cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Local consolidative therapy for oligometastatic patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer may improve survival, but unanswered questions remain.

Oligometastatic disease refers to a limited number of metastatic sites that are either “synchronous” when presenting at the time of initial diagnosis or “metachronous” when arising following therapy of the primary tumor. It is hypothesized that the biology of oligometastatic tumors may be different than that of tumors with more widespread metastases (1-3). As such, treatment of oligometastatic sites with local consolidative therapy (LCT) is a topic of interest, and has been increasingly offered in clinical practice. While there is no single definition of this state, it is commonly defined as up to 3–5 sites of metastases (excluding the primary lesion) following induction systemic therapy (1-6). In patients receiving chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), it has been observed that the most common sites of progression are within the original disease sites (1-3,6). Patients with oligometastatic disease remaining after induction systemic therapy are believed to harbor treatment resistant clones in these sites which may not be effectively managed with subsequent systemic agents (7). In these cases, there is a widow of opportunity to eradicate radiographically visible disease sites with LCT and delay further progressive disease, and perhaps even help patients live longer (1,8,9). Initially, highly select patients with limited metastases were treated off trial with LCT to all visible disease sites, including to the primary tumor (10). Later, retrospective observational studies and single arm prospective trials suggested a potential survival benefit with this approach (11-14). In a meta-analysis of 757 NSCLC patients with or without prior chemotherapy, and having 1-5 sites of metastases, the delivery of LCT to all visible disease sites (62% surgery and 38% radiation) was associated with a 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of 29.4% (15). When considering the historical 5-year OS rate of 2% in stage IV NSCLC patients, this approach received widespread attention (16). However, this meta-analysis was subject to selection bias as it did not include randomized prospective data. Additionally, the historical rates included patients with any number of metastatic sites, and as such the patients treated with LCT for oligometastatic disease may have simply done better because their disease burden was lower. Subsequently, randomized clinical trials were initiated to more rigorously evaluate the role of LCT vs. standard systemic therapy/observation in patients with oligometastatic disease following induction chemotherapy (4-6).
Islam, Identity, and the Organizational Roots of Political Tolerance

The growing literature on tolerance has struggled to understand its social foundations. In this paper we argue theoretically, and show empirically, that religious organizations play a central role in shaping tolerance towards religious minorities. Drawing on a rich survey of 1000 elites from three large Muslim organizations in Indonesia, we demonstrate that Muslims elites’ willingness to tolerate Christians depends on the social situation, and we identify distinct patterns of tolerance in the domains of politics, the public sphere, residential segregation, demonstration, education, and religion. We then demonstrate that organizational membership, in and of itself, does not explain attitudes of political tolerance; instead, organizational identification does. Among those elites whose organizational ties are weak relative to their identification with their faith or with Indonesia, organizational membership does not explain tolerance. Our argument provides structure to the complex interactions among organizations, identities, and tolerance in the Muslim world.
An Intervention to Reduce Hypoglycemia Fear in Parents of Young Kids with Type 1 Diabetes Through Video-Based Telemedicine (REDCHiP): Trial Design, Feasibility, and Acceptability

Background: Fear of hypoglycemia (FH) is common in parents of young children with type 1 diabetes (T1D) and problematically linked to maladaptive behaviors to avoid low blood glucose, parenting str...
Commentary: Mitral Valve Repair in the Very Young: A Story of Risk and Reward.

Brief Summary Mitral valve repair in neonates and infants is associated with high mortality risk. If a favorable result is achieved and maintained for 24 months, however, durability mirrors that of older children. Knowing which anatomic substrates can and cannot be successfully repaired is critical to improving outcomes for this challenging cohort.
Exploring the Productive Use of Metonymy: Applying Coordination Class Theory to Investigate Student Conceptions of Rate in Relation to Reaction Coordinate Diagrams.

Chemical kinetics is an important topic that is reinforced across the undergraduate chemistry curriculum, but previous research indicates students tend to have difficulty developing a sophisticated understanding of reaction rate. In this qualitative case study, we characterized how two students conceptualized reaction rate in the context of reaction coordinate diagrams. Analysis involved using the knowledge-in-pieces perspective to model reaction rate as a coordination class. In short, a coordination class is a type of concept that involves the combination of an inferential net (a group of knowledge elements used to draw conclusions) and extractions (observations made related to the target concept). Between the two students we noted multiple distinct operationalized definitions for reaction rate; using the language of coordination class theory, these can be described as concept projections. Moreover, results indicate metonymy served as a cognitive construct that guided students’ reasoning, in which a word or phrase was used to reference a larger knowledge system. On the basis of the analysis, we discuss the importance of metonymy in supporting students’ problem solving related to reaction rate. As a practical consideration, we encourage interested instructors to review the Supporting Information for this work, which provides a short summary of the main findings and suggestions for practitioners.
Building energy management decision-making in the real world: A comparative study of HVAC cooling strategies

Abstract In recent years, various heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) control strategies have been proposed to reduce buildings’ energy consumption and environmental impacts. Due to different research designs, it is impossible to directly compare the reported performance of these strategies and determine the best approach for operating real-world buildings. To fill this gap, this research uses a well-validated building simulation model to holistically evaluate the performance of 12 existing HVAC cooling strategies in reducing the total cooling energy use, peak demand, and cooling energy cost. The findings include: i) The ON/OFF and night setup control strategies could lead to even higher energy cost than the 24/7 operation baseline; ii) demand-limiting control methods performed well across the three energy performance metrics and achieved the highest energy reduction ratios ranging from 9.8% to 10.5%; iii) precooling and extended precooling reduced the peak load most significantly by 15.4% and 21.4%, respectively; and iv) the resistive-capacitive (RC) network-based precooling optimization resulted in the highest electricity cost savings with reduction ratios of 16.6% and 12.9%, based on the two common price schedules. Besides providing valuable insights to the research community, this study offers a practical method to help building operators analyze and select the best HVAC control strategies for their energy management goals.
$2\times 800$ Gbps/wave Coherent Optical Module Using a Monolithic InP Transceiver PIC

We report on the development of a $2\times 800$ Gbps/wave coherent module based on a monolithic InP transceiver PIC and real-time 7nm DSP ASIC capable of 800Gbps data transmission over record 1000km SMF-28 link using a 96Gbaud, PCS-64QAM modulation format.
Medication Adherence Reminder System for Virtual Home Assistants: Mixed Methods Evaluation Study

Background: Medication nonadherence is a global public health challenge that results in suboptimal health outcomes and increases health care costs. Forgetting to take medicines is one of the most common reasons for unintentional medication nonadherence. Research findings indicate that voice-activated virtual home assistants, such as Amazon Echo and Google Home devices, may be useful in promoting medication adherence. Objective: This study aims to create a medication adherence app (skill), MedBuddy, for Amazon Echo devices and measure the use, usability, and usefulness of this medication-taking reminder skill. Methods: A single-group, mixed methods, cohort feasibility study was conducted with women who took oral contraceptives (N=25). Participants were undergraduate students (age: mean 21.8 years, SD 6.2) at an urban university in the Southeast United States. Participants were given an Amazon Echo Dot with MedBuddy—a new medication reminder skill for Echo devices created by our team—attached to their study account, which they used for 60 days. Participants self-reported their baseline and poststudy medication adherence. MedBuddy use was objectively evaluated by tracking participants’ interactions with MedBuddy through Amazon Alexa. The usability and usefulness of MedBuddy were evaluated through a poststudy interview in which participants responded to both quantitative and qualitative questions. Results: Participants’ interactions with MedBuddy, as tracked through Amazon Alexa, only occurred on half of the study days (mean 50.97, SD 29.5). At study end, participants reported missing their medication less in the past 1 and 6 months compared with baseline (χ21=0.9 and χ21=0.4, respectively; McNemar test: P<.001 for both). However, there was no significant difference in participants’ reported adherence to consistently taking medication within the same 2-hour time frame every day in the past 1 or 6 months at the end of the study compared with baseline (χ21=3.5 and χ21=0.4, respectively; McNemar test: P=.63 and P=.07, respectively). Overall feedback about usability was positive, and participants provided constructive feedback about the skill’s features that could be improved. Participants’ evaluation of MedBuddy’s usefulness was overwhelmingly positive—most (15/23, 65%) said that they would continue using MedBuddy as a medication reminder if provided with the opportunity and that they would recommend it to others. MedBuddy features that participants enjoyed were an external prompt separate from their phone, the ability to hear the reminder prompt from a separate room, multiple reminders, and verbal responses to prompts. Conclusions: The findings of this feasibility study indicate that the MedBuddy medication reminder skill may be useful in promoting medication adherence. However, the skill could benefit from further usability enhancements.
Development and Initial Characterization of Cellular Models for COG Complex-Related CDG-II Diseases.

Conserved Oligomeric Golgi (COG) is an octameric protein complex that orchestrates intra-Golgi trafficking of glycosylation enzymes. Over a hundred individuals with 31 different COG mutations have been identified until now. The cellular phenotypes and clinical presentations of COG-CDGs are heterogeneous, and patients primarily represent neurological, skeletal, and hepatic abnormalities. The establishment of a cellular COG disease model will benefit the molecular study of the disease, explaining the detailed sequence of the interplay between the COG complex and the trafficking machinery. Moreover, patient fibroblasts are not a good representative of all the organ systems and cell types that are affected by COG mutations. We developed and characterized cellular models for human COG4 mutations, specifically in RPE1 and HEK293T cell lines. Using a combination of CRISPR/Cas9 and lentiviral transduction technologies, both myc-tagged wild-type and mutant (G516R and R729W) COG4 proteins were expressed under the endogenous COG4 promoter. Constructed isogenic cell lines were comprehensively characterized using biochemical, microscopy (superresolution and electron), and proteomics approaches. The analysis revealed similar stability and localization of COG complex subunits, wild-type cell growth, and normal Golgi morphology in all three cell lines. Importantly, COG4-G516R cells demonstrated increased HPA-647 binding to the plasma membrane glycoconjugates, while COG4-R729W cells revealed high GNL-647 binding, indicating specific defects in O- and N-glycosylation. Both mutant cell lines express an elevated level of heparin sulfate proteoglycans. Moreover, a quantitative mass-spectrometry analysis of proteins secreted by COG-deficient cell lines revealed abnormal secretion of SIL1 and ERGIC-53 proteins by COG4-G516R cells. Interestingly, the clinical phenotype of patients with congenital mutations in the SIL1 gene (Marinesco-Sjogren syndrome) overlaps with the phenotype of COG4-G516R patients (Saul-Wilson syndrome). Our work is the first compressive study involving the creation of different COG mutations in different cell lines other than the patient's fibroblast. It may help to address the underlying cause of the phenotypic defects leading to the discovery of a proper treatment guideline for COG-CDGs.
Optimizing Fluid Resuscitation and Preventing Fluid Overload in Patients with Septic Shock.

Intravenous fluid administration remains an important component in the care of patients with septic shock. A common error in the treatment of septic shock is the use of excessive fluid in an effort to overcome both hypovolemia and vasoplegia. While fluids are necessary to help correct the intravascular depletion, vasopressors should be concomitantly administered to address vasoplegia. Excessive fluid administration is associated with worse outcomes in septic shock, so great care should be taken when deciding how much fluid to give these vulnerable patients. Simple or strict “recipes” which mandate an exact amount of fluid to administer, even when weight based, are not associated with better outcomes and therefore should be avoided. Determining the correct amount of fluid requires the clinician to repeatedly assess and consider multiple variables, including the fluid deficit, organ dysfunction, tolerance of additional fluid, and overall trajectory of the shock state. Dynamic indices, often involving the interaction between the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, appear to be superior to traditional static indices such as central venous pressure for assessing fluid responsiveness. Point-of-care ultrasound offers the bedside clinician a multitude of applications which are useful in determining fluid administration in septic shock. In summary, prevention of fluid overload in septic shock patients is extremely important, and requires the careful attention of the entire critical care team.
The Road to Fitness and Health

A discussion of fitness and health and its relationship to food necessarily involves chasing a moving target since the issues involved cannot claim science for their sole ancestry. In part, this is because eating is a social act. This aspect of food was succinctly described by Farb and Armelagos (1980) who stated that “All animals feed but humans alone eat.” Humans also like and dislike individual foods for other than sociological reasons. Fallon and Rozin (1983) have suggested four major categories for food rejection, each with its own profile of psychological characteristics: (1) Distaste, a sensory rejection with no objection to the presence of such foods in the body or in untastable amounts of other food. (2) Disgust, based on what the substance is with an objection to having it in the body or in other foods. (3) Danger, based on anticipated harmful consequences of eating the food. (4) Inappropriate, these substances are not considered to be food.
Prognostic Factors in HIV-Associated Lymphoma

In recent years, since the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), the incidence and prognosis of lymphoma in patients with HIV infection have changed dramatically. Although lymphoma is now not only the most common malignancy but also the most common cause of death, the prognosis in HIV-infected patients has improved, in big part due to the introduction of HAART but also due to better supportive therapy, such as antibiotic prophylaxis and growth factors. Overall, the immunological status of HIV-positive patients nowadays is not as deteriorated as it was in the past, allowing for HIV-positive patients with lymphoma to be treated with standard therapies. The identification of reliable and easy-to-use prognostic factors in this population is warranted, not only to lead discussions about goals of therapy but also to direct our therapies according to risk. In this chapter, we will review the classification and provide an overview of the therapy of HIV-associated lymphomas. We will then discuss the variety of clinical, pathological, and molecular prognostic factors associated with survival for patients with HIV and diffuse large B-cell, Burkitt, primary CNS, plasmablastic, primary effusion, and peripheral T-cell lymphoma.
Occurrence of Glycylhydroxypyrolyl Sequences in Earthworm Cuticle Collagen

Abstract Salt-soluble collagen of earthworm cuticle contains much hydroxyproline in the second position of tripeptide sequences beginning with glycine, as determined by sequence analysis of mixed peptides released by the action of clostridial collagenase. A tripeptide, Gly-Hyp-Ala, was isolated from these digests and identified by sequence analysis and by comparison with a synthetic reference peptide. It was estimated to account for approximately 10% of the hydroxyproline of both purified salt-soluble collagen and of the total collagen of the cuticle.
Compact, High Resolution Cryogenic Spectrometer

An infrared, cryogenically-cooled, grating spectrometer has been designed for the existing Steward Observatory telescopes; it will also be compatible with the Large Binocular Telescope (2 × 8.4-m) and MMT Conversion (6.5-m). On the Steward 2.3-m and using a NICMOS3 array of 256 × 256 40µm HgCdTe detectors, the instrument projects each pixel to 1.2 arcsec and has a slit approximately 90 arcsec long. On one barrel of the Columbus Telescope, the pixels would project to 0.33 arcsec and the slit would be 25 arcsec long. With a slit of 2 pixels width, the available spectral resolutions will range from 670 to 19,000. The optics are achromatic from 1.4 to 5 microns, allowing use of a variety of array types. The spectrometer was relatively inexpensive (< $400K) and is compact ( 0.3m3). The high spectral resolution in such a compact instrument will be achieved through an echelle grating immersed in silicon. We report on unique design features that may be useful for other spectrometers and show some of the data obtained with this instrument on the 2.3-m telescope. A complete description is given in Williams etal. 1993.
Reconfigurable p-n junction formation and bandgap opening in bilayer graphene using polyethylene oxide and CsClO 4 solid polymer electrolyte

An important feature for graphene-based electronics is the ability to create a p-n junction, which is essential for developing low power optoelectronic and novel electronic devices such as Veselago lens and tunneling FETs. Graphene doping is most commonly achieved by using buried, split electrostatic gates1, applying high local electrical stress,2 and substitutional or chemical doping that creates charge transfer from adsorbents.3 While electrostatic doping using ions is an effective and reconfigurable doping method for 2D materials,4 it has not been previously used to create a p-n junction in graphene. In addition to doping, another major challenge in graphene-based electronics is that channel conduction cannot be switched off by simply changing the gate voltage because of the lack of a bandgap in single-layer graphene. In contrast, a bandgap can be opened in bilayer graphene by breaking the inversion symmetry of the two layers with the help of an applied vertical electric field.5 In this work, we demonstrate a reconfigurable, bilayer graphene p-n junction created by a solid polymer electrolyte without the use of top/back gates. Using the same electrolyte and depositing a top gate, we also open a bandgap in bilayer graphene.
Organic matter and nitrogen accumulation and nitrogen fixation during early ecosystem development in Hawaii.

We used a chronosequence comprised of 10 y, 52 y and 142 yold `a'a lava flows on Mauna Loa, Hawaii, to determine theaccumulation of organic matter and nitrogen and rates of nitrogenfixation through time. The mass of organic matter (live and deadbiomass and soil organic matter) on the 1984, 1942 and 1852 lavaflows was 0.6, 2.2 and 7.6 kg m− 2, respectively, while total N was 4.8, 10.9 and 85.7 g m− 2. We estimated the total rates of nitrogen fixation for thethree different aged ecosystems using an acetylene reduction assaycalibrated with 15N incubations. While mean rates of total N fixation remained largely constant across the three sites – between2.0 and 3.1 kg ha− 1 y− 1 – the most important sources of N fixation changed. On the 10 y flow, the most important fixer was the pioneering cyanolichen, Stereocaulon vulcani. After 52 years ofecosystem development, the most important N fixer was a cyanoalga,while after 142 years, the predominant N fixers were heterotrophicbacteria associated with leaf litter, twigs and detritus. The totalamount of N accumulated after 52 years of ecosystem development wasequivalent to cumulative inputs through biological N fixation. After 142 years, however, cumulative inputs from N fixation couldonly account for between 27–59% of the total nitrogen accrued. We used fertilizer additions of all essential nutrients otherthan N to test whether the availability of lithophilic nutrientsregulated rates of N fixation in early ecosystem development. Ratesof nitrogen fixation by the lichen, S. vulcani, approximately doubled when fertilized on the 1984 and 1942 flows. Rates of N-fixation by heterotrophic nitrogen fixing bacteria on leaf litter ofMetrosideros polymorpha also increased significantly when fertilized with lithophilic nutrients. These findings suggest that weathering rates of lava in part regulate rates of nitrogen fixation in these young ecosystems.
Periphery versus Periphery: The Domestic Political Origins of Separatist War

Distributional conflict between a central government and the periphery is a standard explanation for separatist war. However, many separatist movements face their strongest opposition from other groups in the periphery. I argue that the center's political ties to competing interests in the periphery affect its responses to demands for self-rule and, therefore, the incidence of separatist war. I investigate this argument using cross-national data at the level of sub-national administrative units and of ethnic groups and within-country data on separatist violence in India. The analyses suggest that separatist war is unlikely if one ethnic group in the periphery also dominates in the capital. Separatist war is most likely when the government moderately favors one ethnic group in the periphery.
Masculinité et sens des « honneurs »

A partir d'une enquete ethnographique dans des synagogues non orthodoxes en France, cet article analyse la division sexuee du rituel dans des courants religieux recemment ouverts a la feminisation, et la maniere dont la participation au rituel de la lecture de la Torah construit une subjectivite juive genree. Faisant l'objet de codifications religieuses complexes variant d'un mouvement a un autre, l'eligibilite a ce rituel dessine des frontieres de genre et d'ethnicite. Dans le judaisme orthodoxe, seuls les hommes peuvent rivaliser entre eux pour la possibilite de representer rituellement le peuple juif. Dans les synagogues observees, si les femmes participent au rituel, elles se l'approprient differemment ; elles sont moins nombreuses a le considerer comme un honneur que l'on est cense rechercher, dans une logique hierarchique et communautaire, et plus nombreuses a le considerer comme un acte individuel.
The Who Owns What Problem in Patent Law

Under the current rules of patent recordation, it is impossible to be sure who owns a particular patent, or what patents a particular entity owns. This “who owns what” problem frustrates risk management and decision-making about patents, creates arbitrage and hold up opportunities, and forms a major component of patent notice failure. However, it is attributable to a wide variety of practices, undertaken for both strategic and innocent reasons: 1) failure to record ownership, 2) failure to record ownership in a timely manner, 3) assignment to shell or subsidiary companies that the PTO does not affiliate with the real party in interest, and 4) inconsistent self-identification. Cost, poor-record keeping, tax regulations, and the complexities of corporate ownership, as well as more opportunistic motives, explain why these practices are prevalent. This comment, a version of which was submitted in response to the PTO's 2012 request for input regarding proposed recordation rule changes, and reporting on empirical research done on patent recordation behaviors, discusses how and whether patent recordation rules should be changed in light of the desire for enhanced notice.It makes the point that rather than requiring additional disclosure from applicants, the PTO could do much with the information it already has to support business decision-making. For example, the PTO should consider making it possible to search among only non-expired patents. It could also allow searching by the owner of a record of a patent, that is, its current assignee, rather than its initial assignee, and also potentially by maintenance fee payee. Other important data about patents it could track and make publicly available/searchable include how many times the patent has been cited, how much longer it may be in force, whether it has been reexamined, who requested the reexamination, or whether or not the current owner is a large or small entity. Making this information, which already exists, more accessible and supportive of business decision-making, could go a long way to enhancing the public’s ability to assess patent risks and opportunities.
Beyond the “Chinese Scramble”: The Political Economy of Anti-China Sentiment in Zambia

Abstract Africa's relations with China gained worldwide prominence in November 2006 when 35 African heads of state gathered in Beijing to celebrate the rapid growth of Sino-African economic relations in the new millennium. But only a month earlier, riots had broken out in Zambia as Chinese shops and businesses were targeted by angry mobs following the electoral defeat of the anti-China Patriotic Front. Juxtaposing China's search for African oil and mineral reserves—the so-called “Chinese scramble”—with the growing resentment it is facing in places like Zambia, several analysts have termed China the new colonial power in Africa. This paper argues that the conceptual resuscitation of colonialism is problematic, but calls for a critical and contextual understanding of the Chinese presence in African countries. It shows that the political and popular opposition to China in Zambia is linked to a surge in economic nationalism and new challenges to neoliberal orthodoxy.
Plex: finger-worn textile sensor for mobile interaction during activities

We present Plex, a finger-worn textile sensor for eyes-free mobile interaction during daily activities. Although existing products like a data glove possess multiple sensing capabilities, they are not designed for environments where body and finger motion are dynamic. Usually an interaction with fingers couples bending and pressing. In Plex, we separate bending and pressing by placing each sensing element in discrete faces of a finger. Our proposed simple and low-cost fabrication process using conductive elastomers and threads transforms an elastic fabric into a finger-worn interaction tool. Plex preserves an inter-finger natural tactile feedback and proprioception. We also explore the interaction design and implement applications allowing users to interact with existing mobile and wearable devices using Plex.
Mouse splenic macrophage cell lines with different antigen-presenting activities for CD4+ helper T cell subsets and allogeneic CD8+ T cells☆

A panel of seven mouse splenic macrophage cell lines, derived from cloned progenitors, was compared for their ability to present antigen to Th1 or Th2 helper T cell lines and hybridomas, as well as to naive T cells, and to provide accessory cell function for the synthesis of antibody from primed B cells. One of the cell lines expressed MHC class II molecules and was the only line with constitutive antigen-presenting activity for Th1 cells. It may represent a subset of splenic macrophages responsible for the activation of naive Th1 helper cells in situ. The remaining six cell lines responded to INF-gamma by up-regulating their class II expression and acquiring Th1 antigen-presenting activity. They may represent cells which, in situ, lack constitutive antigen-presenting activity but are promoted to presenting status by Th1-derived INF-gamma. Five of the cell lines provided accessory cell function to Th2 cells, as indicated by antibody synthesis in suspensions of spleen cells from primed mice depleted of their antigen-presenting cells. One of the cell lines lacking accessory cell activity had constitutive antigen-presenting activity for Th1 cells. This reciprocal expression of antigen-presenting activity supports the idea that Th1 and Th2 helper cells are activated by different antigen-presenting cells. Finally, the cell lines differed in their ability to constitutively induce an allogeneic response; a response that was limited to CD8+ T cells occurred in a CD4+ helper cell-independent manner and was unaffected by the addition of INF-gamma. The alloantigen-presenting macrophage cell lines also possessed the most efficient accessory cell activity for antibody synthesis. These cell lines, which represent a spectrum of antigen-presenting activities in the spleen afford models for defining the roles of macrophages in the induction of immune responses and for resolving issues concerning their development.
Identifying expected areas of future innovation by combining foresight outputs

Purpose – This paper attempts to examine the efficacy of combining outputs from a foresight exercise by different methods to get information for discussion on strategies of sustainable growth through science and technology. It seeks to address the combination of outputs in an objective manner to identify expected areas of future innovation toward the desired future as well as related areas that are supposed to play a key part.Design/methodology/approach – Three investigative studies using the Delphi method, scenario and workshop were conducted independently in consideration of four global or national challenges. The points of the studies are interdisciplinary or diversified discussion and a mission‐oriented approach. Information from the Delphi method and scenario is converged using text mining to position scientific and technological areas in a big picture.Findings – Combining outputs reveals the whole picture of scientific and technological areas, including specific areas and common factors to be promot...
Effects of dopants on disordering of AlGaAs-GaAs superlattice by zinc diffusion

Low-temperature photoluminescence and SEM are used to study the effects of annealing and Zn-diffusion on the doped Al0.3Ga0.7As-GaAs superlattices grown by molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that annealing has little effect on the Al-Ga interdiffusion. The photoluminescence spectra from both an unannealed and a Zn-diffused superlattice doped with Be and Sn in the wells and barriers, respectively, show peaks from the GaAs wells and the Al0.3Ga0.7As barriers. The SEM picture also shows that the superlattice remains intact with Zn-diffusion.
Virion DNA-independent RNA polymerase from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The "killer" plasmid and a larger double-stranded RNA plasmid of yeast exist in intracellular virion particles. Purification of these particles from a diploid killer strain of yeast (grown into stationary growth on ethanol) resulted in co-purification of a DNA-independent RNA polymerase activity. This activity incorporates and requires all four ribonucleoside triphosphates and will not act on deoxyribonucleoside triphosphates. The reaction requires magnesium, is inhibited by sulfhydryl-oxidizing reagents and high concentrations of monovalent cation, but is insensitive to DNase, alpha-amanitin, and actinomycin D. Pyrophosphate inhibits the reaction as does ethidium bromide. Exogenous nucleic acids have no effect on the reaction. The product is mostly single-stranded RNA, some of which is released from the enzymatically active virions.
Monte carlo approach to estimating the photodegradation of polymer coatings

The degradation of a polymer coating and predicting the coating lifetime based on physical properties and distribution within the coating of the polymer binder, pigments, and fillers are economically very important. As technologies advance and allow for control of coatings at the nanoscale level, methods such as Monte Carlo can be used not only to predict the behavior of a nanodesigned coating with time but also to design coatings, such as optimizing pigment particle distributions or optimum hard and soft phase distributions of the binders in multiphase systems for maintaining the desired property with time. Erosion of the coating surface was simulated using Monte Carlo techniques where terrestrial solar flux is the initiator for polymer segment cleavage and removal. The impact on the sensitivity of the polymer adjacent to the detached polymer segment can be increased or decreased in the model based on the chemistry and surface energy of the remaining polymer matrix. Multiple phases with varying sensitivity to degradation can be modeled. The Monte Carlo generates a statistically similar surface topography and chemistry of the coating. The results of the Monte Carlo model are compared to measurable properties such as gloss, fracture toughness, and wetting contact angle, using various published correlations of the property to the surface topology. The simulated properties change through the life-time of the coating in ways that are consistent with observed behavior. Apparently, complicated changes in many properties can be described by the repeated application of simple, random processes.
Application of ALE to airbag deployment simulation

For the past 15 years, automotive safety engineers have mainly relied on the Control Volume (CV) approach to simulate airbag deployment. The CV approach assumes that the gas is uniformly distributed in an inflated bag and therefore the airbag fabric is subject to uniform pressure. This assumption makes the CV approach inappropriate for Out-of-Position-Safety (OOPS) analysis in which the airbag-occupant interaction occurs before the bag is fully inflated. This paper details the theory and application of a new airbag simulation tool, an Arbitrary-Lagrange-Eulerian (ALE)-based solution. This tool is aimed at using ALE as a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool to simulate the gas flow inside a deploying airbag. This paper starts with the introduction to ALE. Then, the ALE-based CFD approach is described. To evaluate the feasibility and robustness of this new tool, the ALE code in LSDYNA-970 is applied to a series of tests. The tests used for evaluation include two inflator tank pressure tests, a series of nine pendulum tests and one OOPS test. Following the description of the tests will be the correlation results and the discussion of the results. The correlation shows that ALE can trace the gas flow inside a deploying airbag and therefore can be an efficient and accurate tool for OOPS simulation.
The Lethargic Diabetic: Cerebral Edema in Pediatric Patients in Diabetic Ketoacidosis

Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is the leading cause of hospitalizations for pediatric patients with diabetes mellitus. The most severe complication of DKA is cerebral edema that may lead to brain herniation. We present a case report that highlights the subclinical presentation of DKA-related cerebral edema in a pediatric patient and review the acute care management of suspected cerebral edema during transport.
Water Distribution Variation in Partially Saturated Granular Materials Using Neutron Imaging

The use of neutron imaging is demonstrated for visualizing and quantifying water distribution in partially saturated granular porous media. Because of the unique difference in the total neutron cross sections of water, sand, and air, a significant contrast for the three phases is observed in a neutron transmission image, and a quantitative analysis provides detailed information on the arrangement and distribution of particles, voids, and water. The experiments in this study are performed at the Neutron Imaging Facility (NIF) at the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST). An amorphous silicon flat panel detector was used in this research with a spatial resolution of approximately 250 μm (127 μm/pixel). The effect of particle morphology on water distribution in compacted granular columns is investigated by using round and angular silica sand. Silica sand specimens with different bulk gravimetric water contents (0%, 6%, 9%, and 12%) are studied for evaluating the water phase-distribution spati...
The Contribution of Maternal Stress to Preterm Birth: Issues and Considerations

Preterm birth represents the most significant problem in maternal-child health, with maternal stress identified as a variable of interest. The effects of maternal stress on risk of preterm birth may vary as a function of context. This article focuses on select key issues and questions highlighting the need to develop a better understanding of which particular subgroups of pregnant women may be especially vulnerable to the potentially detrimental effects of maternal stress, and under what circumstances and at which stages of gestation. Issues related to the characterization and assessment of maternal stress and candidate biologic mechanisms are addressed.
High power applications for GaN-based devices

Abstract The microwave performance potential of electronic devices fabricated from GaN-based semiconductors is described. The investigation makes use of theoretical simulations and the results are compared to experimental measurements. Excellent agreement between the simulated and measured data is obtained. It is demonstrated that devices fabricated from these semiconductors make possible microwave power amplifiers with superior RF power performance, particularly at elevated temperature, compared to comparable components fabricated from GaAs MESFET's. In particular, room temperature RF output power on the order of 4–5 W mm −1 of gate periphery with power-added efficiency approaching the ideal values for class A and B operation is available. These devices are likely to find application in power amplifiers for base stations transmitters for cellular telephone systems, HDTV transmitters, power modules for phased-array radars, and other applications. The devices are particularly attractive for applications that require high RF output power and operation at elevated temperature since cooling requirements can be minimized or eliminated.
Clausthalite in coal

A lead selenide mineral, tentatively identified as clausthalite (PbSe) based on optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray (EDAX), electron microprobe, and scanning proton microprobe (SPM), has been described in a number of coals. While clausthalite has been mentioned as a possible source of Se in coal, it is present in such small quantities and sizes, that the mineral identification has not been absolutely confirmed. The mineral specimens examined in this study would contribute, not only to the Pb and Se concentrations in the coal, but also, in at least one case, to Hg concentrations.
A factor analytic comparison of five models of PTSD symptoms

This study examined the factor structure of PTSD symptoms in a sample of college students (n = 344) reporting exposure to a range of traumatic events. The sample was randomly split and an exploratory factor analysis was conducted with half of the sample. The factor structure obtained in the exploratory analysis was evaluated against three other models using confirmatory factor analysis utilizing the second half of the sample. This series of factor analyses identified and confirmed a three-factor symptom structure consisting of intrusion/avoidance, dysphoria, and hyperarousal clusters. These results add to the body of literature which has found that PTSD includes a cluster of symptoms shared with other diagnoses (dysphoria) and a more specific factor related directly to the effects of encountering traumatic experiences.
Effects of belowground resource use comlementarity on invasion of constructed grassland plant communities

At two field sites that differed in fertility, we investigated how species richness, functional group diversity, and species composition of constructed plant communities influenced invasion. Grassland communities were constructed to be either functionally diverse or functionally simple based on belowground resource use patterns of constituent species. Communities were also constructed with different numbers of species (two or five) to examine interactions between species richness, functional diversity and invasion resistance. We hypothesized that communities with more complementary belowground resource use (i.e., more species rich and more functionally diverse communities) would be less easily invaded than communities with greater degrees of belowground resource use overlap. Two contrasting invasive species were introduced: an early-season, shallow rooting annual grass, Bromus hordeaceus (soft chess), and a late-season, deep rooting annual forb, Centaurea solstitialis (yellow starthistle). Invader responses to species richness and functional diversity treatments differed between sites. In general, the more similar the patterns of belowground resource use between residents of the plant community and the invader, the poorer the invader’s performance. Complementarity or overlap of resource use among species in the constructed communities appeared to affect invader success less than complementarity or overlap of resource use between the invader and the species present in the community.
Spectroscopic Analysis of Metal Ion Binding in Spiropyran Containing Copolymer Thin Films

In this article, we describe the synthesis and characterization of a series of spiropyran containing copolymers that were used as colorimetric sensors for a series of divalent metal ions. The composition of spiropyran contained in the polymer backbone was varied from 10−100 mol % to investigate the influence of free volume and sterics on the photochromic response. Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to characterize the photoinduced conversion, as well as the merocyanine−metal ion (MC−M2+) interaction. FT-IR spectra were analyzed using chemometric methods to elucidate the chemical binding environment between MC and M2+ and to selectively identify different metal ions bound to MC. By means of UV−vis absorption spectroscopy, we also demonstrate that each metal ion gives rise to a unique colorimetric response that is dependent on the amount of spiropyran comonomer contained in the polymer backbone and that by increasing the concentration of chromophore in the copolymer, the selectivity be...
The Forgotten Leaders: Integrating Charismatic Leadership into Leadership Development Programs

Leadership development programs are proliferating throughout the country. Based on a life-long developmental perspective, the model concentrates on increasing the knowledge of students to meet the complexity and changes in society. Due to the many misconceptions of charismatic leaders such as existing only outside the organization and being mysterious, charismatic leadership seems not to fit into the model. This article presents why and how charismatic leadership can be included in a leadership development program. Special emphasis is given to the social constructive approach that avoids the traditional misconceptions of charismatic leaders and the teaching methodology of an established course.
α1‐Antitrypsin deficiency in severe psoriasis

Summary α1-Antitrypsin phenotypes and trypsin-inhibitory capacities were measured in fifty-one patients with psoriasis. An increased number of variant phenotypes (MS, MZ, and SS) were found only in those patients with severe psoriasis (20% or more skin involvement) and not in those with lesser involvement. The psoriatic patients with variant phenotypes had an earlier disease onset than those psoriatic individuals (both mild and severe) without this association. Protease inhibitors may play a role in modifying disease activity in psoriasis.
Analysis of Anesthetic Action on the Potassium Channels of the Shaker Mutant of Drosophila

Recent evidence suggest that exposure to volatile anesthetic agents causes a change in conductance through an undelineated potassium channel. With recently developed genetic and molecular techniques the Drosophila melanogaster (D.m.) genome can be manipulated to study the role that potassium ion channel function plays in anesthetic action. The IA potassium channel is encoded by the Shaker (Sh) locus on the X chromosome of D.m. Because this channel may be one of those involved in volatile anesthetic action, we tested the sensitivity to isoflurane in three Shaker strains with different degrees of dysfunctional IA conductance (Shnull greater than ShKS133 greater than Sh5). Anesthetic sensitivity was also examined in mutant strains of D.m. which express abnormalities either in other potassium channel conductances (eag, slo) or other ion conductances (para). The normally conducting wild type served as the control. Two-day-old adult D.m. were stimulated with a heat source during exposure to the volatile anesthetic isoflurane, and the number moving in response to the noxious stimulus was noted. After testing the Shaker and control strains at no fewer than 13 concentrations, the IC50S (isoflurane concentration in percent vol/vol at which 50% of the flies did not respond to the heat stimulus) were derived. The IC50 values for Sh 5 (0.89), Sh133 (1.29), and Shnull (1.37) were significantly different from the wild type (0.56). The rank order of insensitivity of these Shaker mutants corresponded to the extent of the alteration in IA conductance as established by previous studies in these mutants. Neither eag (0.66), para (0.48), nor slo (0.63) differed significantly from the wild type. These data suggest that the IA potassium channel plays a role in volatile anesthetic action.
40Ar/39Ar thermochronometry of K-feldspar from the KTB borehole, Germany

Abstract The great depth and relatively steep geothermal gradient (∼29°C/km) of the KTB deep crustal borehole, located in the Bavarian region of Germany, provides the basis for our study of diffusive argon loss in K-feldspar. The observed borehole temperature at 9 km is ∼265°C which reaches well into the argon closure interval for K-feldspar (∼125–350°C). Four microcline and two adularia samples distributed relatively evenly down the 9.1-km deep borehole were analyzed by the 40Ar/39Ar method. The thermal histories of the shallow samples are consistent with existing thermochronologic data from the borehole. After correction for chlorine correlated excess 40Ar, the deepest two samples result in age spectra that record zero apparent ages over the first few percent of 39Ar released, which is predicted by diffusion theory where a range of diffusion volumes are present. Inverse modeling of the argon kinetics of these two deep samples reveals that the present elevated geothermal gradient in the borehole has existed for only the last approximately one million years. Recent volcanism within 30 km of the borehole is likely the source of this present-day thermal pulse.