cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Site characterization using Gauss–Newton inversion of 2-D full seismic waveform in the time domain

Site characterization for design of deep foundations is very crucial, as unanticipated site conditions still represent significant problems and disputes occur during construction. Traditional surface-based geophysical methods, which use wave velocity dispersion or first-arrival times, have been widely used recently to assess spatial variation; however they cannot well characterize reverse profiles or buried low-velocity zones. For better characterization of these challenging site conditions, a full waveform inversion based on Gauss–Newton method is presented. The inversion scheme is based on a finite-difference solution of the 2-D elastic wave equation in the time domain. The strength of this approach is the ability to generate all possible wave types of seismic wavefields that are then compared with observed data to infer complex subsurface properties. Virtual sources and reciprocity of wavefields are used for calculation of partial derivative wavefields to reduce computer time. Cross convolution between observed and estimated wavefields are also employed to allow the technique to be independent of the source signatures. The capability of the presented technique is tested with both synthetic and real experimental data sets. The inversion results from synthetic data show the ability of characterizing anomalies of low- and high-velocity zones, and the inversion results from real data are generally consistent with SPT N-value, including the identification of a buried low-velocity layer.
Transcervical Heller Myotomy Using Flexible Endoscopy

Esophageal achalasia is most commonly treated by laparoscopic myotomy. Transesophageal approaches using flexible endoscopy have recently been described. We hypothesized that using techniques and flexible instruments from our NOTES experience through a small cervical incision would be a safer and less traumatic route for esophageal myotomy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, safety, and success rate of using flexible endoscopes to perform anterior or posterior Heller myotomy via a transcervical approach. This animal (porcine) and human cadaver study was conducted at the Legacy Research and Technology Center. Mediastinal operations on ten live, anesthetized pigs and two human cadavers were performed using standard flexible endoscopes through a small incision at the supra-sternal notch. The esophagus was dissected to the phreno-esophageal junction using balloon dilatation in the peri-esophageal space followed by either anterior or posterior distal esophageal myotomy. Success rate was recorded of esophageal dissection to the diaphragm and proximal stomach, anterior and posterior myotomy, perforation, and complication rates. Dissection of the esophagus to the diaphragm and performing esophageal myotomy was achieved in 100% of attempts. Posterior Heller myotomy was always extendable onto the gastric wall, while anterior gastric extension of the myotomy was found to be more difficult (4/4 and 2/8, respectively; P = 0.061). Heller myotomy through a small cervical incision using flexible endoscopes is feasible. A complete Heller myotomy was performed with a higher success rate posteriorly possibly due to less anatomic interference.
Dynamic expression of Tbx2 and Tbx3 in developing mouse pancreas

Tbx2 and Tbx3 are closely related members of the T-box family of transcription factors that are important regulators during normal development as well as major contributors to human developmental syndromes when mutated. Although there is evidence for the involvement of Tbx2 and Tbx3 in pancreatic cancer, so far there are no reports characterizing the normal expression pattern of these genes in the pancreas. In this study, we examined spatial and temporal expression of Tbx2 and Tbx3 in mouse pancreas during development and in the adult using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Our results show that Tbx2 and Tbx3 are both expressed in the pancreatic mesenchyme throughout development beginning at embryonic day (E) 9.5. In addition, Tbx2 is expressed in pancreatic vasculature during development and in epithelial-derived endocrine and ductal cells during late fetal stages, postnatal development and in adult pancreas. In contrast, Tbx3 is expressed in exocrine tissue in the postnatal and adult pancreas. Further our results demonstrate that Tbx2 and Tbx3 are expressed in tumor-derived endocrine and exocrine cell lines, respectively. These dynamic changes in the expression pattern of these transcription factors lay the foundation for investigation of potential roles in pancreas development.
Response to Foley’s Review of Swanson’s Neuroanatomical Terminology (2014)

The last paper written by the distinguished neuroanatomist Edward G. Jones was published in the Journal of the History of the Neurosciences (Jones, 2011) and was entitled Mamillary or mammillary: W...
Major Extratropical Cyclones of the Northwest United States: Historical Review, Climatology, and Synoptic Environment

Abstract The northwest United States is visited frequently by strong midlatitude cyclones that can produce hurricane-force winds and extensive damage. This article reviews these storms, beginning with a survey of the major events of the past century. A climatology of strong windstorms is presented for the area from southern Oregon to northern Washington State and is used to create synoptic composites that show the large-scale evolution associated with such storms. A recent event, the Hanukkah Eve Storm of December 2006, is described in detail, with particular attention given to the impact of the bent-back front/trough and temporal changes in vertical stability and structure. The discussion section examines the general role of the bent-back trough, the interactions of such storms with terrain, and the applicability of the “sting jet” conceptual model. A conceptual model of the evolution of Northwest windstorm events is presented.
Sensitivity analysis of a two-mode resonant gravitational-wave detector with arbitrary tuning

We present a very general characterization of a resonant gravity wave detector and an explicit algorithm to evaluate its noise temperature when a passive transducer is used. This procedure also provides quantitative results for the sensitivity of such a detector in applications yet to be analysed, like insufficient or excessive tuning of the second resonator and use in detection of monochromatic radiation, both on and off resonance.
bcl-2 Expression by Multicolor Flow Cytometric Analysis Assists in the Diagnosis of Follicular Lymphoma in Lymph Node and Bone Marrow

The expression of bcl-2, CD10, and CD20 was examined by multicolor flow cytometry in 78 samples including lymph node or other tissue biopsy specimens containing follicular lymphoma (FL; n = 17), reactive hyperplasia (RH; n = 28), or other malignant lymphomas (n = 20), as well as bone marrow aspirates (n = 13). The presence of CD10+ cells with high bcl-2 expression predicted the presence of FL rather than RH with a positive predictive value of 100% and negative predictive value of 96%. CD10+ cells with high bcl-2 expression also were found in a subset of diffuse large B-cell lymphomas and were otherwise rare in other types of malignant lymphoma. In contrast with immunohistochemical studies, a reduced but apparently measurable level of bcl-2 was present in benign follicular center cells. Hematogones showed lower bcl-2 levels than did FL cells in the bone marrow, and neutrophils were bcl-2-. Measurement of bcl-2 expression levels by multiparameter flow cytometry offers a rapid, quantitative assessment that may assist in the diagnosis of FL in lymph nodes or bone marrow, even when other CD10+ cells or admixed normal B cells are present.
On coordinating environmental policy and technology policy

Abstract Environmental and technology policies are generally administered by different government agencies and there seems to be little apparent coordination between the two bodies. This paper examines the consequences of independent actions by environmental and technology policy agencies on the behavior of a private monopolist. The current production technology generates pollution. The monopolist invests in R&D to possibly invent a new pollution-free technology. The government tries to control pollution externalities by imposing a per unit tax and it also provides a research subsidy. We find that pollution taxes are effective in reducing emissions only under certain circumstances. These taxes can, under certain circumstances, boost research spending. Existing tax levels seem to be a crucial determinant of the effectiveness of further tax increases. Higher research subsidies, on the other hand, unambiguously boost research spending and output (and consequently, emissions). Empirical evidence from OECD countries supports the complementarity between public and private research. However, our results do not show a statistically significant relation between government R&D outlays and pollution abatement spending, suggesting that in practice environmental and technology policies seem to not be coordinated. Policy implications are discussed.
Defining Reactivity of Solid Sorbents: What Is the Most Appropriate Metric?

A series of solid sorbent materials, including alumina (Al2O3), magnesia (MgO), titania (TiO2), silica (SiO2), and carbon, of widely varying physical properties, have been studied as sorbents for t...
A framework for comparing term association measures

The problem of choosing an association measure for some particular application is reviewed. Two methods are presented for treating various measures in a common framework—a parameterized model and a graphical interpretation of the measures. Some association measures which have been suggested to date are discussed in terms of this framework, and an example is chosen from the NASA vocabulary. Qualitative features of the list of associated terms are related to properties of the measure used, and it is suggested that this characterization can be useful in choosing which measure to use.
Journalism and Mass Communication students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Predominantly White Institutions: Saying Goodbye to the Digital Divide

The digital divide has been described as the distance or gap in access to information based on race, ethnicity, income,education and geographical location. This study examined how freshmen and first-semester journalism and masscommunications students at five Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been able to bridge the divide. Itis important to know that HBCUs educate more than African-Americans, however the majority of students atHBCUs come from lower socio-economic levels than students that attend Predominantly White Institutions. Therespondents in this study are self-described as daily moderate to heavy Internet users. Their parents and guardians arealso frequent Internet users. The study examines the uses and gratifications of the respondents and if their institutionswere able to help them find information on school funding. The study’s results are completely portable to otherdisciplines and all colleges and universities regardless of size or scope.
Activation of the classical pathway of complement by rheumatoid factors

A simple, sensitive solid-phase radioimmunoassay to quantitate the activation of the classical pathway of complement by rheumatoid factor (RF) is described. RF (purified, in serum or synovial fluid) was bound to reduced and alkylated IgG adsorbed to polyvinyl chloride microtiter plates and reacted with diluted normal human serum (complement). The activation and binding of C4 were quantitated with 125I-Fab'2-anti-C4. Purified, polyclonal IgM--RF was 100- to 1,000-fold more effective than purified IgG--RF in activating complement. The amount of complement activation produced by RF in each of the 57 sera and 2 synovial fluid samples correlated directly with the amount of IgM--RF present. The complement activating abilities of polyclonal IgM--RF in the sera of 15 rheumatoid arthritis patients were homogeneous. This novel technique is readily applicable to the investigation of complement activation by RF in disease.
Can seeking happiness make people unhappy? Paradoxical effects of valuing happiness.

Happiness is a key ingredient of well-being. It is thus reasonable to expect that valuing happiness will have beneficial outcomes. We argue that this may not always be the case. Instead, valuing happiness could be self-defeating, because the more people value happiness, the more likely they will feel disappointed. This should apply particularly in positive situations, in which people have every reason to be happy. Two studies support this hypothesis. In Study 1, female participants who valued happiness more (vs. less) reported lower happiness when under conditions of low, but not high, life stress. In Study 2, compared to a control group, female participants who were experimentally induced to value happiness reacted less positively to a happy, but not a sad, emotion induction. This effect was mediated by participants’ disappointment at their own feelings. Paradoxically, therefore, valuing happiness may lead people to be less happy just when happiness is within reach.
ℒ 1 adaptive controller for quantized systems

This paper studies the tracking problem of an uncertain LTI system where both the control input and system state are quantized. The ℒ 1 adaptive controller is designed for the quantized system. Two common types of quantization, logarithmic and uniform, quantization are considered. In both cases, the analysis of the closed-loop system provides a uniform transient performance bound, which depends on the adaptation rate and the quantization densities of the state and the input. By increasing the adaptation rate and improving the state and the input quantization, the closed-loop system response can be rendered arbitrarily close to the reference system output. Finally, the simulations illustrate the theoretical results.
The Euler characteristic is the unique locally determined numerical homotopy invariant of finite complexes

If a numerical homotopy invariant of finite simplicial complexes has a local formula, then, up to multiplication by an obvious constant, the invariant is the Euler characteristic. Moreover, the Euler characteristic itself has a unique local formula.
Exact inverter waveform analysis using Z-transform estimation techniques

The critical limitations of Fourier transform analysis are reviewed. The frequency resolution and amplitude accuracy trade-offs implicit in techniques used to minimize the effect of these limitations are presented. The fundamental theory of exact, z-transform modeling that simultaneously offers excellent resolution and accuracy is discussed. The classical techniques used to estimate z-transform coefficients from the sampled data are presented, along with a discussion of their limitations. A new approach for z-transform estimation is developed theoretically, and experimental verification is demonstrated on a PC-AT-based signal acquisition system, using actual inverter waveforms. >
Cost utility analysis of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.

Background Reverse shoulder arthroplasty provides satisfactory outcomes, but its cost-effectiveness is unproven. We prospectively analyzed outcomes and costs for primary reverse shoulder arthroplasty. Methods Thirty serial patients (16 women and 14 men; mean age, 74.1 years [range, 61.1-87.3 years]) with rotator cuff arthropathy had active motion recorded and completed function tests (visual pain analog scale; Simple Shoulder Test; American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Shoulder Outcome score; EuroQol; and Short Form-36 Health Survey) preoperatively and postoperatively at 1 and 2 years. Costs included professional fees, operating room and supply costs, and hospital care. Changes were compared by the Wilcoxon signed rank test, and quality-adjusted life-years were calculated preoperatively and postoperatively. Results Twenty-seven patients completed the study. Clinical and functional outcomes demonstrated significant improvement ( P P P Conclusion EuroQol and Short Form-36 results demonstrated modestly cost-effective (
Chronic Oxaliplatin Resistance Induces Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Colorectal Cancer Cell Lines

Purpose: Epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process whereby cells acquire molecular alterations that facilitate cell motility and invasion. In preliminary studies, we observed that oxaliplatin-resistant (OxR) colorectal cancer (CRC) cells underwent morphologic changes suggestive of a migratory phenotype, leading us to hypothesize that OxR CRC cells undergo EMT. Experimental Design: The human CRC cell lines KM12L4 and HT29 were exposed to increasing doses of oxaliplatin to establish stable cell lines resistant to oxaliplatin. Migration and invasion were assessed by modified Boyden chamber assays. Morphologic and molecular changes characteristic of EMT were determined by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analyses. Results: The OxR cells showed phenotypic changes consistent with EMT: spindle-cell shape, loss of polarity, intercellular separation, and pseudopodia formation. KM12L4 and HT29 OxR cells exhibited an ∼8- to 15-fold increase in migrating and invading cells, respectively ( P Conclusion: We hypothesize that induction of EMT may contribute to the decreased efficacy of therapy in chemoresistant CRC, as the tumor cells switch from a proliferative to invasive phenotype. Further understanding of the mechanisms of chemoresistance in CRC will enable improvements in chemotherapy for metastatic disease.
A Review of: “Clinical Trials: What Patients and Healthy Volunteers Need to Know. Speid, Lorna.”

Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet considers for review books of interest to librarians and health care consumers. This column will concentrate on reviews of resources or recent books about...
Implementation Issues for the Reliable A Priori Shortest Path Problem

Solution techniques are studied for the problem of finding a priori paths that are shortest to ensure a specified probability of on-time arrival in a stochastic network. A new discretization scheme called α-discrete is proposed. The scheme is well suited to large-scale applications because it does not depend on problem-specific parameters. A procedure for evaluating convolution integrals based on the new scheme is given, and its complexity is analyzed. Other implementation strategies also are discussed to improve the computational performance of the exact yet nondeterministic polynomial label-correcting algorithm. These include an approximate method based on extreme dominance and two cycle-avoidance strategies. Comprehensive numerical experiments are conducted to test the effects of the proposed implementation strategies using different networks and different distribution types.
The Ancient Oracles: Making the Gods Speak – By Richard Stoneman

In a world well aware of the limitations of human knowledge, consulting the gods was a natural part of planning. The author's survey of Greek oracles and other forms of divination reveals the range...
Gene selection for oligonucleotide array: an approach using PM probe level data

Motivation: Analysis of oligonucleotide array data, especially to select genes of interest, is a highly challenging task because of the large volume of information and various experimental factors. Moreover, interaction effect (i.e. expression changes depend on probe effects) complicates the analysis because current methods often use an additive model to analyze data. We propose an approach to address these issues with the aim of producing a more reliable selection of differentially expressed genes. The approach uses the rank for normalization, employs the percentile-range to measure expression variation, and applies various filters to monitor expression changes. Results: We compare our approach with MAS and Dchip models. A data set from an angiogenesis study is used for illustration. Results show that our approach performs better than other methods either in identification of the positive control gene or in PCR confirmatory tests. In addition, the invariant set of genes in our approach provides an efficient way for normalization.
Studies of hamster cardiac myofibrillogenesis in vivo with Antibodies to spectrin, desmin, and alpha-actinin

The spectrins are a family of cytoskeletal-membrane proteins that have generated much interest in the past decade. In the present study, we utilized immunohistochemical, morphological, and electrophoretic techniques to assess the possible function(s) of spectrin in mammalian cardiac tissue during development. Antibodies generated against alpha-actinin and desmin were also employed to identify myofibrils and intermediate filaments in relation to changes in the distribution of spectrin. Spectrin is localized along the sarcolemma of pre-myofibrillar hamster cardiac myocytes (day 8, postcoitum) and remains associated with the cell membrane throughout development. The staining pattern is somewhat diffuse at first, but eventually the cell margin becomes clearly defined by day 13 postcoitum. A second, more profound change in the distribution of spectrin occurs during the newborn stage, when spectrin begins to appear in the sarcoplasm. It appears as regularly spaced invaginations that are diffuse at first, eventually attaining a position around the Z-bands of adult muscle. The change in the distribution of spectrin coincides temporally with the appearance of T-tubules, which are sarcolemmal invaginations that reside at the Z-bands of adult heart. Thus, spectrin may act as a guidance mechanism for the proper positioning of T-tubules around the Z-discs of mammalian cardiac tissue. Although spectrin does not appear to interact directly with early myofibrils it may assist in the proper alignment of T-tubules and, in doing so, act to stabilize the entire contractile apparatus by enveloping it and attaching it to the sarcolemma.
Submerged culture of a mycelial formulation of a bioherbicidal strain of Myrothecium verrucaria with mitigated mycotoxin production

A mycelial formulation of the fungus Myrothecium verrucaria (IMI 361690) containing 0.20% Silwet L-77 surfactant was found to be highly efficacious in controlling the exotic invasive weed kudzu. The mycelium can be rapidly (48–72 h) produced in several media, including an inexpensive soy flour–corn meal medium. Mycelial yields were 2, 10, and 25 g dry weight l−1 in Czapek-Dox, Richard’s V-8, and soy flour–corn meal media, respectively. Scale-up production in soy flour–corn meal medium using laboratory fermenters (10–25 l), resulted in a mycelial formulation that caused 90% mortality of naturally-occurring mature (0.9–1.0 m in height) kudzu within 48 h after application in field experiments. HPLC analyses revealed that the mycelium produced in this liquid culture contained no detectable amounts of the trichothecene mycotoxins roridin A and verrucarin A (limit of detection 2 μg ml−1). This has resulted in a safer, yet effective bioherbicidal product. We anticipate that these findings should improve the probability of EPA registration and subsequent commercial development of this bioherbicide.
miRDB: A microRNA target prediction and functional annotation database with a wiki interface

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs that are involved in the regulation of thousands of gene targets. Recent studies indicate that miRNAs are likely to be master regulators of many important biological processes. Due to their functional importance, miRNAs are under intense study at present, and many studies have been published in recent years on miRNA functional characterization. The rapid accumulation of miRNA knowledge makes it challenging to properly organize and present miRNA function data. Although several miRNA functional databases have been developed recently, this remains a major bioinformatics challenge to miRNA research community. Here, we describe a new online database system, miRDB, on miRNA target prediction and functional annotation. Flexible web search interface was developed for the retrieval of target prediction results, which were generated with a new bioinformatics algorithm we developed recently. Unlike most other miRNA databases, miRNA functional annotations in miRDB are presented with a primary focus on mature miRNAs, which are the functional carriers of miRNA-mediated gene expression regulation. In addition, a wiki editing interface was established to allow anyone with Internet access to make contributions on miRNA functional annotation. This is a new attempt to develop an interactive community-annotated miRNA functional catalog. All data stored in miRDB are freely accessible at http://mirdb.org.
Stain etching of silicon with V2O5

Formation of porous silicon by etching of silicon with vanadium pentoxide dissolved in HF(aq) has been studied with infrared spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The rate of film growth depends strongly on the V2O5 concentration. Addition of ethanol greatly decreases the etch rate and changes the pore morphology from a mixture of {100} + {110} planes to predominantly {100} planes. A plot of thickness vs. etch time in aqueous solutions evolves from a quadratic to a linear dependence. A model is developed in which the surface area depends linearly on film thickness and the thickness exhibits the measured functional form with respect to time. In this model pores with a uniform diameter nucleate randomly, initially grow rapidly before slowing to grow at a constant rate. The pore density increases linearly with time then saturates causing the transition to the linear growth rate phase. This model simultaneously fits both the short time and long time behaviour of the thickness and surface area. Pore formation does not involve an oxide intermediate. Films emit brilliant visible photoluminescence, and are highly uniform both in structure and photoluminescence. (© 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Dispute Resolution and its Purpose in the Curriculum of Depaul University College of Law

Determining and implementing the purpose of the dispute resolution curriculum at DePaul University College of Law required making certain basic judgments about how these courses could be offered with academic excellence. The following considerations led to the adoption of a two-tiered system of dispute resolution courses: what would be the specific goals for the education of students; would dispute resolution be placed within the required first year courses or in the elective curriculum; would the offerings be designed for availability to every student or a more concentrated sequence of courses for a fewer number; and what would be the requirements for the selection, education and continued mentoring of the participating full-time and adjunct faculty. This article presents the deliberative process through which DePaul established a two-tiered system of course offerings which offers every student has the opportunity to enroll in a course in the first tier. Advanced field work in mediation is then available to students who have met the first-tier prerequisite.
Sitting of Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant

The siting of a generating plant is becoming more difficult and complex. Pressures of population growth increases competition from industrial and recreation interests for land suitable for plant sites. Factors that must be considered in siting a nuclear plant include a determination of where the power is needed, transmission connections, access, cooling water, meteorology, geology, seismology, population distribution, and exclusion area. In siting generating plants, the electric power industry must also consider the potential effects on air and water quality. The TVA Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant has met all site considerations and has been designed to be a good neighbor.
Exploiting Urban Scenes for Vision-aided Inertial Navigation.

This paper addresses the problem of visual-inertial navigation when processing camera observations of both point and line features detected within a Manhattan world. First, we prove that the observations of: (i) a single point, and (ii) a single line of known direction perpendicular to gravity (e.g., a non-vertical structural line of a building), provide sufficient information for rendering all degrees of freedom of a visionaided inertial navigation system (VINS) observable, up to global translations. Next, we examine the observability properties of the linearized system employed by an extended Kalman filter (EKF) for processing line observations of known direction, and show that the rank of the corresponding observability matrix erroneously increases. To address this problem, we introduce an elegant modification which enforces that the linearized EKF system has the correct number of unobservable directions, thus improving its consistency. Finally, we validate our findings experimentally in urban scenes and demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed VINS over alternative approaches.
Unsteady Boundary Control for Optimal Control of Trailing Edge Noise

The objective of the present work is to couple computational fluid dynamics analysis with optimal control theory, which has the potential to advance the strategies for active control of complex flows including aeroacoustics. Such an objective requires a highly accurate flow solver that accommodates unstructured grids to handle complex geometries and an efficient numerical algorithm to compute cost function gradients. To this end, we develop an optimal control framework for unsteady flows, based on the adjoint formulation. We pose the trailing-edge noise control problem within this framework. Specifically, we consider the two-dimensional unsteady flow past the Blake airfoil with unsteady blowing/suction on the trailing edge surface as the control, and find an optimal temporal/spatial control to reduce the trailing edge noise. The disparate range between the convective scales and the acoustic scales presents a computational challenge. It is usually handled by using a hybrid approach, which employs the so-called acoustic analogy or integral equation methodology to deal with the fast and large scales of noise propagation while solving the partial differential equations governing the flow by a sufficiently accurate numerical method. The present approach is based on the direct computation of noise as part of the flow solution. The compressible Navier-Stokes equations and their adjoint are solved numerically using a discontinuous spectral element method for spatial discretization and fourth-order RungeKutta for temporal discretization. The control is updated using a nonlinear conjugate gradient method. It is known that the discontinuous spectral element method is particularly suited for acoustics problems, as it requires, for the resolution of waves with a given accuracy, the least amount of grid points compared to the traditional finite-element or finite-difference methods. In addition to high order accuracy (spectral accuracy), the discontinuous spectral element method has the advantage of the local hp refinement. Furthermore, it is trivially parallelizable. The current work focuses on the tonal or narrowband noise associated with laminarflow airfoils. It is found that aeroacoustic control by trailing-edge blowing/suction directly affects the transient drag and lift histories, which is not surprising, as the trailing-edge noise is of dipole type (associated with the unsteady lift and drag). Such a noise-control strategy is found to obtain significant noise reduction with a direct impact on the thickness (drag) dipole with no drastic effect on the shedding region. Physical mechanisms for noise reduction are discussed in the end.
Atomic-Scale Investigation of Highly Stable Pt Clusters Synthesized on a Graphene Support for Catalytic Applications

The synthesis and binding of highly stable platinum clusters supported on epitaxial graphene, grown on 6H-SiC(0001) substrates, were investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). These Pt nanoclusters form uniformly on both mono- and bilayer sheets of graphene. Unlike most metals that simply diffuse on the inert graphene substrate, these Pt clusters appear to attach to the graphene through chemical bonding, as strong electron scattering and high thermal stability are observed. The thermal stability of the deposited Pt atoms was demonstrated by annealing the sample in situ up to 700 °C. The Pt clusters were not significantly changed by agglomeration or atom detachment. Further annealing at 1250 °C led to desorption of the Pt clusters from the monolayer of graphene, whereas the Pt clusters on the bilayer graphene remained and may have intercalated between the graphene sheets. The goal of this study was to explore the utilization of “ideal” graphene (not graphene oxide or reduce...
Strict Slaves of Slogans: Response to “The Social Work Cartel”

The corruption of the social work enterprise is not simply episodic but systemic and long-standing including education, research, governance, and practice. Reform is unlikely since the constituency...
NONSTEROIDAL ANTI-INFLAMMATORY DRUGS AND PEPTIC ULCER DISEASE : AN OVERVIEW

PreviewNonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used to reduce inflammation and relieve pain, particularly in patients with arthritis. However, a growing body of information indicates that NSAIDs may be a major cause of upper gastrointestinal ulcer disease. Dr Silverstein reviews the association between NSAIDs and gastroduodenal ulcers, as well as current data about prophylaxis against NSAID-induced ulceration.
The Efficacy and Tolerability of a Fixed Combination Clindamycin (1.2%) and Benzoyl Peroxide (3.75%) Aqueous Gel in Adult Female Patients with Facial Acne Vulgaris.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy and tolerability of clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/benzoyl peroxide 3.75% gel or vehicle monotherapy in adult female acne patients. Methods: A post hoc analysis in 72 adult female patients (aged ≥25 years) with moderate-to-severe acne receiving clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/benzoyl peroxide 3.75% gel or vehicle for 12 weeks. Results: The efficacy of clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/benzoyl peroxide 3.75% gel was significantly greater than vehicle. The mean percent change from baseline in inflammatory and noninflammatory lesion counts and the percentage of patients who achieved a 2-grade reduction in the Evaluator’s Global Severity Score was 68.7%, 60.4, and 52.7 percent, respectively (P=0.019, 0.020 and 0.074 versus vehicle). In addition, 44 percent of patients reported their acne to be “clear” or “almost clear” at Week 12 (P=0.026 versus vehicle). No substantive differences were seen in cutaneous tolerability among treatment groups, and no patients discontinued treatment because of adverse events. Limitations: It is not possible to determine the contributions of the individual active ingredients, and this study was not set up specifically to investigate the treatment of adult female acne. Conclusion: Clindamycin phosphate 1.2%/benzoyl peroxide 3.75% gel provides statistically significant greater efficacy than vehicle in treating acne in adult female patients and has a favorable safety and tolerability profile.
Highly Crosslinked Versus Conventional Polyethylene in Posterior-Stabilised Total Knee Arthroplasty at a Minimum Five-Year Follow-up

Introduction: Although commonly used, the clinical performance of highly crosslinked polyethylene in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains unknown and concerns exist regarding fatigue resistance and oxidation, particularly in posterior-stabilized (PS) designs. The purpose of this study is to compare highly crosslinked and conventional polyethylene in a PS TKA design at a minimum of 5-years. Methods: A prospective cohort study of 114 consecutive TKAs in 83 patients was performed as a subset of a multi-center prospective study. All TKAs utilized an identical PS design. Conventional polyethylene inserts were used in 50 knees and second-generation highly cross-linked polythethylene inserts were implanted in 64 TKAs. All patients were followed with clinical outcome measures (Short-Form 36, Knee Society Scores, WOMAC and LEAS) and radiographically for a minimum of 5 years. Results: The mean age of the highly cross-linked polyethylene group was 4 years less than the conventional group (p = 0.03). There was no difference in BMI (p = 0.3) or preoperative outcome measures between groups with numbers available. Seven patients died or were lost to follow up and one underwent revision for infection at 3 months postoperatively. 103 TKAs obtained minimum 5-year follow up. Mean Knee Society Scores were 12 points higher (p = 0.01) and 14 points higher (p = 0.005) in the physical function subset of the SF-36 in the highly cross-liked polyethylene group. There was no difference in the other outcome measures with the numbers available. There was no radiographic osteolysis or mechanical failures related to the tibial polyethylene in either group. Conclusion: Mechanical failure or radiographic osteolysis was not observed with either conventional or highly cross-linked polyethylene in this PS TKA design at mid-term follow up. To our knowledge, this is the first minimum 5-year follow-up of highly cross-linked polyethylene in a posterior-stabilized design. While the results support comparative safety, longer-term follow-up is warranted to determine if wear resistance and mechanical properties of highly crosslinked polyethylene are maintained. Significance: Concerns regarding early fatigue failure and mechanical complications related to the PS post-cam articulation of highly-crosslinked polyethylene in TKR were not substantiated at a minimum of 5 years clinical followup in this prospective cohort study. Highly cross-linked polyethylene demonstrated clinical equivalency compared to conventional polyethylene, even when used in a younger and presumably more active patient group.
Sacred kink: finding psychological meaning at the intersection of BDSM and spiritual experience

ABSTRACTThis study posed to participants the phenomenological question: “Can you describe, in detail, a specific time when you had a spiritual experience while engaging in a BDSM scene?” It was the goal of the researcher to understand the psychological meanings of spiritual experiences, occurring either spontaneously or through deliberate induction, had by participants who were actively engaged in BDSM scenes at the time of the experience and to capture a limited view of this lived experience. A descriptive phenomenological psychological approach was used to explicate the key psychological constituents of this phenomenon as it was lived.The key constituents discovered in this research were (1) ordeal, (2) surrender, (3) visionary experience, (4) embodied sense of an energetic force, (5) sense of spiritual presence (Other), (6) self-surrendered/transcended state of consciousness, and (7) deeply personal and lasting transformation. Clinicians could possibly use the context of this research to better underst...
Inequality in the Information Society

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have enabled tremendous innovation and contributed to economic growth. Co-evolving with the opening of national economies to international trade and the liberalization of infrastructure and services markets, ICTs have helped lifting millions of individuals and families in low income countries out of poverty. For the first time since the beginning of the industrial revolution the global gap between average national incomes is shrinking. Increasing connectivity and Internet use therefore have become high-priority goals of policy-makers worldwide. Yet the past decades have also revealed dynamics of the digital economy that aggravate income disparities, such as rapidly increasing industry concentration, winner-takes-all effects, and skills-biased technological change. While these effects are present worldwide they seem to be affecting individuals in high-income countries more strongly. A clear understanding of the full range and incidence of positive and negative effects of global connectivity is necessary to harness the benefits of the Internet for society at large. Researchers and other stakeholders have recognized some of these ambiguities and contradictions but the discussion thus far largely unfolds in disconnected communities of optimists and pessimists. This paper seeks to overcome this chasm by developing a theoretically and empirically grounded approach focusing on the multi-faceted relationships between ICTs and income distribution. A key insight is that, with regard to income inequality, the laissez-faire spirit driving the Internet and advanced ICTs is insufficient to broadly realize the promises of the information society. Additional attention needs to be paid to the broader social and political conditions of technology deployment and use to help mitigate some of the challenges identified in the paper.
Memory effects in nanoparticle dynamics and transport

In this work, we use the generalized Langevin equation (GLE) to characterize and understand memory effects in nanoparticle dynamics and transport. Using the GLE formulation, we compute the memory function and investigate its scaling with the mass, shape, and size of the nanoparticle. It is observed that changing the mass of the nanoparticle leads to a rescaling of the memory function with the reduced mass of the system. Further, we show that for different mass nanoparticles it is the initial value of the memory function and not its relaxation time that determines the "memory" or "memoryless" dynamics. The size and the shape of the nanoparticle are found to influence both the functional-form and the initial value of the memory function. For a fixed mass nanoparticle, increasing its size enhances the memory effects. Using GLE simulations we also investigate and highlight the role of memory in nanoparticle dynamics and transport.
Now You See It, Now You Don’t: Object Permanence in Dogs

The cognitive ability of dogs can be assessed using tasks from the human developmental literature. A task that appears to have ecological relevance is the object-permanence task, in which performance hinges on understanding that an object continues to exist once it can no longer be seen. Although dogs are good at visible displacement tasks, in which an object disappears into a container, they can also understand an invisible displacement, in which the container holding the object is moved. Furthermore, we have found that dogs are able to show considerable memory for the invisibly displaced object. We have also found evidence for object permanence in dogs using the violation-of-expectancy procedure, in which subjects look longer at a stimulus that violates expectations (a screen that appears to pass through an object that has been placed behind the screen) than one that does not. Similarly, we have found that dogs look longer at an object that appears to have changed color or size after being placed behind...
Public attitudes toward funding preschool programs to prevent violence

AbstractPublic policy on violence prevention has increasingly focused on early childhood interventions to reduce violence over the life course. This paper examines public attitudes toward funding of programs in schools to enhance learning and to reduce violence. The data come from telephone surveys in a large Southern US City collected from 2004 to 2007. The paper explores the relationship between public funding of programs and increased taxes for programs. PLUM Ordinal Regression models were used to predict attitudes toward prevention programs controlling for demographic variables and political affiliation. Implications of these findings are discussed for understanding of attitudes toward school-based programs and their funding.
EGF and NRG induce phosphorylation of HER3/ERBB3 by EGFR using distinct oligomeric mechanisms

Heteromeric interactions between the catalytically impaired human epidermal growth factor receptor (HER3/ERBB3) and its catalytically active homologs EGFR and HER2 are essential for their signaling. Different ligands can activate these receptor pairs but lead to divergent signaling outcomes through mechanisms that remain largely unknown. We used stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) with pair-correlation analysis to show that EGF and neuregulin (NRG) can induce different extents of HER3 clustering that are dependent on the nature of the coexpressed HER receptor. We found that the presence of these clusters correlated with distinct patterns and mechanisms of receptor phosphorylation. NRG induction of HER3 phosphorylation depended on the formation of the asymmetric kinase dimer with EGFR in the absence of detectable higher-order oligomers. Upon EGF stimulation, HER3 paralleled previously observed EGFR behavior and formed large clusters within which HER3 was phosphorylated via a noncanonical mechanism. HER3 phosphorylation by HER2 in the presence of NRG proceeded through still another mechanism and involved the formation of clusters within which receptor phosphorylation depended on asymmetric kinase dimerization. Our results demonstrate that the higher-order organization of HER receptors is an essential feature of their ligand-induced behavior and plays an essential role in lateral cross-activation of the receptors. We also show that HER receptor ligands exert unique effects on signaling by modulating this behavior.
The Importance of Collaboration between Industry, Academics, and Nonprofits in Tropical Disease Drug Discovery

Collaborations between academic, industrial, and nonprofit companies can provide sufficient impetus to propel projects that have little economic return; such projects are prevalent in tropical disease drug discovery. In these collaborations, each partner contributes a unique set of skills and technical expertise which is advantageous to the project as a whole. Highly product-focused processes and specialized expertise sets dominate industry groups. When coupled with the strategic guidance from public–private partnerships and the academic tendency to work on high-risk projects with low financial rewards, a powerful combination results. There are numerous examples throughout the literature about these collaborative efforts to combat a variety of tropical diseases (including leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, African sleeping sickness, and malaria), from all stages of the drug discovery process to the advancement of new drugs into the clinic. However, there is still uncertainty from many academic institutions as...
The Effect of Nerve Sparing Status on Sexual and Urinary Function: 3-Year Results from the CEASAR Study

Purpose: Nerve sparing contributes to the recovery of sexual and urinary function after radical prostatectomy but it may be ineffective in some patients or carry the risk of a positive surgical margin. We evaluated sexual and urinary function outcomes according to the degree of nerve sparing in patients with prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy.Materials and Methods: The CEASAR (Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Surgery and Radiation) study is a prospective, population based, observational study of men diagnosed with localized prostate cancer in 2011 to 2012. Patient reported sexual and urinary functions were measured using the 26-item Expanded Prostate Index Composite at baseline within 6 months after diagnosis, and 6, 12 and 36 months after enrollment. Study inclusion criteria included radical prostatectomy as primary treatment, documentation of nerve sparing status and absent androgen deprivation therapy. Nerve sparing status was defined as none, unilateral or bilateral according to t...