cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Gender Norms and Attitudes about Childcare Activities Presented on Father Blogs

Father involvement is important for child well-being. However, fathers still do significantly less childcare than mothers, due in part to traditional gender norms. This research investigates whether incorporating do-it-yourself (DIY) language and imagery into parenting blogs is an effective mechanism for boosting fathers' willingness to perform childcare activities. We conducted a between-subjects experiment with 374 participants in the U.S. who responded to ten parenting blog posts. Subjects were randomized to view posts with either DIY or neutral language and either routine childcare activities (e.g., changing diapers) or interactive ones (e.g., finger painting). Results show that DIY language actually decreases a father's willingness to do a childcare activity. Further, fathers underestimate how socially appropriate it is for them to perform childcare activities and this misperception relates to their willingness to get involved. We draw on social norms literature to recommend next steps for designing interfaces to support father involvement in childrearing.
A Comparison of Three Opportunity-to-Respond Strategies on the Academic Engaged Time Among High School Students Who Present Challenging Behavior:

A single subject alternating treatment design across three student-teacher dyads was used to investigate the comparative impact on student academic engaged time of three opportunity-to-respond (OTR...
Rescuing politics from liberalism: Butler and Mouffe on affectivity and the place of ethics

Both Judith Butler and Chantal Mouffe challenge liberal conceptions of politics based on their ontological descriptions of the political. Mouffe argues that the failure of liberalism to grasp the agonistic character of political life means that properly political conflicts get translated into moral terms. Mouffe thinks that the way to correct our “post-political” problems (like alt-right movements) is to avoid translating political conflicts into a moral register. I challenge Mouffe’s separation of ethics and politics by invoking Butler’s more nuanced account of the ethical sphere. I demonstrate that Mouffe does not consider that there are different orders of moral claims (for example, the claims that others have on us to treat them with justice and dignity, claims that at least implicitly demand not to be weighed in terms of economic or political utility); nor does Mouffe consider that there are different orders of affect, some of which cannot be simply opposed to rationality.
Diagnosing Tongue Base Obstruction in Pierre Robin Sequence Infants: Sleep vs Awake Endoscopy.

Objective:To investigate whether awake endoscopy can diagnose base-of-tongue obstruction as reliably as sleep endoscopy in infants with Pierre Robin sequence (PRS).Design:The study was retrospectiv...
DAMON: A Data Authenticity Monitoring System for Diabetes Management

We present DAMON, a data authenticity monitoring system for use in an Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) system assembled to treat Type 1 Diabetes (T1D). We describe the use of Signal Temporal Logic (STL) for specifying and monitoring a range of system properties relevant to T1D treatment, including constraints on glycemic variability and insulin delivery. We perform retrospective analysis of posterior probabilities of multiple meal hypotheses to detect suspicious meal events. Using a corpus of clinical study data, we provide experimental results demonstrating the detection of system events indicative of compromised data authenticity.
Elastic Stability and Buckling

As we already mentioned in Chap. 2, and as is known from everyday experience (for example, compressing a short plastic ruler or the like between thumb and middle finger, as seen in Fig. 10.1), a slender bar subject to a compressive axial force is likely to buckle (that is, assume a bent shape) if the force is sufficiently large. This phenomenon is called buckling and will be studied in the present chapter. Buckling is typically undesirable in structural and mechanical systems. Therefore, when designing such systems, an effort is made, wherever relevant, to prevent its occurrence.
Approaches to “Audience-Centered” Performance: Designing Interaction for the iGeneration

Contemporary media users—specifically iGen students, born in the 1990s through 2010 —see and operate with(in) the world in a fundamentally different manner than those that came only a decade before. In twenty-first-century techno-culture, the pervasive influence of the Internet accessed through the medium of smart devices makes constant multitasking and direct interaction necessary for effective learning in iGen students. These students have adapted their way of seeing and interacting to a media-saturated environment where they are connected to multiple times, places, and things simultaneously. Teachers of contemporary theatre practice should understand this change as an epistemological shift, which also impacts what iGen students expect from theatre. This chapter argues for a new direction towards thinking through digital paradigms to reassemble what theatre is and what it will be for today’s and tomorrow’s students. The constant interactive nature of these students’ digital lives requires that educators understand new ways of teaching theatre creation when considering audiences of the future.
Expanding State Fiscal Capacity, Part I: A New and Improved Consumption Tax Paired with a Tax on a Federal Windfall (the QBI Deduction)

The Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the most significant piece of federal tax legislation passed in thirty years. Not surprisingly, the TCJA has spurred the states to rethink their tax systems. This rethinking of state taxes was necessary even before the TCJA. To date, the states have primarily considered reforms that respond to the capping of the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, and the current proposals, if enacted and successful, would only return the states to where they were in 2017, which is to say to quite mediocre revenue systems. This Article, the first in a series, argues that the TCJA should provide the final motivation to move the states to reform their tax systems in fundamental ways that made sense even before the passage of the TCJA. The reform that is the focus of this Article is the implementation of entity-level consumption taxes. The states should have implemented such taxes long ago for a number of reasons. Prominent among such reasons is that the United States undertaxes the consumption tax base generally and, if well-designed, a low-rate entity-level tax is not likely to spur much additional evasion. The passage of the TCJA makes such a tax more appealing because this tax would be imposed on business entities and businesses can still deduct state and local taxes. Thus this proposal represents a response to the new SALT cap. Two other complementary reforms are developed. First, states should tax the windfall given to certain unincorporated businesses by the TCJA. This too can be a form of SALT workaround, as the revenues from the tax on the windfall can be used to reduce taxes on the taxpayers hurt by the capping of the SALT deduction. Finally, states should bolster their laws governing the apportioning of the income of multistate corporations. These laws already govern the apportionment of the state corporate income and would also control the apportionment of the tax base for the two new taxes proposed in this Article (namely, a new tax on consumption and on the federal windfall).
When the nose knows: ontogenetic changes in detection dogs' (Canis familiaris) responsiveness to social and olfactory cues

Domestic dogs, Canis familiaris, are highly responsive to human communicative cues and can utilize gestures, such as pointing, to locate hidden rewards. This ability is thought to be the product of both genetic and behavioural selection, allowing dogs to adapt to life with humans. Dogs' responsiveness to human gestures can also lead to suboptimal choices when dogs readily follow misleading cues despite directly contradicting perceptual information such as odour cues. However, this bias likely reflects pet dogs' enculturation with humans and thus may not be representative of other populations of dogs. We investigated the ability of young dogs in training for explosives detection (N = 77) to locate a hidden reward using olfactory cues when presented in conflict with a deceptive communicative gesture in an object-choice task. We assessed performance at 3, 6 and 11 months of age using both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs. We found that, contrary to previous findings with pet dogs, responsiveness to human pointing decreased with age, whereas the ability to locate the reward by scent increased. Furthermore, a lack of susceptibility to deceptive social cues was predictive of future success as a detection dog. These findings further indicate the influence of ontogenetic effects on canine social cognition and demonstrate potential applications for the identification of suitable detection dogs.
Integrating spiritual care into an ambulatory cancer center.

205Background: Spiritual care is identified as a core component of quality oncologic care. Unmet spiritual needs can lead to worse quality of life, lower satisfaction with care, and greater psychol...
Design for global health

Abstract Design has been applied increasingly to global health and the work of international agencies to improve health and well-being of people in lower income countries. Along with this interest comes a need for understanding how design is operationalized in the context of global health, how designers, global-health stakeholders, and those intended to benefit from global-health programs approach and receive this new synergy. This chapter explores the current state of design as applied to global health, models of how it is carried out, and some of the questions that arise for practitioners. A case study is presented to illustrate a large global-health project with design explicitly incorporated into the heart of the program.
What Is an Observation Stay? Evaluating the Use of Hospital Observation Stays in Medicare.

Background/objectives Observation stays are increasingly common for older adults, yet little is known about the extent to which they are being used as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) originally intended for unscheduled or acute problems and whether different types of services are reflected in current billing practices. Design Observational cohort study. Setting/participants A total of 867,165 qualifying observation stays identified from 451,408 patients using Medicare fee-for-service claims data from a nationally representative 20% beneficiary sample between January 1, 2014, and November 30, 2014. Measurements Using descriptive and multivariable logistic model analytic approaches, we evaluated the patient, stay, and hospital characteristics associated with the most common billing practice for observation stays (charge revenue center 0761 exclusively) vs all other practices. Results Sixty-three percent of observation stays were billed exclusively under the 0761 revenue center and were more likely to be for preplanned chronic conditions consisting of short-term treatments (eg, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, wound care, paracentesis, epidural spinal injection). These stays appeared to be used for recurrent single-day visits, given their strong association with prior visits and a high rate of reobservation (41.4%), with frequent return stays appearing in a 7-day pattern. Conclusion Nearly two-thirds of observation stays are billed using only the 0761 revenue code and appear to be for prescheduled, repeated treatments-differing substantially from CMS' explicitly stated purpose as a form of care used while a healthcare provider determines whether a patient presenting for unscheduled or acute conditions requires inpatient hospital admission or can be safely discharged. Guidance is needed from CMS to clarify the appropriate role of observation stays, with discussion as to whether episodic single-day, planned treatment for chronic conditions not originating in the emergency department should be billed as observation stays or placed under another mechanism. Subsequent research is needed to understand how the current use of observation stays impact patient out-of-pocket costs. J Am Geriatr Soc 68:1568-1572, 2020.
Severe penile hair tourniquet syndrome with near amputation of the glans

Penile hair tourniquet syndrome is a rare phenomenon that classically affects boys during their first few years of life. We report a late presentation of an 8-year old nonverbal, severely autistic ...
2013 Mexico’s Education Reform: A Multi-dimensional Analysis

The 2013 education reform to Mexico’s education system had two main goals, one explicit, to improve the quality of education and one implicit, to reassert federal authority over the education sector. Beginning with institutional and political mechanisms that introduced evaluations to the teaching profession, the reform sought a shift in Mexican educational culture.
Community Epidemiological Approaches

Community epidemiology is an emerging discipline that seeks to explore, discover, implement, and evaluate health equity drivers for community health. For that reason, it is aligned with the concept of sustainable community health which relies on the ability of communities to design and implement health policies that will endure for long periods of time. The main purpose of this chapter is to explain epidemiologic approaches in community-level disease control, prevention, and intervention. In this chapter, we trace the historical trends of epidemiological science practices that have implications for community health. Next, we consider current community epidemiology practices, and prospective ones, with evidence from the health promotion research and initiatives premised on the use of key information on community health needs. In particular, we highlight the importance of community epidemiologic studies focused on engaging community members in order to define health needs and to design sustainable solutions for them. We then consider the cultural, legal, and professional issues that influence community epidemiologic approaches to health promotion, as well as the primary disciplines involved. Last, we consider the significance and need for research and practice issues on community epidemiologic approaches.
Appendix: ALS and BLS Integrated Care

This chapter will aid you in becoming a better BLS provider and an overall better EMS clinician, by recognizing the need for an ALS intercept and designing your treatment plan with the help of advanced providers.
Reinforcement Learning, Bit by Bit

Reinforcement learning agents have demonstrated remarkable achievements in simulated environments. Data efficiency poses an impediment to carrying this success over to real environments. The design of data-efficient agents calls for a deeper understanding of information acquisition and representation. We develop concepts and establish a regret bound that together offer principled guidance. The bound sheds light on questions of what information to seek, how to seek that information, and it what information to retain. To illustrate concepts, we design simple agents that build on them and present computational results that demonstrate improvements in data efficiency.
Sociodramatic play enhances preschoolers’ private speech and motivation across activities

Abstract Vygotskian theory suggests that sociodramatic play, private speech, and motivation are deeply intertwined in development. This study used fishing and puzzle tasks to explore how preschoolers (N = 47) used private speech to verbally mediate their engagement and motivation in activities with differing demands. We experimentally manipulated pedagogical contexts by framing activities as sociodramatic play or task completion to examine the impact on private speech and motivation. Children’s private speech and motivation were both greater in the sociodramatic play condition. Children demonstrated stable individual differences across activities in frequencies of private speech and level of speech internalization, while also appearing to tailor private speech functions to the demands of each activity. Children’s performance and persistence were uncorrelated across activities and were related to different private speech categories within each activity. The results extend research on activity-specificity in language use to private speech, while underscoring how sociocultural contexts influence motivational development.
Essential Tremor A Common Disorder of Purkinje Neurons

Essential tremor (ET) is one of the most common neurological diseases, with an estimated 7 million affected individuals in the United States. Postmortem studies in the past few years have resulted in new knowledge as well as a new formulation of disease pathophysiology. This new formulation centers on the notion that ET might be a disease of the cerebellum and, more specifically, the Purkinje cell (PC) population. Indeed, several investigators have proposed that ET may be a "Purkinjopathy." Supporting this formulation are data from controlled postmortem studies demonstrating (1) a range of morphological changes in the PC axon, (2) abnormalities in the position and orientation of PC bodies, (3) reduction in the number of PCs in some studies, (4) morphological changes in and pruning of the PC dendritic arbor with loss of dendritic spines, and (5) alterations in both the PC-basket cell interface and the PC-climbing fiber interface in ET cases. This new formulation has engendered some controversy and raised additional questions. Whether the constellation of changes observed in ET differs from that seen in other degenerative disorders of the cerebellum remains to be determined, although initial studies suggest the likely presence of a distinct profile of changes in ET.
Three Variations on the Theme of Maximal Functions

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the question of inequalities for maximal functions and related singular integrals with bounds independent of the dimension. The chapter provides complete proofs of two theorems. It concludes with the background and two further results.
More About the Ergodic Properties of Markov Chains

In Chap. 4 takes up the general ergodic theory of Markov chains on countable state space in the absence of a Doeblin type condition. Along the way, the structure of the set of stationary distributions and the role of periodicity are discussed.
Dating Methods of Pleistocene Deposits and Their Problems: VI. Paleomagnetism

Paleomagnetism is used in Pleistocene stratigraphic studies as a tool for correlation and relative age dating of equivalent strata or for the absolute dating of deposits. The method is based on the detection of changes in the earth's magnetic field and especially changes of polarity that are recorded by ferromagnetic sediments at the time of deposition. The study of paleomagnetism as a geophysical dating method began in the1960s and has grown geometrically since. Instrumentation has greatlyi mproved and the statistical analysis of data, so essential to the proper interpretation of the magnetic record, would not have been possible without computer facilities. Fine-grained sediments and lava flows are the two media most frequently used. Because reversals have occurred repeatedly in the past, their identification within incomplete sedimentary records is only possible through comparison with other stratigraphic or radiometric data collected for similar or related sedimentary sequences. Continuously deposited marine or terrestrial sediments which show a high sedimentation rate provide isochrons which can be used for world-wide correlation. The recent flourish of research activity into the secular variation of the earth's non-dipole field promises to greatly refine and embellish the geomagnetic time table for the Pleistocene.
Opportunity Costs, Productive Arbitrage, and Medium-Term Economic Growth Forecasting

The paper proposes a novel theory-based approach to economic growth prediction. In the economy populated with economically independent decision-makers, the information about their individual preferences, available technologies, and resource constraints is embedded in decision-makers' opportunity costs. By relating opportunity costs over available alternatives to individual's choices, it is possible to make inference about agent's aggregate behavior in the macroeconomy. Conceptually, the information about the measurable structure of the economy can be used to predict aggregate economic activity, and, hence, economic growth. The paper develops practical procedures for measuring opportunity costs of goods produced and goods demanded. It is theoretically shown that the difference between the two, or the opportunity cost differential, is the primary cause for a productive arbitrage -- an expansion of production, and hence, economic growth. An applied model of medium-term economic growth is developed using input-output and econometric techniques. It is shown that the opportunity costs differentials computed from mid-2000s and early-2000s input-output tables explain more than three-quarters of the variation of the growth rates for the ten-year period for a cross-section of 40 nations. In contrast, the applied model suggests that the sovereign debt has neither positive nor negative effects on midterm economic growth rates.
Different Sensitivity of Ribonucleic and Deoxyribonucleic Acid Viruses to Resistance Induced in Rabbit Cells (RK-13) by Polyriboinosinic Acid·Polyribocytidilic Acid

When a continuous line of rabbit kidney cells (RK-13) was exposed to polyriboinosinic acid polyribocytidilic acid [poly(rI)·poly(rC)], the cells became resistant to the replication of a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus, vesicular stomatitis (VSV), but remained susceptible to the replication of two deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) viruses, pseudorabies and vaccinia. These differences were identical to previous findings with RK-13 cells pretreated with exogenous rabbit interferon. Confirmation is thereby provided that RK-13 cells are deficient in the synthesis of resistance factors active against the DNA viruses tested and that there are separate resistance factors for RNA and DNA viruses in RK-13 cells. The resistance against VSV which developed in RK-13 cells exposed to poly(rI)·poly(rC) could be significantly reversed by prior infection with infective vaccinia virus but not by vaccinia inactivated by ultraviolet irradiation or heat.
Thirteen Ways to Steal a Bicycle: Theft Law in the Information Age (Introduction)

Theft claims more victims and causes greater economic injury than any other criminal offense. Yet theft law is enigmatic, and fundamental questions about what should count as stealing remain unresolved — especially misappropriations of intellectual property, information, ideas, identities, and virtual property.In Thirteen Ways to Steal a Bicycle, Stuart Green assesses our current legal framework at a time when our economy increasingly commodifies intangibles and when the means of committing theft and fraud grow ever more sophisticated. Was it theft for the editor of a technology blog to buy a prototype iPhone he allegedly knew had been lost by an Apple engineer in a Silicon Valley bar? Was it theft for doctors to use a patient’s tissue without permission in order to harvest a valuable cell line? For an Internet activist to publish tens of thousands of State Department documents on his website?In this full-scale critique, Green reveals that the last major reforms in Anglophone theft law, which took place almost fifty years ago, flattened moral distinctions, so that the same punishments are now assigned to vastly different offenses. Unreflective of community attitudes toward theft, which favor gradations in blameworthiness according to what is stolen and under what circumstances, and uninfluenced by advancements in criminal law theory, theft law cries out for another reformation — and soon.
Green power engineering: pedagogy for the next generation of electrical engineers

The modern power system faces the greatest challenges it has seen in its brief history: new technologies (generation, IT, etc.), market economics and competition, corporate environmental responsibility, and society are growing reliability expectations. Where will the expertise for the new generation multidisciplinary power engineer who must design, operate, and manage it come from? The training must begin at the undergraduate engineering level where the myriad of scientific and economic bases for the modern electric power system can be taught holistically. Increased demand for expertise in power engineering, and particularly green power engineering, comes at a time when many undergraduate EETECE curricula are already strained to address the many emergent topics created by technology change in this rapidly evolving discipline. Fortunately, one university's experience using an agile learning environment demonstrates that key pedagogical competencies and experiences in green power engineering can be accomplished within an existing ECE program.
A server-client based distributed processing for an Unscented Kalman filter for cooperative localization

For a group of mobile robots with communication and computation capabilities, we consider a cooperative localization algorithm based on Unscented Kalman filtering. We present a server-client paradigm to distribute the computational cost of this algorithm among team members. The highest computational cost of the Unscented Kalamn filter comes from calculating the collective covariance matrix of the team and its square root, normally obtained by Cholesky decomposition. Our server-client based computationally distributed algorithm is centered on identifying an appropriate Cholesky decomposition algorithm which allows a coordinated computational task allocation among team members.
MONOIDS WITH IDEMPOTENT CROSS-SECTIONS

In this paper we consider monoids M with an idempotent cross-section Λ of regular -classes such that for all idempotents e, f of M with e≥f, there exists x in the unit group such that x-1ex, x-1fx∈Λ. Such monoids arise frequently in connection with group representations. We show that Λ is then necessarily a semilattice and that the idempotent structure of M can for the most part, be determined within the unit group. We identify a particular class of "canonical monoids" inspired by some projective compactifications of algebraic groups. We show that these canonical monoids are 0-semilattice unions of completely 0-simple semigroups.
Phylogenetic Analysis and Classification of the Fungal bHLH Domain

The basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) domain is an essential highly conserved DNA-binding domain found in many transcription factors in all eukaryotic organisms. The bHLH domain has been well studied in the Animal and Plant Kingdoms but has yet to be characterized within Fungi. Herein, we obtained and evaluated the phylogenetic relationship of 490 fungal-specific bHLH containing proteins from 55 whole genome projects composed of 49 Ascomycota and 6 Basidiomycota organisms. We identified 12 major groupings within Fungi (F1-F12); identifying conserved motifs and functions specific to each group. Several classification models were built to distinguish the 12 groups and elucidate the most discerning sites in the domain. Performance testing on these models, for correct group classification, resulted in a maximum sensitivity and specificity of 98.5% and 99.8%, respectively. We identified 12 highly discerning sites and incorporated those into a set of rules (simplified model) to classify sequences into the correct group. Conservation of amino acid sites and phylogenetic analyses established that like plant bHLH proteins, fungal bHLH-containing proteins are most closely related to animal Group B. The models used in these analyses were incorporated into a software package, the source code for which is available at www.fungalgenomics.ncsu.edu.
Association of chronic liver disease with depression: a population-based study.

Objective Chronic liver diseases (CLD) have been associated with depression. Our aim was to assess the association of different types of CLD with depression in a population-based cohort. Methods We examined data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2005–2010). We included adult patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C), chronic hepatitis B (CH-B), alcohol-related liver disease (ALD), and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) survey was used as a depression screener. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine independent variables associated with each type of CLD and depression. Results The cohort included 10,231 NHANES participants. After multivariate analysis, CH-C was independently associated with age (OR = 1.05, 95% CI: 1.03–1.07), male gender (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.19–2.97), African American race/ethnicity (OR = 2.50, 95% CI:1.50–4.18), smoking (OR = 6.20, 95% CI: 1.62–23.68), injection drug use (OR = 52.86, 95% CI:32.87–85.03), and depression (OR = 2.87, 95% CI: 1.78–4.62). CH-B was independently associated with being non-Caucasian (for African Americans OR = 5.09, 95% CI: 2.41–10.76, for other races OR = 4.74, 95% CI: 2.32–9.70). ALD was independently associated with younger age (OR = 0.98, 95% CI: 0.96–0.99), male gender (OR = 1.53, 95% CI: 1.19–1.95), Mexican American race/ethnicity (OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.87–3.69), and moderate to heavy smoking (OR = 2.08, 95% CI: 1.46–2.96). Finally, presence of insulin resistance [OR = 2.65 95% CI: 1.98–3.55], diabetes [OR = 1.54 95% CI: 1.11–2.13], and Mexican American race/ethnicity [OR = 2.03(1.35–3.06)], were predictive of NAFLD. Conclusions Although depression has been suspected to be associated with a number of CLD, this association remains strong only for CH-C.
Shallow Acceptor States in ZnTe and CdTe

The group $\mathrm{V}A$ element P and the group $\mathrm{I}A$ elements Li and Na give rise to shallow acceptor centers in ZnTe and in CdTe. An analysis of the carrier concentration data for Li-doped ZnTe and P-doped ZnTe on the basis of a single-level acceptor and nondegenerate statistics indicates that P and Li produce shallow, hydrogenic-type acceptor levels in ZnTe. Annealing studies demonstrate that the shallow levels in Li-doped ZnTe and CdTe may be removed by heat treatment at 250\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C for tens of hours. The concentrations of shallow acceptors in P-doped ZnTe and Na-doped ZnTe are relatively unchanged by the annealing procedure. The effective mass for holes in ZnTe as deduced from the Hall analysis is $0.36m$, where $m$ is the free-electron mass.
Ursodeoxycholic acid modulates histone acetylation and induces differentiation and senescence.

Agents that can modulate colonic environment and control dysregulated signaling are being evaluated for their chemopreventive potential in colon cancer. Ursodeoxycholate (UDCA) has shown chemopreventive potential in preclinical and animal models of colon cancer, but the mechanism behind it remains unknown. Here biological effects of UDCA were examined to understand mechanism behind its chemoprevention in colon cancer. Our data suggests that UDCA can suppress growth in a wide variety of cancer cell lines and can induce low level of apoptosis in colon cancer cells. We also found that UDCA treatment induces alteration in morphology, increased cell size, upregulation of cytokeratin 8, 18 and 19 and E-cadherin, cytokeratin remodeling and accumulation of lipid droplets, suggesting that UDCA induces differentiation in colon carcinoma cells. Our results also suggest significant differences in UDCA and sodium butyrate induced functional differentiation. We also report for the first time that UDCA can induce senescence in colon cancer cells as assessed by flattened, spread out and vacuolated morphology as well as by senescence marker β-galactosidase staining. We also found that UDCA inhibits the telomerase activity. Surprisingly, we found that UDCA is not a histone deacytylase inhibitor but instead induces hypoacetylation of histones unlike hyperacetylation induced by sodium butyrate. Our results also suggest that, although UDCA induced senescence is p53, p21 and Rb independent, HDAC6 appears to be important in UDCA induced senescence. In summary, our data shows that UDCA modulates chromatin by inducing histone hypoacetylation and induces differentiation and senescence in colon cancer cells. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Parallel Implementation of Periodic Boundary Conditions for a Curvilinear Immersed Boundary Method

In this paper, a periodic boundary condition is implemented for 3D unsteady finite volume solver for incompressible Navier-Stokes equations on curvilinear structured grids containing moving immersed boundaries of arbitrary geometrical complexity. The governing equations are discretized with second-order accuracy on a hybrid staggered/non-staggered grid layout. The discrete equations are integrated in time via a second-order fractional step method. To resolve all the relevant scales in the flow accurately, a high-resolution curvilinear mesh is required, i.e., the simulations are computationally expensive. Therefore, high-performance parallel computing is essential to obtain results within reasonable time for practical applications. The main challenge with the implantation of the parallel periodic boundary condition is to update information at ghost nodes on different processors. An efficient parallel algorithm is implemented to update the ghost nodes for the periodic boundary condition. The parallel implementation is tested by comparing the results with analytical solutions, which are found to be in excellent agreement with each other. The parallel performance of the solver with the periodic boundary condition is also investigated for different cases.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Mitigating grain growth in binary nanocrystalline alloys through solute selection based on thermodynamic stability maps

Abstract Mitigating grain growth at high temperatures in binary nanocrystalline alloys is important for processing nanocrystalline alloy systems. The objective of this research is to develop a methodical design-based approach for selecting solutes in binary nanocrystalline alloys by revisiting grain boundary thermodynamics and the internal processes of grain growth and solute segregation in a closed system. In this work, the grain boundary energy is derived and systematically studied in terms of temperature, grain size, concentration, and solute segregation for binary systems of 44 solvents and 52 solutes, using readily-available elemental data, such as moduli and liquid enthalpy of mixing. It is shown that through solute segregation, the grain boundary energies of some binary systems can be reduced, resulting in thermodynamically stable grain structures and successful prediction of solutes that inhibit grain growth in some nanocrystalline alloys. Parametric studies reveal trends between equilibrium grain size, solute distribution and temperature for various binary systems culminating in the generation of nanocrystalline thermodynamic stability maps as a tool for solute selection in binary nanocrystalline alloys.
An Analogue Approach to Identify Heavy Precipitation Events: Evaluation and Application to CMIP5 Climate Models in the United States

AbstractAn analogue method is presented to detect the occurrence of heavy precipitation events without relying on modeled precipitation. The approach is based on using composites to identify distinct large-scale atmospheric conditions associated with widespread heavy precipitation events across local scales. These composites, exemplified in the south-central, midwestern, and western United States, are derived through the analysis of 27-yr (1979–2005) Climate Prediction Center (CPC) gridded station data and the NASA Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA). Circulation features and moisture plumes associated with heavy precipitation events are examined. The analogues are evaluated against the relevant daily meteorological fields from the MERRA reanalysis and achieve a success rate of around 80% in detecting observed heavy events within one or two days. The method also captures the observed interannual variations of seasonal heavy events with higher correlation and smaller RMS...
Integrated control of solidification microstructure and melt pool dimensions in electron beam wire feed additive manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V

Abstract The ability to deposit a consistent and predictable solidification microstructure can greatly accelerate additive manufacturing (AM) process qualification. Process mapping is an approach that represents process outcomes in terms of process variables. In this work, a solidification microstructure process map was developed using finite element analysis for deposition of single beads of Ti-6Al-4V via electron beam wire feed AM processes. Process variable combinations yielding constant beta grain size and morphology were identified. Comparison with a previously developed process map for melt pool geometry shows that maintaining a constant melt pool cross sectional area will also yield a constant grain size. Additionally, the grain morphology boundaries are similar to curves of constant melt pool aspect ratio. Experimental results support the numerical predictions and identify a proportional size scaling between beta grain widths and melt pool widths. Results further demonstrate that in situ indirect control of solidification microstructure is possible through direct melt pool dimension control.
Hysteresis modeling with a Nyström discretization of the quasi-magnetostatic volume integral equation

A quasi-magnetostatic volume integral equation discretized using the Nystrom method is presented. The integral equation is formulated in terms of the differential susceptibility for use in hysteresis modeling. A simple stepped algorithm for hysteresis modeling of non-linear magnetic materials is studied. The algorithm is investigated using two non-linear models: a unified hysteresis model and the Jiles-Atherton model. Results are presented for a magnetic sphere excited by an alternating field and the computed results compare well with analytic results. The algorithm also captures minor loops.
Open-tubular capillary electrochromatography of small polar molecules using etched, chemically modified capillaries

The migration characteristics of small polar molecules are evaluated on etched, chemically modified capillaries with four different moieties (C5, C18, diol and cholesterol) bonded onto a silica hydride surface. The effects of pH on migration are used to determine the possible contributions of eletrophoretic mobility, electroosmotic flow (EOF) and analyte/bonded phase interactions. The EOF on etched capillaries is more complicated than on ordinary fused capillaries because it changes from anodic to cathodic as the pH is raised. A mixture of neurotransmitters and related compounds is used to further evaluate the effects of the bonded moiety on the separation properties of this particular electrophoretic format.
The function and regulation of Ultrabithorax in the legs of Drosophila melanogaster

Alterations in Hox gene expression patterns have been implicated in both large and small-scale morphological evolution. An improved understanding of these changes requires a detailed understanding of Hox gene cis-regulatory function and evolution. cis-regulatory evolution of the Hox gene Ultrabithorax (Ubx) has been shown to contribute to evolution of trichome patterns on the posterior second femur (T2p) of Drosophila species. As a step toward determining how this function of Ubx has evolved, we performed a series of experiments to clarify the role of Ubx in patterning femurs and to identify the cis-regulatory regions of Ubx that drive expression in T2p. We first performed clonal analysis to further define Ubx function in patterning bristle and trichome patterns in the legs. We found that low levels of Ubx expression are sufficient to repress an eighth bristle row on the posterior second and third femurs, whereas higher levels of expression are required to promote the development and migration of other bristles on the third femur and to repress trichomes. We then tested the hypothesis that the evolutionary difference in T2p trichome patterns due to Ubx was caused by a change in the global cis-regulation of Ubx expression. We found no evidence to support this view, suggesting that the evolved difference in Ubx function reflects evolution of a leg-specific enhancer. We then searched for the regulatory regions of the Ubx locus that drive expression in the second and third femur by assaying all existing regulatory mutations of the Ubx locus and new deficiencies in the large intron of Ubx that we generated by P-element-induced male recombination. We found that two enhancer regions previously known to regulate Ubx expression in the legs, abx and pbx, are required for Ubx expression in the third femur, but that they do not contribute to pupal expression of Ubx in the second femur. This analysis allowed us to rule out at least 100 kb of DNA in and around the Ubx locus as containing a T2p-specific enhancer. We then surveyed an additional approximately 30 kb using enhancer constructs. None of these enhancer constructs produced an expression pattern similar to Ubx expression in T2p. Thus, after surveying over 95% of the Ubx locus, we have not been able to localize a T2p-specific enhancer. While the enhancer could reside within the small regions we have not surveyed, it is also possible that the enhancer is structurally complex and/or acts only within its native genomic context.
Verbal irony in the wild

Verbal irony constitutes a rough class of indirect intentional communication involving a complex interaction of language-specific and communication-general phenomena. Conversationalists use verbal irony in conjunction with paralinguistic signals such as speech prosody. Researchers examining acoustic features of speech communication usually focus on how prosodic information relates to the surface structure of utterances, and often ignore prosodic phenomena associated with implied meaning. In the case of verbal irony, there exists some debate concerning how these prosodic features manifest themselves in conversation. A form-function approach can provide a valuable tool for understanding speakers’ varied vocal strategies in this domain. Here I describe several ways conversationalists employ prosodic contrasts, laughter, and other speech characteristics in their attempts to communicate effectively and efficiently. The presented examples, culled from spontaneous conversation recordings, reveal just a small sample of the enormous variation in delivery styles speakers adopt when communicating with ironic language.
Activity rhythms in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana

Abstract The American cockroach has been the object of much attention with respect ot its biological rhythm of activity. Some authors have indicated the presence of both exogenous and endogenous activity rhythms in adult males. The object of the present study was to determine the variability of such rhythms in a laboratory population, as assayed with two types of recording instruments, one of which was a capacitance monitor. The second and most frequently employed instrument was a running wheel cage. Exogenous (entrained) rhythms were determined in an LD/12 : 12 lighting regimen, and endogenous (free-running) rhythms were determined in constant darkness. Under an LD/12 : 12 lighting regimen, 93·4 per cent demonstrated entrained rhythms or patterns (loose or weak rhythms), and 4·4 per cent displayed apparent random activity. The rhythms and patterns generally were similar to those previously described in the literature, namely the onset of activity occurring within the first few hours of darkness, followed by a relatively quiescent period in the latter part of the dark period and throughout most of the light period. However, a large proportion (31·8 per cent) also possessed a secondary active phase in the first hours of light. Of 75 adult male cockroaches examined in constant darkness, 34·7 per cent exhibited free-running rhythms, 40·0 per cent demonstrated free-running patterns, and 25·3 per cent displayed apparent random activity. The possibility was discussed that a laboratory strain of cockroaches does not show a high percentage of free-running rhythms since the presence of these rhythms is of little survival value. The adult female cockroaches examined did not exhibit activity rhythms that were related to the lighting regimen. A possible relationship of activity to the reproductive cycle was suggested by some experiments, i.e. active when carrying an ootheca and relatively quiescent after deposition. Only virgin females exhibited an entrained activity rhythm similar to that of the adult males.
Isabelle of France: Capetian Sanctity and Franciscan Identity in the Thirteenth Century – By Sean L. Field

Although this biography of Louis-IX's younger sister has some of the usual weaknesses of revised dissertations, it is still immensely interesting, for many of the same reasons that Jacques Le Goff'...
Characterization of high pI α-glucosidase from germinated barley seeds: substrate specificity, subsite affinities and active-site residues☆

Abstract Substrate specificity and subsite affinities of high pl α-glucosidase from germinated barley ( Hordeum vulgare L.) seeds were investigated by kinetics. The enzyme has only one maltose binding site per molecule and shows high activity on small maltooligosaccharides and nigerose. Hydrolysis of isomaltose and p -nitrophenyl α-glucoside is moderate. Trehalose is not hydrolyzed at detectable rates. The ratios of the maximum velocities for maltose, nigerose, isomaltose, p -nitrophenyl α-glucoside and malto-triose, -tetraose, -pentaose, -hexaose, -heptaose are 100:95:21:9:111:116:119:104:111. The K m values for these substrates are 1.91, 1.29, 5.32, 1.04, 1.11, 2.37, 2.92, 5.44 and 7.89 mM, respectively. Based on the rate parameters for maltooligosaccharides, the subsite affinities ( A i s) in the active site of the enzyme were evaluated according to subsite theory. Subsites 1, 2 and 3, having positive A i values ( A 1 , A 2 and A 3 ; 1.34, 5.37 and 0.27 kcal/mol, respectively), were considered to be effective for the binding of substrate to the active site. The different arrangement of subsite affinities among α-glucosidases, glucoamylases and amylases was used to explain their substrate specificities.
Platelet-activating factor and Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections

The role of platelet-activating factor (PAF), a phospholipid inflammatory mediator, in Escherichia coli O157:H7-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is unknown. PAF is synthesized by diverse cells and is degraded by PAF-acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH). Deficient PAF-AH activity results from a G→T transversion at position 994 of exon 9. We examined children infected with E. coli O157:H7 to determine if PAF levels or the PAF-AH (G994T) mutation reflects the risk of developing HUS. Plasma PAF concentrations were determined using chloroform/methanol extraction, thin layer chromatography purification, and scintillation proximity assay in 10 patients with uncomplicated infection (UI), 10 infected patients who subsequently developed HUS (pre-HUS), 5 HUS patients, and 8 healthy controls. The PAF-AH (G994T) allele frequency was determined in 52 UI children, 15 with HUS, and 11 controls. Wilcoxon rank sum tests were performed to test differences in location (median) of pairs of groups. PAF levels were higher in the UI (P=0.04) and pre-HUS (P=0.01) groups than in healthy controls. No subject had the PAF-AH (G994T) allele. Thus, elevated plasma PAF levels occur in E. coli O157:H7-infected children, even without HUS, but diminish when HUS develops. The PAF-AH (G994T) allele does not contribute to the risk of developing HUS.