cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Subjective versus Objective Questions: Perception of Question Subjectivity in Social Q&A

Recent research has indicated that social networking sites are being adopted as venues for online information-seeking. In order to understand questioner’s intention in social Q&A environments and to better facilitate such behaviors, we define two types of questions: subjective information-seeking questions and objective information seeking ones. To enable automatic detection on question subjectivity, we propose a predictive model that can accurately distinguish between the two classes of questions. By applying the classifier on a larger dataset, we present a comprehensive analysis to compare questions with subjective and objective orientations, in terms of their length, response speed, as well as the characteristics of their respondents. We find that the two types of questions exhibited very different characteristics. Also, we noticed that question subjectivity plays a significant role in attracting responses from strangers. Our results validate the expected benefits of differentiating questions according to their subjectivity orientations, and provide valuable insights for future design and development of tools that can assist the information seeking process under social context.
Examining maternal beliefs and human papillomavirus vaccine uptake among male and female children in low-income families.

Abstract Purpose This study examines within-family differences in the uptake of the HPV vaccine and HPV-related beliefs by children׳s sex. Methods From a 2011–2013 survey of mothers of children aged 9–17 years in Texas, mothers with both male and female children (n=350) were selected. Results Mothers were more likely to report having initiated and completed HPV vaccination for their daughters than sons. Mothers did not express differences by children׳s sex in HPV-related beliefs. Among those who had not completely vaccinated either child, mothers were more likely to report they wanted their daughters compared to sons vaccinated and were more likely to report feeling confident they could get their daughters vaccinated than their sons. Conclusion In this population, mothers were more likely to report HPV vaccination of and motivation to vaccinate daughters compared to sons, although maternal beliefs about HPV did not differ by children׳s sex.
Microwave Loss Measurements on YBCO Films Using a Stripline Resonator

Thin films of YBa2Cu3O7 were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering onto heated substrates, and were superconducting without a subsequent anneal. Several of these films were placed as ground planes in a stripline resonator in a temperature-controlled cryostat. The frequency dependence of the reflection coefficient was measured up to 3 GHz using a network analyzer. From the quality factor Q of the resonances, the microwave surface resistance RS of the superconducting films was determined over a range of temperatures. For a YBCO film on (100) LaGaO3, RS(2 GHz) was less than 3 mΩ for T<40K.
Othering in the EFL Classroom: An Action Research Study

The purpose of this action research study is to raise the comfort level of Qatari college students by investigating the phenomenon of 'othering' (stereotyping) in the classroom. The review of the literature helped establish theoretical framework for 'othering'. This study was conducted in the researcher's beginning-intermediate (level 2) classroom in an English as a Foreign Language (EFL) program. Data collection sources implemented for this study are interviews for both student and personnel participants, a survey for personnel, and a questionnaire for students.
Victory in War: Modern Origins of Victory

This chapter focuses specifically on how the works of the major strategists and theorists of war since the late nineteenth century contributed to the treatment and meaning of victory. Starting with a discussion of how ideas about total war influenced the development of victory, the chapter examines the impact of revolutionary ideologies and thinking about armored, maritime, air-power, and nuclear weapons on victory. Thus, the chapter describes how the ideas of critical strategists and theorists of the late-nineteenth and twentieth centuries proceeded from classical conceptions to influence the development of the modern theory and practice of victory in war. In a practical sense, these theorists have the closest analytic connection to how modern scholars and policymakers think about victory. The transition, from the classical to the modern understanding of victory, is an intermittent and often erratic process as two core elements of how individuals thought about victory evolved during the twentieth century. The first core element is the rapid pace of technological progress that heavily influenced modern thinking on victory in the context of offensive operations and total war. Military technology is viewed increasingly as the core element for achieving increasingly higher levels of victory when the state uses progressively more destructive land-based, maritime, and air-power elements of military force to conduct total war. Technology, it seems, contributes to military capabilities that increase the scale of destruction culminating with the advent of nuclear weapons that eventually rendered strategic victory in total war both unachievable and impractical.
THE NEW REGIME HYPOTHESIS

As described in Chapter 2, the Transitional Identity Model is based on the premise that economic conditions affect parties' electoral fortunes based on their Transitional Identity, as opposed to their position in or out of the current government. The model yields two hypotheses. In Chapter 7, I assess the empirical support for the Old Regime hypothesis, which predicts that Old Regime parties should do better where economic conditions are worse. In this chapter, I examine the degree of empirical support for the New Regime hypothesis, which predicts that New Regime parties should enjoy more electoral support in regions of the country where economic conditions are better. Overall, there is significantly more empirical support for the New Regime hypothesis than there is for the Incumbency hypothesis. Of the forty New Regime parties in the study – see Table 6.1 for coding – there is strong empirical support for the New Regime hypothesis in twenty-five of these cases, or 63% of the time. Moreover, there is only one case in the entire study in which we are at least 90% confident that the candidate performed better when the economy was worse. There is support for the hypothesis across a wide variety of contexts, including presidential and parliamentary elections, elections in Russia and East-Central Europe, and elections that occurred throughout the decade. Interestingly, the hypothesis generates the least support in Slovakia, a point that will be discussed in greater detail later in this chapter.
Limit Load of Pressurized Cylinder-Nozzle Intersection Using Finite Element Method

Pressure vessel contained with different nozzles which caused geometric discontinuity of the pressure vessel wall, which resulted in stress concentration around the nozzle. There may be the chances of failure of vessel junction, which was attributed to the high stress concentration. Therefore, detail stress distribution analysis need to be done for pressure vessel with the nozzle. Determination of limit pressure at different location on lateral nozzle by using finite element method. Lateral nozzle was subjected to internal pressure and in-plane bending moment. Results found that plastic hinge occurred in the nozzle-vessel junction area shoulder. Plastic limit loading increased with the increasing of outside diameter and wall thickness of branch pipe when the size of primary piping was constant value, whereby the influence of outside diameter of branch pipe was more remarkable. Moreover, engineering estimation formulas of plastic limit in-plane bending moment was obtained based on plastic limit loading database.
PLI: Augmenting Live Databases with Custom Clustered Indexes

RDBMSes only support one clustered index per database table that can speed up query processing. Database applications, that continually ingest large amounts of data, perceive slow query response times to long downtimes, as the clustered index ordering must be strictly maintained. In this paper, we show that application slowdown or downtime, however, can often be avoided if database systems expose the physical location of attributes that are completely or approximately clustered.Towards this, we propose PLI, a physical location index, constructed by determining the physical ordering of an attribute and creating approximately sorted buckets that map physical ordering with attribute values in a live database. To use a PLI incoming SQL queries are simply rewritten with physical ordering information for that particular database. Experiments show queries with the PLI index significantly outperform queries using native unclustered (secondary) indexes, while the index itself requires a much lower maintenance overheads when compared to native clustered indexes.
Caloric Restriction Engages Hepatic RNA Processing Mechanisms in Rhesus Monkeys

Summary Caloric restriction (CR) extends lifespan and delays the onset of age-related disorders in diverse species. Metabolic regulatory pathways have been implicated in the mechanisms of CR, but the molecular details have not been elucidated. Here, we show that CR engages RNA processing of genes associated with a highly integrated reprogramming of hepatic metabolism. We conducted molecular profiling of liver biopsies collected from adult male rhesus monkeys ( Macaca mulatta ) at baseline and after 2 years on control or CR (30% restricted) diet. Quantitation of over 20,000 molecules from the hepatic transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome indicated that metabolism and RNA processing are major features of the response to CR. Predictive models identified lipid, branched-chain amino acid, and short-chain carbon metabolic pathways, with alternate transcript use for over half of the genes in the CR network. We conclude that RNA-based mechanisms are central to the CR response and integral in metabolic reprogramming.
Symbol-Level Cross-Technology Communication via Payload Encoding

To mitigate the issue of cross-technology interference (CTI) under dense wireless, cross-technology communication (CTC) was recently proposed, which enables direct communication among heterogeneous wireless technologies. We present SymBee, a novel ZigBee to WiFi CTC with symbol-level encoding for performance breakthrough from packet-level state-of-the-arts. SymBee is uniquely built on the new insight on ZigBee-WiFi physical layer cross-observability - i.e., the output on WiFi when fed with ZigBee signal (due to frequency overlap). This is analyzed experimentally and theoretically through rigorous derivations, from which the key innovation in SymBee design, i.e., payload encoding, stems; Conveying data across technologies is as simple as putting specific symbols in ZigBee packet payload, such that they yield unique and easily detectable patterns when cross-observed at WiFi. This symbol-level encoding is fully compatible with any commodity ZigBee device. Decoding at WiFi is a light-weight function that recycles the output from idle listening, thereby minimizing the computation while keeping compatibility to WiFi standard. SymBee is extensively evaluated both theoretically and experimentally through testbed evaluations on six distinct locations including outdoor. The result demonstrate that SymBee reaches the throughput of up to 31.25kbps, 145.4× faster than the state-of-the-art.
The Bootstrap of Empirical Processes for α-Mixing Sequences

It is shown that the blockwise bootstrap of the empirical process for stationary α-mixing sequences, indexed by indicators of the half lines, converges weakly to the appropriate Gaussian process, conditionally in probability. The conditions imposed are weaker than the weakest known sufficient conditions for the regular CLT for these processes.
Calmodulin: properties, intracellular localization, and multiple roles in cell regulation.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the properties and intracellular localization of calmodulin. It also describes its multiple roles in cell regulation. All cells contain a calcium-binding protein that has been termed calmodulin, which is an intracellular calcium receptor. It binds calcium with high affinity and high specificity in analogy with the steroid hormone receptor systems. It is the major calcium-binding protein in smooth and nonmuscle cells. It has no alternate function so far discovered except to bind calcium. There are multiple binding or acceptor proteins for the calmodulin–calcium complex. This protein is ubiquitous and structurally conserved. Calmodulin has been shown to regulate a variety of intracellular processes. Calmodulin contains 4 metal-binding sites. In studies carried out by equilibrium dialysis, it is suggested that the 4 calcium-binding sites are all calcium specific and are equivalent.
Vortex Lattice Structure in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+ delta at High Temperatures.

The microscopic structure of the magnetic flux-line lattice (FLL) in Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub 8+{delta}} superconductors was studied at temperatures up to 77K by decoration. Comparison of FLLs obtained at 55 and 4.2K shows that twisted bond defects are a manifestation of thermal fluctuations at elevated temperature. Analyses of the orientational and translational correlation functions for field and zero-field cooled lattices obtained at 55K suggest that the observed FLL is an equilibrium hexatic. These data were also used to estimate the FLL freezing temperature. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Testing a behavioral intervention to improve adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET).

Abstract Adjuvant endocrine therapy (AET) is used to prevent recurrence and reduce mortality for women with hormone receptor positive breast cancer. Poor adherence to AET is a significant problem and contributes to increased medical costs and mortality. A variety of problematic symptoms associated with AET are related to non-adherence and early discontinuation of treatment. The goal of this study is to test a novel, telephone-based coping skills training that teaches patients adherence skills and techniques for coping with problematic symptoms (CST-AET). Adherence to AET will be assessed in real-time for 18 months using wireless smart pill bottles. Symptom interference (i.e., pain, vasomotor symptoms, sleep problems, vaginal dryness) and cost-effectiveness of the intervention protocol will be examined as secondary outcomes. Participants (N = 400) will be recruited from a tertiary care medical center or community clinics in medically underserved or rural areas. Participants will be randomized to receive CST-AET or a general health education intervention (comparison condition). CST-AET includes ten nurse-delivered calls delivered over 6 months. CST-AET provides systematic training in coping skills for managing symptoms that interfere with adherence. Interactive voice messaging provides reinforcement for skills use and adherence that is tailored based on real-time adherence data from the wireless smart pill bottles. Given the high rates of non-adherence and recent recommendations that women remain on AET for 10 years, we describe a timely trial. If effective, the CST-AET protocol may not only reduce the burden of AET use but also lead to cost-effective changes in clinical care and improve breast cancer outcomes. Trials registration: ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT02707471 , registered 3/3/2016.
Early and Midterm Outcomes of Valve-Sparing Aortic Root Replacement-Reimplantation Technique.

Background Valve-sparing aortic root replacement (VSARR) is an increasingly popular alternative to traditional aortic root replacement for aortic root aneurysm disease with a normal aortic valve. We evaluated the early and midterm outcomes of VSARR—reimplantation technique (VSARR-RT) done at a single institution over a decade. Materials and Methods We performed a retrospective study of all patients who underwent VSARR-RT between January 2004 and July 2014. Results A total of 85 patients underwent VSARR-RT. Median time to latest echocardiographic follow-up was 4 years (range: 15–72 months). Total observation time was 491 patient years. Mean age was 44.6 ± 14.3 years, and 13 (15%) were women. Thirty-nine (46%) patients had a connective tissue disorder and 6 (7%) had a bicuspid aortic valve. Thirty-three (39%) patients underwent concomitant procedures, including coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 9, 11%), mitral valve repair (n = 8, 9%), and aortic hemi-arch replacement (n = 7, 8%). There were no operative deaths or in-house mortality and no postoperative strokes. Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrated survival of 99% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 97–100%) at 2 years and 98% (95% CI: 97–100%) at 8 years. Freedom from reoperation was 95.8% (95% CI: 91.2–100%) at 8 years. Freedom from endocarditis was 100% at 8 years. At the last echocardiographic follow-up, 95% of patients were free of severe aortic regurgitation (AR) and 82% free of moderate AR. Of the four patients who had severe AR, three underwent reoperations and received prosthetic valves and one is being clinically monitored. Conclusion This study reports early and midterm outcomes after VSARR-RT at our institution, including those patients who underwent a VSARR-RT procedure combined with other procedures. Further follow-up remains necessary to determine long-term outcomes.
Effect of Adenylyl Cyclase Type 6 on Localized Production of cAMP by β-2 Adrenoceptors in Human Airway Smooth-Muscle Cells.

β2-Adrenoceptors (β2ARs) are concentrated in caveolar lipid raft domains of the plasma membrane in airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells, along with adenylyl cyclase type 6 (AC6). This is believed to contribute to how these receptors can selectively regulate certain types of cAMP-dependent responses in these cells. The goal of the present study was to test the hypothesis that β2AR production of cAMP is localized to specific subcellular compartments using fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based cAMP biosensors targeted to different microdomains in human ASM cells. Epac2-MyrPalm and Epac2-CAAX biosensors were used to measure responses associated with lipid raft and non-raft regions of the plasma membrane, respectively. Activation of β2ARs with isoproterenol produced cAMP responses most readily detected in lipid raft domains. Furthermore, overexpression of AC6 somewhat paradoxically inhibited β2AR production of cAMP in lipid raft domains, without affecting β2AR responses detected in other subcellular locations or cAMP responses to EP2 prostaglandin receptor activation, which were confined primarily to non-raft domains of the plasma membrane. The inhibitory effect of overexpressing AC6 was blocked by inhibition of phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE4) activity with rolipram, inhibition of protein kinase A (PKA) activity with H89, and inhibition of A kinase anchoring protein (AKAP) interactions with the peptide inhibitor Ht31. These results support the idea that overexpression of AC6 leads to enhanced feedback activation of PDE4 via phosphorylation by PKA that is part of an AKAP-dependent signaling complex. This provides insight into the molecular basis for localized regulation of cAMP signaling in human ASM cells. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT N/A
Diabetes, dysglycemia, and vascular surgery.

Abstract Background Abnormalities in glucose metabolism are common in patients with arterial disease. Chronic hyperglycemia and insulin resistance contribute to the complexity of vascular disorders. They also overlap with the effects of perioperative hyperglycemia on adverse perioperative outcomes. We provide an overview of the pathophysiologic consequences of dysglycemia and the evidence behind glycemic control in patients undergoing vascular surgery. Methods We searched the literature for major studies evaluating the pathophysiology of hyperglycemia in microvascular and macrovascular beds, randomized trials in perioperative populations, and meta-analyses. The literature was summarized to guide therapy in the population of vascular patients and for the perioperative period. Results National standards for glycemic control after vascular interventions were not identified. Mounting evidence exists for the long-term consequences of poor glycemic control on the progression of vascular disease. Similarly, there is a large body of evidence supporting tight control of hyperglycemia after general and cardiac surgery during the critical perioperative period. The absolute glucose target remains controversial. Randomized controlled studies are lacking in vascular surgery patients, but the current evidence can be extrapolated to guide management after vascular interventions. Glycated hemoglobin is a biomarker for increased mortality and vascular morbidity after vascular surgery. Conclusions Hyperglycemia contributes to poor outcome in the vascular patient. Further vascular focused studies are required to determine the proper perioperative serum glucose target and the long-term glycated hemoglobin range.
Spousal support and self-determined physical activity in individuals with multiple sclerosis: A theory-informed qualitative exploration

Abstract Background Individuals with multiple sclerosis (MS) tend to exhibit high levels of sedentary behavior which contributes to increased disability and comorbidity. Understanding what factors underlie the motivation to be physically active in this group is therefore important. Objective This theory-informed qualitative study explored spousal support and behavior in fostering self-determined physical activity engagement of adults with MS. Methods Eight couples were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide derived from Self-Determination Theory. Results Analysis of transcribed audio recordings revealed that supportive and empathetic spousal communication, encouragement and expectations regarding physical activity, and bonding through co-participation increased feelings of relatedness. In addition, co-planning and problem-solving around physical activity and serving as a behavioral model facilitated perceptions of competency, while spouses who valued their partners’ independence and offered choice enhanced autonomous motivation for physical activity. Conclusions Insight into the marital context that supports self-determined physical activity decisions of individuals with MS may better inform family-oriented health promotion approaches in this group.
Injection of gadoversetamide, a new gadolinium chelate: ultra-high dose usage for MRI of the central nervous system

The objective of this phase II study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness and the optimal dosage of gadoversetamide. Eighty-one patients underwent two complete MRI examinations of the head or spine between 1 and 5 days apart. Each received two different randomized intravenous doses of gadoversetamide, either 0.1,0.3 or 0.5 mmol/kg. Identical imaging parameters and injection rates were maintained. Baseline and follow-up hematologic and blood and urine chemistry tests were obtained. Vital signs were obtained at predetermined intervals. Seventy-three patients completed the study, for a total of 146 injections. No clincally significant or life-threatening adverse effects were noted, nor were clinically significant changes in vital signs or laboratory values attributable to the contrast agent observed. Gadoversetamide is a new non-ionic gadolinium chelate which, based on these preliminary studies, appears to be safe and effective over a wide range of doses for MRI of the head and spine
Cerebral blood flow regulation in end-stage kidney disease

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) experience an increased risk of cerebrovascular disease and cognitive dysfunction. Hemodialysis (HD), a major modality...
Students’ Perception of a Method for Identifying Topics for Research Questions

In this Research Full Paper, the results of an approach for identifying research topics are presented. The initial step in developing research questions is identifying an interesting topic. The challenge is making the transition from an interest to a topic specific enough to support a research project. The purpose of this study is to assess students’ perception of a method designed to help with identifying research topics. In this paper we examine, compare and present results from undergraduates who used the Activity Worksheet Method to identify research topics for semester projects. The main research question is "How do students perceive the usability of the activity worksheet method for identifying topics?" A higher order thinking framework and elements of information literacy framework are used to address two key important aspects of identifying topics: 1) articulating what is known and 2) identifying lack of knowledge about a topic. The activity worksheet for identifying topics was completed by 45 students enrolled in two sections of an undergraduate data visualization course at Purdue University. After completing the worksheet students were asked to provide feedback on the usability of the worksheet. This feedback was provided as a Likert scale rating from 1-5, with 1 being strongly disagree and 5 being strongly agree. Results show 63.7% of responses were "agree" or "strongly agree" that the worksheet is helpful in identifying topics. This research is significant because it helps students to think critically about topic selections for research projects. As students understand what they know and need to know about topics they choose, their understanding will inform the types of questions they ask in the next stage of the developing research questions process: transforming topics into questions. The contribution of this work is a methodical approach to assist, in any discipline, in helping students to develop sound research questions. The implications of this work will help students to build skills in recognizing a need for information and data to answer a specific research question -a practice that is required in engineering and computing education.
Effects of the housing environment and laying hen strain on tibia and femur bone properties of different laying phases of Hy-Line hens.

This study aimed to determine the effect of the housing environment and laying hen strain on tibia and femur properties. A 3 × 2 factorial arrangement of 3 housing environments (conventional cages [CC], enriched colony cages [EC], and free range [FR]) and 2 laying hen strains (Hy-Line W-36 [W-36] and Hy-Line Brown [HB]) in a completely randomized design was conducted from 32 to 85 wk of age. Six left tibias were collected at 8 different time points (38, 45, 52, 59, 65, 72, 79, and 85 wk of age), whereas 6 left femurs were collected at 3 time points (38, 65, and 85 wk of age). Tibias were evaluated for tibia breaking strength (TBS) and ash percentage, whereas femurs were evaluated for bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content, bone volume as a fraction tissue volume, and porosity percentage from total, cortical, medullary, and trabecular bones. The higher TBS (P = 0.0005) and ash percentage (P = 0.045) was observed in hens raised in FR systems compared with those raised in the CC. Overall, TBS of W-36 hens was significantly greater than that of HB hens (P 0.05). An interaction between the housing environment and hen strain was observed for BMD (P = 0.04), wherein W-36 hens raised in the FR system had higher BMD than HB hens. Similarly, hens raised in FR systems had higher trabecular bone volume than those raised in CC (P = 0.022). Hen strain influenced total and cortical bone properties: BMD, bone volume as a fraction tissue volume, and porosity percentage, wherein W-36 hens had better properties than HB hens (P < 0.05). Trabecular BMD was higher in W-36 hens than in HB hens (P = 0.04), whereas bone volume was higher in HB hens (P < 0.0001). The results suggest that raising laying hens in alternative housing systems that have provision for exercise such as FR reduces structural bone loss, stimulate structural bone formation, and improve breaking strength of bones; however, it varies with the strain.
Entry and Disposition of Zika Virus Immune Complexes in a Tissue Culture Model of the Maternal-Fetal Interface.

Zika virus (ZIKV) infections have been associated with an increased incidence of severe microcephaly and other neurodevelopmental disorders in newborn babies. Passive immunization with anti-ZIKV neutralizing antibodies has the potential to become a feasible treatment or prophylaxis option during pregnancy. Prior to clinical use, such antibodies should be assessed for their ability to block ZIKV passage to the fetus. We used human placental and mammalian cell monolayers that express FcRn and laboratory preparations of anti-ZIKV antibodies as a model system to investigate the disposition of ZIKV/antibody immune complexes (ICs) at the maternal-fetal interface. We further characterized solution properties of the ICs to evaluate whether these are related to in vitro effects. We found that both ZIKV and ZIKV envelope glycoprotein can enter and passage through epithelial cells, especially those that overexpress FcRn. In the presence of ZIKV antibodies, Zika virus entry was bimodal, with reduced entry at the lowest (0.3–3 ng/mL) and highest (µg/mL) antibody concentrations. Intermediate concentrations attenuated inhibition or enhanced viral entry. With respect to anti-ZIKV antibodies, we found that their degradation was accelerated when presented as ICs containing increased amounts of ZIKV immunogen. Of the two monoclonal antibodies tested, the preparation with higher aggregation also exhibited higher degradation. Our studies confirm that intact Zika virus and its envelope immunogen have the potential to enter and be transferred across placental and other epithelial cells that express FcRn. Presence of anti-ZIKV IgG antibodies can either block or enhance cellular entry, with the antibody concentration playing a complex role in this process. Physicochemical properties of IgG antibodies can influence their degradation in vitro.
The role of nature in the self-ownership proviso

Eric Mack defends a version of John Locke’s proviso. Mack applies his proviso to original appropriations, uses, and systems of private property. His proviso precludes severely disabling the world-interactive powers of others. Mack specifically warns against using concrete features of the natural world as a baseline for determine whether the proviso has been violated. While his proviso is plausible, I argue that he cannot. eschew employing the receptivity of the natural, unowned world to the extent that he suggests. We cannot determine whether one’s powers are disabled or diminished without knowing how receptive the world would be to those powers had a system of private property not arisen. The upshot of this paper is that the requirements of a well-formulated proviso is an empirical matter.
Correlates of birth registrations in East and Southern Africa and implications for civil registration and vital statistics systems.

Abstract Objectives To analyze the role of both demand- and supply-side factors affecting birth registrations in East and Southern Africa by combining information on children, mothers, and their household on the one hand and information on the areas where they live on the other hand. Study design The study used deidentified data from recent Demographic and Health Surveys implemented in five East and Southern African countries: Malawi (2015), Mozambique (2011), Uganda (2016), Tanzania (2015), and Zambia (2013–2014). The analysis was based on children under the age of five whose mothers provided information on whether the child's birth was registered administratively and whether they have a birth certificate. Methods Multivariate logistic regression was conducted, and the odds ratios with the 95% confidence intervals are reported. The dependent variable is binary and indicates whether a child was registered or not. Separate analyses were performed for each country to test for similarity in results across countries. In addition, regression analysis was carried out on a pooled sample of the countries. Results There are differences between countries in the variables for which statistically significant associations with the likelihood of birth registration are observed. For example, the birth order of the child is statistically significant only for Mozambique with later children more likely to be registered. In addition, delivery in a healthcare facility is associated with a marginal gain in the likelihood of registration, except for Mozambique. By and large, when considering all five countries, there is no large gain or loss of residing in an urban area after controlling for the other independent variables included in the analysis. Generally, a higher level of educational attainment for the mother is associated with a higher likelihood of registration, with especially large gains in Tanzania and Mozambique at the postsecondary level. The effect of education remains statistically significant in the pooled sample. Conclusions Birth registration matters for a wide range of development outcomes and ensuring universal registration is a key target under the Sustainable Development Goals. Unfortunately, many low-income countries continue to have low rates of birth registration, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Changing the status quo will require considering both demand-side and supply-side factors constraining birth registrations.
Perivalvular Abscess Causing Coronary-Artery Compression

Perivalvular Abscess Causing Coronary-Artery Compression A 67-year-old woman presented with fatigue and anorexia. Streptococcus mutans was grown on blood culture, and an abscess was detected in the...
Problem drinking as intentional risky behavior: Examining the association between state health insurance coverage and excessive alcohol consumption

Abstract The moral hazard theory asserts that having health insurance may increase individual risk-taking behaviors. We examined the association between state health insurance coverage and excessive alcohol use among U.S. adults. We used 2001–2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to estimate annual binge and heavy drinking rates for each state. In a multivariable regression analysis, we used difference-in-difference (DID) models to assess the association between state-level insurance coverage and binge and heavy drinking. Additionally, we assess the potential asymmetric effect and whether economic recessions (2001, 2008–09) had a moderation effect. In the multivariable DID analysis, aggregate state insurance coverage was not significantly associated with binge drinking rates in baseline analysis with state-fixed effects (Model 1), and in the analysis that extends the baseline model to include state unique time trend (Model 2). A similar result was found for heavy drinking in Model 1. In contrast, the result showed a significant association between health insurance coverage and heavy drinking rates in Model 2. However, we found no significant association for binge and heavy drinking rates in both models in the analyses restricting data to periods before the methodological change in the BRFSS sampling frame. The results did not show asymmetric effects, and the association between health insurance and excessive alcohol use did not differ during economic recessions. These findings largely do not support assertions that health insurance may lead to moral hazards (risk-taking behaviors), especially binge drinking
A representative-sandwich model for simultaneously coupled mechanical-electrical-thermal simulation of a lithium-ion cell under quasi-static indentation tests

Abstract The safety behavior of lithium-ion batteries under external mechanical crush is a critical concern, especially during large-scale deployment. We previously presented a sequentially coupled mechanical-electrical-thermal modeling approach for studying mechanical-abuse-induced short circuit. In this work, we study different mechanical test conditions and examine the interaction between mechanical failure and electrical-thermal responses, by developing a simultaneously coupled mechanical-electrical-thermal model. The present work utilizes a single representative-sandwich (RS) to model the full pouch cell with explicit representations for each individual component such as the active material, current collector, separator, etc. Anisotropic constitutive material models are presented to describe the mechanical properties of active materials and separator. The model predicts accurately the force-strain response and fracture of battery structure, simulates the local failure of separator layer, and captures the onset of short circuit for lithium-ion battery cells under sphere indentation tests with three different diameters. Electrical-thermal responses to the three different indentation tests are elaborated and discussed. Numerical studies are presented to show the potential impact of test conditions on the electrical-thermal behavior of the cell after the occurrence of short circuit.
Pituitary responsiveness to synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone during pregnancy: effect on follicle-stimulating hormone secretion.

Abstract Thirteen pregnant women were given synthetic luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) by a single intravenous injection. Serum concentrations of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured by radioimmunoassay. A significant rise in FSH was found after LH-RH administration in 10 of the 13 patients; however the response was very variable in each case. The maximum increase in the serum levels of FSH above the base line remained constant with the advancement of pregnancy. The present study confirms that the pituitary gland responds to LH-RH administration with the secretion of FSH despite the high levels of sex steroid and chorionic gonadotropin during pregnancy.
Peroxynitrite-mediated protein nitration and lipid peroxidation in a mouse model of traumatic brain injury.

The role of reactive oxygen-induced oxidative damage to lipids (i.e., lipid peroxidation, LP) and proteins has been strongly supported in previous work. Most notably, a number of free radical scavengers and lipid antioxidants have been demonstated to be neuroprotective in traumatic brain injury (TBI) models. However, the specific sources of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the time course of oxidative damage and its relationship to post-traumatic neurodegeneration in the injured brain have been incompletely defined. The present study was directed at an investigation of the role of the ROS, peroxynitrite (PON), in the acute pathophysiology of TBI and its temporal relationship to neurodegeneration in the context of the mouse model of diffuse head injury model. Male CF-1 mice were subjected to a moderately severe head injury and assessed at 1-, 3-, 6-, 12-, 24-, 48-, 72, 96- and 120-h post-injury for neurodegeneration using quantitative image analysis of silver staining and semi-quantitative analysis of PON-me...
From weight watchers to state watchers: Towards a narrative of liberalism A review essay on: Alan S. Kahan. Mind vs. Money: The War between Intellectuals and Capitalism. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers. 2010

Alan Kahan’s Mind vs. Money: The War between Intellectuals and Capitalism (Transaction Publishers, 2010) treats intellectuals as a class and tells of intellectuals’ yearning to play the role of cleric and aristocrat. Kahan says that intellectuals are necessarily alienated from “capitalism.” In this essay, I discuss Kahan’s erudite and insightful—though sometimes exasperating—work, and I take the opportunity to develop some ideas on the topic, ideas in line with Hayek’s thought.
The nuclear pore: at the crossroads.

The nuclear pore complex is at the crossroads of macromolecular traffic across the nuclear envelope. Our knowledge of the mechanism whereby nuclear transport is mediated by the nuclear pore complex is also at a crossroads; a molecular understanding of this process has major implications for applied medical sciences. This becomes obvious with the realization that nuclear proteins are synthesized in the cytoplasm and yet function in the nucleus, and that RNA is transcribed in the nucleus but translated in the cytoplasm. Thus, control of macromolecular traffic across the nuclear membrane is an important means for altering the levels and activities of such molecules as steroid hormone receptors, transcription factors, and enzymes involved in DNA replication. Nuclear proteins have been found to contain nuclear localization sequences (NLS) rich in basic amino acids, which target them for transport through the nuclear pore to the nucleus. It is also clear that a group of novel glycoproteins having a unique carbo...
Efficient approaches to resource allocation in MIMO-based wireless mesh networks

Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) communications have shown great promise in providing high spectral efficiency for wireless mesh networks. We have proposed CrossLayerMethod [1] to solve the resource allocation problem including joint routing, scheduling, and power control for MIMO-based mesh networks. However, the computation complexity is prohibitively expensive for networks with more than ten nodes. The goal of this work is to develop efficient approaches including ProtocolMethod, ProtocolWithActualMethod and SequentialMethod, to solve the resource allocation problem for moderate to large MIMO-based mesh networks. Among them, ProtocolWithActualMethod, a two-step approach, achieves the compromise of performance and computation complexity. The first step implements ProtocolMethod, which applies the iterative approach proposed in [2] to solve the problem without considering interference among MIMO links. The second step is to compute the actual throughput over the set of assignments found in first step. Large numbers of numerical experiments are used to show the performance of these methods.
The Senior Leader as Both a Strategist and Technical Specialist

In the past, it was not uncommon for a major league baseball manager to also be one of the players of the team. Today, these positions are so specialized that this practice no longer occurs. However, modern organizations are increasingly moving in the direction of the old baseball team model, having senior leaders also “playing” in operational roles. I refer to this phenomenon as the “John McGraw duality,” in honor of a player/manager, who for eight seasons, managed a team to a World Series championship and also played at a level where he led the league in on-base-percentage three times. John McGraw (1873-1934) had a skill set that allowed him to be a very successful leader. His team depended on him for his individual expertise on the field and at the plate. As we plunge further into the twenty-first century, the role of senior leader continues to change and evolve.
Getting a handle on how the brain generates complexity.

Sensory processing in cortex across modalities appears to rely on a “simple-to-complex” hierarchical computational strategy in which neurons at later levels in the hierarchy combine inputs from earlier levels to create more complex neuronal selectivities. The specifics of this process are still poorly understood, however. In this issue of Network, Plebe shows how computational modeling of experimental data on neuronal tuning in secondary visual cortex can help us understand how the brain increases neuronal tuning complexity across the visual cortical hierarchy.
Control of enzyme activity and metabolic pathways

Abstract The editors have asked that writers for this anniversary issue should analyse their topics with a somewhat myopic view of the past (extending back only a few years) and a brilliant farsighted view of the future. No more hazardous undertaking could be imagined, yet a number of experienced individuals who should know better have been willing to do so. In the case of metabolic regulation the easy reply could be that ‘there is no future'. Large numbers of students in the modern era regard metabolic pathways as a solved problem. Science, however, has a way of providing employment to its loyal servants, so the fields of enzyme regulation and metabolic pathways, far from being dead, may be entering one of their most exciting phases.
Entrepreneurs' Social Skills and New Venture Performance: Mediating Mechanisms and Cultural Generality

This research seeks to extend previous findings concerning the relationship between entrepreneurs' social skills and new venture performance. Two potential mediators of such effects (entrepreneurs' success in obtaining information and essential resources) were investigated, and data were collected in a culture not included in previous studies (China). Results indicate that several social skills (e.g., social perception, expressiveness) are significantly related to measures of new venture performance and that these effects are indeed mediated by the two proposed mediating variables. Implications of these findings for efforts to understand how micro-level variables influence macro-level measures of new venture performance are discussed.
Acid-catalyzed thermolysis of dicyclopropyl ketimines. Substituent effects on the course of the rearrangement

Abstract On thermolysis with ammonium halides, dicyclopropyl ketimines yield cyclopropyl pyrrolines resulting from SN2 ring-opening by the nucleophilic halide. In the absence of a nucleophilic counterion, the acid-catalyzed thermolyses lead to pyrroles if there can be stabilization of cationic intermediates by an electron-releasing substituent.
Appropriate Tissue- and Cell-specific Expression of a Single Copy Human Angiotensinogen Transgene Specifically Targeted Upstream of the HPRT Locus by Homologous Recombination

Development of experimental models by genetic manipulation in mice has proven to be very useful in determining the significance of particular genes in the development of or susceptibility to hypertension. Advances in molecular genetics, transgenic mouse technology, and physiological measurements in mice provided an opportunity to go a step further and develop models to analyze the physiological significance of specific gene variants potentially causing hypertension. In this report, we describe the development of a human angiotensinogen transgenic mouse model generated by targeting the human angiotensinogen gene upstream of the mouse HPRT locus by homologous recombination. The main benefit of this transgenic mouse model is that the human angiotensinogen gene is inserted into the mouse genome as a single copy at a predefined locus and in a specific orientation—a process that can be repeated utilizing other variants of this gene. We establish the validity of this approach by showing that the hAGThprt mice have normal tissue- and cell-specific expression of the human angiotensinogen gene and normally produce and process the hAGT protein at physiological levels.