cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Circles of E-Consumer Trust: Old E-America v. New E-Europe

Robert Kagan's article in The Economist entitled, Old America v. New Europe, obliterates the American assumption that Europe is a clapped-out old continent while America is the young teenager. For example, Kagan notes how America's political system is old in comparison to the upstart European Community. The transnational divide in consumer rights in electronic commerce is yet another example of Old America and New Europe. The American free market approach to consumer e-commerce relies largely upon private ordering generally taking the form of one-sided clickwrap license agreements that disclaim all warranties, meaningful remedies, and require consumers to litigate in the functional equivalent of Siberia. U.S. courts have been inclined to enforce mass-market license agreements so long as consumers have a right to manifest assent after reviewing the terms. European courts will not enforce these adhesive contracts because of mandatory consumer protection rules such as the Unfair Contract Terms Directive and the Distance Selling Directive. As a result, there is a chasm between U.S. and European consumer protection rules in cyberspace. The U.S. is from Mars and Europe from Venus when it comes to mandatory consumer protection rules in e-commerce transactions. Part I of this Article introduces New Europe's substantive consumer rules governing e-commerce (as well as the bricks and mortar world). Part II explores, compares and contrasts U.S. style cyberspace jurisdiction with the mandatory consumer rules of the Brussels Regulation. Part III compares U.S. conflict of law to the mandatory private international law of Europe. In each of these areas, the twenty-seven countries of the European Community have promulgated minimum adequate consumer remedies. In contrast, U.S. consumers have, in effect, anti-warranties and remedies in e-commerce transactions. The Old America and New Europe must harmonize their radically different approaches to build circles of consumer trust in cyberspace.
Effect of oil price on Nigeria’s food price volatility

AbstractThis study examines the effect of oil price on the volatility of food price in Nigeria. It specifically considers the long-run, short-run, and causal relationship between these variables. Annual data on oil price and individual prices of maize, rice, sorghum, soya beans, and wheat spanning from 2000 to 2013 were used. The price volatility for each crop was obtained using Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedascity (GARCH (1, 1)) model. Our measure of oil price is the Refiner acquisition cost of imported crude oil. The Augmented Dickey–Fuller and Phillip–Perron unit root tests show that all the variables are integrated of order one, I (1). Therefore, we use the Johansen co-integration test to examine the long-run relationship. Our results show that there is no long-run relationship between oil price and any of the individual food price volatility. Thus, we implement a VAR instead of a VECM to investigate the short-run relationship. The VAR model result revealed a positive and significan...
DELIVERY AND MULTIPLICATION OF BACTERIA IN MOUSE BRAIN: EFFECT OF CARBON DIOXIDE*

intrathecal injection would be of value in pathogenetic and chemotherapeutic studies. Past attempts to create such a model by intravenous injection have been largely unsuccessful (Harter and Petersdorf, 1959). The observation of enhanced cerebral uptake and multiplication of type II poliomyelitis virus in mice subjected to an atmosphere of 30*^) carbon dioxide (Sellers and Lavender, 1962), together with the known effects of this gas on cerebral blood flow and permeability (Kety and Schmidt, 1948; Clemedson et al, 1958), stimulated a reexamination of the problem. This report describes studies of the effect of carbon dioxide on the transport and growth of staphylococci, streptococci, and Escherichia coli in mouse brain.
Vermeer: His Cartographic Sources

The maps and globes in the paintings of Jan Vermeer (1632–1675) have long intrigued scholars. More than a century ago Thore-Burger commented on what he called Yermeer's “mania for maps”;1 ever since, Vermeer has been linked with the golden age of Dutch cartography.2 His depictions of maps and globes have come to be regarded as the prime illustration of the popularity that cartography enjoyed in the Netherlands during the seventeenth century.3 As a result, Vermeer's name now appears almost as often in works on the history of cartography as in works on the history of art. In fact, scholars consider his paintings among the finest sources available on certain seventeenth-century Dutch maps — even when they can provide no other evidence that the original maps ever existed.4 But how reliable are Vermeer's depictions of maps and globes? Do they represent cartographic material that at one time was in Vermeer's own studio? And, if so, is it possible, as with other objects in Vermeer-s paintings,5 to identify the s...
Queer Sweet Home: Disorientation, Tyranny, and Silence in Digital Space

This project draws together queer and phenomenological perspectives, stressing a critical orientation of digital interfaces and digital space. I investigate the surfaces of these digital geographies as well as the otherwise underlying orientations and disorientations of/in digital social place. More specifically, I use the It Gets Better Project as a case study to describe places of everyday practice in digital space as place and as home—turning, or queering, the idea of home away from normative conceptualizations of home as being physically situated and toward a possibility for home in the digital and mediated. While digital place can serve as digital home for transgender youth, there are also aspects of digital home in the popular online campaign that have the potential to do injury and create unrest. Those who find home in the digital also engage or contend with the current digital landscapes of surveillance, continued media conglomerates, digital divides, neoliberal ideologies, and circularly destruct...
Intraoperative Ultrasound-Guided Procedures

While the continuous development and improvements in tumor ablation techniques and equipment have made the percutaneous non-surgical approach ever more successful, even for larger lesions, there is still a need for ablative treatments in the operating room. In some practices, based on local referral patterns, the surgical approach to tumor ablation may be predominant, either via laparoscopy or open laparotomy. In other settings, additional tumor sites may be encountered during a planned surgical excision that can be efficiently treated intraoperatively with a variety of ablative approaches. Finally, some techniques, such as cryoablation, may be best performed intraoperatively, particularly when treating large tumors with 5- to 10-mm diameter cryoprobes. Therefore, a review of intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) scanning and guidance techniques for ablation is appropriate. This chapter discusses the optimal approach to intraoperative and laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) scanning techniques, equipment, technical preparations, and methods for guidance of interventional techniques.
Pediatric Renal Angiomyolipomas in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.

Purpose: Tuberous sclerosis complex is a genetic disorder characterized by the growth of hamartomas in multiple organs. Up to 80% of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex will have at least 1 angiomyolipoma in their lifetime. We describe the incidence and natural history of angiomyolipoma in a pediatric tuberous sclerosis complex population and analyze tumor growth to determine optimal renal imaging intervals in an effort to improve counseling, treatment and followup.Materials and Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of all patients with tuberous sclerosis complex from 2004 to 2014. Patients were included if they had a clinical or genetic diagnosis of tuberous sclerosis complex and had undergone at least 1 renal imaging study.Results: A total of 145 patients were analyzed. Median age was 14 years (range 0 to 28). Overall incidence of angiomyolipoma was 50.3%. Median age at first angiomyolipoma detection was 11 years (range 2 to 26). Median yearly angiomyolipoma growth rate stratified by a...
Satellite data management in DoD Navstar GPS receivers

The authors describe the software implementation of the satellite management function in the DoD Navstar GPS (Global Positioning System) receivers. The software implementation addresses three functional requirements: database management of satellite almanac, ephemeris, and deterministic corrections data; computation of precise satellite position and velocity for use by navigation software; and using satellite and receiver position data to periodically calculate the constellation of four satellites with optimum geometry for navigation. The authors present an implementation description, detailing how these functions are accomplished, with particular emphasis on the interfaces with the receiver satellite tracking functions necessary to acquire the 50 Hz downlink data. They also illustrate the solutions that were designed into the Navstar user equipment software to deal with the obstacles presented in creating the efficient, effective, and timely data management capability required by a real-time navigation system. >
MR Imaging of the Intratemporal Facial Nerve Using Surface Coils

MR images of the intratemporal portion of the facial nerve were obtained with surface coils using a 0.3-T permanent magnet whole-body imaging system. Various 20FT spin-echo pulse sequences were used to produce 5-mm thick sections with 0.5-mm pixels on a 512 × 512 acquisition matrix. The MR images from normal volunteers were correlated with cryosection specimens of three fresh human cadavers. The seventh nerve was followed in the internal auditory and fallopian canal and through temporal bone to the stylomastoid foramen. The entire labyrinthine, tympanic, and mastoid portions, as well as the geniculate ganglion, could be shown with appropriate scan planes. MR produces excellent images of the facial nerve with high-contrast resolution. Unlike CT, no beam-hardening artifact from the temporal bone is apparent. MR should be a sensitive study for the evaluation of intratemporal facial nerve disease.
In situ isotopic studies of the U-depleted Allende CAI Curious Marie: Pre-accretionary alteration and the co-existence of 26Al and 36Cl in the early solar nebula

Abstract The isotopic composition of oxygen as well as 26Al-26Mg and 36Cl-36S systematics were studied in Curious Marie, an aqueously altered Allende CAI characterized by a Group II REE pattern and a large 235U excess produced by the decay of short-lived 247Cm. Oxygen isotopic compositions in the secondary minerals of Curious Marie follow a mass-dependent fractionation line with a relatively homogenous depletion in 16O (Δ17O of −8‰) compared to unaltered minerals of CAI components. Both Mg and S show large excesses of radiogenic isotopes (26Mg∗ and 36S∗) that are uniformly distributed within the CAI, independent of parent/daughter ratio. A model initial 26Al/27Al ratio [(6.2 ± 0.9) × 10−5], calculated using the bulk Al/Mg ratio and the uniform δ26Mg∗ ∼ +43‰, is similar to the canonical initial solar system value within error. The exceptionally high bulk Al/Mg ratio of this CAI (∼95) compared to other inclusions is presumably due to Mg mobilization by fluids. Therefore, the model initial 26Al/27Al ratio of this CAI implies not only the early condensation of the CAI precursor but also that aqueous alteration occurred early, when 26Al was still at or near the canonical value. This alteration event is most likely responsible for the U depletion in Curious Marie and occurred at most 50 kyr after CAI formation, leading to a revised estimate of the early solar system 247Cm/235U ratio of (5.6 ± 0.3) × 10−5. The Mg isotopic composition in Curious Marie was subsequently homogenized by closed-system thermal processing without contamination by chondritic Mg. The large, homogeneous 36S excesses (Δ36S∗ ∼ +97‰) detected in the secondary phases of Curious Marie are attributed to 36Cl decay (t1/2 = 0.3 Myr) that was introduced by Cl-rich fluids during the aqueous alteration event that led to sodalite formation. A model 36Cl/35Cl ratio of (2.3 ± 0.6) × 10−5 is calculated at the time of aqueous alteration, translating into an initial 36Cl/35Cl ratio of ∼1.7–3 × 10−5 at solar system birth. The Mg and S radiogenic excesses suggest that 26Al and 36Cl co-existed in the early solar nebula, raising the possibility that, in addition to an irradiation origin, 36Cl could have also been derived from a stellar source.
Cross-species synthetic lethal interaction screening as a strategy for the identification of novel therapeutic targets in cancer.

11105 Background: Mutation, deletion, or epigenetic silencing of tumor suppressor genes is a near universal feature of malignant cells. However, therapeutic strategies for restoring the function of mutated or deleted genes have proven difficult. Synthetic lethality, an event in which the simultaneous perturbation of two genes results in cellular death, has been proposed as a method to selectively target cancer cells. Identifying and pharmacologically inhibiting proteins encoded by genes that are synthetic lethal with known tumor suppressor mutations should result in selective toxicity to tumor cells. Methods: To identify candidate target proteins we measured all pair-wise genetic interactions between all known orthologs of human tumor suppressor genes (162 genes) and all orthologs of druggable human proteins (~400 genes) in the model organism S. Cerevisiae. Analysis of the data uncovered 2,087 distinct synthetic lethal interactions between a tumor suppressor and druggable gene. A computational algorithm w...
Emerging areas of transcranial magnetic stimulation use in psychiatry

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is most widely known clinically as a treatment for medication-refractory major depressive disorder, but it holds promise in a number of other areas. In addition to emerging neurologic areas of investigation such as in mild cognitive impairment, dementia, Parkinson's disease and stroke rehab, novel approaches to psychiatric conditions are also being explored. This review provides a critical condensation of the available data assessing the efficacy of TMS in the treatment of other psychiatric conditions, namely bipolar disorder, substance use, post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Each section details the field's current accumulation of evidence of the respective condition's pathophysiology in the context of a discussion of the relevant therapeutic target(s) of TMS. Each section then reviews both positive and negative studies evaluating TMS in clinical practice. Given the relative tolerability and proven efficacy of TMS in treatment-resistant dep...
Growth Differentiation Factor 11 does not Mitigate the Lethal Effects of Total-Abdominal Irradiation

Total-body exposure to radiation causes widespread tissue injury. Damage to the hematopoietic and intestinal stem cell compartments is particularly lethal and mitigators of this damage are critical in providing effective treatment. Parabiosis radiation experiments, in which the vasculatures of two rodents are anastomosed prior to irradiation of one of the animals, have shown that there is a circulating factor that protects mice from radiation-induced intestinal death. Recently reported studies have suggested that growth differentiation factor 11 (GDF11) is responsible for the rejuvenation of stem cells observed in parabiosis experiments involving aging mice. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of GDF11 as a potential mitigator of radiation-induced damage to intestinal stem cells. In ex vivo cultures of intestinal organoids, the number of cells expressing the stem cell marker Lgr5 was increased after irradiation and GDF11 supplementation. Further ex vivo studies to assess stem cell function, measured by the ability to grow new crypt-like structures, did not show increased stem cell activity in response to GDF11 treatment. In addition, GDF11 was unable to improve survival of mice subjected to total-abdominal irradiation. These data demonstrate that GDF11 does not mitigate radiation damage to intestinal stem cells.
Long-Term Outcomes of Glenohumeral Arthrodesis.

Background:Glenohumeral arthrodesis is associated with a high rate of complications. Although patients experience reasonable pain relief and shoulder stability, they experience marked limitations in their upper-extremity function. The purpose of this study was to examine the clinical outcomes of gle
Measurability and σ-Simplicity

We need further information on the structure of integrable functions if our theory of integration is to be conveniently usable. For example, if J on M is the Daniell extension of the pre-integral induced by a length function, must every continuous function with compact support belong to M? The answer is not self-evident, although it had certainly better be “yes”! We shall presently find criteria for integrability involving a set theoretic (measurability) requirement, and a magnitude requirement.
Sexuality and Older Women: Desirability and Desire

Little research has been conducted on older women’s sexual desire and activity internationally except to document sexual declines, diseases or dysfunctions, and victimization. As we move away from ageist, heteronormative, and androcentric perspectives regarding the sexuality of older women, we realize that the degree to which the sexuality of older women is expressed depends on sociocultural contexts (Lusti-Narasimhan and Beard, B World Health Organ 91:707–709, 2013). Cultural expectations for older women may include declining levels of attractiveness and sexual activity. Yet, in Western cultures, decreases in sexual activity are increasingly labeled as dysfunction, and both media and medicine argue for a wrinkle-free and toned appear. There is evidence that such contemporary beauty ideals and cultural stereotypes about old women combine to undermine older women’s sense of their own desirability (Calasanti and Slevin, Gender, Social Inequalities and Aging, 2001; Lemish and Muhlbauer, Women Ther 35:165–180, 2012; Clarke, J Women Aging 12(3–4): 77–97, 2011); however, we also review research indicating that women’s experience of their own sexual desire and desirability are more complex, contextual, and even contradictory (Clarke, J Women Aging 12(3–4): 77–97, 2011; Slevin, Age Matters: Realigning Feminist Thinking, pp. 247–268, 2006). In this review of the sexual desirability and desire of older women, we acknowledge the varied and complex perspectives that older women have in relation to their bodies, their appearance, and their sexual selves. We attempt to address the impact of contextual factors on women’s experience of themselves as sexual beings, including the larger sociohistorical context of their lives, and the particular context in which they experience sexual desire, such as the availability of a partner and the quality of their relationships. In addition to examining the impact of ageist approaches to older women, we examine the degree to which older women themselves may voice ageist attitudes. We question how older women might exercise agency to resist inconsistent and negative cultural constructions of aging to arrive at an authentic expression of their own desirability and desire.
Romer v. Evans and the Constitutionality of Higher Lawmaking

Romer v. Evans was a ground-breaking case in terms of the constitutionalization of gay rights. This paper gives a close reading of that case. While not condemning the result, the paper argues that the reasoning of the case is unsatisfactory and fails to provide a satisfactory foundation for the development of gay rights under the United States Constitution.
One Autobiographer’s Reality: Robbe-Grillet

In Alain Robbe-Grillet’s theory of description, nineteenth century traditional novels are distinguished from the New Novel as he and others have practiced it in France by a purposeful change of intention. Description has always served an important function in the novel, but as the novel has evolved, so has the technique of description. In nineteenth century novels, such as those of Balzac, the role of description was to establish setting, context, and the physical appearance of the protagonists. Altogether these made up the universe of the novel. This universe was guaranteed to resemble the real world by the delineation and delimitation of things established by such description, and thus the authenticity of the novelist’s incidents, language, and gestures could not or would not be questioned.1
Models with Heterogeneous Capital

This chapter explores economic growth models with heterogeneous capital and labor described by the integral or partial differential equations. Such models are imperative in explaining economic development under embodied technological change. Section 4.1 describes the well-known macroeconomic growth models with vintage capital of R. Solow and L. Johansen and analyzes links among them. Optimization vintage capital models at a firm level are portrayed in Sect. 4.2. Section 4.3 considers models with investment into different vintages of capital. The last section discusses two fundamental replacement problems of Operations Research: the serial replacement of a single machine and the parallel replacement of several machines.
Exploring the Brain Dynamics of Racial Stereotyping and Prejudice

Neuroscientists for the last decade sought to explain how race influences perception, thoughts, feelings, and decision making. This article compiles the existing functional neuroimaging literature on stereotyping and prejudice and outlines a circuit of brain regions that shape the unintentional, implicit expression of race bias and its control. The regions typically implicated in race processing include those important in emotion (amygdala), face perception (fusiform face area), and self-regulation (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex). We conclude with a discussion of the flexibility of the neural systems of race bias and potential future directions.
Learning Traffic Behaviors by Extracting Vehicle Trajectories from Online Video Streams

To collect extensive data on realistic driving behavior, we propose a framework using online public traffic cam video streams. We implement the Traffic Camera Pipeline (TCP), a system that leverages recent advances in deep learning for object detection to extract trajectories from the video stream to corresponding locations in a bird's eye view traffic simulator. We benchmarked several deep learning detectors for the task of vehicle detection: SSD-VGGNet, SSD-InceptionNet, and SSD-MobileNet, and Faster-RCNN; we found that SSD-VGGNet had the highest precision and quality of bounding boxes. We captured four hours of video streams and used it to train generative models describing both the starting and ending positions of vehicles as well as the trajectories of points traversed. We find that the negative log-likelihood of held-out real data is more likely to occur under the learned models compared to baseline models used in a traffic intersection simulator. The extracted dataset of 234 annotated minute-long videos containing 2618 labeled vehicle trajectories and 8980 additional unannotated minute-long videos is available at https://berkeleyautomation.github.io/Traffic_Camera_Pipeline/.
A Review of AAQ Variants and Other Context-Specific Measures of Psychological Flexibility

Abstract Psychological flexibility refers to a way of interacting with internal experiences and the external environment that advances one toward chosen values whereas psychological inflexibility reflects rigid adherence to ineffective responses such that valued living is compromised. Psychological flexibility is a critical variable of interest in acceptance and commitment therapy, thus, accurate assessment of this construct is pertinent to professionals in the field. Numerous measures of psychological flexibility for specific conditions exist and the psychometric validation of each of these measures varies in breadth and depth. To orient professionals to the scope of available measures as well as their psychometric properties, the current review summarizes the existing literature on context-specific measures of psychological flexibility. Most measures demonstrated satisfactory basic psychometric properties, though their clinical utility (e.g., treatment sensitivity) has largely been underexplored. Generally, context-specific measures performed better than a generic measure of psychological flexibility with respect to incremental validity and treatment sensitivity. Still, further research is needed to validate these measures (e.g., discriminant validity) in order to justify their use across settings and study designs.
Visual Influence on Auditory Perception

Auditory behavior, perception, and cognition are all shaped by information from other sensory systems. The research examining this multisensory view of auditory function is rapidly expanding and has demonstrated numerous interactions between hearing and the other senses at levels of analysis ranging from the single neuron to neuroimaging in human clinical populations. A great deal of evidence now suggests that areas of the brain traditionally considered auditory can be strongly influenced by information from other senses. This chapter highlights the multisensory world from an auditory perspective, in particular, focusing on the intersection of auditory and visual processing that has a profound impact on communication in everyday social settings. It is followed by an introduction of the chapters that make up this volume, which provide contemporary and comprehensive discussions on an array of concepts related to the behavioral, perceptual, and physiological aspects of audiovisual processing.
Abstract 123: Osteopontin Regulates Adult Cardiomyocyte Division in a Mouse Model of Pressure Overload Induced Heart Failure

Background: Our previous work showed that pharmacological blockade of Osteopontin (OPN) signaling can prevent and reverse heart failure induced by pressure overload in a transverse aortic construct...
Does blood loss explain higher resting metabolic rates in nestling birds with hematophagous ectoparasites

Nestlings of many bird species are hosts to hematophagous ectoparasites. Parasitism of nestlings is usually sub‐lethal, but its effects can extend into the fledgling and adult stages. Nestling hosts lose enough blood to become anemic, but the effects of reduced oxygen‐carrying capacity on metabolic rate are poorly understood. This study examined the consequences of parasitism by larval blow flies Protocalliphora sialia for nestling tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor. We found that nestlings with more parasites had higher whole‐animal RMR. We evaluated the role of increased erythropoiesis as a potential mechanism explaining increased RMR by drawing blood from some birds. However, we found no evidence that blood loss, as a proxy for hematophagous parasitism, increased metabolic rate. Future work should examine the metabolic costs of upregulation of immunity and how elevated RMR due to ectoparasites affects nestlings as they develop into independent adults.
Functional trait similarity predicts survival in rare plant reintroductions

Rare species reintroductions are an increasingly common conservation strategy, but often result in poor survival of reintroduced individuals. Reintroduction sites are chosen primarily based on historical occupancy and/or abiotic properties of the site, with much less consideration given to properties of the larger biotic community. However, ecological niche theory suggests that the ability to coexist with other species is determined in part by the degree of functional similarity between species. The degree to which functional similarity affects the survival of reintroduced plants is poorly understood, but has important implications for the allocation of limited conservation resources. We collected a suite of abiotic, biotic, and functional trait variables centered on outplanted individuals from four reintroduced rare plant species and used logistic regression and model selection to assess their influence on individual survival. We show that higher functional similarity between reintroduced individuals and the local community, measured by differences between their multivariate functional traits and the community-weighted mean traits of their immediate neighbors, increases survival and is a stronger predictor of survival than local variation in abiotic factors, suggesting that the functional composition of the biotic community should be incorporated into site selection to improve reintroduction success.
Judicial Power -- Immigration-Style

Throughout this current global pandemic, but of course, even before, former President Trump advocated enacting restrictive immigration measures. Under his tenure, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assumed enhanced judicial authority and issued decisions that often adversely affected non-citizens. However, in June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down one of the DHS’s most well-known initiatives, which sought to end the ‘DACA’ program. The Court held that the agency could not do so arbitrarily and had to comply with the requirements set forth in the Administrative Procedure Act. Yet, there have been other areas where the DHS, particularly through its United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office, has asserted its judicial power. The result has been a ‘turf-battle’ with the Department of Justice (DOJ), which has historically housed the country’s immigration courts and their presiding judges. One key conflict between the USCIS and DOJ involves whether the latter’s immigration judges can allow undocumented immigrants to apply for ‘U visas.’ This visa grants non-citizens the opportunity to remain in the country, if they have been: a). victims of abuse, and b). helpful to law enforcement in a criminal investigation. The federal appeals courts are split on this question, with two circuits saying that the DOJ’s immigration judges have this power, while two others have held that the USCIS has exclusive jurisdiction. The thesis here is that, as between the DOJ and USCIS, the DOJ’s immigration judges should and do possess such authority. But focusing on this U visa debate highlights a larger structural problem. Immigration adjudicators within both the USCIS and DOJ are, in theory, supposed to be free from political influence. In reality, though, because they serve at the pleasure of executive branch appointees, they must often act in a partisan fashion rather than in a judicious manner. What is left, therefore, is a system in need of reform. Building upon previous work, this study urges the removal of immigration adjudication from the USCIS and DOJ and creating special Article I immigration courts to check presidential power and ensure that an especially vulnerable contingent of litigants has their rights safeguarded.
Differences between Colloidal and Crystalline Evaporative Deposits.

Evaporative deposits from drops are widely studied due to their numerous applications in low-effort self-assembly, including for inkjet printing, microscale separations, and sensing/diagnostics. Th...
The design of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate multi-dimensional effects of a section 1115 Medicaid demonstration waiver with community engagement requirements.

Abstract Section 1115 demonstration waivers provide a mechanism for states to implement changes to their Medicaid programs. While such waivers are mandated to include evaluations of their impact, randomization – the gold standard for assessing causality – has not typically been a consideration. In a critical departure, the Commonwealth of Kentucky opted to pursue a two-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) for their controversial 2018 Medicaid Demonstration waiver, which included work requirements as a condition for the subset of beneficiaries deemed able-bodied to maintain eligibility for benefits. Beneficiaries were randomized 9:1 to the new waiver program or a control group who would retain their current benefits as part of the existing Medicaid expansion program. To address potential bias from differential attrition from the Medicaid program that would accrue from solely analyzing administrative data, our team designed a rich, prospective, longitudinal survey to collect primary and secondary outcomes from six categories of interest to policymakers: insurance coverage, health care utilization and quality, health behaviors, socioeconomic measures, personal finances, and health outcomes. At baseline, a subset of survey participants was invited to participate in the collection of biometric samples via in-person follow-up visits, and a cross-section were also invited to participate in qualitative interviews. While the demonstration waiver was terminated before the program began, our study design illustrates that it is possible for other researchers and state agencies seeking to evaluate Medicaid demonstration waivers and other demonstration policies to work together to implement high quality randomized trials – even for controversial policies.
Gait features of dystonia in cerebral palsy.

Aim To determine the features cited by motor phenotyping experts when identifying dystonia in people with cerebral palsy (CP). Method Dystonia identification in CP, particularly when comorbid with spasticity, can be difficult. The dystonia diagnostic criterion standard remains subjective visual identification by expert consensus. For this qualitative study, we conducted an inductive thematic analysis of consensus-building discussions between three pediatric movement disorder physicians as they identified the presence or absence of dystonia in gait videos of 40 participants with spastic CP and periventricular leukomalacia. Results Unanimous consensus about the presence or absence of dystonia was achieved for 34 out of 40 videos. Two main themes were present during consensus-building discussions as videos were evaluated for dystonia: (1) unilateral leg or foot adduction that was variable over time, and (2) difficulty in identifying dystonia. Codes contributing to the first theme were more likely to be cited by a discussant when they felt dystonia was present (as opposed to absent) in a video (χ2 test, p=0.004). Discussion These results describe the gait features cited by experts during consensus-building discussion as they identify dystonia in ambulatory people with CP. Qualitative thematic analysis of these discussions could help codify the subjective process of dystonia diagnosis.
Percutaneous Image-Guided Core Needle Biopsy of Neuroendocrine Tumors: How Common Is Intraprocedural Carcinoid Crisis?

Abstract Purpose To retrospectively evaluate the incidence of carcinoid crisis, other complications, and physiologic disturbances during percutaneous image-guided core needle biopsy of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) in the lung and the liver. Materials and Methods Between January 2010 and January 2020, 106 computed tomography (CT) or ultrasound (US)-guided core needle biopsies of lung and liver NETs were performed in 95 consecutive adult patients. The mean age was 64 ± 13 years, and 48% were female. The small bowel was the most common primary site (33%, 31/95), and 32 (34%) patients had pre-existing symptoms of carcinoid syndrome. The mean tumor size was 3.2 ± 2.6 cm, and mean number of passes was 3.4 ± 1.6. A 17/18-gauge needle was used in 91% (96/106) of the biopsies. Thirteen (12%) patients received either outpatient or prophylactic octreotide. Results No patients experienced carcinoid crisis or needed octreotide, inotropes, vasopressors, or resuscitation. A single biopsy procedure (0.9%, 1/106) was complicated by bleeding that required angiographic hepatic artery embolization. Changes in pre-biopsy- versus post-biopsy systolic blood pressure and heart rate were -1.6 mm Hg (P = .390) and 0.6 beat/min (P = .431), respectively. Tumor functional status, overall tumor burden, and the elevation of neuroendocrine markers were not associated with intraprocedural physiologic disturbances. There were 4 minor complications (0.4%, 4/106) associated with the biopsy procedure that were not attributed to hormone excretion from tumor manipulation. Conclusions Percutaneous image-guided core biopsy of NETs is safe, with low complication rate and no definite carcinoid crisis in the current cohort.
Recurrent Sigmoid Diverticulitis After Intravesical Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) Immunotherapy for Bladder Cancer

Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), a live attenuated strain of Mycobacterium bovis, is a popular adjunctive therapy for superficial bladder cancer as it triggers local immune response. Localized cystitis is a common complication, but systemic infections or sepsis is rare. Diverticulitis has never been reported as a complication of intravesical BCG use. We report two episodes of sigmoid diverticulitis in a patient with urinary bladder papillary urothelial carcinoma after each intravesical BCG treatment, which subsided after the BCG treatment was discontinued. This case report raises awareness of acute diverticulitis as a potential side effect of intravesical BCG therapy for superficial bladder cancer. The use of antibiotics in concurrence with intravesical BCG therapy should be used with caution as evidence is not sufficient to evaluate the effect of antibiotics on BCG. Therefore, a change in therapy is warranted if recurrence of diverticulitis occurs and requires antibiotic therapy.
The Cultural Transition: From Traditional Religious Values to P.C. Values

There is a global transition going on from traditional religions, family and “tribal” values to the “politically correct,” values on racial equality, gender equality, gay liberation, and multiculturalism. The world is divided over this transition—some nations having strong reactionary movements against the new values, others becoming strong supporters of the new values. Strong political conflict is being generated over this dramatic set of cultural changes. Marriage, family, work, school, the military, the church—every institution in modern society is undergoing change.
Image Explorer: Multi-Layered Touch Exploration to Make Images Accessible

Blind or visually impaired (BVI) individuals often rely on alternative text (alt-text) in order to understand an image; however, alt-text is often missing or incomplete. Automatically-generated captions are a more scalable alternative, but they are also often missing crucial details, and, sometimes, are completely incorrect, which may still be falsely trusted by BVI users. We hypothesize that additional information could help BVI users better judge the correctness of an auto-generated caption. To achieve this, we present Image Explorer, a touch-based multi-layered image exploration system that enables users to explore the spatial layout and information hierarchies in an image. Image Explorer leverages several off-the-shelf deep learning models to generate segmentation and labeling results for an image, combines and filters the generated information, and presents the resulted information in hierarchical layers. In a pilot study with three BVI users, participants used Image Explorer, Seeing AI, and Facebook to explore images with auto-generated captions of diverging quality, and judge the correctness of the captions. Preliminary results show that participants made more accurate judgements about the correctness of the captions when using Image Explorer, although they were highly confident about their judgement regardless of the tool used. Overall, Image Explorer is a novel touch exploration system that makes images more accessible for BVI users by potentially encouraging skepticism and enabling users to independently validate auto-generated captions.
Biomembrane-Functionalized Micromotors: Biocompatible Active Devices for Diverse Biomedical Applications.

There has been considerable interest in developing synthetic micromotors with biofunctional, versatile, and adaptive capabilities for biomedical applications. In this perspective, cell membrane-functionalized micromotors emerge as an attractive platform. This new class of micromotors demonstrates enhanced propulsion and compelling performance in complex biological environments, making them suitable for various in vivo applications, including drug delivery, detoxification, immune modulation, and phototherapy. This article reviews various proof-of-concept studies based on different micromotor designs and cell membrane coatings in these areas. The review focuses on the motor structure and performance relationship and highlights how cell membrane functionalization overcomes the obstacles faced by traditional synthetic micromotors while imparting them with unique capabilities. Overall, the cell membrane-functionalized micromotors are expected to advance micromotor research and facilitate its translation towards practical uses. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Computational results for the effects of external disturbances on transition location of bodies of revolution from subsonic to supersonic speeds and comparisons with experimental data

Computational experiments have been performed for a few configurations in order to investigate the effects of external flow disturbances on the extent of laminar flow and wake drag. Theoretical results have been compared with experimental data for the AEDC cone, for Mach numbers from subsonic to supersonic, and for both free flight and wind tunnel environments. The comparisons have been found to be very satisfactory, thus establishing the utility of the present method for the design and development of laminar flow configurations and for the assessment of wind tunnel data. In addition, results of calculations concerning the effects of unit Reynolds numbers on transition are presented. In addition to the AEDC cone, computations have been performed for an ogive body of revolution at zero angle of attack and supersonic Mach numbers. Results are presented for transition Reynolds number and wake drag for external disturbances corresponding to free air and the test section of the AEDC-VKF tunnel. These results have been found to compare quite well with wind tunnel data for cases when surface suction is applied as well as when suction is absent.
To License or Not to License Reexamined: An Updated Report on State Statutes Regarding Private Investigators and Digital Examiners

In this update to the 2012 year's study, the authors examine statutes that regulate, license, and enforce investigative functions in each US state. As before, the authors find that very few state statutes explicitly differentiate between Private Investigators and Digital Examiners. There is a small trend in which some states are changing definitions or moving to exempt DE from PI licensing requirements. However, we look at some additional information in terms of practicing attorney exemptions that may cloud the licensing waters. As with the previous research studies (Lonardo et al., 2008, 2009, 2012) the authors contacted all state regulatory agencies where statutory language was not explicit, and as a result, set forth the various state approaches to professional Digital Examiner licensing. Our recommendation remains the same: states must differentiate between Private Investigator and Digital Examiner licensing requirements and oversight. In this update to the 2012 year's study, the authors examine statutes that regulate, license, and enforce investigative functions in each US state. As before, the authors find that very few state statutes explicitly differentiate between Private Investigators and Digital Examiners. There is a small trend in which some states are changing definitions or moving to exempt DE from PI licensing requirements. However, we look at some additional information in terms of practicing attorney exemptions that may cloud the licensing waters. As with the previous research studies (Lonardo et al., 2008, 2009, 2012) the authors contacted all state regulatory agencies where statutory language was not explicit, and as a result, set forth the various state approaches to professional Digital Examiner licensing. Our recommendation remains the same: states must differentiate between Private Investigator and Digital Examiner licensing requirements and oversight.
Morphogenesis and Fine Structure of Leucothrix mucor and Effects of Calcium Deficiency

Phenotypic expressions of morphogenesis and fine structure of Leucothrix mucor were determined when the organism was grown with and without added CaCl(2) in a synthetic seawater medium. Evidence is presented to show that a bulb can form in the absence of a knot formation and that a bulb may give rise to a "germ-tube." In comparison with normal cells, which show transverse septa at right angles to the axis in dividing cells, the bulbs exhibited transverse septa at odd angles, which may explain the mechanism of bulb formation. The most striking morphological feature due to Ca(++) deficiency was the absence of rosettes; instead, the culture showed an extremely filamentous morphology and a peculiar cord formation. Also, the Ca(++)-deficient cells contained heavily stained intracytoplasmic granules which possibly represent tight packing of the smaller particles of ribonucleoprotein. Various bulbous forms observed in the Ca(++)-deficient culture showed more pronounced elaboration of mesosomes as intracytoplasmic structures than those seen in the complete medium.
Trajectory Forecast as a Rapid Response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

In response to the Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a Lagrangian trajectory modeling system was implemented immediately upon spill onset by marshaling numerical model and satellite remote sensing resources available from existing coastal ocean-observing activities. Surface oil locations inferred from satellite imagery were used to re-initialize the positions of virtual particles in this ensemble of trajectory models, and the particles were tracked using forecast surface currents, with new particles added to simulate the continual release of oil from the well. A challenge to this modeling effort was that much information remained unknown throughout the spill event, with additional uncertainty due to intensive mitigation activities. By frequently re-initializing the trajectory models with satelliteinferred locations, the effects of in situ mitigation and forecast error growth were implicitly accounted for and minimized. The simulated surface oil trajectories were compared to the satellite observations in subsequent forecast cycles for veracity testing. Although similar results were obtained, in general, differences were seen in the simulated trajectories by different models. However, no one model performed consistently better or worse than the others throughout the event with one exception. The lessons learned from the event may be useful in preparing rapid trajectory forecast systems in the future.
Applications of direct 3D motion estimation for underwater machine vision systems

Vision can provide unique capabilities under favorable visibility conditions during the operation of intelligent or autonomous underwater vehicles in deep ocean. We describe a real time vision system for positioning and station keeping, navigation, and sea floor image mosaicing. These developments exploit a direct methodology for 3D motion estimation from time varying underwater imagery. We present sample results from experiments for evaluating the performance and accuracy of the system, based on measurements from an independent sensor.
UNTAPPED SOURCES FOR RECRUITING MINORITY BSW STUDENTS

Abstract Social agencies and social services units currently are experiencing a personnel crisis. Many agency employees who provide direct services to clients lack professional education. Decreasing commitment to traditional social work practice with the most vulnerable populations and increasing interest in psychotherapeutic services may account for the shortage of professionally trained social workers.