cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Taxonomic composition and body-mass distribution in the terminal Pleistocene mammalian fauna from the Marmes site, southeastern Washington State, U.S.A.

Mean adult body mass of mammal taxa is a fundamental ecological variable. Variability in the distributions of body masses of a mammal fauna suggest variability in habitat structure. Mammal remains from the Marmes archaeological site in southeastern Washington State date between 13,200 and 10,400 b.p., during the Pleistocene–Holocene transition (PHT). Known environmental history prompts the expectations that the Marmes PHT mammal remains should represent greater species richness and a larger array of body-mass sizes than modern faunas in the Marmes locale and in open shrub-steppe habitats, and lower species richness and a smaller array of body-mass sizes than modern faunas in closed forest habitats; species richness and the array of body-mass sizes should be similar to that for a mixed habitat of cool shrub-steppe with scattered conifers. The Marmes PHT cenogram meets these expectations. Body-mass clumps displayed by the Marmes PHT mammal fauna fall between those of closed forests and open shrub-steppe habitats in terms of clump richness and breadth, and in terms of gap width. Marmes PHT body-mass clumps are very similar to those for the mixed habitat. Cenograms and body-mass clumps confirm conclusions drawn 40 years ago that the Marmes PHT habitat was much like that of today but cooler and with more plant biomass and greater structural diversity than today.
Loss of myeloid cell-derived vascular endothelial growth factor accelerates fibrosis

Tissue injury initiates a complex series of events that act to restore structure and physiological homeostasis. Infiltration of inflammatory cells and vascular remodeling are both keystones of this process. However, the role of inflammation and angiogenesis in general and, more specifically, the significance of inflammatory cell-derived VEGF in this context are unclear. To determine the role of inflammatory cell-derived VEGF in a clinically relevant and chronically inflamed injury, pulmonary fibrosis, we deleted the VEGF-A gene in myeloid cells. In a model of pulmonary fibrosis in mice, deletion of VEGF in myeloid cells resulted in significantly reduced formation of blood vessels; however, it causes aggravated fibrotic tissue damage. This was accompanied by a pronounced decrease in epithelial cell survival and a striking increase in myofibroblast invasion. The drastic increase in fibrosis following loss of myeloid VEGF in the damaged lungs was also marked by increased levels of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) expression and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. This demonstrates that the process of angiogenesis, driven by myeloid cell-derived VEGF, is essential for the prevention of fibrotic damage.
Urinary PGE-M in Colorectal Cancer: Predicting More than Risk?

Progress in cancer chemoprevention has been hindered by a lack of validated biomarkers of risk and interventive response. The identification of accurate, reliable, and easily measurable risk and response biomarkers within the field of cancer prevention could dramatically alter our approach to the disease. Colorectal cancer is associated with substantial morbidity and a limited 5-year survival rate for late-stage disease. The identification of biomarkers to predict (i) those most at risk of clinically significant colorectal neoplasia in conjunction with or building upon current risk models and/or (ii) those most likely to respond to potential colorectal chemopreventive agents, such as aspirin and NSAIDs, would significantly advance colorectal cancer risk management. Urinary PGE-M is an established indicator of systemic prostaglandin E2 production and has previously been demonstrated to predict risk of advanced colorectal neoplasia in a handful of studies. In the July 2014 issue, Bezawada and colleagues confirmed those earlier risk associations and demonstrated that PGE-M can also predict responsiveness to aspirin/NSAIDs in a small subset of women undergoing lower endoscopy in the Nurse's Health Study. PGE-M has the potential to define subsets of the population that may derive greater chemopreventive benefit from NSAIDs, as well as the potential to optimize the use of expensive and/or invasive screening tests. Additional larger and more diverse prospective studies meeting the criteria for phase IV biomarker studies are needed to advance the development of PGE-M as a noninvasive biomarker of both risk and chemopreventive response in populations at risk for colorectal cancer.
Lynn Margulis, 1938–2011

On November 22, 2011, Lynn Margulis, visionary biologist and tireless champion of the microbial world, died of a massive stroke. Born in 1938, Lynn was intellectually precocious, earning her bachelor’s degree from the University of Chicago at age 18 and a Berkeley PhD 6 years later. Lynn’s enduring place in science was earned soon thereafter, with the publication of her theory of endosymbiosis, a radical and, as it turned out, lasting explanation for the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts, the organelles responsible for energy metabolism in eukaryotic cells. In Lynn’s view, the chloroplast originated as a free-living cyanobacterium engulfed by a protozoan and reduced through time to metabolic slavery. Similarly, she hypothesized that the mitochondrion descended from an endosymbiotic bacterium capable of aerobic respiration. Unbeknownst to Lynn at the time, the Russian biologist Konstantin Merezhkovsky had published a similar proposal as early as 1905. However, Merezhkovsky’s ideas were largely ridiculed or forgotten, and when Margulis resurrected them, criticism was harsh. Some 15 journals rejected her first paper on endosymbiosis before it found a home in Journal of Theoretical Biology (1).
Sudden and Fatal Malfunction of a Durata Defibrillator Lead due to External Insulation Failure

Defibrillator lead malfunction can be a disastrous complication, leading to loss of protection from sudden cardiac death in a high-risk patient population. Recognition of lead-specific risk for failure can assist in development of focused screening or surveillance, as in the case of the Riata lead (St. Jude Medical, St. Paul, MN, USA) or the Sprint Fidelis lead (Medtronic Inc., Minneapolis, MN, USA). A case of defibrillation failure secondary to a Durata lead insulation failure is presented. A brief review of the literature and current St. Jude Medical implantable cardiac defibrillator lead design is presented. Identification of arcing is identified as a potential sign of catastrophic insulation failure.
Yahoo! And The Chinese Dissidents: A Case Study Of Trust, Values, And Clashing Cultures

This case involves the global business ethics of two distinctly different cultures whose definition of human rights is embedded within their differing historical traditions. The Constitution of the United States guarantees individual rights for each of its citizens, including free speech and the right to petition the government. The People’s Republic of China traces its roots to the ancient tradition of Confucius and the Mandate of Heaven that advocated the Emperor’s responsibility to provide economic justice to instill social harmony. This perspective is echoed by the Communist’s party of the PRC with its insistence on the prohibition of public dissent. How then should an American firm address these issues while remaining competitive in the global arena and should they be held responsible for abiding to foreign law? This case presents the ethical dilemma faced by democratic multinationals conducting business globally.
Corporate Human Resource Management In An International Setting

This Human Resource Management case deals with problems and issues of setting up an international subsidiary which aligns with corporate strategy. The discussion concerns how such a case can be used to exhibit the alignment between HRM and international strategy.
JUDGMENTS OF SIMPLE GEOMETRIC FIGURES BY CHILDREN

In order to compare perceptual visual performance of brain-damaged children and normal children, a series of perceptual studies was undertaken. Modified paired-comparison judgments were obtained from the following groups: (1) normal (kindergarten through fourth grades), (2) pre-school cerebral palsied, (3) two special classes of brain-damaged, (4) emotionally disturbed children, and (5) retarded adults (MA 5 through 11). Errors and types of error were related to age, IQ, clinical group, MA level, etc. Developmentally speaking the decline of left-right reversal errors is most striking. Organic involvement relates more to type than to sheer frequency of error. Relevant literature is discussed in relation to the findings.
Optimal thresholds for intrusion detection systems

In recent years, we have seen a number of successful attacks against high-profile targets, some of which have even caused severe physical damage. These examples have shown us that resourceful and determined attackers can penetrate virtually any system, even those that are secured by the "air-gap." Consequently, in order to minimize the impact of stealthy attacks, defenders have to focus not only on strengthening the first lines of defense but also on deploying effective intrusion-detection systems. Intrusion-detection systems can play a key role in protecting sensitive computer systems since they give defenders a chance to detect and mitigate attacks before they could cause substantial losses. However, an over-sensitive intrusion-detection system, which produces a large number of false alarms, imposes prohibitively high operational costs on a defender since alarms need to be manually investigated. Thus, defenders have to strike the right balance between maximizing security and minimizing costs. Optimizing the sensitivity of intrusion detection systems is especially challenging in the case when multiple inter-dependent computer systems have to be defended against a strategic attacker, who can target computer systems in order to maximize losses and minimize the probability of detection. We model this scenario as an attacker-defender security game and study the problem of finding optimal intrusion detection thresholds.
The Impact of Color on the Response Rates for Mail Questionnaires

The response to mail questionnaires is of vital concern to researchers in all disciplines, yet no sure way has been uncovered to increase it without diminishing significantly the associated cost advantages. This paper presents an empirical investigation of the use of color and the resulting effects on response rate and response bias.
Mr. Worldwide: International Affairs and the American Post-Presidency

We conduct a detailed survey of post-presidential involvement in foreign affairs, identifying eight distinct role types through which former presidents continue to impact the international arena. These roles, though not mutually exclusive, are collectively exhaustive and offer a high degree of descriptive utility. This study departs from typical classifications of ex-presidents according to all-encompassing, abstract phenotypes of personality or character. Disaggregating domestic and foreign policy—and focusing on actual means and impact of former presidents’ influence—we find several insights into the post-presidency, its evolution and its impact. We identify a strong relationship between a president's exit circumstances and subsequent involvement in foreign affairs. We also find that changes in geopolitics, institutions, and communication technologies have altered post-presidential activities, offering expanded opportunities for sustained engagement and placing greater emphasis on shaping public opinion.
Research on Chinese Environmental Audit Present Situation and Development Strategies——Based on questionnaire survey of accounting firms

Through conducted a questionnaire survey to the domestic 93 accounting firms,we investigate through the background of the object,the techniques and methods of Environmental auditing,the impact factors and implementation main body of Environmental auditing,the promulgation.We find that:our country auditors generally do not have enough knowledge of environmental science at present,the scale of accounting firms has an important impact on environmental auditing,the standards of Environmental auditing are not perfect,the techniques and methods of Environmental auditing obviously lagging behind.Finallay,we put forward some suggestions on how to develop Environmental audit in our country.
Speech and Morality: On the Metaethical Implications of Speaking, by Cuneo, Terence

In Speech and Morality Terence Cuneo develops an extended and intriguing argument for moral realism. The mere fact that we speak—that we successfully perform such routine speech acts as promising a...
Effect of adenosine analogues on tubuloglomerular feedback responses

Adenosine has been invoked as a possible mediator of the vasoconstrictor response elicited through the tubuloglomerular feedback mechanism. These experiments were undertaken to study the effect of adenosine analogues on the magnitude of the stop-flow pressure (SFP) feedback response. With a control solution, maximum change of SFP during orthograde perfusion was 6.3 +/- 0.34 mmHg. When the adenosine1 (A1) receptor agonists CHA, CPA, or R-PIA were present in the perfusate in a concentration of 10(-5) M, SFP responses were significantly augmented and averaged 12.6 +/- 1.9 (P less than 0.001), 12.6 +/- 0.8 (P less than 0.001), and 10.3 +/- 1.1 mmHg (P less than 0.02), respectively. Diminished responses were seen at higher concentrations of A1 analogues. The A2-receptor agonist NECA did not significantly modify the control response at 10(-5) M, but reduced its magnitude at higher concentrations. During graded increases in loop flow rate essentially all of the response in the presence of CPA or R-PIA occurred in the 0-10 nl/min flow interval, whereas the most sensitive flow rate range in the control tubules was between 10 and 20 nl/min. In the presence of 10(-4) M furosemide SFP responses were abolished during perfusion with the control and NECA-containing solutions. In contrast, SFP fell by 11.8 +/- 1.26 mmHg and 8.7 +/- 1.25 mmHg with CHA or CPA solutions despite the presence of furosemide. Perfusion with 10(-6) M CPA in an isotonic mannitol solution was associated with a decrease of SFP by 16.3 +/- 1.42 mmHg, whereas the mannitol solution alone decreased SFP by only 0.6 +/- 0.18 mmHg. Our results show that luminal administration of A1-receptor analogues increases SFP feedback response magnitude, an effect that does not require the presence of a luminal NaCl signal.
Secondary Bone Marrow Fibrosis in Children And Young Adults: An Institutional Experience

Secondary bone marrow fibrosis (BMF) is associated with many disease conditions in children, but its prevalence and characteristics have not been well elucidated. We present our experience with pediatric secondary BMF, in an attempt to characterize it in terms of underlying diagnoses, severity, and outcome. A retrospective chart review of patients diagnosed with secondary BMF by bone marrow aspirate and biopsy between January 1984 and April 2011 showed a total of 214 patients, the majority (67.1%) of whom had an underlying oncologic disease. At diagnosis, 87 patients (39.7%) had mild, 51 (23.3%) had moderate, and 33 (15.1%) had marked BMF; it was not quantified in 48 (21.9%) patients. An underlying oncologic disease was more frequently associated with marked fibrosis compared with hematologic and miscellaneous diagnoses. Follow-up posttreatment bone marrow aspirate assessments were available for 117 patients. The outcome ranges from worsening of fibrosis to complete resolution. A majority of these children (N=70/117, 60%) showed complete resolution of fibrosis. Of note, 27 patients had marked fibrosis at initial diagnosis and 16 (60%) of them showed complete resolution. These findings underscore the importance of appropriate treatment of the underlying disorder in reversing secondary BMF. Ours is the largest series of pediatric secondary BMF reported.
Myelin glycosphingolipid/cholesterol-enriched microdomains selectively sequester the non-compact myelin proteins CNP and MOG.

Plasma membranes are complex arrays of protein and lipid subdomains. Detergent-insoluble, glycosphingolipid/cholesterol-enriched micro-domains (DIGCEMs) have been implicated in protein sorting and/or as sites for signaling cascades in the plasma membrane. We previously identified the presence of DIGCEMs in oligodendrocytes in culture and purified myelin and characterized a novel DIGCEM-associated tetraspan protein, MVP17/rMAL (Kim et al. (1995) Journal of Neuroscience Research 42, 413–422). We have now analyzed the association of known myelin proteins with DIGCEMs in order to provide a better understanding of their roles during myelin biogenesis. We used four well-established criteria to identify myelin DIGCEM-associated proteins: insolubility in a non-ionic detergent Triton X-100 at low temperature (4°C), flotation of the insoluble complexes to low density fractions in sucrose gradients, and TX-100 solubilization at 37°C, or at 4°C following treatment with the cholesterol-binding detergent saponin. We demonstrate that these proteins fall into four distinct groups. Although all tested proteins could be floated to a low-density fraction, proteolipid protein (PLP), myelin basic protein (MBP) and myelin associated glycoprotein (MAG) were solubilized by the detergent extraction, and connexin32 (Cx32) and oligodendrocyte-specific protein (OSP) met only some of the criteria for DIGCEMs. Only the non-compact myelin proteins 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphodiesterase (CNP) and myelin/oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) satisfied all four criteria for DIGCEM-associated proteins. Significantly, only ∼40% of CNP and MOG were selectively associated with DIGCEMs. This suggests that they may have both non-active “soluble”, and functionally active DIGCEM-associated, forms in the membrane, consistent with current views that DIGCEMs provide platforms for bringing together and activating components of the signal transduction apparatus. We therefore propose that CNP and MOG may have unique roles among the major myelin proteins in signaling pathways mediated by lipid-protein microdomains formed in myelin.
Combined reflectance and Raman spectroscopy to assess degree of in vivo angiogenesis after tissue injury.

Abstract Background Angiogenesis, the formation of blood vessels, is a critical aspect of wound healing. Disorders of wound healing are often characterized by lack of angiogenesis, a condition frequently observed in aging and diabetic patients. Current techniques for assessing blood at injury sites are limited to contrast-imaging, including angiography. However, these techniques do not directly observe oxygenation of blood and are not amenable to serial evaluation. A multimodal noninvasive reflectance and Raman spectrometer have been proposed to help clinicians as a point-of-care tool to interrogate local angiogenesis and tissue architecture, respectively. The spectrometer system is a rapid, noninvasive, and label-free technology well-suited for the clinical environment. Materials and methods To demonstrate feasibility, the spectrometer system was used to interrogate angiogenesis serially over 9 wk as a result of heterotopic ossification (HO) development in a validated murine model. End-stage HO was confirmed by micro-computed tomography. Results Our preliminary results suggest that reflectance spectroscopy can be used to delineate vessel formation and that pathologic wounds may be characterized by unique spectra. In our model, HO formed at sites 1-3, whereas sites 4 and 5 did not have radiographic evidence of HO. Conclusions A point-of-care system like that demonstrated here shows potential as a noninvasive tool to assess local angiogenesis and tissue architecture that may allow for timely intervention in a clinical setting.
Caveolin-1 controls mitochondrial function through regulation of m -AAA mitochondrial protease

Mitochondrial proteases ensure mitochondrial integrity and function after oxidative stress by providing mitochondrial protein quality control. However, the molecular mechanisms that regulate this basic biological function in eukaryotic cells remain largely unknown. Caveolin-1 is a scaffolding protein involved in signal transduction. We find that AFG3L2, a m-AAA type of mitochondrial protease, is a novel caveolin-1-interacting protein in vitro. We show that oxidative stress promotes the translocation of both caveolin-1 and AFG3L2 to mitochondria, enhances the interaction of caveolin-1 with AFG3L2 in mitochondria and stimulates mitochondrial protease activity in wild-type fibroblasts. Localization of AFG3L2 to mitochondria after oxidative stress is inhibited in fibroblasts lacking caveolin-1, which results in impaired mitochondrial protein quality control, an oxidative phosphorylation to aerobic glycolysis switch and reduced ATP production. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that a lack of caveolin-1 does not alter either mitochondrial number or morphology but leads to the cytoplasmic and proteasome-dependent degradation of complexes I, III, IV and V upon oxidant stimulation. Restoration of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes in caveolin-1 null fibroblasts reverts the enhanced glycolysis observed in these cells. Expression of a mutant form of AFG3L2, which has reduced affinity for caveolin-1, fails to localize to mitochondria and promotes degradation of complex IV after oxidative stress. Thus, caveolin-1 maintains mitochondrial integrity and function when cells are challenged with free radicals by promoting the mitochondrial localization of m-AAA protease and its quality control functions.
Psychiatric, Demographic, and Brain Morphological Predictors of Relapse After Treatment for an Alcohol Use Disorder.

Background Relapse in alcohol use disorders (AUD) is related to a complex interplay among multiple biological, psychiatric, psychological, and psychosocial factors, which may change dynamically during and after treatment. At treatment entry for AUD, morphological abnormalities in anterior frontal regions and the insula have been observed in those who ultimately relapse following treatment. The goal of this study was to determine whether anterior frontal and insula measures of brain thickness, surface area, and volume predict posttreatment drinking status (i.e., relapser or abstainer) over an extended period after outpatient treatment for AUD, while concurrently considering common psychiatric, psychological, and psychosocial factors previously associated with relapse. Methods Alcohol-dependent individuals (n = 129) were followed for 18 months after treatment to determine posttreatment drinking status (abstainers [n = 47] or relapsers [n = 82]). Brain morphometrics were derived from FreeSurfer. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to identify the regional brain thickness, surface area, and volume (all scaled to intracranial volume), demographic, psychiatric, other substance use (e.g., cigarette smoking), and alcohol consumption variables, obtained at entry into treatment, that best predicted posttreatment drinking status. Survival analyses determined variables that were related to duration of abstinence after treatment. Results ROC analyses indicated that mood disorders, education, and volumes of the right caudal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), right rostral ACC, and total right frontal gray matter were significant predictors of posttreatment drinking status. Among relapsers, survival analyses showed smokers and individuals with a comorbid medical condition relapsed earlier after treatment. Additionally, a greater frequency of smokers relapsed within 6 months of AUD treatment. Conclusions Results reinforce that relapse in AUD is a function of multiple biological, psychiatric, psychological, and psychosocial factors. Effective treatment of depressive disorders and cigarette smoking concurrent with AUD-focused interventions may promote better treatment outcomes.
Selected Papers from the 2016 IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy

This special issue is the fourth highlighting selected papers from the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy. Several articles presented address vulnerabilities, and possible mitigation strategies, related to smart devices, home systems, entertainment systems, and smartphones, while others study human behavior in managing devices, security- and privacy-relevant code development, and critical infrastructure management. Given the intense discussions in the Internet of Things (IoT) community and the increasing complexity of human-system interactions, these are timely topics.
The History of Science as a Graveyard of Theories: A Philosophers’ Myth?

ABSTRACTAccording to the antirealist argument known as the pessimistic induction, the history of science is a graveyard of dead scientific theories and abandoned theoretical posits. Support for this pessimistic picture of the history of science usually comes from a few case histories, such as the demise of the phlogiston theory and the abandonment of caloric as the substance of heat. In this article, I wish to take a new approach to examining the ‘history of science as a graveyard of theories’ picture. Using JSTOR Data for Research and Springer Exemplar, I present new lines of evidence that are at odds with this pessimistic picture of the history of science. When rigorously tested against the historical record of science, I submit, the pessimistic picture of the history of science as a graveyard of dead theories and abandoned posits may turn out to be no more than a philosophers’ myth.
Optimizing search strategies for near Earth Objects: Lessons learned from Pan-STARRS1

The Pan-STARRS1 telescope has been spending most of its time for the last 3 years searching the sky for Near Earth Objects (NEOs). The Pan-STARRS telescopes are located in Hawaii, relatively close to the equator, and the telescopes can survey from the north celestial pole to −49° declination in the south. Pan-STARRS1 has a large field-of-view, enabling it to survey large areas of sky. This enables us to examine NEO discovery rates relative to ecliptic latitude, and this insight can be used to improve the NEO discovery rate. The NEO searches are most sensitive when the moon is set, or only a thin crescent is illuminated. At these times, a broad filter can be used, and the sky is darkest. The full moon requires use of an infrared filter to suppress the sky background — this decreases the sensitivity by approximately 1 magnitude (a factor of approximately 2.5). Most contemporary searches, including Pan-STARRS1, have been spending large amounts of their observing time during the dark moon period searching for NEOs close to the ecliptic. The rationale for this is that many objects have low inclination, and that all objects in orbit around the Sun must cross the ecliptic. New search capabilities are now available, including Pan-STARRS2, and the upgraded camera in Catalina Sky Survey's G96 telescope. These allow NEO searches to be conducted over wider areas of the sky, and to extend to higher ecliptic latitudes. We have examined the discovery rates relative to location on the sky for new NEOs from Pan-STARRS1, and find that the new NEO discoveries are less concentrated on the ecliptic than might be expected. This finding also holds for larger objects. The southern sky has proven to be very productive in new NEO discoveries — this is a direct consequence of the major NEO surveys being located in the northern hemisphere. Our preliminary findings suggest that NEO searches should extend to at least 30° from the ecliptic during the more sensitive dark moon period. At least 6,000 square degrees should therefore be searched each lunation. This is possible with the newly augmented NEO search assets, and repeat coverage will be needed in order to recover most of the NEO candidates found. However, weather challenges will likely make full and repeated coverage of such a large area of sky difficult to achieve. Some simple coordination between observing sites will likely lead to improvement in efficiency.
Children and Adolescents with ASD and Co-occurring Psychiatric Conditions: Current Trends in Intervention

Abstract Youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are at increased risk for developing significant co-occurring psychiatric conditions. Although prevalence estimates vary, anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are among the most common comorbid conditions. There has been increased interest in the assessment and treatment of these symptoms in youth with ASD, with the majority of studies thus far focusing on anxiety disorders. The present paper reviews the literature on the most common co-occurring psychiatric symptoms in youth with ASD and discusses current trends in intervention for these disorders. Given the numerous challenges involved in the identification of psychiatric conditions in youth with ASD, general guidelines for the assessment of psychiatric symptoms in youth with ASD will be provided. Information regarding the prevalence and specific assessment strategies for each mental health condition precedes a review of intervention programs. Although not specific to a single psychiatric condition, difficulties in emotion regulation are thought to underlie many of the social/emotional and behavioral difficulties characteristic of youth with ASD. Thus, the emerging research on emotion regulation interventions is also reviewed. Finally, it is important to note that the treatment programs presented in this paper have almost exclusively been developed and delivered in university-based clinic settings. Recommendations for bridging the research to practice gap for youth with ASD are discussed.
The Diminished Moral Status of the Mentally Ill

Throughout this volume, a subtle but basic conception of the moral status of the mentally ill is operative; i.e., that the special characteristics of mental illness involve a diminished status as moral agents for those thus afflicted. Recalling that the notion of moral agency generally assumes certain level of rationality and freedom, or cognitive and volitional competence, we may note diminished levels of such competencies being presupposed by authors in this volume as they reflect on the situation of being mentally ill. Moore, for example, wants to speak of ‘degrees of irresponsibility’ and of a severely diminished responsibility in the mentally ill ([16], p. 25), Neu, for his part, speaks of ‘diminished responsibility’ at law for the mentally ill ([17], p. 77), that there are ‘degrees of freedom’ ([17], p. 89), and that a notion of ‘partial insanity’ may be useful and appropriate for dealing with the mentally ill in the legal setting ([17], p. 92). And, in a similar vein, Brock believes that competence is a matter of degree ([2], p. 170), and that the mentally ill have “an impaired capacity to be guided by legal rules” ([2], p. 156).
Traveling Objects in Flora Tristán’s Pilgrimages of a Pariah and Frances Calderón’s Life in Mexico

Flora Tristan’s Peregrinations of a Pariah (1833–1834) and Frances Calderon’s Life in Mexico (1842) have been studied by critics of empire as Eurocentric narratives. Gomez proposes a more complex analysis of this already established ethnocentrism by carrying out an Atlantic reading of these female travelers. The Atlantic traveler is read as a bicultural subject that constantly moves between two geographic and cultural continents with a double consciousness. Gomez’s approach is based on Thing theory (Bill Brown, Bruno Latour), per which there is a revealing politics in objects. The objects that accompany the traveler determine the traveler’s routes and interaction with locals, and reveal the changes in their subjectivity along the way, changes that most often are not discursively articulated in the story of the journey.
Additional Evidence on the Impact of the International Financial Reporting Standards on Earnings Quality: Evidence from Latin America

The purpose of this paper is to explore whether the adoption of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) has an impact on the quality of earnings in Latin America. Studying a sample of firms from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Peru, I find that management reports a lower level of discretionary accruals after the implementation of the IFRS. In addition, this study provides evidence that earnings are more persistent and stock prices are more associated with earning numbers after the application of IFRS. This paper provides evidence that earnings quality has increased after the adoption of IFRS in Latin America.
Multimodal Encoding of Novelty, Reward, and Learning in the Primate Nucleus Basalis of Meynert.

Associative learning is crucial for daily function, involving a complex network of brain regions. One region, the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), is a highly interconnected, largely cholinergic structure implicated in multiple aspects of learning. We show that single neurons in the NBM of non-human primates (NHPs; N=2 males; Macaca mulatta ) encode learning a new association through spike rate modulation. Yet, the power of low-frequency local field potential (LFP) oscillations decreases in response to novel, not-yet-learned stimuli but then increase as learning progresses. Both NBM and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) encode confidence in novel associations by increasing low and high frequency LFP power in anticipation of expected rewards. Finally, NBM high frequency power dynamics are anti-correlated with spike rate modulations. Therefore, novelty, learning, and reward anticipation are separately encoded through differentiable NBM signals. By signaling both the need to learn and confidence in newly-acquired associations, NBM may play a key role in coordinating cortical activity throughout the learning process. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Degradation of cells in a key brain region, the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM), correlates with Alzheimer9s Disease and Parkinson9s disease progression. To better understand the role of this brain structure in learning and memory, we examined neural activity in the NBM in behaving non-human primates while they performed a learning and memory task. We found single neurons in NBM encoded both salience and an early learning, or cognitive state, while populations of neurons in the NBM and prefrontal cortex encode learned state and reward anticipation. The NBM may thus encode multiple stages of learning. These multi-modal signals might be leveraged in future studies to develop neural stimulation to facilitate different stages of learning and memory.
Desmopressin stimulation testing: Response to intravenous and intranasal forms.

Introduction Desmopressin is commonly used to reduce bleeding in patients with mucocutaneous bleeding disorders and is available in both intravenous and intranasal forms. Given the variability in response to desmopressin at an individual level, its effectiveness should be assessed with a test dose prior to being advised for use. At this time, no trial has extensively compared the use of intranasal desmopressin to intravenous desmopressin. Aims To determine whether both forms of desmopressin are equally effective in yielding a positive response in laboratory assays in paediatric patients with von Willebrand disease or probable von Willebrand disease. Methods We evaluated medical record data for 58 patients who underwent desmopressin stimulation testing in our haematology clinic during a 1-year period. Data were collected on demographic information and haematologic laboratory assays prior to desmopressin administration and one hour following desmopressin. Results There was an absolute increase in von Willebrand antigen to levels appropriate for haemostasis following both forms of desmopressin, although this increase was significantly greater in the intravenous group compared to the intranasal group. There was also a significant absolute increase in Ristocetin Cofactor and Factor VIII levels following desmopressin in both groups. Conclusion Both intravenous and intranasal forms of desmopressin produce a positive response during desmopressin stimulation testing and can be used to identify patients for whom this medication would be effective.
MR first pass imaging : quantitative assessment of transmural perfusion and collateral flow

Recent advances with fast switching gradient coils, and the optimization of magnetic resonance techniques for multi-slice imaging have made it possible to apply models of contrast agent transit for the quantification of myocardial perfusion, and determination of the transmural distribution of blood flow. This article summarizes some of these recent developments and presents examples of quantitative, multi-slice myocardial perfusion imaging studies in patients and animal models. Multi-slice, true first pass imaging, with high temporal resolution, and T1-weighted, arrhythmia insensitive contrast enhancement is used for the quantification of perfusion changes accompanying mild to severe ischemia. The first pass imaging technique and the modeling approach are sufficiently robust for fitting of tissue residue curves corresponding to a wide, physiologically realistic range of myocardial blood flows. In animals this was validated by comparison to blood flow measurements with radiolabeled microspheres as gold standard. It is demonstrated that with the proposed modeling approach one can determine the myocardial perfusion reserve from two consecutive MR first pass measurements under resting and hyperemic conditions. In patients with microvascular dysfunction the MR studies show for the first time that the myocardial perfusion reserve correlates with Doppler flow measurements (linear regression with slope of 1.02±0.09; r=0.80). Since perfusion limitations usually begin in the subendocardium as coronary flow is gradually reduced, first pass imaging with the prerequisitie spatial and temporal resolution allows early detection of a mild coronary stenosis.
Zur Numerik rekurrenter Relationen

Systeme linearer rekurrenter Relationen erster Ordnung, und auch skalare Rekursionsformeln hoherer Ordnung, werden auf numerische Stabilitat hin untersucht. Beispiele heftiger Instabilitat werden vorgefuhrt im Zusammenhang mit skalaren Rekursionsformeln erster und zweiter Ordnung. Auf Mittel zur Eliminierung von Instabilitat wird hingewiesen.
Approaching Migration: The Dynamic Nature of Human Mobility

Migration is a dynamic process, difficult to frame and even harder to predict. Unlike other key events (most specifically death), migration follows uncertain pathways and reflects securities and insecurities that tend to play out across diverse social landscapes and include movers, non-movers as well as households and communities. Nevertheless, as the articles in this volume of Migration Letters reveal we continue to explore migration and its history; model decision-making and the challenges that movers face as they select new pathways; and explore as well as predict outcomes of remittance practices, policymaking and status. The articles in this issue and throughout our journal are often focused on what Tomas Faist (and others) call the crucial meso-level (Faist 1997). This is the space where the decisions of individuals encounter and engage the household and other movers as well as non-movers, the community and the state. The encounters and engagements that occur at the meso-level remind us that migration is not a simple decision, made by an independent actor. Rather, the decisions to move—whether as a migrant or refugee; whether across an international border or across a town—are complex and include many different voices, challenges and trials.
A Hole torn by QCD Fields

In this paper we determine that a local negative correlation(the Hole) in $\Delta \eta$ $\Delta \phi$ space of Au + Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=200 GeV is caused by strong color QCD electric and magnetic fields which are present in the Glasma Flux Tubes that are generated by the initial conditions.
Data-assimilated low-order vortex modeling of separated flows

This works shows for the first time that an inexpensive ensemble of low-order vortex models can accurately capture the aerodynamics of a low Reynolds number separated flow, even when disturbed by gusts, when it assimilates measured surface pressures.
225 INFLUENZA ENHANCES NATURALLY ACQUIRED PNEUMOCOCCAL INFECTION IN FERRETS.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a leading cause of otitis media, sinusitis, pneumonia, sepsis, and meningitis in children. Although it is well known that prior respiratory virus infections enhance the severity of bacterial infections, the effect of influenza on transmission of S. pneumoniae has not been studied. We infected groups of weanling ferrets with influenza virus strain A/Sydney/5/97 (H3N2) or a pneumococcal strain engineered to express luciferase (SME33, type 19F) 72 hours before placing them in contact overnight in various combinations in (1) the same cage, (2) in a different cage in the same cubicle ≈ 3 feet apart, or (3) in a different cage in a different cubicle ≈ 10 feet apart. Animals then had daily nasal washes for quantitation of influenzal and pneumococcal titers, as well as imaging for bioluminescence indicative of invasive infection. S. pneumoniae transmitted from ferrets infected with pneumococcus alone to uninfected ferrets in (1) 4 of 4 same cage contacts, (2) 4 of 4 same cubicle contacts, and (3) 0 of 4 different cubicle contacts. Twenty-five percent (2/8) of the infected contacts developed either otitis media, sinusitis, or both. Preinfection of the donor ferrets with influenza virus did not alter the transmission dynamics. When recipient ferrets were preinfected with influenza prior to exposure to the ferrets shedding pneumococcus, however, all contacts were infected (12/12), significantly higher titers of bacteria were recovered, and 50% (6/12) of infected contacts developed otitis media, sinusitis, or both. These data suggest that influenza infection increases the likelihood of being infected upon natural exposure to S. pneumoniae and enhances the incidence of secondary complications but does not increase transmission from the coinfected donor.
Neutron Radiation Testing of Fault Tolerant RISC-V Soft Processor on Xilinx SRAM-based FPGAs

Many space applications are considering the use of commercial SRAM-based FPGAs over radiation hardened devices. When using SRAM-based FPGAs, soft processors may be required to fulfill application requirements, but the FPGA designs must overcome radiation-induced soft errors to provide a reliable system. TMR is one solution in designing a fault tolerant soft processor to mitigate the failures caused by SEUs. This paper compares the neutron soft-error reliability of an unmitigated and TMR version of a Taiga RISC-V soft processor on a Xilinx SRAM-based FPGA. The TMR RISC-V processor showed a 33× reduction in the neutron cross section and a 27% decrease in operational frequency, resulting in a 24× improvement of the mean work to failure with a cost of around 5.6× resource utilization.
Accelerated Shadow Detection and Removal Method

Shadows can have a negative effect on the ability of computer vision techniques for object detection, tracking, and recognition. Therefore, ability to remove shadows and byproducts of illumination is an important problem to enable effective object recognition actions. As applications move into levels of higher information extraction and higher required processing speeds, efficient and sophisticated shadow detection and removal becomes even more necessary. In this study we propose a shadow removal method, parallelize using a Tesla P100 GPU, and achieve a speedup of 21.67× on an 18 megapixel (MP) resolution image compared to the same method implemented in Matlab.
Causes of embryonic mortality in Espadarana prosoblepon (Anura: Centrolenidae) from Costa Rica

Causes of embryonic mortality in Espadarana prosoblepon (Anura: Centrolenidae) from Costa Rica. Members of the family Centrolenidae—commonly known as “glass frogs”—exhibit arboreal egg-laying behavior, depositing their clutches on riparian vegetation. Few studies have investigated specific causes of mortality during embryonic stages, perhaps the most vulnerable stage during the anuran life cycle. The Emerald Glass Frog, Espadarana prosoblepon, was used as a case study to investigate the causes of embryonic mortality in a species with short-term (i.e., less than 1 day) parental care. The specific sources of mortality of eggs of E. prosoblepon were quantified and overall rates of survival (hatching success) were estimated. Nineteen egg clutches were transferred from permanent outside enclosures to the wild. Clutch development was monitored daily until hatching; five mortality causes were quantified: desiccation, failure to develop, fungal infection, predation, and “rain-stripped.” The main causes of mortality were predation (often by katydids and wasps) and embryos stripped from the leaf during heavy rains. The results were compared to those of previous studies of centrolenids exhibiting parental care, and discussed in the context of the importance of the natural history data for these frogs with regard to understanding the evolutionary history of parental care in glass frogs.
Connecting high-resolution 3D chromatin organization with epigenomics

Abstract The resolution of chromatin conformation capture technologies keeps increasing, and the recent nucleosome resolution chromatin contact maps allow us to explore how fine-scale 3D chromatin organization is related to epigenomic states in human cells. Using publicly available Micro-C datasets, we have developed a deep learning model, CAESAR, to learn a mapping function from epigenomic features to 3D chromatin organization. The model accurately predicts fine-scale structures, such as short-range chromatin loops and stripes, that Hi-C fails to detect. With existing epigenomic datasets from ENCODE and Roadmap Epigenomics Project, we successfully imputed high-resolution 3D chromatin contact maps for 91 human tissues and cell lines. In the imputed high-resolution contact maps, we identified the spatial interactions between genes and their experimentally validated regulatory elements, demonstrating CAESAR’s potential in coupling transcriptional regulation with 3D chromatin organization at high resolution.
Body Appreciation and Discontinuing Contraceptive Use Due to Concern About Weight Gain: A Brief Report

Objective: This study explored the relationship between body appreciation and discontinuing contraception due to concern about weight gain. Methods: A racially and ethnically diverse sample of wome...
Empirical Quality Factor Prediction of Quarter-Mode Substrate Integrated Waveguide Resonators

Quarter-mode substrate integrated waveguide (QMSIW) is an effective technique to reduce the size of filters designed on SIW technology. An accurate prediction of the unloaded quality factor of QMSIW resonators helps to estimate the insertion loss of QMSIW filters. This article introduces new empirical equations to calculate the contribution of the finite conductor and radiation on the quality factors of QMSIW resonators. To show the accuracy of the equations, the calculated quality factor values are compared to values extracted from full-wave electromagnetic simulations for five different resonators at different frequencies and various substrate materials. For further comparison, these resonators were fabricated, and the quality factor values were extracted from measurements. The good agreement between simulations, measurements, and the predicted quality factors shows that accurate quality factor estimations can be made using the developed equations. Finally, a second-order filter is designed and fabricated to demonstrate the benefits of the proposed equations in microwave filter design.
Demonstrating Genetic Diversity in Rhizobia Using Patterns of Carbohydrate Utilization and Intrinsic Antibiotic Resistance

A large range of biochemical and metabolic tests are frequently used to differentiate between rhizobial species. These tests include vitamin requirements, salt, acid and alkali tolerance, carbohydrate utilization, and resistance to antibiotics. Carbohydrate utilization properties are of taxonomic significance, while resistance to low levels of antibiotics can be used for rhizobial strain characterization and identification.