrical conductivity; EC e, electrical conductivity of the saturation extract; EM, electromagnetic induction; EMh, electromagnetic induction measurement in the horizontal coil-mode configuration; EM v, electromagnetic induction measurement in the vertical coil-mode configuration; ESAP, EC e sampling, assessment and prediction software; ESP, exchangeable sodium percentage; GIS, geographic information system; GPS, global positioning system; IDW, inverse distance weighting; Ks, saturated hydraulic conductivity; SAR, sodium adsorption ratio; SP, saturation percentage; WSJV, western San Joaquin Valley
Discrete element modeling of microstructure of nacre

The microstructure of nacre consists of polygon-shaped aragonite mineral tablets bonded by very thin layers of organic materials and is organized in a brick–mortar morphology. In this research, the discrete element method was utilized to model this structure. The aragonite mineral tablets were modeled with three-dimensional polygon particles generated by the Voronoi tessellation method to represent the Voronoi-like patterns of mineral tablets assembly observed in experiments. The organic matrix was modeled with a group of spring elements. The constitutive relations of the spring elements were inspired from the experimental results of organic molecules from the literature. The mineral bridges were modeled with simple elastic bonds with the parameters based on experimental data from the literature. The bulk stress–strain responses from the models agreed well with experimental results. The model results show that the mineral bridges play important roles in providing the stiffness and yield strength for the nacre, while the organic matrix in providing the ductility for the nacre. This work demonstrated the suitability of particle methods for modeling microstructures of nacre.
Public Health and Karst Groundwater Contamination: From Multidisciplinary Research to Exposure Prevention

Karst aquifers account for up to 20% of the world land area and are a source of drinking water for much of the world. Despite the critical value of these aquifers as a drinking water source, there are a growing number of incidences of karst aquifer contamination worldwide, including inadvertent spills, dumping, industrial discharges, or sewage seepage events. Given the porous nature of carbonate rocks, the hydrogeology of karstic aquifers is extremely complex, making it difficult to predict movement of contamination in these aquifers and to identify exposure risks. These contamination events—together with emerging issues such as climate change, exposures to infectious agents, as well as the increase in informal mining practices—indicate the need to explore linkages between karst groundwater, contamination, and health. Accordingly, the issue of karst groundwater contamination presents a unique global public health challenge requiring a multidisciplinary problem-solving approach. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Superfund Research Program’s (SRP) multidisciplinary approach serves as a model for integrating expertise across health, engineering, geological, and community-based approaches to solve problems. Using examples relevant to karst contamination, NIEHS SRP grantees are engaged in research endeavors to address issues of drinking water safety—from remediation to well-testing best practices. It is recommended that continued research addresses karst contamination, with particular attention given to identifying people at risk of exposures and to developing proactive means to prevent further exposures. This is particularly important in the USA, where two-fifths of the population’s drinking water comes from karst aquifers. Furthermore, over 40 million US citizens are on private well water for drinking, yet testing for contamination in these wells is often not required. Given the challenges predicting contaminant transport in karst and the lack﻿ of uniform private well water testing regulations, there is a need to promote awareness of risks for people living in karst areas among public health, hydrogeology, and government officials, and to use community-based approaches as models for intervention and exposure prevention.
Raising awareness of campus diversity and inclusion: Transformationally teaching diversity through narratives of campus experiences and simulated problem solving

ABSTRACTCourses: Organizational Communication, Intercultural CommunicationObjectives: This activity encourages students to learn collaboratively about diversity through the sharing of student experiences; deepen and complicate their understanding of organizational diversity; and enhance their ability to apply course material to increasingly complex organizational environments.
Insights into the bisphosphonate holiday: a preliminary FTIRI study

Bone composition evaluated by FTIRI analysis of iliac crest biopsies from post-menopausal women treated with alendronate for 10 years, continuously or alendronate for 5 years, followed by a 5-year alendronate-holiday, only differed with the discontinued biopsies having increased cortical crystallinity and heterogeneity of acid phosphate substitution and decreased trabecular crystallinity heterogeneity. Bisphosphonates (BP) are the most commonly used and effective drugs to prevent fragility fractures; however, concerns exist that prolonged use may lead to adverse events. Recent recommendations suggest consideration of a BP “holiday” in individuals taking long-term BP therapy not at high risk of fracture. Data supporting or refuting this recommendation based on bone quality are limited. We hypothesized that a “holiday” of 5 years would cause no major bone compositional changes. We analyzed the 31 available biopsies from the FLEX-Long-term Extension of FIT (Fracture Intervention Trial) using Fourier transform infrared imaging (FTIRI). Biopsies from two groups of post-menopausal women, a “Continuously treated group” (N = 16) receiving alendronate for ~ 10 years and a “Discontinued group” (N = 15), alendronate treated for 5 years taking no antiresorptive medication during the following 5 years. Iliac crest bone biopsies were provided at 10 years. Key FTIRI parameters, mineral-to-matrix ratio, carbonate-to-phosphate ratio, acid phosphate substitution, and collagen cross-link ratio as well as heterogeneity of these parameters were similar for Continuously treated and Discontinued groups in age-adjusted models. The Discontinued group had 2% greater cortical crystallinity (p = 0.01), 31% greater cortical acid phosphate heterogeneity (p = 0.02), and 24% lower trabecular crystallinity heterogeneity (p = 0.02). Discontinuation of alendronate for 5 years did not affect key FTIRI parameters, supporting the hypothesis that discontinuation would have little impact on bone composition. Modest differences were observed in three parameters that are not likely to affect bone mechanical properties. These preliminary data suggest that a 5-year BP holiday is not harmful to bone composition.
Case Study of Load Shifting Using Thermal Energy Ice Storage in Public Facilities

ABSTRACT Energy management is becoming increasingly important in the building sector due to the fact that it accounts for 50% of total energy consumption in industrial nations. The objective of this study was to compare a partial thermal energy storage system and a traditional air-cooled chiller system in a building retrofit in Alachua County, Florida in order to identify energy and cost savings and to quantify those savings. Initial costs, maintenance costs, energy consumption and utility rates were used to draw comparisons between the two systems. Findings include annual utility costs and annual operating costs for the two systems, and their simple payback period. The Thermal Energy System (TES) was found to be more beneficial in the long run, despite its higher cost of installation. Practical implications of implementing an advanced system such as TES are discussed to better prepare building professionals considering TES.
The 6–7 and 14 Positive Spikes

Henry (1963) and Hughes (1965) published reviews on the topic. Both reviews suggested that the 6–7 and 14 PS had some pathological correlations possibly including some forms of epilepsy. Subsequently, a number of reports were published that asserted a lack of correlation with epilepsy. This conclusion was based on the observation that the detection of this pattern did not predict the occurrence of any form of seizures recognized by the epilepsy clinical or research communities. The serious problem occurred when this lack of a close relationship between PS and epilepsy or any other neurological conditions was generalized to mean that the pattern in fact had no pathological correlates at all. A number of reports appeared that concluded that the PS was an entirely normal phenomenon void of any clinical significance. As is obvious, there is a rather large logical gap between the two assertions. By the mid-1970s a number of reports began appearing that related the 6–7 and 14 PS to behavioral and neurovegetative symptoms. Among the six “controversial” patterns described in this section, the PS proves to be the most controversial.
Self-Organizing Molecular Systems

Pasteur in 1860 showed by an ingenious set of experiments that life could only come from existing life. This dispelled for a time belief in the spontaneous generation of life, but, in 1878, Pasteur wrote: “I have been looking for it (spontaneous generation [author’s Italics]) for 20 years but I have not yet found it, although I do not think it is an impossibility.” In this same context, Charles Darwin, in a letter to Joseph Hooker in 1871 that is widely quoted wrote: It is often said that all the conditions for the first production of living organisms are now present, which could ever have been present. But if (and- oh, what a big if) we could conceive in some warm little pond, with all sorts of ammonia and phosphoric salts, heat, electricity, etc., present, that a protein compound was chemically formed ready to undergo still more complex changes,... Darwin and Pasteur in their own ways dwelled on the possibility that life occurred as a spontaneous event when the physical and chemical conditions were right.
Is an MD enough

Training in professions other than medicine is not necessary for effective doctoring, but competence in the art and science of medicine is. Virtual Mentor is a monthly bioethics journal published by the American Medical Association.
Karyotypic Progression and Metastasis Formation of Human Tumors

In recent years, chromosome studies have contributed significantly to our understanding of fundamental tumor biology in a number or areas. Based on the work from many laboratories, four general statements can be made about karyotypic alterations in neoplasia: 1) most tumors have chromosome abnormalities, which are not present in other cells of the body, 2) in a given tumor, all the neoplastic cells often have the same cytogenetic change, or related changes, 3) although chromosome alterations often differ between tumors, there are nonrandom patterns, and 4) chromosome abnormalities are more extensive in advanced tumors.
School Segregation and Residential Segregation

The school desegregation cases of the 1970s brought the Supreme Court face to face with difficult problems of urban racial change. In dramatic contrast with the early southern cases, where one only needed to read the state code to find proof of unconstitutional action and where one could often repair the damage with a relatively simple and self-evident remedy, the Supreme Court now had to deal with complex social issues: How did the cities become segregated? How much difference did the segregationist acts of the local school boards make? What kind of remedy was technically feasible? What kind of a plan would work? Would the plan itself become a major force in the demographic change of the urban community? To what extent are the forces of segregation and ghettoization confined to individual areas and municipalities within a metropolitan area, and to what extent is any highly localized remedy a denial of social reality?
Pathologic examination of the sentinel lymph node

The technique of sentinel lymph node biopsy has permitted accurate identification by surgeons and nuclear medicine physicians of the first node to receive direct drainage from an area of tumor. This selective dissection of the first draining node has had the added benefit of dramatically reducing the number of nodes the pathologist must examine in the search for metastatic tumor. This in turn has made feasible the routine examination of multiple levels of the submitted lymph node tissue and the routine use of immunohistochemical stains, both of which had been proven, even in the pre-sentinel lymph node era, to improve detection of occult metastases, which impart a poor prognosis. While the optimal method for pathologic examination of the sentinel lymph node remains “a work in progress”, examination of at least three levels of the block, and the routine use of immunohistochemical stains for antigens such as S-100 (for melanoma) and keratin proteins (for carcinoma) seems to constitute the current “standard of care”. The value of highly sensitive methods, such as PCR, in the search for occult metastases remains a subject of active investigation.
The Contribution of Dislocation Density and Velocity to the Strain Rate and Size Effect Using Transient Indentation Methods and Activation Volume Analysis

Constant load indentation creep and load relaxation tests were performed on several FCC Al, Ag, and Ni metals that exhibit indentation size effect (ISE) to examine the coupled relationship between the activation volume V* at specific loads, the dislocation density ρ, and the dislocation velocity (v) from kinetics-based perspective. The influence of the ISE on the dislocation velocity and the activation volume is thoroughly examined using the two independent indentation creep and load relaxation experiments. This study is carried out based on the general experimental and theoretical hypothesis that the ISE is driven by a dislocation mechanism, specifically the increase in the geometrically necessary dislocation density at shallow depth of indentation due to the presence of a large strain gradient. Geometrically necessary dislocations dominate the material’s propensity to work harden when their density exceeds the density of statistically stored dislocations and are primarily considered responsible for the size effects observed in indentation. Based on the preestablished bilinear behavior and the decrease in the activation volume with hardening due to dislocation–dislocation interaction in indentation creep experiments by Elmustafa and Stone, 2003, we demonstrate that the dislocation velocity exhibits a bilinear behavior when plotted vs hardness using the Orowan’s relation. Ag and Ni distinctively depict a bilinear behavior in the dislocation velocity with hardness, whereas Al exhibited a rather linear behavior. This can be explained by the fact that aluminum’s work-hardening rate is higher due to the increase in the rate and intensity of cross-slip and dislocation climbing.
Development of injury risk models to guide CT evaluation in the emergency department after motor vehicle collisions.

OBJECTIVE The clinical evaluation of motor vehicle collision (MVC) victims is challenging and commonly relies on computed tomography (CT) to detect internal injuries. CT scans are financially expensive and each scan exposes the patient to additional ionizing radiation with an associated, albeit low, risk of cancer. Injury risk prediction based on regression modeling has been to be shown to be successful in estimating Injury Severity Scores (ISSs). The objective of this study was to (1) create risk models for internal injuries of occupants involved in MVCs based on CT body regions (head, neck, chest, abdomen/pelvis, cervical spine, thoracic spine, and lumbar spine) and (2) evaluate the performance of these risk prediction models to predict internal injury. METHODS All Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 2008 injury codes were classified based on which CT body region would be necessary to scan in order to make the diagnosis. Cases were identified from the NASS-CDS. The NASS-CDS data set was queried for cases of adult occupants who sought medical care and for which key crash characteristics were all present. Forward stepwise logistic regression was performed on data from 2010-2014 to create models predicting risk of internal injury for each CT body region. Injury risk for each region was grouped into 5 levels: very low (<2%), low (2-5%), medium (5-10%), high (10-20%), and very high (20%). The models were then tested using weighted data from 2015 in order to determine whether injury rates fell within the predicted risk level. RESULTS The inclusion and exclusion criteria identified 5,477 cases in the NASS-CDS database. Cases from 2010-2014 were used for risk modeling (n = 4,826). Seven internal injury risk models were created based on the CT body regions using data from 2010-2014. These models were tested against data from 2015 (n = 651). In all CT body regions, the majority of occupants fell in the very low or low predicted injury rate groups, except for the head. On average, 57% of patients were classified as very low risk and 15% as low risk for each body region. In most cases the actual rate of injury was within the predicted injury risk range. The 95% confidence interval overlapped with predicting injury risk range in all cases. CONCLUSION This study successfully demonstrated the ability for internal injury risk models to accurately identify occupants at low risk for internal injury in individual body regions. This represents a step towards incorporating telemetry data into a clinical tool to guide physicians in the use of CT for the evaluation of MVC victims.
Comparisons of Modern United States and Canadian Malting Barley Cultivars with Those from Pre-Prohibition: V. Bmy1 Intron III Alleles and Grain β-Amylase Activity and Thermostability

This study was conducted to determine the variation in Pre-Prohibition and modern barley malting genotype β-amylase activities and thermostabilities with differing Bmy1 intron III alleles. Sequenci...
A Multiparameter Flow Cytometry Analysis Panel to Assess CD163 mRNA and Protein in Monocyte and Macrophage Populations in Hyperinflammatory Diseases

CD163 facilitates regulation and resolution of inflammation and removal of free hemoglobin and is highly expressed in myeloid cells from patients with inflammatory disorders, such as systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (SJIA) and macrophage activation syndrome (MAS). Our recent studies indicate that regulation of CD163 mRNA expression is a key functional property of polarized monocytes and macrophages and is mediated at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional level, including via microRNAs. The goal of the current study is to develop a multiparameter flow cytometry panel incorporating detection of CD163 mRNA for polarized monocyte and macrophage populations in disorders such as SJIA and MAS. THP-1 cells and CD14+ human monocytes were stained using fluorochrome-conjugated Abs to myeloid surface markers, along with CD163 mRNA. Staining for mRNA could reliably detect CD163 expression while simultaneously detecting different macrophage populations using Abs targeting CD14, CD64, CD80, CD163, and CD209. This approach was found to be highly sensitive for increased mRNA expression when macrophages were polarized with IL-10 [M(IL-10)], with a strong signal over a broad range of IL-10 concentrations, and showed distinct kinetics of CD163 mRNA and protein induction upon IL-10 stimulation. Finally, this panel demonstrated clear changes in polarization markers in unstimulated monocytes from patients with SJIA and MAS, including upregulated CD163 mRNA and increased CD64 expression. This approach represents a robust and sensitive system for RNA flow cytometry, useful for studying CD163 expression as part of a multimarker panel for human monocytes and macrophages, with broad applicability to the pathogenesis of hyperinflammatory diseases.
A Mixed Methods Model of Scale Development and Validation Analysis

ABSTRACTUsing mixed methods to develop new scales is not a new idea since the 2000s. However, there exists inadequate literature that discusses scale development using mixed methods, with steps inc...
Looks Like Me, Thinks Like Me: Descriptive Representation and Opinion Congruence in Brazil

This article argues that descriptive representation, or demographic similarities between legislators and the public, can provide effective substantive representation of citizens’ concerns. We examine representation through the lens of opinion congruence or alignment in the policy preferences of legislators and citizens sharing various identities. Congruence may result from shared material interests or from self-selection into an identity group on the basis of policy views, but it can also be a product of networks and organizations that socialize masses and elites into a common worldview. Though political parties were historically the most important agents of political socialization, we argue that religious organizations constitute a more powerful socializing force in many new democracies. Examining the case of Brazil, we draw on three legislative surveys and fifteen mass surveys to analyze congruence across seven issue areas. Legislators and voters from underrepresented groups—women, Afro-Brazilians, evangelical Christians, and those of lower social class—are generally closer in their opinions than those sharing a party or electoral district. Evangelicals are often the most congruent. Analyzing original surveys of congregations and clergy, we argue that this finding results from the socializing role of churches. Resumen Sustentamos o argumento de que a representacao descritiva, definida como semelhancas demograficas entre os legisladores e o publico, pode fornecer uma representacao substantiva efetiva das visoes politicas dos cidadaos. Examinamos a representacao por meio da lente da congruencia de opiniao, ou seja o alinhamento entre as preferencias politicas dos legisladores e as dos cidadaos que compartilham suas identidades. A congruencia pode resultar de interesses materiais comuns ou de auto-selecao a um grupo de identidade, mas tambem pode ser produto de socializacao dentro de redes e organizacoes que constroem uma visao de mundo comum. Embora os partidos politicos fossem historicamente os agentes mais importantes de socializacao politica, argumentamos que as organizacoes religiosas constituem uma forca de socializacao mais poderosa em muitas novas democracias. Examinando o caso do Brasil, utilizamos tres pesquisas legislativas e quinze pesquisas com o publico para analisar a congruencia em sete areas de opiniao. Legisladores e eleitores de grupos sub-representados — mulheres, afro-brasileiros, evangelicos e pessoas de classes sociais mais baixas — sao geralmente mais proximos em suas opinioes do que aqueles que compartilham um partido ou distrito eleitoral. Evangelicos sao frequentemente os mais congruentes. Analisando pesquisas originais com fieis e clerigos, argumentamos que essa congruencia resulta da funcao socializacao das igrejas.
The Use of Sacubitril/Valsartan in an Advanced Heart Failure Clinic is Associated with Decreased Heart Failure Hospitalizations, Improved Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction and Functional Class

Introduction Sacubitril/valsartan has demonstrated improvement in survival in patients with heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction. However, the population studied in the PARADIGM trial may not reflect the patients managed with optimal medical therapy at an advanced heart failure clinic in North America. Our objective was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients who were initiated on sacubitril/valsartan and followed by Spectrum Health advanced HF clinic. Methods This retrospective study included 177 patients who were initiated on sacubitril/valsartan at the Spectrum Health advanced HF clinic. Epidemiological, pharmacological, clinical, and echocardiographic information was collected. Ejection fraction (EF), functional class, and hospitalizations were compared prior and 6 months after initiation of sacubitril/valsartan. Statistical significance was considered if p Results Our patients were predominantly male (74.1%) and young (57.4±13.7 years) with a median duration of HF of 21 months. Non-ischemic cardiomyopathy was present in 58% of patients. At the time of initiation of sacubitril/valsartan, 82.7% were receiving ACEi or ARB, 98.1% beta-blocker, 55.8% aldosterone antagonist, 11.5% hydralazine or isosorbide, and 69% had an ICD or CRT device. Follow up after the initiation of sacubitril/valsartan was 17±10 months. Of this cohort 48 patients (27%) discontinued sacubitril/valsartan mainly due to side effects. During the follow-up period, 3 patients (1.7%) were listed and 1 patient (0.6%) received a heart transplant, 10 patients (5.6%) received a LVAD, 1 patient (0.6%) selected for VAD, and 10 patients (5.6%) died. Of the 177 patients, 162 patients received sacubitril/valsartan for at least 6 months and among these patients the frequency of HF hospitalizations decreased after sacubitril/valsartan from 41 to 18 (p Conclusion At our advanced HF clinic, patients who received sacubitril/valsartan for at least 6 months had an improvement in functional capacity, left ventricular ejection fraction and decreased rate of hospitalizations. One in every four patients discontinued sacubitril/valsartan and 14.1% of patients reached the combined outcome of death/LVAD/heart transplant/list transplant/VAD selected, underlining the importance of close follow up in this population.
Enteric neuroplasticity and dysmotility in inflammatory disease: key players and possible therapeutic targets.

Intestinal functions, including motility and secretion, are locally controlled by enteric neural networks housed within the wall of the gut. The fidelity of these functions depends on the precision...
A Cost-effectiveness Study of the Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Depression Outcomes in the United States.

Objective Two separate changes in insurance regulation have altered mental health delivery to Americans: (i) the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPA 2008) and (ii) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA 2010). This study aims to model and provide estimates for the costs and effects of depression that are impacted by these regulations. Method Literature exists on the effectiveness of insurance coverage in reducing the prevalence, the costs of treatment and lost productivity time, as well as the health related quality of life (HRQL) associated with depression. Data from this literature is employed in a Markov model to obtain costs and effects associated with depression under both the MHPA and the ACA regulations as compared to without either one. Results The implementation of these regulations may reduce the per capita lifetime costs of depression treatment and lost productivity by USD 215 and enhance life expectancy by 0.01 Quality Adjusted Life Years (QALY) per capita. Conclusions If the savings of these regulations are expanded over the entire cohort of Americans adults, the potential cost savings from treated depression are estimated at USD 47.30 billion in addition to 2.2 million QALYs saved.
Ethics of the Firm and Strategic Behavior

The industrialists of the last decades of the nineteenth century engaged in various controversial practices, and muckrakers gained prominence by highlighting alleged business malfeasance. Historians noted, however, that many of the allegedly unethical practices were not necessarily illegal at the time. These practices demonstrate cases where something that is legal may still be unethical. Then again, some allegedly unethical practices proved beneficial to consumers, workers, and some businesses. The United States proved especially keen to prevent cartels and monopolies unlike contemporaries in Germany and Japan.
Learning about Queer Representation through Mods: Reviewing Past Challenges and Outlining Ideas About Future Approaches

In this paper I outline an idea that I am researching more fully in my PhD dissertation: using modification of video games as an educational method to explore queer representation. This paper primarily focuses on educational concerns related to that approach: I first review discussions about the challenges surrounding game-based learning approaches and claim that some common points of skepticism in these discussions actually highlight the effectiveness of games for learning about queer representation. I also suggest that, as a genre, choice-based interactive fiction is ideal for exploratory learning about queer representation in comparison to other kinds of games. I then analyze educational uses of video game modification, noting that one of the most common approaches is educators modifying popular games for the classroom. I claim that approach could work especially well as a way to explore problems with representation in video games. I close the article with a short discussion about expanding upon this approach by building an easily-modifiable interactive fiction game to address issues with portrayals of queerness in mainstream games, a method I examine more fully in my PhD dissertation and through an associated digital game prototype. Overall, I argue that interactive fiction works are very well-suited to dealing with issues of representation and that modifiable interactive fiction games are an effective way to learn more about problems with representation in video games.
Proper interpretation and overall accuracy of laminar flame speed measurements of single- and multi-component liquid fuels

Abstract Low-vapor pressure liquid fuels, particularly kerosene-based fuels, are notoriously difficult to use in precision laboratory-scale flame experiments. This difficulty could result in several sources of uncertainty when preparing fuel-air mixtures for laminar flame speed experiments in constant-volume vessels. To accurately measure the experimental uncertainties in a spherical, laminar flame, n-decane, a component of several popular kerosene-based surrogate fuels was utilized in a methodical study to elucidate and minimize the primary sources of error and to determine a realistic, overall measurement uncertainty. This careful study allowed for isolated analysis of the overall behavior of the fuel (such as whether or not the fuel is condensing) and the accuracy of the instrumentation used. The results show that for the single-component liquid fuel, equivalence ratio could be accurately measured to within φ=±0.03 and flame speed to within 2.79 cm/s. One of the primary sources of discrepancy and confusion when presenting and comparing laminar flame speed data of complex, liquid fuel mixtures is the identification of the average fuel molecule. This seemingly trivial detail is actually a very important property of the fuel because it leads to the determination of φ, which is commonly used as the independent variable of laminar flame speed plots. However, when reported at all, the uncertainty in the average molecular weight of these fuels is on the order of 15%. Because of this large uncertainty, φ is shown to not be the most useful parameter for comparing different data sets. Rather, fuel mole fraction, XFUEL, is much more useful as it describes the overall amount of fuel in the mixture, and plotting laminar flame speeds as a function of XFUEL results in better agreement amongst different data sets from the literature for Jet-A.
Plasmonic Nanozymes: Engineered Gold Nanoparticles Exhibit Tunable Plasmon-Enhanced Peroxidase-Mimicking Activity.

Enzyme-mimicking inorganic nanoparticles, also known as nanozymes, have emerged as a rapidly expanding family of artificial enzymes that exhibit superior structural robustness and catalytic durabil...
Congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus due to the mutation in AVPR2 (c.541C>T) in a neonate: A case report.

Congenital nephrogenic diabetes insipidus due to the mutation in AVPR2 (c.541C>T) in a neonate: A case report
The Near-Term Liability of Exploitation: Exploration and Exploitation in Multi-Stage Problems

The classic tradeoff between exploration and exploitation reflects the tension between gaining new information about alternatives to improve future returns and using the information currently available to improve present returns (March, 1991). By considering these issues in the context of a multi-stage, as opposed to a repeated, problem environment, we show that exploratory behavior has value quite apart from its role in revising beliefs. We show that even if current beliefs provide an unbiased characterization of the problem environment, maximizing with respect to these beliefs may lead to an inferior expected payoff relative to other mechanisms that make less aggressive use of the organization's beliefs. Search can lead to more robust actions in multi-stage decision problems than maximization, a benefit quite apart from its role in the updating of beliefs.
One Psychiatrist's Perspective on Physician-Assisted Death.

In 1991, I was a first-year psychiatry resident in Massachusetts, beginning my interest in law and ethics in psychiatry. The news was full of reports about Dr. Jack Kevorkian, a Michigan pathologist who advocated physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Michigan revoked his medical license, but
Efficacy and safety of influenza vaccination during pregnancy: realizing the potential of maternal influenza immunization.

Introduction: Pregnant women are at higher risk of severe complications following influenza infection compared to the general population. Influenza vaccination during pregnancy can offer direct pro...
Road Salting Induces Regional-Scale Losses of Base Cations from Forested Watersheds

Road salt (NaCl) and acid deposition co-occur across much of North America and Europe. One such region is the Adirondack Park (AP) in New York, USA, where the effects of acid deposition have been widely studied and the effects of road salt have not. Road salt delivers 3560 Mmolc of Na to AP roads each year, which has significant potential to displace soil base cations and exacerbate ecosystem recovery from acidification. Our objective was to estimate the effect of road salt on soil base cation export for the AP. We used a simple steady state model based on estimated runoff and cation concentrations from lakes in watersheds with (n=84) and without (n=68) paved roads to estimate watershed export of Ca, Mg, K, and Na. Road salting resulted in significantly higher export for all cations, with 28, 15, 2, and 83 mmolc/m2/year more of Ca, Mg, K, and Na released, respectively, compared to watersheds without paved roads. Mineral weathering rates are insufficient to replace these lost cations and thus watershed recovery from acidification will be slower in the presence of road salt. Road salt should be included as a co-occurring stressor when assessing the impacts of pollutants on ecosystem health, not only in the AP but wherever road salt is applied.
American eel resilience to simulated fluid shear associated with passage through hydroelectric turbines

American eel (Anguilla rostrata ) populations have declined within their native range along the eastern coast of North America due to factors such as commercial fishing, habitat alteration, and dams. American eel are catadromous fish species, and high mortality rates (>40%) have been observed for freshwater life-stage adult eel passing downstream through hydropower turbines. Lacerations and sectioning of fish have been observed downstream of turbines and these injuries are commonly associated with direct contact with the turbine runner, whether through blade strike or pinching and grinding. Exposure to fluid shear may also be a source of injury, however, little is known about American eel susceptibility to this physical stressor. Eels are considerably flexible when compared to other fish species and lack other morphological characteristics that would make them susceptible to fluid shear, such as protruding eyes, large scales, and large operculum. European eel, which have previously been tested for susceptibility to fluid shear, were found to be resilient. To determine if American eel are also resilient to fluid shear, forty American eel were exposed to a water jet, simulating severe fluid shear (strain rate > 800 s−1 ) that fish may experience when passing downstream through turbines. No immediate or delayed (48 h) signs of injury were observed after exposure to severe fluid shear. Based on this study, and a previous study conducted on American eel susceptibility to barotrauma, the source of injury and mortality of American eel passing through turbines is likely attributed to blade strike or pinching and grinding.
Federal Courts, International Tribunals, and the Continuum of Deference

The focus of the article is the degree of deference that federal courts should confer on the decisions of international tribunals. The Supreme Court has suggested that "respectful consideration" should be given to international tribunal decisions, but absent further guidance, federal courts have haphazardly addressed the question of what effect to give to their judgments. What is needed is a methodology for deference. For the first time in scholarly literature this article proposes such a methodology for all international tribunals based on seven models that have been applied to different international tribunals and should be applied to dozens of others. These models are placed along a continuum according to the degree of deference conferred. Each model is briefly presented and applied to a particular tribunal best illustrating the degree of deference conferred. The normative application of each model is then outlined to enable federal courts to apply the model in other contexts and to other tribunals. At one extreme of the continuum is the full faith and credit model, requiring federal courts to treat ICSID tribunal decisions in the same manner as state court judgments. At the other end is the "no deference" model, exemplified in death penalty litigation, in which federal courts confer no deference on decisions of human rights tribunals when interpreting constitutional guarantees. In between these extremes are five other models - the arbitration model (Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal), the foreign judgment model (European Court of Justice), the Charming Betsy model (World Trade Organization), the Paquete Habana model (International Court of Justice), and the special master model (Claims Resolution Tribunal) - that illuminate how federal courts are conferring, and should confer, varying degrees of deference on international tribunal decisions.
Hematologic abnormalities associated with simian immunodeficieny virus (SIV) infection mimic those in HIV infection.

Background Studies of hematologic abnormalities in HIV-infected patients are confounded by a multitude of factors. A retrospective data analysis of simian immunodeficieny virus (SIV)-infected rhesus macaques (RM) of Indian origin was performed to determine the prevalence of hematologic abnormalities free of these confounds. Methods Hematologic data from RM inoculated with SIV and without antiviral therapy were examined pre-inoculation, and throughout infection and the development of AIDS. Results Anemia, thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, eosinophilia, and neutropenia all increased in prevalence with SIV infection. Significant increases in prevalence for both neutropenia and neutrophilia were also detected in SIV-infected macaques. SIV-infected macaques also had lower lymphocyte counts and increased prevalence of lymphopenia compared with non-infected subjects. The prevalence of eosinophilia was significantly increased during SIV infection. Conclusions Concordance of hematologic abnormalities during SIV infection of macaques with similar changes in HIV infection of humans suggests that, like in HIV infection, hematologic abnormalities are major complications of SIV infection.
Problems with salary equity models for engineering faculty

This paper describes some of the major issues/assumptions associated with developing a university-wide faculty salary equity model and how the assumptions impact on engineering faculty. Some important concerns for any creditable faculty equity model are that it include: (a) an appropriate to the institution national or regional salary database that is updated each year (peer salaries); (b) promotional increases between ranks; (c) discipline and rank variances; (d) annual increments due to longevity (time in rank); (e) annual individual performance measures; (f) a method to compensate for those faculty who remain in rank longer than the minimum number of years; and (g) the typical leveling off pattern seen in most professional salary histories.
What is the function of the C1-C3 adrenergic group in the medulla?

This brief communication discusses a much neglected topic in functional neuroanatomy-the possible function(s) of the adrenergic system in the brain.
Discovery of Social Groups Using Call Detail Records

In this paper we propose the affinity model for classifying social groups based on mobile phone call detail records. We use affinity to measure the similarity between probability distributions. Since phone calls are stochastic process, it makes more sense to use probability affinity to classify the social groups. This work is useful for enhancing homeland security, detecting unwanted calls (e.g., spam) and product marketing. For validation of our results, we used actual call logs of 100 users collected at MIT by the Reality Mining Project group for a period of 8 months. The experimental results show that our model achieves good performance with high accuracy.
Spin Density, T1, T2, T2* Relaxation and Bloch Equations

This unit discusses the four primary sources of signal variation in a standard MRI sequence. T1 and T2/T2* relaxation reveal the time dependence of the longitudinal and transverse component of the magnetization, respectively. When imaging is performed, the effective spin density is considered as the number of spins per voxel. The variation of signal with voxel size is discussed. Modification of Bloch equations that govern the motion of the magnetization is discussed for all four cases.
Transforming Growth Factor-β

Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is generally acknowledged to be the cytokine with the broadest range of activities in repair of injured tissue, based both on the variety of cell types that produce and/or respond to it and on the spectrum of its cellular responses (Roberts and Sporn, 1990). TGF-β is released from degranulating platelets and secreted by all of the major cell types participating in the repair process, including lymphocytes, macrophages, endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, epithelial cells, and fibroblasts (see Fig. 1). A unique feature of this molecule is that its autoinduction results in sustained expression at the site of a wound and extends the effectiveness of both the initial burst of endogenous TGF-β released upon injury and exogenous TGF-β that might be applied to a wound. The ability of TGF-β to improve and/or accelerate tissue repair has been studied extensively in a variety of animal models of both normal and impaired healing. A limited number of clinical trials are in progress, but it is anticipated that many new applications for TGF-β will ultimately be found, once problems with appropriate timing and formulation can be solved.
Immunologic effects of yogurt

Many investigators have studied the therapeutic and preventive effects of yogurt and lactic acid bacteria, which are commonly used in yogurt production, on diseases such as cancer, infection, gastrointestinal disorders, and asthma. Because the immune system is an important contributor to all of these diseases, an immunostimulatory effect of yogurt has been proposed and investigated by using mainly animal models and, occasionally, human subjects. Although the results of these studies, in general, support the notion that yogurt has immunostimulatory effects, problems with study design, lack of appropriate controls, inappropriate route of administration, sole use of in vitro indicators of the immune response, and short duration of most of the studies limit the interpretation of the results and the conclusions drawn from them. Nevertheless, these studies in toto provide a strong rationale for the hypothesis that increased yogurt consumption, particularly in immunocompromised populations such as the elderly, may enhance the immune response, which would in turn increase resistance to immune-related diseases. This hypothesis, however, needs to be substantiated by well-designed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human studies of an adequate duration in which several in vivo and in vitro indexes of peripheral and gut-associated immune response are tested.
The Revisionist’s Guide to Responsibility

Revisionism in the theory of moral responsibility is the idea that some aspect of responsibility practices, attitudes, or concept is in need of revision. While the increased frequency of revisionist language in the literature on free will and moral responsibility is striking, what discussion there has been of revisionism about responsibility and free will tends to be critical. In this paper, I argue that at least one species of revisionism, moderate revisionism, is considerably more sophisticated and defensible than critics have realized. I go on to argue for the advantages of moderate revisionist theories over standard compatibilist and incompatibilist theories.
Poverty of Diverse Dance Readings

This article synthesizes current dance education research that demonstrates connections between the culturally relevant pedagogy and student academic achievement, details why the arts are exponentially important and valuable to all communities, and provides practical solutions for the everyday teacher. Through a pointed focus on culturally relevant reading materials the research presented herein supports and advocates for educational policy designed to diversify arts curricula. Only when the diversity in our curricula reflects the diversity of our communities can our educational system affirm a multicultural world.