cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clay and climate are poor predictors of regional-scale soil carbon storage in the US Caribbean

Abstract Soils of the tropics play an important role in the global carbon (C) cycle as substrates for the most productive terrestrial ecosystems and as large C reservoirs. The amount of C stored in a soil is affected by soil properties such as texture, pH, and mineralogy, as well as climate, vegetation and land management, yet, uncertainty remains regarding the relative importance of these variables at different spatial scales. The goal of this study was to explore the factors influencing regional patterns in soil C storage. Soils were collected from 36 sites under four land cover types (forests, pastures, croplands and wetlands) and on 30 soil series in seven soil orders, representing the diversity in soil forming factors and major non-urban landscapes in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Soils were analyzed at three depths, 0–30 cm, 30–100 cm, and 0–100 cm, for total carbon (TC), soil organic carbon (SOC), and total nitrogen (N). Traditional predictors of soil C storage such as clay content and climate were not sufficient to accurately capture regional soil C trends. The combination of clay plus fine silt was positively correlated with SOC stocks but explained a relatively small amount of the variation. Site temperature and mean annual precipitation were not correlated with SOC stocks. Soil order and land cover were weak predictors of SOC for a subset of data where forests and pastures were found on three of the same soil orders, allowing for a two-way ANOVA. Soil N showed similar trends as SOC. Patterns observed depended on the soil depth studied, reflecting relative differences in the strength of top-down and bottom-up factors influencing SOC and N storage. These findings suggest that mechanisms not described by the distribution of soil particle sizes need to be considered for better predictions of SOC dynamics. In a geologically diverse region, soil properties were better predictors of SOC than climate or land cover. Tropical regions represent a diversity of soil types yet parent material and soil physical properties other than texture are not currently included in most biogeochemical models attempting to predict the response of tropical soil C pools to environmental change. Recognition of the heterogeneity of geologic substrates and weathering gradients in tropical regions and incorporation of a more mechanistic understanding can improve soil C modeling and land management decisions.
The Academy of Dental Materials: Providing roots and wings.

Abstract Objectives The long history of the Academy of Dental Materials (ADM) is documented with its strategies (a) to rapidly communicate science among its members, (b) to establish special awards to stimulate new science, and (c) to develop new dental materials scientists. Methods We searched the history of the last 35 years of the ADM newsletters, transactions, journals, and officer notes. We document the (a) presidents, (b) meeting history, (c) membership growth, and (d) development of special awards through 2019 with the recent creation of the ADM Marshall Post-Doctoral Award. Results There are 36 years of recent ADM history, 42 international meetings, membership growth to 400 individuals from 15 countries, service of 19 presidents, Paffenbarger annual Awardees since 1989, induction of >200 fellows, and recognition of the first winner of Marshall Post-Doctoral Award in 2018. New directions for recruiting members are suggested. Three potential new thrusts for the organization are presented: artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, and intensive member mentoring. Significance These suggestions for the ADM provide a path for the ADM to continue to adapt to the ever changing scientific landscape.
On what matters. Personal identity as a phenomenological problem

This paper focuses on the connection between meaning, the specific field of phenomenological philosophy, and mattering, the cornerstone of personal identity. Doing so requires that we take a stand on the scope and method of phenomenological philosophy itself. I will argue that while we can describe our lives in an “impersonal” way, such descriptions will necessarily omit what makes it the case that such lives can matter at all. This will require distinguishing between “personal” identity and “self” identity, an idea well-established in the phenomenological literature – for instance, in Husserl’s distinction between the “transcendental ego” and the person -- but I will argue that self-identity is a normative achievement whose clarification requires a move into second-person phenomenology. The argument moves through three sections. First, I will discuss Aron Gurwitsch’s “non-egological” conception of consciousness and will explain the most important reason Husserl rejected this view in his transcendental phenomenology. Second, I will discuss some contemporary approaches to Husserl’s distinction between person and ego (personal identity and self identity). Third, I will argue that these approaches testify to an ambiguity in Husserl’s account of being “true” to oneself that requires us to understand selfhood as having the structure Heidegger called care. The importance of this will be demonstrated phenomenologically in a critical examination of Paul Ricoeur’s ontology of selfhood, particularly his interpretation of the second-person phenomenology of conscience.
Pathology Trainees’ Experience and Attitudes on Use of Digital Whole Slide Images:

Digital whole slide images are Food and Drug Administration approved for clinical diagnostic use in pathology; however, integration is nascent. Trainees from 9 pathology training programs completed an online survey to ascertain attitudes toward and experiences with whole slide images for pathological interpretations. Respondents (n = 76) reported attending 63 unique medical schools (45 United States, 18 international). While 63% reported medical school exposure to whole slide images, most reported ≤ 5 hours. Those who began training more recently were more likely to report at least some exposure to digital whole slide image training in medical school compared to those who began training earlier: 75% of respondents beginning training in 2017 or 2018 reported exposure to whole slide images compared to 54% for trainees beginning earlier. Trainees exposed to whole slide images in medical school were more likely to agree they were comfortable using whole slide images for interpretation compared to those not exposed (29% vs 12%; P = .06). Most trainees agreed that accurate diagnoses can be made using whole slide images for primary diagnosis (92%; 95% CI: 86-98) and that whole slide images are useful for obtaining second opinions (93%; 95% CI: 88-99). Trainees reporting whole slide image experience during training, compared to those with no experience, were more likely to agree they would use whole slide images in 5 years for primary diagnosis (64% vs 50%; P = .3) and second opinions (86% vs 76%; P = .4). In conclusion, although exposure to whole slide images in medical school has increased, overall exposure is limited. Positive attitudes toward future whole slide image diagnostic use were associated with exposure to this technology during medical training. Curricular integration may promote adoption.
Pushing and Pulling Optomechanics with Plasmonic Surface Waves

Light incident on a periodic plasmonic nanostructure is shown to exhibit a pushing or pulling pressure, depending on regulation of the surface wave on the top or bottom, respectively, thereby allowing wavelength control.
Observation of electrically detected electron nuclear double resonance in amorphous hydrogenated silicon films

We report on the electrical detection of electron nuclear double resonance (EDENDOR) through spin-dependent tunneling transport in an amorphous hydrogenated silicon thin film. EDENDOR offers a many orders of magnitude improvement over classical ENDOR and is exclusively sensitive to paramagnetic defects involved in electronic transport. We observe hyperfine interactions with 1H nuclei very close to silicon dangling bond defects. These observations substantially extend recent EDENDOR observations involving silicon vacancy defects and 14N hyperfine interactions with fairly distant nitrogen atoms in 4H-SiC bipolar junction transistors. We have improved the detection scheme utilized in the earlier study by combining magnetic field modulation with RF amplitude modulation; this combination significantly improves the operation of the automatic power leveling scheme and the overall sensitivity.
The microstructural and stress evolution in sputter deposited Ni thin films

Abstract We report the stress and microstructural evolution for a series of Ni thin films sputter deposited over a range of rates (0.076 and 0.250 nm/s), pressures (0.27, 0.67 and 1.33 Pa), and substrate temperatures (ambient, 100, and 200 °C). In general, as the sputtering pressure increased, the stress-thickness product, measured by wafer curvature, became tensile and trended with an increase in pressure regardless of the deposition rate. However, at the lowest sputtering rate and highest substrate temperature, the films exhibited a compressive growth stress. The collective data was then fitted to a kinetic model that accounts for the stress generation at the grain boundaries, from grain growth, and from the creation of defects within the film. The model's predicted fitted parameters matched well to the experimental measurements except for films deposited at the lowest deposition pressure. These particular films exhibited a bimodal grain size distribution which could not be accommodated by the model's use of a singular grain diameter. Nevertheless, in monomodal grain sizes, the results do provide support for the kinetic model in helping to ascertain the various contributing factors for the intrinsic stress development and their microstructural relationship in context to the Thornton zonal morphology descriptors for thin films and coatings.
Stories as indicators: Lessons learned using the Most Significant Change method to evaluate food systems work in Michigan

Food systems initiatives regularly use stories as a communication tool to showcase and gain atten­tion for their work. Yet few of these efforts use systematic ways to collect and analyze stories. Rooted in our experience documenting the work surrounding the Michigan Good Food Charter, we suggest that a variety of efforts that aim to trans­form food systems could benefit from applying the Most Significant Change (MSC) technique, an evaluation tool that uses stories in a more rigorous way to identify emerging outcomes and enhance organizational learning. Particularly with the modi­fications we introduce, the MSC approach can be adapted to situations where program staff or par­ticipants have limited time, resources, or capacity, offering stakeholders a way to build a shared vision of a program and, over time, a clearer sense of the direction that a food systems project has and where it should be headed.
Sinan: ML-based and QoS-aware resource management for cloud microservices

Cloud applications are increasingly shifting from large monolithic services, to large numbers of loosely-coupled, specialized microservices. Despite their advantages in terms of facilitating development, deployment, modularity, and isolation, microservices complicate resource management, as dependencies between them introduce backpressure effects and cascading QoS violations. We present Sinan, a data-driven cluster manager for interactive cloud microservices that is online and QoS-aware. Sinan leverages a set of scalable and validated machine learning models to determine the performance impact of dependencies between microservices, and allocate appropriate resources per tier in a way that preserves the end-to-end tail latency target. We evaluate Sinan both on dedicated local clusters and large-scale deployments on Google Compute Engine (GCE) across representative end-to-end applications built with microservices, such as social networks and hotel reservation sites. We show that Sinan always meets QoS, while also maintaining cluster utilization high, in contrast to prior work which leads to unpredictable performance or sacrifices resource efficiency. Furthermore, the techniques in Sinan are explainable, meaning that cloud operators can yield insights from the ML models on how to better deploy and design their applications to reduce unpredictable performance.
Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Impact of Asdzáán Be'eená: An Intergenerational, Strength-Based, and Culturally Grounded Program to Improve the Health of Navajo Families.

Native American youth endure a complex interplay of factors that portend greater risk-taking behaviors and contribute to marked health disparities experienced in adolescence. The Asdzaan Be'eena ("Female Pathways" in Navajo) program was developed as a primary prevention program to prevent substance use and teen pregnancy among Navajo girls. The Asdzaan Be'eena program consists of 11 lessons delivered to dyads of girls ages 8 to 11 years and their female caregivers. Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact on risk and protective factors were assessed through a pre-/post study design. Data were collected from girls and their female caregivers at baseline, immediate, and 3 months postprogram completion. Forty-seven dyads enrolled in the study, and 36 completed the 3-month evaluation. At 3 months postprogram, girls reported significant increases in self-esteem, self-efficacy, parent-child relationship, social support, cultural, and sexual health knowledge. Caregivers reported increased family engagement in Navajo culture and parent-child communication and improved child functioning (fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviors). Findings suggest Asdzaan Be'eena has potential to break the cycle of substance use and teen pregnancy in Native communities by improving protective and reducing risk factors associated with these adverse health outcomes. Additional rigorous efficacy trials are necessary to establish program effectiveness.
Langerhans cells and cDC1s play redundant roles in mRNA-LNP induced protective anti-influenza and anti-SARS-CoV-2 responses

Nucleoside modified mRNA combined with Acuitas Therapeutics' lipid nanoparticles (LNP) have been shown to support robust humoral immune responses in many preclinical animal vaccine studies and later in humans with the SARS-CoV-2 vaccination. We recently showed that this platform is highly inflammatory due to the LNPs' ionizable lipid component. The inflammatory property is key to support the development of potent humoral immune responses. However, the mechanism by which this platform drives T follicular helper cells (Tfh) and humoral immune responses remains unknown. Here we show that lack of Langerhans cells or cDC1s neither significantly affected the induction of PR8 HA and SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific Tfh cells and humoral immune responses, nor susceptibility towards the lethal challenge of influenza and SARS-CoV-2. However, the combined deletion of these two DC subsets led to a significant decrease in the induction of PR8 HA and SARS-CoV-2 RBD-specific Tfh cell and humoral immune responses. Despite these observed defects, the still high antibody titers were sufficient to confer protection towards lethal viral challenges. We further found that IL-6, but not neutrophils, was required to generate Tfh cells and antibody responses. In summary, here we bring evidence that the mRNA-LNP platform can support protective adaptive immune responses in the absence of specific DC subsets through an IL-6 dependent and neutrophil independent mechanism.
Students’ frequency of access to school library materials in transformative times

The COVID-19 pandemic triggered many school and school library closures, resulting in shifts to online and/or hybrid instruction and limited school library access. This survey of parents of PreK–12...
A Parallel Type Micro-Robotic System for Semi-Conductor Manufacturing Machines: Preliminary Results

A novel parallel robot design with spherical flexure joints for use in the short-stroke stage in semi-conductor manufacturing motion systems, i.e. nanolithography machines, is introduced. The new design consists of a poly-articulated parallel robot operated by six piezo-electric actuators to move the reticle stage on a nano-scale in 6-DOF. This design makes use of flexure hinge-based mechanisms as it requires no clearance and no lubrication. The kinematic and dynamic model of the system is found using the quaternion and Euler Lagrangian approach respectively, allowing the model to be optimized for the performance specifications required. The robot then can be controlled using PID controllers to counteract any errors induced in the system. Simulated results showed that injected harmonic errors were reduced substantially from 100μ m to 1.15nm, and 100nrad to 1.36prad. This design will be fabricated and further tested experimentally in future studies.
Development of Lighting Standards for the Visually Impaired

This article reviews the history of the development of lighting standards for the visually impaired. All available literature on how different levels of illumination affect visual acuity and visibi...
Healthcare Professionals' Perceptions and Knowledge of the USPSTF Guidelines on Breast Self-Examination.

Objectives In 2009, the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published revised guidelines for breast cancer screening, which recommended against teaching breast self-examination (BSE). The objective of this study was to assess providers' perceptions and knowledge regarding these updated guidelines. Methods A cross-sectional survey study was administered to 205 attending and resident physicians, nurse practitioners, physician's assistants, and registered nurses working in five medical and gynecological practices affiliated with a large academic teaching hospital in western Massachusetts. The survey solicited demographic data and inquired about practitioners' perceptions and knowledge of the revised guidelines. Results Fewer than half (41.1%) of respondents correctly identified the new USPSTF guidelines for BSE. Among those who stated they were aware of guidelines, only 37.1% adhered to them. Overall, 70% report that they teach patients to perform BSE. Teaching BSE was associated with female sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.11-6.29), a belief that BSE reduces morbidity and mortality (OR 2.91, 95% CI 1.08-7.81), and internal medicine residency (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.06-0.59). Conclusions Knowledge of the 2009 USPSTF guidelines is suboptimal and greater efforts should be made to educate healthcare professionals about them.
Repellency of Two Phenylacetate-Ester Pyrethroids to the Honeybee

SummaryThe repellency of fenvalerate and flucythrinate (pyrethroids of the phenylacetate-ester series) to the honeybee, Apis mellifera L., was modelled. These compounds were found to have effects similar to those of permethrin and Cypermethrin, pyrethroids of the cyclopropanecarboxylate type. The research model used a small colony of honeybees confined in a 150 m3 flight cage; foraging bees received contact but not gustatory exposure to the insecticides as they imbibed scented sucrose syrup from feeding stations. Contact exposure to fenvalerate and flucythrinate resulted in sublethal, transitory inhibition of bee activity. The exposed bees remained in the colony for a period of recovery lasting less than 24 h, after which, normal foraging patterns resumed.
Democratization and Stability in East Asia

Anticipating future political transitions in East Asia, many scholars worry that Chinese democratization and Korean unification will fuel regional instability. To inform this debate, this article examines theories that make competing claims about the stability of these potential transitions: theories within the “democratization and war” school and economic interdependence theory. I compare the predictions of these theories in the cases of previous East Asian transitions in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Process-tracing evidence shows that (i) xenophobic nationalism or logrolling by political coalitions were not present and that none of these countries pursued bellicose foreign policies during their democratic transitions. Evidence from these cases undermines the broad formulation of democratization and war theory and is consistent with a more recent, narrower version of this theory. Second, (ii) process tracing reveals the stabilizing processes of economic interdependence in all of these cases. Third and finally, contrary to prevailing views that warn of instability during future transitions, (iii) both the narrow version of democratization and war theory and economic interdependence theory forecast stability during the upcoming political transitions in China and Korea. These findings support foreign policy strategies of economic and institutional engagement toward China and the Korean peninsula.
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance and Circular Dichroism Studies on Milk Xanthine Oxidase

Abstract The g = 1.94 electron paramagnetic resonance signal of xanthine oxidase intensifies rapidly below 77° K and is found to resemble markedly that of spinach ferredoxin. At very low temperatures a new resonance is observed in the reduced protein at g = 2.11 and tentatively ascribed to a second type of iron chromophore. The time dependence of flavin and molybdenum during titration with substrate is complex and substantially confirms the earlier results of Bray. The iron signal does not exhibit this peculiar behavior. The development of the g = 1.94 iron signal on titration with reductants shows that maximum signal intensity is achieved with approximately 3 to 3.5 moles of xanthine and 4 moles of dithionite, in reasonable agreement with the spectrophotometric experiments reported earlier. At maximum development we account for approximately 2 electrons in the g = 1.94 and g = 2.11 signals at low temperatures. This value decreases to 1.1 electrons as the temperature is raised and the contribution of the g = 2.11 species disappears. On reduction with substrate, approximately half of the maximum intensity of these signals is attained very rapidly, the remaining development being slow. A measurement of the line width of the flavin radical yields a value of 19.4 gauss, strongly suggesting that the flavin is the blue or neutral species. The circular dichroism spectra of oxidized and reduced enzyme are recorded and the many similarities to simple non-heme iron proteins like spinach ferredoxin and adrenodoxin are discussed. Reaction with xanthine and glycolaldehyde under anaerobic conditions results in approximately half of the total circular dichroism change occurring very rapidly, the remaining changes being slow. A kinetic study of the reaction of xanthine oxidase in solution with the reducing substrate o-phenanthroline reveals that (a) the initial increase in flavin radical parallels the increase in absorbance at 620 mµ, thus supporting the identification of the flavin as the neutral species and (b) similar kinetic data are observed for the flavin and molybdenum (electron paramagnetic resonance) and the iron (absorbance, circular dichroism).
Drug Preemption and the Need to Reform FDA Consultation Process

The extent to which FDA decisions can preempt tort liability for prescription drugs is a critical issue that the Supreme Court will address this term in Wyeth v. Levine. The agency has issued a Preemption Policy that favors preemption when a drug manufacturer consults with the agency about a risk. Wyeth has unusual factors since the label warned of the risk from the method that led to the injury, and the plaintiff's expert testified that the label should not have allowed the method at all. The most important and difficult preemption question is the liability for new risks that are found from use after the drug is on the market. This paper will examine the factors that can limit the scope of the Wyeth decision. Instead of having a broad rule recognizing preemption generally, the determination should focus on matters that the agency has specifically addressed based on current and accurate information. Moreover, the consultations between the drug company and the agency about the need for warnings for emerging risks need to be based on means that ensure "fairness and deliberation."
A simple magnetostatic model of sunspots

An analytical solution is derived for the nonlinear magnetostatic balance between the Lorentz forces on one side and the pressure and gravitational forces induced by the magnetic inhibition of granular convection in a sunspot on the other. In order to exhibit the mathematical structure of the problem it has been reduced to the simplest case which still contains the basic physical features. Although the results of a model with a two-dimensional periodic magnetic field are not quantitatively comparable with sunspot observations the conclusion can be drawn that an upper limit on the size of sunspots exists. The results suggest that this upper limit is close to the size of observed large sunspots.
An implantable pump for intrarenal infusion of immunosuppressants in a canine autotransplant model.

We developed a canine renal allograft model utilizing implantable infusion pumps and biocompatible catheters to investigate the pharmacokinetics of local immunosuppressive drug administration. Seven mongrel dogs underwent bilateral nephrectomy and autotransplantation of one kidney to the iliac vessels. The proximal end of an infusion catheter directed into the iliac artery was tunneled to a subcutaneously placed programmable pump. A second, sampling catheter was placed with its tip in the iliac vein. Simultaneous regional (iliac vein) and systemic (jugular vein) venous concentrations of 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP), the immunosuppressive metabolite of azathioprine, were determined during a continuous 24-h intraarterial infusion (10 mg/kg/24 hr). The gradient between regional and systemic 6-MP concentrations was maximal initially when the pump was turned on, continuously decreased until steady state was reached, and disappeared immediately after the pump was turned off. The mean ratio of steady-state iliac vein to systemic 6-MP concentrations was 5.0 ± 1.4, demonstrating a pharmacokinetic advantage of continuous intraarterial 6-MP infusion to the autotransplanted kidney. The novel canine renal allograft model described herein overcomes the technical limitations of earlier models and represents a foundational step in the design of intrarenal infusion patterns of immunosuppressive agents which we expect to prolong survival of the allotransplanted kidney with minimal systemic drug exposure and side effects.
Software for Publication Bias

KEY POINTS • Various procedures for addressing publication bias are discussed elsewhere in this volume. The goal of this chapter is to show how these different procedures fit into an overall strategy for addressing bias, and to discuss computer programs that can be used to implement this strategy. • To address publication bias the researcher should proceed through a logical sequence of analyses. First, forest plots and funnel plots provide a visual sense of the data. Then, rank correlation and regression procedures ask whether or not there is evidence of bias, while the failsafe N and its variants ask if the entire effect size may be attributed to bias. Finally, trim and fill and the cumulative forest plot offer a more nuanced perspective, and ask how the effect size would shift if the apparent bias were to be removed. • The computer programs discussed are Comprehensive Meta Analysis, Stata, MetaWin, and RevMan. We show how the researcher would address publication bias using each of these programs in turn. The chapter closes with a subjective assessment of each program’s strengths and weaknesses. • The appendix includes a list of additional resources, including web links to data sets and to step-by-step instructions for running the publication bias procedures with each of the programs.
Repeated stress exposure causes strain-dependent shifts in the behavioral economics of cocaine in rats.

Cocaine-experienced Wistar and Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rats received four daily repeated forced swim stress sessions (R-FSS), each of which preceded 4-hour cocaine self-administration sessions. Twenty-four hours after the last swim stress, cocaine valuation was assessed during a single-session threshold procedure. Prior exposure to R-FSS significantly altered cocaine responding in Wistar, but not WKY, rats. Behavioral economic analysis of responding revealed that the Wistar rats that had received R-FSS exhibited an increase in the maximum price that they were willing to pay for cocaine (Pmax). Pre-treatment with the long-lasting kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonist norbinaltorphimine prevented the stress-induced increase in Pmax. Thus, R-FSS exposure had strain-dependent effects on cocaine responding during the threshold procedure, and the stress effects on cocaine valuation exhibited by Wistar, but not WKY, required intact KOR signaling.
Increased COX-2 Expression in Human Vaginal Epithelial Cells Exposed to Nonoxynol-9, a Vaginal Contraceptive Microbicide that Failed to Protect Women from HIV-1 Infection

PROBLEM: Despite displaying virucidal activity in vitro nonoxynol-9 (N-9) a vaginal contraceptive microbicide candidate failed to reduce the rate of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission in clinical trials. With frequent use it even increased the risk of HIV acquisition. Such outcome was postulated to be because of N-9-induced mucosal inflammation which resulted in recruitment of HIV-target immune cells to the sites of virus entry. Understanding the mechanism underlying the response of the vaginal epithelium to N-9 is critical to properly evaluate the safety of prospective vaginal microbicides and contraceptives. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using DNA microarray and quantitative RT-PCR techniques we observed that N-9 initiated a strong transcriptional upregulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in immortalized human vaginal epithelial cells (VK2/E6E7 cell line). Increased COX-2 protein expression evaluated by immunoblotting was dose- and time-dependent. The level of prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2) ) increased subsequently to COX-2 elevation. This upregulation was in part because of NF-kB activation. CONCLUSION: Expression of COX-2 a potent inflammation-related enzyme as well as increased secretion of PGE(2) an important local mediator of mucosal immunoinflammatory responses by human vaginal epithelial cells exposed to vaginal microbicide and contraceptive candidates may be used as a biomarker of undesirable compound properties. (c) 2011 John Wiley & Sons A/S.
Heideggerianismo de esquerda ou marxismo fenomenológico?Reconsiderando a teoria crítica da tecnologia de Herbert Marcuse

Diferentemente de interpretacoes recentes sobre a teoria marcuseana da tecnologia, elogiosas ou criticas, que identificam nela uma forte e continua influencia de Heidegger, pretendo mostrar, no presente artigo, que Marcuse toma de emprestimo elementos importantes da fenomenologia de Heidegger e, mais ainda, de Husserl, mas que essses elementos sao apropriados dentro de uma abordagem teorica geral marxista. Dessa maneira, enfatizam-se os fatores sociais e historicos como os determinantes ultimos da tecnologia e da racionalidade tecnologica. Com isso, o presente artigo procura esclarecer a relacao entre o marxismo e a fenomenologia na obra tardia de Marcuse. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Marcuse, Heidegger, teoria critica, tecnologia, marxismo. LEFTIST HEIDEGGERIANISM OR PHENOMENOLOGICAL MARXISM? Reconsidering Herbert Marcuse’s Critical Theory of Technology John Abromeit Unlike recent interpretations of Marcuse’s theory of technology, be it in praise or criticism, which identify in it a strong and continuing influence of Heidegger, I intend to show in this article, that Marcuse borrows important elements of Heidegger’s phenomenology, and even more so, Husserl’s, but also that these elements are appropriate within a general Marxist theoretical approach. Thus, the social and historical factors are emphasized as ultimates determinants of technology and technological rationality. Therefore, this paper seeks to clarify the relationship between Marxism and phenomenology in Marcuse’s later work. KEYWORDS: Marcuse, Heidegger, critical theory, technology, Marxism. HEIDEGGERIANISME DE GAUCHE OU MARXISME PHENOMENOLOGIQUE? Reconsiderant la Theorie Critique de la Technologie de Herbert Marcuse John Abromeit Contrairement aux interpretations recentes de la theorie marcusienne de la technologie, remplies d’eloges ou de critiques, qui identifient en elle une influence forte et continue de Heidegger, j’ai l’intention de montrer dans cet article que Marcuse emprunte des elements importants a la phenomenologie de Heidegger et, plus encore, de Husserl, mais que ces elements sont appropries dans une approche theorique generale marxiste. Ainsi les facteurs sociaux et historiques sont mis en evidence en tant que determinants de la technologie et de la rationalite technologique. De cette maniere, cet article essaie d’expliquer la relation entre le marxisme et la phenomenologie dans l’œuvre tardive de Marcuse. MOTS-CLES: Marcuse, Heidegger, theorie critique, technologie, marxisme. Publicacao Online do Caderno CRH: http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.br Publicacao Online do Caderno CRH no Scielo: http://www.scielo.br/ccrh
Ultra-wideband, dual-mode millimeter-wave micro hemispherical shell antenna

This paper presents a novel ultra-wideband millimeter-wave micro-hemispherical shell antenna. The antenna is comprised of a hemispherical metallic shell with a diameter of 800–1200 microns and a thickness 3–5 microns suspended above a high-resistivity substrate. It can be fabricated using a fabrication technology originally developed for micro-scale hemispherical shell resonators. The antenna can operate in two separate operational modes with the same feeding structure, common and differential mode, demonstrating omnidirectional and directive radiation pattern respectively. An ultra-wide bandwidth of more than 60 GHz at the common mode and more than 80 GHz at the differential mode is achieved in the millimeter-wave regime.
Nonlinear evolution of the auroral electron beam

The nonlinear spatial evolution, from the source to the atmosphere, of the auroral electron beam and the beam-generated electrostatic whistler noise was studied, calculating changes in beam parameters from equations for the conservation of total particle and wave energy and momentum flux density. Wave power fluxes were calculated by numerically integrating the wave kinetic equations, and the levels of beam-generated noise were determined by using thermal levels of Cerenkov radiation as a source. It was found that beam parameters evolve on ionospheric scale lengths, and their positive slope feature in velocity space is maintained over altitudes measured in thousands of kilometers of altitude, even though they can generate wave energy density fluxes sufficient to modify the ionospheric density profile.
Validation of satellite-retrieved oceanic inherent optical properties: proposed two-color elastic backscatter lidar and retrieval theory

Recent radiative transfer models show that: (1) regardless of elastic lidar receiver field of view (FOV), at vanishing lidar depth the lidar-derived attenuation coefficient klidar --> a, where a is the total absorption coefficient per meter of depth; and (2) for a wide FOV as the lidar sensing depth approaches some large value (depending on water type), klidar --> Kd, where Kd is the diffuse attenuation for downwelling irradiance. As a result, it is shown that a time-resolved, dual-wavelength-laser, elastic-backscattering lidar can retrieve the three principal oceanic optical properties: (1) the absorption coefficient of phytoplankton aph, (2) the absorption coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) aCDOM, and (3) the nonwater total constituent backscattering coefficient bbt. The lidar-retrieved aph, aCDOM, and bbt inherent optical properties can be used to validate corresponding satellite-derived products such as those from terra moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), Aqua MODIS, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor, (SeaWiFS), and other ocean color sensors.
Neurotrophins Induce Sphingomyelin Hydrolysis MODULATION BY CO-EXPRESSION OF p75NTR WITH Trk RECEPTORS

We examined neurotrophin-induced sphingomyelin hydrolysis in cells expressing solely the low affinity neurotrophin receptor, p75NTR, and in PC12 cells that co-express p75NTR and Trk receptors. Nerve growth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor, neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), and NT-5 stimulated sphingomyelin hydrolysis with similar kinetics in p75NTR-NIH-3T3 cells. Although brain-derived neurotrophic factor (10 ng/ml) was slightly more potent than NGF at inducing sphingomyelin hydrolysis, NT-3 and NT-5 induced significant hydrolysis (30-35%) at 0.1 to 1 ng/ml in p75NTR-NIH-3T3 cells. NT-3 did not induce sphingomyelin hydrolysis in Trk C-NIH-3T3 cells nor in cells expressing a mutated p75NTR containing a 57-amino acid cytoplasmic deletion, thus demonstrating the role of p75NTR in this signal transduction pathway. In p75NTR-NIH-3T3 cells, neurotrophin-induced sphingomyelin hydrolysis 1) localized to an internal pool of sphingomyelin, 2) was not a consequence of receptor internalization, and 3) showed no specificity with respect to the molecular species of sphingomyelin hydrolyzed. In contrast to cells expressing solely p75NTR, NGF (100 ng/ml) did not induce sphingomyelin hydrolysis in PC12 cells. Interestingly, NT-3 (10 ng/ml) induced the same extent of sphingomyelin hydrolysis in PC12 cells as was apparent in p75NTR-NIH-3T3 cells. However, in the presence of NGF, NT-3 was unable to induce sphingomyelin hydrolysis, raising the possibility that Trk was modulating p75NTR-dependent sphingomyelin hydrolysis. Inhibition of Trk tyrosine kinase activity with 200 nM K252a enabled both NGF and NT-3 in the presence of NGF to induce sphingomyelin hydrolysis. These data support that p75NTR serves as a common signaling receptor for neurotrophins through induction of sphingomyelin hydrolysis and that cross-talk pathways exist between Trk and p75NTR-dependent signaling pathways.
Modulation of α4β1 and α5β1 integrin expression: Heterogeneous effects of Q‐switched Ruby, Nd:YAG, and Alexandrite lasers on melanoma cells in vitro

Background and objective Integrins of the beta 1 family are cellular adhesion molecules that play an important role in cell attachment and migration by interacting with extracellular matrix molecules. Agents such as hormones, cytokines, and ultraviolet radiation have all been shown to have an integrin modulating potential. The present study indicates that radiation of Q-switched lasers is also able to induce transient changes in integrin expression levels on human melanoma cells in vitro. Study design/materials and methods Radiation from Q-switched Ruby (694 nm), Alexandrite (755 nm), and Nd:YAG laser (1,064 nm) with fluences comparable to those that are generally used in treating dermatologic lesions were used to irradiate a subconfluent layer of human melanoma cells. After fixed time intervals, the cells were harvested either to analyse the integrin expression by flow cytometry or to investigate changes in cell attachment, spreading, and migration. Results It was established that all three types of laser were able to cause a significant downregulation of both the alpha 4 and the common beta 1 integrin subunit. The Alexandrite and Ruby lasers also induced a decrease in alpha 5 expression; however, the cells treated with the Nd:YAG laser showed a marked upregulation of the alpha 5 subunit. The expression of the other beta 1 integrin subunits was shown to be unaltered after laser treatment. Downregulation of the alpha 4 upregulation of the alpha 5 integrin subunit expression resulted in, respectively, decreased and increased attachment and spreading on fibronectin, the extracellular matrix ligand for both the alpha 4 beta 1 and alpha 5 beta 1 integrins. Marked upregulation of the alpha 5 subunit also resulted in a higher migration rate. Conclusion Taken together, these results show that nonlethal doses of Q-switched laser radiation are able to induce changes in cellular behavior in vitro by modulating the integrin expression pattern.
On the complexity of ranking

Abstract This paper structurally characterizes the complexity of ranking. A set A is (strongly) P-rankable if there is a polynomial time computable function f so that for all x , f(x) computes the number of elements of A that are lexicographically ⩽ x , i.e., the rank of x with respect to A . This is the strongest of three notions of P-ranking we consider in this paper. We say a class C is P-rankable if all sets in C are P-rankable. Our main results show that with the same certainty with which we believe counting to be complex, and thus with at least the certainty with which we believe P ≠ NP, P has no uniform, strong, weak, or enumerative ranking functions. We show that: 1. • P and NP are equally likely to be P-rankable, i.e., P is P-rankable if and only if NP is P-rankable. 2. • P is P-rankable if and only if P = P #P . This extends work of Blum, Goldberg, and Sipser. 3. • Even the two weaker notions of P-ranking that we study are hard if P ≠ P #P . 4. •If P has small ranking circuits, then it has small ranking circuits of relatively low complexity. 5. • If P has small ranking circuits then counting is in the polynomial hierarchy, i.e., P #P ⊆ Σ 2 p = PH. 6. • P/poly has small ranking circuits if and only if P #P /poly = P #P/poly = P/poly. 7. • If P is P-rankable, then P/poly has small ranking circuits. This links the ranking complexity of uniform and nonuniform classes. 8. • The ranks of some strings in easy sets are of high relative time-bounded Kolmogorov complexity unless P = P #P . It follows that even a type of approximate ranking, enumerative ranking, is hard unless P = P #P . 9. • The complexity of generating “the next largest” element in a set has clear structural characterizations. In particular, (1) we can efficiently find some element of polynomial hierarchy sets at an input length if and only if P = PH ∩ P/poly, and (2) we can efficiently find some element of a polynomial hierarchy set greater than an input if and only if all sets in NP have infinite P-printable subsets.
Motor and cognitive interference effects on unimanual tapping rates

Experiments conducted on both normal and disordered populations have led to the hypothesis that the left hemisphere's specialization for language results from its control over motor activities. This control is reflected in the lateralized disruption of manual activity during cerebral time-sharing tasks. Recent studies have challenged this hypothesis, stating that the interference effects reflect both cognitive and motor mechanisms in the left hemisphere. This experiment investigates whether the left hemisphere's control over speech involves both of these components or is purely motor. The question was examined by measuring the effect of concurrent hemispheric activity on single-finger tapping rates. Forty subjects tapped under two conditions: speaking and listening. The data show there may be both motor and cognitive mechanisms involved in left-hemisphere control.
Purification of two multienzyme complexes in the aromatic-tryptophan pathway of Neurospora crassa.

Abstract A procedure originally designed to isolate the anthranilate synthetase complex of Neurospora crassa is shown to yield also the aromatic complex in homogeneous form. The ionic and physical properties of the two complexes are shown to be similar. Through the use of parallel sedimentation-equilibrium analyses in H 2 O and D 2 18 O, the aromatic complex is shown to have a partial specific volume of ~0.72 and a molecular weight of ~290,000. Disk-gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate appears to show that the complex dissociates in the detergent into four unequal components with molecular weights totaling ~290,000. Apparent differences in physical properties were found between the aromatic complex isolated here and the aromatic complex isolated from N. crassa by other investigators.
Bilateral Anterior Uveitis and Interstitial Nephritis

Five patients had bilateral anterior uveitis associated with renal disease. Interstitial nephritis was histologically confirmed in three cases. Fatigue, anorexia, abdominal pain, weight loss, and anemia were common systemic complaints or findings. In each case, the uveitis was anterior, eventually bilateral, and associated with minimal visual impairment. Complications of the uveitis included increased intraocular pressure, synechiae, keratic precipitates, macular edema, and intraretinal hemorrhage as well as cells in the anterior vitreous humor and an exudate over the pars plana. Sjogren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, sarcoid, and syphilis were excluded as diagnoses that could explain the association of renal and uveal disease.
Variation in corneal hysteresis and central corneal thickness among black, hispanic and white subjects.

Purpose: To determine whether differences in corneal hysteresis (CH) and central corneal thickness (CCT) between black, Hispanic and white subjects exist independently of one another. Methods: Retrospective, cross-sectiona ld ata were reviewed for 807 eyes of 410 patients consecutively evaluated for glaucoma. Included patients had open angles, at least one reliable 24-2 perimetric examination and no evidence of nonglaucomatous vision loss. Patients underwent CH measurement with the ocular response analyzer followed by CCT measurement and full ocular examination. Patients were asked to self-classify their race or ethnicity. Statistical analyses were performed to identify characteristics that varied between black, Hispanic and white subjects and to explain this variation. Results: Of the 270 patients (511 eyes) included, 84 were black, 96 Hispanic and 90 white. There were no significant differences in diagnosis, sex, age, intraocular pressure or glaucoma severity between races ⁄ ethnicities (p ‡ 0.16). Blacks were found to have lower CCT (529.3 lm) and CH (8.7 mmHg) compared to Hispanics (544.7 lm, p = 0.008; 9.4 mmHg, p = 0.007) and whites (549.9 lm, p < 0.001; 9.8 mmHg, p < 0.001). On multivariable analysis, inter-racial ⁄ ethnic differences in CCT were not found to exist independent of CH (p ‡ 0.10), whereas the significant intergroup variation in CH remained after adjustment for CCT and other covariates (p £ 0.005). Conclusions: Variation in CCT between races ⁄ ethnicities does not exist independent of CH. However, significant intergroup variation in CH is present independent of CCT. This finding suggests that CH may be a preferable measurement to evaluate intergroup differences in corneal properties and their relationship to open-angle glaucoma.