cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Discourses of Mass Probation: From Managing Risk to Ending Human Warehousing in Michigan

Over the past decade, some Western countries have begun to re-embrace the language of rehabilitation and calls for penal moderation. Risk logics-which undergirded the rise of mass incarceration in the U.S.-are now being repurposed to call for decarceration. Yet while risk played a key role in the transformation from modern to post-modern punishment, its development remains poorly understood. This article explores the discourses and practices of risk from the 1970s through to 2014 in one U.S. state (Michigan). The analyses focus on probation, the primary alternative to prison. The results show that risk discourses and practices emerged in the 1970s as a mode of resistance to the prison boom and have been adapted in each subsequent decade to address state governing crises.
Reasonable Perception: Connecting Vision and Language Systems for Validating Scene Descriptions

Understanding explanations of machine perception is an important step towards developing accountable, trustworthy machines. Furthermore, speech and vision are the primary modalities by which humans collect information about the world, but the linking of visual and natural language domains is a relatively new pursuit in computer vision, and it is difficult to test performance in a safe environment. To couple human visual understanding and machine perception, we present an explanatory system for creating a library of possible context-specific actions associated with 3D objects in immersive virtual worlds. We also contribute a novel scene description dataset, generated natively in virtual reality containing speech, image, gaze, and acceleration data. We discuss the development of a hybrid machine learning algorithm linking vision data with environmental affordances in natural language. Our findings demonstrate that it is possible to develop a model which can generate interpretable verbal descriptions of possible actions associated with recognized 3D objects within immersive VR environments.
Neuroimaging of Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in this country, underlying over 700,000 deaths per year (American Heart Association. Cardiovascular disease statistics: American Heart Association, 2004). CVD prevalence increases dramatically with advanced age, hence significant CVD is present in over 70% of people 75 years of age or older, and is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in Western society. 84.7% of people who die of CVD are 65 years of age or older (American Heart Association. Cardiovascular disease statistics: American Heart Association, 2004; Bild et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 41(10):1047–1056, 1993). With improved survival from acute cardiac events, older adults are often faced with the prospect of living with chronic heart disease, including severe CVD. Besides its obvious effects on physical well-being, CVD causes significant psychological, social, and economic hardships (Smith and Mensah Ethn (Dis Summer) 13(2 Suppl 2):S77–S80, 2003; Miller and Missov Cardiol Clin 19(4):547–555, 2001; Rich J Am Geriatr Soc 45(8):968–974, 1997; Haan et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 45(6):667–674, 1997; Mangano J Card Surg 10(4 Suppl):366–368, 1995; Manton World Health Stat Q 41(3–4):255–266, 1988) and contributes to depression and psychiatric problems (Miller and Missov Cardiol Clin 19(4):547–555, 2001; Rich J Am Geriatr Soc 45(8):968–974, 1997; Haan et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 45(6):667–674, 1997; Ayanian et al. JAMA 274(22):1767–1770, 1995; Bastone and Kerns Ann Behav Med 17(4):324–330, 1995; Jones et al. Psychophysiology 22(4):480–487, 1985; Ruberman et al. N Engl J Med 311(9):552–559, 1984; Engebretson et al. Med Sci Sports Exerc 31(Suppl 2):216–223, 1998; Drexler et al. Am Heart J 126(3 Pt 2):761–764, 1993; Polidori et al. Aging (Milano) 13(3):231–239, 2001; Guo et al. J Am Geriatr Soc 45(6):701–705, 1997.
Lyotard and Bakhtin: Engaged Diversity in Education

This article compares the views of Mikhail Baktin and Jean-Francois Lyotard on difference and diversity. Both philosophers elevate diversity on a higher level, considering it to be a fundamental fact of human existence rather than a temporary and superficial phenomenon. However, while Lyotard emphasized the depth of differences amongst various discourses and language games, Bakhtin thought of diversity as a form of connection. Lyotard envisioned a multitude of separate and internally coherent discourses, while Bakhtin traced diversity within each discourse as well as among them. The Baktinian notion of the polyphonic truth helps to move diversity from an abstract goal into a working part of the educational enterprise.
Aesthetics for Green Roofs and Green Walls

Do green roofs and green walls have aesthetic benefits? Most green roof proponents would say so. But what are they and how do they relate to green roof design in terms of species selection, planting arrangement, viewable context, access, maintenance and other factors? Aesthetics according to the Green Roof Design 101 Manual 2 nd Ed (GRHC 2006) provides “pleasureand psycho-physiologically-oriented benefits” but, this narrow understanding suggests that the aesthetic potential of green roofs is limited to what one might experience looking upon any garden. We suggest other ways that need exploring to make aesthetics more relevant and understandable to the practice of wall and roof greening. We suggest other ways that need exploring to make aesthetics more relevant and understandable to the practice of wall and roof greening.
Path integral study of the 4He wetting transition

The4He wetting transition on a Cs surface is for the first time studied by Path Integral Monte Carlo simulation. Numerical results for a system of 644He atoms are qualitatively consistent with a wetting transition at a temperature T ∼ 2 K.
Open shoulder instability surgery. Complications.

More than 2400 years ago, Hippocrates discussed the potential complications of treating unstable shoulders with a white-hot poker. 44 , 46 He warned the surgeons of his time about the possibility of devastating injury to the major nerves and vessels near the shoulder if the iron were allowed to contact these structures. As techniques for operative shoulder stabilization have evolved, with more than 150 procedures described, numerous complications have been reported. Some of these complications are inherent to the specific operative procedure that is selected, whereas others can occur with any technique. Historically, “failure” of a surgical stabilization procedure had been defined as recurrence of instability. By this criteria, nonanatomic operations, such as the Putti-Platt and Magnuson-Stack procedures, which tighten the subscapularis and limit external rotation by design, are, in general, successful; however, investigators have shifted the emphasis to obtaining stability while maintaining range of motion and maximizing shoulder function. 51 , 66 , 67 A long-term outcome report on the Bankart procedure found that the most common complaint of patients was not recurrent instability but decreased range of motion and intermittent pain, with patients placing a high value on full mobility, even to the exclusion of absolute stability. 23 Preservation of function is particularly important in certain patient populations, such as throwing athletes, in whom small losses in range of motion and strength can preclude a successful return to competition, and thus results of surgery have been less predictable. For these patients, modified techniques, such as a subscapularis-splitting approach to the shoulder, have been devised in an effort to maximize function after stabilization. 37 Arthroscopic techniques of shoulder stabilization are becoming increasingly common and have been shown to reduce some complications. 24 These techniques continue to evolve, and results will likely improve as modifications are made; however, rates of recurrent instability in published reports are generally higher with arthroscopic stabilization, and other complications occur, as documented (see article by Shaffer and Tibone, pp 737–767). Open stabilization currently remains the gold standard for comparison. Cofield et al 11 set forth goals of the ideal stabilization procedure— one that is technically reasonable to perform and allows identification and correction of the pathology responsible for instability. In addition, recurrence and other complications should be minimized, function and motion should be maintained, and osteoarthritis should not result. 11 The following sections present the complications that have been reported with open instability surgery in the hope that such knowledge will help surgeons to minimize the frequency of their occurrence.
A novel framework for locating software faults using latent divergences

Fault localization, i.e., identifying erroneous lines of code in a buggy program, is a tedious process, which often requires considerable manual effort and is costly. Recent years have seen much progress in techniques for automated fault localization, specifically using program spectra - executions of failed and passed test runs provide a basis for isolating the faults. Despite the progress, fault localization in large programs remains a challenging problem, because even inspecting a small fraction of the lines of code in a large problem can require substantial manual effort. This paper presents a novel framework for fault localization based on latent divergences - an effective method for feature selection in machine learning. Our insight is that the problem of fault localization can be reduced to the problem of feature selection, where lines of code correspond to features. We also present an experimental evaluation of our framework using the Siemens suite of subject programs, which are a standard benchmark for studying fault localization techniques in software engineering. The results show that our framework enables more accurate fault localization than existing techniques.
A Risk-Informed Life Test Modeling Framework for Uncertainty Characterization and Life Estimation

A framework for assessing and comparing the uncertainties associated with failure mechanisms at end-of-design-life of any long-duration mission systems would provide utility in determining its readiness for flight. With this in mind, the Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) program office at NASA Glenn Research Center (NASA GRC) and The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL, or APL) have adopted a risk-informed life-testing process to determine the target, nature, and extent of testing required for the demonstration of reliability and life of radioisotope power systems. This paper presents the methodology for implementing such a process through the combined use of physics-of-failure models (POF) and Bayesian inference techniques.
The role of parasite dispersal in shaping a host–parasite system at multiple evolutionary scales

Parasite dispersal can shape host-parasite interactions at both deep and shallow timescales. One approach to understanding the effects of dispersal is to study parasite lineages that differ in dispersal capability but are from the same group of hosts. In this study, we compared phylogenetic and population genetic patterns of wing and body lice from ground-doves. Wing lice are more capable of dispersal than body lice. We sequenced full genomes of individual lice for multiple representatives of several wing and body louse species. From these data, we assembled genes for phylogenetic analysis and called SNPs for population genetic analysis. At the phylogenetic level, body lice showed more codivergence with their hosts than did wing lice. However, both wing and body lice exhibited some phylogenetic congruence with their hosts. Within species, body lice showed more population genetic structure than wing lice, although both types of lice showed some structure according to biogeography. Body lice also had significantly lower heterozygosity than wing lice, suggesting more inbreeding. Our results demonstrate that dispersal can shape a host-parasite system across evolutionary time, but also that other factors (e.g., host association and biogeography) can have varying degrees of influence on different groups of parasites and at different evolutionary scales.
DEPC modification of the CuA protein from Thermus thermophilus

The CuA center is the initial electron acceptor in cytochrome c oxidase, and it consists of two copper ions bridged by two cysteines and ligated by two histidines, a methionine, and a carbonyl in the peptide backbone of a nearby glutamine. The two ligating histidines are of particular interest as they may influence the electronic and redox properties of the metal center. To test for the presence of reactive ligating histidines, a portion of cytochrome c oxidase from the bacteria Thermus thermophilus that contains the CuA site (the TtCuA protein) was treated with the chemical modifier diethyl pyrocarbonate (DEPC) and the reaction followed through UV–visible, circular dichroism, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies at pH 5.0–9.0. A mutant protein (H40A/H117A) with the non-ligating histidines removed was similarly tested. Introduction of an electron-withdrawing DEPC-modification onto the ligating histidine 157 of TtCuA increased the reduction potential by over 70 mV, as assessed by cyclic voltammetry. Results from both proteins indicate that DEPC reacts with one of the two ligating histidines, modification of a ligating histidine raises the reduction potential of the CuA site, and formation of the DEPC adduct is reversible at room temperature. The existence of the reactive ligating histidine suggests that this residue may play a role in modulating the electronic and redox properties of TtCuA through kinetically-controlled proton exchange with the solvent. Lack of reactivity by the metalloproteins Sco and azurin, both of which contain a mononuclear copper center, indicate that reactivity toward DEPC is not a characteristic of all ligating histidines.
IHI ID 20 Sustaining system-level high reliability for CLABSI: impacts of standardization, human factors, and direct observation of key processes

Background From 2007 to 2015, in our large, quaternary childrens hospital, significant improvement was achieved and sustained in our rate of central line associated blood stream infections (CLABSI). However, a dramatic rate increase occurred in 2015; the control chart centerline shifted from 0.62 to 1.95/1000 line days despite process compliance consistently at/above 95%. Comprehensive investigations determined several system-level factors contributed to the deterioration, including widespread practice variation as units implemented uncoordinated changes without full appreciation of human factors implications. Objectives Reduce inpatient CLABSI events by 20% or more by the end of FY17. Methods A multidisciplinary retreat convened with key stakeholders to assess current state and redesign the CLABSI process bundle. Redesign of workflows, supply kits, and a multi-phase implementation plan included human factors considerations, 2:1 training, and peer coaching. Standardized, near real-time, multidisciplinary event review huddles focused on identifying themes. Bundle monitoring shifted from predominately chart review to direct observations. Results From FY16 to FY17, CLABSI events decreased 28.7% (122 to 87), for an estimated $1,925,000 cost savings. An additional 20% decrease was achieved in FY18, 70 events ($9 35 000 saved) resulted in a downward centerline shift in the system-level control chart. Observed bundle compliance was 82% compared to 95% via chart review. Conclusions Uncoordinated improvement efforts and inconsistent training contributed to a significant rise in CLABSI events. System-wide standardization informed by human factors considerations coupled with a process monitoring paradigm shift to direct observation led to significant and subsequently sustained improvement in CLABSI events in a single, quaternary childrens hospital.
Teaching and learning in an age of precarity: toward a pedagogy of the transitory

Communication studies stands at a critical juncture. While the discipline enjoys historically high demand for its educational content, its investment in faculty is in decline. The most recent surve...
Fitness Islands in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli

The size of sequenced Escherichia coli genomes varies from 4.6 Mb for the fecal/commensal E. coli K-12 strain MG1655 to 5.5 Mb for enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) strain O157:H7 EDL933. The majority of these differences are attributed to the insertion of large regions of genomic DNA. This chapter examines genes present on genomic islands and islets of uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), with a primary focus on genes contributing to the overall fitness of the organism rather than traditional virulence genes. The acquisition and stable integration of multiple genomic islands and islets encoding fimbrial adhesins in UPEC illustrate the significance of adhesion within the urinary tract. The abundance of horizontally acquired, coregulated fimbrial adhesins in UPEC, each with distinct adhesive moieties, demonstrates a clear functional redundancy. The authors identified the sit iron transport system in six of seven arbitrarily selected UPEC strains and only one of three fecal/commensal strains (not in E. coli K-12) using CGH. Several well-studied E. coli strains, ABU strain 83972 and E. coli Nissle 1917, may hold the key to understanding their pathogenic E. coli relatives. ABU strain 83972 has lost many of the typical UPEC virulence genes and yet has retained systems contributing to fitness, particularly those involved in iron acquisition and transport (aerobactin, salmochelin, yersiniabactin, heme/hemoglobin, and sitABCD).
Endoscopic Evacuation of Intracerebral Hematoma Utilizing a Side-Cutting Aspiration Device.

Background Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with a significant mortality of up to 50%, with almost all survivors suffering from debilitating functional compromise. In most cases, open craniotomy has failed to yield significant survival benefit. However, emerging evidence suggests that minimally invasive surgery (MIS) may yield clinically significant improvements in patient survival and quality of life in cases where open craniotomy has not shown benefit. Case presentation We report the first documented usage of a side-cutting-aspiration device via an endoscopic approach for the evacuation of a 56cc hematoma, which was a technical modification on previous MIS techniques. The patient is a 50-yr-old female who was transferred emergently to our center with a National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 27 and found to have a large hematoma involving her left basal ganglia. A minimally-invasive approach was elected due to evidence on the risks and suboptimal outcomes of open craniotomy in ICH evacuation. Neuronavigation was used to plan the surgical trajectory for ICH access. Evacuation took place in three main steps: 1) beginning at the center of the clot to remove bulk; 2) mobilizing clots from parenchymal walls to a safe zone via aspiration, followed by clot homogenization; and 3) re-expansion of the cavity via continuous irrigation to allow visualization of further clots. A final inspection was performed to ensure removal of all clots that could be safely removed. The dual functionalities of the device, namely, suction only and suction plus side-cutting functions, enabled key maneuvers, such as clot homogenization and controlled aspiration strength, to be safely performed. A near-total evacuation of the hematoma was achieved without damage to surrounding parenchyma. The patient experienced a rapid clinical course from comatose to discharge-ready in 5 d. At 30-d follow-up, the patient had residual expressive aphasia and was able to ambulate with the assistance of a quad cane. There are no radiographical signs of recurrent hemorrhage or parenchymal injury. Clinical follow-up with this patient is ongoing. Conclusion This is the first ICH evacuation with a side-cutting-aspiration device via an endoscopic approach. In our patient, this technique proved to be safe and efficacious, suggesting that this technique may be a promising addition to the armamentarium of MIS for ICH evacuation.
Inter- and Intra-Rater Reliability of Laryngeal Sensation Testing with the Touch Method During Flexible Endoscopic Evaluations of Swallowing:

Objectives:Sensation is an integral component of laryngeal control for breathing, swallowing, and vocalization. Laryngeal sensation is assessed by elicitation of the laryngeal adductor reflex (LAR)...
Cross-Coupled Impedance-Based Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) With 1.06% Native Instability

This letter presents an ASIC implementation of a weak physically unclonable function (PUF) with a bimodal output distribution. The PUF, termed negative impedance-based PUF, is formed using a Wheatstone-bridge which employs a combination of positive and negative feedbacks to greatly amplify normally small mismatches due to process variation. The mismatch of the cell skews the overall output impedance to be negative or positive depending on the polarity of the mismatch between feedback paths. The PUF is fabricated in 65-nm TSMC LP process. The PUF performance was measured for supply voltages between 0.8 and 1.3 V, and temperatures ranging from 0 °C to 80 °C. Measurement results show a 1.06% native instability without the use of any digital calibration techniques.
Using the health belief model to predict concussion-reporting intentions and behaviour.

To determine whether Health Belief Model (HBM) factors predict concussion-reporting intentions and behaviour. Methods: Participants completed a cross-sectional survey to measure the HBM constructs ...
Long-Term Outcomes of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Patients

Background/Purpose: Short-term outcomes of congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) are well described. We present the long-term outcomes and co-morbidities found in patients who underwent CDH repair at our institution. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of all patients from 2004 – 2019 who underwent repair of CDH with survival to discharge. Means and percentages were used …
Enzalutamide With Radiation Therapy for Intermediate-Risk Prostate Cancer: A Phase 2 Study.

Purpose Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is often used as adjuvant treatment with radiation therapy (RT) for intermediate-risk prostate cancer. ADT is associated with multiple side effects, including weight gain, loss of libido, and hot flashes. In contrast, antiandrogen monotherapy has been generally better tolerated. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of enzalutamide (an antiandrogen) monotherapy with RT for the treatment of intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Methods and Materials This trial was an open-label, phase 2 study of 6 months of enzalutamide monotherapy with external beam RT for intermediate-risk prostate cancer. Enzalutamide was initiated 2 months before external beam RT. The primary endpoint was prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response measured at the end of enzalutamide administration at the 6-month timepoint. Secondary endpoints included assessment of toxicity and changes in anthropomorphic body measurement, sexual function, and metabolism. The sample size was 64 patients. The hypothesis was that if ≥60% of the patients did not achieve a PSA nadir of ≤0.2 ng/mL, the study results would be deemed negative. Results The results met the prespecified endpoint for efficacy in that PSA values ≤0.2 ng/mL were observed in 49 of 64 patients (77%), and 60 of 64 patients (94%) had PSA values ≤0.5ng/mL. The most frequent adverse events were hypertension and gynecomastia. There were no changes in anthropomorphic body measurements and only modest erectile dysfunction. Conclusions Using PSA response as an endpoint, enzalutamide monotherapy may be as effective as ADT in combination with external beam RT for patients with intermediate-risk prostate cancer, and it is associated with fewer side effects. Randomized trials comparing enzalutamide with ADT are justified.
Regenerative cross talk between cardiac cells and macrophages

Aside from the first week postnatal, murine heart regeneration is restricted and responses to damage follow classic fibrotic remodeling. Recent transcriptomic analyses have suggested that significant cross talk with the sterile immune response could maintain a more embryonic-like signaling network that promotes acute, transient responses. However, with age, this response-likely mediated by neonatal yolk sac macrophages-then transitions to classical macrophage-mediated, cardiac fibroblast (CF)-based remodeling of the extracellular matrix (ECM) after myocardial infarction (MI). The molecular mechanisms that govern the change with age and drive fibrosis via inflammation are poorly understood. Using multiple ribonucleic acid sequencing (RNA-Seq) datasets, we attempt to resolve the relative contributions of CFs and macrophages in the bulk-healing response of regenerative (postnatal day 1) and nonregenerative hearts (postnatal day 8+). We performed an analysis of bulk RNA-Seq datasets from myocardium and cardiac fibroblasts as well as a single-cell RNA-Seq dataset from cardiac macrophages. MI-specific pathway differences revealed that nonregenerative hearts generated more ECM and had larger matricellular responses correlating with inflammation, produced greater chemotactic gradients to recruit macrophages, and expressed receptors for danger-associated molecular patterns at higher levels than neonates. These changes could result in elevated stress-response pathways compared with neonates, converging at NF-κB and activator protein-1 (AP-1) signaling. Profibrotic gene programs, which greatly diverge on day 3 post MI, lay the foundation for chronic fibrosis, and thus postnatal hearts older than 7 days typically exhibit significantly less regeneration. Our analyses suggest that the macrophage ontogenetic shift in the heart postnatally could result in detrimental stress signaling that suppresses regeneration.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Immediately postnatal mammalian hearts are able to regenerate after infarction, but the cells, pathways, and molecules that regulate this behavior are unclear. By comparing RNA-Seq datasets from regenerative mouse hearts and older, nonregenerative hearts, we are able to identify biological processes that are hallmarks of regeneration. We find that sterile inflammatory processes are upregulated in nonregenerative hearts, initiating profibrotic gene programs 3 days after myocardial infarction that can cause myocardial disease.
Pruriception and neuronal coding in nociceptor subtypes in human and nonhuman primates

In humans, intradermal administration of β-alanine (ALA) and bovine adrenal medulla peptide 8-22 (BAM8-22) evokes the sensation of itch. Currently, it is unknown which human dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons express the receptors of these pruritogens, MRGPRD and MRGPRX1, respectively, and which cutaneous afferents these pruritogens activate in primate. In situ hybridization studies revealed that MRGPRD and MRGPRX1 are co-expressed in a subpopulation of TRPV1+ human DRG neurons. In electrophysiological recordings in nonhuman primates (Macaca nemestrina), subtypes of polymodal C-fiber nociceptors are preferentially activated by ALA and BAM8-22, with significant overlap. When pruritogens ALA, BAM8-22, and histamine, which activate different subclasses of C-fiber afferents, are administered in combination, human volunteers report itch and nociceptive sensations similar to those induced by a single pruritogen. Our results provide evidence for differences in pruriceptive processing between primates and rodents, and do not support the spatial contrast theory of coding of itch and pain.
Green Dies in Darkness? Environmental Externalities of Newspaper Closures

We examine whether and how newspaper coverage affects firms' toxic emissions. Studying this question helps us understand the ecosystem of regulation by revelation, an increasingly popular environmental policy approach. Using local newspaper closures as an exogenous shock to news coverage, we find that plants located in newspaper closure counties increase toxic emissions by 10 to 19 percent compared to plants of the same firm located in other counties. This effect is not driven by different environmental policies among firms or different economic conditions among counties. Instead, the increase in toxic emissions comes from less effective chemical use during production instead of higher productions. Moreover, the effect is amplified in areas with fewer newspapers before a newspaper closure, where residents care more about environmental issues, and with a low increase in online media presence. Our results suggest that regulation by revelation will become less effective as the newspaper industry's decline continues.
A Social Perspective on Couples Across the Lifespan: Challenges and Opportunities

Across the life course, individuals are embedded in multiple relationships that have considerable influence on development and well-being. This special issue uses diverse samples and methodologies ...
Reading Patent Law: A Review of Reading Law: The Interpretation of Legal Texts by Justice Antonin Scalia and Professor Bryan A. Garner

This essay examines Justice Antonin Scalia and Professor Bryan A. Garner’s Reading Law in the context of patent law. In it, I explore the relationship between textualism and two facets of patent law: statutory interpretation and claim construction. This examination illustrates some of the strengths and limitations of Justice Scalia and Professor Garner’s approach to interpreting legal texts.
Oxidative acylation using thioacids

Several important prebiotic reactions, including the coupling of amino acids into polypeptides by the formation of amide linkages, involve acylation. Theae reactions present a challenge to the understanding of prebiotic synthesis. Condensation reactions relying on dehydrating agents are either inefficient in aqueous solution or require strongly acidic conditions and high temperatures. Activated amino acids such as thioester derivatives have therefore been suggested as likely substrates for prebiotic peptide synthesis. Here we propose a closely related route to amide bond formation involving oxidative acylation by thioacids. We find that phenylalanine, leucine and phenylphosphate are acylated efficiently in aqueous solution by thioacetic acid and an oxidizing agent. From a prebiotic point of view, oxidative acylation has the advantage of proceeding efficiently in solution and under mild conditions. We anticipate that oxidative acylation should prove to be a general method for activating carboxylic acids, including amino acids.
Gradient-Induced Errors

Plasma gradients are a possible source of error in the measurement of weak double layers in the magnetosphere by satellite double probes. Space charge enhancement of Plasma Gradient Induced Error (PGIE) has been considered elsewhere [Diebold et al., 1994] and is briefly reviewed here. Possible effects of presheaths on space charge enhancement of PGIE are discussed. Gradients in wave amplitude may lead to Wave Gradient Induced Error (WGIE) and this is also discussed.
Chemistry: On the threshold of stability

Carbenes are short-lived compounds containing a highly reactive carbon atom, which makes them difficult to study. A stabilized derivative may lead to new magnetic materials.
Citrate metabolism in diabetes: II. Tissue citrate content, citrate synthase and oxidation in alloxan-diabetic rat

Abstract The alloxan-diabetic rat is characterized by (1) decreased citrate synthase (citrogenase) activity of the liver; (2) a two- to threefold increase in the citrate content of the tissues and (3) a decreased rate of citrate oxidation by the muscle (but not liver). The possible relationship of these changes is discussed.
Recurrent Starbursts or Intermittent Starburst/AGN Phenomena at the Galactic Center?

Recently, I summarized arguments, both old and new, that the Galactic center has experienced a starburst in a recent past (Ozer noy 1994a). Here I propose a likely mechanism — collisions between giant molecular clouds — that might induce (recurrent) starbursts. Taken together, these two approaches seem to indicate that the history of the central part of our Galaxy can be described as recurrent starbursts or intermittent Seyfert activities/ starbursts.
Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) in Enzymology

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) is a versatile tool for chemical biology research. A remarkable wealth of information about the mechanistic enzymology has been obtained by EPR experiments. As an analytical method, EPR can obtain these two useful pieces of information in a study of enzymatic reaction mechanisms: 1) detection and complete description of free radicals and 2) characterization of the electronic structures of paramagnetic metal ions and their response to changes of the protein environment or substrate binding. The first feature has spurred the development of the new field known as radical enzymology; the second has enhanced the understanding of the mechanisms of metalloenzyme action. The potential of EPR spectroscopy to serve as an important biophysical tool for the future development of enzymology is highlighted by several selected examples.
Arthur MacGregor and Ellen Bolick. Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections, Ashmolean Museum

Summary Catalogue of the Anglo-Saxon Collections, Ashmolean Museum. Arthur MacGregor and Ellen Bolick. Oxford: Ashmolean Museum, 1993. 277 pp. 887 photographs, figures and drawings, index, bibliography. £36 (paper) and £52 (cloth). Distributed in the U.S. by Arthur Schwartz & Co., 234 Meads Mountain Road, Woodstock, NY 12498. $90.00 (cloth only).
Individual Substitution Mutations in the AID C Terminus That Ablate IgH Class Switch Recombination

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is essential for class switch recombination (CSR) and somatic hypermutation (SHM) of Ig genes. The C terminus of AID is required for CSR but not for SHM, but the reason for this is not entirely clear. By retroviral transduction of mutant AID proteins into aid-/- mouse splenic B cells, we show that 4 amino acids within the C terminus of mouse AID, when individually mutated to specific amino acids (R190K, A192K, L196S, F198S), reduce CSR about as much or more than deletion of the entire C terminal 10 amino acids. Similar to ΔAID, the substitutions reduce binding of UNG to Ig Sμ regions and some reduce binding of Msh2, both of which are important for introducing S region DNA breaks. Junctions between the IgH donor switch (S)μ and acceptor Sα regions from cells expressing ΔAID or the L196S mutant show increased microhomology compared to junctions in cells expressing wild-type AID, consistent with problems during CSR and the use of alternative end-joining, rather than non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). Unlike deletion of the AID C terminus, 3 of the substitution mutants reduce DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) detected within the Sμ region in splenic B cells undergoing CSR. Cells expressing these 3 substitution mutants also have greatly reduced mutations within unrearranged Sμ regions, and they decrease with time after activation. These results might be explained by increased error-free repair, but as the C terminus has been shown to be important for recruitment of NHEJ proteins, this appears unlikely. We hypothesize that Sμ DNA breaks in cells expressing these C terminus substitution mutants are poorly repaired, resulting in destruction of Sμ segments that are deaminated by these mutants. This could explain why these mutants cannot undergo CSR.
Mother-Infant Contingent Vocalizations in 11 Countries

Mother-infant vocal interactions serve multiple functions in child development, but it remains unclear whether key features of these interactions are community-common or community-specific. We examined rates, interrelations, and contingencies of vocal interactions in 684 mothers and their 5½-month-old infants in diverse communities in 11 countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, and the United States). Rates of mothers' and infants' vocalizations varied widely across communities and were uncorrelated. However, collapsing the data across communities, we found that mothers' vocalizations to infants were contingent on the offset of the infants' nondistress vocalizing, infants' vocalizations were contingent on the offset of their mothers' vocalizing, and maternal and infant contingencies were significantly correlated. These findings point to the beginnings of dyadic conversational turn taking. Despite broad differences in the overall talkativeness of mothers and infants, maternal and infant contingent vocal responsiveness is found across communities, supporting essential functions of turn taking in early-childhood socialization.
Almost zero-dimensional PT-symmetric quantum field theories

In 1992 Bender, Boettcher, and Lipatov proposed in two papers a new and unusual nonperturbative calculational tool in quantum field theory. The objective was to expand the Green's functions of the quantum field theory as Taylor series in powers of the space-time dimension D. In particular, the vacuum energy for a massless \phi^{2N} (N=1,2,3,...) quantum field theory was studied. The first two Taylor coefficients in this dimensional expansion were calculated {\it exactly} and a set of graphical rules were devised that could be used to calculate approximately the higher coefficients in the series. This approach is mathematically valid and gives accurate results, but it has not been actively pursued and investigated. Subsequently, in 1998 Bender and Boettcher discovered that PT-symmetric quantum-mechanical Hamiltonians of the form H=p^2+x^2(ix)^\epsilon, where \epsilon\geq0, have real spectra. These new kinds of complex non-Dirac-Hermitian Hamiltonians define physically acceptable quantum-mechanical theories. This result in quantum mechanics suggests that the corresponding non-Dirac-Hermitian D-dimensional \phi^2(i\phi)^\epsilon quantum field theories might also have real spectra. To examine this hypothesis, we return to the technique devised in 1992 and in this paper we calculate the first two coefficients in the dimensional expansion of the ground-state energy of this complex non-Dirac-Hermitian quantum field theory. We show that to first order in this dimensional approximation the ground-state energy is indeed real for \epsilon\geq0.
Multidegrees‐of‐freedom effective force testing: a feasibility study and robust stability assessment

SUMMARY This paper presents a feasibility study of multidegrees-of-freedom effective force testing (MDOF-EFT). The study is intended to facilitate the development of a force feedback controller and investigation of performance as well as robustness of MDOF-EFT. First, the dynamics of MDOF-EFT systems are analytically investigated. Analytical transfer functions of the control plant, the valve-to-force relations, showed that the plant is dynamically coupled and the natural frequencies of test structures are the transmission zeros of the plant. Using a set of model parameters from a previous study, a case study that includes controller design, numerical simulations and robust stability assessment is performed. A decoupling loop shaping (DLS) controller consisting of a pseudo inverse of the plant and second-order loop shaping controllers is adopted as the force feedback controller. It is shown that the DLS controller provides a stable control system while successfully decoupling the control loops and compensating the control-structure interaction. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the DLS controller enables tracking of static and dynamic forces for multiple actuators. Robust stability of MDOF-EFT with the DLS controller is assessed using Monte Carlo simulation. The stochastic simulation results show that the DLS controller is stable and robust, providing sufficient stability margins for uncertain models with maximum 50% errors in the estimated system parameters. This paper demonstrates that MDOF-EFT is feasible with the DLS controller and can be implemented in experimental laboratories. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tartrazine-induced chromosomal aberrations in mammalian cells.

Abstract Tartrazine (FD & C Yellow No.5) has been shown to induce chromosomal aberrations in fibroblast cells of Muntiacus muntjac in vitro. M. muntjac cells were exposed to various concentrations of tartrazine (in the 5–20 μg/ml range) and were evaluated for induced chromosomal aberrations after two different periods of culture. Total percentages of chromosomal aberrations were significantly increased above control levels in all experimental groups. The results suggest that further studies are needed to determine the potential mutagenic effects of tartrazine.
Effects of Some ·OH Scavengers on the Radiation Sensitization of Bacterial Spores by p-nitroacetophenone and O2 in Suspension

Spores of Bacillus megaterium were irradiated in suspension with 50 kVp X-rays under three reference conditions: in anoxia (i.e., 100 per cent N2); in anoxia with 2mM p-nitroacetophenone (PNAP), a concentration that shows the maximum amount of sensitization by this agent; and in air. The responses were then measured when different concentrations of an hydroxyl radical scavenger were also present. Allyl alcohol, t-amyl alcohol, t-butanol, ethanol, glycerol, the formate ion, and methanol were the -OH scavengers that were used. A comparison of the effects these additives have on the three reference responses provides indirect, comparative information on the sensitizing processes of PNAP and O2. Neither t-amyl alcohol nor t-butanol affects the response in air or N2 alone. Both these additives, however, can reduce the sensitization from PNAP slightly. The other additives have significant protective effects under the three conditions. In general, the additives have similar effects in air and in 100 per cent N2 but much greater protective effects in PNAP. Although the sensitizing mechanisms are not identified by these experiments, the effects of O2 and PNAP, as judged by the desensitizing actions of these additives, appear quite different.
Development of a measure of home-career conflict related to career motivation in college women

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a measure of Home-Career conflict (H-C) for college women. Data from two studies are presented. Subjects for the first study were college women enrolled in undergraduate psychology classes (N=163) at a large midwestern college. Subjects for the second study were fifty student teachers enrolled in Traditional female college majors (i.e., a majority are women) and fifty engineering students in Nontraditional female college majors (i.e., a majority are men). Findings from the first study indicated that high negative affect scores on the H-C measure were significantly (p<.05) related to low career motivation scores. Findings from the first study were used to revise the measure. Using discriminant analysis results from the second study obtained significantly different (p<.02) patterns of scores for Traditional college majors compared to Nontraditional college majors. Traditional majors wrote more stories depicting mothers as primarily homemakers and described more negative affect in their stories. Reliability estimates and validity data are provided. Suggestions for refinement of the measure are discussed as well as possible counseling uses.
Generalized Ising model for dynamic adaptation in autonomous systems

The paper presents a concept of Statistical Mechanics for observation-based adaptation in autonomous systems, which is typically exhibited by simple biological systems. Time-critical operations of autonomous systems (e.g., unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs)), require in situ adaptation in the original plan of action and rapid response to evolving contextual changes and situation awareness for enhanced autonomy. In this regard, a concept of dynamic plan adaptation (DPA) is formulated in the setting of a generalized Ising model (e.g., the Potts model) over a discretized configuration space, where the targets (e.g., undersea mines) are distributed. An exogenous time-dependent potential field is defined that controls the movements of the autonomous system in the configuration space, while the decision-theoretic tool for dynamic plan adaptation is built upon local neighborhood interactions. The efficacy of the DPA algorithm has been evaluated by simulation experiments that demonstrate early detection of localized neighborhood targets as compared to a conventional search method involving back and forth motions.
An accessible robotics programming environment for visually impaired users

Despite advances in assistive technology, challenges remain in pre-college computer science outreach and university programs for visually impaired students. The use of robotics has been popular in pre-college classrooms and outreach programs, including those that serve underrepresented groups. This paper describes the specific accessibility features implemented in software that provides an accessible Lego Mindstorms NXT programming environment for teenage students who are visually impaired. JBrick is designed to support students with diverse visual acuity and who use needed assistive technology. Field tests over several days showed that JBrick has the potential to accommodate students who are visually impaired as they work together to program Lego Mindstorms NXT robots.
Bone marrow blood flow after marrow removal or nutrient vessel ligation.

SummaryStudies were made of the changes in blood flow in rabbits after localized depletion of femoral marrow or nutrient vessel ligation. Our findings confirm that the nutrient artery is the principal source of flow to medullary tissue in the diaphysis of long bones. They indicate further that (i) there is a highly effective collateral circulation to the medullary cavity, (ii) marrow regeneration is associated with an increased blood flow, and (iii) normal blood flow is restored at a time when the regenerated marrow after a localized depletion is indistinguishable from normal marrow.
Two simple programs for the analysis of data from enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assays on a programmable desk-top calculator.

Abstract We have designed two programs for use with an inexpensive programmable calculator which rapidly and accurately convert raw data generated from enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays directly into antigen concentration. The first program computes and compares effective doses (ED50)'s between a standard and each unknown sample assayed. The ED50 from the unknown sample is then multiplied by a concentration factor which yields the unknown concentration. The second program linearizes the sigmoidal enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay titration curve using a logit-log transformation of the data in order to compute unknown concentration values. Both programs employ stringent limit conditions to decrease “nonsense” calculations. Data are then processed by a least-squares best-fit linear regression analysis.
Meningococcal Disease Awareness: Clinical and Epidemiological Factors Affecting Prevention and Management in Adolescents

Nonspecificity of early symptoms makes meningococcal disease difficult to distinguish from more common, primarily self-limited infections. Patients rapidly progress to death despite medical intervention if early shock and/or disseminated intravascular coagulopathy are already present. Although overall incidence of and mortality from meningococcal disease is lower in adolescents than in infants, the case fatality rate is higher, making this population a critical target for prevention.