cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mitochondria oxidative stress, connexin43 remodeling, and sudden arrhythmic death.

Background— Previously, we showed that a mouse model (ACE8/8) of cardiac renin–angiotensin system activation has a high rate of spontaneous ventricular tachycardia and sudden cardiac death secondary to a reduction in connexin43 level. Angiotensin-II activation increases reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and ACE8/8 mice show increased cardiac ROS. We sought to determine the source of ROS and whether ROS played a role in the arrhythmogenesis. Methods and Results— Wild-type and ACE8/8 mice with and without 2 weeks of treatment with L-NIO (NO synthase inhibitor), sepiapterin (precursor of tetrahydrobiopterin), MitoTEMPO (mitochondria-targeted antioxidant), TEMPOL (a general antioxidant), apocynin (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase inhibitor), allopurinol (xanthine oxidase inhibitor), and ACE8/8 crossed with P67 dominant negative mice to inhibit the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase were studied. Western blotting, detection of mitochondrial ROS by MitoSOX Red, electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, fluorescent dye diffusion technique for functional assessment of connexin43, telemetry monitoring, and in vivo electrophysiology studies were performed. Treatment with MitoTEMPO reduced sudden cardiac death in ACE8/8 mice (from 74% to 18%; P <0.005), decreased spontaneous ventricular premature beats, decreased ventricular tachycardia inducibility (from 90% to 17%; P <0.05), diminished elevated mitochondrial ROS to the control level, prevented structural damage to mitochondria, resulted in 2.6-fold increase in connexin43 level at the gap junctions, and corrected gap junction conduction. None of the other antioxidant therapies prevented ventricular tachycardia and sudden cardiac death in ACE8/8 mice. Conclusions— Mitochondrial oxidative stress plays a central role in angiotensin II–induced gap junction remodeling and arrhythmia. Mitochondria-targeted antioxidants may be effective antiarrhythmic drugs in cases of renin–angiotensin system activation.
HLA C and D antigens associated with psoriasis

SUMMARY The frequency of two newly defined HLA antigens, HLA CT7 and DMA, was found to be greatly increased in patients with psoriasis. These two antigens and those previously found to be associated with the disease, B13, BW16 and BW17, frequently occurred together. The disease may be primarily associated with HLA DMA, or with the HLA haplotypes CT7-B13/W16/W17-DMA.
Suppression of Murine Cardiac Allograft Arteriopathy by Long-Term Blockade of CD40-CD154 Interactions

Background— The interaction between CD40 on antigen-presenting cells and CD40L on T cells is critical in allograft rejection. CD154 blockade suppresses allograft rejection, but the role of this pathway in allograft vasculopathy remains obscure. Methods and Results— A vascularized murine heterotopic cardiac transplant model was used to test whether perioperative CD154 blockade suppresses allograft vasculopathy or whether long-term CD154 blockade is required to suppress allograft vasculopathy. Perioperative CD154 blockade consisted of MR1 given on days −1, 1, and 3; long-term blockade consisted of MR1 given on days −1, 1, and 3 and continued twice weekly for 8 weeks. Allografts treated with perioperative or long-term CD154 blockade survived indefinitely. Perioperative and long-term treatment with control antibody (Ha4/8) resulted in uniform early rejection. Perioperative CD154 blockade transiently reduced early T-cell and macrophage infiltration in parallel with a transient reduction in endothelial adhesion...
Risk Factors for Intracerebral Hemorrhage in a Pooled Prospective Study

Background and Purpose— Few prospective studies have reported risk factors for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and results are inconsistent. We studied risk factors for ICH in a pooled cohort of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS). Methods— The ARIC cohort was recruited in 1987 to 1989 and involves 15 792 men and women, aged 45 to 64 years at baseline, sampled from 4 US communities. The CHS cohort was recruited in 1989 to 1993 and involves 5888 men and women, aged 65 or over at baseline, sampled from 4 US communities. Baseline measurements included many potential vascular risk factors. The cohorts were followed for incident stroke events. Results— Over 263 489 person-years of follow-up, 135 incident ICH events occurred. In a multivariable model, age, African-American ethnicity (versus Whites), and hypertension were positively associated with incident ICH, whereas low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides were inversely related to incid...
Christopher Meidel and the First Norwegian Contacts with Quakerism

FIFTEEN years ago when some two million Americans of Norwegian ancestry were celebrating the centennial of the first migration from Norway to America I published in these pages an account of the Quaker antecedents of the famous voyage of the sloop Restaurationen. From English, Norwegian and American sources it was possible to recount the story of a group of Norwegian prisoners of war in prison ships on the Thames who were befriended and converted by English Quakers and returned home in 1814 to Stavanger and elsewhere to establish Quaker meetings. One of these men, Lars Larsen, with men of like independence, such as Cleng Peersen who preceded him and Knud Andersen Slogvig who followed, organized an escape from the clerical oppressions in Norway, purchased a small ship, and landing in New York in October 1825, proceeded inland to found in western New York the first of many Norwegian settlements in the United States.' The following scattered data are now collected to indicate some earlier contacts between the
Foliar chemistry linked to infestation and susceptibility to hemlock woolly adelgid (Homoptera: Adelgidae)

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) is an invasive insect pest that is causing widespread mortality of eastern hemlock. However, some stands remain living more than a decade after infestation. To date, this has been attributed to site and climatic variables. This multi-tiered study examines the role foliar chemistry may play in A. tsugae success and subsequent hemlock decline. Comparisons of resistant and susceptible hemlock species indicate higher concentrations of P and lower concentrations of N in resistant species. On experimentally colonized hemlocks, the numbers of live sistens present after two A. tsugae generations was correlated with higher K and lower P concentrations. A regional T. canadensis monitoring effort showed that concentrations of Ca, K, N, and P were most strongly correlated with A. tsugae densities, which was the driving factor in hemlock decline. From the results of this study, we hypothesize that higher N and K concentrations may enhance hemlock palatability, thereby increasing A. tsugae population levels, whereas higher concentrations of Ca and P may deter more severe infestations. Foliar chemistry alone can explain over one-half of the variability in hemlock decline witnessed at 45 monitoring plots across the northeastern United States. Combining chemistry and traditional site factors, an 11-class decline rating could be predicted with 98% 1-class tolerance accuracy on an independent validation set. These results suggest that foliar chemistry may play a role in eastern hemlock susceptibility to A. tsugae infestation and should be included in risk assessment models.
Entertainment Law Compendium (Version 1.0)

Casebook on entertainment law, including relevant First Amendment, contract, tort, and copyright law.
Parallelizing natural language techniques for knowledge extraction from cloud service level agreements

To efficiently utilize their cloud based services, consumers have to continuously monitor and manage the Service Level Agreements (SLA) that define the service performance measures. Currently this is still a time and labor intensive process since the SLAs are primarily stored as text documents. We have significantly automated the process of extracting, managing and monitoring cloud SLAs using natural language processing techniques and Semantic Web technologies. In this paper we describe our prototype system that uses a Hadoop cluster to extract knowledge from unstructured legal text documents. For this prototype we have considered publicly available SLA/terms of service documents of various cloud providers. We use established natural language processing techniques in parallel to speed up cloud legal knowledge base creation. Our system considerably speeds up knowledge base creation and can also be used in other domains that have unstructured data.
In Re Moot Court

The article explains how law school moot-court programs work. Among other things, the article describes the importance of moot-court programs, how schools select members of the moot-court board, and the logistics of interscholastic competitions.
Remediation of nutrients runoff from feedlot by hydroponic treatment

Nutrient runoff from feedlot can contaminate surface and groundwater and may cause eutrophication if not managed properly. In this study, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly hydroponic treatment was compared with the standard Hoagland solution for treating feedlot runoff and evaluating plant growth and nutrient removal under greenhouse conditions. The hydroponic remediation method was evaluated in batches using 10 L of feedlot runoff and Hoagland solution individually applied in a plastic tub planted with water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), water lettuce (Postia stratiotes), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) separately. Water samples were collected weekly and plant biomass were collected at the beginning and the end of the experiment. The sorghum plants grown in the Hoagland solution produced 3.0 and 2.6 times higher biomass than the runoff in first and second batch experiment, respectively, due to balanced nutrient availability, especially nitrogen. Nutrients from the feedlot runoff and Hoagland solution were reduced by all plants as they uptake nutrients, but sorghum outperformed other plants. Plants grown in feedlot runoff, reduced >90% ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N) through the root absorption. Total phosphorus (TP) reduction by sorghum ranged 52%-92% from the Hoagland solution and 70%-100% from the feedlot runoff. Water hyacinth reduced TP by 61%-74% from the feedlot runoff, but only 9%-33% in the Hoagland solution. The TP reduction by water lettuce ranged 49%-93% from the feedlot runoff, but its reduction was not significant in the Hoagland solution. Water lettuce reduced significantly more (75%) Total Kjeldahl Nitrogen (TKN) from the undiluted feedlot runoff than the sorghum (61%) and water hyacinth (66%). Overall, sorghum outperformed water lettuce and water hyacinth by taking up more TP, NH4-N, nitrite and nitrate nitrogen (NO2-N+NO3-N), ortho-phosphorus (Ortho-OP), and potassium (K) from the undiluted feedlot runoff in both batch experiments. Normal 0 false false false EN-US ZH-CN X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
Changes in Body Weight, Fill, and Shrink of Calves Grazing Wheat Pasture in the Winter and Spring

Abstract Although wheat pasture (Triticum aestivum L.) contains high concentrations of digestible CP and DM, calves may have very low or negative BW gains until they can adapt to this new nutrientrich diet. The objectives of these experiments were to determine changes in BW in stocker calves during the first 28-d period of grazing wheat pasture in the winter and spring and the impact of grazing wheat pasture on the amount of fill lost during fasting. During the spring grazing season, the adaptation period was much shorter than during the winter grazing season. During the winter grazing season, calves grazing wheat forage for the first time had negative BW gains for the first 14 d, but positive BW gains the next 14 d. By d 28 of the winter grazing season, the amount of BW lost during a 16-h fast was less (P
Algorithms + Organization = Systems

Even though a computer science or computing-oriented de- gree is unavoidably broken into semesters and courses, we always hope that our students form a holistic picture of the discipline by the time they graduate. Yet we do not have too many opportunities to make this point in a convincing manner. This paper reports our e?orts to point out the connections between a seemingly (in the eyes of students) disconnected subset of courses in our degree requirements. In particular, we report on how we have used research papers as the glue between topics covered in our algorithms and sys- tems oriented courses (such as Organization and Computer Networks). Our assessment of the course has shown that students have not only made gains in their understanding and appreciation of meaningful intra-disciplinary connec- tions, but have also advanced in designing empirical experi- ments (mimicking the methodologies observed in the chosen papers) and reading/writing technical papers.
Feminism and Critical International Political Economy

In her 1997 essay “Gender, Feminism and Political Economy” Georgina Waylen acknowledges the irony of having her work published in New Political Economy, a scholarly journal emphasizing “lack of rigidity and broadness of…scope”, despite the fact that its inaugural 1996 issue made “no mention” of gender or feminist analyses of the political economy (Waylen 1995: 205). She goes on to suggest that “having the occasional article by a feminist academic, and ‘openness’ as a policy is not enough on its own” (Waylen 1995: 205). Her attention to the tokenization of feminist analyses and the marginalization of gender within the new political economy (NPE) was echoed by Penny Griffin ten years later in “Refashioning IPE: What and how gender analysis teaches international (global) political economy”. In this piece, Griffin explains that gender remains “trivialized in the minds of the mainstream, as a category pertaining only to the lives of women, women’s labour rights and women’s social movements” (Griffin 2007: 720). Moreover, the absence of gendered analyses persists within the more radical tradition of critical international political economy (IPE), where “gender is rarely explicitly centralized…and the place of gender analysis remains as yet unguaranteed” (Griffin 2007: 723). Despite these exclusions, a rich body of literature has developed over the years by feminist scholars working within international relations (IR) resulting in a feminist IPE approach. Nonetheless, as Juanita Elias notes in “Critical Feminist Scholarship and IPE”, among the numerous barriers facing feminist scholars is their interdisciplinary training “which cannot be fitted neatly into an intellectual history of the discipline” (Elias 2011:102). Responding to what she describes as intellectual gatekeeping by those working within IPE, she states that “questions need to be raised, therefore, about the extent to which there is an implicit conservatism to IPE scholarship (be it ‘critical’ or otherwise) in which gender issues and feminist-oriented research are always constructed as somewhere ‘out there’ on the edges of the field” (Elias 2011:103).
Advanced Imaging and Diagnostic Methods in the Assessment of Suspected Ischemic Heart Disease in Women

Although differences diminish with age, outcomes are overall worse for women compared to men who present with suspected acute coronary syndrome. The reasons for this discrepancy are multifactorial, including sex-related differences in atherosclerosis biology and fluid dynamics, as well as a premature conclusion by providers that chest pain must be noncardiac in the absence of obstructive coronary artery disease. In this review of existing literature, we explore the diverse differential diagnosis in this unique set of patients. Especially in women with persistent symptoms, absence of occlusive disease should prompt consideration for subangiographic plaque disruption, epicardial or microvascular endothelial dysfunction, transient neurohormonal imbalance predisposing to Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or spontaneous coronary artery dissection, underlying systemic inflammatory conditions, thromboembolic disease, myocarditis, and sequelae of congenital heart disease. As always, a thorough history and attentive physical exam will help guide further work-up, which in many cases may warrant noninvasive imaging, such as contrast-enhanced echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, or positron emission tomography, with their respective means of measuring myocardial perfusion and myocardial tissue pathology. Lastly, intracoronary imaging such as intravascular ultrasound and optical coherence tomography and invasive diagnostic methods such as coronary reactivity testing continue to add to our understanding that what appear to be atypical presentations of ischemic heart disease in women may in fact be typical presentations of pathologic cousin entities that remain incompletely defined.
Legally Speaking: The Finn Episode and Alfred’s Law Code

This paper focuses on an intersection of law and poetry: the Finn Episode in Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon law codes, especially Alfred’s law code. This paper will first examine shared words and phrases, the lexical parallels, between Anglo-Saxon law codes and the Finn Episode in order to contextualize the events leading up to the making of the oaths and Hengest subsequently breaking the oath within legal tradition. The legal contextualization undergirds and supports a connection between the events described in the episode and the situation imagined in Alfred’s law code 1 and 1.1, where Alfred stipulates the importance of the oath and when it is permissible to break the oath. Ultimately, this paper will show that Beowulf and Alfred’s law code both imagine a subject who must self-legislate where conflicts between oath and duty are concerned.
Three-dimensional printing for preoperative planning of total hip arthroplasty revision: case report

Three dimensional (3D) printing can be used to create material models to aid preoperative planning of complex orthopedic procedures as exemplified by this case of total hip arthroplasty failure due to infection with resulting severe acetabular bone stock deficiency. The 3D model allowed for trialing of the acetabular component to determine cup size, position, and screw placement. Most importantly, the model confirmed that there was not a pelvic discontinuity and the revision shell would be sufficient for the reconstruction. Previously, the cost and complexity of utilization of 3D printers were prohibitive. Recent improvements in commercially available 3D printers have made rapid prototype model creation a realistic option, which can facilitate difficult surgery.
Effect of Diamond Wire Saw Marks on Solar Cell Performance

Abstract Diamond wires from several manufacturers were investigated in term of their impact on wafer quality and cell performance. It was identified that under identical ingot sawing conditions the diamond wire make had an impact on the resulting cell performance. Several cells exhibited defects that remained with the cell even after the saw damage etching process. These defects were investigated in terms of there impact on various solar cell performance parameters. This analysis was performed using photoluminescence imaging and spatially resolved quantum efficiency and reflectance measurements. The diamond wire marks were observed to have the largest impact on the local short-circuit current density across the cell.
A National Perspective on Exploring Correlates of Accreditation in Children’s Mental Health Care

This study is the first to explore national accreditation rates and the relationship between accreditation status and organizational characteristics and quality indicators in children's mental health. Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA's) National Survey of Mental Health Treatment Facilities (NSMHTF) were used from 8,247 facilities that serve children and/or adolescents. Nearly 60% (n=4,925) of the facilities were accredited by the Council on Accreditation (COA), the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), or The Joint Commission (TJC). Chi-square analyses were conducted to explore relationships. Compared to non-accredited facilities, more accredited facilities reported greater number of admissions, acceptance of government funding and client funds, and implementation of several quality indicators. Policies with incentives for accreditation could influence accreditation rates, and accreditation could influence quality indicators. These results set the foundation for future research about the drivers of the accreditation phenomenon and its impact on children's mental health outcomes.
Thermal groundwater contributions of arsenic and other trace elements to the middle Provo River, Utah, USA

Groundwater inputs can impact river water quality but are difficult to disentangle from agricultural, urban, and storm runoff. To better understand the multiple processes affecting water quality, we used major solute and trace element concentrations with continuous measurements of flow rates and specific conductance to track temporal and spatial changes in surface water and groundwater solute inputs into the middle Provo River, located in northern Utah, USA. Thermal groundwater was the most important source of major solutes and trace elements to the middle Provo River, with concentrations of As, B, Cs, Li, Sr, and Rb increasing dramatically (twofold to tenfold) downstream of thermal water inputs in the Snake Creek tributary. Snake Creek accounted for only 20% of the flow to the Provo River but increased the As concentrations ~four-fold. Diffuse groundwater inputs, including thermal water, along the Provo River also contributed a measureable increase in solute concentrations. Mixing calculations indicate that groundwater contributed up to 10% of the total streamflow to the middle Provo River, causing an increase in thermal groundwater-derived trace element concentrations. In addition to natural groundwater inputs, water quality was impacted by anthropogenic trace and major element inputs from surface water tributaries. Nitrate, Ba, and V concentrations increased substantially downstream of agricultural/urban inputs. Specific conductance data showed that tributaries added solutes to the Provo River during runoff events, likely from the washoff of road salts. With evidence of both natural and anthropogenic inputs of trace and major elements to the middle Provo River, our study has implications for understanding water quality in complex coupled human–natural systems and demonstrates the influence of thermal groundwater inputs on water quality where such systems discharge.
Electrochemical Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater: Pilot Scale Study

Electrochemical technologies for groundwater treatment use a low-level direct current (DC) through electrodes in wells, which enables manipulation of groundwater chemistry. There are several advantages to this approach: 1) It is sustainable and can be driven by a renewable energy source (e.g., solar power), 2) it does not require the addition of solutions or chemicals into groundwater, and 3) the rates of redox reactions can be controlled by adjusting electric current intensity. Two transformation mechanisms are evaluated within this approach depending on electrode materials used: electrochemical reduction of contaminants using iron anodes and foam cathodes, and electrochemical oxidation of contaminants by generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) using inert electrodes. The first step in implementation of electrochemical technologies is the development of an electrolytic reactor within the aquifer. The effects of the concentration of added ferrous ions, salts, and operational conditions such as flow rates and current density have been considered to optimize the remedial system conditions.
Subsurface iceberg melt key to Greenland fjord freshwater budget

Liquid freshwater fluxes from the Greenland ice sheet affect ocean water properties and circulation on local, regional and basin-wide scales, with associated biosphere effects. The exact impact, however, depends on the volume, timing and location of freshwater releases, which are poorly known. In particular, the transformation of icebergs, which make up roughly 30–50% of the loss of the ice-sheet mass to liquid freshwater, is not well understood. Here we estimate the spatial and temporal distribution of the freshwater flux for the Helheim–Sermilik glacier–fjord system in southeast Greenland using an iceberg-melt model that resolves the subsurface iceberg melt. By estimating seasonal variations in all the freshwater sources, we confirm quantitatively that iceberg melt is the largest annual freshwater source in this system type. We also show that 68–78% of the iceberg melt is released below a depth of 20 m and, seasonally, about 40–100% of that melt is likely to remain at depth, in contrast with the usual model assumptions. Iceberg melt also peaks two months after all the other freshwater sources peak. Our methods provide a framework to assess individual freshwater sources in any tidewater system, and our results are particularly applicable to coastal regions with a high solid-ice discharge in Greenland. Iceberg melt is the largest annual freshwater source in a south Greenland fjord, with release largely below 20 m depth, according to iceberg-model simulations. Furthermore, iceberg melt peaks later in the year than other sources of freshwater.
Ocular Toxicity Profile of ST-162 and ST-168 as Novel Bifunctional MEK/PI3K Inhibitors.

Abstract Purpose: ST-162 and ST-168 are small-molecule bifunctional inhibitors of MEK and PI3K signaling pathways that are being developed as novel antitumor agents. Previous small-molecule and bio...
FFAR4 Is Involved in Regulation of Neurotensin Release From Neuroendocrine Cells and Male C57BL/6 Mice

Neurotensin (NT), a 13 amino-acid peptide, is predominantly released from enteroendocrine cells of the small bowel in response to fat ingestion. Free fatty acid receptors (FFARs) FFAR1 and FFAR4 regulate secretion of gut hormones and insulin. Here, we show that docosahexaenoic acid, a long-chain fatty acid, has the most dramatic effect on NT release. FFAR1 agonists slightly stimulate and FFAR4 agonists dramatically stimulate and amplify NT secretion. Double knockdown of FFAR1 and FFAR4 decreases NT release, whereas overexpression of FFAR4, but not FFAR1, increases NT release. Administration of cpdA, an FFAR4 agonist, but not TAK-875, a selective FFAR1 agonist, increases plasma NT levels and further increases olive oil-stimulated plasma NT levels. Inhibition of MAPK kinase (MEK)/ERK1/2 decreased fatty acid-stimulated NT release but increased AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation. In contrast, inhibition of AMPK further increased NT secretion and ERK1/2 phosphorylation mediated by FFAR1 or FFAR4. Our results indicate that FFAR4 plays a more critical role than FFAR1 in mediation of fat-regulated NT release and in inhibitory crosstalk between MEK/ERK1/2 and AMPK in the control of NT release downstream of FFAR1 and FFAR4.
Intelligent Evaluation and Feedback in Support of a Credit-Bearing MOOC

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) may reach a massive number of people, but few MOOCs count for credit. Scaling rigorous assessment, feedback, and integrity checks presents difficulties. We implemented an AI system for a CS1 MOOC-for-credit to address both scale and endorsement. In this analysis, we present the design of the system and an evaluation of the course. We observe that students in the online course achieve comparable learning outcomes, report a more positive student experience, and identify AI-equipped programming problems as the primary contributor to their experiences.
Parental Psychopathology and Sleep Variation in Children.

Parent report of sleep habits in toddlers at risk for psychopathology was examined using a newly developed questionnaire. Total sleep time, bedtime struggles, sleep behavior, night waking, morning waking, and daytime sleepiness were assessed. Specific maternal diagnostic classification was not associated with the child’s sleep, but general indices of mental illness were. Also, more competent child behavior was associated with better organized sleep. Poorly functioning families had children whose sleep habits were less optimal. The interpretation of sleep organization within the larger developmental psychopathology framework is discussed.
Engineering plants for increased nutrition and antioxidant content through the manipulation of the vitamin E pathway.

Recent advances in our understanding of tocopherol biosynthesis have helped us identify key regulatory enzymes controlling pathyway flux and tocopherol composition. This information is invaluable to plant breeders and biotechnologists who wish to create commercial crops with both elevated and tailored tocopherol compositions that can be utilized for food and industrial chemicals. The biofortification of crop foods with elevated vitamin E levels should be one of the major priorities for crop improvement. Our ability to develop novel crop foods that are biofortified for vitamin E will have a significant impact on the health of the general public. Although fiscal gains have been one of the primary motivating forces behind these efforts, altruistic aims have also driven this research. Specifically, groups are interested in developing foods that have been biofortified for vitamin E. The rationale being that substantial increases in the vitamin E content of food crops are needed to provide the public with dietary sources that can approach the therapeutic levels needed to achieve the desired health benefits of vitamin E. As yet, no such food crop exists and, with current sources, one would need to consume approximately 730 gm of soybean oil or more than 3.5 kg of spinach to obtain the minimum recommended therapeutic levels of vitamin E (100 IU/day) to prevent coronary heart disease. Neither option is practical and clearly illustrates the need for improved food crops with elevated levels of α-tocopherol. Biofortified plants would provide a sustainable alternative to a prescribed regimen of vitamin E supplementation that would be available to everyone regardless of income or class.
What is a Rule of Mind

There are rules of thumb, rules of law, rules of games, rules of habit (he does this as a rule) and rules of strategy at least, and they differ one from the other. What is a rule of mind? Well, it is similar to a rule of logic, but not the same in its governing. A good way to introduce and elaborate the idea is to trace its history. What I shall have to say is incomplete. Attributions I make as to the origin of the idea are subject to correction by historical scholars — if and when they decide to turn to the subject.
Racial differences in the incidence and survival of patients with neuroendocrine tumors (NETs).

e16175Background: NETs are the second most prevalent of all gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. Racial disparities still persist in spite of rapid advances leading to the reduction in morbidity and...
Risk Factors in Pediatric Blunt Cervical Vascular Injury and Significance of Seatbelt Sign.

Author(s): Ugalde, Irma T.; Claiborne, Mary K.; Cardenas-Turanzas, Marylou; Shah, Manish N.; Langabeer II, James R.; Patel, Rajan | Abstract: Introduction: Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is used to screen patients for cerebrovascular injury after blunt trauma, but risk factors are not clearly defined in children. This modality has inherent radiation exposure. We set out to better delineate the risk factors associated with blunt cervical vascular injury (BCVI) in children with attention to the predictive value of seatbelt sign of the neck. Methods: We collected demographic, clinical and radiographic data from the electronic medical record and a trauma registry for patients less than age 18 years who underwent CTA of the neck in their evaluation at a Level I trauma center from November 2002 to December 2014 (12 years). The primary outcome was BCVI. Results: We identified 11,446 pediatric blunt trauma patients of whom 375 (2.7%) underwent CTA imaging. Fifty-three patients (0.4%) were diagnosed with cerebrovascular injuries. The average age of patients was 12.6 years and included 66% males. Nearly half of the population was white (52%). Of those patients who received CTA, 53 (14%) were diagnosed with arterial injury of various grades (I-V). We created models to evaluate factors independently associated with BCVI. The independent predictors associated with BCVI were Injury Severity Score g/= 16 (odds ratio [OR] [2.35]; 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.11-4.99%]), infarct on head imaging (OR [3.85]; 95% CI [1.49-9.93%]), hanging mechanism (OR [8.71]; 95% CI [1.52-49.89%]), cervical spine fracture (OR [3.84]; 95% CI [1.94-7.61%]) and basilar skull fracture (OR [2.21]; 95% CI [1.13-4.36%]). The same independent predictors remained associated with BCVI when excluding hanging mechanism from the multivariate regression analysis. Seatbelt sign of the neck was not associated with BCVI (p=0.68). Conclusion: We have found independent predictors of BCVI in pediatric patients. These may help in identifying children that may benefit from screening with CTA of the neck.
Lacosamide Pharmacokinetics in a Critically Ill Patient During Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy

The objective of this study is to describe the pharmacokinetics of lacosamide in a critically ill adult during continuous venovenous hemofiltration (CVVH). A 78-year-old male developed sepsis and acute kidney injury following cardiac surgery. He was initially treated with intermittent hemodialysis but developed nonconvulsive status epilepticus at the end of the first session and was subsequently initiated on CVVH. In addition to lorazepam boluses, levetiracetam, and midazolam infusion, he was loaded with lacosamide 400 mg intravenously and started on 200 mg intravenously twice daily as maintenance therapy. Noncompartmental modeling of lacosamide pharmacokinetics revealed significant extracorporeal removal, a volume of distribution of 0.69 L/kg, elimination half-life of 13.6 hours, and peak and trough concentrations of 7.4 and 3.7 mg/L, respectively (goal trough, 5-10 mg/L). We found significant extracorporeal removal of serum lacosamide during CVVH, which was higher than previously reported. This led to subtherapeutic concentrations and decreased overall antiepileptic drug exposure. The relationship between serum lacosamide concentrations and clinical efficacy is not well understood; thus, therapeutic drug monitoring is not routinely recommended. Yet, we demonstrated that measuring serum lacosamide concentrations in the critically ill population during continuous renal replacement therapy may be useful to individualize dosing programs. Further pharmacokinetic studies of lacosamide may be necessary to generate widespread dosing recommendations.
Just Posting in the Same Place: Confronting the Paucity of Collaborative Behavior in US K-12 Wikis

This study investigates the distribution of student collaborative behaviors in a sample of 406 US K-12 wikis randomly drawn from a population of 179,851 publicly viewable, education-related wikis. Aided by computational tools, trained human coders conducted a large-scale content analysis examining every revision to every page of each of these 406 wikis. Seven types of student collaborative behavior were found in these wikis: concatenation, copyediting, co-construction, commenting, discussion, scheduling, and planning. These behaviors occurred very infrequently; only 11% of wikis show evidence of even one of these types of behaviors, and the simplest forms of collaboration, concatenation and commenting were most common. These findings suggest that peer-production platforms used in schools primarily support individual work, especially given the emphasis on individual assessment in formal school settings.
Immune infertility and new approaches to treatment.

A number of patients who have involuntary infertility show sperm antibodies in the blood serum, as detected by two quite different methods of spermagglutination. These techniques are the Kibrick method (gelatin agglutination test) and the F-D method (tube-slide agglutination test). By the former technique, the sera of 18% of women and 9% of men from infertile couples were found to be positive; by the latter technique, the sera of 15% of women and 5% of men were positive. Such cases are termed "immunologic infertility." In an effort to develop new methods for the treatment of infertility, two procedures were explored. One is a sperm washing insemination method in which fresh semen from a man with the antibody is centrifuged, resuspended in an albumin solution, and then used for insemination. The second is an immunosuppression method, using methylprednisolone at a dose of 96mg/day for 7 days. A striking decrease in antibody level was seen in some cases, with ensuing pregnancy. The success rates for these methods have been of the order of 14% to 22%.
Best Practices in Teaching Endoscopy Based on a Delphi Survey of Gastroenterology Program Directors and Experts in Endoscopy Education

Background and Aims Teaching endoscopy is a key objective of gastroenterology (GI) fellowship programs but the best approach is not known. We sought to characterize which teaching competencies experts considered most critical for endoscopy education. Methods We developed and refined 18 endoscopy teaching competencies based on literature review, personal experience, and interviews with experts. We invited GI fellowship program directors and endoscopy education experts to participate in a Delphi process to rate each proposed competency as essential, important but not essential, or not important using a 70% agreement threshold for consensus. Thirty-four GI fellowship program directors and 2 experts in endoscopy education participated (n = 36). Results Most survey participants were male (61.8%), associate professors (55.9%), and had performed at least a quarter of procedures with fellows (80.6%). Survey response rates were 94% (34 of 36) for round 1 and 91% (31 of 34) for round 2 (overall 31 of 36; 86.1%). After 2 rounds we achieved the predefined consensus level for most competencies. Fourteen of 18 competencies (77.8%) reached consensus after round 2: 10 (55.6%) were deemed essential and 4 (22.2%) were deemed important but not essential. Essential competencies included the following: discusses patient history and plans for procedure with trainee (100%), assumes control of procedure when trainee is unable to progress or if patient safety concerns arise (100%), maintains attention throughout the case (96.8%), and discusses the next steps in management for the patient (96.8%). Conclusions In a national Delphi survey of endoscopy education experts, we identified 10 essential endoscopy teaching competencies. These can be used to frame faculty development and standardize GI fellowship programs to promote high-quality endoscopy education.
Spatial coherence filtering for scatter rejection in underwater laser systems

Spatial optical coherence filtering is investigated as a means of reducing the amount of scattered light collected by an underwater laser system in turbid water. This approach exploits differences in coherence between unscattered and scattered laser light as a means of discrimination against scattered light prior to opto-electronic detection. An all optical filter is designed and tested that uses an axicon and a mask to pass the coherent, unscattered light while blocking the incoherent, scattered light. Experiments are performed in a laboratory water test tank to measure the effectiveness of the filter in reducing scattered light collection. The results obtained using the axicon filter are compared to those obtained using no filtering and using a conventional spatial filter. The axicon filter is shown to reduce the contribution of scattered light relative to either other test case.
Synthesis of 2′-Substituted Inosine Analogues via Unusual Masking of the 6-Hydroxyl Group.

2′-Modified inosine analogues (V) and (X) are synthesized from 6-chloropurine riboside (I) via 6-(dimethylamino)purine (IV) or 6-(benzyloxy)purine (VIII) intermediates.
A new adsorption model based on generalized van der Waals partition function for the description of all types of adsorption isotherms

Abstract A new adsorption model is proposed based on the Generalized van der Waals partition function by introducing the concept of attractive region, which integrates the effects of the adsorption sites of adsorbent and represents pore space where adsorbates concentrate. A theoretical expression for the chemical potential of adsorbates in the attractive region is derived and used to calculate the adsorbate density in each attractive region. The model can generate all the six types of isotherms classified by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) report including those with hysteresis and is easy to use. It is a generalized model that can be applied to various types of porous materials. With the fitted parameters, the model can predict the adsorption isotherms even for adsorbents with wide pore size distributions. It also well captures the isotherm-type transition as temperature changes and can estimate the hysteresis when capillary condensation exists.
Excess pressure and electric fields in nonideal plasma hydrodynamics

Nonideal plasmas have nontrivial space and time correlations, which simultaneously impact both the excess thermodynamic quantities as well as the collision processes. However, hydrodynamics models for designing and interpreting nonideal plasma experiments, such as inertial-confinement fusion experiments, typically neglect electrodynamics, although some models include electric fields indirectly through a generalized Fick's law. However, because most transport models are not computed self-consistently with the equation of state, there is double counting of the forces in the excess thermodynamic quantities and the collision terms. Here we employ the statistical mechanical hydrodynamic theory of Irving and Kirkwood [J. Chem. Phys. 18, 817 (1950)JCPSA60021-960610.1063/1.1747782] to examine inhomogeneous, nonideal plasmas that contain electric fields. We show that it is not possible to simultaneously separate terms that correspond to electric fields and excess pressure; rather, these quantities arise from the same interparticle Coulomb forces. Moreover, new terms associated with nonlocality appear in the presence of strong inhomogeneities.
DEPURACIONES DE LO AMORFO. MODELACIONES MORFOLÓGICAS EN BASE A PROCESOS DE CRECIMIENTO Y FRAGMENTACIÓN ESCALAR

El articulo revisa ciertas posibilidades de modelacion pre-arquitectural, derivadas del paradigma morfologico-espacial proveniente de la tradicion moderna en la arquitectura y arte, orientada a la liberacion del espacio y la depuracion de la forma, basada en la regulacion de operaciones y procedimientos a partir de exploraciones morfologicas usualmente colindantes con lo amorfo o formas irregulares, que nos ofrecen las llamadas teorias de la Complejidad, propio de geometrias como los fractales, las teorias del Caos, los sistemas iterados, los lenguajes de patrones, la fragmentacion escalar, la deconstruccion, el crecimiento modular, entre otras, las cuales progresivamente han sido asimiladas o exploradas en diversos sentidos y angulos, desde la arquitectura, constituyendo un fertil campo de exploracion contemporanea. En este marco, se plantea una revision de casos planteados en la Escuela de Arquitectura de la Universidad de Valparaiso, discutiendo y revisando las implicancias para la modelacion morfologica como herramienta pedagogica y de exploracion formal.
What Defines Reality?: Robot/Android Self-Knowledge and Authenticity

In this chapter, Gibson shows how the physical nature of the androids in Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Dick, Do androids dream of electric sheep. Del Ray, New York, NY, 1968/2017) is such that they are excellent examples for this conceit—human skin over an organic-mechanic built frame, they are the ultimate cyborgs, with programmed mental/emotional natures, and created bodies, who can, or are trying to, pass as human. Humans are born, made of flesh and blood, and have created the androids to do work they do not wish to do. How human do robots have to be in order for us to find them desirable? Some answers come from recent developments in android design and the reactions to them.
Applying educational psychology in coaching athletes

Sport coaches are influential leaders who have frequent interactions with athletes and thus have important impacts on athletes’ physical and psychosocial well-being (Conroy & Coatsworth, 2006). “Ap...
Degradation of impact toughness in cast stainless steels during long-term thermal aging

Abstract Cast austenitic stainless steels (CASSs) have been extensively used for the large components of nuclear reactor primary coolant systems. Since the cast steels inevitably contain degradable metastable phases and replacement of the large coolant system components is impractical, the thermal embrittlement of CASS components has been a serious concern in the extended-term operation of nuclear power plants. This study aimed to systematically measure and analyze the effect of long-term thermal aging on the Charpy impact toughness to provide a comprehensive understanding of thermal degradation behavior and a practical aging model to predict the degree of thermal degradation in the cast stainless steels. The materials tested in the research include eight CASS alloys (two CF3s, one CF3M, three CF8s, and two CF8Ms) and two reference wrought materials (304L and 316L), in which the nominal δ-ferrite content ranges from ~2% to 33%. These stainless steels have been thermally aged at two light water reactor (LWR) temperatures (290 and 330 °C) and at two accelerated-aging temperatures (360 and 400 °C) for up to 30,000 h; these include both under-aged and over-aged conditions relative to the extended service lifetime (80 years). Charpy impact testing was performed for aged and non-aged specimens, and the impact (absorbed) energy parameters were correlated with a new aging parameter (A). Both the reduction of impact fracture toughness and the shift of ductile-brittle transition temperature were strongly dependent on the δ-ferrite content and degree of thermal aging. A linear relationship was found between the increasing rate of the index transition temperature T41J and aging parameter A; base on which an empirical model was proposed for prediction of the transition temperature as a simple function of the aging parameter (A) and δ-ferrite content (F). Finally, the critical aging parameter for embrittlement (AC) was evaluated and compared with the existing δ-ferrite content criteria.
A 134-149 GHz IF Beamforming Phased-Array Receiver Channel with 6.4-7.5 dB NF Using CMOS 45nm RFSOI

This paper presents a 140 GHz IF beamforming phased-array receive channel with low noise performance in 45nm RFSOI process. The proposed high-IF (9-14 GHz) beamforming architecture realizes the lower loss and power consumption compared with RF and LO beamforming at 140 GHz, while rejecting the noise contribution from the image without external filtering. In this design, a fully-differential low-noise amplifier (LNA) is followed by an active double-balanced mixer and an IF beamformer, consisting of a variable gain amplifier (VGA) and a vector modulator (VM). A x6 on-chip multiplier is used to generate the 126-138 GHz local oscillator. The receiver consumes 133 mW with a measured peak gain and average NF of 26.5 dB and 7 dB, respectively (NF 6.4-7.5 dB at 134-149 GHz). The measured input P1dB is -30+/-1 dBm at 139-142 GHz. To our knowledge, this work presents the first phased-array beamformer receive channel with the lowest NF in the 140 GHz band.