cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of nonlinear human visual system components on performance of a channelized Hotelling observer in structured backgrounds

Linear model observers based on statistical decision theory have been used successfully to predict human visual detection of aperiodic signals in a variety of noisy backgrounds. However, some models have included nonlinearities such as a transducer or nonlinear decision rules to handle intrinsic uncertainty. In addition, masking models used to predict human visual detection of signals superimposed on one of two identical backgrounds (masks) usually include a number of nonlinear components in the channels that reflect properties of the firing of cells in the primary visual cortex (V1). The effect of these nonlinearities on the ability of linear model observers to predict human signal detection in real patient structured backgrounds is unknown. We evaluate the effect of including different nonlinear human visual system components into a linear channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) using a signal known exactly but variable (SKEV) task. In particular, we evaluate whether the rank order of two compression algorithms (JPEG versus JPEG 2000) and two compression encoder settings (JPEG 2000 default versus JPEG 2000 optimized) based on model observer signal detection performance in X-ray coronary angiograms is altered by inclusion of nonlinear components. The results show: 1) the simpler linear CHO model observer outperforms CHO model with the nonlinear components; 2) the rank order of model observer performance for the compression algorithms/parameters does not change when the nonlinear components are included. For the present task and images, the results suggest that the addition of the nonlinearities to a channelized Hotelling model may add complexity to the model observers without great impact on rank order evaluation of image processing and/or acquisition algorithms
Modeling Ischemic Stroke In Vitro: Status Quo and Future Perspectives

Stroke is a devastating disease accounting for 5.5 million deaths annually worldwide.1 Despite significant preclinical and clinical investigations, with >1026 candidate neuroprotective stroke drugs investigated and ≈200 clinical trials, no effective therapy other than tissue-type plasminogen activator has been approved.2 The reasons for these failures are numerous. Recent Stroke Treatment and Academic Roundtable guidelines focusing on the appropriate use of animal models and clinical trial design will undoubtedly improve the odds of identifying effective therapeutics. However, improvements will need to be made across all levels of the drug discovery pipeline if new therapies are to be effectively identified and developed. This review will cover current methods used for modeling ischemic stroke in vitro, along with some of the insights that have been gained and the technological developments that may allow for the production of more effective and relevant models for research in stroke. In vivo models have enabled a great insight into the pathophysiology of human disease and have been critical in our understanding of stroke. Rodents are often the chosen species, because of availability of genetically altered strains. However, ≈70 million years of evolution, separate humans from rodents and just a 10% difference in genome implies that ≈3000 genes differ.3 Aside from macrostructural discrepancies, many cellular and molecular differences exist. For example, the expression levels of transporters and pumps that contribute to the blood–brain barrier (BBB), and the functional diversity and abundance of astrocytes distinguish the human BBB from the rodent.4 Duration of excitotoxicity has also been demonstrated to differ significantly between humans and mice.5 Considering the large inflammatory component of stroke pathology, it is also important to note differences in immune biology between species. Many important immune signaling molecules (interleukin-8, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 7, chemokine (C-C motif) ligand [CCL] 18, monocyte chemoattractant …
Children with Developmental Verbal Dyspraxia: Changes in articulation and perceived resilience with intensive multimodal intervention:

Research into intervention strategies for developmental verbal dyspraxia (DVD) clearly demonstrates the need to identify effective interventions. The goals of this study were to examine changes in articulation skills following the use of phonetic, multimodal intervention and to consider the relationship between these improved articulation skills and perceptions of resilience behaviors. These changes were related to components of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health, Children and Youth version (ICF-CY). The intervention was implemented daily for 12 children diagnosed with DVD, ages 3 to 10 years, enrolled in a school for children with speech, language, and hearing impairments on a university campus in the southeast of the USA. Eleven children presented with significant comorbid conditions. Changes in articulation, along with changes in parents’ and speech-language therapists’ (SLTs’) perceptions of resilience behaviors were measured. At the...
Intra-articular fractures of the distal part of the radius treated with the small Ao external fixator.

Thirty adults who had a severely comminuted intra-articular closed fracture of the distal part of the radius were treated by closed reduction and AO external fixation consisting of a converging-pin configuration with a double row of connecting bars. The patients were followed for an average of 2.6 years (range, two to four years). Twenty-seven patients had an excellent result; two, a good result; and one, a poor result, on the basis of pain, motion, strength, and radiographic appearance. Complications were rare, and there was no loss of fixation of the pins. The average grip strength was 92 per cent of normal. Motion of the wrist and rotation of the forearm averaged more than 90 per cent of that of the normal side. Carpal height was used as an indicator of distraction force produced by the fixator. There was an average increase in carpal height of four millimeters initially and 3.7 millimeters immediately before removal of the fixator, indicating near-constant distraction throughout the treatment. Radial length was well maintained, with shortening averaging less than one millimeter. The converging pins of the AO fixator prevent loosening, thereby diminishing the risks of infection, loss of reduction of the fracture, and breakage of the pins. This geometry of the pins allows the use of smaller-diameter (2.5-millimeter) pins and provides rigid fixation, even in osteoporotic bone.
Central Carbohydrate Pathways: Metabolic Flexibility and the Extra Role of Some “Housekeeping” Enzymes

The biologic simplicity personified by Mollicutes cells was exposed by several revolutionary studies that established the utility of examining simple prokaryotes in studying life 13,17,46,53,59. Others have continued to analyze these data and further reveal and illuminate their biochemical wealth 5,30,57. Proteomic studies extended the findings beyond the immediate genome to the expressed proteins 5,123,168. Mollicutes metabolism and molecular biology have been reviewed 36,85,116,122.
What's in your list?: A survey of business database holdings and funding sources at top academic institutions

ABSTRACTThe present study reports the online business database holdings of the top academic institutions in the United States, which databases are paid for by which entities on campus, and some of the most common and most desired business databases. An invitation to participate in an online survey was sent to 91 top institutions of which 39 institutions participated. The results show a wide variety of information resources are considered core business resources in contemporary business librarianship and imply an increasing importance of cost sharing in providing the databases to support research and efforts to commercialize research.
Individual differences in working memory capacity and resistance to belief bias in syllogistic reasoning.

In two experiments, we investigated the possibility that individual differences in working memory capacity (WMC) would provide resistance to belief bias in syllogistic reasoning. In Experiment 1 (N...
Advances in basic and clinical immunology in 2013

A significant number of contributions to our understanding of primary immunodeficiencies (PIDs) in pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment were published in the Journal in 2013. For example, deficiency of mast cell degranulation caused by signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 deficiency was demonstrated to contribute to the difference in the frequency of severe allergic reactions in patients with autosomal dominant hyper-IgE syndrome compared with that seen in atopic subjects with similar high IgE serum levels. High levels of nonglycosylated IgA were found in patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, and these abnormal antibodies might contribute to the nephropathy seen in these patients. New described genes causing immunodeficiency included caspase recruitment domain 11 (CARD11) , mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue 1 (MALT1) for combined immunodeficiencies, and tetratricopeptide repeat domain 7A (TTC7A) for mutations associated with multiple atresia with combined immunodeficiency. Other observations expand the spectrum of clinical presentation of specific gene defects (eg, adult-onset idiopathic T-cell lymphopenia and early-onset autoimmunity might be due to hypomorphic mutations of the recombination-activating genes). Newborn screening in California established the incidence of severe combined immunodeficiency at 1 in 66,250 live births. The use of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for PIDs was reviewed, with recommendations to give priority to research oriented to establish the best regimens to improve the safety and efficacy of bone marrow transplantation. These represent only a fraction of significant research done in patients with PIDs that has accelerated the quality of care of these patients. Genetic analysis of patients has demonstrated multiple phenotypic expressions of immune deficiency in patients with nearly identical genotypes, suggesting that additional genetic factors, possibly gene dosage, or environmental factors are responsible for this diversity.
Money lending practices and adolescent dating relationship abuse: results from a national sample

Research on adult intimate partner violence has demonstrated that economic considerations and financial decision-making are associated with the use of violence in marital and cohabiting relationships. Yet limited work has examined whether financial behaviors influence the use of violence in adolescent dating relationships. We use data from the National Survey on Teen Relationships and Intimate Violence (STRiV) (n = 728), a comprehensive national household survey dedicated specifically to the topic of adolescent relationship abuse, to examine associations between requests for money lending, economic control/influence, financial socialization and adolescent relationship abuse among a large, diverse sample of male and female adolescents [48 % female; 30 % non-White, including Black (10 %), Hispanic (2 %), and other (18 %)]. Findings suggest that requests for money lending are associated with heightened risk of moderate and serious threats/physical violence perpetration and victimization, net of traditional predictors. We discuss the implications of our findings for intervention and prevention efforts.
Social Skills Mediate the Association of ADHD and Depression in Preadolescents

Childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a replicated risk factor for depression, but the explanatory factors underlying this association have not been reliably identified. Given that social skills (i.e., cooperation, assertion, responsibility, self-control) are sensitive to early ADHD and predict later depression, we tested whether individual differences in social skills individually and collectively mediated predictions of depressive symptoms from early ADHD symptoms. In an ethnically diverse (50 % non-Caucasian) sample of 232 children with (n = 124) and without ADHD (n = 108) followed prospectively for two years (aged 5–10 at Wave 1; 7–12 at Wave 2), we gathered multi-informant (i.e., parent, teacher) and multi-method (e.g., rating scale, structured interview) assessment of key constructs. Using a multiple mediation framework with bootstrapping and statistical control of sex, Wave 1 depression, Wave 1 oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), Wave 1 anxiety, and Wave 2 ADHD symptoms, an independent mediation effect emerged for parent-rated self-control in the prediction of Wave 2 depression (parent-rated) from Wave 1 ADHD symptoms (combined parent and teacher ratings). Teacher-rated social skills at Wave 1 also collectively mediated this association, with teacher-rated assertion emerging as a unique mediator. We discuss the role of social skills in emergent depression among youth with ADHD and consider implications for prevention and intervention.
Developing a Web-Based Weight Management Program for Childhood Cancer Survivors: Rationale and Methods.

Background: Due to advances in the field of oncology, survival rates for children with cancer have improved significantly. However, these childhood cancer survivors are at a higher risk for obesity and cardiovascular diseases and for developing these conditions at an earlier age. Objective: In this paper, we describe the rationale, conceptual framework, development process, novel components, and delivery plan of a behavioral intervention program for preventing unhealthy weight gain in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Methods: A Web-based program, the Healthy Eating and Active Living (HEAL) program, was designed by a multidisciplinary team of researchers who first identified behaviors that are appropriate targets for weight management in childhood ALL survivors and subsequently developed the intervention components, following core behavioral change strategies grounded in social cognitive and self-determination theories. Results: The Web-based HEAL curriculum has 12 weekly self-guided sessions to increase parents’ awareness of the potential impact of cancer treatment on weight and lifestyle habits and the importance of weight management in survivors’ long-term health. It empowers parents with knowledge and skills on parenting, nutrition, and physical activity to help them facilitate healthy eating and active living soon after the child completes intensive cancer treatment. Based on social cognitive theory, the program is designed to increase behavioral skills (goal-setting, self-monitoring, and problem-solving) and self-efficacy and to provide positive reinforcement to sustain behavioral change. Conclusions: Lifestyle interventions are a priority for preventing the early onset of obesity and cardiovascular risk factors in childhood cancer survivors. Intervention programs need to meet survivors’ targeted behavioral needs, address specific barriers, and capture a sensitive window for behavioral change. In addition, they should be convenient, cost-effective and scalable. Future studies are needed to evaluate the feasibility of introducing weight management early in cancer care and the efficacy of early weight management on survivors’ health outcomes. [JMIR Res Protoc 2016;5(4):e214]
Intentionality, Constitution and Merleau‐Ponty's Concept of ‘The Flesh’

Since Husserl, the task of developing an account of intentionality and constitution has been central to the phenomenological enterprise. Some of Merleau-Ponty's descriptions of ‘the flesh’ suggest that he gives up on this task, or, more strongly, that the flesh is in principle incompatible with intentionality or constitution. I show that these remarks, as in Merleau-Ponty's earlier writings, refer to the classical, early Husserlian interpretations of these concepts, and argue that the concept of the flesh can plausibly be understood to advance a refined account of intentionality and constitution. Instead of a first-personal, unidirectional act or embodied motor project, intentionality is a latent openness to things, where the roles of subject and object are reversible. Whereas the view of constitution as meaning-bestowal is untenable, the flesh has a constitutive role, which is supported by a ‘constitutional passivity’ from the subject. On this reading, Merleau-Ponty's later work aims to develop basic tenets of his earlier thought, albeit at a critical distance, an attempt he thought was continuous with the central problems that Husserl claimed a phenomenological philosophy must grapple with, even if Merleau-Ponty's answers to these problems are not Husserl's.
A Complex Relationship between Freshwater Discharge and Oyster Fishery Catch Per Unit Effort in Apalachicola Bay, Florida: an Evaluation from 1960 to 2013

ABSTRACT Freshwater input is thought to be a critical factor influencing estuaries through multiple direct and indirect pathways. In this study, findings of a key 1992 paper on Apalachicola Bay oyster fishery data and Apalachicola River discharge data from 1960 to 1984 were recreated, and the analysis extended to 1987 to 2013, to evaluate whether relationships previously reported between river discharge and oyster fishery catch per unit effort (CPUE) persist. The originally reported relationship between low river discharge and lower oyster landings 2 y later was confirmed, but when these same relationships for data from 1987 to 2013 were examined, correlation coefficients relating river discharge metrics to oyster fishery CPUE that were significant with 1960 to 1984 data did not persist with data from 1987 to 2013. Combining all available data (1960 to 2013, excluding 1985 to 1986), previously reported significant correlation coefficients were found to have generally persisted or strengthened and the tota...
Multi-Modality Imaging Enables Detailed Hemodynamic Simulations in Dissecting Aneurysms in Mice

A multi-modality imaging-based modeling approach was used to study complex unsteady hemodynamics and lesion growth in a dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysm model. We combined in vivo ultrasound (geometry and flow) and in vitro optical coherence tomography (OCT) (geometry) to obtain the high resolution needed to construct detailed hemodynamic simulations over large portions of the murine vasculature, which include fine geometric complexities. We illustrate this approach for a spectrum of dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysms induced in male apolipoprotein E-null mice by high-dose angiotensin II infusion. In vivo morphological and hemodynamic data provide information on volumetric lesion growth and changes in blood flowdynamics, respectively, occurring fromthe day of initial aortic expansion. We validated the associatedcomputational models by comparing results on time-varying outlet flows and vortical structureswithin the lesions. Three out of four lesions exhibited abrupt formation of thrombus, though different in size. We determined that a lesion without thrombus formed with a thickened vessel wall, which was resolvable by OCT and histology. We attribute differences in final sizes and compositions of these lesions to the different computed flow and vortical structures we obtained in our mouse-specific fluid dynamic models. Differences in morphology and hemodynamics play crucial roles in determining the evolution of dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysms. Coupled high resolution in vivo and in vitro imaging approaches provide much-improved geometric models for hemodynamic simulations. Our imaging-based computational findings suggest a link between perturbations in hemodynamic metrics and aneurysmal disease heterogeneity.
The Size and Scope of Collegiate Athletic Training Facilities and Staffing.

Context: Athletic training facilities have been described in terms of general design concepts and from operational perspectives. However, the size and scope of athletic training facilities, along ...
Cardiovascular MRI in Thoracic Aortopathy: A Focused Review of Recent Literature Updates

This review aims to provide a focused update on the clinical and research trends in thoracic aorta magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Traditional cardiovascular MRI techniques for the evaluation of thoracic aortopathy have focused on vessel diameter and qualitative descriptors to characterize disease. Recent developments in MR image acquisition and flow visualization and quantification now allow for advanced evaluation of aortic hemodynamics with MRI in both adults and children with aortic disease, and are likely to provide new imaging-derived biomarkers in aortic disease. Novel acquisitions and post-processing tools continue to be developed, and new analysis packages, some of which are cloud-based, are likely to improve clinical workflow for advanced MRI applications. With continued improvements in MRI acquisition speed, as well as the growth of MRI-derived biomarkers, clinical use of MRI for the evaluation of thoracic aortic disease will continue to increase. These techniques are likely to enable improved risk stratification with patient-specific biomarkers to guide surgical planning and medical therapy, improving the treatment of patients with aortic disease.
Sustainable imaginaries and the green roof on Chicago’s City Hall

Abstract The concept of an imaginary has a long history of describing a society’s collective understanding of how the world works. This article introduces the concept of the sustainable imaginary as a society’s understanding and vision of how resources are being used and should be used to ensure socio-environmental reproduction. Incorporating John Allen’s modalities of power makes it possible to see exactly how those resources are being used within and outside of city government. This article employs the sustainable imaginary via the example of the green roof on Chicago’s City Hall. This structure exemplifies appropriate relationships within and with city government, the ways in which imaginaries are performed and reiterated, and how local environments interact with global discourses to produce specific discursive and material outcomes.
On the Transient Thermal Characteristics of Silicon Carbide Power Electronics Modules

The transient performance of power semiconductor devices relates directly to their available power rating, reliability, and operating lifetime. This paper examines the transient thermal performance of liquid-cooled, silicon carbide power devices subjected to different unsteady electrical loads. The first part uses infrared thermography to examine an observed asymmetrical device thermal time constant when subjected to step-change increases and decreases in current. A theoretical analysis connects this behavior to the dependence of mosfet on-resistance on junction temperature. It also identifies three time constants that characterize junction transient response, one each for the die, the module, and the cold plate. The second part extends the transient thermal evaluation to half-sine wave periodic excitations that emulate real-application operating conditions. These experiments show that thermal ripple increases with increasing excitation amplitude but decreases with increasing excitation frequency. They also connect the observed thermal response to the time constants inferred from the step-change experiments. Both parts of the study show the importance of considering transient loads when designing power electronics cooling systems and the role that electrical properties play in determining unsteady thermal response.
The Construction of Irreducible Representations

This chapter discusses the construction of irreducible representations. It presents the assumption that an idempotent e of a semisimple algebra A is primitive if and only if the right ideal e A is minimal. The problem of constructing irreducible representations can be reduced to that of finding a primitive idempotent for each block. Two permutations are conjugate if and only if their cycle structure is the same, and there are many shapes as classes of conjugate elements. The Young tableaux give a routine method for the construction of all irreducible representations. The chapter also presents a few examples of group representations.
Linewidth Reduction by the Formation of a Fiber External Cavity with the Vertical Emission of a Distributed Bragg Reflector Laser

Narrow-linewidth sources are essential for optical systems such as coherent optical communications and optical sensors. One way of obtaining narrow linewidths is to insert the semiconductor laser into a passive external cavity containing a mirror [1, 2], a diffraction grating [1, 3–5], a GRIN rod [6], an optical fiber [7–10], or an optical fiber containing a fiber Bragg grating [11]. Linewidths of hundreds of kHz [2, 3, 6], tens of kHz [1, 3, 4, 7, 8], or even less [5, 11] have been reported for these external-cavity lasers. Almost all the reports have involved either a Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser or a DFB semiconductor laser as the active element. Furthermore, the front or rear facet emission has been used in these reports to couple the reflected light back into the laser cavity. In this paper, the use of vertical emission from a DBR laser to obtain a narrow linewidth is reported. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report of using vertical emission to decrease the laser linewidth in an external cavity configuration.
NEUROPHYSIOLOGY | Neural Control of Airway Smooth Muscle

Airway smooth muscle (ASM) is the primary effector cell responsible for controlling airway caliber and thus the resistance to airflow of the entire tracheobronchial tree. The autonomic nervous system is the principal regulator of the ASM tone and consists of three separate neural pathways. First, parasympathetic (vagal) innervation of ASM is the primary contractile pathway, and acetylcholine causes ASM contraction by activating the M3 muscarinic cholinoceptors. Second, sympathetic innervation of human ASM is relatively sparse, but epinephrine secreted by adrenal medulla can induce ASM relaxation by activating the β2 adrenoceptor. Third, the existence of nonadrenergic, noncholinergic (NANC) innervation of ASM has been demonstrated in various species including humans. The inhibitory NANC fibers are carried in parasympathetic nerves, and vasoactive intestinal peptide and nitric oxide are the putative neurotransmitters. The excitatory NANC mechanism involves the ‘efferent’ functions of vagal bronchopulmonary sensory nerves that release tachykinins upon activation and cause ASM contraction. Bronchoconstriction is an important component of the airway defense reflexes elicited by inhaled irritants. Three subtypes of vagal bronchopulmonary afferents function as the primary sensors of inhaled irritants: C-fiber afferents (tachykinin-containing afferents), rapidly adapting pulmonary receptors, and laryngeal afferents. Compelling evidence suggests that hypersensitivity of these airway afferents and autonomic nerve dysfunction and/or dysregulation are important contributing factors in the pathogenesis of airway hyperresponsiveness. A better understanding of the mechanisms underlying the neural control of ASM tone should help in the development of novel therapeutic strategies for alleviating bronchospasm occurring in airway inflammatory diseases.
Rapid Floral and Pitcher Scent Diversification in Carnivorous Pitcher Plants (Sarraceniaceae)

ABSTRACT Plant volatiles play vital roles in signaling with their insect associates. Empirical studies show that both pollinators and herbivores exert strong selective pressures on plant phenotypes. While studies often evoke the assumption that volatiles from floral and vegetative tissues are distinct due to strong pollinator-mediated selection operating on the flowers or selection from herbivores acting on the leaves, explicit tests of these assumptions are often lacking. In this study, we examined the evolution of floral and vegetative volatiles in the North American (NA) pitcher plants (Sarraceniaceae). In these taxa, insects are attracted for both pollination and prey capture, providing an ideal opportunity to understand the evolution of scent compounds across different plant organs. We collected a comprehensive dataset of floral and vegetative volatiles from across the NA Sarraceniaceae. We used multivariate analysis methods to examine whether volatile profiles are distinct between plant tissues, and investigated rates of scent evolution in these unique taxa. Our major findings revealed that (i) flowers and pitchers produced highly distinct scent profiles, consistent with the hypothesis that volatiles alleviate trade-offs due to incidental pollinator consumption; (ii) across species, floral scent separated into distinct regions of scent space, while pitchers showed little evidence of clustering – this may be due to convergence on a generalist strategy for insect capture; and (iii) rates of scent evolution depended on tissue type, suggesting that pollinators and herbivores differentially influence the evolution of chemical traits. We emphasize the need for additional functional studies to further distinguish between volatile functions.
The intracerebral movement of proteins injected into blood and cerebrospinal fluid of mice.

Publisher Summary The entry of radioactively labeled protein from blood into cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and into cerebral tissue is much slower and less in amount, than that of tritiated water and certain ions. The barrier that impedes the entry of labeled protein into the CSF has been interpreted as being responsible also for the exclusion of intravascularly injected acid dyes which, because of their negative electric charge, bind to serum proteins. The second portion of this paper is concerned with this direction of transfer and offers a brief, preliminary description of the movement of peroxidase from ventricular CSF not only toward the vessels of the choroid plexus but also toward the vessels of the cerebral parenchyma. Some observations on the passage of the protein ferritin in this direction are also included. Movement of peroxidase from choroidal blood to epithelium and also the movement of peroxidase and ferritin from ventricle into choroidal epithelium and cerebral parenchyma are given in detail in the abstract. As a conclusion, the chapter states that the anatomical barriers to the movement of peroxidase from blood to ventricular CSF consist of: (a) the structures (which are probably tight junctions) between the apices of the choroidal epithelial cells and, perhaps, (b) their ventricular surface. This surface has been regarded as the barrier to the movement of fluorescent proflavine dyes out of the choroid plexus, though the only part of the epithelial cells enclosing demonstrable dye was the nuclear membrane rather than any portion of the cell membrane itself.
Anand Panyarachun and the Making of Modern Thailand: Dominic Faulder (Singapore: Editions Didier Millet, 2018)

Towards the end of this mammoth biography of twice unelected Prime Minister of Thailand Anand Panyarachun is quoted as lamenting that biography is not part of Thailand’s literary tradition and, th...
All News is “Glocal?” Considerations of Community and Personal Privacy with Global Publication of Local News

Community-focused journalists increasingly publish their work for global audiences. This project defines a circle of “community privacy”—the understanding that some information is ethically appropr...
Beyond the Headlines: The Influence of Insurance Pest Management on an Unseen, Silent Entomological Majority

For most of the last two decades, insect pest management in key grain and oilseed crops has relied heavily on an insurance-based approach. This approach mandates a suite of management tactics prior to planting and in the absence of pest data. Because there is little flexibility for using these tactics individually, most producers have adopted this full suite of practices despite mounting evidence that some components do not provide consistent benefits. In North America in particular, this preventive approach to insect pest management has led to steep increases in use of neonicotinoid insecticides and subsequent increases in neonicotinoids in soil and water within crop fields and beyond. These increases have been accompanied by a host of non-target effects that have been most clearly studied in pollinators and insect natural enemies. Less attention has been given to the effects of this practice upon the many thousands of aquatic insect species that are often cryptic and offer negligible, or undefined, clear benefits to humans and their commerce. A survey of the literature reveals that the non-target effects of neonicotinoids upon these aquatic species are often as serious as for terrestrial species, and more difficult to address. By focusing upon charismatic insect species that provide clearly defined services, we are likely dramatically under-estimating the effects of neonicotinoids upon the wider environment. Given the mounting evidence base demonstrating that the pest management and crop yield benefits of this approach are negligible, we advocate for a return to largely-abandoned IPM principles as a readily accessible alternative path.
Population genomics and conservation of Gila Trout (Oncorhynchus gilae)

Many salmonid species exist in highly structured and isolated populations, and are susceptible to habitat fragmentation and disturbances. Gila Trout (Oncorhynchus gilae) is a threatened species found in the Southwestern United States, and is managed to preserve relict populations (i.e., lineages) distributed across a fragmented landscape. We evaluated genomic variation within and among remaining lineages of Gila Trout using RADseq to assess how drift and selection have structured populations using neutral and outlier loci. We also examined whether a signature of hybridization was evident in relict populations. Gila Trout lineages were significantly differentiated from one another and were characterized by low effective population sizes. However, most lineages maintained genomic diversity and are potentially adapted to local conditions. Hybridization with non-native Rainbow Trout (O. mykiss) was not detected in any lineage. All lineages have experienced population bottlenecks associated with mortality from drought and severe wildfires. Current management strategies should be reevaluated and adapted to better account for long-term effects of climate change. Specifically, we suggest reconnecting some populations via dendritic stream networks to facilitate natural dispersal in a metapopulation context. This would allow natural genetic mixing on the landscape and potentially increase adaptive potential. Furthermore, genetic rescue should be implemented to preserve integrity of the unique Spruce Creek lineage that is currently compromised by extremely low diversity.
Opportunity Costs and Entrepreneurial Activity

Based on an analysis of a game-theoretic model developed by Amit, Glosten, and Muller in 1994, the following hypothesis is posited and investigated: entrepreneurs are more likely to undertake entrepreneurial activities when their opportunity costs are lower. Data were gathered from the Longitudinal 1988-1990 Labor Market Activity Survey of Canadian Workers of 352 individuals classified as "new entrepreneurs" - that is, they have moved from paid work to self-employment to the hiring of others. Findings indicate that paid workers who chose to become entrepreneurs earned significantly less as wage workers than those whose employment status did not change (i.e., who remained paid employees) during the three-year period. Further research is needed to determine causality. Are less capable workers starting their own businesses, thus accounting in part for high venture failure rates? Or are those who leave their previous work people whose entrepreneurial abilities and attitudes do not fit a corporate setting? This initial study does at least suggest that workers who have less to lose - i.e., lower opportunity costs - are those who become entrepreneurs. (SFL)
Using Voter-Choice Modeling to Plan the Final Campaign in Runoff Elections

Even though runoff elections are one of the most (if not the most) common forms of presidential elections in the world, voter-choice behavior in these two-round elections has been rarely researched. Two-round elections provide unique opportunities for both political analyst and consultant. They allow political analysts to apply their voter-choice models to actual voting behavior, rather than voting intentions, on a multi-party election on the first round, and validate their predictions on a two-party election in the final round. They provide political consultants and candidates with rich and factual data on voter preferences, revealed through the voting behavior observed in the first round, which can guide the planning and implementation of their final campaign. We use results from the four most recent Brazilian presidential elections to demonstrate how voter-choice models can be applied to guide the political campaign in runoff elections. First, we apply a first-order Markov model to the two rounds and show that the two surviving candidates from the first round must focus their attention towards the voters for the eliminated candidates in the second round. We then apply a voter-choice model to the results from the first round in the most recent election (2014) to demonstrate how the political analyst and consultant can use the vote counts observed in the first round to better deploy the remaining campaign resources for the second round during the short time left before the final vote.
Forecasting future prevalence and gender differences in binge drinking among young adults through 2040.

Background Binge drinking among adolescents and young adults has changed over time, but patterns differ by age and gender. Identifying high-risk groups to target future efforts at reducing drinking in this population remains a public health priority. Forecasting methods can provide a better understanding of variation and determinants of future binge drinking prevalence. Methods We implemented regression-based forecasting models to estimate the prevalence and gender differences in binge drinking among cohort groups of U.S. young adults, ages 18, 23-24, and 29-30 through 2040. Forecasting models were adjusted for covariates accounting for changes in demographic, Big-5 social roles (e.g., residential independence), and drinking norms and related substance use, to understand the drivers of forecasted binge drinking estimates. Results From the last observed cohort group (years varied by age) through 2040, unadjusted binge drinking prevalence was forecasted to decrease from 26% (95% CI: 20, 33%) (2011-15) to 11% (95% CI: 4, 27%) at age 18, decrease from 38% (95% CI: 30, 45%) (2006-2010) to 34% (95% CI: 18, 55%) at ages 23/24, and increase from 32% (95% CI: 25, 40%) (2001-2005) to 35% (95% CI: 16, 59%) at ages 29/30. Gender-stratified forecasts show a continuation in the narrowing of binge drinking prevalence between young men and women, though the magnitude of narrowing differs by age. Estimated trends were partially explained by changing norms regarding drinking and other substance use, though these indirect effects explained less of the total trend as age increased. Conclusions Understanding how covariates influence binge drinking trends can guide public health policies to leverage the most important determinants of future binge drinking to reduce the harm caused by binge drinking from adolescence to adulthood.
Comprehensive and Clear: A Review of H. Russell Bernard and G. W. Ryan's Analyzing Qualitative Data: Systematic Approaches

In their book Analyzing Qualitative Data: Systematic Approaches, Bernard and Ryan (2010) present a thorough review of qualitative data analysis. Main topic areas include data collection, coding, development of themes, qualitative analysis of words and detailed descriptions of grounded theory, content analysis, and schema analysis. This book is applicable and appropriate for a variety of professionals in the social sciences.
Labor Mobility in a Federal System: The United States

Those who view Europe as having insufficient geographic mobility often draw a comparison to the United States, where mobility is higher. But the disparity in mobility is not an innate characteristic differentiating European and U.S. labor markets. Rather, mobility rates have fluctuated over time in the United States and in Europe in response to changes in economic conditions, in demographic characteristics, and in socio-legal institutions. In this paper, we first explain why the legal regime in the United States is conducive of mobility. Barriers imposed by the state to deter immigration have long been unlawful and indirect barriers, though subject to less stringent examination, must also pass constitutional muster. Next we review historical trends in geographic mobility, which show that both Europe and the U.S. have experienced dramatic changes in mobility over the last two hundred years and that these changes have occurred roughly in tandem.
Suture versus staple ligation of the dorsal venous complex during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy

Study Type – Therapy (case series) Level of Evidence 4 OBJECTIVES To present our operative and postoperative functional outcomes of sutured compared with endovascular staple ligation of the dorsal venous complex (DVC) during robot-assisted laparoscopic radical prostatectomy (RALP). Ligation of the DVC during RALP with an endovascular stapler has purported advantages of decreased apical positive surgical margin (PSM) rate, blood loss, and operative time when compared with suture ligation. PATIENTS AND METHODS In all, 162 patients who underwent RALP between October 2005 and April 2008 by one surgeon (R.B.N.) were assessed. We retrospectively analysed two different treatment groups: group 1 underwent DVC ligation with a single suture, while group 2 underwent endovascular staple ligation. RESULTS Of the 162 patients evaluated, 67 had suture ligation (group 1) and 95 had staple ligation (group 2) of the DVC. Baseline patient characteristics (age, body mass index, biopsy Gleason score, clinical stage) and tumour characteristics (specimen weight, tumour volume, pathological Gleason score and stage) did not differ between the groups. Estimated blood loss (494 mL vs 288 mL), time to dissect out, ligate and transect the DVC (30 min vs 24 min), apical PSM rate (13.4% vs 2.1%) differed significantly between groups 1 and 2 respectively, favouring staple ligation of the DVC. At 6 months follow-up, there was no difference between the groups for PSA recurrence (3.7% vs 0%), complete continence (63.4% vs 55.7%) and Sexual Health Inventory for Men score (8.4 vs 8.6). CONCLUSIONS In the present study, staple ligation of the DVC during RALP resulted in improved apical PSM rates, faster operative times and less blood loss.
Incremental Adjustment of Representations for Learning

To remain effective without human interaction, intelligent systems must adapt to their environment. A useful form of adaptation is to incrementally form concepts from examples for the purposes of inference and problem-solving. A number of systems have been constructed for this task, yet their capability is limited by the representational decisions made when the system was designed. This paper presents a concept acquisition system that is able to form conjunctive, disjunctive, and negated concept descriptions from potentially noisy, discrete and real-valued attributes. A central focus of this paper is the interaction of a triad of learning methods and their ability to minimize the impact of initial representational decisions. After describing the methods, an empirical section illustrates their interaction.
Intraepithelial carcinoma of the cervix in association with pregnancy.

Abstract Ninety-five patients with intraepithelial carcinoma of the cervix and 7 with early invasive carcinoma associated with pregnancy have been observed at the Mayo Clinic from 1932 through 1963. The various forms of investigation and therapy through this transitional period are discussed. The present approach, consisting of conization, vaginal delivery, and suitable follow-up examinations, is outlined. Pregnancy loss from the therapy has been minimal.
High efficiency, high density MHz magnetic components for a low profile converter

A highly efficient (99.5%) transformer and resonant inductor with very high power density (1500 W/in/sup 3/) and low profile (height 40) of small gaps to reduce the effect of fringing fields. The high-frequency loss measurements for such highly efficient inductors require a special ring down measurement setup. >
The preparation and spectrum of uranium(V) ions in aqueous solutions

Abstract Uranium(V) ions have been prepared in concentrated chloride solutions and in aqueous carbonate solutions. The absorption spectra of the uranium(V) ions in these solutions have been measured.
In the shadow of the nations: Dissent as discourse in Rabindranath Tagore's political writings, 1914-1941

Abstract This essay revisits the political persona of Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) in the period following his receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. While Tagore's political voice in Bengal and India had already been radicalised in 1908 with his unequivocal rejection of British imperialism and militant Indian nationalism, he would formulate his mature critique of the ‘nation’ only during his post-Nobel visit to Japan and the United States in 1916. To the reader who could access Tagore's works only in English translation, there is a world of difference between the poet of The Gitanjali and the author of Nationalism. This essay revisits the contexts of that difference.
Design, analysis and application of an improved push-through test for the measurement of interface properties in composites

Abstract An improved fiber push-through test has been designed and used to obtain new information about interfaces in composites consisting of matrices of a Ti alloy and borosilicate glass, both reinforced with SiC fibers. Interpretation of these results is accomplished through an analysis of coupled debonding and push-through, followed by push-back. The sliding stress is found to vary with push-out distance and to be substantially reduced in the vicinity of a fatigue crack in the Ti matrix composite. These effects are attributed to asperity wear, matrix plasticity and fragmentation of the fiber coating around the debonded interface. Reseating effects on push-back have been demonstrated, but have been found to diminish as the relative fiber-matrix displacement increases. Fiber roughness has been identified as an important aspect of interface sliding.
Existence of long-range order in the steady state of a two-dimensional, two-temperature XY model

Monte Carlo simulations are used to show that the steady state of the d=2, two-temperature, diffusive XY model displays a continuous phase transition from a homogeneous disordered phase to a phase with long-range order. The long-range order exists although both the dynamics and the interactions are local, thus indicating the failure of a naive extension of the Mermin-Wagner theorem to nonequilibrium steady states. It is argued that the ordering is due to effective dipole interactions generated by the nonequilibrium dynamics.
The effect of adrenalectomy on morphine analgesia and tolerance development in rats

Abstract The analgesic response to morphine and the development of tolerance to this effect were examined in adrenalectomized and sham-operated rats employing the hot plate method. In a quantitative 6 point bioassay procedure, morphine was found to be 1.8 times more efficacious in adrenalectomized rats. An analysis of variance of data collected in quantal fashion revealed a complementary relative efficacy of 1.7. The rates of tolerance development to the analgesic effect of morphine over the 5 day period of the experiment were found to be equivalent in both groups of rats at either of 2 equi-analgesic morphine dose levels employed. It was concluded that whereas the effect of adrenalectomy on the analgesic response to morphine is significant, it is insignificant with respect to the rate of tolerance development.