cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermal hysteresis antifreeze proteins in the midgut fluid of overwintering larvae of the beetle Dendroides canadensis

Freeze-susceptible insects (those that die if frozen) must lower the freezing and supercooling points of their body fluids in winter. Although it is well known that many overwintering insects concentrate antifreezes such as polyols (glycerol, sorbitol, etc.) and/or thermal hysteresis proteins in the hemolymph, antifreezes have not previously been found in gut fluid. Overwintering freeze-susceptible larvae of the Pyrochroid beetle Dendroides canadensis accumulated glycerol, sorbitol, and thermal hysteresis proteins (THPs) in the hemolymph. Although polyols were not found in the midgut fluid, THPs began to be accumulated in the autumn, and in midwinter THP levels were the same in midgut fluid and hemolymph. Midgut THP concentrations decreased in late April, and THPs were gone from the midgut by June. This seasonal increase in THPs is thought to be partially responsible for the decrease in the supercooling point of midgut fluid from ∼ −5°C in summer to ∼ −25°C in winter, although cessation of feeding in winter is also likely to be important. Proteolytic enzyme activities were at least as high in January as in June, and the THPs appear to be somewhat susceptible to these midgut enzymes, thus raising the question of how THPs are concentrated and maintained in their presence. One possible answer is that the enzymes are extremely temperature sensitive and that temperatures above 25°C are required for high levels of activity.
Effects of Aluminum Doping on The Phase Stability and Electrochemical Properties of LiCoO2 and LiMnO2

Aluminum is of interest as a constituent for Li battery electrodes due to its low cost and low mass, and because ab initio calculations indicate that solid solution of LiAlO2 with LiMO2 (M = transition metal) in the α-NaFeO2 structure can increase intercalation voltage [1]. In this study, we investigated the effect of Al doping on LiCoO2 and LiMnO2. Single phase LiAlyCo1-yO2 has been synthesized up to y = 0.5 by firing homogenous hydroxide precursors. A systematic increase in the open circuit voltage is observed with Al content. In LiAlyMn1-yO2, the addition of LiAlO2 stabilizes LiMnO2 in the α-NaFeO2 structure under conditions where neither endmember is stable in the structure. High reversible capacity was obtained over both a 4 V and 3 V plateau, indicating that the compound transforms to a spinel-related structure during cycling, but that the cooperative Jahn-Teller distortion is suppressed.
Ant–aphid interactions on Asclepias syriaca are mediated by plant genotype and caterpillar damage

The means by which plant genotypes influence species interactions and arthropod community structure remain poorly understood. One potential, but largely unstudied mechanism is that occurring through plant genetic variation in induced responses to herbivory. Here we test whether induced responses to leaf damage and genotypic variation for induction in Asclepias syriaca influence interactions among Formica podzolica ants, the ant-tended aphid Aphis asclepiadis, and the untended aphid Myzocallis asclepiadis. In so doing, we assess genetic variation in plant-mediated interactions among different herbivore guilds. We conducted a three-way factorial field experiment manipulating plant genotype, leaf damage by specialist monarch caterpillars Danaus plexippus, and ant presence, and documented effects on aphid and ant abundances. Leaf damage increased Aphis abundance in both the presence and absence of ants and Myzocallis abundance under ant exclusion. In the presence of ants, leaf damage decreased Myzocallis abundance, likely due to effects on ant–Myzocallis interactions; ants showed a positive association with Myzocallis, leaf damage increased the strength of this association (425% more ants per aphid), and this in turn fed back to suppress Myzocallis abundance. Yet, these aggregate effects of leaf damage on Myzocallis and ants were underlain by substantial variation among milkweed genotypes, with leaf damage inducing lower aphid and ant abundances on some genotypes, but higher abundances on others. As a consequence, a substantial fraction of the variation in leaf damage effects on ants (R 2  0.42) was explained by milkweed genetic variation in the strength and sign of leaf damage effects on Myzocallis. Although plant genetic variation influenced Aphis abundance, this did not translate into genetic variation in ant abundance, and leaf damage did not influence Aphis–ant interactions. Overall, we show that variation in induced responses to herbivory is a relevant condition by which plant genotype influences interactions in plant-centered arthropod communities and provide novel results of effects on the third trophic level.
The Justice of the Western Consular Courts in Nineteenth-Century Japan

Author Richard Chang maintains that there is no factual evidence to support the Japanese contention that the Western consular tribunals of the nineteenth century were partial to Westerners and prejudiced against Japanese, and, consequently, seldom rendered equal justice. He ascertained how many of the more than 3,500 mixed cases were decided prejudicially against Japanese litigants. Chang's careful treatment of the five most celebrated mixed cases makes it possible to see for the first time how international law operated through consular jurisdiction and how the Japanese were trying to protect national interests within a justice system dependent on Western jurists. The book also provides the first overview of the extra-territorial agreements between Japan and the Western powers with which it traded during this period.
Spring Wheat Yield Estimates from Spectral Reflectance Measurements

The purpose of our investigation was twofold: 1) to relate spectral reflectance measurements to spring wheat grain yield and total dry matter production, and 2) to establish whether or not a relationship between grain and total dry matter can be useful for residue management decisions. The field experiment was located on a Williams loam soil (fine-loamy mixed, typic Argiborolls) 11 km northwest of Sidney, MT. Seven rates-from 0 to 100 percent-of ?Olaf,? a semidwarf, hard red spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivar, were seeded to stand. On clear mornings, a handheld radiometer was used to measure spectral band reflectances corresponding to the LANDSAT multispectral scanner bands. In addition, grain and straw yield data were collected from a number of sources in order to try to define a general relationship between grain and dry matter yields. A relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (ND7 = (MSS7 - MSS5)/(MSS7 + MSS5)), as determined any time between the tillering and watery ripe growth stages, and grain and total dry matter yields clearly established the potential of remote sensing for predicting grain and total dry matter yields. The potential use of such predictions for residue management is also important. The strong relationship between grain and total dry matter production suggested that the approach described deserves further testing to determine its potential wide-area applicability in predicting spring wheat grain and dry matter yields.
Replacing Sample Trimming with Boundary Correction in Nonparametric Estimation of First‐Price Auctions

Summary Two-step nonparametric estimators have become standard in empirical auctions. A drawback concerns boundary effects which cause inconsistencies near the endpoints of the support and bias in finite samples. To cope, sample trimming is typically used, which leads to non-random data loss. Monte Carlo experiments show this leads to poor performance near the support boundaries and on the interior due to bandwidth selection issues. We propose a modification that employs boundary correction techniques, and we demonstrate substantial improvement in finite-sample performance. We implement the new estimator using oil lease auctions data and find that trimming masks a substantial degree of bidder asymmetry and inefficiency in allocations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Incorporating software quality assurance in computer science education: an experiment

This paper describes an experiment which involved students in the undergraduate computer science senior project capstone design course, and students in the graduate software testing course. Students entering the senior project class are graduating seniors who have completed all but maximum of two required CS classes. They have already completed a one-semester software engineering class, with major emphasis on software development life cycle and software processes. Students entering the software testing course have already completed graduate courses in software engineering, project management, requirement engineering, and they may have other courses in software design and architecture. Students in the undergraduate class worked as the development team while students in the graduate class worked as the software quality assurance team, both working on a single product. This paper describes the process, product, and the out come of this experiment. In addition, student feedback and lessons learned are also discussed.
Less than Bodies: Cellular Knowledge and Alexander Kluge's “The Air Raid on Halberstadt on 8 April 1945”

In his 1997 lectures in Zurich, later published as On the Natural History of Destruction (2003), W.G. Sebald indicted German-language literature with failure to adequately remember, represent, or reconcile the atrocities and violence of World War II. Drawing on Elaine Scarry's work on the body, Sebald locates the corporeal as crucial for his sought-after literary-historical aesthetic, and he thereby hypothesizes that Alexander Kluge's essay “The Air Raid on Halberstadt on 8 April 1945” verges on a poetics capable of rescuing experience and cognition from the fate destined by conservative, overly simplified narratives. But the location and content of experience as Kluge theorizes it is only spelled out in his and Oskar Negt's Geschichte und Eigensinn. Only therein do the two authors outline how a matrix of the body, trauma, alienation, and temporality constitute the possibility of rescuing the ruins of the past for the present, that itself can explicate Kluge's montage in his “Halberstadt” essay.
Detecting Causal Nonlinear Exposure-Response Relations in Epidemiological Data:

The possibility of hormesis in individual dose-response relations undermines traditional epidemiological criteria and tests for causal relations between exposure and response variables. Non-monotonic exposure-response relations in a large population may lack aggregate consistency, strength, biological gradient, and other hallmarks of traditional causal relations. For example, a u-shaped or n-shaped curve may exhibit zero correlation between dose and response. Thus, possible hormesis requires new ways to detect potentially causal exposure-response relations. This paper introduces information-theoretic criteria for identifying potential causality in epidemiological data that may contain nonmonotonic or threshold dose-response nonlinearities. Roughly, exposure variable X is a potential cause of response variable Y if and only if: (a) X is INFORMATIVE about Y (i.e., the mutual information between X and Y, I(X; Y), measured in bits, is positive. This provides the required generalization of statistical association measures for monotonic relations); (b) UNCONFOUNDED: X provides information about Y that cannot be removed by conditioning on other variables. (c) PREDICTIVE: Past values of X are informative about future values of Y, even after conditioning on past values of Y; (d) CAUSAL ORDERING: Y is conditionally independent of the parents of X, given X. These criteria yield practical algorithms for detecting potential causation in cohort, case-control, and time series data sets. We illustrate them by identifying potential causes of campylobacteriosis, a foodborne bacterial infectious diarrheal illness, in a recent case-control data set. In contrast to previous analyses, our information-theoretic approach identifies a hitherto unnoticed, highly statistically significant, hormetic (U-shaped) relation between recent fast food consumption and women's risk of campylobacteriosis. We also discuss the application of the new information-theoretic criteria in resolving ambiguities and apparent contradictions due to confounding and information redundancy or overlap among variables in epidemiological data sets.
Nonstructural carbohydrate and digestibility patterns in orchardgrass swards during daily defoliation sequences initiated in evening and morning

Herbage soluble carbohydrate (SC) levels vary diurnally and livestock intake can be higher for herbage harvested or allocated to animals in the evening than in the morning. Few assessments of SC and digestibility patterns have been made during sward depletion in rotationally stocked orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.). We tested the hypothesis that simulated evening daily pasture allocation increases 24-h mean herbage SC and digestibility levels relative to morning allocation. Total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC) and in vitro true dry matter digestibility (IVTDMD) levels were compared during 24-h clipping sequences initiated at 1900 h (PM) and 0700 h (AM). Sward height was progressively reduced from 40 to 8 cm at 6-h intervals in October, June, and August. Successively lower horizons from defoliation sequences and also from control areas that were not under progressive defoliation were analyzed. Digestibility and TNC levels varied diurnally and seasonally, and were often higher for PM sequences, but differences among 24-h means were small. Daily mean TNC levels for defoliation sequences initiated in PM and AM were 138 vs. 132, 93 vs. 88, and 72 vs. 60 g kg' in October, June, and August, respectively. In all periods, digestibility decreased from approximately 920 to 800 to 890 g kg' during sward depletion and displayed similar patterns between defoliation sequences. Patterns of TNC and digestibility during sward depletion may not be represented by those in intact swards, and PM allocation of daily herbage may not increase 24-h mean dietary TNC density relative to AM allocation. Daily quantities of ingested TNC could be higher for PM herbage allocation if livestock consume proportionately more herbage in the PM than we simulated.
Medium-energy ion scattering for analysis of microelectronic materials

This paper reviews the application of medium-energy ion scattering (MEIS) to the study of materials problems relevant to microelectronics fabrication and reliability. Associated physical mechanisms and techniques are described. Three examples of MEIS studies are discussed in detail: Studies of the nucleation of silicon nitride on silicon dioxide, the interfacial segregation of Cu from Al(Cu), and the structure of hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces created by various wet etching techniques.
Herbivory by Boreioglycaspis melaleucae (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) Accelerates Foliar Senescence and Abscission in the Invasive Tree Melaleuca quinquenervia

We quantified the density-dependent effects of herbivory by the psyllid Boreioglycaspis melaleucae Moore on the senescence of expanding and fully expanded leaves from two chemical variants (chemotypes) of the invasive tree Melaleuca quinquenervia (Cav.) S. T. Blake. Foliar chlorophyll content (OD) and percent nitrogen were not influenced by leaf age classes and chemotypes. In contrast, increases in the level of herbivory resulted in concomitant decreases in chlorophyll compared with undamaged leaves, with medium and high levels of herbivory reducing chlorophyll content by 64 and 72%, respectively. Likewise, low, medium, and high levels of herbivory resulted in 20, 53, and 60% reductions in percent nitrogen, respectively. Color analysis showed that increased herbivory also increased the amount of damaged tissue per leaf across both age classes, but younger leaves showed less susceptibility to herbivory than older leaves. Leaves sustaining moderate to high levels of herbivory progressed from dark green to yellow and finally to light tan as they deteriorated. These changes in color, particularly the yellowing aspect, were often more pronounced along the main leaf veins and vascular tissues. Feeding by B. melaleucae increased the likelihood of leaf abscission by 4.7-fold compared with leaves not subjected to herbivory and was not influenced by leaf age or chemotype. Implications for biological control of M. quinquenervia are discussed.
Trends in Androgen Prescriptions From Military Treatment Facilities: 2007 to 2011.

ABSTRACT Introduction: The role of testosterone in health and quality of life has become increasingly visible and overtly marketed to the public. Some evidence suggests that testosterone levels in men may be low because of a variety of reasons, including stress and environmental exposures. Objective: This study examines trends in testosterone prescriptions dispensed by military treatment facilities (MTFs). Methods: We examined data from the Department of Defense Pharmacy Data Transaction Service to determine the nature of androgen prescriptions dispensed through MTFs from 2007 through 2011. Results: The number of androgen prescriptions increased more than two-fold across the military from 19,494 in 2007 to 45,270 in 2011. Most prescriptions (99%) were for men. Androgen prescription rates rose 23% per year from 2007 through 2011 (p < 0.001, CI 23–24%). The prescription rate for 35- to 44-year-olds increased more than any other age group, with annual increases averaging 33% (p < 0.001, CI 32–34%). Conclusio...
Vietnamese Visions of Reform in the Charterization of New Orleans Schools

This essay examines the role of charter schools for promoting the interests of diasporic communities. It focuses on the opening of a charter school in a Vietnamese neighborhood in post-disaster New Orleans. While the school's opening testified to the Vietnamese community's increasing visibility in the recovery process of post-disaster New Orleans, the charter school as a vehicle for addressing the specific needs was still fraught with problems. Through this case, this essay ask how much influence diasporic communities have in shaping educational policy and reframing Asian American experiences when the vehicles promoting their interests are associated with neoliberal initiatives.
Virtuality and transverse momentum dependence of the pion distribution amplitude

We describe basics of a new approach to transverse momentum dependence in hard exclusive processes. We develop it in application to the transition process γ*γ → π0 at the handbag level. Our starting point is coordinate representation for matrix elements of operators (in the simplest case, bilocal O (0,z)) describing a hadron with momentum p. Treated as functions of (pz) and z2, they are parametrized through virtuality distribution amplitudes (VDA) Φ(x,σ), with x being Fourier-conjugate to (pz) and σ Laplace-conjugate to z2. For intervals with z+ = 0, we introduce the transverse momentum distribution amplitude (TMDA) ψ(x, k), and write it in terms of VDA Φ(x,σ). The results of covariant calculations, written in terms of Φ(x, σ) are converted into expressions involving ψ(x, k). Starting with scalar toy models, we extend the analysis onto the case of spin-1/2 quarks and QCD. We propose simple models for soft VDAs/TMDAs, and use them for comparison of handbag results with experimental (BaBar and BELLE) data on the pion transition form factor. Furthermore, we discuss how one can generate high-k tails from primordial soft distributions.
Using Attitude Change Measures to Evaluate New Product Introductions

This article applies recent developments in the statistical analysis of multi-wave attitude panels to the problem of evaluating a new product's marketing program. One advantage of this approach is ...
A Brief History and Survey of the Catenary Chain Conjectures

(1981). A Brief History and Survey of the Catenary Chain Conjectures. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 88, No. 3, pp. 169-178.
A metaphysical introduction to a relational theory of space

Relational theories of space can be divided into two sorts, pure relational theories and impure relational theories.1 Pure relational theories reduce spatial things, such as points of space and shapes of material objects, to non-spatial things; it is usually difficult to specify exactly what those nonspatial things are.2 Impure relational theories reduce some spatial things, such as spatial points, to other spatial things, such as the shapes of material objects and the spatial relations between them. For an impure theory the points of space are, in some way, ontologically dependent on the material objects, so it could be said that space vanishes when the objects vanish. The purpose of this paper is to discuss an impure relational theory of space where this does not happen.3 If the points of space are to be understood relationally, then it seems unreasonable to regard the whole of space itself as the sum of those points. On such a view, space itself would be an ontologically obscure notion, and space would vanish when the objects vanished. In the theory put forward in this paper, we make a distinction between space itself, which we call 'the void' to mark the distinction, and the points of space, which are contingent on material objects. I call it a relational theory, because the void provides no notion of absolute rest or absolute velocity, despite the fact that the void appears to be similar to absolute space.4 The theory has affinities with both
Gray Matter Abnormalities in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy: Relationships with Resting-State Functional Connectivity and Episodic Memory Performance

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) affects multiple brain regions through evidence from both structural (gray matter; GM) and functional connectivity (FC) studies. We tested whether these structural abnormalities were associated with FC abnormalities, and assessed the ability of these measures to explain episodic memory impairments in this population. A resting-state and T1 sequences were acquired on 94 (45 with mesial temporal pathology) TLE patients and 50 controls, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique. A voxel-based morphometry analysis was computed to determine the GM volume differences between groups (right, left TLE, controls). Resting-state FC between the abnormal GM volume regions was computed, and compared between groups. Finally, we investigated the relation between EM, GM and FC findings. Patients with and without temporal pathology were analyzed separately. The results revealed reduced GM volume in multiple regions in the patients relative to the controls. Using FC, we found the abnormal GM regions did not display abnormal functional connectivity. Lastly, we found in left TLE patients, verbal episodic memory was associated with abnormal left posterior hippocampus volume, while in right TLE, non-verbal episodic memory was better predicted by resting-state FC measures. This study investigated TLE abnormalities using a multi-modal approach combining GM, FC and neurocognitive measures. We did not find that the GM abnormalities were functionally or abnormally connected during an inter-ictal resting state, which may reflect a weak sensitivity of functional connectivity to the epileptic network. We provided evidence that verbal and non-verbal episodic memory in left and right TLE patients may have distinct relationships with structural and functional measures. Lastly, we provide data suggesting that in the setting of occult, non-lesional right TLE pathology, a coupling of structural and functional abnormalities in extra-temporal/non-ictal regions is necessary to produce reductions in episodic memory recall. The latter, in particular, demonstrates the complex structure/function interactions at work when trying to understand cognition in TLE, suggesting that subtle network effects can emerge bearing specific relationships to hemisphere and the type of pathology.
Subjective Well-being and Its Factors in China from 1990 to 2007

By analyzing data from four Chinese surveys conducted as part of the World Values Survey (WVS) in 1990-2007, this paper studies Chinese residents′subjective well-being (SWB) change trend and decision factors. The research indicates:first, in the past twenty years, Chinese residents′subjective well-being declined; second, the demographic variables of gender, age, health, education, work and marriage have impacts on SWB;third, relative income and social anomie are increasingly important factors in depressing SWB. In order to improve China′s SWB, it is very necessary to construct social spiritual civilization and to reduce relative income gap while further increasing absolute income.
Exploring the difference in participants’ factual knowledge between online and in-person survey modes

Over the past decade, an increasing number of scholars and professionals have turned to the Internet to gather samples of subjects for research ranging from public opinion surveys to experiments in the social sciences. While there has been a focus on whether online samples are representative and accurate, fewer studies examine the behavioral differences between individuals who participate in surveys and experiments on a computer versus in-person. Here, I use an experiment to gauge whether respondents who self-complete surveys online are more likely to register higher knowledge scores compared with respondents who self-complete surveys with pen and paper in a laboratory. The results show that subjects in the online group are significantly more likely to answer knowledge questions correctly across a range of topics. Patterns in the data imply respondents are researching some answers.
Long-Term Effects of Kindling on Learning and Memory in the Developing Brain

One of the pressing questions in pediatric epilepsy is whether seizures cause brain damage. Determining the relative contribution of variables such as seizure type, frequency, duration, age of onset, etiology, and drug effects makes it difficult to assess the role of seizures per se in neurological sequelae. Because of the inherent difficulties in determining the effects of seizures using clinical data, animal models can provide insights into the mechanism of seizure-induced damage.
Analysis of the Dye Transfer Mechanism in Heat Transfer Printing1

Analysis of the dye transfer mechanism in heat transfer printing reveals the following sequence: sublimation, diffusion in the gas phase, supersaturation, condensation on the fiber surface, and dif...
Do Different Price Points Exhibit Different Investment Risk and Return in Commercial Real Estate

Conventional real estate price indexes provide a single measure for the path of asset prices over time (controlling for the quality of the representative or average property). Properties could, however, have different price dynamics based on the price segment in which they are traded. On the demand side, investors at different price points are differentiated by the amount of capital they have at their disposal and the type and source of financing. Smaller, private investors cluster at lower price points, whereas large institutions dominate the high price points. On the supply side, properties at different price points may serve different space markets with different types of tenants and may reflect different supply elasticity and land/structure value ratios. In this article, the authors use an unconventional approach, quantile regression, to estimate price indexes for different price segments in commercial real estate. Their results show that there are indeed large differences in price dynamics for different price points. These differences are suggestive of a lack of integration in the property asset market because the authors find apparent differences in the risk–return relationship. Lower-price-point properties exhibit less risk (in the form of volatility and cycle amplitude) but have no evidence of lower total returns. Lower-price-point properties also show greater momentum and thus greater predictability.
24.2 A 0.1-to-3.1GHz 4-element MIMO receiver array supporting analog/RF arbitrary spatial filtering

Digital receiver (RX) arrays featuring ADCs at each element enable massive multi-in-multi-out (MIMO) applications, but since spatial interference rejection is absent in the RF/analog domain, RF/analog/ADC dynamic range is challenged in an environment where strong and weak spatially distinct in-band signals co-exist. Recent MIMO RX array works [1,2] attempt to mitigate this problem with (single) spatial notch suppression in the RF/analog domain, while still maintaining multiple outputs to support MIMO. However, multiple spatial interference signals at different power levels can be present, and reflections and scattering can make the power distribution in the spatial domain more hostile. A single spatial notch is insufficient in such realistic scenarios. Secondly, the notch suppression bandwidth (BW) is typically limited, as is the case with conventional cancellation architectures. Thirdly, reconfigurable wideband MIMO RX arrays that rely on impedance translation concepts in RF switched-capacitor circuits seldom operate effectively beyond 2GHz in CMOS [1].
Quantifying the Effect of Information and Ability Spillovers on Analyst Earnings Forecast Accuracy

Prior research suggests a large information and ability spillover effect among sell-side analysts. We use an iterative model that relates mean peer group ability along with the analyst’s own ability and firm-quarter fixed effects to the analyst’s EPS forecast accuracy and find surprising evidence of no spillovers. We perform three tests to understand this result. First, we find that this result is robust to controlling for time-varying analyst characteristics. Second, this result relates to the inclusion of firm-quarter fixed effects which control for the changes in firms’ information environment across quarters and analysts’ self-selection to provide forecasts for certain quarters. When we include firm or firm-year fixed effects in lieu of firm-quarter fixed effects, the effect of spillovers on analysts’ EPS forecast accuracy is large and significantly positive. Lastly, this result is unique to EPS spillover. We find significant and positive spillovers for other analyst performance measures such as revenue forecast accuracy, forecast adjustment speed, and the number of non-EPS forecast type production. This study, thus, extends the existing literature by presenting a new way to estimate the spillovers and providing new insights on how analysts interact and learn.
Stress moderates the relationships between problem-gambling severity and specific psychopathologies

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which stress moderated the relationships between problem-gambling severity and psychopathologies. We analyzed Wave-1 data from 41,869 participants of the National Epidemiologic Survey of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC). Logistic regression showed that as compared to a non-gambling (NG) group, individuals at-risk gambling (ARG) and problem gambling (PPG) demonstrated higher odds of multiple Axis-I and Axis-II disorders in both high- and low-stress groups. Interactions odds ratios were statistically significant for stress moderating the relationships between at-risk gambling (versus non-gambling) and Any Axis-I and Any Axis-II disorder, with substance-use and Cluster-A and Cluster-B disorders contributing significantly. Some similar patterns were observed for pathological gambling (versus non-gambling), with stress moderating relationships with Cluster-B disorders. In all cases, a stronger relationship was observed between problem-gambling severity and psychopathology in the low-stress versus high-stress groups. The findings suggest that perceived stress accounts for some of the variance in the relationship between problem-gambling severity and specific forms of psychopathology, particularly with respect to lower intensity, subsyndromal levels of gambling. Findings suggest that stress may be particularly important to consider in the relationships between problem-gambling severity and substance use and Cluster-B disorders.
Quiet ego, self-regulatory skills, and perceived stress in college students.

Objective: Examine the unique contributions of self-control and grit subscales (perseverance, interest consistency) as potential mediators of the relationship between quiet ego characteristics and ...
Early childhood curiosity and kindergarten reading and math academic achievement.

Although children’s curiosity is thought to be important for early learning, the association of curiosity with early academic achievement has not been tested. We hypothesized that greater curiosity would be associated with greater kindergarten academic achievement in reading and math. Sample included 6200 children in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. Measures at kindergarten included direct assessments of reading and math, and a parent-report behavioral questionnaire from which we derived measures of curiosity and effortful control. Multivariate linear regression examined associations of curiosity with kindergarten reading and math academic achievement, adjusting for effortful control and confounders. We also tested for moderation by effortful control, sex, and socioeconomic status (SES). In adjusted models, greater curiosity was associated with greater kindergarten reading and math academic achievement: breading = 0.11, p < 0.001; bmath = 0.12, p < 0.001. This association was not moderated by effortful control or sex, but was moderated by SES (preading = 0.01; pmath = 0.005). The association of curiosity with academic achievement was greater for children with low SES (breading = 0.18, p < 0.001; bmath = 0.20, p < 0.001), versus high SES (breading = 0.08, p = 0.004; bmath = 0.07, p < 0.001). Curiosity may be an important, yet under-recognized contributor to academic achievement. Fostering curiosity may optimize academic achievement at kindergarten, especially for children with low SES.
Motion Compensation for Phase-Shift Structured-Light Systems Based on a Total-Variation Framework

Phase-shift profilometry (PSP) is a technique for acquiring non-contact three-dimensional measurements using a projector and a camera. The technique can be used to measure 3D surfaces with high accuracy. However, it can be sensitive to motion because phase images are sequentially captured. We propose a new technique that uses residual phase errors to minimize the influence of motion on the recovered phases (and 3D points). The method minimizes residual phase error with respect to apparent phase offset variations caused by motion. Furthermore, a total variation scheme is used to minimize spatial variations of apparent phase offset variations. We demonstrate the method with different moving objects, and we also study the effect of the magnitude of the motion on the accuracy of the recovered phases. Visual artefacts as well as accuracy loss associated with motion are found to be significantly decreased.
Current and Future Needs in Turbulence Modeling

The environment for conducting definitive turbulence modeling research has changed drastically over the past several years. With downsizing and reduced budgets in both industry and government, there is obviously reduced funding available for turbulence modeling research even though better turbulence modeling is still critical to computational fluid dynamics becoming more efficient, accurate, and useful. Within NASA, the funding reductions are compounded by the transition processes resulting from a restructuring and reorganization of the research and technology base program. The NASA RT therefore, fundamental research to develop the needed turbulence modeling will have to be advocated and conducted in a manner to explicitly support these goals.
Measurement of the Reconstruction, Identification, and Trigger Efficiencies

This chapter discusses the extraction of the reconstruction, identification, and trigger efficiencies for prompt photons. The reconstruction efficiency is evaluated using Monte Carlo samples. The identification efficiency is evaluated for reconstructed photons using Monte Carlo samples modified by the observed differences with data. A data-driven method, using electrons from W decays, is also discussed. The trigger efficiency is estimated using collision data with a boot-strap method, using a series of triggers with different thresholds. Finally, the systematic uncertainties affecting the efficiency measurements are estimated.
Fine-needle aspiration of metastatic clear cell carcinoma of the kidney: employment of microdissection and the polymerase chain reaction as a potential diagnostic tool.

BACKGROUND The differential diagnosis of metastatic clear cell carcinoma is broad. To date, there are no specific immunohistochemical markers for renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in general use. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 3p25.5, the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene locus, is frequent in sporadic clear cell RCC. The authors compared LOH in primary and metastatic RCC through microdissection and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to evaluate these techniques as potential diagnostic tools. METHODS The authors identified 14 patients with known clear cell RCC who underwent fine-needle aspiration (FNA) evaluation of presumed metastatic lesion. Direct-visualization microdissection was performed from archival histologic glass slides of the primary neoplasm and the adjacent normal kidney parenchyma. Malignant cell clusters were microdissected from archival FNA slides of metastatic lesions. The cytology slides were previously stained with either Diff-Quik or Papanicolaou stain. This was followed by a single-step DNA extraction and PCR amplification for evaluation of LOH using polymorphic markers, D3S1038 and D3S1110, flanking the VHL gene. RESULTS Thirteen of the 14 cases contained DNA suitable for PCR in both the paraffin embedded and the FNA material. Eight of the 13 cases were heterozygous (informative) for the above markers, and 6 of these showed identical allelic loss in the primary and metastatic tumor for either one or both of the markers used. The remaining two cases did not show LOH at the VHL locus with the two polymorphic markers used. CONCLUSIONS DNA from archival cytologic material stained with Papanicolaou stain or Diff-Quik is reliable for PCR amplification. Visually directed microdissection in combination with PCR has the potential to be a useful technique for confirmatory identification and diagnosis of metastatic clear cell RCC in cytologic material, because a specific genetic abnormality is present in the primary tumor. As characteristic genetic abnormalities are identified in various neoplasms, the use of this technique has the potential for conclusive evaluation of metastatic disease with FNA material, when used in comparison with surgical or cytologic material from the primary tumor. The utility of this combination of techniques has the potential for the molecular diagnosis of morphologically ambiguous cell populations. Cancer (Cancer Cytopathol) 1997; 81:180-6. © 1997 American Cancer Society.
Association between Upper Respiratory Infection and Idiopathic Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis

Introduction:Unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) without an identifiable cause is termed idiopathic unilateral vocal fold paralysis (IUVFP). Some authors have postulated that select cases of IUV...
The inhibition of acetylcholinesterase by a brain-targeting polylysine-ApoE peptide: biochemical and structural characterizations

The in-trans delivery of protein therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier by K16ApoE peptide carrier has been demonstrated to improve the neurological symptoms and increase the life-span of late-infantile neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (LINCL) mice. However, acute toxicity of K16ApoE was observed in LINCL mice resulting in a narrow therapeutic index, limiting the potential of translating the K16ApoE into a viable drug delivery system. This study aims to unravel the toxic mechanism of action. We hypothesized that the toxic response towards the peptide was induced by inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity at neuro-muscular junction. Here, results from the dose-response study suggested that AChE activity was inhibited by K16ApoE at either low or high doses but not at the mid-dose where a significant increase in AChE activity was observed. Meanwhile, molecular docking simulations showed that the N-terminus of K16ApoE is capable of binding to the active site gorge of AChE. In addition to a favorable spatial orientation, this docking pose also revealed strong surface charge interactions which may account for the observed inhibitory effect. While statistical analysis of the dose response and survival ratio suggested that AChE is not the primary mechanism of action for the acute toxicity of K16ApoE, both biochemical evidence and structural analysis have assigned indirect but critical roles for AChE in the overall toxicity mechanism of this peptide carrier.
Individual differences in appeal of energy dense foods predicts lower body mass change during adolescence.

Abstract Highly energy dense foods are often synonymous with high palatability, excess intake and weight gain. However, food preferences show individual differences. Food preferences are closely related to food intake, which can impact weight change over time. We examined whether the energy density of food images rated as appetizing and unappetizing foods related to baseline BMI and change in BMI over 3-year follow-up (n = 117; 45% Male, Baseline BMI: 21.1 ± 1.9. Participants completed hedonic visual analog scales (−100 to 100) ratings of 103 food images, and reported dietary intake at baseline, and had their height and weight directly measured over 3-year follow-up. Energy density (ED) of the food depicted in each image was calculated. For each participant, food images (kcal/g) were categorized into appetizing (32 images) and unappetizing foods (32 images) based on each individual's hedonic ratings. We observed significant interaction between energy density and hedonic value driven by an inverse relation between unappetizing food energy density and BMI change (p = 0.008). Specifically, participants who rated higher energy dense foods as unappetizing showed less weight gain ( β = −0.83; p = 0.00052). There was no significant relation between the energy density of appetizing foods and weight change (p = 0.67), suggesting that dislike of highly energy dense foods more strongly associates with lower weight gain than preference for low energy dense foods. Post-hoc analyses revealed that individuals with a higher preference for low energy density foods showed less weight gain over 3-years (β = - 0.007, p = 0.02). Results support the idea that individual hedonic ratings for foods varying in energy density is a determinant of weight change in adolescents and may represent an important intervention target for obesity prevention programs.
The relationship between social support and anxiety amongst children living with HIV in rural northern Namibia

This study examined how HIV-related stigma and social support are related to anxiety among children living with HIV in rural northern Namibia. This is a cross-sectional exploratory study with a sample of 132 caregiver-child dyads. Our study found that higher levels of social support was correlated with lower levels of anxiety among children living with HIV, but higher levels of HIV-related stigma was not correlated with higher levels of anxiety. These findings point to the need for the development of more culturally and age specific interventions that enhance social support among children living with HIV, especially those in high-prevalence and socio-economically deprived settings.
The Implications of Cannabis Policy Changes in Washington on Adolescent Perception of Risk, Norms, Attitudes, and Substance Use.

There is increasing interest in the effect of legalization (particularly recreational legalization) of cannabis on prevalence of use and related problems. However, there is no consensus about the impact of policy change on cannabis use, particularly among adolescents. Legalization may increase adolescent use through mediating factors such as perceived risk and normative beliefs regarding the use of cannabis. Washington State enacted Initiative 502 on December 2012, which legalized and taxed recreational cannabis for adults aged ⩾21 years. This paper used data from a randomized, controlled intervention trial for cannabis-using adolescents that was recruiting participants in Seattle before and after the policy change to evaluate the following goals: assess differences in substance use, problems, and symptomatology pre- and post-policy change; evaluate several proposed risk factors that may be associated with such differences; and describe participants’ understanding of the law and how this understanding may...
Better together: Complementarity between theory and practice in strategic management education

AbstractTheory versus practice is an enduring debate in the strategy pedagogy literature. Multiple authors have weighed in, proposing that we need more theory, more prmactice, or a specific mechani...
Pressure pulse-decay tests in a dual-continuum medium: An improved technique to estimate flow parameters

Abstract The pressure pulse-decay permeability (PDP) measurement is a well-established technique to measure the permeability of tight rock samples such as shale. The conventional applications of the PDP measurement almost exclusively treat shale samples as a single-continuum system, even though the gas flow in some shale samples may be more accurately characterized by a dual-continuum, which is due to the large range of pore size distribution and chemical/mineralogical difference between organic and inorganic matters. However, studies about measurements of flow parameters for dual-continuum shale rock samples are very limited in literature. Liu et al. (2016) proposed a new analytical technique to characterize the dual-continuum behavior of a test sample using the PDP measurement with the same upstream and downstream reservoir volumes. In this study, a more general analytical technique is proposed and allows for using different upstream and downstream reservoir volumes in the PDP setup. With this new technique, all the existing PDP systems in laboratories can be conducted to characterize the dual-continuum behavior of a test sample without the need of modifying the upstream and downstream reservoir volumes, and the measured flow parameters of samples can be used as input parameters in the reservoir simulation of the dual-continuum system. The validity and practical usefulness of the new technique is demonstrated by the successful identification and characterization of the dual continuum behavior of test samples in laboratory.
The Mind: Discipleship that Forms the Thoughts of Christians—Reflections on Dallas Willard’s Thinking on the Mind (Thoughts):

Renovation of the heart presents Dallas Willard’s vision for spiritual (trans)formation. He defines six essential components of human existence: Will/Heart/Spirit, the Mind (Thoughts) and Mind (Fee...
How Violent Epistemology Shapes Schooling Systems: The Development of Public Schooling in Brazil and São Paulo

This chapter demonstrates, through the example of the development of schooling in Brazil and Sao Paulo, how violent epistemology shapes schooling systems. This history is traced from the use of schooling to catechise the indigenous population and provide a pliant work force during the colonial era, through the failure to provide education from the mid-eighteenth to late nineteenth centuries due to a lack of perceived economic need, the later development of schooling as a means to progress the ideological endeavours of an elite aspiring to ‘civilise the nation’, the establishment of typical nineteenth century style schooling to meet the needs of industrial capitalism, and finally the introduction of neoliberal technocratic reforms aimed to depoliticise students and train them for the labour market, along with legal, physical, and coercive repression of teacher and student dissent. The role of violent epistemology in these processes is discussed, including how this has resulted in successive reforms without sufficient regard to particular contextual needs, as well as non-conducive circumstances within schools and the neutralisation of attempts to enact less violent epistemic practice.