cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Technoeconomic performance of wireless networks supporting smart mobile devices and services: Evaluation of technology-centric cum marketing performance indicators

The scope of this study is to evolve a rational strategy to prescribe a performance measure on the prevailing mobile services and platforms that support emerging smart devices concurrent to traditional incumbents of feature cell phones. It is a motivated effort to judiciously include the economics-related parameters in conjunction with technology-specific details so as to deduce a cohesive performance metric in order to compare the state-of-the-art mobile services and related operations. In relevantly existing strategies, such performance comparison of mobile services is done purely on the basis of technology-dictated parameters on the speed of wireless traffic (in bps). The so-called PCMag.com assessments prescribe thereof, a mobile speed index (MSI) to determine the performance of mobile networks and identify the "fastest network" that prevails in a service area. However, while deducing such MSI values, the approach pursued does not include any underlying economics-related facts relevant to service areas and/or periods of assessment. Hence, the present study is done to elucidate a coherently viable, technology-cum-economics based performance metric on mobile services in vogue. A technoeconomic parameter is identified thereof, and it is termed as relative technoeconomic performance index (RTPI); hence, a comprehensive comparison is furnished on the MSI values (of PCMag.com) versus the RTPI values pertinent to set of available data. Concluding remarks on the pros and cons of adopting `technology-alone' details (sans economics parameters) in decision-making on relative performance of mobile services (especially in the contexts of supporting smart- and feature-devices) are presented.
Eloquor, Advocatus! Ancient Influences on Professional Responsibility

Law schools' professional responsibility courses cover ethical requirements of practicing attorneys and occasionally delve into moral obligations owed to the public. One topic not regularly studied is the profession itself as a profession, as opposed to a trade or other business. Professions have existed for much of human history in many ancient cultures. Much of modern European law is directly descended from the Roman legal system, and many elements of our own common law were developed in Ancient Rome. In many ways, Rome was the birthplace for jurisprudence as we know it. If Roman law laid the foundation for modern law, then how much did the ancient Roman bar contribute to the modern legal profession? This paper will argue that the ancient bar shared many of the same characteristics of professionalism as modern attorneys.
Why renal cysts grow

The growth of renal cysts leads to morbidity, contributes to mortality, and is a lesson in applied physiology. The fact that chemical, electrical, osmotic, and hydrostatic driving forces determine cyst volumes is inferred from observations that cyst fluids vary in their concentrations of osmotically active substances. Most have concentrations of sodium-based salts that are lower and nonsodium-based salts that are higher than those present in normal plasma. Nonsodium solutes include osmolytes that normally are present in higher concentrations inside of cells, including potassium, amino acids, and so-called idiogenic osmoles. The basic process of cyst growth therefore involves 1) the osmotic equilibration of water across cysts walls that have variable permeability characteristics and 2) the replacement of sodium salts with other osmotically active solutes in cyst fluids. Cyst volume is governed by the amounts and kinds of osmolytes that enter and become entrapped in lumina. Proliferation and necrosis of mural cells are events that are fundamental to the growth of renal cysts.
PAIRWISE VERSUS DIFFUSE NATURAL SELECTION AND THE MULTIPLE HERBIVORES OF SCARLET GILIA, IPOMOPSIS AGGREGATA.

Recent theoretical studies have argued that plant-herbivore coevolution proceeds in a diffuse rather than a pairwise manner in multispecies interactions when at least one of two conditions are met: (1) genetic correlations exist between plant resistances to different herbivore species; and (2) ecological interactions between herbivores sharing a host plant cause nonadditive impacts of herbivory on plant fitness. We present results from manipulative field experiments investigating the single and interactive fitness effects of three types of herbivory on scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata) over two years of study. We utilize these data to test whether selection imposed by herbivore attack on date of first flowering is pairwise (independent) or diffuse (dependent) in nature. Our results reveal complex patterns of the fitness effect of herbivores. Simulated early season browsing had a strong negative fitness effect on plants and also reduced subsequent insect attack. Surprisingly, this ecological interaction did not translate into significant interactions between clipping and insect manipulations on plant fitness. However, we detected a significant interaction between seed fly and caterpillar herbivory on plant fitness, with the negative effect of either insect being greatest when occurring alone. These results suggest that herbivore-imposed selection may have pairwise and diffuse components. In our selection analysis of flowering phenology, we discovered significant pairwise linear selection imposed by clipping, diffuse linear selection imposed by insects, and diffuse nonlinear selection imposed by clipping and insect attack acting simultaneously. Our results reveal that the evolution of flowering phenology in scarlet gilia may be in response to diffuse and pairwise natural selection imposed by multiple herbivores. We discuss the evolution of resistance characters in light of diffuse versus pairwise forms of linear and nonlinear selection and stress the complexity of selection imposed by suites of interacting species.
Laboratory Testing and Numerical Modeling of Coanda-Effect Screens

This paper describes the mechanics of flow over and through a Coanda-effect screen, a unique type of self-cleaning screen constructed from wedge-wire panels installed on supercritical slopes. The paper presents a numerical model for determining the flow rate through a Coanda-effect screen and discusses the variation of screen discharge capacity as a function of screen geometric parameters and the Froude number of the flow over the screen. The model was developed and calibrated using data collected in laboratory tests of several different screen configurations, and can be used to evaluate the hydraulic performance of custom designs, which should facilitate future application of Coanda-effect screens.
Punishing the Wrong Criminal for Over Three Decades: Illinois’ Drug-Induced Homicide Statute

This Article takes a look at the Illinois Drug-Induced Homicide statute. To understand the bigger picture behind the statute, the Article examines the history of drug-induced homicide, the legislative transcripts surrounding it, as well as Illinois Appellate decisions and a United States Supreme Court decision.
Strategies in International Equity Markets: The Long and the Short of It

This study investigates costless international momentum and reversal strategies for an extended interval (one of the longest in the published research) running from January 1970 to June 2008. Sixteen developed national equity market indexes, excluding the US market, are used in the investigation. Factor analysis reveals three common factors governing the returns of the sixteen markets. The research finds several interesting results. First, short-term momentum strategies are not profitable after 1997. Second, momentum strategies are not robust when executed with the indexes’ residuals, perhaps because one of the factors generating the returns is itself a momentum factor. Third, long-term reversal strategies are more numerous than momentum strategies in all the periods and sub-periods considered and are also resilient when applied to indexes’ residuals, possibly because of a long term reversal of returns to the mean.
Botanic garden profile: Kumpula Botanic Garden, Helsinki, Finland

Kumpula Botanic Garden was founded in 1987 on the grounds of an old manor estate. The garden is not particularly big but it was designed and subsequently realised with ambitious scientific and educational goals. It is divided into two main parts: the geobotanical garden and the garden of cultivated plants. The plants in the geobotanical garden are grouped according to their origin and are acquired according to rigorous criteria: only wild-collected plants are accepted and the source areas have been chosen on the basis of the Bioclimatic Zone System that Finnish researchers have been developing since the 1930s. The collection is thus exceptionally valuable for research and conservation. It has already been used for statistical tests on the validity of the bioclimatic vegetation scheme on which it is based. The road from an ambitious vision to a plant collection that is of a scientifically high standard yet also aesthetically pleasing has been long and winding. Here the history and design of the garden and the build-up of the plant collection is described, concluding with a brief account of the inauguration for the general public in June 2009.
The effects of donor-recipient size disparity in infant and pediatric heart transplantation.

To determine the effect of heart donor and recipient size mismatches in infant and pediatric heart transplantation, we studied all 69 patients (age 1 day to 11 years) having 71 orthotopic heart transplants from 1985 to 1989. Patients were divided into three groups based on donor to recipient weight ratios. Group I comprised 13 heart transplants with a donor to recipient weight ratio less than 0.95 (mean 0.81, range 0.48 to 0.94); group II comprised 29 heart transplants with a weight ratio between 0.95 and 1.60 (mean 1.28); and group III had 27 heart transplants with weight ratios greater than 1.60 (mean 2.2, range 1.61 to 3.09). All chests were closed primarily. The cardiothoracic ratio by chest radiography was significantly larger in group III (p = 0.0002); 75 % of group III patients had periods of lobar or complete lung collapse by chest radiography compared with 28 % of group II and 19% of group I patients (p horac C ardiovasc S urg 1992; 104:1314-9)
Therapeutic Use of Aminoglycosides in Meniere's Disease

This article details the various effects of aminoglycosides used to treat individuals with Meniere's disease. Effects of aminoglycosides on hair cells and dark cells are described in addition to intramuscular streptomycin, intratympanic application of aminoglycosides, and the application of streptomycin to the lateral semicircular canal.
Mechanical properties of implantable biomaterials.

This chapter was intended to review many of the terms used to describe the behavior of biomaterials including linear elastic, plastic, and viscoelastic behavior. Common testing methods for evaluating the behavior of biomaterials were also reviewed. Uniaxial loading, perhaps the most common testing procedure, can characterize both time-independent (i.e., linear elastic and plastic) and time-dependent (viscoelastic) materials with a controlled loading condition. Bending tests, because of their ease, are also popular and can describe linear elastic and plastic behavior fairly well. Vibratory methods to measure viscoelastic behavior, on the other hand, are less popular but are essential if the expected loading condition of the biomaterial will be fairly rapid. Taken together, these tests form the foundation for understanding the applicability of a specific material for use as an implant, and can be used to predict not only the failure thresholds for the implant but also the expected remodeling response of the bone once the implant has been placed in situ. For this reason, characterizing the mechanical properties of implant materials has been and will continue to be an important step in implant design.
Polydimethylsiloxane Lanes Enhance Sarcomere Organization in Human ESC-Derived Cardiomyocytes

Human embryonic stem cell–derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) hold great potential in many areas of research such as cardiac tissue regeneration, cardiotoxicity screening and human heart disease models; however, before any of these applications can be realized, hESC-CMs need to progress from an immature phenotype to one that more closely resembles their adult counterparts in vivo. Current immature hESC-CMs can be characterized by their rounded morphology, disorganized contractile apparatus and circumferential gap junction expression. In an effort to improve the maturation of hESC-CMs, prior work in our lab used micropatterned lanes of Matrigel and fibronectin extracellular matrix proteins on glass slides to control cell shape. From these experiments it was found that widths ranging from 30 to 80 μm promoted the best sarcomere development and nuclear alignment in a pure population of hESC-CMs. In this new system, a pure population of hESC-CMs are seeded onto lanes of Matrigel on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to investigate the portability of this technique to other substrate systems and how the substrate stimuli influences maturation. The same trend in nuclear alignment and sarcomere organization with lane width was observed when hESC-CMs were seeded onto lanes of Matrigel on PDMS as was found in the experiments utilizing glass as the substrate. By restricting cell adhesion and controlling substrate stiffness it may be possible to enhance the maturation of hESC-CMs in vitro which will provide a more physiological relevant phenotype that can then be used in the aforementioned applications.
Preliminary results in invasive bladder cancer with transurethral resection, neoadjuvant chemotherapy and combined pelvic irradiation plus cisplatin chemotherapy.

AbstractPreliminary data are presented of a clinically feasible pilot study to select a significant subgroup of patients among those with muscle-invading bladder tumors for local cure and bladder preservation, while also to offer all patients the possibility of preventing the development of distant metastases. Transurethral debulking surgical resection was combined with neoadjuvant methotrexate, cisplatin and vinblastine chemotherapy plus 2 additional courses of cisplatin and 4,000cGy. If tumor was found on cystoscopic re-evaluation by biopsy and for cytology after cisplatin and partial irradiation (4,000cGy.) immediate cystectomy was advised. If tumor was not found consolidation by a radiotherapy boost to a total of 6,480cGy. plus 1 additional course of cisplatin was given.Of 53 consecutive patients the planned treatment was completed in 42 (79%). With a median followup of 26 months (range 15 to 42 months), 72% of all entered patients were alive, 70% have not required cystectomy and 74% have not had dist...
Analysis of CD161+ T Cells in Human Peripheral Blood.

CD161 (NKR-P1) is a natural killer receptor of C-type lectin superfamily found on natural killer (NK) cells. A significant number of both human CD4 + and CD8 + T cells express CD161. However, little is known about the extended phenotype or function of CD161 + T cells. Here, we analyzed this population in normal human peripheral blood by immunofluorescent staining, and multi-color flow cytometric analysis (N=15). Amongst CD4 + T cells, a mean of 22% showed intermediate staining for CD161 (CD161 int ) and the remainder were CD161 − . Almost all the CD4 + CD161 int TCRαβ + T cells had the CD45RO + memory phenotype, and did not express the CD16 or CD56 NK markers ( + CD161 − T cells were a mixture of CD45RO + and CD45RA + cells. Invariant natural killer T (NKT) cells with the Vα24 + /Vβ11 + TCR are known to express CD161, but CD4 + CD161 int T cells contained less than 1 % of these invariant NKT cells. After in vitro stimulation with αCD3 and αCD28 mAb, CD4 + CD161 int T cells produced larger amounts of both Th1 and Th2 type cytokines compared with CD4 + CD161 − T cells, especially IFN-γ, IL-4 and IL-10. However, there was no difference in the proliferative response between CD161 − and CD161 int CD4 + T cells, and CD4 + CD161 int T cells had no suppressor functions against autologous cell proliferation. In CD8 + T cells, there were two populations that were CD161 positive. One was CD161 hi (mean; 11%) and another was CD161 int (mean; 9%). Almost all CD161 int and CD161 hi CD8 + T cells had the CD45RO + memory phenotype, and few expressed the Vα24 + /Vβ11 + TCR NKT cell marker ( + CD161 hi cells contained around 15% of CD56 + and CD8 + CD161 int cells contained around 5% of CD56 + . CD8 + CD161 hi T cells had decreased expression of CD8β and 40% of CD8 + CD161 hi T cells expressed only CD8α. Conversely, most of the CD8α + CD8β − T cells in human peripheral blood expressed CD161. After in vitro stimulation with αCD3 and αCD28 mAb, CD8 + CD161 hi T cells secreted no IFN-γ, TNF-α or IL-2. Both CD8 + CD161 − and CD8 + CD161 int T cells produced all three cytokines. CD8 + CD161 hi T cells failed to proliferate after αCD3+αCD28 stimulation, though CD8 + CD161 − and CD8 + CD161 int T cells made vigorous proliferative responses. Thus, it appeared that CD8 + CD161 hi T cells were anergic. This anergic state could not be reversed by addition of IL-2. CD8 + CD161 + T cells had no suppressor function against autologous cell proliferation nor cytotoxicity against the NK or NKT sensitive tumor cell lines, K562 and Jurkat. In conclusion, the CD161 marker can be used to identify subsets of CD4 + and CD8 + T cells that differ in their extended phenotypes and functions. In addition, we identified a unique subset of anergic CD8 + CD161 hi T cells that express a memory phenotype with a low level of CD8β.
Mixed norm low order multirate filterbank design: Relaxed commutant lifting approach

In this paper, we reformulate the design of IIR synthesis filters in classical multirate systems as an optimization problem involving a new norm called Pm-norm where m is any positive integer. That optimization problem can be solved using a recent generalization of the commutant lifting techniques in operator theory. The introduced norm is actually a trade-off in handling energy distortion and error peak distortion. Our development allows the designer to select from a family of filters the one which is best suited for specific applications. The well-known H2 and Hinfin designs then can be viewed as special cases when m=1 and mrarrinfin respectively. The computation relies mainly on FFT technique and a finite section of certain Toeplitz matrices. The obtained filters are of low order and attractive for practical implementation. Moreover, the proposed approach works for non-rational transfer functions. A new method for inner outer factorization of a rational matrix-valued function is also developed.
HfO 2 CMOS Device and Circuit Reliability

In this invited talk, HfO2 transistor channel hot electron and gate breakdown on device and circuit behaviors are presented.
Some Ideas of Logic

The dependence of mathematics on logic is obvious. We use reasoning processes in mathematics to prove results, and logic is concerned with reasoning. However, when someone studies mathematics, he does not first study logic in order to learn to think correctly. Rather, he jumps into mathematics, perhaps with high school geometry, and learns to prove things by actually doing proofs. Logic comes into his education only when there seems to be something doubtful or obscure that needs clarification. A person who is working with some parts of mathematics, like foundational studies, where common sense does not provide enough precision, needs the more finely-tuned results of logic. However, in most of the undergraduate mathematics courses you can get by with informal reasoning and common sense. There are a few exceptions. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of some of the vocabulary of logic as used in mathematics and of the logic underlying the idea of a mathematical proof. I will try to clarify some of these points in this chapter. You should read it over quickly and refer back to it when the need arises. At the end of the chapter I will give you an opportunity to use what you have learned by asking you to construct some simple proofs.
Glutamate Receptors and Drug Addiction

Abstract Glutamate is the primary excitatory amino acid transmitter in the brain and acts on various ionotropic and metabotropic receptor subtypes. Specific subtypes of glutamate receptors are not only molecular targets for some drugs of abuse, but also mediate many of the maladaptive neuroadaptations that occur as a result of chronic drug use. Glutamate receptors are also considered novel targets for improved pharmacotherapeutics for the treatment of addictive disorders as well as their underlying neuropathology. The existing body of literature on the topic of glutamate receptors and drug addiction is growing at an exponential rate, and a comprehensive review of this literature would be beyond the scope of this chapter. Therefore, what follows is a summary of selected well-characterized and consistent phenomena that have emerged in the addiction literature with respect to glutamate receptors and drugs of abuse. These phenomena include: (1) alcohol-induced upregulation of N -methyl- d -aspartate receptor function; (2) psychostimulant-induced α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid receptor redistribution and impairment of type 2/3 metabotropic glutamate receptor function; and (3) blockade of opiate tolerance by antagonism of glutamatergic transmission. These phenomena are first described and then followed by a discussion of their potential clinical and translational relevance.
182 MATURATION OF BOVINE CUMULUS-OOCYTE COMPLEXES WITH FOLLICLE FLUID VARYING IN ESTRADIOL CONTENT AFFECTS CUMULUS CELL EXPANSION WITHOUT AFFECTING SUBSEQUENT EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT IN VITRO

The objective of this work was to determine how characteristics of bovine follicle fluid (FF; especially oestradiol content) affect cumulus cell expansion and oocyte competence. In the first study, FF was collected from abattoir-derived ovaries and pooled separately for large follicles (≥10 mm) and small follicles (≤3 mm). A portion of the FF from each category was charcoal stripped. These 4 types of FF were then used as the primary ingredient (75% vol/vol) in oocyte maturation media. A separate control group lacking FF but containing BSA was included to monitor potential impacts of protein on outcomes (control; without FF). Some of the cumulus-oocyte complexes (COC; n = 250) were matured in individual drops for analysis of cumulus expansion (photographed and measured at 0 and 21 h of maturation). Other COC (n = 770) were matured in groups of 12 to 25 in the previously described media, and then subjected to IVF procedures. Cleavage rates were recorded on Day 3, and blastocyst rates were recorded on Day 8 post-fertilization. Cumulus cell expansion was greatest when COC were matured in medium containing FF from large follicles, wherein it even exceeded the controls (P 800,000 pg mL−1; H) or low oestradiol concentrations (<800,000 pg mL−1; L). The FF was retained for use in in vitro experiments, where it was added to maturation media (20% vol/vol). Cumulus-oocyte complexes (n = 1,775) were randomly distributed into treatments across 12 in vitro maturation/fertilization replicates (H and L, balanced within replicate; 4 replicates/cow). Each replicate included the following 3 control groups: maturation medium containing BSA without FF, maturation medium without BSA with abattoir-derived FF, and maturation medium without BSA and without FF. The COC were matured in their assigned medium for 21 h, and then all COC were subjected to IVF procedures. Cleavage rates were recorded on Day 3, and blastocyst rates were recorded on Day 7 and 8 post-fertilization. Oestradiol content of the FF (H v. L) did not affect oocyte cleavage nor blastocyst rates on Day 7 or 8. The results of these studies indicate that although FF improves cumulus cell expansion during maturation in vitro, it does not result in higher rates of cleavage or blastocyst development regardless of oestradiol content.
Research highlights: comparing the biological response of nanoparticle solid solutions

Scientific advances in the field of nanotechnology have led to the wide-scale use of engineered nanomaterials, resulting in an increased demand to understand the biological impact of these materials when released to the environment. This demand has led to an evolving field of science focused specifically on interactions at the nano–bio interface, where researchers investigate the biological responses of a wide range of organisms to engineered nanomaterials. The majority of investigations into the nano–bio interface are focused on the biological response of single-phase nanomaterials, yet engineered nanomaterials are often more complex than a single-phase nanomaterial. Many engineered nanomaterials can be described as solid solutions (or alloys) where multiple types of cations (and/or anions) are present in different ratios, and properties such as spin state, valence charge, and lattice constant can be tuned by changing the atomic composition. Research at the nano–bio interface must go beyond investigating the biological response of single-phase nanomaterials and include a systematic approach to predict how the biological interactions of nanomaterial solid solutions can be controlled via systematic changes in chemical composition. In this highlight, we focus on four publications that use a range of experimental methods to delineate the interactions of solid solutions composed of either Au metal or ZnO solid oxide on a variety of organisms. The first highlighted work tunes the composition of Au–Pt nanoparticles for antibacterial activity. The second article investigates the reprotoxicity of Au–Ag nanoparticles. The third highlighted work shows that Fe–ZnO nanoparticles demonstrate a reduced toxicity when compared to ZnO. Finally, the fourth study presents an in silico design strategy for cancer specific Fe–ZnO nanoparticles. Together, these four studies reveal the wide range of chemical compositions that are accessible in nanomaterial solid solutions and demonstrate that careful modifications in compositional phase space can result in selective nano–bio interactions.
Prevention of Risky Sexual Behaviors Among African American Men

Twenty years is a long time in the life of a preventable epidemic. In 1990 when HIV was infecting and AIDS was killing white gay and bisexual men and threatening the general public, there was public concern about the disease and federal research and prevention dollars flowed. It was well established that HIV was spread primarily through sexual intercourse without barrier protection such as condoms. “Risky sex” occurred between men and between men and women. By 2000, HIV infection rates and deaths due to AIDS were in decline among White men in AIDS epi-centers, but continued among African Americans. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has not only continued its course among Blacks but also concentrated among black men and in black communities and has become yet another affliction among Blacks. At the very same time, public attention and urgency to the AIDS epidemic has waned and prevention dollars have been largely replaced by funding of clinical trials of new drugs. If you are Black and poor, there are now, in fact, more incentives to get infected with HIV to get social support through a clinical trial then to avoid getting infected in the first place. Public and government indifference to disease among Blacks but a willingness at the same time to use them in research are precisely the same reactions to disproportionate rates of yellow fever, typhus, syphilis, and tuberculosis among Blacks during Jim Crow segregation in the early twentieth century (McBride, 1991).
Ceramide and Ceramide 1 Phosphate in the Brain

Ceramide (N-acylsphingosine) forms the backbone of all complex sphingolipids. It is composed of the long-chain sphingoid base, sphingosine, in N-linkage to a variety of acyl groups (varying in length from C14 to C26) (Fig. 8.1). In addition to serving as a precursor to complex sphingolipids, ceramide is a potent signaling molecule capable of regulating vital cellular functions.
Sol-gel kinetics for the synthesis of multi-component glass materials - Code: CP13

Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) FTIR has been used to follow sol-gel synthesis kinetics for tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS), ethanol, and water solutions yielding pure silicate materials. Aluminosilicates have also been made using TEOS:ethanol:water solutions doped with Al(III). Effective rate constants have been fitted to a kinetic model suggested by the literature for pure silicate materials. This model has been extended to include the effect of Al(III) on the rate constants. The effects of solution pH, temperature, and varying TEOS/Ethanol mole ratios have been investigated. Reliable effective rate constants for metal doped sol-gel solutions will lead to better control of the morphological and chemical properties of multi-component glass materials.
Multi-Component Spinodal Decomposition

While most materials (metallic, crystalline or glassy) of practical interest are multi-ccmponent and much experimental work has been performed on multi-component systems particularly so in glasses [1–18], the theoretical and analytical efforts to understand the phase separation process, have only recently been directed to multi-component systems [19–25]. Several unproved notions are, however, still frequently assumed in analyzing multi-ccmponent phase separation kinetics. One example [8,12,26] is the statement that “in a two phase region if the tie-lines* do not rotate within the temperature range of interest, then a multi-conponent system behaves like a binary along the tie-line.” This, as we show later (section 3.3) is not true particularly when interpreting the kinetics. Clearly it is of importance to examine the validity of such notions and develop simple characterization of coupling effects in multi-component phase separation.
From Sameness to Differentness

This chapter explains how differentness evolved and how it has replaced expectations of sameness. It addresses the public employment where greater progress is needed such as pay and promotion, family responsibilities discrimination (FRD) and the employment of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgendered and questioning (LGBTQs). In a more recent study, Lewis et al. examine the employment status of lesbians, gays, and bisexuals (LGBs) in federal, state, and local government workforces. As cultures of organizations change, and individuals feel safe to express who they are, levels of differentness will certainly increase in the workplace. This, in turn, will allow for the collection of more reliable data on LGBTQ employees in public and private sector workforces. FRD claims tend to be litigated as disparate treatment cases, where one employee is treated differently than another based on a protected-class characteristic. In 2007, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidelines on the treatment of workers with caregiving responsibilities.
Experimental infections with enteroviruses

Ninety-six cynomolgus monkeys were inoculated by 4 different routes with ECHO viruses types 2, 7, 9, 14, 16, and 18. These serotypes differed in parameters such as infectivity, tissue invasion and neurovirulence. Only types 2, 14, and 18 were infective following alimentary inoculation. Following extraneural parenteral routes viremia developed chiefly for types 9, 14, and 16, and antibodies developed for all serotypes. After intraspinal inoculation a large fraction of monkeys developed paralysis of limb segments; both homologous viruses and inflammatory lesions were present in CNS tissues. ECHO types 7 and 14 were more virulent (by any route) than other serotypes.
Early-career trajectories of young workers in the U.S. in the context of the 2008-09 recession: The effect of labor market entry timing.

Objective The goal of this study was to analyze differences in the employment and wage trajectories of college-educated young workers in the United States, as distinguished by the timing of their entry into the labor market relative to the onset of the 2008-09 recession. Methods and findings Using annual American Community Survey microdata, we analyzed the first six years of employment and wage outcomes for cohorts of young workers on traditional-student pathways entering the market (1) in 2006, shortly before recession onset; (2) in 2009, during the recession; and (3) in 2012, three years after the recession officially ended. We found evidence for negative effects on outcomes and outcome trajectories differentiated by the recession's proximity to workers' labor market entry, including lower wages for the cohort entering in 2009. However, recession effects tended to be smaller for workers at the high end of the education gradient or with no direct exposure to the recession and were outweighed by gendered labor outcome disparities. We also observed a possibly enduring, recession-induced rise in the number of idle young males and the proportion of male and female high school graduates enrolled in college and not working. Conclusions Cohort differences in labor outcomes show that the disadvantages of entering the labor market during an economic downturn appear lasting. However, the subordinate role of timing effects in sorting young workers' employment and wage rates, when compared to the stark stratification of employment and wage outcomes by education or sex, is a useful reminder that these latter social structures remain key determinants of labor outcomes.
How Gender Identity Affects Consumer Behavior: Overview and Future Research: An Abstract

Gender is a central part of self-concept. In today’s changing marketplace, gender identity is increasingly blurred as a consequence of one of the most rapid and turbulent social-economic shifts since the 1960s. The concept of gender has evolved from biological sex (male and female) to gender identity that examines gender from multiple aspects, including biological sex, psychological gender, and sociological gender role. And recent studies further suggested gender identity is a changing concept, and it needs to be studied under different context and with dynamic groups.
Workload-Aware Subgraph Query Caching and Processing in Large Graphs

A subgraph query q that finds as output all its subgraph-isomorphic embeddings from a data graph g has been core to modern declarative querying in large graphs. In this paper, we address subgraph queries with the availability of query workload information, W = {w1,..., wn}, where wi in W is a previously issued query with all its subgraph-isomorphic embeddings cached beforehand. We introduce a workload-aware subgraph querying framework, WaSQ, that leverages query workload for subgraph query rewriting, search plan refinement, partial results reusing, and false positive filtering towards facilitating the whole subgraph querying process. Experimental studies in real-world graphs demonstrate that WaSQ achieves significant and consistent performance gains in comparison with state-of-the-art, workload-oblivious solutions for large-scale subgraph querying.
Error Correction and the Supreme Court's Arbitration Docket

Supreme Court Justices from William Taft to Stephen Breyer have repeated the maxim that the “Supreme Court is not a court of error correction.” When it comes to arbitration law, however, a number of the Court’s cases do little more than correct errors by lower courts. So why has error correction played such a significant role in the Court’s arbitration docket? One important factor is ongoing resistance to the Court’s arbitration decisions in the lower courts, to which a number of the Court’s error correcting decisions are a direct response. Another is that cases involving standards rather than rules necessarily require fact-based determinations, and the nature of the Court’s case selection process can result in the Court reviewing cases with one-sided facts that make little law. But, in addition, the generalist legal background of Supreme Court Justices (and their law clerks) leads them to overlook important nuances in the facts of arbitration cases before the Court on certiorari. These nuances give rise to several simple steps the Court could take to avoid some of its more limited decisions, including: (1) reviewing state court cases only when the issue presented does not also arise in cases in federal courts; (2) avoiding cases arising out of post-dispute arbitration agreements; and (3) choosing cases with typical arbitration clauses, not atypical ones.
Neuroanatomical Correlates of Childhood Stuttering: MRI Indices of White and Gray Matter Development That Differentiate Persistence versus Recovery.

Purpose We review two recent neuroanatomical studies of children who stutter (CWS), one that examines white matter integrity and the other that focuses on cortical gray matter morphology. In both s...
Foreign Market Involvement and Technological Changes Among Enterpreneurial Firms

This study examines fundamental relationships between small and medium-sized firms and the large client firms that contribute to developing their foreign market entry and internal technology strategies. It focuses on a particular group of small and medium-sized manufacturing firms classified as entrepreneurial engineering and fabrication firms. The results of this study suggest that these firms are formulating effective market entry and technology strategies to improve their competitive position in international markets.
Evaluation of Electromagnetic Launcher Contact Resistance Using a Design of Experiments Approach

Many different approaches have been made to modeling the parameters associated with electromagnetic launchers (EMLs). This article proposes an approach going back to the first principles of design, which is meant to simplify the process of determining the significant factors used to optimize an EML. A screening design of experiments (DOE) is a tool that can be used in determining the statistically significant factors for design. In this article, we used the screening DOEs to examine sliding contacts against a copper drum and a copper coil, with resistance as the parameter being optimized. The results were nominal for the simple copper drum. It was discovered that sliding electrical contacts across a coil may present a closer representative test bed of a helical electromagnetic launcher (HEML) than does the conventional copper drum approach, yielding a more complex result requiring more parameterization and characterization.
Diazotrophs Show Signs of Restoration in Amazon Rain Forest Soils with Ecosystem Rehabilitation

Biological nitrogen fixation can be an important source of nitrogen in tropical forests that serve as a major CO2 sink. Extensive deforestation of the Amazon is known to influence microbial communities and the biogeochemical cycles they mediate. However, it is unknown how diazotrophs (nitrogen-fixing microorganisms) respond to deforestation and subsequent ecosystem conversion to agriculture, as well as whether they can recover in secondary forests that are established after agriculture is abandoned. To address these knowledge gaps, we combined a spatially explicit sampling approach with high-throughput sequencing of nifH genes. The main objectives were to assess the functional distance decay relationship of the diazotrophic bacterial community in a tropical forest ecosystem and to quantify the roles of various factors that drive the observed changes in the diazotrophic community structure. We observed an increase in local diazotrophic diversity (α-diversity) with a decrease in community turnover (β-diversity), associated with a shift in diazotrophic community structure as a result of the forest-to-pasture conversion. Both diazotrophic community turnover and structure showed signs of recovery in secondary forests. Changes in the diazotrophic community were primarily driven by the change in land use rather than differences in geochemical characteristics or geographic distances. The diazotroph communities in secondary forests resembled those in primary forests, suggesting that at least partial recovery of diazotrophs is possible following agricultural abandonment.IMPORTANCE The Amazon region is a major tropical forest region that is being deforested at an alarming rate to create space for cattle ranching and agriculture. Diazotrophs (nitrogen-fixing microorganisms) play an important role in supplying soil N for plant growth in tropical forests. It is unknown how diazotrophs respond to deforestation and whether they can recover in secondary forests that establish after agriculture is abandoned. Using high-throughput sequencing of nifH genes, we characterized the response of diazotrophs' β-diversity and identified major drivers of changes in diazotrophs from forest-to-pasture and pasture-to-secondary-forest conversions. Studying the impact of land use change on diazotrophs is important for a better understanding of the impact of deforestation on tropical forest ecosystem functioning, and our results on the potential recovery of diazotrophs in secondary forests imply the possible restoration of ecosystem functions in secondary forests.
Accelerating nuclear fuel development and qualification: Modeling and simulation integrated with separate-effects testing

Abstract An approach to transform and accelerate nuclear fuel development and qualification is outlined. The approach exploits advanced modeling and simulation at the outset to inform constituent and system selection and to enable integral fuel performance analyses. Analyses using these tools identify and prioritize the most important fuel performance parameters and phenomena for subsequent targeted characterization with separate-effects tests. Separate-effects testing spans out-of-pile and in-pile tests and is meant to iterate with and inform engineering-scale integral fuel performance analyses throughout the development process. Exercising this cycle in an agile fashion will increase confidence in the integral fuel performance predictions while reducing uncertainties. This process sets the stage for executing a much more limited set of well-defined integral irradiation tests designed to validate engineering-scale fuel performance codes and to confirm the performance and safety of the fuel system under prototypic conditions. This approach will reduce the time for development and qualification of a new fuel system, and it will also reduce associated costs.
THE EFFECT OF HUMERAL RETROTORSION ON PITCH VELOCITY IN YOUTH BASEBALL PLAYERS.

Background Pitching velocity is a critical measure of performance, but it may also play a role in the development of injury. It has been proposed that increased humeral retrotorsion (HRT) may be an advantageous adaptation among throwers, resulting in increased throwing velocity. However, there is limited published data directly investigating this relationship. Purpose / Hypothesis The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of HRT on pitching velocity in a group of youth baseball players. We hypothesized that there would be a positive association between pitching velocity and increased humeral retrotorsion. Study Design Cross-sectional cohort study. Methods Demographic and physical variables that may correlate to pitching velocity (age, height, weight, glenohumeral external rotation (ER) range of motion, dominant arm humeral retrotorsion and shoulder internal rotation (IR) strength) were assessed. Univariate analysis using Pearson correlation coefficients examined the relationship of each variable to pitching velocity. Significant variables were retained and entered into a multivariable regression analysis. Results All variables significantly correlated with pitching velocity (p<0.05) with the exception of ER (r = -0.169,p = 0.145). Multivariable regression model was significant and accounted for 81.7% of pitching velocity (R2 = 0.817 F(5,70) = 62.59,p<0.001). Player age (B = 1.7,p < 0.001), height (B = 0.225,p = 0.001) and shoulder IR strength (B = 0.622, p < 0.001) significantly contributed to the model. After accounting for all other variables, HRT had a non-significant (B = 0.005,p = 0.884) and very small contribution to pitching velocity adding only .005mph per degree of HRT. Conclusions Pitching velocity in youth baseball players is strongly influenced by age, height and IR strength. In opposition to the hypothesis, the degree of humeral retrotorsion did not have a significant effect on pitching velocity. Level of Evidence Level 3.
Self-efficacy, social distancing, and essential worker status dynamics among SGM people

As of October 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has accounted for over 210,000 deaths in the U S Sexual and gender minority populations are more likely to work in essential industries while bearing a disproportionate burden of the virus Constructs consistent with Protection Motivation Theory (perceived severity, vulnerability, self-efficacy, and response efficacy) were measured using an abridged version of Kleczkowski et al 's 4-factor Protection Motivation Theory Psychological Measures to examine social distancing behaviors of these populations 32 6% of the sample were essential workers Greater self-efficacy predicted stricter social distancing behaviors Non-essential and unemployed worker statuses were associated with increased odds of stricter social distancing behaviors relative to essential worker status Essential worker status predicted lower self-efficacy The indirect effect of essential worker status on social distancing through self-efficacy was significant Findings suggest that interventions that encourage social distancing through enhanced self-efficacy may optimize health for sexual and gender minority essential workers
Systemic Racism and Othering within Government Agencies: A Psychoanalytic Interpretation of Environmental Injustice in the Flint, Michigan Water Crisis

The severe water emergency in Flint, Michigan between 2014 and 2016 was inarguably caused by systemic organizational dysfunction. The Michigan Governor Snyders’ Flint Water Advisory Task Force, in ...
Where form meets function: the impact of social media platform characteristics on access to online social support

Negative health events can cause considerable stress in patients, negatively impacting both physical health and psychological well-being. To cope, many patients turn to socially supportive interactions and social media has become an important tool for accessing social support networks. However, research on the mental and physical health outcomes of social media-enabled social support seeking has produced conflicting results. This inconsistency in research findings has made it difficult for practitioners to make recommendations to patients on how to access online social support following negative health events. In this short commentary, I argue that effective access to stress-buffering social support online is intimately tied up in features of the social media platforms through which that support is transmitted. I propose three theory-backed distinctions between social media platforms with the goal of directing users toward effective, helpful social media engagement following negative health events.
Lethal Beliefs: Ideology and the Lethality of Terrorist Organizations

Open-source data and studies indicate the higher lethality rates of jihadist groups versus other types of terrorist organizations. I argue jihadist groups are more lethal than other groups due to t...