cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of aromatic impurities on the positive streamer growth in Marcol 70

The growth of positive streamers has been photographed in Marcol 70 in the presence and the absence of dimethylaniline (DMA). Marcol 70 is a fluid which is chemically similar to transformer oil but with the aromatic components removed. This combination has been studied previously by other authors, and was chosen for this work, because it should provide useful information on the contribution of aromatic components to the electrical properties of transformer oil. As in earlier studies, it was noted that the positive streamers initially propagate at or near sonic speed. After the streamer has propagated same distance across the inter-electrode gap, a supersonic secondary streamer develops that leads to breakdown. The initiation of this second event is significantly delayed by DMA. As in earlier studies in n-hexane, the reason for this behavior is assumed to be structural changes in the streamers because of the low ionization potential of DMA. These structural changes, in turn, lead to a modification of the electric field distribution between the positive streamer tips and the plane cathode. Information derived from the photographs suggests that the field distribution changes from a very nonuniform to a more uniform one, which would lead to the observed higher breakdown voltages. The data presented are not in complete agreement with those reported in the literature. This disagreement is believed to be attributable to experimental differences.
Semantics of Simple Arrow Diagrams.

Arrows illustrate a large variety of semantics in diagrams. An automated interpretation of arrows would be highly desirable in pen-based interfaces. This paper formalizes the structural patterns of arrows, and identifies three structural properties that contribute to the interpretation of arrows: (1) the assignment of components to three slots, (2) the semantic types of the components, and (3) the orientation of the components.
LONG-ACTING FORMULATIONS OF SOMATOSTATIN ANALOGUES

Somatostatin has represented a significant breakthrough in the treatment of patients with hormonally-acting, neuroendocrine gastroenteropancreatic neoplasms, even if its short half-life made it impractical in the clinic. In recent years, new long-acting formulations have been developed from the native peptide. The long-lasting formulation of the somatostatin analogue octreotide (octreotide-LAR) can be administered once-monthly and has been shown to provide similar efficacy to subcutaneous octreotide administered three times a day in the control of flushing and diarrhoea associated with the carcinoid syndrome. Another-long acting somatostatin analogue, lanreotide, is available in a slow-release form, lanreotide-SR. In a multicentre 6-month trial on carcinoid tumour patients, 30 mg lanreotide-SR were administered intramuscularly every 14 days, obtaining the control of symptoms in the majority of subjects. Thus, both octreotide-LAR administered monthly, and lanreotide-SR administered every 10-14 days, have been shown to be an effective tool in the treatment of carcinoid tumours, providing, in addition, a substantial improvement in patient compliance.
Summary of Outcomes from Consecutive Years of Tomosynthesis Screening at an American Academic Institution

Digital breast tomosynthesis DBT screening outcomes are sustainable over consecutive years with significant reductions in recall and increasing cancers per recalled patients compared to screening with digital mammography alone DM. There is a prevalence effect with a reduction in cancer detection at the second round of screening that is no longer present at the third round. There is a non-statistically significant trend of decreased interval cancers with DBT compared to DM alone screening. Early data on the implementation of synthetic 2D s2D imaging coupled with DBT shows maintenance of screening outcomes with reduction in radiation dose compared to DM/DBT screening .
Thermodynamic Analysis of the Geldanamycin-Hsp90 Interaction in a Whole Cell Lysate Using a Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomics Approach.

Geldanamycin is a natural product with well-established and potent anti-cancer activities. Heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) is the known target of geldanamycin, which directly binds to Hsp90’s N-terminal ATP binding domain and inhibits Hsp90’s ATPase activity. The affinity of geldanamycin for Hsp90 has been measured in multiple studies. However, there have been large discrepancies between the reported dissociation constants (i.e., Kd values), which have ranged from low nanomolar to micromolar. Here the stability of proteins from rates of oxidation (SPROX) technique was used in combination with an isobaric mass tagging strategy to measure the binding affinity of geldanamycin to unpurified Hsp90 in an MCF-7 cell lysate. The Kd values determined here were dependent on how long geldanamycin was equilibrated with the lysate prior to SPROX analysis. The Kd values determined using equilibration times of 0.5 and 24 h were 1 and 0.03 μM, respectively. These Kd values, which are similar to those previously reported in a geldanamycin–Hsp90 binding study that involved the use of a fluorescently labeled geldanamycin analogue, establish that the slow-tight binding behavior previously observed for the fluorescently labeled geldanamycin analogue is not an artifact of the fluorescent label, but rather an inherent property of the geldanamycin–Hsp90 binding interaction. The slow-tight binding property of this complex may be related to time-dependent conformational changes in Hsp90 and/or to time-dependent chemical changes in geldanamycin, both of which have been previously proposed to explain the slow-tight binding behavior of the geldanamycin–Hsp90 complex.
Fiber-based monolithic columns for liquid chromatography

Fiber-based monoliths for use in liquid chromatographic separations are defined by columns packed with aligned fibers, woven matrices, or contiguous fiber structures capable of achieving rapid separations of proteins, macromolecules, and low molecular weight components. A common denominator and motivating driver for this approach, first initiated 25 years ago, was reducing the cost of bioseparations in a manner that also reduced residence time of retained components while achieving a high ratio of mass to momentum transfer. This type of medium, when packed into a liquid chromatography column, minimized the fraction of stagnant liquid and resulted in a constant plate height for non-adsorbing species. The uncoupling of dispersion from eluent flow rate enabled the surface chemistry of the stationary phase to be considered separately from fluid transport phenomena and pointed to new ways to apply chemistry for the engineering of rapid bioseparations. This paper addresses developments and current research on fiber-based monoliths and explains how the various forms of this type of chromatographic stationary phase have potential to provide new tools for analytical and preparative scale separations. The different stationary phases are discussed, and a model that captures the observed constant plate height as a function of mobile phase velocity is reviewed. Methods that enable hydrodynamically stable fiber columns to be packed and operated over a range of mobile phase flow rates, together with the development of new fiber chemistries, are shown to provide columns that extend the versatility of liquid chromatography using monoliths, particularly at the preparative scale.
The Inhibitory Receptor LAG-3 Is Not Essential for Regulatory T Cells Function but Influences Donor T Cell Potency in Acute Graft-Versus-Host-Disease

Abstract Abstract 1900 GVHD is a major complication of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and results from donor T cells becoming activated and reacting to host antigens. Recently, lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) has emerged as an important molecule, negatively regulating T cell activation and has been proposed to play an important role in CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cell (Treg) function. We investigated the functional in vivo role of LAG-3 in Treg and conventional T cells in murine GVHD with the hypothesis that LAG-3 engagement diminishes alloreactive T cell responses after BMT. Using murine models of acute GVHD in which allogeneic bone marrow cells are transplanted into lethally irradiated hosts, we and others have shown previously that donor Treg are able to suppress GVHD induced by donor allogeneic conventional T cells (Tcon). The role of LAG-3 in Treg function was evaluated both in vitro and in vivo by directly comparing Treg isolated from LAG-3−/− donor mice to Treg isolated from wild type donors (WT Treg). In vitro, in a mixed lymphocyte reaction assay, LAG-3−/− Treg efficiently suppressed the proliferation of alloreactive T cells in a manner similar to WT Treg. In vivo, a bioluminescent imaging assay (BLI) was utilized that allows for quantitative assessment of Tcon proliferation in addition to traditional metrics of GVHD severity including weight loss, survival and GVHD score. Both LAG-3−/− Treg and WT Treg were equally potent at suppressing Tcon proliferation as illustrated by BLI of luc+ T cells and demonstrated a significant increase in median survival time (MST) as compared to mice receiving Tcon only (35 days for Tcon vs. 58 and 68 days for WT and LAG-3−/− Treg, respectively, P=0.03), but there was no significant difference in MST between the groups receiving WT and LAG-3−/− Treg. Interestingly, when LAG-3−/− Tcon were used to induce GVHD in the absence of Treg, GVHD lethality was accelerated. Thus, all mice receiving LAG-3−/− Tcon showed decreased survival and significantly lower body weights than mice receiving WT Tcon (P=0.017). GVHD scores of LAG-3−/− Tcon recipients were also significantly higher than WT Tcon recipients at Day 20 post BMT (6.0 vs. 2.2, P= Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Abstract 1740: Allosteric Hsp70-family inhibitors as targeted anticancer therapeutics

Background: Hsp70, a molecular chaperone responsible, in part, for the folding of nascent peptides following translation, has been implicated as a survival factor and a poor prognostic marker in cancer cells. These pro-cancer mechanisms originate in the ability of Hsp70 to preserve and maintain oncogenic and transformative proteins responsible for the cancer phenotype. Hsp70 is a stress response protein such that expression increases under proteomic/proteotoxic stress events. This increased expression is also evident in cancer cells, an environment under proteomic stress brought on by transformation, and is known to be protective against programmed cell death. Hypothesis: We predict that by interrupting the chaperoning capacity of Hsp70 through allosteric inhibition, we can destabilize oncogenic proteins dependent on Hsp70 for structure and function. Additionally, as Hsp70 is a survival factor, we believe that a loss of Hsp70 activity will result in cancer specific cell death both in vitro and in vivo. Approach: Using chemical tools, primarily novel allosteric Hsp70 inhibiting small molecules, we will determine the fate of oncogenic proteins dependent on Hsp70 for stability. We will also examine the cellular response to the disruption of cancer-specific networks which require Hsp70. In vivo tumor models will be used to examine the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of small molecule Hsp70 inhibitors and to evaluate the therapeutic potential of Hsp70 inhibition. Significance: The stress response machinery is responsible for the stability of proteins, maintenance of signaling pathways, and evasion from programmed cell death while a cell is under stress; stressors including oncogenic transformation. These pathways maintained by the molecular chaperones have been directly linked to deleterious cancer phenotypes including aggressiveness and the emergence of therapeutic resistances. Targeted therapeutics, and uniquely those targeting the molecular chaperone system, can provide therapeutic options capable of ablating the specific mechanisms involved in proteomic stability and cell survival unique to each tumor cell; effects which can be delivered with minimal effect to normal tissue. This work highlights the potential for therapeutics targeting Hsp70 as anti-cancer agents. Citation Format: John Koren, Chao Xu, Anna Rodina, Liza Shrestha, Tony Taldone, Gabriela Chiosis. Allosteric Hsp70-family inhibitors as targeted anticancer therapeutics. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 1740. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-1740
Optimizing the Patient

It’s four a.m. and you assess your patient as having an “acute abdomen” — probably due to a perforated viscus. Clearly your patient need an emergency laparotomy; what is left to decide is what efforts, and for how long, should be invested in his optimization before the operation.
Elder Abuse: Overview of Sources, Prevalence and Intervention Initiatives

This paper is about elder abuse as a social problem from the perspective of its sources, preva­lence and intervention initiatives. The true incidence of elder abuse is difficult to determine because elder abuse is known to be very underreported. Literature, however, suggests that elder abuse is widespread and that probably hundreds of thousands of elderly persons are victimized each year. Because the older adult population is increasing in numbers at a rapid pace, there is little doubt that elder abuse will be among the nation's problems. This article discusses trends and prevalence of elder abuse and neglect. A discussion of social reconstruc­tion theory and its effects on the elderly is provided. The empowerment perspective is dis­cussed as the conceptual framework for professionals in their roles as elder abuse advocates and social service providers. Intervention initiatives recommended include: awareness of poli­cies and services, policy evaluation research, caretaker assistance, and advocacy.
Intracellular Detection of Viral Transcription and Replication Using RNA FISH

Many hemorrhagic fever viruses require BSL-3 or BSL-4 laboratory containment for study. The necessary safety precautions associated with this work often contribute to longer assay times and lengthy decontamination procedures. Here we will discuss recent advances in RNA fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) that not only allow entirely new investigations into the replication of these viruses but also demonstrate how this method can be applied to any virus with a known sequence and how it can be rapidly performed to minimize time spent in high containment. We have adapted existing protocols for mRNA detection with appropriate changes for examining viruses in a variety of containment laboratories (Shaffer et al., PLoS One 8:e75120, 2013; Raj et al., Nat Methods 5:877-879, 2008).
A synergistic combination of local tight binding theory and second harmonic generation elucidating surface properties of ZnO nanoparticles

Zinc oxide (ZnO) in the form of nanoparticles (NPs) is an important nanomaterial due to its catalytic and optoelectronic properties. An interesting aspect of ZnO is that its crystal structure is anisotropic, which leads to a strong 2nd order nonlinear response, such as frequency doubling or second harmonic generation (SHG). In this article we show that not only the bulk but the surface of ZnO NPs in contact with a liquid medium can contribute to the overall SHG. We have developed and applied a synergistic combination of tight binding (TB) theory and optical SHG spectroscopy to determine the surface second order susceptibilities of nearly spherical 33 ± 13 nm crystalline ZnO NPs dispersed in acetonitrile. The corresponding χ and χ were determined to be 0.86 × 10-8 esu and 1.72 × 10-8 esu for the O-terminated surface and 3.28 × 10-8 esu and 6.64 × 10-8 esu for the Zn-terminated surface. A further application of the TB-SHG approach revealed that adsorption of coumarin based dye, which forms a bidentate attachment between the carboxyl and Zn-terminated surface, does not restructure the NP surface significantly to manifest a change in the SHG polarization profile. However, if the dye acts as an independent source of SHG, its orientation on the surface dictates the overall change in the observed SHG. The results highlighted here bear a strong potential to further our knowledge of molecular interactions at the solid-liquid interface of crystalline nanostructures.
Neuropsychological feedback services improve quality of life and social adjustment.

AbstractObjective: In more recent years, studies have begun to examine levels of satisfaction of individuals or family members of individuals who undergo neuropsychological evaluation. However, to date there have been only a handful of formal studies that have specifically examined the role and contribution of neuropsychological assessment in patient care and management. This study sought to examine one specific component of neuropsychological assessment, namely the impact of patient feedback regarding neuropsychological testing on patient outcome. Method: Participants included 218 patients who were recruited from a neuropsychological outpatient clinic at a Midwest academic medical center. This study examined potential differences between outcome measures for patients who attended feedback sessions versus those who did not receive direct feedback. Results: Results indicated that compared with the No Feedback group, the Feedback group reported greater improvement in quality of life, increased understanding...
Air pollutant strategies to reduce adverse health impacts and health inequalities: a quantitative assessment for Detroit, Michigan

The development of air quality management (AQM) strategies provides opportunities to improve public health and reduce health inequalities. This study evaluates health and inequality impacts of alternate SO2 control strategies in Detroit, MI, a designated non-attainment area. Control alternatives include uniform reductions across sources, ranking approaches based on total emissions and health impacts per ton of pollutant emitted, and optimizations that meet concentration and health goals. Using dispersion modeling and quantitative health impact assessment (HIA), these strategies are evaluated in terms of ambient concentrations, health impacts, and the inequality in health risks. The health burden attributable to SO2 emissions in Detroit falls primarily among children and includes 70 hospitalizations and 6,000 asthma-related respiratory symptom-days annually, equivalent to 7 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The health burden disproportionately falls on Hispanic/Latino residents, residents with less than a high school diploma, and foreign-born residents. Control strategies that target smaller facilities near exposed populations provide the greatest benefit in terms of the overall health burden reductions and the inequality of attributable health risk; conventional strategies that target the largest emission sources can increase inequality and provide only modest health benefits. The assessment is novel in using spatial analyses that account for urban scale gradients in exposure, demographics, vulnerability, and population health. We show that quantitative HIA methods can be used to develop AQM strategies that simultaneously meet environmental, public health, and environmental justice goals, advancing AQM beyond its current compliance-oriented focus.
Expanding the boundary of biocatalysis: design and optimization of in vitro tandem catalytic reactions for biochemical production

Biocatalysts have been increasingly used in the synthesis of fine chemicals and medicinal compounds due to significant advances in enzyme discovery and engineering. To mimic the synergistic effects of cascade reactions catalyzed by multiple enzymes in nature, researchers have been developing artificial tandem enzymatic reactions in vivo by harnessing synthetic biology and metabolic engineering tools. There is also growing interest in the development of one-pot tandem enzymatic or chemo-enzymatic processes in vitro due to their neat and concise catalytic systems and product purification procedures. In this review, we will briefly summarize the strategies of designing and optimizing in vitro tandem catalytic reactions, highlight a few representative examples, and discuss the future trend in this field.
Photochemical controls on chlorine and bromine geochemistry at the Martian surface

Abstract Widely distributed perchlorate on the Martian surface and over three orders of magnitude variation in bromine abundances in surface samples are difficult to explain solely by chloride and bromide aqueous geochemistry. New experiments show that photochemical oxidation (ultraviolet wavelength 254 nm) of chloride- and bromide-bearing evaporative brines in the presence of silica beads produces substantial perchlorate (ClO − 4 ), chlorate (ClO − 3 ), and bromate (BrO − 3 ) under conditions relevant to Mars. Neutral to alkaline aqueous environments result in the dominance of chlorate over perchlorate. Preferential atmospheric recycling of Br over Cl causes variable Br/Cl ratios, consistent with numerous in-situ measurements of Cl and Br abundances on Mars. Bromate reacts with organics more readily than chlorate or perchlorate, and its presence in subsurface brines could challenge habitability in the Martian subsurface.
On the ionization equilibrium balance.

Ionization equilibrium for the most astrophysically abundant elements are calculated using multilevel atomic models for several stages of ionization. It is found that the relative abundance of the lithium-, beryllium-, and boron-like ions at electron densities as low as 1 million per cu cm is density-dependent. Because of this dependence, the intensity of lines arising from ions of the Li, Be, and B isoelectronic sequences are density-sensitive. The general implications of these results as applied to solar and stellar atmospheric models, coronal abundances, and spectroscopic diagnostic techniques are discussed.
Problem Behavior from the Principal's Perception: A New View:

This research was designed to assess public school principal's perceptions of the type of children that should be referred for placement in a class for the emotionally disturbed. A sample of 164 pu...
Optimal self-powered control of dynamic systems: Duality techniques

We consider the control of physical systems in which the control actions are constrained to be self-powered. In self-powered control technologies, the energy available to impose control inputs on an exogenously-excited system is limited exclusively to energy that has been previously harvested by the technology. As such, for a self-powered control input to be feasible, it must satisfy a certain constraint similar to, but more restrictive than, a passivity condition. Here we consider the use of self-powered control to minimize a quadratic performance objective, for a linear discrete-time system. We restrict our attention here to the full-information open-loop control context, in which it can be shown that the optimization problem is nonconvex due to the self-powered constraint. For this problem, we illustrate a technique to determine a lower bound on the optimal performance by transformation to a (convex) dual optimization, which may be solved uniquely and efficiently. We illustrate that if a certain easy-to-check condition holds for the obtained dual-optimum, then there is no duality gap, and consequently the dual and primal optima are coincident. In this situation, it follows that this duality technique can be used as a convex means of solving the optimal self-powered control problem exactly. We illustrate the technique on a simple example related to vibration suppression, in which we illustrate that the solutions obtained adhere to this condition.
Robust Actuarial Risk Analysis

This article investigates techniques for the assessment of model error in the context of insurance risk analysis. The methodology is based on finding robust estimates for actuarial quantities of in...
Energy-Aware Resource Management Framework for Overbooked Cloud Data Centers with SLA Assurance

Resource overbooking-based approaches have been adopted as one of the key technique for reducing power consumption of data centers by minimizing the number of physical machines (PMs) that need to be kept active. They do so by assigning virtual machine (VM) requests to a PM in excess of the PM's supported capacity, with the anticipation that these assigned VMs will not fully utilize their requested resources and hence the aggregate amount of needed resources will not surpass the PM's capacity. However, although resource overbooking improves PM utilization, it may lead to PM overloads where the actual VMs' demanded amount of resources exceeds the PM's capacity, thus resulting in violating service- level agreements (SLAs) of some of the hosted VMs. In this paper, we propose an integrated resource allocation framework for data centers that minimizes the number of active PMs through dynamic VM placement while ensuring that SLAs of admitted VMs are not violated by reducing the number of PM overload occurrences through VM resource prediction, resource scaling, and VM migration. Experimental evaluations based on real Google traces show that our proposed framework outperforms existing techniques by incurring lesser overload events with no to very few SLA violations of admitted VMs while yielding energy consumptions similar to those achieved under existing approaches.
Computational identification of protein-protein interactions in model plant proteomes

Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) play essential roles in many biological processes. A PPI network provides crucial information on how biological pathways are structured and coordinated from individual protein functions. In the past two decades, large-scale PPI networks of a handful of organisms were determined by experimental techniques. However, these experimental methods are time-consuming, expensive, and are not easy to perform on new target organisms. Large-scale PPI data is particularly sparse in plant organisms. Here, we developed a computational approach for detecting PPIs trained and tested on known PPIs of Arabidopsis thaliana and applied to three plants, Arabidopsis thaliana, Glycine max (soybean), and Zea mays (maize) to discover new PPIs on a genome-scale. Our method considers a variety of features including protein sequences, gene co-expression, functional association, and phylogenetic profiles. This is the first work where a PPI prediction method was developed for is the first PPI prediction method applied on benchmark datasets of Arabidopsis. The method showed a high prediction accuracy of over 90% and very high precision of close to 1.0. We predicted 50,220 PPIs in Arabidopsis thaliana, 13,175,414 PPIs in corn, and 13,527,834 PPIs in soybean. Newly predicted PPIs were classified into three confidence levels according to the availability of existing supporting evidence and discussed. Predicted PPIs in the three plant genomes are made available for future reference.
The Role of RB in Prostate Cancer Progression

The RB tumor suppressor is one of the most commonly deleted/mutated genes in human cancers. In prostate cancer specifically, mutation of RB is most frequently observed in aggressive, metastatic disease. As one of the earliest tumor suppressors to be identified, the molecular functions of RB that are lost in tumor development have been studied for decades. Earlier work focused on the canonical RB pathway connecting mitogenic signaling to the cell cycle via Cyclin/CDK inactivation of RB, thereby releasing the E2F transcription factors. More in-depth analysis revealed that RB-E2F complexes regulate cellular processes beyond proliferation. Most recently, "non-canonical" roles for RB function have been expanded beyond its E2F interactions, which may play a particular role in advanced prostate cancer. For example, in mouse models of prostate cancer, loss of RB has been shown to induce lineage plasticity, which enables resistance to androgen deprivation therapy. This increased understanding of the potential downstream functions of RB in prostate cancer may lead the way to identifying therapeutic vulnerabilities in cells following RB loss.
The Voices of Public Opinion: Lingering Structures of Feeling about Women’s Suffrage in 1917 U.S. Newspaper Letters to the Editor

Answering continued calls for a cultural approach to the study of women’s history, this article explores what social historian Raymond Williams referred to as lingering traces of “structures of fee...
List-making for social justice: responses, complicity & contestations surrounding #LoSHA

The rise of the American #MeToo movement in October 2017 on social media was followed by a proliferation of #MeToo tweets, statuses, and posts by women identifying and non-binary folks in India who...
From Native Sovereignty to an Oilman’s State: Land, Race, and Petroleum in Indian Territory and Oklahoma

During the first two decades of the twentieth century, Indian Territory and the State of Oklahoma experienced one of the world’s largest petroleum booms, with much of the oil extracted from the territory and state produced on land owned by Indigenous, Black, and mixed-race peoples. White settlers, backed by governing institutions and cultures rooted in settler colonialism, anti-Black racism, and anti-monopolism, struggled to seize control of oil-rich land amid the allotment of Native-owned property. These latter elements insisted that non-whites could not grasp the value of petroleum nor be trusted with the control of such a vital resource, especially in the shadow of ever-looming oil monopolies. Settlers and wildcat prospectors built a white-supremacist oil-field politics that elevated the rights of small-scale, proprietary "independent" oilmen and worked to ensure that the latter controlled flows of crude vis-a-vis non-white property holders and “outside” corporations. For white settlers in Indian Territory and Oklahoma, oil rose to the top of collective imaginaries about race, property, and wealth, encouraging the creation of both legal and often violent extralegal strategies for dispossessing unworthy landowners of their hydrocarbon inheritance.
Mental health factors associated with progression to adolescent metabolic and bariatric surgery.

Abstract Background While bariatric surgery has demonstrated significant weight loss for adolescents with severe obesity, only a limited number of adolescents referred to surgery successfully complete the surgical program. Better identification of pre-surgical factors, especially mental health factors, associated with completing bariatric surgery may determine successful referrals to surgical programs versus alternative behavioral health interventions. Objectives The primary objective of this article was to investigate the relationship between presurgical mental health factors and whether or not a patient received bariatric surgery within the first six months of entering the program. Setting Pediatric Children's Hospital, Bariatric Surgery Program within Pediatric Surgery Department. Methods A retrospective medical record review of all patients referred from 2016 to 2019 to an adolescent surgical weight loss program was conducted. Patients were determined as completers if they received a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy within 6 months of entering the program. Demographic and preoperative mental health factors among completers (n = 30) were compared with surgery noncompleters (n = 44) using enter method logistic regression. Results Regression analyses revealed that younger patients, White patients, patients with lower internalizing symptoms on a standardized measure, and patients with greater self-reported motivation for surgery at their initial surgery visit were more likely to obtain surgery within 6 months of starting the program. Conclusion The findings underscore the importance of assessing patients’ motivation early in the bariatric surgery referral process. This study highlights potential treatment implications in how best to mitigate patient barriers, such as internalizing symptoms and low motivation, to pursue bariatric surgery and remain committed to weight loss goals through techniques such as motivational interviewing.
Glby, is a PBP with β-lactamase activity and is required for in vivo viability of M. abscessus

ABSTRACT The prevalence of Mycobacteroides abscessus, Mab, (also known as Mycobacterium abscessus) has been increasing steadily globally. Patients with structural lung conditions such as bronchiectasis, cystic fibrosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are at high risk of developing pulmonary Mab disease. The disease is often recurrent as the current treatment regimen is considered sub-efficacious. The cell wall peptidoglycan of bacteria is required for their viability and its biosynthetic pathway is enriched in proteins whose inhibition is the basis for two of the most widely used classes of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. The peptidoglycan of Mab is distinct from that of most bacteria as its synthesis involves penicillin binding proteins (PBP) and L,D-transpeptidases. Here, we demonstrate that Mab gene locus MAB_3167c encodes a PBP (hereafter referred to as Glby) and is required for normal planktonic growth in liquid broth. Glby exhibits a strong β-lactamase activity and is sensitive to β-lactamase inhibitors. In a mouse model of pulmonary Mab disease, mutant lacking this gene was unable to proliferate, gradually cleared and undetectable after three weeks. In a collection of 1.046 Mab clinical isolates, there is evidence that changes in amino acid sequence that compromise Glby function are not favored. These evidences suggest that an agent that can inhibit Glby in vivo has the potential to be an efficacious treatment against Mab disease.
Surgical Treatment for Intrahepatic, Peri-Hilar, and Distal Cholangiocarcinoma: 20-Single Institutional Year Experience.

BackgroundSurgical resection is the curative treatment for all subtypes of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), including intrahepatic, hilar/peri-hilar, and distal. This study evaluates patients with CCA who...
Addressing lead toxicity issue of perovskite modules

One major concern for the commercialization of perovskite photovoltaic technology is the toxicity of lead from the water-soluble lead halide perovskites that can contaminate the environment. Here I will present an abundant, low-cost and chemically robust sulfonic acid cation exchange resins (CERs) based method which can prevent lead leakage in damaged perovskite solar modules under severe weather conditions. CERs exhibit both high adsorption capacity and fast adsorption rate to lead in water due to the large binding energy to lead ions in the mesoporous structure. Integrating the CERs with perovskites at different locations have dramatical influence on how strong they prevent lead leakage. I will present several innovations that can reduce the lead leakage from damaged large-area perovskite solar panels to below 7.0 ppb even in the worst scenario that every sub-module is damaged.
A multi-physics approach on modeling of hygrothermal aging and its effects on constitutive behavior of cross-linked polymers

Abstract A multi-physics model is proposed to predict the changes in the constitutive behavior of cross-linked polymeric systems due to damages induced by deformation, oxidation, moisture, and temperature. Coupling the concept of network evolution, hydrolysis, and thermo-oxidation aging, we hypothesize that the synergized effects of deformation-induced damage, as well as different environmental factors such as humidity, temperature, and oxygen, can be taken into account through a generic model. Deformation-induced damage is due to the chain breakage while hygrothermal aging results from the interaction of elastomeric components with moisture in the presence of oxygen and temperature. Results indicate that hygrothermal aging can be considered as a consequence of damage accumulation of two concurrent aging mechanisms, namely; (i) thermo-oxidative, and (ii) hydrolytic aging. In order to capture the mutual effects of thermo-oxidative and hydrolytic aging, the assumption has been made that each of the aging phenomena can be superimposed upon each other. In fact, each of them acts independently, and as a result, they can propagate hygrothermal aging in collaboration. In view of multiple kinetics involved in hygrothermal aging, its effect has been induced by the concurrent effects of three micro-mechanisms; (i) chain scission due to the presence of temperature, (ii) reduction of cross-links attributed to the attendance of water, and (iii) formation of cross-links as a repercussion of oxygen present in the environment. Utilizing the theory of network decomposition, all phenomena and their correlation were modeled, and thus, the strain energy function of the polymer matrix is written with respect to four independent mechanisms; (i) the shrinking original matrix that has neither been attacked by water nor oxygen, (ii) conversion of the first network to two new networks due to reduction and formation of cross-links, and (iii) energy loss from network degradation due to water attrition to polymer active agents. The proposed model cannot consider variation in oxygen density since it has been derived for cases where there is abundant oxygen. In this respect, the model is valid for a slow aging process that occurs in super-thin samples. Finally, the model is validated with respect to extensive sets of our experimental data. In view of its interoperability, precision, and deep insight it provides into the nature of the aging phenomenon, the model is a good choice for advanced implementation in FE applications.
Mind and Brain: Toward an Understanding of Dualism

A post-Newtonian understanding of matter includes immaterial forces; thus, the concept of ‘physical’ has lost what usefulness it previously had and consequently Cartesian dualism has ceased to support a divide between the mental and the physical. A scientific understanding of mind that goes back at least as far as Priestley (eighteenth century) not only includes immaterial components but identifies brain parts in which these components correlate with neural activity. What are we left with? The challenge is not so much to figure out how a physical brain interacts with a nonphysical mind, but to try to unify theories of mind and theories of brain that to date do not share a single property. The challenge is enormous, but at least we can be quite clear about its nature, as there is no reason to be distracted by the idea of two distinct substances. In the present volume, several historical perspectives on the mind-body problem are discussed; we follow major currents of thought regarding the mind-body problem so that it can be seen how we arrived at our conception that it makes sense only to talk about theory unification.
Statistical modeling of THz scatter channels

A two-dimensional (2-D) geometrical propagation model for wideband terahertz (THz) indoor communications is proposed. Based on the geometrical model, a parametric reference model for wideband THz multipath fading channels is developed. From the reference model, the corresponding power delay profile is derived and compared with measured data. The results show good agreement between measured and simulated power delay spectra.
The formation and dissociation of magnesium alloy hydrides and their use for fuel storage in the hydrogen car

The formation of hydrides by the reaction of high-pressure hydrogen (300 to 800 psi) with Mg-10Al and Mg-25Ni was studied at 400 and 450°C. Although the reaction kinetics for both alloys can be described by the Johnson-Mehl relationship, the morphology and nature of the reaction products were very different for the two alloys. The temperature dependence of the rates suggests that an interfacial reaction, possibly the transfer of hydrogen from the metal to the hydride, may be the rate-controlling step. One hydride, MgH2, formed internally in the Mg-10Al alloy as spherical particles of nearly constant size at any time, indicating that nucleation was rapid. The reaction involving Mg-25Ni resulted in two hydrides, MgH2 and Mg2NiH4, the former being more stable and forming first by consuming the primary magnesium phase of the eutectic structure. The hydride advanced into the alloy as a “front”, after which the eutectic plates of Mg2Ni reacted to form the ternary hydride. Finally, the larger primary plates of Mg2Ni reacted. Dehydriding of the Mg-10Al alloy hydride also followed the Johnson-Mehl relationship and was found to be complete in 90 min at 300°C, these conditions being favorable for the use of this hydride in vehicles combusting hydrogen. On the other hand, dehydriding of the hydrided Mg-25Ni alloy occurred by a twostep process in which some of the Mg2NiH4 dissociated followed by complete dissociation of this hydride and of the MgH2. Only a small fraction, 10 pct of the available hydrogen could be recovered in several hours at 300°C. The Mg-10Al alloy exhibited a much higher resistance to fragmentation during hydriding than did the Mg-25Ni alloy. An analysis of numerous factors required of hydrides for use in vehicular applications showed that Mg-10Al was much better than Mg-25Ni, although the charging time is much too long.
chapter 25 – KINETIC THEORY

Publisher Summary Kinetic theory is based on the atomic model of matter. The basic assumption of kinetic theory is that the measurable properties of gases, liquids, and solids reflect the combined actions of countless numbers of atoms and molecules. It relates the microscopic properties of atoms and molecules, which are not directly measurable, to the measurable properties of matter, like temperature and pressure. The characteristic size of an atom is about 10-10 m. That knowledge is used to show that the atoms in a gas spend most of their time in free flight. The chapter introduces the important concept of a collision cross section as a measure of the likelihood of collisions between atoms. In the chapter, the atomic model of a gas is used to derive the ideal gas equation of state. The chapter presents the Maxwellian distribution of molecular speeds and discusses its use to determine the most probable molecular speed.
PORTABLE LEARNING FOR THE 21ST CENTURY LAW SCHOOL: DESIGNING A NEW PEDAGOGY FOR THE MODERN GLOBAL CONTEXT

In the 20th Century, stationary fixed-location learning was the centerpiece of traditional legal education. The learning of new material occurred in a classroom, stretched in a linear fashion to a library for review and continuation, and returned to the classroom to repeat the cycle. This type of learning was replicated on a regular basis, culminating in a single summative examination of performance. In the 21st Century, however, law students and law practice have changed dramatically. With globalization and advanced technology creating a wide array of new demands, learning has become portable, with Web-based distance learning and educational platforms, pod casts, blogs and interactive, wiki-based outlining. A reconception of legal education incorporating portability has created significant opportunity for refinement and modification of the traditional stationary construction of legal education. It also has yielded many implications, such as what learning should occur in fixed-space classrooms and what should become portable.
3D solid modeling of IC structures using simulated surface topography

The importance of 3D effects in semiconductor processes and devices is growing as structures are scaled into the deep submicron regime. In order to perform 3D analysis, however, designers need to accurately specify the structure to be simulated. A virtual integrated process modeling tool, based on a set of techniques which enable the construction of 3D device structures, is presented with emphasis on a new technique to build 3D LOCOS geometries. Examples illustrate how this technique is used to construct both a test structure as well as an actual memory cell design.
Elementary Analysis: The Theory of Calculus

Preface.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Sequences.- 3 Continuity.- 4 Sequences and Series of Functions.- 5 Differentiation.- 6 Integration.- 7 Capstone.- Appendix on Set Notation.- Selected Hints and Answers.- References.- Index.
Augmented weighted-diamond form of the linear-nodal scheme for Cartesian coordinate systems

The equations of the high-order linear-nodal numerical scheme are cast in an augmented weighted-difference form for three-dimensional Cartesian nodes. The coupling exhibited by these equations indicates that this new algorithm is simpler and, hence, faster than previous nodal schemes of this degree of accuracy. A well-logging problem and a fast reactor problem are examined. The new scheme developed is compared with the classical linear-linear nodal scheme and the diamond-difference scheme. For the well-logging problem, it is found that the new scheme is both faster and simpler than the classical linear-linear nodal scheme while sacrificing little in accuracy. Even though the new scheme is more accurate than the diamond-difference scheme for the reactor problem, the results indicate that state-of-the-art acceleration methods are needed for nodal schemes.
Magnetic and optical properties of the triplet states of para-methoxy- and para-thiomethoxyacetophenone

Abstract The phosphorescence spectrum, optically detected zf transition energies, relative pumping rates and absolute decay rates of the zero-field (zf) levels of p -methoxyacetophenone (MAP) and p -thiometoxyacetophenone (TAP) have been determined in different hosts and at different temperatures. The polarization of the transitions are determined in p -dimethoxybenzene (DBM) host. From these results, the relative order of the zf levels of the triplet states of these two molecules is determined relative to the host's molecules axes. The results of the different studies are consistent with a 3 (π,gp*) assingment for the lowest triplet states of the two molecules. The observed orientation of the magnetic axes of MAP in the DMB host suggests a molecular distortion in the triplet of MAP or a slight misorientation of this molecule in the host lattice.
Research on unemployment and suicide

Problems and consequences Many capitalist economies are characterised by business cycles with concomitant increases in joblessness during recessions and depressions, and reductions in unemployment in periods of economic expansion. In view of the potentially debilitating consequences of joblessness on health and related outcomes, research on unemployment and suicide continues to be relevant in both epidemiology and sociology. One controversy that continues is the issue of selection bias. The essential question that remains unresolved is whether the observed association between unemployment and suicide reported in some studies reflects direct causation or whether there is some variable that is causally prior to both unemployment and suicide. The report by Blakely et al 1 presents an analysis of the New Zealand Census Mortality Study (NZCMS) that attempts to shed some light on the above question. Using logistic regression models on census mortality linked data on 1.65 million men and women aged 18 to 64 years, they have observed that unemployment is strongly associated with suicide among women and men in the age group 25–64. At the same time, no significant associations were observed in other age groups. In an effort to support a causal argument, the authors have controlled …