bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A self-attention model for inferring cooperativity between regulatory features
Authors: Ullah Fahad , Ben-Hur Asa
Published: April 2021

Deep learning has demonstrated its predictive power in modeling complex biological phenomena such as gene expression. The value of these models hinges not only on their accuracy, but also on the ability to extract biologically relevant information from the trained models. While there has been much recent work on developing feature attribution methods that discover the most important features for a given sequence, inferring cooperativity between regulatory elements, which is the hallmark of phenomena such as gene expression, remains an open problem. We present SATORI, a Self-ATtentiOn based model to detect Regulatory element Interactions. Our approach combines convolutional layers with a self-attention mechanism that helps us capture a global view of the landscape of interactions between regulatory elements in a sequence. A comprehensive evaluation demonstrates the ability of SATORI to identify numerous statistically significant TF-TF interactions, many of which have been previously reported. Our method is able to detect higher numbers of experimentally verified TF-TF interactions than existing methods, and has the advantage of not requiring a computationally expensive post-processing step. Finally, SATORI can be used for detection of any type of feature interaction in models that use a similar attention mechanism, and is not limited to the detection of TF-TF interactions.
ProteinLens: a web-based application for the analysis of allosteric signalling on atomistic graphs of biomolecules
Authors: Mersmann Sophia F , Strömich Léonie , Song Florian J , Wu Nan , Vianello Francesca , Barahona Mauricio , Yaliraki Sophia N
Published: April 2021

The investigation of allosteric effects in biomolecular structures is of great current interest in diverse areas, from fundamental biological enquiry to drug discovery. Here we present ProteinLens, a user-friendly and interactive web application for the investigation of allosteric signalling based on atomistic graph-theoretical methods. Starting from the PDB file of a biomolecule (or a biomolecular complex) ProteinLens obtains an atomistic, energy-weighted graph description of the structure of the biomolecule, and subsequently provides a systematic analysis of allosteric signalling and communication across the structure using two computationally efficient methods: Markov Transients and bond-to-bond propensities. ProteinLens scores and ranks every bond and residue according to the speed and magnitude of the propagation of fluctuations emanating from any site of choice (e.g. the active site). The results are presented through statistical quantile scores visualised with interactive plots and adjustable 3D structure viewers, which can also be downloaded. ProteinLens thus allows the investigation of signalling in biomolecular structures of interest to aid the detection of allosteric sites and pathways. ProteinLens is implemented in Python/SQL and freely available to use at: www.proteinlens.io.
CoffeeProt: an online tool for correlation and functional enrichment of systems genetics data
Authors: Molendijk Jeffrey , Seldin Marcus M , Parker Benjamin L
Published: April 2021

The integration of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and phenotypic traits across genetically diverse populations is a powerful approach to discover novel biological regulators. The increasing volume of complex data require new and easy-to-use tools accessible to a variety of scientists for the discovery and visualization of functionally relevant associations. To meet this requirement, we developed CoffeeProt, an open-source tool that analyses genetic variants associated to protein networks, other omics datatypes and phenotypic traits. CoffeeProt uses transcriptomics or proteomics data to perform correlation network analyses and annotates results with protein-protein interactions, subcellular localisations and drug associations. It then integrates genetic variants associated with gene expression (eQTLs) or protein abundance (pQTLs) and includes predictions of the potential consequences of variants on gene function. Finally, genetic variants are co-mapped to molecular or phenotypic traits either provided by the user or retrieved directly from publicly available GWAS results. We demonstrate its utility with the analysis of mouse and human population data enabling the rapid identification of genetic variants associated with druggable proteins and clinical traits. We expect that CoffeeProt will serve the systems genetics and basic science research communities, leading to the discovery of novel biologically relevant associations. CoffeeProt is available at www.coffeeprot.com.
Discovery of 17 conserved structural RNAs in fungi
Authors: Gao William , Jones Thomas A , Rivas Elena
Published: April 2021

Many non-coding RNAs with known functions are structurally conserved: their intramolecular secondary and tertiary interactions are maintained across evolutionary time. Consequently, the presence of conserved structure in multiple sequence alignments can be used to identify candidate functional non-coding RNAs. Here, we present a bioinformatics method that couples iterative homology search with covariation analysis to assess whether a genomic region has evidence of conserved RNA structure. We used this method to examine all unannotated regions of five well-studied fungal genomes (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Candida albicans, Neurospora crassa, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe). We identified 17 novel structurally conserved non-coding RNA candidates, which include four H/ACA box small nucleolar RNAs, four intergenic RNAs and nine RNA structures located within the introns and untranslated regions (UTRs) of mRNAs. For the two structures in the 3′ UTRs of the metabolic genes GLY1 and MET13, we performed experiments that provide evidence against them being eukaryotic riboswitches.
Smoking and the Risk of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection
Authors: Lee Sang Chul , Son Kang Ju , Kim Dong Wook , Han Chang Hoon , Choi Yoon Jung , Kim Seong Woo , Park Seon Cheol
Published: April 2021

Introduction

It is unclear whether smokers are more vulnerable to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This study aimed to evaluate the association between smoking and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Methods

A matched case–control study was conducted using a large nationwide database. The case group included patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the control group was randomly sampled from the general Korean population in the National Health Insurance Service database by matching sex, age, and region of residence. Conditional logistic regression models were used to investigate whether the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 was affected by smoking status.

Results

A total of 4167 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection and 20 937 matched controls were enrolled. The proportion of ex-smokers and current smokers was 26.6% of the total participants. In multivariate analysis, smoking was not associated with an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection (odds ratio [OR] = 0.56, confidence interval [CI] = 0.50–0.62). When ex-smokers and current smokers were analyzed separately, similar results were obtained (current smoker OR = 0.33, CI = 0.28–0.38; ex-smoker OR = 0.81, CI = 0.72–0.91).

Conclusions

This study showed that smoking may not be associated with an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Smoking tends to lower the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection; however, these findings should be interpreted with caution.

Implications

It is unclear whether smokers are more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019. In this large nationwide study in South Korea, smoking tended to lower the risk of infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. However, these findings should be interpreted with caution, and further confirmatory studies are required.
Nicotine Induces Maternal and Fetal Inflammatory Responses Which Predispose Intrauterine Infection Risk in a Rat Model
Authors: von Chamier Maria , Reyes Leticia , Hayward Linda F , Brown Mary B
Published: April 2021

Introduction

Both smoking and infection adversely impact pregnancy. Previously, our group identified in a rodent model that 6 mg/kg/d nicotine increased the risk of fetal infection at gestation day (GD) 18. Here, we investigate lower nicotine doses.

Methods

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats received nicotine infusion at 0, 1, or 3 mg/kg/d (no, low-, and mid-dose nicotine, respectively) from GD 6, with intravenous inoculation with Mycoplasma pulmonis (MP) at 107 CFU (N = 20) or sterile broth (sham) (N = 11) on GD 14. Uterus and fetuses were retrieved on GD 18 for MP culture and histopathologic evaluation of maternal and fetal inflammatory responses (MIR and FIR).

Results

At 1 mg/kg/d nicotine, MP colonization rates were decreased, from 100% (9 of 9) to 40% (2 of 5) of MP-inoculated dams (p = .03), and 59% (66 of 111) to 39% (24 of 62) of fetuses (p = .01), versus no nicotine. Low-dose nicotine resulted in increased MIR and FIR in the sham-inoculated group; in the MP-inoculated group, this resulted in reduced relative risk (RR) for placental colonization (RR, 95% CI with high MIR = 0.14, 0.02 to 0.65; FIR = 0.38, 0.12 to 0.93). In contrast, 3 mg/kg/d nicotine treatment did not alter colonization rates; furthermore, FIR was completely suppressed, even in the face of placental or amniotic fluid colonization.

Conclusion

The 1 mg/kg/d nicotine dose decreased risk of intrauterine infection, with increased MIR and FIR. The 3 mg/kg/d nicotine dose inhibited FIR, and increased risk for intrauterine infection. Nicotine alterations of the intrauterine environment were markedly dose-dependent.

Implications

Nicotine exposure alters intrauterine infection and inflammation in a dose-dependent manner, potentially impacting fetal development and programming. Previous work in a rodent model showed that high-dose nicotine (6 mg/kg/d) exposure exacerbated intrauterine infection during pregnancy. The current study found that low-dose nicotine (1 mg/kg/d) exposure reduced colonization of placenta and amniotic fluid; this decrease was associated with increased intrauterine inflammation. Exposure to mid-dose nicotine (3 mg/kg/d) suppressed fetal inflammation. Elucidation of underlying mechanisms of these phenomena will inform public health and clinical care decisions, particularly in the context of risk assessment of nicotine replacement therapy during pregnancy for smoking cessation.
Experience With Ventriculoperitoneal and Lumboperitoneal Shunting for the Treatment of Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension: A Single Institution Series
Authors: Sweid Ahmad , Daou Badih J , Weinberg Joshua H , Starke Robert M , Sergott Robert C , Schaefer Joseph , Hauge Julie , Elizabeth Caroline , Chalouhi Nohra , Gooch Reid , Herial Nabeel , Zarzour Hekmat , Jabbour Pascal , Rosenwasser Robert H , Tjoumakaris Stavropoula
Published: April 2021

BACKGROUND

CSF shunting is among the most widely utilized interventions in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Ventriculoperitoneal shunting (VPS) and lumboperitoneal shunting (LPS) are 2 possible treatment modalities.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate and compare complications, malfunction, infection, and revision rates associated with VPS compared to LPS.

METHODS

Electronic medical records were reviewed to identify baseline and treatment characteristics for patients diagnosed with IIH treated with VPS or LPS.

RESULTS

A total of 163 patients treated with either VPS (74.2%) or LPS (25.8%) were identified. The mean follow-up was 35 mo. Shunt revision was required in 40.9% of patients. There was a nonsignificant higher rate of revision with LPS (52.4%) than VPS (36.4%, P = .07). In multivariate analysis, increasing patient age was associated with higher odds of shunt revision (P = .04). LPS had higher odds of shunt revision, yet this association was not significant (P = .06). Shunt malfunction was the main indication for revision occurring in 32.7%, with a significantly higher rate with LPS than VPS (P = .03). In total, 15 patients had shunt infection (9.4% VPS vs 12.2% LPS P = .50). The only significant predictor of procedural infection was the increasing number of revisions (P = .02).

CONCLUSION

The incidence of shunt revision was 40.9%, with increasing patient age as the sole predictor of shunt revision. The incidence of shunt malfunction was significantly higher in patients undergoing LPS, while there was no significant difference in the incidence of shunt infection between the 2 modalities.
Combined Endovascular and Microsurgical Management of Unruptured, Partially Thrombosed, Giant, Internal Carotid Artery Aneurysm: 2-Dimensional Operative Video
Authors: Bortolotti Carlo , Bertolini Giacomo , Sorenson Thomas J , Acciarri Nicola , Cirillo Luigi , Lanzino Giuseppe , Sturiale Carmelo
Published: April 2021

Giant intracranial aneurysms still represent a serious threat because of high mortality and morbidity and an absence of a widely accepted treatment. Herein, we illustrate the case of a 54-yr-old woman with progressive neurological decline who was found to have an unruptured, giant, partially thrombosed aneurysm of the left supraclinoid portion of internal carotid artery (ICA) with brainstem compression. In this video, we demonstrate the successful stepwise treatment of this lesion with endovascular embolization of the patent portion of the aneurysm, followed by microsurgical debulking and clipping. At 3-yr follow-up, the patient experienced a neurological improvement and performed all normal activity. For patients in which single-modality therapy does not assure a safe treatment option, multimodal management with endovascular and open techniques should be considered as a therapeutic option for complex giant intracranial aneurysms.

Consent was given by the patient prior to the surgical procedure. Consent and approval for this operative video, in light of the retrospective nature and use of anonymized material, were waived.
Oil and gas development does not reduce duck pair abundance in the Prairie Pothole Region
Authors: Loesch Charles R , Kemink Kaylan M , Cressey-Smith Ryann , Gue C Tanner , Sieges Mason , Szymanski Mike L
Published: April 2021

Conservation partners are concerned that oil and gas development in the Prairie Pothole Region may reduce the abundance of breeding duck pairs using associated wetland habitat. We conducted wetland-based surveys for breeding pairs of 5 species of dabbling ducks in the Bakken oil field during 2015–2017 across a gradient of oil and gas development intensity to test the hypothesis that the abundance of breeding duck pairs on survey wetlands would decrease as the development of oil and gas resources increased. We included covariates traditionally used to predict breeding duck pairs (i.e. wetland size and class) and a spatiotemporal index of disturbance when developing zero-inflated Poisson models relating pair abundance to environmental predictors. Similar to past analyses, pair abundance was strongly associated with wetland size. Our results were mixed and suggested that the abundance of early and late nesting species was positively and negatively related, respectively, to an index of disturbance that was largely driven by oil and gas development. Regardless of the direction of the relationship, effect sizes were small and not considered biologically significant. Our findings indicate that in our study area, strategies to conserve wetland resources for breeding duck pairs should not deviate from previous prioritization metrics within the range of oil and gas development we observed. We believe that our findings may have implications to similar landscapes within the Bakken.
Greater Sage-Grouse survival varies with breeding season events in West Nile virus non-outbreak years
Authors: Parsons Lindsey A , Runia Travis J , Vincent Geoffrey P , Gregory Andrew J , Jenks Jonathan A
Published: April 2021

Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is a species of conservation concern and is highly susceptible to mortality from West Nile virus (WNV). Culex tarsalis, a mosquito species, is the suspected primary vector for transmitting WNV to sage-grouse. We captured, radio-tagged, and monitored female sage-grouse to estimate breeding season (April 15 to September 15) survival, 2016–2017. Deceased sage-grouse were tested for active WNV; live-captured and hunter-harvested sage-grouse were tested for WNV antibody titers. Additionally, we trapped mosquitoes with CO2-baited traps 4 nights per week (542 trap nights) to estimate WNV minimum infection rate (MIR). Eight sage-grouse mortalities occurred during the WNV seasons of 2016 and 2017, 5 had recoverable tissue, and 1 of 5 tested positive for WNV infection. Survival varied temporally with sage-grouse biological seasons, not WNV seasonality. Survival was 0.68 (95% CI: 0.56–0.78; n = 74) during the reproductive season (April 1 to September 15). Mammalian predators were the leading suspected cause of mortality (40%), followed by unknown cause (25%), avian predation (15%), unknown predation (15%), and WNV (5%). These results indicate WNV was not a significant driver of adult sage-grouse survival during this study. Three sage-grouse (1.9%; 95% CI: 0.5–5.9%) contained WNV antibodies. We captured 12,472 mosquitoes of which 3,933 (32%) were C. tarsalis. The estimated WNV MIR of C. tarsalis during 2016 and 2017 was 3.3 and 1.6, respectively. Our results suggest sage-grouse in South Dakota have limited exposure to WNV, and WNV was not a significant source of sage-grouse mortality in South Dakota during 2016 and 2017. Based on our finding that a majority of sage-grouse in South Dakota are susceptible to WNV infection, WNV could potentially have an impact on the population during an epizootic event; however, when WNV is at or near-endemic levels, it appears to have little impact on sage-grouse survival.
The Post Office Window, 1880–92
Authors: Blevins Cameron
Published: April 2021

Chapter 5 focuses on the role of post offices and postmasters in western towns during the 1880s. Small-town post offices exemplified the US Post’s localized agency model at work, offering a much different perspective on the history of the American state than a traditional bureaucratic framework. Post offices defined the spatial practices of local communities. Whoever housed the post office on their premises enjoyed a regular stream of potential customers into their place of business. This made postmaster appointments highly sought-after positions that provided the main source of political patronage for whichever party controlled the presidency. There was no clear division between public and private space in local post offices, as postmasters simultaneously ran stores, sold magazine subscriptions, and acted as agents for telegraph and express companies. Finally, the agency model meant that post offices operated with little administrative oversight and routinely frustrated attempts at centralized reform.
Brokering Sales
Authors: Korver-Glenn Elizabeth
Published: April 2021

This chapter examines how real estate brokerage routines pressured agents to use the racist market rubric in their work and how brokerages’ silence about unofficial yet potentially discriminatory routines served as a form of approval for agents adopting these routines. When agents interpreted established brokerage routines through the racist market rubric, they cultivated relationships with White individuals and excluded Asian, Black, and Latinx individuals. At times, brokerage routines—such as the automated use of the local real estate board’s market area map—required agents to advertise homes according to a racial–spatial hierarchy. In addition, brokerages remained silent when White agents pursued alternate routines outside the bounds of brokerage organizations, such as when they took on pocket listings—that is, homes not advertised on the Multiple Listing Service. Given the racial patterns of real estate networking in Houston, White home buyers had disproportionate access to pocket listings, yet White agents faced no verbal, professional, or legal sanctions for adopting this behavior.
Network agency and network dynamics
Authors: Elfring Tom , Klyver Kim , van Burg Elco
Published: April 2021

The literature often has assumed, explicitly or implicitly, that entrepreneurs use networks to develop opportunity, access resources, and gain legitimacy in order to perform and achieve success. Entrepreneurs’ networks have become a powerful explanation of success and performance in academia, in the business world, and in the popular press. However, research so far predominantly has relied on static pictures of entrepreneurs’ networks, which potentially provide incomplete and inadequate understanding of what actually occurs. Rather than relying on such static pictures of networks, research should rely on and build on a more social-interactive and dynamic understanding of networks. This chapter develops a social-interactive network dynamics framework that outlines various theories, perspectives, and empirical results related to network agency and network dynamics. Thus, this network dynamics framework becomes the core of the authors’ entrepreneurship-as-networking perspective. The chapter ends with discussions of potential avenues for future research.
Conclusion
Authors: Elfring Tom , Klyver Kim , van Burg Elco
Published: April 2021

Throughout this book, based on several literatures, the authors have developed the entrepreneurship-as-networking perspective. That is, networking among entrepreneurs—in their attempts to develop opportunity, mobilize resource, and obtain legitimacy—is the key and primary component of entrepreneurial action. Entrepreneurship always involves networking, and therefore networking is entrepreneurial action. This conceptual model answers two guiding questions. First, what kind of network helps entrepreneurs become successful? Second, how do networking activities of entrepreneurs affect their networks and entrepreneurial endeavors? Whereas the first question primarily focuses on structural issues and related networking mechanisms, the second question primarily relates to network agency of entrepreneurs.
The Paradoxes of Postwar Domesticity
Authors: Heinz Annelise
Published: April 2021

At the height of the postwar domestic revival, a subset of women who fully participated in the culture of domesticity nonetheless claimed a unique space for leisure with their peers in the form of a weekly evening mahjong game. Although the culture of mahjong could reinforce their domestic roles as much as undermine them, the weekly mahjong ritual explicitly came at the expense of both household labor and their family members’ comfort. Despite their claims on autonomous domestic leisure, mahjong-playing middle-class women became emblematic of the trappings of stereotypical postwar domesticity. As Jewish mahjong players established their strong cultural norms in the 1950s and 1960s, they became embedded in the evolving stereotype of the domineering Jewish mother. This association signaled the waning of both postwar domestic norms and the patterns of leisured domesticity that thrived within them, as economic changes and generational shifts transformed middle-class home life.
Forever Prisoners
Authors: Young Elliott
Published: April 2021

The United States locks up more than half a million non-citizens every year for immigration-related offenses; on any given day, more than 50,000 immigrants are held in detention in hundreds of ICE detention facilities spread across the country. This book provides an explanation of how, where, and why non-citizens were put behind bars in the United States from the late nineteenth century to the present. Through select granular experiences of detention over the course of more than 140 years, this book explains how America built the world’s largest system for imprisoning immigrants. From the late nineteenth century, when the US government held hundreds of Chinese in federal prisons pending deportation, to the early twentieth century, when it caged hundreds of thousands of immigrants in insane asylums, to World Wars I and II, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) declared tens of thousands of foreigners “enemy aliens” and locked them up in Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) camps in Texas and New Mexico, and through the 1980s detention of over 125,000 Cuban and almost 23,000 Haitian refugees, the incarceration of foreigners nationally has ebbed and flowed. In the last three decades, tough-on-crime laws intersected with harsh immigration policies to make millions of immigrants vulnerable to deportation based on criminal acts, even minor ones, that had been committed years or decades earlier. Although far more immigrants are being held in prison today than at any other time in US history, earlier moments of immigrant incarceration echo present-day patterns.
What Is Shareholder-Driven Corporate Governance?
Authors: Anand Anita Indira
Published: April 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview of shareholder-driven corporate governance (SCG). SCG is a broad-based analytical concept that refers to the trend in corporate governance whereby shareholders participate in the governance reforms that public corporations adopt. Participation is defined broadly: it does not merely refer to increases in shareholders’ direct voting power; rather, it encompasses reforms that reduce opportunities for managerial entrenchment (boards and management alike) that generally increase the ability of shareholders to become involved in the day-to-day operation of the business. After setting forth the framework for analyzing shareholders’ role in today’s corporation, the chapter outlines the distinctive features of SCG, such as majority voting and proxy access. It also looks at differences in governance regimes across a number of countries and the impact of these differences on shareholders’ interests.
Delightful Horror
Authors: Frank Jason
Published: April 2021

Edmund Burke remains one of the great theorists of the aesthetic dimensions of political life, and this chapter focuses on his account of the sublime production of political authority. Burke’s theory of the sublime identifies an instinctive “delight” that human beings take in their own subordination: it is an affective device for naturalizing order and rank in human society and the psychological foundation of such distinctive Burkean formulations as “proud submission” and “dignified obedience.” However, the French Revolution, and its enthusiastic reception by British radicals during the 1790s, occasioned a revision of Burke’s political aesthetics, whereby the sublime was no longer associated with astonishment, novelty, and ennobling disorientation, but with the gravity of an historical inheritance transmitted across time by the ancient constitution. Burke’s antirevolutionary writings mark a transition in his thinking from a political aesthetics of sublime transcendence to one of historical immanence.
The Poetics of the Barricade
Authors: Frank Jason
Published: April 2021

This chapter examines the most widely disseminated iconography and symbolism of the popular will during the age of democratic revolution: the poetics of the barricade. While the insurgent barricade dates back to the sixteenth century as a defensive tactic against the forces of state repression, it was only during the nineteenth century that it acquired its distinctly modern and democratic association with popular constituent power. After the July Revolution of 1830, the barricade spread rapidly throughout Europe as a symbolic condensation of revolutionary upheaval. This chapter examines the insurgent barricade as a space that enabled a distinctive form of political subjectivization in emergent democratic contexts, one that not only materialized the boundary of the political—the defining opposition between the people and the state—but that simultaneously enacted a self-organizing manifestation of popular will. The insurgent barricade is the site of the tangible formation of a collective intention.
Worrying
Authors: Cole Allan Hugh
Published: April 2021

Through personal narrative, this chapter details the approximately ten days between the author’s diagnosis by Dr. T and getting results of the brain scan, called a DaTscan, which would confirm the clinical diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). During this time, his family and he traveled to New York City, where his wife was running the New York City Marathon. The author recounts his struggles with anxiety about the future, especially as concerns the burdens PD could place on his family and on his ability to continue working. The chapter concludes with a phone call from Dr. T, who confirms that the author does have Parkinson’s.
Insincerely Yours
Authors: Phelps Charles E. , Madhavan Guru
Published: April 2021

Every known voting method can be manipulated, hence the tactic of “strategic voting.” But some voting methods are harder to manipulate than others and therefore encourage “truthful revelation” of voters’ preferences. These interact with the problems that various voting systems have (following from Chapter 4) when voters are asked to choose between more than two options. Many organizations try to deal with the “problem” of many choices by breaking every decision down into a set of “yes/no” votes. The most famous of these “parliamentary process” procedures is Robert’s Rules of Order, widely used throughout the world. Controlling the sequence of “yes/no” votes can often manipulate the outcome, which is known in political science as “agenda control.” Other ways to manipulate outcomes includes how the choices are described (“framing” effects) and the biases (either explicit or implicit) of “decision facilitators.” This chapter discusses these issues and suggests ways to avoid their being used adversely in group decision-making.
Reading Minds
Authors: Wellman Henry M.
Published: April 2021

The need to understand human social life is basic to human nature and fuels a lifelong quest that began in early childhood. Key is trying to fathom people’s inner mental states—their hopes, plans, wants, thoughts, and emotions. Scientists call this developing a “theory of mind,” and Reading Minds tells the story of our journey to that understanding. Each of us step by step creates a wide-ranging theory of mind used to understand how people work. Failure to learn these steps cripples a child, and ultimately an adult, in areas as diverse as interacting socially, creating a coherent life story, enjoying drama and movies, and living on one’s own. An understanding of these steps allows us to see our shared humanity, to understand our children and our childhood selves, to teach and to learn from others, and to better navigate and make sense of our social world. Theory of mind is basic to why some become religious believers and others atheists, some become novelists and all of us love stories, why some love scary movies and some hate them. Reading Minds shows how theory of mind develops as children and how that defines us as individuals and highlights us as human. Written by a scientist—himself a parent and a grandparent—who pioneered much of the research in this field, Reading Minds fuses insider science with everyday life to cement a whole new view of ourselves, our children, and the mysteries of our social minds.
Reading Minds 101
Authors: Wellman Henry M.
Published: April 2021

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the vital human ability of reading minds. Every day, people try to get into the minds of other people. They observe their words and actions to figure out their thoughts, feelings, hopes, and intentions. People can also read, interpret, and communicate their own mental states. This everyday, ordinary mind reading is something people begin to learn in infancy. Indeed, researchers have found its beginnings in babies only ten or twelve months old. The chapter then presents the idea of “theory of mind,” which pervades all of childhood development and allows us to read minds. It also briefly considers individuals with autism, providing a look at what it might be like to live without a theory of mind and without mind reading.
Possible Worlds, Possible Minds
Authors: Wellman Henry M.
Published: April 2021

Across the world and across history, adults have developed widely divergent beliefs about people and their minds and actions, capacities and limits. Yet, these spring from, and depart from, early childhood theories, which are remarkably similar worldwide. This chapter considers what some of these divergent beliefs about people are like and how they arise from earlier understandings. How? Universal processes and beginnings allow and propel the development of vastly different belief systems, and theory of mind plays a particularly powerful role in these processes and outcomes. Human children worldwide share a framework theory of mind even when adults’ conceptions of people are less similar worldwide than children’s. Cultures have centuries in which to develop unique understandings of persons, selves, and societies. At the same time, all of them are grounded in the same initial framework of young children.
Agreement
Authors: Mitchell Neil J.
Published: April 2021

Principals delegate in order to resolve disagreements. We would be unwilling to invest energy in any sort of enterprise or activity, without a method to resolve the disputes that may arise. We grant someone the authority to interpret rules. Whether disciplining players in the NFL, deciding which country will host the soccer World Cup or settling disputes between governments in the World Trade Organization, principals turn to a dispute-resolving agent to sort it out. This chapter discusses the use of delegation to solve disagreements. Some scholars depart from principal-agent theory to use the term trustee to describe the autonomy in this type of delegation relationship, but this is an unnecessary departure. The key to controlling this agent lies in the initial selection process.
Sensitivity and Safety
Authors: Stoltz Jonathan
Published: April 2021

This chapter undertakes a deeper dive into the post-Dharmakīrtian understanding of knowledge episodes by focusing on Buddhist attempts to ensure that accidentally true cognitions not be counted as instances of knowledge. Much of the chapter is devoted to detailing Buddhist invocations of a principle of sensitivity in order to exclude accidentally correct cognitions from the realm of knowledge. The final portion of the chapter explores the theory of perceptual discrimination that is developed by some Tibetan Buddhist epistemologists and that can be understood as a path by which to further restrict knowledge to a narrower set of true/correct cognitions.
Boundaries
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter explains Article I of the Colorado Constitution, which defines the state’s boundaries. The constitution adopted the boundaries established by Congress under the Organic Act establishing Colorado Territory in 1861, ignoring earlier proposals that used the continental divide as a boundary. The state’s east-west limits are defined by two meridians measured from Washington, D. C. The north-south boundaries are set at 37 and 41 degrees of north latitude. A resurvey of the 37th parallel led to New Mexico’s suit to claim a significant slice of territory, but the Supreme Court rejected the revision based on the standard rule that a resurvey does not change a boundary that has been relied on.
Distribution of Powers
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter details Article III of the Colorado Constitution, which defines distribution of powers. The article separates the powers of Colorado’s state government into three departments: legislative, executive, and judicial. The separation doctrine’s general purpose is to prevent excessive concentration of power in a single arm of government. The constitution also pursues this end by dividing legislative power between two houses, providing for an executive veto, providing for direct democracy through the initiative and the veto referendum in Article V, and establishing home rule local governments in Articles XIV and XX. A basic form of separation in American government is for the three branches to have separate officers. Otherwise, the essential issue is whether an action of one branch of state government has overstepped constitutional boundaries.
Impeachments
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter details Article XIII of the Colorado Constitution, which defines and authorizes impeachments. Section 1 provides that the house of representatives has sole power to impeach officers identified in Section 2, by majority vote of all members. The senate has sole power to try impeachments, conviction to require votes of at least two-thirds “of the senators elected.”. Section 2 provides that the governor and other state and judicial officers are subject to impeachment and removal for “high crimes or misdemeanors or malfeasance in office.” Section 3 authorizes the general assembly to pass laws for removal of “officers not liable to impeachment” for misconduct or malfeasance in office.
Corporations
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter assesses Article XV of the Colorado Constitution, concerning corporations. Section 2 forbids special corporate charters and requires the state to have a general incorporation code. Section 3 reserves legislative power to revoke, alter, or amend the charters of private corporations. Section 5 is an antitrust rule specific to railroads, and Section 6 forbids railroads’ discrimination among customers. Section 8’s guarantees the general assembly’s power of eminent domain over property held by corporations. Section 10 requires foreign corporations doing business in the state to have a place of business and resident agent in Colorado. Section 12’s ban on retrospective laws should be read with Article II, Section 11.
Amendments
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter studies Article XIX of the Colorado Constitution, which concerns amendments. Section 2 authorizes the general assembly to propose amendments to the constitution by vote of two-thirds of the full membership of each house and submit them to voters for approval or rejection at the next general election. Proposals are limited to a single subject, and amendments to add provisions need a 55% vote for adoption. Section 1 authorizes the general assembly to propose and submit to voters a recommendation to hold a convention to amend the constitution. No revising convention has yet been called; three attempts failed.
Intoxicating Liquor
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter examines former Article XXII of the Colorado Constitution, which governed intoxicating liquor. Original Article XXII, adopted in 1916, was a statewide prohibition law. National Prohibition followed in 1920. As repeal of the national ban loomed in 1932, Article XXII was amended to repeal state prohibition. The amended article gave the general assembly broad power to regulate intoxicating liquors. Statutes delegated significant authority to local governments, but under Article XXII, state law governed any conflict. Repeal of the article in 2009 removed the source of the state’s paramount authority. This raised questions about possible home rule authority of local governments, but so far no dispute has generated a reported judicial decision.
Campaign and Political Finance
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter studies Article XXVIII of the Colorado Constitution, which deals with campaign and political finance. A 1996 initiative had adopted similar rules as a state statute. It was gutted by the general assembly, and Article XXVIII was adopted in reaction. The article sets contribution and spending limits on campaigns for public office and for ballot measures. It also requires disclosure of persons who make defined political expenditures and who contribute to those who make them. Groups active in politics are required to register with the state and file reports. Although no constitutional text addresses the issue, the article is interpreted to exempt home rule local governments that have adopted laws that “address the matters covered” by the article.
Schedule
Authors: Collins Richard B. , Oesterle Dale A. , Friedman Lawrence
Published: April 2021

This chapter discusses the “Schedule” of the Colorado Constitution. Transition to statehood required that territorial institutions and law be retained until expressly replaced. At the end of the original constitution, twenty-two sections under the heading of Schedule detailed how the transition should work. Although almost entirely obsolete, none has been repealed. Schedule Section 1 was invoked by enterprising defense lawyers in efforts to get their clients off on a technicality. At least one succeeded. Section 20, requiring that presidential electors “be chosen by direct vote of the people,” could be read as obsolete or as a continuing constitutional rule. It is the only section with possible relevance to a current dispute.
Young Guns and Billionaires
Authors: Popkin Samuel L.
Published: April 2021

Chapter 2 examines how the Republican Party’s crackup evolved over the course of Barack Obama’s two terms as president. As divided as the GOP may have been after the 2008 presidential election, its major donors were linked in their opposition to Obama. For the first time since McCain-Feingold, the full force of conservative wealth in America was united against healthcare reform and any spending to revive the perilous economy, rescue the auto industry, or provide relief for mortgage holders. The election of the first African American president made it easy for conservative commentators on talk radio and Fox News to call Obama’s healthcare plan “reparations.” This stoked racial resentment and boosted the plans of wealthy industrialists Charles and David Koch to move Republicans further to the right. Their main organization, Americans for Prosperity, raised hundreds of millions of dollars yearly and quietly provided training, infrastructure, and funding for many of the “spontaneous” Tea Party groups that helped restore Republican control of Congress. Donors may not have been willing to give millions of dollars for compromise, but the slash-and-burn tactics of the Tea Party became a catastrophic example of overreach. The 2012 presidential nominee, Mitt Romney, got caught up in a party tilting ever more to the right; he was only given financial support for his campaign against Obama when he renounced his Massachusetts healthcare program—the model for Obamacare—and put Ryan on his ticket.
How Does It Feel to Be
Authors: Kammay Aviv
Published: April 2021

Beatles tribute concerts are visceral, experiential, and participatory arenas of Beatles fandom. This chapter covers principal aspects and characteristics of these shows. The caricaturization of Lennon, McCartney, Harrison, and Starr in impersonation acts is traced back to its roots in film and television portrayals of the individual Beatles. Discrepancies are pointed out between the Beatles’ own irreverent tendencies in the band’s career and the stereotypes presented on the tribute show stages. Various types of simulations, reenactments, and dreamed-up fantasy scenarios featured in Beatles tribute shows are paired with the fan-driven motivations behind them. Tribute shows that break away from the typical four-men-in-wigs model are noted for creating inclusive Beatles fan spaces on and off the stage. Finally, the pursuit of musical accuracy in producing note-for-note Beatles tribute shows is examined through a consideration of the challenges and possibilities presented by material from different recording periods of the Beatles.
Goddesses, a Whore-Wife, and a Slave
Authors: Hall Edith
Published: April 2021

This chapter argues that Phaedra’s false accusation of rape, laid against her stepson in Euripides’ tragedy Hippolytus, has contributed to the widespread belief that women frequently lay such false allegations. The classic status of this play, as of its famous adaptations by Seneca and Racine, has kept the story of Phaedra’s lie at the center of the cultural radar and produced many imitations in popular culture. The gender stereotype that women are unreliable witnesses and custodians of truth has, however, been challenged recently both by the philosopher Miranda Fricker and by campaigns against workplace sexual harassment. By making Phaedra in this play virtuous in other respects, compared with her portrayal in Euripides’ lost Hippolytus Veiled and that of Stheneboea in his lost Stheneboea, Euripides threw the spotlight sharply on her vindictive act of perjury. But when studying and performing these ideologically laden dramas, we must remember that they are fictions.
Power and Patronage
Authors: Penrose Jr Walter D.
Published: April 2021

Artemisia II is credited by all extant ancient sources with initiating the building of the Mausoleum, the tomb of her husband and brother, Mausolus, that was listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Yet a number of scholars have denied Artemisia’s agency and instead given credit to her husband-brother for planning the Mausoleum. This essay seeks to rethink such trends in modern historiography while simultaneously exploring Artemisia’s motives for building the Mausoleum and throwing lavish funerary contests for Mausolus. Mausolus had been an unpopular ruler who levied heavy taxes and repressed several rebellions. After his death, Artemisia sought to rehabilitate Mausolus’ reputation to ensure her own sovereignty as the ruler of ancient Caria.
Rock in the Musical Theatre
Authors: Church Joseph
Published: April 2021

Rock ’n’ roll music and its offshoots, including pop, hard rock, rap, r&b, funk, folk, and many others, have become the standard language of today’s musical theatre. Theatre singers, performers, and coaches need a source of information on these styles, their origins, and their performance practices. Rock in the Musical Theatre: A Guide for Singers fills this need. Today’s musical theatre training programs are now including rock music in their coursework and rock songs and musicals in their repertoires. This is a text for those trainees, mentors, courses, and productions. It will also be of great value to working professionals, teachers, music directors, and coaches less familiar with rock styles, or who want to improve their rock-related skills. The author, an experienced music director, vocal coach, and university professor, and an acknowledged expert on rock music in the theatre, examines the many aspects of performing rock music in the theatre and offers practical advice through a combination of aesthetic and theoretical study; extensive discussions of musical, vocal, and acting techniques; and chronicles of coaching sessions. The book also includes advice from working actors, casting directors, and music directors who specialize in rock music for the stage.