cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surgical Intervention for Chronic Mesenteric Ischemia

Symptomatic chronic mesenteric ischemia (CMI) is a relatively rare condition, yet there are significant clinical consequences for those affected by the disease. CMI not only reduces quality of life but also increases an individual's risk for life-threatening acute mesenteric ischemia. Surgery is the definitive treatment to reduce the risk for this potentially fatal outcome, and both endovascular and open surgical strategies are currently utilized. This review article discusses the approach to making a diagnosis of CMI, as well as the surgical techniques used to revascularize the mesenteric circulation.
Clinical utility of one month imaging following selective internal radiation therapy

Abstract Purpose The goal of this retrospective review was to determine the clinical relevance of one-month post-treatment imaging in the selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) patient population by reporting the incidence of change in clinical management. Materials and methods Between January 2012 and January 2016, 85 patients underwent 109 SIRT treatments for either primary or secondary hepatic malignancies. There were 59 men and 26 women with a mean age of 62.4 years (range: 39–89 years). Patients’ medical records were retrospectively reviewed for procedural, historical, laboratory and imaging information. The imaging study was considered to have changed patients’ clinical management if it resulted in the addition of a new procedure, canceling of a planned procedure or change in systemic therapy. Results The one-month post-treatment imaging findings led to management changes in 10 of 109 (9.2%) of treatments. When evaluated by cancer type, 2/61 (3.3%) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatments had management changed while 8/48 (16.7%) non-HCC treatments underwent management change (P = 0.03). This difference was also significant at multivariate analysis (P = 0.03; odds ratio: 0.17 [0.03–082]). Conclusion Management is rarely changed by one-month post-SIRT imaging in patients with HCC and thus is likely unwarranted. Conversely, in non-HCC patients, one month post-SIRT imaging led to a significant percentage of clinical management changes suggesting that one month imaging in this setting is likely warranted.
The Changing Epidemiology of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Are Patients Getting Younger?

Background/Aims Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a common disease globally with increasing prevalence and consequently greater burden on the Healthcare system. Traditionally, GERD has been considered a disease of middle-aged and older people. Since risk factors for GERD affect a growing number of the adult population, concerns have been raised that increasingly younger people may develop GERD. We aim to determine if the proportion of younger patients has increased among the GERD population. Methods The incidence of GERD as well as several variables were evaluated during an 11-year period. Explorys was used to evaluate datasets at a "Universal" and Healthcare system in northern Ohio to determine if trends at a local level reflected those at a universal level. GERD patients were classified into 7 age groups (15-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, and ≥ 70 years). Results The proportion of patients with GERD increased in all age groups, except for those who were ≥ 70 years in the universal dataset (P < 0.001) and those who were ≥ 60 years in the Healthcare system (P < 0.001). The greatest rise was seen in 30-39 years in both datasets (P < 0.001). Similarly, the proportion of GERD patients who were using proton pump inhibitors increased in all age groups except for those who were ≥ 70 years in both datasets (P < 0.001), with the greatest increase being the group 30-39 years (P < 0.001). Conclusion Over the last decade, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of younger patients with GERD, especially those within the age range of 30-39 years.
Application of diffusion-weighted MR imaging with ADC measurement for distinguishing between the histopathological types of sinonasal neoplasms.

Abstract Purpose To evaluate the potential contribution of quantitative DWI parameters including ADCmean and ADCratio values to help in distinguishing the histopathological types of sinonasal neoplasms. Methods This retrospective study included 83 patients (50 males, 33 females; mean age 61 years) with pathologically proven untreated sinonasal neoplasms who have undergone diffusion-weighted MRI imaging from February 2010 to August 2017. Diffusion-weighted MRI was performed on a 3 T unit with b factors of 0 and 1000 s/mm2, and ADC maps were generated. Mean ADC values of sinonasal tumors and ADC ratios (ADCmean of the tumor to ADCmean of pterygoid muscles) were compared with the histopathological diagnosis by utilizing the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test. Results Mean ADCmean and ADCratio were 0.8 (SD, ±0.4) × (10−3 mm2/s) and 1.2 (SD, ±0.5), respectively, and each parameter was significantly different between histopathological types (p Conclusions The optimized ADCmean threshold of 0.80 (10−3 mm2/s) could be used to differentiate ACC from non-ACC sinonasal neoplasms with maximal discriminatory accuracy (82%) and sensitivity of 100%. However, there is considerable overlapping of the ADCmean and ADCratio values among non-ACC sinonasal neoplasms hence surgical biopsy is still needed.
Selective light modulation in waveguide grating using phase change materials (Conference Presentation)

This paper reports for the first time a high-contrast, low-power reflective color filter employing a phase change material in a waveguide grating with different periods. Refractive index modulation is produced by crystallographic phase transition of Germanium Telluride (GeTe) using an external stimulus, such as heat. Nanostrips of GeTe are used due to their reliable, fast, and reversible phase transitions. These thin nanostrips reduce the total light absorption and yield a vivid, bright reflected color. Moreover, a buried optical waveguide consisting of a silicon nitride (Si3N4) core, which was grown between two layers of silicon dioxide (SiO2) cladding, is placed under these gratings to enhance the color contrast. The waveguide resonance is enhanced using a bottom palladium reflector and GeTe gratings above with different periods. Selective absorption within visible-NIR region that depend on the period of the grating and the phase of the GeTe is introduced within these devices for the first time. A unique anti-reflective coating was also re-introduced to suppress the surface reflection, thus enhancing the color contrast. Vivid reflected red and green colors have been shown for a device with active area of 400 μm2. These colors were electrically transitioned to blue and yellow, respectively, for several cycles. We further report that GeTe nanostrips with different cross-sectional areas demonstrate different phase transition behaviors. Thus, several colors were achieved within the same area of the device employing GeTe nanostrips with different periods.
Chronic subthreshold cortical stimulation and stimulation-related EEG biomarkers for focal epilepsy.

Brain stimulation offers an alternative to focal resection for the treatment of focal drug-resistant epilepsy. Chronic subthreshold cortical stimulation is an individualized biomarker-informed open-loop continuous electrical stimulation approach targeting the seizure onset zone and surrounding areas. Before permanent implantation, trial stimulation is performed during invasive monitoring to assess stimulation efficacy as well as to optimize stimulation location and parameters by modifying interictal EEG biomarkers. We present clinical and neurophysiological results from a retrospective analysis of 21 patients, showing a median percent reduction in seizure frequency of 100% and responder rate of 89% with a median follow-up of 27 months. About 40% of patients were free of disabling seizures for a 12-month period or longer. We find that stimulation-induced decreases in delta (1-4 Hz) power and increases in alpha and beta (8-20 Hz) power during trial stimulation correlate with improved long-term clinical outcomes. These results suggest chronic subthreshold cortical stimulation may be an effective alternative approach to treating focal drug-resistant epilepsy and that short-term stimulation-related changes in spectral power may be a useful interictal biomarker and relate to long-term clinical outcome.
Aortic valve repair with a newly approved geometric annuloplasty ring in patients undergoing proximal aortic repair: early results from a single-centre experience.

Objectives Aortic insufficiency (AI) is common in patients with proximal aortic disease, but limited options exist to facilitate aortic valve repair (AVr) in this population. This study reports 'real-world' early results of AVr using newly FDA-approved trileaflet and bicuspid geometric annuloplasty rings for patients with AI undergoing proximal aortic repair (PAR) in a single referral centre. Methods All patients undergoing AVr with a rigid internal geometric annuloplasty ring (n = 47) in conjunction with PAR (ascending +/- root +/- arch) were included. Thirty-six patients underwent AVr with a trileaflet ring, and 11 patients underwent AVr with a bicuspid ring. The rings were implanted in the subannular position, and concomitant leaflet repair was performed if required for cusp prolapse identified after ring placement. Results The median age was 58 years [interquartile range (IQR) 46-70]. PAR included supracoronary ascending replacement in 26 (55%) patients and remodelling valve-sparing root replacement with selective sinus replacement in 20 (42%) patients. Arch replacement was performed in 38 (81%) patients, including hemi-arch in 34 patients and total arch in 4 patients. There was no 30-day/in-hospital mortality. Preoperative AI was 3-4+ in 37 (79%) patients. Forty-one (87%) patients had zero-trace AI on post-repair transoesophageal echocardiography, and 6 patients had 1+ AI. The median early post-repair mean gradient was 13 mmHg (IQR 5-20). Follow-up imaging was available in 32 (68%) patients at a median of 11 months (IQR 10-13) postsurgery. AI was ≤1+ in 97% of patients with 2+ AI in 1 patient. All patients were alive and free from aortic valve reintervention at last follow-up. Conclusions Early results with geometric rigid internal ring annuloplasty for AVr in patients undergoing PAR appear promising and allow a standardized approach to repair with annular diameter reduction and cusp plication when needed. Longer-term follow-up will be required to ensure the durability of the procedure.
PI31 expression prevents neuronal degeneration in a mouse Parkinson Disease model

Abstract Age-related neurodegenerative diseases pose a major unmet health need since no effective treatment strategies are currently available. These disorders are defined by the accumulation of abnormal protein aggregates that impair synaptic function and cause progressive neuronal degeneration. Therefore, stimulating protein clearance mechanisms may be neuro-protective. The proteasome regulator PI31 promotes local protein degradation at synapses by mediating fast proteasome transport in neurites, and loss of PI31 function causes neuronal degeneration. Here we show that transgenic expression of PI31 in a mouse Parkinson’s Disease model preserves neuronal function and greatly extends animal health and lifespan. These results indicate that targeting the PI31-pathway may have therapeutic value for treating neurodegenerative disorders.
The dynamic treatment of SARS-CoV-2 disease

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) or novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged from China in December 2019 and progressed to become a global pandemic. Our understanding of its pathophysiology and potential management was initially extrapolated from previous epidemics of coronaviruses like SARS and MERS. SARS-CoV-2 is asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic in more than 80% of patients and requires no additional management; however, the remaining patients progress to pneumonia and hypoxemia with ranging severity, including a smaller group that requires intensive care unit admission. To date, there are no approved treatments for SARS-CoV-2, and current management is focused on supplemental oxygen and supportive care. The antiviral medication remdesivir recently received emergency use authorization by the US Food and Drug Administration for patients with severe disease. Multiple clinical trials evaluating different treatment modalities such as antivirals, immunomodulators, convalescent plasma, and monoclonal antibodies, among others, are still ongoing. We believe that patients present with clinical phenotypes that correlate with the spectrum of disease. Each phenotype may benefit from one or multiple interventions. We discuss treatments under evaluation in clinical trials and their potential application based on clinical phenotype presentation.
Adult Inactivation of the Recessive Polycystic Kidney Disease Gene Causes Polycystic Liver Disease.

Background A major difference between autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) and autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) lies in the pattern of inheritance, and the resultant timing and focality of cyst formation. In both diseases, cysts form in the kidney and liver as a consequence of the cellular recessive genotype of the respective disease gene, but this occurs by germline inheritance in ARPKD and somatic second hit mutations to the one normal allele in ADPKD. The fibrocystic liver phenotype in ARPKD is attributed to abnormal ductal plate formation because of the absence of PKHD1 expression during embryogenesis and organ development. The finding of polycystic liver disease in a subset of adult PKHD1 heterozygous carriers raises the question of whether somatic second hit mutations in PKHD1 in adults may also result in bile duct-derived cyst formation. Methods We used an adult-inducible Pkhd1 mouse model to examine whether Pkhd1 has a functional role in maintaining bile duct homeostasis after normal liver development. Results Inactivation of Pkhd1 beginning at 4 weeks of age resulted in a polycystic liver phenotype with minimal fibrosis at 17 weeks. Increased biliary epithelium, which lines these liver cysts, was most pronounced in female mice. We assessed genetic interaction of this phenotype with either reduced or increased copies of Pkd1, and found no significant effects on the Pkhd1 phenotype in the liver or kidney from altered Pkd1 expression. Conclusions Somatic adult inactivation of Pkhd1 results in a polycystic liver phenotype. Pkhd1 is a required gene in adulthood for biliary structural homeostasis independent of Pkd1. This suggests that PKHD1 heterozygous carrier patients can develop liver cysts after somatic mutations in their normal copy of PKHD1.
Congressional Inquiry and the Federal Criminal Law

Federal criminal law has become so far-reaching that scholars and commentators on both the political left and political right have joined forces to demand serious reforms related to defining, prosecuting, and punishing federal crimes. This Article makes the case for greater attention to, and use of, congressional inquiry powers - investigation and oversight - to constrain the massive federal criminal law regime. This Article first identifies, through existing law and scholarship, some of the problems of the federal regime, including over-federalization, anemic limits on prosecutorial power, and the ordinary politics that contribute to these problems. Using the 2009 and 2010 House hearings on over-criminalization as a case study, this Article argues that both political and constitutional incentives exist for Congress to use its powers of inquiry more robustly to address these problems. Although there is force in the conventional wisdom about the political disincentives for reform and in the contention that investigation and oversight are weak constraints, this Article argues that the conventional wisdom is overstated and that constitutional government demands both a serious effort at criminal law reform and healthy conflict with the executive (which would be an inevitable consequence of the reform effort). By enabling sober and informed discourse about constitutional limits in defining the criminal law, and by asserting congressional prerogatives to hold executive branch actors accountable for their own role in perpetuating the federal criminal law behemoth, robust congressional inquiry of the federal criminal justice regime can help to restore at least some of Congress’s constitutional consciousness.
Interaction of Obesity and Hypertension on Cardiac Metabolic Remodeling and Survival Following Myocardial Infarction.

Background Obesity and hypertension are risk factors for myocardial infarction (MI); however, their potential interactions on post‐MI outcomes are unclear. We examined interactions of obesity and h...
Reinforcement Learning and Control of a Lower Extremity Exoskeleton for Squat Assistance

A significant challenge for the control of a robotic lower extremity rehabilitation exoskeleton is to ensure stability and robustness during programmed tasks or motions, which is crucial for the safety of the mobility-impaired user. Due to various levels of the user's disability, the human-exoskeleton interaction forces and external perturbations are unpredictable and could vary substantially and cause conventional motion controllers to behave unreliably or the robot to fall down. In this work, we propose a new, reinforcement learning-based, motion controller for a lower extremity rehabilitation exoskeleton, aiming to perform collaborative squatting exercises with efficiency, stability, and strong robustness. Unlike most existing rehabilitation exoskeletons, our exoskeleton has ankle actuation on both sagittal and front planes and is equipped with multiple foot force sensors to estimate center of pressure (CoP), an important indicator of system balance. This proposed motion controller takes advantage of the CoP information by incorporating it in the state input of the control policy network and adding it to the reward during the learning to maintain a well balanced system state during motions. In addition, we use dynamics randomization and adversary force perturbations including large human interaction forces during the training to further improve control robustness. To evaluate the effectiveness of the learning controller, we conduct numerical experiments with different settings to demonstrate its remarkable ability on controlling the exoskeleton to repetitively perform well balanced and robust squatting motions under strong perturbations and realistic human interaction forces.
Disability in the Hebrew Bible: Interpreting Mental and Physical Differences

Introduction 1. Constructions of beauty and ugliness 2. Physical disabilities classified as 'defects' 3. Physical disabilities not classified as 'defects' 4. Mental disability 5. Disability in the prophetic Utopian vision 6. Non-somatic parallels to bodily wholeness and 'defect' 7. Exegetical perpetuations, elaborations and transformations: the case of Qumran 8. Conclusion.
Results of NASA/Noaa Hes Trade Studies

This slide presentation reviews the trade studies that were done for the Hyperspectral Environmental Suite (HES). The goal of the trade studies was to minimize instrument cost and risk while producing scientifically useful products. Three vendors were selected to perform the trade study, and were to conduct 11 studies, with the first study a complete wish list of things that scientists would like from GEO orbit to the 11th study which was for a Reduced Accommodation Sounder (RAS) which would still result in useful scientific products, within constrains compatible with flight on GEOS-R. The RAS's from each vendor and one other HES sounders designs are reviewed.
Radiogenic production of 10Be and 26Al in uranium and thorium ores: Implications for studying terrestrial samples containing low levels of 10Be and 26Al

10Be and 26Al are produced by cosmic-ray-induced spallation of atmospheric constituents, and also as has recently been shown, by spallation in the rocks exposed to cosmic rays. We now present experimental data showing that these two isotopes can also be produced by radiation from uranium and thorium decay chain radionuclides contained within the host rocks. We have measured the 10Be and 26Al concentrations in a number of shielded uranium (spontaneous fission half-life ~1026 years) and thorium (no spontaneous-fission-decay mode) ores using accelerator mass spectrometry. The concentrations of 10Be and 26Al range from 2.8·106 to 29.6·106 and 1.1 · 107 to 1.43·10 atoms g−, respectively. The high concentrations of 10Be and 26Al imply unacceptably-high branching ratios (~ 10−4 to 10−1) for their production from spontaneous fission and coupled with the presence of 10Be and 26A1 in the Th ores, eliminate spontaneous fission as the major source of either isotope. The large 26A1 to 10Be ratio found in all the samples eliminates atmospheric production. The most likely sources are the alpha reactions, 7Li(α, p)10Be and 23Na(α, n)26Al, and neutron reactions, 9Be(n,γ)10Be,10B(n, p)10Be and 13C(n, α)10Be. Our work provides an upper limit on the contribution of in situ radioactivity to samples containing low levels of 10Be and 26Al. We have calculated the equilibrium concentrations of 10Be and 26Al in a wide variety of geologic materials including granites, ultramafic rocks, basalts, shales, pelagic sediments, ferromanganese nodules, tektites and Libyan Desert Glass. The calculated concentrations of 10Be and 26Al range from <1 to 4100 and 9 to 10.3 · 106 atoms g−1, respectively. Implications of these calculations are discussed. In general, the calculated amounts of radiogenically produced 10Be in geological materials are quite small and frequently negligible compared to cosmogenic production, while that of 26Al are significant and sometimes the dominant source.
Youth tobacco use type and associations with substance use disorders.

Aims To examine the associations between youth poly-tobacco use and substance use disorders. Design Analysis of data from the 2007–11 US National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Setting Randomly selected, household-dwelling adolescents from the non-institutionalized, civilian population of the United States. Participants A total of 91 152 adolescents (aged 12–17 years). Methods Logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between type of tobacco user (non-user, users of alternative tobacco products only, users of cigarettes only and users of cigarettes plus alternative tobacco products) with past year alcohol, marijuana or other illicit drug use disorders, adjusting for demographic and social variables. Findings Compared with non-users of tobacco, the greatest risk for substance use disorders was among users of cigarettes plus alternative tobacco products [alcohol disorder adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 18.3, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 16.2–20.6; marijuana disorder aOR = 37.2, 95% CI = 32.5–42.7; other drug disorder aOR = 18.4, 95% CI = 15.4–21.8], followed by users of cigarettes only (alcohol disorder aOR = 9.6, 95% CI = 8.8–10.6; marijuana disorder aOR = 20.4, 95% CI = 18.1–23.0; other drug disorder aOR = 9.4, 95% CI = 7.8–11.4), then users of alternative tobacco products only (alcohol disorder aOR = 8.1, 95% CI = 6.7–9.6; marijuana disorder aOR = 9.2, 95% CI = 7.5–11.4; other drug disorder aOR = 3.2, 95% CI = 2.4–4.3). Conclusions Tobacco use in adolescence is associated with higher rates of substance use disorders across all tobacco users, especially among those who use cigarettes plus other tobacco products.
Turnover of extracellular DNA in eutrophic and oligotrophic freshwater environments of southwest Florida.

The turnover of extracellular DNA was investigated in oligotrophic springs of the Crystal River and the eutrophic Medard Reservoir of southwest Florida. The Medard Reservoir possessed large populations of bacterioplankton and phytoplankton (6.8 × 109 cells per liter and 28.6 μg of chlorophyll a per liter, respectively), while the Crystal River springs only contained a fraction of the microbial biomass found in the Medard Reservoir. Although dissolved DNA values were greater in the Medard Reservoir, higher rates of DNA removal resulted in similar extracellular DNA turnover times in both environments (9.62 ± 3.6 h in the Crystal River and 10.5 ± 2.1 h in the Medard Reservoir). These results indicate that regardless of trophic status or microbial standing stock, extracellular DNA turns over rapidly in subtropical planktonic freshwater environments. Therefore, recombinant DNA sequences from released genetically engineered microorganisms might not be expected to survive for long periods of time in freshwater planktonic environments.
Nano-optics of carbon nanotubes: measurement of unperturbed optical transition energies

In this work we present resonant inelastic light scattering (Raman) studies of individual tubes suspended in air. Using high resolution micro-Raman spectroscopy with tunable filters for high throughput we have mapped the resonance Raman profiles for a series of individual SWNTs in the 2n+m = 22 and 29 families and found clear evidence of excitonic interactions from the Raman measurements. Individual suspended SWNTs are grown across etched trenches on a quartz substrate with the chemical vapor deposition technique. For a single suspended tube, the laser excitation energy is tuned to find the electronic resonance, indicated by an intensity maximum of the Raman radial breathing mode (RBM). The Stokes and anti-Stokes double-peaks are offset in energy as expected from incoming and outgoing light resonance with the electronic level. It is demonstrated that the double peaks in the resonance window are separated by the RBM phonon energy, determining the width of the resonance profile
Cross‐Cultural Issues in the Study of Adolescent Development

Cross-Cultural Studies of Adolescence What is Cross-Cultural Research? Central Issues in the Cross-Cultural Study of Adolescence Constants and Variants of Adolescence Across Cultures Discussion Concluding Remarks Keywords: social stage; length of adolescence; marriage; adulthood; socialization; peers; family; peer group; sexual behavior; misbehavior; work; antisocial behavior
The logistics of choice

The generalized matching law (GML) is reconstructed as a logistic regression equation that privileges no particular value of the sensitivity parameter, a. That value will often approach 1 due to the feedback that drives switching that is intrinsic to most concurrent schedules. A model of that feedback reproduced some features of concurrent data. The GML is a law only in the strained sense that any equation that maps data is a law. The machine under the hood of matching is in all likelihood the very law that was displaced by the Matching Law. It is now time to return the Law of Effect to centrality in our science.
The transfer RNA content of rabbit reticulocytes: enumeration of the individual species per cell.

Abstract Rabbit reticulocytes (immature red blood cells which synthesize hemoglobin) contain approximately 4.19 · 10 5 tRNA molecules capable of amino acid acceptance per cell. Reversed phase column chromatography was used to indicate the number of molecules of the isoaccepting species for each amino acid of reticulocyte tRNA. There are from 800 to more than 30 000 molecules of the individual species per reticulocyte. For most amino acids there are 500–1000 tRNA molecules for each residue of the amino acid in rabbit hemoglobin.
Latinos in New York: Communities in Transition

Latinos in New York: Communities in Transition. Gabriel Haslip-Viera and Sherrie L. Baver. eds. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1996. 338 pp.
HIV/Aids: avaliação democrática e a construção coletiva do conhecimento

Evaluation. Formation. Collaboration. These are some of the key themes that are articulated in the work with regard to HIV and AIDS presented in the articles of this special number of the Public Health Review (RSP or Revista de Saude Publica). However the articles differ among themselves in relation to the themes and to the populations studied. They range from beliefs associated with AIDS the practices of truck-drivers the prevention of HIV among the youthful prison population to the construction of class in the evening courses of the public schools or the development of multi-disciplinary teams in HIV/AIDS reference centers - linked by the common vision and by the process of creation. They provide us with new perceptions not merely with regard to their objects of study but principally with regard to the process of study - with regard to the challenges that we have to confront in the search for the formation of the human resources necessary to face up to the AIDS epidemic. (excerpt)
Turn-off failures in individual and paralleled MCTs

A turn-off failure mode in individual MCTs (MOS-controlled thyristors) initiated by a long gate voltage rise-time is identified and analyzed. It is shown to be caused by turn-off current crowding in the MCT. In addition, a differential failure mode in paralleled devices is demonstrated, in which the slower of the two MCTs fails to turn off. It is caused by the Miller effect, which decreases the turn-off gate voltage rise-time for the device with the longer turn-off delay. >
Elements of Moral Cognition: R. M. Hare, Peter Singer, and the Distinction between Empirical and Normative Adequacy

I fully subscribe to the judgment of those writers who maintain that of all the differences between man and the lower animals, the moral sense or conscience is by far the most important. This sense, as Mackintosh remarks, “has a rightful supremacy over every other principle of human action”; it is summed up in that short but imperious word ought , so full of high significance. It is the most noble of all the attributes of man, leading him without a moment's hesitation to risk his life for that of a fellow-creature; or, after due deliberation, impelled simply by the deep feeling of right or duty, to sacrifice it in some great cause. Immanuel Kant exclaims, “Duty! Wondrous thought, that workest neither by fond insinuation, flattery, nor by any threat, but merely by holding up thy naked law in the soul, and so extorting for thyself always reverence, if not always obedience; before whom all appetites are dumb, however secretly they rebel; whence thy original?” – Charles Darwin, The Descent of Man In Part One, I introduced Rawls' linguistic analogy and drew on the work of both Rawls and Chomsky to formulate a new analytic framework for the theory of moral cognition, modeled on aspects of Universal Grammar. In Part Two, I sought to clarify the empirical significance of the linguistic analogy by formulating, and stating a provisional solution to, the problem of descriptive adequacy with respect to a class of considered moral judgments, including the original trolley problems devised by Foot and Thomson.
Biochemical observations on certain insectivorous plants

Abstract The liquor from pitchers of Nepenthes , which were entirely free from insect captures, contained a protease which exerted its activity in a slightly acid medium. Catalase, urease, esterase, diastase, invertase, maltase, lactase, and emulsin were not present in the pitcher liquor. A substance, which reduced Benedict alkaline copper solution, was frequently, but not invariably, present in the pitcher liquor; it was probably sugar derived from the nectar. The pitcher liquor contained chlorides, and did not contain phosphates and saponins. A composite sample of the secretion of the leaves of Dionaea muscipula was examined, and was found to contain a protease which was active in the presence of 0.2 per cent. hydrochloric acid. The leaves of Dionaea miiscipula have been analyzed; and their composition is reported. The author is indebted to Dr. Walter Steckbeck for the photograph of Dioncaea muscipula and to Dr. John M. Macfarlane for those of Nepenthes .
Study on the Performance of Pump Using CFD Tool

In this paper, a numerical simulation of the three-dimensional fluid flow inside a centrifugal pump has been carried out. The pump has a three-vane commercial solid-handling impeller with 853 mm impeller outlet diameter, nominal flow of 0.559 m3/s and 50 m of head at the rotating speed 890 rpm. Because of the large clearance between the impeller and volute of a solids handling pump, their interaction has been neglected in the present study. The flow inside the rotating impeller is investigated without the stator volute to demonstrate the hydraulic performance of the impeller itself. The velocity and pressure distributions inside the impeller operating in the design and off-design conditions are presented. The numerical results of the overall performance attributes such as total differential head and efficiency through the impeller are compared with the test data. The governing equations including continuity, momentum, and turbulence equations are solved in the rotating frame to simulate the three-dimensional turbulent flow inside the impeller by using the commercial Computational Flow Dynamics (CFD) software STAR-CD. The turbulence is modeled by using the high Reynolds standard k-e model.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Factor XI Homodimer Structure Is Essential for Normal Proteolytic Activation by Factor XIIa, Thrombin, and Factor XIa

Coagulation factor XI (FXI) is a covalent homodimer consisting of two identical subunits of 80 kDa linked by a disulfide bond formed by Cys-321 within the Apple 4 domain of each subunit. Because FXIC321S is a noncovalent dimer, residues within the interface between the two subunits must mediate its homodimeric structure. The crystal structure of FXI demonstrates formation of salt bridges between Lys-331 of one subunit and Glu-287 of the other subunit and hydrophobic interactions at the interface of the Apple 4 domains involving Ile-290, Leu-284, and Tyr-329. FXIC321S, FXIC321S,K331A, FXIC321S,E287A, FXIC321S,I290A, FXIC321S,Y329A, FXIC321S,L284A, FXIC321S,K331R, and FXIC321S,H343A were expressed in HEK293 cells and characterized using size exclusion chromatography, analytical ultracentrifugation, electron microscopy, and functional assays. Whereas FXIC321S and FXIC321S,H343A existed in monomer/dimer equilibrium (Kd ∼ 40 nm), all other mutants were predominantly monomers with impaired dimer formation by analytical ultracentrifugation (Kd = 3–38 μm). When converted to the active enzyme, FXIa, all the monomeric mutants activated FIX similarly to wild-type dimeric FXIa. In contrast, these monomeric mutants could not be activated efficiently by FXIIa, thrombin, or autoactivation in the presence of dextran sulfate. We conclude that salt bridges formed between Lys-331 of one subunit and Glu-287 of the other together with hydrophobic interactions at the interface, involving residues Ile-290, Leu-284, and Tyr-329, are essential for homodimer formation. The dimeric structure of FXI is essential for normal proteolytic activation of FXI by FXIIa, thrombin, or FXIa either in solution or on an anionic surface but not for FIX activation by FXIa in solution.
T antigen binds to simian virus 40 DNA at the origin of replication.

Abstract A technique employing ferritin-conjugated antibody has been developed to visualize specific protein-DNA complexes in the electron microscope and has been used to demonstrate the preferential binding of simian virus 40 (SV40) T antigen at or near the origin of replication of SV40 DNA, 0.67 fractional length clockwise from the EcoRI restriction endonuclease cleavage site. urified covalently closed supercoiled circles of SV40DNA were treated with partially purified T antigen and the complex was stabilized by crosslinking with glutaraldehyde. Hamster antiT antigen gamma-globulin, ferritin-labeled goat anti-hamster gamma-globulin, and glutaraldehyde were then added sequentially. The location of the bound ferritin cores was measured with respect to the EcoRI cleavage site and the orientation of the cores relative to the ends of the DNA was determined with respect to the locations of Escherichia coli DNA unwinding protein, which binds to covalently closed supercoiled SV40 DNA at either of two preferred sites, 0.46 or 0.90 fractional length clockwide from the EcoRI cleavage site.
Potential Impact of Nutritional Strategy on Noninvasive Measurements of Hormones in Birds

The dietary preferences, gastrointestinal anatomy, digestive physiology, biochemical capabilities, and commensal microflora of a bird are collectively known as its nutritional strategy. Measurement of hormones in droppings requires an appreciation of an animal's nutritional strategy in order to optimize collection protocols, validate techniques, interpret results, and minimize variability and artifacts. Foods of animal origin, nectar, and seeds are highly digestible by relatively simple digestive tracts and result in low rates of feces production. Most frugivorous species also have simple digestive tracts, and they digest the fruit's simple sugars and proteins, but not the fiber in its pulp. Consequently, retention time of food in the digestive tract is short, and their droppings are voluminous. Herbivorous species possess enlarged ceca that house microorganisms that aid in the digestion of fibrous components of their food. Part of the digesta enters the ceca and is subjected to lengthy microbial fermentation. The rest is excluded and quickly passes through the rectum, and is quickly defecated. For measurement of hormones in droppings it appears prudent to collect only rectal feces and to avoid cecal feces. One-third of the avian families are omnivorous and consume a wide variety of foods. Their digestive strategies are highly variable and change with diet, as does the amount and composition of feces and the rate of passage.
The Stratification Coefficient Approach for Predicting the Performance of Solar Air Heating Systems Utilizing Packed Bed Heat Storage

The stratification coefficient approach is refined to allow its use for predicting the performance of solar air heating systems utilizing packed bed thermal energy storage. The partial differential equation governing the storage is eliminated from the analysis in the stratification coefficient approach. Elimination of this differential equation greatly simplifies the computation of system performance. Performance predictions calculated by the stratification coefficient approach area compared to those calculated by a numerical solution to the storage differential equation. The comparisons show good agreement between the two methods. Computation time is reduced by an order of magnitude through the use of the stratification coefficient approach. Extension of the stratification coefficient approach to solar water heating systems is discussed.
New developments in file-based infrastructure for ATLAS event selection

In ATLAS software, TAGs are event metadata records that can be stored in various technologies, including ROOT files and relational databases. TAGs are used to identify and extract events that satisfy certain selection predicates, which can be coded as SQL-style queries. TAG collection files support in-file metadata to store information describing all events in the collection. Event Selector functionality has been augmented to provide such collection-level metadata to subsequent algorithms. The ATLAS I/O framework has been extended to allow computational processing of TAG attributes to select or reject events without reading the event data. This capability enables physicists to use more detailed selection criteria than are feasible in an SQL query. For example, the TAGs contain enough information not only to check the number of electrons, but also to calculate their distance to the closest jet?a calculation that would be difficult to express in SQL. Another new development allows ATLAS to write TAGs directly into event data files. This feature can improve performance by supporting advanced event selection capabilities, including computational processing of TAG information, without the need for external TAG file or database access.
POST-BUCKLING STABILITY OF ORTHOTROPIC, LINEAR ELASTIC, RECTANGULAR PLATES UNDER BIAXIAL LOADS

Abstract The potential energy function in a neighborhood of the buckling point for a biaxially loaded, linear elastic, orthotropic, simply supported, rectangular plate is obtained from a perturbation analysis. The perfect system has two independent bifurcation parameters, the loads. The postbuckling behavior is stable, and a good estimate is found for the post-buckling deflection of the plate in terms of the loads. The orthotropic constitutive equation interacts with the biaxial loading to cause a bimodal buckling point for certain combinations of loads; this point is also stable. Away from the bimodal point, the equilibrium surface is described as a cusp cylinder. At the bimodal point, the equilibrium surface is a double cusp.
Low-Cost Map Overlay Analysis Using Computer-Aided Design

There are two approaches to the development of a mapping and planning software system for use in the regional planning offices of the developing countries: (1) a turnkey system approach which uses a single integrated package for data entry, file management, analysis, and graphics; and (2) the linked system approach which uses a loosely integrated framework built around existing data-base and graphics packages. The paper gives a progress report on a project first developed for decentralized regional planning in Asia that uses the linked systems approach by combining commonly available packages in data-base management and computer-aided design (CAD) through a set of linker programs. An exercise in map overlay analysis is described which uses land-use patterns in southern Sri Lanka. The principal reason for adopting this approach is the logic of appropriate technology. It uses the informal infrastructure that already exists in the Asian cities in the use of computer software to develop planning tools that ca...
Employee Lateness Behavior: The Role of Lateness Climate and Individual Lateness Attitude

The authors investigated the joint influence of contextual factors and individual attitudes on employee lateness in a field setting. Hierarchical regression analyses based on objective lateness data revealed that perceived lateness climate moderated the relationship between individual lateness attitudes and lateness behaviors. Specifically, as hypothesized, individual attitudes toward lateness were stronger predictors of actual lateness frequency in lenient climates. This moderating effect was observed when controlling for key attitudes such as job satisfaction, job involvement, and affective commitment. Thus, climate displayed a unique effect on employee lateness, constraining the influence of individual attitudes in strict climates and allowing more influence in lenient climates. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.
Leaf development, gas exchange characteristics, and photorespiratory activity in maize seedlings

Five decades ago, a novel mode of CO2 assimilation that was later described as C4-photosynthesis was discovered on mature leaves of maize (Zea mays L.) plants. Here we show that 3- to 5-day-old developing maize leaves recapitulate the evolutionary advance from the ancient, inefficient C3 mode of photosynthesis to the C4 pathway, a mechanism for overcoming the wasteful process of photorespiration. Chlorophyll fluorescence measurements documented that photorespiration was high in 3-day-old juvenile primary leaves with non-specialized C3-like leaf anatomy and low in 5-day-old organs with the typical "Kranz-anatomy" of C4 leaves. Photosynthetic gas (CO2)-exchange measurements on 5-day-old leaves revealed the characteristic features of C4 photosynthesis, with a CO2 compensation point close to zero and little inhibition of photosynthesis by the normal oxygen concentration in the air. This indicates a very low photorespiratory activity in contrast to control experiments conducted with mature C3 sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) leaves, which display a high rate of photorespiration.
A Finite Element Model of the Foot and Ankle for Automotive Impact Applications

A finite element (FE) model of the foot and leg was developed to improve understanding of injury mechanisms of the ankle and subtalar joints during vehicle collisions and to aid in the design of injury countermeasures. The FE model was developed based on the reconstructed geometry of a male volunteer close to the anthropometry of a 50th percentile male and a commercial anatomical database. While the forefoot bones were defined as rigid bodies connected by ligament models, the surrounding bones of the ankle and subtalar joints and the leg bones were modeled as deformable structures. The material and structural properties were selected based on a synthesis of current knowledge of the constitutive models for each tissue. The whole foot and leg model was validated in different loading conditions including forefoot impact, axial rotation, dorsiflexion, and combined loadings. Overall results obtained in the model validation indicated improved biofidelity relative to previous FE models. The developed model was used to investigate the injury tolerance of the ankle joint under brake pedal loading for internally and externally rotated feet. Ligament failures were predicted as the main source of injury in this loading condition. A 12% variation of failure moment was observed in the range of axial foot rotations (±15°). The most vulnerable position was the internally rotated (15°) posture among three different foot positions. Furthermore, the present foot and ankle model will be coupled together with other body region FE models into the state-of-art human FE model to be used in the field of automotive safety.
Navigating a Constitutional Moment: Reflections on Implementing Graduate Attributes in Canadian Engineering Education

This piece is a self-reflexive essay examining our experiences during an important transitional moment, what we will identify as a ‘constitutional moment’, in engineering education in Canada. We are a collection of scholars who specialize in the study of the interface between technology and the humanities and social sciences (most of us identify as Science and Technology Studies scholars). Housed within the Center for Engineering in Society, itself housed within a faculty of engineering, we find ourselves presented with dual challenges of introducing insights from the critical studies of the relationship between science, technology, and society into the engineering curriculum, while also maintaining legitimacy among the engineering faculty that we find ourselves a part of. This paper is a result of our attempts to understand the challenges in engineering education that are unique to our Canadian context and to systematize our responses to these challenges. The aim of this paper is to share our experiences...
Cloud-Based Cyber Physical Systems: Design Challenges and Security Needs

The cyber-physical systems are the combination of computational elements and physical entities that can interact with humans through many modalities. The security includes the malicious attempts by adversary that disrupts or fails the functions of physical systems and affects infrastructure, businesses, and routine human life. The research in cyber-physical systems is in its initial stage. Therefore, first we discussed the status of security in cloud cyber-physical systems. Second, we introduced the challenges ahead to the design and development of the future engineering systems with new security capabilities. Third, we presented the security requirements in Hadoop distributed file systems. Since trust-based packet transfer in sensor networks is one of the important security issue infrastructure security, we presented a trust-based approach using Sporas formula and presented the simulations to trust of a successive node before transferring the packets. Finally, the paper presents the future research on cyber-physical systems in the cloud environment.