cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evolution of Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the conversion of radiant energy, as light, into stored chemical energy. The central process is a light-driven separation of electrical charge across a biological membrane. Photochemical reaction centres carry out this process, and their three-dimensional protein structures now indicate that all modern reaction centres are homologous. Reaction centres with light-harvesting complexes comprise photosynthetic units, two of which are required for the oxygenic photosynthesis that now dominates biological energy flow in the biosphere. The evolutionary origin of oxygenic photosynthesis in cyanobacteria had a profound effect on the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere, on geology and on biology, paving the way for the evolution of complex, multicellular life. Eukaryotic plants and algae maintain the descendents of cyanobacteria as specialised, subcellular, cytoplasmic organelles called chloroplasts. The genes that remain in chloroplasts may be retained to be subject to regulatory control by the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Key Concepts: Photochemical reaction centres trap absorbed light energy as transmembrane charge separation. This vectorial electron transfer forms part of an electron transport chain, and drives vectorial proton translocation, establishing a proton motive force. The proton motive may also be produced by nonphotosynthetic electron transfer and perhaps, originally, by geothermal convection in the first living cells. Photosynthesis may have originated as a light-driven supplement to vectorial metabolism. Photochemical reaction centres today come in two broad types, I and II. These differ in their mode of electron transport, but the three-dimensional structure of their proteins indicates a common origin. Type I and type II reaction centres originated by gene duplication and subsequently diverged to give the reaction centres found today in different lineages of anoxygenic, photosynthetic bacteria, each with a single type of reaction centre. Type I and type II reaction centres came together again, in the first cyanobacterium, as photosystem I and photosystem II, two mutually interdependent photosynthetic units connected in series. Photosystem I and photosystem II together generate a sufficiently large electrical potential difference to permit photo-oxidation of water and photo-reduction of NADP+, with a consequent liberation of molecular oxygen. Oxygenic photosynthesis was acquired by eukaryotic cells through endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria. The overwhelming majority of cyanobacterial genes were either lost or relocated to the plant cell nucleus. Control of gene expression by photosynthetic electron transport may be an absolute and continuing requirement that justifies the maintenance of the small, quasi-autonomous, chloroplast genetic system. Keywords: photosynthetic reaction centres; light-harvesting antenna complexes; chlorophyll-binding proteins; electron transport; chloroplast; photosynthetic bacteria; cyanobacteria; photosystem I; photosystem II; oxygen evolution
Strengthening international mediation

Any of these models can be pursued in tandem with any other. There are undoubtedly other options as well so these must be considered illustrative of what might be done.
Next-Generation Broadband Networks

Broadband wireless access is viewed by many telephone and cable operators as a "disruptive" technology and rightly so. The broadcast nature of wireless transmission offers ubiquity and immediate access for both fixed and mobile users, clearly a vital element of quadruple play services involving voice, video, data, and mobility. Unlike wired access (copper, coax, fiber), a large portion of the deployment costs is incurred only when a subscriber signs up for service. The first part of the tutorial will provide a comparative assessment of the standards and technologies underpinning promising broadband wireless access solutions. Key standards include 802.16 (Wi-Max), 3G/4G/LTE, mobile digital TV broadcast, and 802.22 (wireless regional area network) with emphasis on the 802.16 standard. Key technologies include multimedia support, multiple antenna transmission, cognitive radio, and fixed-mobile convergence.
Single-Molecule Force Spectroscopy Measurements of Interactions between C60 Fullerene Molecules

The hydrophobic effect is important for many biological and technological processes. Despite progress in theory, experimental data clarifying the structure of water and the interactions between hydrophobic solutes at the nanometer scale are scarce because of the very low solubility of hydrophobic species. This article describes single-molecule force spectroscopy measurements of interactions between single fullerene C60 molecules in water. The C60 molecules were tethered by flexible poly(ethylene glycol) linkers to AFM probes and substrates, removing the uncertainty of the aggregation state of solution-based approaches and spurious surface effects. Our analysis of the dependence of the measured most-probable rupture force on the most-probable loading rate considered the deviations from the conventional Bell−Evans model caused by the effects of the anharmonic tether, as well as by the finite depth and shape of the potential well. The kinetic parameters of the activation barrier width, the dissociation rate ...
Design of Density Functionals by Combining the Method of Constraint Satisfaction with Parametrization for Thermochemistry, Thermochemical Kinetics, and Noncovalent Interactions.

We present a new hybrid meta exchange-correlation functional, called M05-2X, for thermochemistry, thermochemical kinetics, and noncovalent interactions. We also provide a full discussion of the new M05 functional, previously presented in a short communication. The M05 functional was parametrized including both metals and nonmetals, whereas M05-2X is a high-nonlocality functional with double the amount of nonlocal exchange (2X) that is parametrized only for nonmetals. In particular, M05 was parametrized against 35 data values, and M05-2X is parametrized against 34 data values. Both functionals, along with 28 other functionals, have been comparatively assessed against 234 data values: the MGAE109/3 main-group atomization energy database, the IP13/3 ionization potential database, the EA13/3 electron affinity database, the HTBH38/4 database of barrier height for hydrogen-transfer reactions, five noncovalent databases, two databases involving metal−metal and metal−ligand bond energies, a dipole moment databas...
Pathogens associated with southwestern corn borers and southern corn stalk borers (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

Abstract A study was undertaken to isolate entomopathogens of southwesterncorn borer, Diatraea grandiosella Dyer, and southern cornstalk borer, Diatraea crambidoides (Grote). Field-collecteddiapausing larvae of southwestern corn borer (three sites inMississippi) and southern corn stalk borer (one site in NorthCarolina), and a laboratory strain of D. grandiosella in thediapause state were maintained in a simulated winter followed by asimulated spring environment. Few larvae (≤6%) collected from any ofthe field sites died in the winter environment, and most insectmortality (11–25%) occurred after transfer of the larvae to thesimulated spring environment. Mortality during the simulated springperiod differed among the collection sites, and the highest mortalitywas recorded for southwestern corn borers from Washington County(25%), followed by Marshall (16%) and Oktibbeha (11%) Counties. Ahigh level of mortality was also observed in southern corn stalk borersduring the simulated spring period (27%). No viruses ...
Topographic Patterns of Nest Placement and Habitat Quality for Grassland Birds in Tallgrass Prairie

Much of the tallgrass prairie remaining in North America occurs in hilly regions, such as the Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma. Despite the conservation importance of these areas for grassland birds, little is known about how topographic variation in habitat affects the nesting ecology of these species. We examined topographic patterns of nest distribution, daily nest survival and nest-site selection for three species: Dickcissel (Spiza americana), Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum) and Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna). Dickcissels shifted from nesting more in lowlands to uplands as the season progressed. Grasshopper Sparrows and Eastern Meadowlarks generally nested in midland habitats, but seasonal differences were still evident in the relative proportions of nests found in lowlands vs. uplands. Topography did not affect nest survival of Dickcissels or Grasshopper Sparrows and had only a marginal effect on nest survival for Eastern Meadowlarks. Nest survival for Dickcissels and Grasshopper Sparrows was highly dependent on nest-site vegetation, however. Dickcissels and Eastern Meadowlarks both experienced greater daily nest survival with increasing vertical vegetation structure at nest sites, whereas daily nest survival for Grasshopper Sparrows increased with increasing cover of litter and grass. Although topography may not affect nest survival directly, it may have indirect effects mediated through nest-site vegetation because of selective nest placement. For example, Dickcissels and Eastern Meadowlarks selected sites with greater vertical vegetation structure than generally available, even in upland sites where vegetation structure was reduced. Conservation planning for grassland birds may thus need to consider how topographic variation affects habitat quality within hilly regions where much of the remaining tallgrass prairie occurs.
Study of Asphalt Aging Through Beam Fatigue Test

This study investigated the effects of aging on the flexural stiffness (E) and fatigue life (N) of asphalt concrete (AC) samples. Asphalt beam samples were prepared in the laboratory and subjected to various modes of aging (e.g., field aging, oven aging, forced air aging, normal air aging) for different periods. The flexural stiffnesses of these aged samples were determined by the four-point bending test. In addition, loose asphalt mixture was subjected to short-term oven aging up to 100 h. This loose mixture was used to prepare beam samples, which also were tested in the four-point bending mode. The flexural stiffness of unaged sample was determined as a reference value. Results showed that most of the aging occurred during the initial repetition of aging. Forced air caused more aging than the other modes. Overall, aged AC samples exhibited a shorter fatigue life (i.e., smaller N-value). The correlation of fatigue life with stiffness (i.e., N–E relationship) followed the same trend for unaged samples, ag...
Changing from the Inside Out: SimCalc Teacher Changes in Beliefs and Practices

Interviews with SimCalc teachers in the Democratizing Access to Core Mathematics Across Grades 9–12 study led to unexpected insights into instructional practices—and teacher beliefs that informed those practices. We found that working with SimCalc, over time, changed some teachers’ routine instructional practices and challenged them to reconsider their views about how children learn mathematics. These transformations were different across teachers but patterns emerged that could be linked to the amount of time teachers spent in the project, and to the instructional approaches inherent in SimCalc.
Use of the Spot Test in the Diagnosis of Pullorum Disease

Abstract THERE are certain factors that tend to interfere with the effective application of the agglutination test employed for the diagnosis of pullorum disease in chickens and turkeys. As the testing program has decreased the incidence of infected flocks, two of these factors have become of special concern to those engaged in the control of pullorum disease. First, there is the recent recognition by Younie (1941), Edwards and Bruner (1946) and others that Salmonella pullorum is subject to antigenic variation, giving rise to so-called standard and variant types. While the variant type of pullorum disease has been detected in various parts of the United States and Canada, more extensive serological typing is necessary to determine the true extent of variant infection. Investigations in recent years have established that either type of the disease may escape detection if an antigen prepared from the opposite type is used in testing. This fact has . . .
A dynamic analysis of infant mortality rate during 1951-2003 in Hongkou district Shanghai

[Objective] To monitor the changing trend of infant mortality rate (IMR) in Hongkou district Shanghai, observe how IMR affected average life expectancy, in order to take proper measures to reduce the rate. [Methods] Dynamic series analysis was used to analyze monitoring data of 623855 cases of live birth, 16559 cases of infant death in Hongkou district Shanghai during 1951-2003. [Results] The infant mortality rate and newborn baby mortality rate was 54.41 ‰ and 12.07% respectively in 1951-1953. Through intervention, they were reduced to 4.82 ‰ and 2.53% respectively in 2000-2003. The decline speed was 91.1% and 79.0% respectively ,which had significant effect on the average life expectancy and death structure. Contagious and parasitic diseases, which were the chief causes of death in the past have declined tremendously since 1951. Now newborn diseases and congenital abnormalities have become the main causes of infant death in recent years. [Conclusion] Along with the development of the medical profession in Hongkou district, their great effort have been taken to reduce the infant mortality rate. Now we should lay stress on monitoring birth defects and advocate perinatal health care, in order to reduce the IMR and increa the average life expectancy effectively.
SU-F-T-76: Total Skin Electron Therapy: An-End-To-End Examination of the Absolute Dosimetry with a Rando Phantom

Purpose: To examine and validate the absolute dose for total skin electron therapy (TSET) through an end-to-end test with a Rando phantom using optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLDs) and EBT3 radiochromic films. Methods: A Varian Trilogy linear accelerator equipped with the special procedure 6 MeV HDTSe- was used to perform TSET irradiations using a modified Stanford 6-dual-field technique. The absolute dose was calibrated using a Markus ion chamber at a reference depth of 1.3cm at 100 cm SSD with a field size of 36 × 36 cm at the isocenter in solid water slabs. The absolute dose was cross validated by a farmer ion chamber. Then the dose rate in the unit of cGy/Mu was calibrated using the Markus chamber at the treatment position. OSLDs were used to independently verify the dose using the calibrated dose rate. Finally, a patient treatment plan (200 cGy/cycle) was delivered in the QA mode to a Rando phantom, which had 16 pairs of OSLDs and EBT3 films taped onto its surface at different anatomical positions. The doses recorded were read out to validate the absolute dosimetry for TSET. Results: The OSLD measurements were within 7% agreement with the planned dose except the shoulder areas, where the doses recorded were 23% lower on average than those of the planned. The EBT3 film measurements were within 10% agreement with the planned dose except the shoulder and the scalp vertex areas, where the respective doses recorded were 18% and 14% lower on average than those of the planned. The OSLDs gave more consistent dose measurements than those of the EBT3 films. Conclusion: The absolute dosimetry for TSET was validated by an end-to-end test with a Rando phantom using the OSLDs and EBT3 films. The beam calibration and monitor unit calculations were confirmed.
Kinematic Waves and Specific Real-World Nonlinear Problems

This Chapter deals with the theory and applications of kinematic waves to several real-world problems, which include traffic flow on highways, flood waves in rivers, glacier flow, roll waves in an inclined channel, chromatographic models, and sediment transport in rivers. The general ideas and essential features of these problems are of wide applicability. Other applications of conservation laws include various chromatographic models in chemistry and movement of pollutants in waterways. The propagation of traffic jams is almost similar to the shock waves that cause noise pollution near airports and spaceports. Kinematic wave phenomena also play an important role in traveling detonation and combustion fronts, the wetting water fronts observed in soils after rainfall, and clanking observed in shunting trains. All of these problems are essentially based on the theory of kinematic waves developed by Lighthill and Whitham (1955). Many basic ideas and important features of hyperbolic waves and kinematic shock waves are found to originate from gas dynamics. So, specific nonlinear models which describe Riemann’s simple waves with Riemann’s invariants and shock waves in gas dynamics are discussed. Considerable attention is also given to nonlinear hyperbolic systems and Riemann’s invariants, generalized simple waves, and generalized Riemann’s invariants.
Cardioversion and Acute Atrial Fibrillation Management

There are more than six million people with atrial fibrillation (AF) in the United States, and approximately 1.6 million new cases occur annually. Many such patients present to the emergency department (ED) and require management of symptoms or an unfavorable hemodynamic profile. Whereas heart rate control has historically been the focus of ED management, attempts to cardiovert selected patients to sinus rhythm have been shown to be a safe and cost-effective strategy that can negate the need for hospital admission for many patients. The decision to pursue an early rhythm control strategy depends on a variety of factors, including patient stability, age, precipitants, coinciding heart failure, duration of the AF episode, and more. However, there is tremendous variation across providers, hospital systems, and even regions with regard to how new-onset AF is managed in acute setting. The goal of this review is to outline indications and techniques for cardioversion of new-onset AF – both pharmacologic cardioversion (PC) and electrical cardioversion (EC) – in the first 24–48 h after a patient arrives to the hospital/ED. One of the central tenets of cardioversion should be considered when reading this review – namely, that symptomatic patients benefit from cardioversion whereas asymptomatic patients may not.
Outcomes and Temporal Trends of Inpatient Percutaneous Coronary Intervention at Centers With and Without On-site Cardiac Surgery in the United States.

Importance There are concerns whether percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) at centers without on-site cardiac surgery is safe outside of a tightly regulated research environment. Objective To analyze the outcomes and temporal trends of inpatient PCI at centers without on-site cardiac surgery in an unselected and nationally representative population of the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants A national inpatient sample (N = 6 912 232) was used to identify patients who underwent inpatient PCI in the United States from January 1, 2003, to December 31, 2012. Hospitals that performed 1 or more coronary artery bypass graft surgeries in a given calendar year were classified as centers with on-site cardiac surgery, and weighted sampling of all inpatient hospitalizations was performed. Data analysis was performed from February to May 2016. Exposures Inpatient PCI. Main Outcomes and Measures In-hospital mortality. Results Of the 6 912 232 inpatient PCIs performed, 2 336 334 patients (33.8%) were women and 4 575 898 (66.2%) were men; their mean (SD) age was 64.5 (12.3) years. Of these PCIs, 396 741 (5.7%) were conducted at centers without on-site cardiac surgery. The rate of in-hospital mortality was significantly lower at centers with on-site cardiac surgery compared with centers without on-site cardiac surgery (1.4% vs 1.9%; unadjusted odds ratio [OR], 0.74; 95% CI, 0.72-0.75). After adjustment, there was no significant difference in in-hospital mortality between centers with and without on-site cardiac surgery (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.98-1.03; P = .62) for acute coronary syndromes and elective procedures requiring inpatient hospitalization. In addition, there were no significant differences in the risk-adjusted, in-hospital mortality between the 2 groups in prespecified subgroups after adjusting for multiple comparisons, including ST-elevation myocardial infarction (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.96-1.03; P = .65), non–ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome (OR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.93-1.05; P = .66), and elective PCI (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.84-1.03; P = .17). There was a significant increase in the proportion of PCIs at centers without on-site cardiac surgery within the study period (from 1.8% to 12.7%; P Conclusions and Relevance There was a 7-fold increase in the proportion of PCIs at centers without on-site cardiac surgery from 2003 to 2012 in the United States, with the adjusted in-hospital mortality after inpatient PCI being similar at centers with and without on-site cardiac surgery. These data provide evidence that PCI at centers without on-site cardiac surgery may be safe in the modern era.
A Case Study Demonstrating the Use of Appreciative Inquiry in a Financial Coaching Program

This article presents a case study of appreciative inquiry applied to client work within the context of a solution-focused, financial coaching program. Appreciative inquiry (AI) is a process—a generative process—wherein a client envisions, describes, and constructs a new meaning or reality through structured questions and answers, and then designs a way to get there (to their destiny). The origins, tenets, and applications of AI approach are described, followed by a case study to facilitate a client's overcoming of a specific, maladaptive money script utilizing AI. The article provides implications for financial practitioners and a foundation for future research on the effectiveness of the AI approach in financial coaching.
Visualization of flow distribution in rectangular and triangular header geometries

Abstract The high heat transfer coefficients and compact sizes of minichannel heat exchangers have become increasingly critical to the development of efficient, inexpensive, and compact thermal systems. In many cases, however, these systems do not work as well as models predict because of unanticipated flow maldistribution. This problem can be mitigated with effective header designs. The present study quantifies the distribution of air–water mixture flows in header geometries relevant to heat exchangers that are important in refrigeration and chemical processing applications. Rectangular and triangular headers connected to microchannels of different diameters are tested to understand the effects of header and tube geometries, operating conditions, and flow patterns on the distribution of the two phases. The inlet quality was varied from 0.05 to 0.35, the inlet mass flux from 50 to 300 kg m −2 s −1 , and the outlet channel diameter from 1 to 3 mm. The results show that distribution improves at higher inlet mass fluxes and qualities due to changes in the header flow regime, and in general, the triangular header distributes flow better than the rectangular header.
Robert Schwartzwald, C.R.A.Z.Y.: A Queer Film Classic

Jean-Marc Vallee’s 2005 hit movie, C.R.A.Z.Y., garnered this now-famous Quebec director ten Canadian Genies out of twelve nominations in 2006, for a total of thirty-eight prizes won domestically an...
Supervised Taxonomies—Algorithms and Applications

This paper focuses on a new type of taxonomy called supervised taxonomy (ST). Supervised taxonomies are generated considering background information concerning class labels in addition to distance metrics, and are capable of capturing class-uniform regions in a dataset. A hierarchical, agglomerative clustering algorithm, called STAXAC that generates STs is proposed and its properties are analyzed. Experimental results are presented that show that STAXAC produces purer taxonomies than the neighbor-joining (NJ) algorithm—a very popular taxonomy generation algorithm. We introduced novel measures and algorithms that assess classification complexity, class modality, and show that STs can be used as the main input of an effective data-editing tool to enhance the accuracy of k-nearest neighbor classifiers. We demonstrated in our experimental evaluation that assessing the classification complexity of a ST provides us with a good estimate of the difficulty of the classification problem at hand. Moreover, a class modality discovery tool (CMD) has been provided that—based on a domain expert's notion of what constitutes a “note-worthy” subclass—determines if specific classes in the dataset are zero-modal, unimodal, and multi-modal.
Administrative and syndromic surveillance data can enhance public health surveillance

Objective This roundtable will address how multiple data sources, including administrative and syndromic surveillance data, can enhance public health surveillance activities at the local, state, regional, and national levels. Provisional findings from three studies will be presented to promote discussion about the complementary uses, strengths and limitations, and value of these data sources to address public health priorities and surveillance strategies. Introduction Healthcare data, including emergency department (ED) and outpatient health visit data, are potentially useful to the public health community for multiple purposes, including programmatic and surveillance activities. These data are collected through several mechanisms, including administrative data sources [e.g., MarketScan claims data 1 ; American Hospital Association (AHA) data 2 ] and public health surveillance programs [e.g., the National Syndromic Surveillance Program (NSSP) 3 ]. Administrative data typically become available months to years after healthcare encounters; however, data collected through NSSP provide near real time information not otherwise available to public health. To date, 46 state and 16 local health departments participate in NSSP, and the estimated national percentage of ED visits covered by the NSSP BioSense platform is 54%. NSSP’s new data visualization tool, ESSENCE, also includes additional types of healthcare visit (e.g., urgent care) data. Although NSSP is designed to support situational awareness and emergency response, potential expanded use of data collected through NSSP (i.e., by additional public health programs) would promote the utility, value, and long-term sustainability of NSSP and enhance surveillance at the local, state, regional, and national levels. On the other hand, studies using administrative data may help public health programs better understand how NSSP data could enhance their surveillance activities. Such studies could also inform the collection and utilization of data reported to NSSP.
Thermodynamics versus kinetics of grain growth control in nanocrystalline zirconia

Abstract This work presents a thorough analysis of the grain growth behavior of gadolinium doped yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The effect of the dopant on the thermodynamics as well as on the kinetics of the process is reported by providing extensive experimental data. While normal grain growth following a parabolic growth relation was observed, gadolinium inhibited the process proportionally to its concentration. By using microcalorimetry, we showed that the dopant decreases the grain boundary energy of YSZ, and hence reduces the driving force for growth. Analysis of the growth profile at different temperatures and times indicate that gadolinium does not significantly affect the grain boundary mobility or the activation energy for grain growth. The results rationalize that the dopant is acting on a mostly thermodynamic basis and opens good perspective for design of coarsening control focused on the system energetics.
Everyday authoritarianism: a political anthropology of Singapore

Observers of Singapore agree that its state is authoritarian. Complicating such accounts of Singaporean authoritarianism, this paper shows authoritarianism is not simply state-driven or top-down as...
Epidemiological Studies to Support the Development of Next Generation Influenza Vaccines

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases recently published a strategic plan for the development of a universal influenza vaccine. This plan focuses on improving understanding of influenza infection, the development of influenza immunity, and rational design of new vaccines. Epidemiological studies such as prospective, longitudinal cohort studies are essential to the completion of these objectives. In this review, we discuss the contributions of epidemiological studies to our current knowledge of vaccines and correlates of immunity, and how they can contribute to the development and evaluation of the next generation of influenza vaccines. These studies have been critical in monitoring the effectiveness of current influenza vaccines, identifying issues such as low vaccine effectiveness, reduced effectiveness among those who receive repeated vaccination, and issues related to egg adaptation during the manufacturing process. Epidemiological studies have also identified population-level correlates of protection that can inform the design and development of next generation influenza vaccines. Going forward, there is an enduring need for epidemiological studies to continue advancing knowledge of correlates of protection and the development of immunity, to evaluate and monitor the effectiveness of next generation influenza vaccines, and to inform recommendations for their use.
Bulky t-Butyl Thiolated Gold Nanomolecular Series: Synthesis, Characterization, Optical Properties, and Electrocatalysis

Here we report the synthesis and size-dependent optical study of a series of bulky t-butyl thiolated monodisperse nanomolecules (NMs): Au23(S-tBu)16, Au30(S-tBu)18, Au46(S-tBu)24, and Au65(S-tBu)29. We further employ this series of NMs to address how the NM core size affects electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reactivity of these NMs in alkaline media. Though Au23(S-tBu)16 and Au30(S-tBu)18 have been reported before, the expansion of this series is brought about by the discovery, through the synthesis and characterization, of two new and larger species, in the bulky t-butyl thiolated NM series: namely Au46(S-tBu)24 and Au65(S-tBu)29. Furthermore, we take an in-depth look at the ligand effects in the bulky thiolated NM series and ligand dictation over the gold atoms to surface ligands. Assignments of molecular formulae are based on results obtained in high-resolution nanoelectrospray ionization mass spectrometry (nESI-MS). Purity was confirmed with matrix assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight m...
Genetics and Journalism

Charles Petit, a science writer for US News & World Report, recently lobbed a mock news story at his colleagues to illustrate journalistic cliches perpetrated by science writers, Although Petit’s spoof was intended to lampoon a formulaic approach to science reporting, he makes some telling points about how journalists serve up science news to the public: Science writers are nearing a breakthrough, perhaps a major breakthrough, in their age-old quest to unlock the secrets, even the ultimate secrets, of cliche-free prose, researchers reported yesterday. Using cutting-edge, state-of-the-art, high-tech and other [hyphen]-laden methodologies, the science journalists sifted obscure clues to reach their tentative conclusions. ‘This is statistically significant,’ one senior researcher said. ‘It is an important step forward,’ said another. ‘This is science in action,’ they agreed.
Focus Group Study to Examine Content of Family Meetings in Short-term Substance Use Disorder Treatment.

This study explores the content family members find helpful in family meetings that occur while patients are in short-term treatment for substance use disorders. Four focus groups were conducted: 3 with 23 family members and 1 with 10 patients who were asked to identify those topics that are helpful or unhelpful for families with and without prior treatment experiences. Families identified education about substance use disorders and an overview of treatment options as useful for family members new to treatment, and an emphasis on response to relapse and family supports as important for those with prior treatment experiences.
Quantification of flow through an interatrial communication. Application to the partial Fontan procedure.

The partial Fontan procedure has become an accepted alternative for the high-risk candidate. Creation of a small right-to-left shunt will lower the systemic venous pressure and improve systemic cardiac output while maintaining an acceptable systemic arterial saturation. However, because of variations in patient size and postoperative transpulmonary gradient, proper sizing of the residual defect is difficult. We have therefore conducted a series of experiments on a model that simulates the blood flow across interatrial defects of varying sizes at several pressure gradients. We used porcine blood to develop guidelines for the sizing of the residual defect. Our results demonstrate a linear relationship between flow and pressure gradient across all hole sizes tested. In addition, there was a linear relationship between atrial septal defect size and flow at each pressure gradient. Our data show that the Gorlin formula predictions overestimated flow by 10 % to 40%. It is evident from these data that relatively small changes in the size of the atrial septal defect or in the pressure gradient result in significant changes in flow. Therefore we advocate the use of an adjustable interatrial communication such as the snare-controlled adjustable atrial septal defect for patients undergoing partial Fontan procedures.
Characterization of the pH dependence of hemoglobin binding to band 3 Evidence for a pH-dependent conformational change within the hemoglobin-band 3 complex

The pH dependence of hemoglobin binding to inside-out red cell membrane vesicles was studied using 908 light . . d contrast, DLS decreased by about 20-fold between pH 5.5 and 7.0, with an apparent pK of 6.5. These results suggest max that hemoglobin binds to CDB3 with high affinity at both neutral and acid pH, a suggestion that was confirmed using a centrifugation method. Thus, the p K for the light scattering signal change is significantly lower than the p K for the actual binding process. We show that the change in DLS is not related to a change in band 3 binding capacity, which remains max constant as a function of pH. We also show that hemoglobin binding to non-band 3 sites contributes less than 10% to DLS under our specific experimental conditions. On the basis of these and previous fluorescence quenching results in the max literature, we propose a new model for hemoglobin binding to band 3, where raising the pH from 6 and 7 causes the CDB3-hemoglobin complex to undergo a conformational change leading to the movement of the bound hemoglobin away from the surface of the bilayer. The possible implication of this new mechanistic interpretation is discussed briefly. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.
Welfare Effects of Biofuels Trade Policy in the Presence of Environmental Externalities

We develop a stylized model of fuel markets in an open economy and derive the optimal mix of trade and environmental policy instruments for biofuels and gasoline that maximizes social surplus and internalizes externalities from miles and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We use this optimal scenario as a benchmark to compare existing and alternative biofuel policies including the import tariff and the tax credit for ethanol. We show that the optimal tax for fuels is directly related to their GHG emissions intensity while the optimal tariff is inversely related to the excess supply elasticity of imported ethanol. The effect of the tax credit on social surplus is clearly negative, while the impact of the tariff depends on the ability of the US to influence ethanol prices in the world market. Our numerical simulation for the US shows that current ethanol policy of an ethanol tax credit and import tariff increases miles externalities and greenhouse gases and decreases social surplus by $3.6 B relative to non-intervention and by $228 B relative to the optimal scenario.
Limits of US Influence: The Promotion of Regime Change in Latin America

Scholars often assume that as a global superpower, the United States has had great influence and impact on political regime developments in the world. This article critically examines these claims, focusing on Latin America; by investigating the region most directly dominated by the US, it employs a most-likely-case design. The experiences of countries such as Brazil, Chile, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela show that US influence has been fairly limited for many years and has diminished over time. The Northern superpower has been less involved and has had less impact on regime developments than often postulated, as the analysis of the coups in Brazil in 1964 and Chile in 1973 demonstrates. Moreover, nations to which the US has maintained close, comprehensive linkages, such as Venezuela, have slid into “competitive authoritarianism” while a country such as Haiti, over which the US holds great leverage, has failed to establish a functioning democracy. Thus, even in its direct sphere of interest, the most powerful nation in the contemporary world seems to be limited in its capacity to promote or prevent political regime change.
On Bridging A Modeling Scale Gap: Mesoscale to Microscale Coupling for Wind Energy

AbstractAccurately representing flow across the mesoscale to the microscale is a persistent roadblock for completing realistic microscale simulations. The science challenges that must be addressed ...
Theoretical analysis of dynamic characteristics in linear compressors

Abstract Linear compressor technology is characterized by the absence of a crank mechanism, which has gained increasing attention in vapor compression systems due to its compactness and lower friction losses in comparison to conventional reciprocating compressors. Limited work was found in the open literature related to the development and in-depth validation of a comprehensive linear compressor dynamic model that couples thermodynamic aspects with both mechanical and electrical sub-models. This paper presents a comprehensive and generalized simulation model that is used to simulate the dynamic performance of a linear compressor. The model is based on mass and energy balance equations applied to open control volumes. The overall model is composed of several sub-models including the piston dynamics, electrical motor, valve dynamics, and leakage flows. The thermodynamic model and the sub-models are integrated into a compressor overall energy balance that describes the different heat flows and losses. The linear compressor model is able to predict both transient and steady-state behaviors of the piston movement, internal pressure and temperatures as well as the overall performance. Comparisons of predicted and measured mass flow rates as a function of operating frequency are also presented within this work.
Influence of Race in the Deep End of the Juvenile Justice System

Racial inequalities pervade U.S. justice systems and are the focus of a growing body of research. However, there are fewer studies on racial disparities in juvenile justice settings, particularly o...
Measuring microtubule binding kinetics of membrane-bound kinesin motors using supported lipid bilayers.

Summary Membrane-bound cargos in cells are generally transported by multiple kinesin motors. Quantifying the bimolecular on-rate of motors for their microtubule track is important for understanding of multi-motor transport but is complicated by diffusion of the motors in the plane of the lipid bilayer. Here, we describe a method to measure the kinesin on-rate that uses a modified microtubule gliding assay performed on a supported lipid bilayer and detects motor binding by a local increase in fluorescence. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Jiang et al. (2019) .
Tamsulosin vs placebo to prevent postoperative urinary retention following female pelvic reconstructive surgery: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Background Postoperative urinary retention is common after female pelvic reconstructive surgery. Alpha receptor antagonists can improve dysfunctional voiding by relaxing the bladder outlet and may be effective in reducing the risk of postoperative urinary retention. Objective This study aimed to determine whether tamsulosin is effective in preventing postoperative urinary retention in women undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse. Study Design This was a multicenter, double-blind, randomized controlled trial between August 2018 and June 2020, including women undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse. Patients were excluded from recruitment if they had elevated preoperative postvoid residual volume, history of postoperative urinary retention, or a contraindication to tamsulosin. Those who experienced cystotomy were excluded from analysis. Participants were randomized to a 10-day perioperative course of tamsulosin 0.4 mg vs placebo, beginning 3 days before surgery. A standardized voiding trial was performed on postoperative day 1. The primary outcome was the development of postoperative urinary retention, as defined by the failure of the voiding trial or subsequent need for catheterization to empty the bladder. Secondary outcomes included the rate of urinary tract infection and the impact on lower urinary tract symptoms as measured by the American Urological Association Symptom Index. Results Of 119 patients, 57 received tamsulosin and 62 received placebo. Groups were similar in regard to demographics, preoperative prolapse and voiding characteristics, and surgical details. Tamsulosin was associated with a lower rate of postoperative urinary retention than placebo (5 patients [8.8%] vs 16 patients [25.8%]; odds ratio, 0.28; 95% confidence interval, 0.09–81; P=.02). The number needed to treat to prevent 1 case of postoperative urinary retention was 5.9 patients. The rate of urinary tract infection did not differ between groups. American Urological Association Symptom Index scores significantly improved after surgery in both groups (median total score, 14 vs 7; P Conclusion In this placebo-controlled trial, tamsulosin use was associated with a reduced risk of postoperative urinary retention in women undergoing surgery for pelvic organ prolapse.
Detecting transverse cracks initiation in composite laminates via statistical analysis of sensitivity data

Abstract This study presents a novel method to describe the microscale phenomenon of cracks initiation based on sensitivity analysis in laminate fiber-reinforced composites. The failure of fiber-reinforced composite laminates often roots in the microscale phenomenon of fiber/matrix interfacial debonding. The micro-cracking and interfacial debonding in composites are difficult to detect both experimentally and numerically. This paper shows that the sensitivity of the stress response in a transverse ply with respect to individual fiber/matrix interface cohesive properties follows a normal distribution before cracks initiate. The distribution of the sensitivities rapidly deviates from a normal distribution from crack initiation to the formation. Several realistic microstructural representations of a fiber-reinforced composite laminate are simulated to validate the proposed method of detecting crack initiation. This proposed prediction method of crack initiation can be used as a failure risk indicator to increase the reliability of laminates’ designs.
Simultaneous Patch-Group Sparse Coding with Dual-Weighted ℓp Minimization for Image Restoration.

Sparse coding (SC) models have been proven as powerful tools applied in image restoration tasks, such as patch sparse coding (PSC) and group sparse coding (GSC). However, these two kinds of SC models have their respective drawbacks. PSC tends to generate visually annoying blocking artifacts, while GSC models usually produce over-smooth effects. Moreover, conventional l1 minimization-based convex regularization was usually employed as a standard scheme for estimating sparse signals, but it cannot achieve an accurate sparse solution under many realistic situations. In this paper, we propose a novel approach for image restoration via simultaneous patch-group sparse coding (SPG-SC) with dual-weighted lp minimization. Specifically, in contrast to existing SC-based methods, the proposed SPG-SC conducts the local sparsity and nonlocal sparse representation simultaneously. A dual-weighted lp minimization-based non-convex regularization is proposed to improve the sparse representation capability of the proposed SPG-SC. To make the optimization tractable, a non-convex generalized iteration shrinkage algorithm based on the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) framework is developed to solve the proposed SPG-SC model. Extensive experimental results on two image restoration tasks, including image inpainting and image deblurring, demonstrate that the proposed SPG-SC outperforms many state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of both objective and perceptual quality.
The Utilization of Social Media by Collegiate Aviation Faculty

Social media has taken the world by storm, and there seems to be no slowing down. Young or old, social media has infiltrated our lives in a way never before imagined. Although there are pros and cons to the many social media platforms currently available, it is beneficial for collegiate aviation faculty to learn more about these various tools to determine how, if at all, they can benefit our students. As such, this paper conducted a study of collegiate aviation faculty nationwide and determined that collegiate aviation faculty are very aware of the five most popular social media sites (Skype, YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia, and Twitter), regularly use YouTube and Wikipedia as part of academic courses, and feel that social photo and video sharing sites provide the most benefit to students. The paper also presents ideas in how to adopt three lesser used social media sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, and Ning) for the benefit of students.
Isolation and Purification of Entamoeba histolytica Alcohol Dehydrogenase 2 (EhADH2) Enzymatic Activities and Inhibition by Pyrazoline Derivatives

The bifunctional alcohol/ aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme in Entamoeba histolytica (EhADH2) belongs to the ADHE iron dependent family, and is essential for trophozoite growth and survival. EhADH2 catalyzes the conversion of acetyl Co-A to acetaldehyde and the final reduction of acetaldehyde to ethanol by its separate ADH and ALDH domains respectively. The primary focus of research was to determine the effect of alternative treatments for amebiasis through inhibition by pyrazoline inhibitors on the EhADH2 enzyme. Series 1a (1,3-diphenyl-1-carbamoyl-2-pyrazoline), series 1b (3-diphenyl-1-propylcarbamoyl-2-pyrazoline), series 2 (1,3,4-triphenyl-1-carbamoyl-2-pyrazoline), pyrazoline derivatives showed capabilities to inhibit EhADH2 activities. A kinetic assay was performed to calculate the Ki value for inhibitor [3-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(bromophenylcarboxamide)-2-pyrazoline], inhibitor [3-4(-chlorophenyl)-1-N-propylcarboxamide-2-pyrazoline], and inhibitor [3-(4-cholorphenyl)-4-phenyl-1-(4-chlorophenyl carboxamide)...
Syntheses and spectrophotometric studies of 5-(2-pyridyl-azo)-2,4-diaminotoluene and its derivatives as analytical reagents

Abstract Seven pyridylazo dyes containing the m -tolylenediamine group were synthesized and their analytical potential for the determination of cobalt was studied spectrophotometrically. The molar absorptivities and selectivity of these reagents increased compared with those of PADAB. Cobalt(II) and 3,5-diCl-PADAT (5-[(3,5-dichloro-2-pyridyl)azo]-2,4-diaminotoluene) at pH 3 form a complex which is very stable even in the presence of strong mineral acids. The complex has two absorption maxima at 548 and 590 nm in hydrochloric acid (2.4 M ) solution. The color is very stable and the system conforms to Beer's law; the optimal range for measurement in a 1-cm cell is 0.01–0.4 p.p.m. cobalt. In practice, this color reaction is specific. The molar absorptivity is 1.38 ·10 5 1 mol -1 cm -1 at 590 nm. The sensitivity is 0.00042 μg Co cm -2 at 590 nm for log I 0 /I = 0.001. The method was applied to the determination of cobalt in steel and waspaloy.