cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Membrane Leucine Heptad Contributes to Trafficking, Signaling, and Transformation by Latent Membrane Protein 1

Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) of Epstein Barr virus (EBV) is important for maintaining proliferation of EBV-infected B cells. LMP1, unlike its cellular counterpart, CD40, signals without a ligand and is largely internal to the plasma membrane. In order to understand how LMP1 initiates its ligand-independent signaling, we focused on a leucine heptad in LMP1's first membrane-spanning domain that was shown to be necessary for LMP1's signaling through NF-κB. LZ1EBV, a recombinant EBV genetically altered to express LZ1, a derivative of LMP1 in which a leucine heptad was replaced with alanines, transformed B cells with 56% of wild-type (wt) EBV's efficiency, demonstrating the importance of this heptad. To elucidate the mechanism by which this domain contributes to the functions of LMP1, the properties of the wt and LZ1 were compared in transfected cells. LZ1 failed to home to lipid rafts as efficiently as did wt LMP1. The distribution of tagged derivatives of LZ1 also differed from that of wt LMP1 in transfected cells. LZ1's defect in homing to lipid rafts and altered trafficking likely underlie the defect in transformation of LZ1EBV. While the third and fourth membrane-spanning domains of LMP1 foster its trafficking to the Golgi, the leucine heptad within the first membrane-spanning domain contributes to its trafficking, particularly to internal rafts. B cells that are successfully transformed by LZ1EBV have the same average number of viral genomes and the same fraction of cells with capped LZ1 at the cell surface but express 50% more of the LZ1 allele than wt infected cells.
Alcohol: Its Metabolism and Interaction With Nutrients

In the past, alcoholic liver disease was attributed exclusively to dietary deficiencies, but experimental and judicious clinical studies have now established alcohol's hepatotoxicity. Despite an adequate diet, it can contribute to the entire spectrum of liver diseases, mainly by generating oxidative stress through its microsomal metabolism via cytochrome P4502E1 (CYP2E1). It also interferes with nutrient activation, resulting in changes in nutritional requirements. This is exemplified by methionine, one of the essential amino acids for humans, which needs to be activated to S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), a process impaired by liver disease. Thus, SAMe rather than methionine is the compound that must be supplemented in the presence of significant liver disease. In baboons, SAMe attenuated mitochondrial lesions and replenished glutathione; it also significantly reduced mortality in patients with Child A or B cirrhosis. Similarly, decreased phosphatidylethanolamine methyltransferase activity is associated with alcoholic liver disease, resulting in phosphatidylcholine depletion and serious consequences for the integrity of membranes. This can be offset by polyenylphosphatidylcholine (PPC), a mixture of polyunsaturated phosphatidylcholines comprising dilinoleoylphosphatidylcholine (DLPC), which has high bioavailability. PPC (and DLPC) opposes major toxic effects of alcohol, with down-regulation of CYP2E1 and reduction of oxidative stress, deactivation of hepatic stellate cells, and increased collagenase activity, which in baboons, results in prevention of ethanol-induced septal fibrosis and cirrhosis. Corresponding clinical trials are ongoing.
Earth satellite orbits as KAM tori

Kolmogorov, Arnold, and Moser predicted that trajectories in lightly perturbed Hamiltonian systems should lie on tori, now known as KAM tori. In this paper we explore the possibility that this is the case for Earth orbits perturbed by the entire geopotential. Methods for determining the torus frequencies and coordinate Fourier series are developed. The basis frequencies of the torus can be identified to very high accuracy in a finite integration. Fitting Fourier series is computationally expensive, but can be used to confirm that a KAM torus exists. Many Earth orbits seem to lie on such tori.
Ethiopian Musical Invention in Diaspora: A Tale of Three Musicians

This essay, based on ethnographic interviews and observation, discusses the lives and careers of three prominent Ethiopian musicians from sacred, folkloric, and popular musical domains (Moges Seyoum, Tesfaye Lemma, and Mulatu Astatke, respectively) whose individual initiatives have shaped the musical life of the Ethiopian diaspora during its formative years in the United States. These three careers provide an overview of musical activity within the Ethiopian American diaspora community since its inception and shed light on concepts of creativity as conceived both in the Ethiopian homeland and among the immigrant musicians profiled. The conclusion suggests that the ability of each man to negotiate the transition to diaspora life varied according to the musical domain in which he was engaged, his personal background, and the moment and circumstances of his arrival in the United States. (January 2009)
Feature preserving distance fields

We present two distance field representations which can preserve sharp features in original geometric models: the offset distance field (ODF) and the unified distance field (UDF). The ODF is sampled on a special curvilinear grid named an offset grid. The sample points of the ODF are not on a regular grid and they can float in the cells of a regular base grid. The ODF can naturally adapt to curvature variations in the original mesh and can preserve sharp features. We describe an energy minimization approach to convert geometric models to ODFs. The UDF integrates multiple distance field representations into one data structure. By adaptively using different representations for different parts of a shape, the UDF can provide high fidelity surface representation with compact storage and fast rendering speed.
Changes in PINCH levels in the CSF of HIV+ individuals correlate with hpTau and CD4 count

Several studies report associations between the particularly interesting new cysteine histidine-rich (PINCH) protein and HIV-associated CNS disease. PINCH is detected in the CSF of HIV patients, and changes in levels during disease may be indicative of changes in disease status over time. PINCH binds hyperphosphorylated Tau (hpTau) in the brain and CSF, but little is known about the relevance of these interactions to HIV CNS disease. In this study, PINCH and hpTau levels were assessed in three separate CSF samples collected longitudinally from 20 HIV+ participants before and after initiating antiretroviral therapy or before and after a change in the treatment regimen. The intervals were approximately 1 (T2) and 3–7 (T3) months from the initial visit (baseline, T1). Correlational analyses were conducted for CSF levels of PINCH and hpTau and other variables including blood CD4 T-cell count, plasma and CSF viral burden, CSF neopterin, white blood cell (WBC) count, and antiretroviral CNS penetration effectiveness (CPE). Values for PINCH and hpTau were determined for each patient by calculating the fold changes between the second (T2) and third measurements (T3) from the baseline measurement (T1). Statistical analyses showed that the fold changes in CSF PINCH protein from T1 to T2 were significantly higher in participants with CD4 counts >200 cells/mm3 at T2 compared to those with CD4 counts <200 cells/mm3 at T2. This trend persisted irrespective of plasma or CSF viral burden or antiretroviral therapy CPE scores. The fold changes in PINCH levels between T1 and T2, and T1 and T3 were highly correlated to the fold changes in hpTau at T2/T1 and T3/T1 (correlation coefficient = 0.69, p < 0.001; correlation coefficient = 0.83, p < 0.0001, respectively). In conclusion, in these HIV participants, changes in CSF levels of PINCH appear to correlate with changes in blood CD4 count and with changes in CSF hpTau levels, but not with plasma or CSF viral burden, neopterin, WBC, or antiretroviral regimen CPE.
Junction Losses in Laminar and Transitional Flows

Analytical and experimental studies were carried out to develop additional data on energy losses at a junction for systems operating in the Reynolds number range of between 10 and 10,000. The test pipe fittings were short-radius, galvanized screwed tees operated so as to produce both a combination and division of flow. The fittings were mounted in a 3/4-in. standard black iron pipeline with SAE No. 10 cylinder oil being circulated by a gear pump driven by a variable speed motor. The analytical phase of the program yielded fitting loss coefficients which can be used to estimate the energy loss due to the fitting over and above that due to straight pipe friction. It was concluded from an analysis of the results that the relationship between the loss coefficients and Reynolds number for pipe fittings can be represented by a family of curves similar in format to those of the Moody diagram for flow in straight pipes without fittings.
Anti-Inflammatory Therapy in Sepsis

Despite advances in supportive care and medical technology, the mortality rate from sepsis remains high (35–50%) (1). It is the most common cause of death in non-cardiac intensive care units, and the incidence appears to be rising (2). Over the last 20 years, prevailing thought has attributed much of the morbidity and mortality of sepsis to an overexuberant host inflammatory response to bacteria or bacterial products. In preclinical studies, agents designed to limit this host pro-inflammatory response showed promising effects, prompting numerous clinical trials.
Acute urinary retention.

Summary Acute urinary retention is a common emergency genitourinary symptom. The etiology of acute retention includes obstructive, neurogenic, pharmacologic, and psychogenic causes. The emergency management of acute urinary retention is bladder decompression, which is usually accomplished with a Foley catheter.
An Adaptive Utility Approach for Improved Use of Marketing Models

A decision-making approach integrating information from managerial experience with that provided by marketing models is proposed. The approach suggests that managers should learn to value more thos...
Abstract 5160: Global metabolomic profiles distinguish malignant from non-malignant human mammary epithelial cell responses to endogenous p53 upregulation by MDM2 antagonism

Wildtype (wt) p53 can alter metabolic pathways and mitochondrial function but it is unclear whether these responses are similar in normal and malignant cells, where it is also hypothesized that p53wt can modulate the Warburg effect. Therefore, we used a small molecule inhibitor of MDM2, MI-63 (Ding et al., J. Med. Chem. 2006; Ascenta/Sanofi), to induce ∼5-fold intracellular increases in p53wt protein levels within 24 h of treating malignant (MCF-7) or non-malignant (MCF10A) human mammary epithelial cells, whereupon global biochemical changes were assayed in replicate (x6) extracts using various mass spectrometry platforms (GC/MS, LC/MS/MS; Metabolon, Durham, NC). Extracts from similarly treated p53mut malignant SKBr3 cells were also assessed. Normalized (to total protein) and imputed data from 310 known and detected biochemicals were compared for treatment effects (Wilcoxon rank sum test, p Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 5160. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-5160
Why No National Health Insurance in the U.S.? The Limits of Social Provision in War and Peace, 1941–1948

Why, alone among its democratic capitalist peers, does the U.S. not have national health insurance? This question has invited a range of replies; some focusing on specific historical episodes, some invoking grand political or cultural or economic explanations for the peculiar trajectory American social policy. For the most part, the historical accounts have trouble climbing from narrative to explanation; little of the scholarship on the failure of health reform in 1920 or 1935 or 1948 or 1970 or 1994 makes any substantial contribution to our larger understanding of the American welfare state and its limits. And the theoretical accounts often stumble on the descent to historical context; the largely artificial debate between “state-centered” and economic explanations, for example, rests largely on abstractions which are either not unique to the American setting (capitalism, industrialism, liberalism) or which are offered in such broad strokes that they make little sense in specific historical contexts. In explaining this “hole” in the American welfare state, it is necessary to pursue two lines of inquiry; to consider both the relative success of other American social programs during the years in which health insurance was beating at the door, and the relative success of public health insurance in other national settings. Our understanding of the American health debate of the 1940s, in other words, must in part explain both the distinct trajectory of health policy during the formative years of Social Security, and the “exceptional” character of the American welfare state.
Gait mechanics 2 years after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction are associated with longer‐term changes in patient‐reported outcomes

This study tested the hypothesis that side-to-side differences in knee gait mechanics 2 years after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction are associated with long-term (∼8 years post-reconstruction) changes in patient-reported outcome scores. Sixteen subjects (5 males; age: 29.1 ± 7.1 years) with primary unilateral ACL reconstruction were gait tested at baseline (2.2 ± 0.3 years post-ACL reconstruction) and filled out KOOS and Lysholm surveys. At long-term follow-up (7.7 ± 0.7 years post-ACL reconstruction), the same subjects completed KOOS and Lysholm surveys. Pearson correlation coefficients assessed relationships between side-to-side differences in kinematics and kinetics at baseline and changes in Lysholm and KOOS Pain/QOL scores from 2 to 8 years post-ACL reconstruction. Significant associations were seen between greater average varus rotation (Lysholm: R = -0.654, p = 0.006) and less anterior femoral displacement (Lysholm: R = 0.578, p = 0.019) during stance of the ACL reconstructed knee versus the contralateral knee at baseline and worse follow-up outcome scores. Significant associations were seen between greater peak knee flexion moment (KOOS Pain: R = -0.572, p = 0.026; KOOS QOL: R = -0.636, p = 0.011), peak knee adduction moment (Lysholm: R = -0.582, p = 0.018; KOOS Pain: R = -0.742, p = 0.002; KOOS QOL: R = -0.551, p = 0.033), and peak internal rotation moment (Lysholm: R = 0.525, p = 0.037; KOOS Pain: R = 0.815, p < 0.001; KOOS QOL: R = 0.777, p = 0.001) in the ACL reconstructed knee at baseline with worse follow-up outcomes. The results of this study support the hypotheses that early changes in gait mechanics following ACL reconstruction are associated with longer-term clinical changes in patient-reported outcomes, suggesting that biomechanical markers obtained as early as 2 years after ACL reconstruction may be useful to understand clinical outcomes in this population. © 2016 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 35:634-640, 2017.
Diagnosing and managing oropharyngeal candidiasis

Oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) is often one of the first signs of immunodeficiency. The symptoms may include a sore and painful mouth, a burning tongue, dysgeusia, and dysphagia. However, some patients are asymptomatic despite the presence of clinical signs, such as diffuse erythema and whitish patches on the surfaces of the buccal mucosa, throat, tongue, and gums. The most serious complication of untreated OPC is extension of infection into the esophagus. Although numerous antifungal agents are available, the azoles-both topical (clotrimazole) and systemic (fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole)-have replaced older topical antifungals in the management of OPC. Fluconazole has become an integral part of the management of mucosal candidiasis. Itraconazole and posaconazole have clinical response rates similar to those of fluconazole and are effective alternatives.
Global burden of childhood tuberculosis

In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared tuberculosis (TB) to be responsible for more deaths than any other single infectious disease. The burden of TB among children has frequently been dismissed as relatively low with resulting deaths contributing very little to global under-five all-cause mortality, although without rigorous estimates of these statistics the burden of childhood TB was, in reality, unknown. Recent work in the area has resulted in a WHO estimate of 1 million new cases of childhood TB in 2014 resulting in 136,000 deaths. Around 3% of these cases likely have multidrug-resistant TB and at least 40,000 are in HIV-infected children. TB is now thought to be a major or contributory cause of many deaths in children under five years old, despite not being recorded as such, and is likely in the top ten causes of global mortality in this age group. In particular, recent work has shown that TB is an underlying cause of a substantial proportion of pneumonia deaths in TB-endemic countries. Childhood TB should be given higher priority: we need to identify children at greatest risk of TB disease and death and make more use of tools such as active case-finding and preventive therapy. TB is a preventable and treatable disease from which no child should die.
Adverse outcomes associated with pulmonary hypertension in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease after bilateral lung transplantation.

Abstract Background The impact of pulmonary hypertension (PH) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) on survival after lung transplantation (LTx) is not known. Material and methods First-time adult LTx recipients with COPD transplanted between May 2005 and September 2013 were identified in the United Network for Organ Sharing Registry database, and tracked from transplant date until death or censoring. Right heart catheterization (RHC) measurements at time of wait listing were used to predict all-cause mortality after LTx, with multivariable analyses stratified by transplant type. Results Of 3362 COPD LTx recipients, 3105 were included in the analytic sample, with multiple imputation used to complete missing data on covariates. Multivariable analysis found the hazard of death to increase with a 10 mmHg increase in mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) among recipients of bilateral LTx (HR = 1.12; 95% CI = 1.01, 1.24; p = 0.032), but not among recipients of single LTx (HR = 0.92; 95% CI = 0.80, 1.06; p = 0.234). Conclusion PH prior to bilateral LTx in patients with COPD is associated with higher mortality risk.
2D Coherent Spectroscopy of Electronic Transitions

Abstract Optical two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy has been developed as a new method over the last 20 years. It probes the structure and dynamics of materials by exciting them with a sequence of phase-coherent pulses and recording their response as two or more delays are varied. It excels at determining if resonances are coupled, overcoming the effects of inhomogeneous broadening and disentangling congested resonances by spreading them in two dimensions. In this chapter, we review the use of two-dimensional coherent spectroscopy to probe electronic transitions in atomic vapors and semiconductor heterostructures. The atomic vapors provide an ideal model system to test the technique. At the same time, it provides unexpected results that arise from interactions between atoms in the vapor. In semiconductor quantum wells, the two-dimensional coherent spectra reveal the importance of many-body interactions in the nonlinear optical response. It also provides unique insight into the role of interactions in double-quantum wells.
Abdominal Aortic Calcification Among Individuals With and Without Diabetes: The Jackson Heart Study.

Diabetes increases mortality by two- to fourfold from atherosclerosis-related causes, including coronary artery disease, stroke, and peripheral artery disease (1). There is a paucity of population-based data on subclinical atherosclerotic disease in arterial beds other than the coronary arteries in persons with diabetes (2). In the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), we examined the association of diabetes with abdominal aortic calcification (AAC) among African Americans. Among included individuals ( n = 1,664), the mean age was 57 (± 11) years, 69% were female, and 18.3% had diabetes (based on fasting blood glucose [FBG], HbA1c, use of glucose-lowering medications, or physician diagnosis). The median AAC and coronary artery calcification (CAC) scores were 904.15 (interquartile range 0–1093.10) and 0 (0–96.19), respectively. The prevalence of any AAC or CAC was 69% and 49%, respectively. Individuals with diabetes were older, had higher BMI, had higher systolic blood pressure and prevalence of hypertension, had lower …
International Adjudication and Public Opinion in Territorial Disputes: Evidence from a Survey Experiment Using Amazon Mechanical Turk

This article explores the effects of international adjudication on individual-level attitudes in territorial disputes. In particular, we investigate the micro-foundations for the argument that international court rulings provide political cover for governments settling disputes through unpopular territorial concessions. In an online survey conducted for this project, 494 Indian respondents were confronted with a fictitious foreign policy scenario. A randomized experiment embedded in the survey provides four major findings. First, international adjudication makes citizens more willing to support concessions in border disputes. Second, international courts influence the perceived fairness of comprosmise solutions. Third, legal conflict management mediates the emotional fallout of territorial concessions. Finally, we do not find any evidence for the claim that international adjudication reduces individual-level concerns over commitment problems. By focusing on individual-level data, this article provides an important contribution to the literature on international conflict management.
Surface Tension of Solid Gold

Using a modified Udin, Shaler, and Wulff technique, the surface tension of gold in purified helium was found to be 1400 ± 65 dynes per cm for the temperature range 1017° to 1042°C.
Effects of straw processing and pen overstocking on the growth performance and sorting characteristics of diets offered to replacement Holstein dairy heifers

Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of pen-stocking density and straw processing on the growth performance, feed-bunk sorting behaviors, and hygiene of Holstein dairy heifers. Two corn silage-alfalfa haylage diets diluted with wheat straw were offered; diet composition was identical, except that one diet contained short (well-processed) straw (SS; 46.0% neutral detergent fiber, 12.9% crude protein, 60.7% total digestible nutrients, TDN), and the other long (poorly processed) straw (LS; 46.5% neutral detergent fiber, 12.6% crude protein, 60.0% TDN; % of dry matter basis). A 2 × 3 factorial arrangement of straw-processing (SS or LS) and pen-stocking-density [100, 125, or 150% of capacity] treatments was evaluated with 240 Holstein dairy heifers (410 ± 56.3 kg) that were blocked by weight, and then assigned to 24 pens with 4 pens/interactive treatment. For 91 d, diets were dispersed at 1100 h daily, and bunks were sampled subsequently at 1300, 1600, 1900, 2200, 0100, and 0600 h during 3 evaluation periods throughout the trial. Diets were offered for ad libitum intake, but with minimal orts ( 19 mm) particles increased linearly from 1.26 to 2.82 across sampling times, differing from the SS diet at 2200, 0100, 0600, and 0900 h (orts). Similar factors calculated for the SS diet also increased linearly across sampling times, but these responses were less severe (1.27 to 1.97). Overall, particle-size concentration factors for physically effective fiber exhibited responses similar to those observed for large particles, except they were limited to narrower ranges for both the SS (1.04 to 1.14) and LS (1.03 to 1.26) diets. Despite these differences, daily dry matter intake was not affected by treatment (mean = 9.65 kg of dry matter/d), nor was daily intake of TDN (mean = 5.92 kg of TDN/d). For SS, heifers housed within overstocked pens exhibited reduced average daily gain (ADG) compared with the 100% stocking rate (0.93 vs. 0.99 kg/d). With LS processing, ADG differed between the 125 and 150% stocking rates (0.96 vs. 0.88 kg/d), as did the within-pen coefficient of variation for ADG (10.7 vs. 18.6%). Hygiene scores (1 = clean, 4 = caked-on manure) for legs (range = 2.1 to 2.3) and flanks (range = 1.6 to 1.9) indicated heifers stayed acceptably clean, but the within-pen coefficient of variation for legs (14.4 vs. 9.0%) and flanks (34.2 vs. 23.8%) was greater for overstocked pens compared with the 100% stocking density, thereby suggesting hygiene scores were more variable without a free stall for each heifer.
After the Trump Era: A Constitutional Role Morality for Presidents and Members of Congress

In the United States today, the behavior of the political branches is generally viewed as more damaging to the American constitutional system than is the behavior of the federal courts. Yet constitutional law scholarship continues to focus primarily on judges and judging. This Article suggests that such scholarship should develop for presidents and members of Congress what it has long advocated for judges: a role morality that imposes normative limits on the exercise of official discretion over and above strictly legal limits. The Article first grounds a role morality for federal elected officials in two purposes of the U.S. Constitution whose vindication requires more than compliance with legal rules: securing the American conception of democracy as collective self- governance and creating a reasonably well-functioning federal government. Given its close connection to those purposes, a role morality for presidents and members of Congress is appropriately described as constitutional, not merely political. This Article then proposes some rhetorical, procedural, and substantive components of constitutional role morality, including a commitment to consult the political opposition before taking important actions and a rebuttable presumption in favor of moderation and compromise. The Article also explains how different actors in the American constitutional system should execute their professional responsibilities if they are to make it more, rather than less, likely that such a role morality will eventually be adopted and maintained. A final part anticipates objections, including the concern that the vision offered here faces significant implementation problems.
Abstract 18666: A Carbon Monoxide (CO) Scavenging Agent Reverses CO-Induced Mitochondrial Inhibition in vitro and in vivo

Introduction: There are 50,000 cases of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning per year in the United States alone. Even with current therapy, 1/3 of moderate-severely poisoned patients have cardiac dysfun...
Politics, Political Philosophy and the Politics of Philosophy

Philosophy has its own politics. That is to say, the ‘society’ (or the ‘profession’) of philosophy and of philosophers has its roles and rules, its means and ends, its conflicts and mediations, its forms of governance, its modes of dominance and subordination, its varying ‘constitutions’ which determine legality, legitimacy and due process. This analogous ‘politics of philosophy’ has its counterpart in the politics of the larger society in which philosophy functions, and the relation between the ‘inner’ and ‘outer’ politics — between that of philosophy and that of society (or of a given society) — may well be instructive concerning both polities. It is not simply that (the profession of) Philosophy is Politics writ small, or that Politics is Philosophy writ large, though the Platonic metaphor is suggestive. Rather, it is that the study of the state of philosophy reveals something about the state of Society at large, and vice versa.
Indiana Continent Urinary Reservoir

AbstractCecoileal reservoirs were created in 29 patients. Tunneled ureteral implantations along the tenia of the cecum provided the antireflux mechanism. Plication or tapering of the terminal ileal segment along with the ileocecal valve provided the continence mechanism.The tubular configuration of the cecum was disrupted with either an ileal or sigmoid patch, or it was re-configured in a Heineke-Mikulicz type of closure to avoid bolus (unit) contractions. Shortterm followup examination with excretory urography showed no upper tract obstruction. X-rays of the pouch showed no reflux and interviews revealed satisfactory continence in 93 per cent of the patients.
The Right of Free Expression

The philosophical literature on freedom of expression is marked by controversy over claimed bases for freedom of expression, and the exponents of various moral and political theories have devoted much effort toward fitting the justification of it as a right within their favored frameworks. One of the useful consequences of the stress on varying underlying bases for free expression has been that a number of philosophical foundations have been offered, all of which have some measure of plausibility.
Solving Problems Efficiently in R&D Projects: An Empirical Study of the Application of Six Sigma Tools in an Industrial Research Center

Given the high uncertainty in R&D work, a key concern of R&D managers is to understand how to fail faster by managing time and cost efficiently among their R&D projects. This study investigates how using a variety of Six Sigma tools can differentially affect R&D project time and cost performance. Our data are collected from 35 R&D projects in an industrial R&D center, and a total of 30 different Six Sigma tools were found to be used in varying frequencies. We analyze this problem in two phases. First, by analyzing the frequencies of tool use in the 35 projects through factor analysis, we find the application of Six Sigma tools can be guided by two distinct patterns of tool use: design-oriented tools (DT) and non-design-oriented tools (non-DT). DT include quality function deployment and failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) for defining and understanding of the focal problems, while non-DT include Pareto chart and design of experiment for generating and testing solutions for the defined problems. Second, based on the two categories of tool use, we further analyze the effects of the two patterns of tool use on project duration and project cost. Results show that using a variety of DT is associated with faster project completion and non-DT lower project cost. In addition, the use of Six Sigma tools (both DT and non-DT) is associated with shorter durations and higher costs for complex projects but lower costs and longer durations for less complex projects. That is, different modes of trade-ff between time and cost performance can occur when project complexity is considered as a moderating factor. Overall, our findings demonstrate new insights into how using a variety of problem-solving tools affects R&D project cost and duration simultaneously.
Original articleFactors influencing pleural drainage in parapneumonic effusionsFactores que influyen en el drenaje del derrame pleural paraneumónico

Objective The identification of parapneumonic effusions (PPE) requiring pleural drainage is challenging. We aimed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of radiological and pleural fluid findings in discriminating between PPE that need drainage (complicated PPE (CPPE)) and those that could be resolved with antibiotics only (uncomplicated PPE (UPPE)).
Colonial Virginia: The Intellectual Incubator of Judicial Review

What is the historical origin of judicial review in the United States? Although scholars have acknowledged that British imperial “disallowance” of colonial law was an influential antecedent, the extant historical scholarship devoted to the mechanics of disallowance is sparse. This limited exploration is surprising. Not unlike modern judicial review, the guiding question imperial overseers considered when disallowing colonial legislation was whether it was ‘repugnant’ to the laws of England. In response, this Note’s first contribution is to explain the process by which the so-called repugnancy principle was enforced against inferior colonial law. Even fewer scholars have attempted to connect the ultimate repugnancy assessment to the historical context surrounding disallowed colonial laws. This Note’s second contribution is thus to augment existing literature by exploring colonial Virginia’s specific experience under imperial supervision. Among the scholars that have explored the connection between colonial disallowance and the origins of judicial review, some have documented the link between imperial legislative review of colonial legislation and James Madison’s proposed constitutional solution to the problem of unrestrained state legislatures in the aftermath of independence. What remains to be explored, however, is how Madison explicitly drew on the history of imperial review of colonial Virginia’s laws as he argued at the Constitutional Convention for a federal power to “negative” state laws. Accordingly, this Note’s third contribution is to reveal that the historical practice of imperial review in Madison’s native Virginia animated his proposed solution to check the unrestrained popular will of state legislators. Although his proposed solution was ultimately rejected at the Convention, that rejection was conditioned on the judiciary possessing the power of judicial review. By exposing this hidden link, this Note demonstrates that colonial Virginia rightly may be regarded as the intellectual incubator of judicial review.
Ordinal Scale Based Uncertainty Models for AI

Abstract In human processed AI, HP-AI, we build our AI systems based on knowledge learned by human experts rather then that learned by artificial neural networks such as in the case of deep learning. The information provided by these human experts is typically linguistically expressed. In support of HP-AI we look at the properties of an ordinal scale, S, needed to model linguistically expressed quantitative information. Since fuzzy measures provide a very general structure for modeling uncertainty we look at ordinal fuzzy measures. We look at the Sugeno integral based on this ordinal S scale. We discuss the modeling of information about an uncertain variable using an ordinal scale. We look at the problem of multi-source in this ordinal environment.
Aging in Place: Smith, Media Texts and the Invisible Gendered Caregiver

This paper addresses a hidden variable underlying the recent phenomena of ―aging in place.‖ That variable is the degree to which aging in place relies on women‘s caregiving. Seeking to understand the connection between aging in place and gendered caregiving, and to explore the effects of aging in place on the social condition of women caregivers, this paper utilizes a feminist theoretical perspective presented by Dorothy E. Smith to examine popular texts on aging in place. Smith suggested that texts are means by which the male dominated relations of ruling exercise power over women by patterning the actual daily existence of women‘s lives (Smith 1990). Adopting this foundation, this paper considers texts on aging in place with the objective of learning how the texts pattern the aging in place process and how the process creates and reproduces power over women and maintains gender inequality. Popular texts on aging in place describe the process as one that both provides independence and can be independently achieved. By ignoring and devaluing the work of caregivers involved in the aging in place process, these texts ultimately work to reproduce women‘s financial disadvantages and limit women‘s participation in positions of power.
Effect of sodium bisulfate amendments on bacterial populations in broiler litter.

Abstract The accumulation of ammonia in poultry houses is of concern to bird and human health. Acidification of the litter by application of acidifying amendments such as sodium bisulfate (SBS) retains ammonia generated by microbial degradation of uric acid as harmless ammonium in the litter. Although some studies on the effects of litter amendments on specific bacteria and groups of bacteria have been carried out previously, wide gaps in knowledge remain. In the present study, 2 types of samples were prepared and either left unamended or amended with 2.5 or 10% SBS. One set of samples consisted of a 1:1 mixture of built-up litter and fresh poultry manure (L/M); the other of fresh wood shavings and fresh poultry manure (S/M). The samples were kept in the laboratory at room temperature for 35 d. The pH of unamended mixtures increased to 7.3 and 6.9 for L/M and S/M, respectively. A pH of 6.7 and 3.9 on day 35 was observed for L/M and SM with 2.5% SBS, respectively. The corresponding values for LM and SM amended with 10% SBS were 3.5 and 2.5, respectively. Plating data indicated that coliforms became less numerous in the unamended samples than the SBS-amended samples. This difference was also seen in data obtained by high-throughput sequencing of 16S rDNA. The sequencing data also indicated that sequences from the genus Oceanisphaera accounted for as much as 80% of the sequences from L/M and about 40% of those from S/M samples early on. Sequences from members of the order Clostridiales were enriched in L/M and S/M amended with 10% SBS as were sequences from the genus Turicibacter. Weisella species sequences were more prevalent in SBS-amended samples than in unamended ones. Sequences from the genus Corynebacterium, Brachybacterium, and Arthrobacter were more common in L/M samples than in S/M samples regardless of the SBS content. The data indicate that litter amendments affect some bacteria populations and not others. Further studies are required to determine if the observed population changes such as increased survival of coliforms warrant actions to improve the microbial quality of litter to be reused.
A report of a retained bullet in the bladder which migrated from an extraperitoneal injury.

Abstract Genitourinary trauma secondary to a gunshot wound is uncommon as it only occurs in about 10% of cases. We present a case of a gentleman who suffered a gunshot wound to the pelvis. The bullet was originally extraluminal to the bladder; however, upon repeat CT scan eight days later, the bullet had migrated intra-luminally. We hope to show through this case that uncomplicated extraperitoneal injuries with an adjacent missile might benefit from early surgical exploration.
The information provided by the absence of cues: insights from Bayesian models of within and transgenerational plasticity.

Empirical studies of phenotypic plasticity often use an experimental design in which the subjects in experimental treatments are exposed to cues, while the subjects in control treatments are maintained in the absence of those cues. However, researchers have virtually ignored the question of what, if any, information might be provided to subjects by the absence of the cues in control treatments. We apply basic principles of information-updating to several experimental protocols used to study phenotypic plasticity in response to cues from predators to show why the reliability of the information provided by the absence of those cues in a control treatment might vary as a function of the subjects’ experiences in the experimental treatment. We then analyze Bayesian models designed to mimic fully factorial experimental studies of trans and within-generational plasticity, in which parents, offspring, both or neither are exposed to cues from predators, and the information-states of the offspring in the different groups are compared at the end of the experiment. The models predict that the pattern of differences in offspring information-state across the four treatment groups will vary among experiments, depending on the reliability of the information provided by the control treatment, and the parent’s initial estimate of the value of the state (the parental Prior). We suggest that variation among experiments in the reliability of the information provided by the absence of particular cues in the control treatment may be a general phenomenon, and that Bayesian approaches can be useful in interpreting the results of such experiments.
Mapping vapor – solid distributions of silicon germanium chemical vapor depositions

Abstract A Thermodynamic analysis of Si1-xGex Chemical Vapor Deposition via SiH4 and GeH4 was conducted for a complete determination of the Vapor – Solid distribution of Ge mole fraction. Explicit Vapor – Solid distributions are achieved after an empirical adjustment of the Gibbs Free Energy of reactions. The chemical reaction behind the adjusted values are not clearly identified, but thermodynamic control of the elemental ratio of the deposited films is definitely demonstrated. Only three numbers are needed to achieve full knowledge of a distribution, the Gibbs Free Energy of reactions for the deposition of each element and the regular solution interaction parameter. The underlying laws necessary for the comprehension of semiconductor Vapor – Solid Distributions are thus completely known, and the only difficulty lays in the determination of the Gibb Free Energy of reactions needed for the successful mapping of the distribution.
Matrix Representations of Holomorphic Curves on $T_{4}$

We construct a matrix representation of compact membranes analytically embedded in complex tori. Brane configurations give rise, via Bergman quantization, to U(N) gauge fields on the dual torus, with almost-anti-self-dual field strength. The corresponding U(N) principal bundles are shown to be non-trivial, with vanishing instanton number and first Chern class corresponding to the homology class of the membrane embedded in the original torus. In the course of the investigation, we show that the proposed quantization scheme naturally provides an associative star-product over the space of functions on the surface, for which we give an explicit and coordinate-invariant expression. This product can, in turn, be used the quantize, in the sense of deformation quantization, any symplectic manifold of dimension two.
The use of observational research to inform clinical practice.

Randomized controlled trials are the preferred design for the analysis of health-related interventions. In this Viewpoint, Nigel Paneth and Michael Joyner discuss circumstances when randomized controlled trials might not be feasible and the criteria that should be used when considering applying observational data medicine.
Preparation and Oxygen Sensitivity of a Range of Noble-Metal Nanoparticles (Ir, Pt, and Au) Protected by a Series of Chalcogen–Dodecane Ligands (S, Se, and Te)

Iridium, platinum, and gold nanoparticles, protected with sulfur, selenium, or tellurium dodecane ligands, were synthesized under ambient laboratory conditions. These nine nanoparticles were charac...
Enhancing cassava reproductive development does not negatively impact shoot to root ratio and dry matter content in storage roots

From previous studies we developed treatments that significantly improved cassava female flower and fruit development, using a combination of the anti-ethylene, silver thiosulfate (STS), and the cytokinin, benzyladenine (BA); collectively referred to as plant growth regulators (PGR). In this study, we investigated whether the benefit derived from this treatment altered partitioning of photosynthate to other sinks and general vegetative growth of cassava in the first six months of plants growth, when reproductive growth initiates and peaks. Our flower enhancing treatment did not significantly alter shoot and storage root fresh weight, partitioning index on a fresh weight basis and percent dry matter content of storage roots between Months 2 and 5. With the onset of the dry season in Month 6, PGR treated plants had higher shoot and storage root fresh weight than controls but these plant parts responded proportionally and so partitioning index between controls and treated plants was not significantly different. The nighttime starch export under PGR treatments was reduced at Months 2, 4 and 5 but this was not correlated with flower development at these months. The survival of PGR treated plants until harvest was however reduced owing to increased mortality arising from phytotoxicity and increased susceptibility to disease. We therefore conclude that PGRs have effects more directly on flower and fruit reproductive signaling and regulatory pathways rather than on an indirect effect on resource partitioning.
Not One Space for Y

I see Y reading the comments her teacher left on her paper. She uses Google Translate to add perfectly spelled words clarifying a detail about her grandmother’s aspiration to become literate. At least this is how I imagine Y to have prepared her college essay. I have not met Y. But I am certain that she never expected her writing to be the focus of a teachers’ planning meeting.
Random control selection for conducting high-throughput adverse drug events screening using large-scale longitudinal health data.

Case-control design based high-throughput pharmacoinformatics study using large-scale longitudinal health data is able to detect new adverse drug event (ADEs) signals. Existing control selection approaches for case-control design included the dynamic/super control selection approach. The dynamic/super control selection approach requires all individuals to be evaluated at all ADE case index dates, as the individuals' eligibilities as control depend on ADE/enrollment history. Thus, using large-scale longitudinal health data, the dynamic/super control selection approach requires extraordinarily high computational time. We proposed a random control selection approach in which ADE case index dates were matched by randomly generated control index dates. The random control selection approach does not depend on ADE/enrollment history. It is able to significantly reduce computational time to prepare case-control data sets, as it requires all individuals to be evaluated only once. We compared the performance metrics of all control selection approaches using two large-scale longitudinal health data and a drug-ADE gold standard including 399 drug-ADE pairs. The F-scores for the random control selection approach were between 0.586 and 0.600 compared to between 0.545 and 0.562 for dynamic/super control selection approaches. The random control selection approach was ~ 1000 times faster than dynamic/super control selection approach on preparing case-control data sets. With large-scale longitudinal health data, a case-control design-based pharmacoinformatics study using random control selection is able to generate comparable ADE signals than the existing control selection approaches. The random control selection approach also significantly reduces computational time to prepare the case-control data sets.
Homer in Stone: The Tabulae Iliacae in their Roman Context

Introduction 1. Reading visual narrative in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds 2. Tabula and taxis 3. The semantics of the center 4. Narrative in frieze and panel 5. Findspots, display contexts, and the Roman public library 6. Epic in miniature Appendix 1. Conspectus of the Tabulae Iliacae Appendix 2. Description of selected Tabulae: texts and images.
A Typology of Errors and Myths Perpetuated in Educational Research Textbooks

This paper identifies major errors and myths perpetuated by educational research textbooks. The most pervasive errors and myths advanced by methodology textbooks at the following eight phases of the educational research process are described: (a) formulating a research problem/objective; (b) reviewing the literature; (c) developing the research purpose/research question(s) and hypotheses; (d) selecting a research design/method; (e) collecting data; (f) analyzing the data; (g) interpreting/validating the data; and (h) communicating the findings. Second, the implications of these errors and myths are provided. It is shown how research textbooks can be reframed to break down the barriers between quantitative and qualitative research.