cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evolutionary and Ecological Causes of the Latitudinal Diversity Gradient in Hylid Frogs: Treefrog Trees Unearth the Roots of High Tropical Diversity

Why are there more species in the tropics than in temperate regions? In recent years, this long-standing question has been addressed primarily by seeking environmental correlates of diversity. But to understand the ultimate causes of diversity patterns, we must also examine the evolutionary and biogeographic processes that directly change species numbers (i.e., speciation, extinction, and dispersal). With this perspective, we dissect the latitudinal diversity gradient in hylid frogs. We reconstruct a phylogeny for 124 hylid species, estimate divergence times and diversification rates for major clades, reconstruct biogeographic changes, and use ecological niche modeling to identify climatic variables that potentially limit dispersal. We find that hylids originated in tropical South America and spread to temperate regions only recently (leaving limited time for speciation). There is a strong relationship between the species richness of each region and when that region was colonized but not between the latitudinal positions of clades and their rates of diversification. Temperature seasonality seemingly limits dispersal of many tropical clades into temperate regions and shows significant phylogenetic conservatism. Overall, our study illustrates how two general principles (niche conservatism and the time-for-speciation effect) may help explain the latitudinal diversity gradient as well as many other diversity patterns across taxa and regions.
Fact-based question decomposition in DeepQA

Factoid questions often contain more than one fact or assertion about their answers. Question-answering (QA) systems, however, typically do not use such fine-grained distinctions because of the need for deep understanding of the question in order to identify and separate the facts. We argue that decomposing complex factoid questions is beneficial to QA systems, because the more facts that support an answer candidate, the more likely it is to be the correct answer. We broadly categorize decomposable questions into two types: parallel and nested. Parallel decomposable questions contain subquestions that can be evaluated independent of each other. Nested questions require decompositions to be processed in sequence, with the answer to an "inner" subquestion plugged into an Bouter[ subquestion. In this paper, we present a novel question decomposition framework capable of handling both decomposition types, built on top of the base IBM Watsoni QA system for Jeopardy!™. The framework contains a suite of decomposition rules that use predominantly lexico-syntactic features to identify facts within complex questions. It also contains a question-rewriting component and a candidate re-ranker, which uses machine learning and heuristic selection strategies to generate a final ranked answer list, taking into account answer confidences from the base QA system. We apply our decomposition framework to the particularly challenging domain of Final Jeopardy! questions, which are found to be difficult even for qualified Jeopardy! players, and we show a statistically significant improvement in the performance of our baseline QA system.
Durational correlates for differentiating consonant sequences in Russian

In Russian, the same consonant sequences are permitted in various phonotactic environments. The presence of a word boundary or reduced vowel can be phonologically contrastive, and both learners and experienced listeners may rely on fine acoustic cues to discriminate between phonotactic possibilities. In this study, durational characteristics of consonant sequences are examined to establish whether speakers use duration to distinguish (a) word-initial clusters (#C1C2), (b) consonant–schwa–consonant sequences (#C1əC2), and (c) sequences divided by a word boundary (C1#C2). Both monolingual native Russian speakers and bilingual Russian–English speakers produced several types of target sequences: stop+consonant, fricative+consonant, and nasal+consonant. Results show that C2 is significantly longer in C1#C2 than in other sequences. For #C1C2, when C1 is a stop, there is no significant difference in duration when compared with other sequence types, though C1s of other manners are significantly shorter. Differences in C1 burst duration for stops are consonant-specific, but a longer interconsonantal duration is a reliable cue to schwa presence in #C1əC2. These results are discussed with respect to their implications for gestural coordination, segmentation, and language learning.
Heparin mediates transmembrane potassium transfer in hyperkalemic dogs.

Unheparinized, ureter-ligated control dogs that are potassium loaded, i.e., infused with 2 mEq of KCl/kg until prelethal electrocardiographic changes of hyperkalemic cardiotoxicity appear (end point), transfer 57 +/- 4% (1.7 +/- 0.1 mEq/kg) of administered potassium to intracellular fluid. Heparinized controls transfer 73 +/- 1% (3.2 +/- 0.2 mEq/kg); with simultaneous alpha-adrenoreceptor blockade, that proportion increases to 81 +/- 2% (4.80 +/- 0.7 mEq/kg) and with simultaneous beta-receptor blockade it is 58 +/- 3% (1.1 +/- 0.1 mEq/kg). In potassium loaded, ureter-ligated dogs, heparin increases transmembrane potassium transfer as effectively as does a dosage of atropine large enough to cross the blood-brain barrier and its influence on potassium transfer, like that of atropine, is suppressed by beta-adrenoreceptor blockade.
Predictors of quality of life after treatment for oral cavity and oropharyngeal carcinoma.

Background Treatment for head and neck cancer, including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, can impact quality of life. Design Patients seen at an academic institution and treated for oral cavity and oropharyngeal carcinoma were asked to participate. The standardized University of Michigan Head and Neck Specific Quality of Life questionnaire was distributed. Results Eighty-seven patients completed the questionnaire. The majority had squamous cell carcinoma (94%), stage III or IV disease (53%), and a history of tobacco or alcohol dependence (59%), and were male (62%). Eighteen percent had free-tissue transfer (fibula free flap in 8% and radial forearm free flap in 10%). Predictors of worse quality of life included advanced stage, gastrostomy-tube dependence, complication, or recurrence. Conclusion Stage, gastrostomy-tube dependence, complication, recurrence, and treatment modality influence quality of life. A better understanding of the impact of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer treatment on quality of life will enable us to better advise our patients.
Stability of the thoracic and lumbar spine in traumatic paraplegia following fracture or fracture-dislocation.

Twenty-five patients with traumatic paraplegia as a result of fracture or fracture-dislocation of the thoracic and lumbar spine were studied. No injuries of the cervical spine were included. A simple classification of the injuries based on roentgenographic findings is proposed. The classification may be useful for determining spinal stability and predicting the likelihood of progressive spinal deformity. The occurrence of spinal deformity may cause late complications which compromise the rehabilitation of the paraplegic patient. In this series the compression-burst (Type II) fractures were stable and spontaneous interbody fusion frequently occurred. Surgical stabilization is not indicated for these injuries. In contrast, the rotational fracture-dislocations (Type-III fractures) were seldom stable and were often followed by progressive deformity, with vertebral-body fusion occurring only rarely. A high incidence of late complications consequent to progressive deformity was noted in this series as in others. Accurate reduction, internal fixation, and bone-grafting are recommended for injuries in this category. There is less certainty regarding the wedge-compression (Type I) fractures. Our experience has been limited, but this fracture would appear not to be as stable or as benign as is the similar appearing fracture in the patient without neurological injury. Three of five injuries in this series resulted in instability and would have been better managed by surgical stabilization. The goal of treatment in all fractures or fracture-dislocations of the thoracic and lumbar spine should be to re-establish and maintain normal vertebral alignment. Achievement of this goal requires surgical stabilization of the spine with a Type-III fracture, especially when the fracture is near the thoracolumbar junction.
Carbon Dioxide Stores in the Study of Energy Metabolism

As a tool to study energy metabolism, radiocarbon has been more useful to establish routes than to assess rates. Methodology for the measurement of rates is, indeed, still evolving. The metabolic alterations accompanying fasting, or those responsible for a disorder such as diabetes, are attributable to slowing or acceleration of normal chemical transformations rather than complete loss of any pathway or addition of new ones. In applying the method of compartment analysis to study rates, a persisting challenge has been to devise models of in vivo systems which are not unrealistically complex yet are not oversimplified. Some of the gropings of the past 20 years, aside from their historical interest, will serve to illustrate certain pitfalls and will permit us to get a close look at some of the compromises which have been made. The problem of measuring the conversion rate of glucose carbon to CO2 carbon will serve as a starting point.
Local and National Parties in Hungary

The aim of this paper is to explore the emergence of local parties. Local parties, as opposed to the local chapters of national parties, are defined as political organisations that run candidates at elections, organise themselves and are active, only in a certain territory. The paper first presents a theoretical framework that provides concepts to grasp the problem of local parties. Then, the institutional and political settings of the specific case of the paper, Hungary, are presented. The exploration begins with an overview of the electoral performance of local parties. The next section continues with bivariate and multivariate analyses with the aim to better understand the factors that contribute opportunities and resources to local parties. Local parties are then analysed through the prism of a survey of local political organisations. The paper concludes with some tentative findings.
Metal-Promoted Hydrolysis of Polymeric Chelating Agents: Chelators on Demand

The feasibility of designing polymer-chelator conjugates from which release of the chelator is triggered reversibly by the appearance of the target (toxic) metal in the circulatory system was tested by synthesis and measurement of the rates of metal-catalysis hydrolysis of the ester of poly(vinyl alcohol) and quinaldic acid at pH 7.5. Hydrolysis in 50% aqueous ethanol solution in the presence of the four metals, Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II) and Zn(II) at pH 7.5 was first order, with half lives of 67, 71, 172 and 476 min., respectively. The rate of hydrolysis in the absence of metals was not measurable. A double reciprocal plot of kobs vs. [M] for Ni(II) exhibited the expected linearity. For films of the ester, the deviation from first order kinetics was consistent with a contributing diffusion process.
Utility of p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin in the distinction between urothelial carcinoma with prostatic stromal invasion and urothelial carcinoma with colonisation of prostatic ducts and acini.

Summary Aims To evaluate the utility of p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin in the distinction between urothelial carcinoma with prostatic stromal invasion and urothelial carcinoma with colonisation of prostatic ducts and acini which may be challenging on H&E, especially for general pathologists who may occasionally encounter these cases. Methods A search of surgical pathology and consultation files was made for cystoprostatectomy specimens with confirmed urothelial carcinoma with prostatic stromal invasion. Intensity for both p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin within the tumour cells were scored as negative/weak or strong. Results A total of 34 cases were identified, 23 (68%) of which had associated foci of urothelial carcinoma with colonisation of prostatic ducts and acini. Mean patient age was 68.5 years (range 44-88 years). In all cases, basal cells of benign prostatic glands showed strong staining for both p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin. Seventeen of 34 cases (50%) of urothelial carcinoma showed no or weak expression of high molecular weight cytokeratin in the tumour cells. The other 17 cases (50%) of urothelial carcinoma showed strong expression of high molecular weight cytokeratin in the tumour cells. Fourteen of 34 cases (41%) showed negative or weak expression of p63 in tumour cells. Twenty of 34 cases (59%) showed strong expression of p63 in tumour cells. In the 14 of 34 cases (41%) and 17 of 34 cases (50%) which showed negative/weak expression of p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin, respectively, in the tumour cells, the positive staining of the basal cells by p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin in the benign prostatic glands and acini or those colonised by urothelial carcinoma, aided in the distinction from urothelial carcinoma with prostatic stromal invasion. In the remaining 20 of 34 cases (59%) and 17 of 34 cases (50%) in which the tumour cells showed strong expression of p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin, respectively, larger malignant tumour cells and smaller benign basal cells of the prostatic glands and acini were highlighted with these markers, and were easily distinguishable. Conclusion Our study suggests that p63 and high molecular weight cytokeratin may be utilised in the distinction between urothelial carcinoma with prostatic stromal invasion and urothelial carcinoma with colonisation of prostatic ducts and acini.
Abstract 4473: Urinary biomarkers of exposure to 1,3-Butadiene and its bioactivation to DNA-reactive metabolites

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL 1,3-butadiene (BD) is one of the most potent and abundant carcinogens present in cigarette smoke. BD is metabolically activated to 3,4-epoxy-1-butene (EB), 1,2,3,4-diepoxy butane (DEB), hydroxymethylvinylketone (HMVK), and 3,4-epoxy-1,2-butanediol (EBD), which can react with DNA nucleobases and proteins to form promutagenic adducts. Alternatively, these electrophilic metabolites can be detoxified via hydrolysis or conjugation with glutathione. The glutathione conjugates of these metabolites are ultimately excreted in urine as 1-hydroxy 2-(N-acetylcysteinyl)-3-butene (MHBMA), 1,4-bis-(N-acetylcysteinyl)butane-2,3-diol (bis-BDMA), 1,2-dihydroxy-4-(N-acetylcysteinyl)-butane (DHBMA), and 1,2,3-trihydroxy-4-(N-acetylcysteinyl)-butane (THBMA), respectively. Since epoxide metabolites of BD are thought to be responsible for its adverse health effects, it is important to develop specific biomarkers of their formation in vivo to be used in molecular epidemiology studies. While MHBMA, DHBMA, THBMA have been previously detected in smoker's urine, bis-BDMA has not been reported. In the present study, novel stable isotope dilution HPLC-ESI-MS/MS methods for accurate and precise quantification of MHBMA, DHBMA, THBMA, and bis-BDMA in urine have been developed. Dose dependent formation of all BD-mercapturic acids including bis-BDMA was observed in urine samples from male and female F344 rats exposed to 0, 62.5 and 200 ppm of BD for 2 weeks by inhalation. The relative amounts of MHBMA, DHBMA, THBMA, and bis-BDMA in rat urine were 20:50:50:1. Furthermore, MHBMA, DHBMA, and THBMA were detected in urine samples from known smokers and non-smokers, with significantly higher concentrations observed in smokers. The mean levels of these BD-mercapturic acids in smokers were 3, 340, and 27 ng/mg creatinine, respectively. In contrast, bis-BDMA could not be detected in human urine samples, probably a result of the inefficient DEB formation in humans. These methods are now being applied to a multi-ethnic cohort study to identify any differences in metabolism that contribute to ethnic and inter-individual differences in lung cancer incidence. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4473. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4473
Probable Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease after Ingestion of Bovine Brain (P03.254)

Background Since 1996, three cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) have been reported in the US. All had been exposed to bovine brain from the United Kingdom. No US acquired vCJD have been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: 35-year-old male presents with choreiform movements, vision loss and possible seizures for three months with worsening symptoms two days prior to presentation. Past medical history and family history unrevealing. The patient is originally from Mexico. He consumed bovine brain in Mexico and also in the US. Examination shows vision loss in the left eye, choreiform movements noted predominantly in the left arm, and no memory disturbance. Results: MRI brain showed bilateral restricted diffusion in the caudate, thalamus, right putamen, with subtle involvement of the frontal and parietal/occipital cortex. Initial EEG showed electrographic seizures and subsequent EEG9s showed periodic, generalized, sharp wave complexes (PSWCS). Infection and rheumatologic workup was unrevealing. CSF testing showed elevated protein of 78. Neuron specific enolase was elevated at 41ng/ml. 14-3-3 protein was positive at 32 ng/ml. TAU elevated at 2589 pg/ml. The patient9s neurological status rapidly declined over the hospital course to the point that he was unresponsive to painful stimuli and unable to be weaned from the ventilator. His family was given his poor prognosis and probable CJD diagnosis. Family declined brain biopsy/autopsy. Patient died shortly after extubation and withdrawal of care. Conclusions: Meets World Health Organization criteria for probable CJD. The only risk factor known is consumption of bovine brain. This case illustrates the important awareness of not consuming bovine central nervous tissue. Recognition of the variable presentations of this fatal disease is critical for detection of CJD in the US. Improving methods to detect CJD, such as increasing the number of autopsies/biopsies on patients with suspected prion disease, enhances the ability to identify cases of CJD. Disclosure: Dr. McDougall has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lowden has nothing to disclose.
How Dangerous Are Virtual Worlds Really? A Research Note on the Statecraft Simulation Debate:

This brief article weighs in on a pedagogical debate concerning the didactic usefulness of an online international relations computer simulation called Statecraft. In a 2014 article, Gustavo Carvalho, a teaching assistant at the University of Toronto, claimed, based on the results of a survey he administered to an international relations class that used Statecraft, that the simulation had little to offer students as a teaching tool. In a rebuttal, Statecraft creator Jonathan Keller took Carvalho to task for not employing the simulation properly, which biased his results. While Carvalho only presented results for one class, the present analysis reports on survey responses of students over six different classes which used Statecraft from 2013 to 2014. The results call into question Carvalho’s findings and suggest that the context and curriculum matter as much as the simulation itself when judging the pedagogical value of computer-mediated learning tools.
Studies on the effect of vanadate on endocytosis and shape changes in human red blood cells and ghosts

When amphipathic cationic drugs are added to intact human RBCs, the RBCs first undergo a stomatocytic shape change and then, if relatively large amounts of drug are added and if the metabolic state of the RBC is appropriate, endocytic vacuoles form. Vanadate has a structural similarity to the transition state of phosphate, which presumably accounts for its ability to inhibit phosphohydrolases, although other actions of vanadate have been described. Vanadate inhibited three forms of drug-induced endocytosis in intact RBCs despite the fact that the three drugs chosen (primaquine, chlorpromazine, and vinblastine) are known to have differing requirements for RBC ATP. Vanadate also inhibited the stomatocytic shape change produced by primaquine, chlorpromazine, and vinblastine, but not the stomatocytosis produced by low pH. Vanadate had no effect on RBC echinocytosis produced by lysophosphatidylcholine. In studying endocytosis in hypotonic, leaky, “white” ghosts, we discovered that vanadate inhibited only the endocytosis produced by Mg-ATP and not the endocytosis produced by manipulations that directly attack the cytoskeletal proteins. These findings suggest that ATP hydrolysis has a role in some forms of amphipathic cation-induced stomatocytosis and endocytosis in intact RBCs. In addition, studies in ghosts support the idea that Mg-ATP does indeed produce “energized” endocytosis dependent on utilization or hydrolysis of ATP.
Structural evolution of BaTiO(3) nanocrystals synthesized at room temperature.

Sub-10 nm BaTiO3 nanocrystals were synthesized at room temperature via the vapor diffusion sol–gel method, and their structural evolution during nucleation and growth stages was followed using a series of techniques that probe the atomic structure on different length and time scales. Special emphasis was placed on assessing the evolution of the local symmetry and structural coherence of the resulting nanocrystals, as these are the structural bases for cooperative properties such as ferroelectricity. Although the room-temperature crystal structure of the fully grown nanocrystals appears cubic to Rietveld analysis of synchrotron X-ray diffraction data, Raman spectroscopy and pair distribution function analysis demonstrate the presence of non-centrosymmetric regions arising from the off-centering of the titanium atoms. This finding demonstrates that accounting for diffuse scattering is critical when attempting the structural characterization of nanocrystals with X-ray diffraction. The local symmetry of acent...
A full-dimensional model of ozone forming reaction: the absolute value of the recombination rate coefficient, its pressure and temperature dependencies

Rigorous calculations of scattering resonances in ozone are carried out for a broad range of rotational excitations. The accurate potential energy surface of Dawes is adopted, and a new efficient method for calculations of ro-vibrational energies, wave functions and resonance lifetimes is employed (which uses hyper-spherical coordinates, the sequential diagonalization/truncation approach, grid optimization and complex absorbing potential). A detailed analysis is carried out to characterize distributions of resonance energies and lifetimes, their rotational/vibrational content and their positions with respect to the centrifugal barrier. Emphasis is on the contribution of these resonances to the recombination process that forms ozone. It is found that major contributions come from localized resonances at energies near the top of the barrier. Delocalized resonances at higher energies should also be taken into account, while very narrow resonances at low energies (trapped far behind the centrifugal barrier) should be treated as bound states. The absolute value of the recombination rate coefficient, its pressure and temperature dependencies are obtained using the energy-transfer model developed in the earlier work. Good agreement with experimental data is obtained if one follows the suggestion of Troe, who argued that the energy transfer mechanism of recombination is responsible only for 55% of the recombination rate (with the remaining 45% coming from the competing chaperon mechanism).
SU‐F‐T‐24: Impact of Source Position and Dose Distribution Due to Curvature of HDR Transfer Tubes

Purpose: Brachytherapy is a highly targeted from of radiotherapy. While this may lead to ideal dose distributions on the treatment planning system, a small error in source location can lead to change in the dose distribution. The purpose of this study is to quantify the impact on source position error due to curvature of the transfer tubes and the impact this may have on the dose distribution. Methods: Since the source travels along the midline of the tube, an estimate of the positioning error for various angles of curvature was determined using geometric properties of the tube. Based on the range of values a specific shift was chosen to alter the treatment plans for a number of cervical cancer patients who had undergone HDR brachytherapy boost using tandem and ovoids. Impact of dose to target and organs at risk were determined and checked against guidelines outlined by radiation oncologist. Results: The estimate of the positioning error was 2mm short of the expected position (the curved tube can only cause the source to not reach as far as with a flat tube). Quantitative impact on the dose distribution is still in the process of being analyzed. Conclusion: The accepted positioning tolerance for the source position of a HDR brachytherapy unit is plus or minus 1mm. If there is an additional 2mm discrepancy due to tube curvature, this can result in a source being 1mm to 3mm short of the expected location. While we do always attempt to keep the tubes straight, in some cases such as with tandem and ovoids, the tandem connector does not extend as far out from the patient so the ovoid tubes always contain some degree of curvature. The dose impact of this may be significant.
Social Engineering for Security Attacks

Social Engineering is a kind of advance persistent threat (APT) that gains private and sensitive information through social networks or other types of communication. The attackers can use social engineering to obtain access into social network accounts and stays there undetected for a long period of time. The purpose of the attack is to steal sensitive data and spread false information rather than to cause direct damage. Such targets can include Facebook accounts of government agencies, corporations, schools or high-profile users. We propose to use IDS, Intrusion Detection System, to battle such attacks. What the social engineering does is try to gain easy access, so that the attacks can be repeated and ongoing. The focus of this study is to find out how this type of attacks are carried out so that they can properly detected by IDS in future research.
Von Willebrand Disease Laboratory Workup

The accurate subtyping of von Willebrand disease (VWD) relies heavily on the appropriate laboratory workups. An algorithmic approach to laboratory workup for VWD not only improves efficiency, but also avoids unnecessary testing. This chapter will discuss the various assays that are used for laboratory evaluation of VWD including the routinely performed tests like von Willebrand factor (VWF) antigen, VWF ristocetin cofactor assay, factor VIII assay, and VWF multimer analysis along with second-tier tests such as factor VIII binding assay, 2B binding assay, ristocetin-induced platelet aggregation, and collagen-binding assay. Finally, the role of the more esoteric VWF assays, VWF propetide assay and VWF gene analysis, will also be considered.
Spring-mediated distraction enterogenesis in-continuity

Abstract Purpose Distraction enterogenesis has been investigated as a novel treatment for patients with short bowel syndrome (SBS) but has been limited by loss of intestinal length during restoration and need for multiple bowel surgeries. The feasibility of in-continuity, spring-mediated intestinal lengthening has yet to be demonstrated. Methods Juvenile mini-Yucatan pigs underwent in-continuity placement of polycaprolactone (PCL) degradable springs within jejunum. Methods used to anchor the spring ends to the intestine included full-thickness sutures and a high-friction surface spring. Spring constant (k) was 6–15N/m. Bowel was examined for length and presence of spring at 1 to 4weeks. Results Animals tolerated in-continuity lengthening without bowel obstruction for up to 29days. In-continuity jejunum with springs demonstrated intestinal lengthening by 1.47-fold ±0.11. Five springs had detached prematurely, and lengthening could not be assessed. Histologically, in-continuity jejunum showed significantly increased crypt depth and muscularis thickness in comparison to normal jejunum. Conclusion Self-expanding endoluminal springs placed in continuity could lengthen intestine without obstruction in a porcine model. This is the first study showing safety and efficacy of a self-expanding endoluminal device for distraction enterogenesis. This is proof-of-concept that in-continuity spring lengthening is feasible and demonstrates its therapeutic potential in SBS. Level of evidence Level 3.
Introducing the Jewish–Comics Connection

This chapter introduces a recent trend toward “Judeocentric” readings of Superman, showing how this “Judaization” has been performed, elucidating some of its sources and problems. It looks first at how the novel The Amazing Adventures of K avalier & Clay has become an authoritative historical source in this process. Next, it problematizes two common claims about Superman: that his alien name, Kal-El, is of Hebrew origin, and that he is a golem. After this, recent writing about Jews and comics is read critically as heritage fabrication. Finally, it discusses how popular “Judeocentric” readings are being uncritically reproduced in academia. This forms the basis for a call to reconsider current practices in academic writing about Jews and comics, of which this book is offered as an example.
Actuator and Sensor Placement

A typical actuator and sensor location problem for structural testing can be described as follows. The structural test plan is based on the available information on the structure itself, on disturbances acting on the structure, and on the expected structural performance. The first information is typically in the form of a structural finite-element model. The disturbance information includes disturbance location and disturbance spectral contents. The structure performance is commonly evaluated through the displacements or accelerations at certain structural locations.
Practical Heteroscedastic Gaussian Process Modeling for Large Simulation Experiments

We present a unified view of likelihood based Gaussian progress regression for simulation experiments exhibiting input-dependent noise. Replication plays an important role in that context, however ...
Serum Polychlorinated Biphenyls Increase and Oxidative Stress Decreases with a Protein-Pacing Caloric Restriction Diet in Obese Men and Women.

The purposes were to compare the effects of a: (1) 12-week P-CR weight loss (WL) diet (Phase 1) between obese men and women and; (2) 52-week modified P-CR (mP-CR) vs. heart healthy (HH) weight maintenance (WM) diet (Phase 2) on serum PCBs and oxidative stress biomarkers (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, TBARS; total antioxidant capacity, TAC) in 40 obese participants (men, n = 21; women, n = 19). Participants received dietary counseling and monitoring of compliance. PCBs, TBARS, and TAC were assessed at weeks -1 (CON), 12 (WL), and 64 (WM). Following WL (Week 12), concomitant with reductions in TBARS (0.24 ± 0.15 vs. 0.18 ± 0.11 µM; p 0.42, p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with body weight, fat mass, and abdominal fat (r < -0.46, p < 0.02). Our results support mobilization of stored PCBs as well as enhanced redox status following a 12-week P-CR WL diet. Additionally, a 52-week mP-CR WM diet demonstrated an advantage in preventing weight gain relapse accompanied by an increase in circulating PCBs compared to a traditional HH diet.
Association between human papillomavirus (HPV) status with serum cytokine and angiogenic factor (CAF) profile after induction chemotherapy in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC)

6081 Background: Human papillomavirus has been implicated in the development of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma and is associated with a more favorable clinical outcome. Previously, we identi...
Resident Macrophages: Near and Dear to Your Heart.

In this issue of Cell, Hulsmans et al. identify a subset of macrophages residing within the cardiac conduction system, which orchestrates cardiac rhythm. Macrophages directly couple with cardiomyocytes, and their perturbation alters cardiac conduction, suggesting that pharmacological manipulation of resident macrophages might represent a new strategy to combat cardiac arrhythmias.
Nonlinear Normal Modes of a Curved Beam and Its Response to Random Loading

Hypersonic vehicles are exposed to high amplitude, random, broadband loading and so, in order to predict the life of the system, the geometrically nonlinear response of certain skin panels must be computed for a long time duration. This is a costly procedure when using the finite element (FE) method due to large mesh sizes and small time step requirements. Nonlinear Reduced Order Models (NLROMs) provide an accurate and computationally efficient alternative to compute the response of such structures. The NLROMs still require computationally expensive validation that is conventionally done by comparing responses with the full FE model. An alternative approach to validating NLROMs is to compute their Nonlinear Normal Modes (NNMs), which are independent of the loading scenario and provide information regarding the system’s response over a range of energy or response amplitude. This work investigates the relationship between the NNMs and response of a curved beam to random inputs. The structure contains quadratic and cubic nonlinearities that produce both a softening and hardening behavior of the beam as the system energy is increased. A connection is made between the accuracy of NNMs computed from NLROMs and their random response predictions.
Kinetic and Mechanistic Studies of Oxidation of Vitamin a Alcohol to Vitamin a Aldehyde by Horse Liver Alcohol Dehydrogenase. The Inhibition by Ethanol and Pyrazole

The present investigation shows that all-trans retinol (Vitamin A alcohol), an alcohol of great physiological importance, is efficiently oxidized to all-trans retinaldehyde by the enzyme horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase. We observe a Km retinol value of 145μM and a turnover number of 0.45s−1 for the oxidation of all-trans retinol in the presence of Triton X-100, a surfactant used as a solubilizer. Over the concentration range of surfactant used (up to 0.1% Triton X-100) our studies on the oxidation of ethanol and all-trans retinol show that turnover numbers for both reactions remain constant as does the value for Km ethanol. On increasing the concentration of Triton X-100 from 0.025% to 0.10%, however, the Km retinol value increases by a factor of two. This behavior for retinol oxidation can be attributed to the partitioning of retinol between enzyme and surfactant. Pyrazole, a known inhibitor of alcohol oxidation by horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase, is a competitive inhibitor of both all-trans retinol and ethanol, with observed Ki values of 3.3×10−7 M and 3.9×10−7 M, respectively. We also find that ethanol inhibits all-trans retinol oxidation in a complex fashion, an observation which may have important consequences in view of the physiological role of retinol and its oxidation products. Our present studies indicate that all-trans retinol binds in the same region of the enzyme as does ethanol and is oxidized with an efficiency approaching that of ethanol itself.
Why People Play at Work: A Theoretical Examination of Leisure-at-Work

ABSTRACTPostmodern perspectives on work and leisure acknowledge the interwoven nature of these domains, an example being the increasing number of organizations intentionally incorporating leisure into the employee experience. Existing research, however, provides no specific theoretical guidance regarding the potential impacts of strategically integrating recreation activities into the work domain. Thus, based on positive organizational scholarship and leisure science theories, we build an individual level model describing the phenomenon of leisure-at-work (LAW). We propose LAW activities have the ability to produce feelings of personal expressiveness at work as moderated by employees' perceptions of the activities. Personal expressiveness then mediates LAW activities' ability to promote the development of organizational commitment, work engagement, and resilience among employees.
Market-Beta and Downside Risk

The plain market-beta was a good predictor of stock returns not only during bull and ordinary markets, but also during bear markets and crashes. Thus, it was indeed a good measure of the hedge against market risk. This plain beta also predicted the subsequent down-beta (i.e., measured only on days when the stock market declined) better than the prevailing down-beta. Stocks with higher ex-ante down-betas did not earn a positive risk premium. We conclude that ex-ante down-betas were neither useful hedging nor useful risk-pricing measures.
A Dissection Proof of Leibniz's Series for π/4

Inspired by Lord Brouncker's discovery of his series for ln 2 by dissecting the region below the curve 1⁄x, Viggo Brun found a way to partition regions of the unit circle so that their areas corres...
Radiation therapy utilization in Medicare beneficiaries with early-stage breast cancer

BACKGROUND There is increasing evidence that radiation therapy (RT) can be omitted for select older patients who are compliant with hormonal blockade, but there is no recent claim-based analysis for determining patterns of care and guiding possible treatment recommendations. METHODS Medicare beneficiaries who were 65 years old or older and were diagnosed with breast cancer at 1 of 12 cancer centers affiliated with an academic center in the southeastern United States were analyzed. Stage 0 or I patients treated with lumpectomy from 2012 to 2014 were identified. Patient, treatment, and center characteristics were analyzed for the utilization of RT. RESULTS Among 800 women treated with lumpectomy, 64% received adjuvant radiation. The median age was 74 years. The omission of RT was more likely in older patients, stage 0 patients, and patients with more comorbidities (P < .01). Hormonal blockade was used in 41% of the patients who did not receive RT. The utilization of hormonal blockade with the omission of RT was more likely in patients with fewer comorbidities (P < .01). CONCLUSIONS In an older cohort of patients who otherwise would have qualified for the omission of radiation, two-thirds were treated with radiation. Future guideline recommendations should address omission in the context of hormonal blockade compliance because only 41% of the patients used hormonal blockade when radiation was not delivered. Cancer 2017. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
EEG feature descriptors and discriminant analysis under Riemannian Manifold perspective

Abstract This paper presents a framework to classify motor imagery in the context of multi-class Brain Computer Interface based on electroencephalography (EEG). Covariance matrices are extracted as the EEG signal descriptors, and different dissimilarity metrics on the manifold of Symmetric Positive Definite (SPD) matrices are investigated to classify these covariance descriptors. Specifically, we compare the performance of the Log Euclidean distance, Stein divergence, Kullback–Leibler divergence and Von Neumann divergence. Furthermore, inspired from the conventional Common Spatial Pattern, discriminant analysis performed directly on the SPD manifold using different mentioned metrics are proposed to improve the classification accuracy. We also propose a new feature, namely Heterogeneous Orders Relevance Composition (HORC), by combining different relevance matrices, such as Covariance, Mutual Information or Kernel Matrix under the Tensor Framework and Multiple Kernel fusion. Multi-Class Multi-Kernel Relevance Vector Machine is adopted to provide a sparse classifier and Bayesian confidence prediction. Finally, we compare the performance of total 16 methods on the dataset IIa of the BCI Competition IV. The results shows that the mentioned dissimilarity metrics perform quite equally on the original manifold, whereas the proposed discrimination methods can improve the accuracy by 3–5% on the reduced dimension manifold.
Dispositional and categorical properties, and Russellian Monism

This paper has two main aims. The first is to present a general approach for understanding “dispositional” (or “structural”) and “categorical” properties; the second aim is to use this approach to criticize Russellian Monism. On the approach I suggest, what are usually thought of as “dispositional” and “categorical” properties are really just the extreme ends of a spectrum of options. The approach allows for a number of options between these extremes, and it is plausible, I suggest, that just about everything of scientific interest falls in this middle ground. I argue that Russellian Monism depends for its plausibility on the unarticulated assumption that there are no properties in the middle ground.
Pressure exposure and catheter impingement affect the recorded pressure in the Manoscan 360™ system.

Background The accuracy of pressure measurements by Manoscan high-resolution manometry (HRM) system is affected by pressure drift (PD). The PD is partly related to temperature and study duration, but other factors that contribute to errant pressure recording have not been systematically evaluated. The aim of this study was to investigate and quantify contributing factors to pressure recording error. Methods In total, 660 in vitro experiments were conducted on seven HRM catheters to determine the effects of sustained pressure exposure, catheter impingement, temperature, duration of study, and immersion in saline or acid on recorded pressure and PD. Key results At room temperature and without application of pressure, the PD was negligible. Application of sustained pressure significantly increased PD and catheter impingement of even 15° produced remarkable increases in the recorded pressure as well as post-recording PD. There was significant variability across sensors in their propensity to develop PD with temperature. Body (37°C) and freezing (0°C) temperatures resulted in significantly higher absolute value of PD in the opposite algebraic direction, respectively (for individual sensors). Although the overall trend was for higher PD with increasing temperature, some of the pressure sensors demonstrated inherently negative PD at body temperature. Conclusions and inferences In addition to the known effects of temperature, both sustained pressure exposure and catheter impingement significantly affect the recorded pressure and the magnitude of the PD observed at the end of the recording. These effects can be substantial enough to result in erroneous manometric diagnoses.
Beta-hydroxybutyrate infusion identifies acutely differentially expressed genes related to metabolism and reproduction in the hypothalamus and pituitary of castrated male sheep

To identify molecular pathways that couple metabolic imbalances and reproduction, we randomly assigned 10 castrated male sheep to be centrally injected into the lateral ventricle through intracereb...
Cross-modality interference effects of phonetic and prosodic information in second language learners

Successful communication relies on efficient use of information from multiple modalities and dimensions. Our previous research using a cross-modal priming paradigm showed that congruent visual primes facilitate faster recognition of phonetic and emotional prosodic information in speech. Event-related potential (ERP) data further revealed distinct brain mechanisms in the N400 and late positive response (LPR) components for processing linguistic and paralinguistic congruency. The current study extended the same paradigm to English-as-a-second-language (ESL) learners to examine possible interference between the two informational dimensions as a function of language experience. Participants were sixteen normal adult ESL learners. Monosyllables /bab/ and /bib/ in a happy or angry tone were used as the auditory stimuli, and pictures of the speaker articulating vowel /a/ and /i/ with a happy or angry facial expression were used as the visual primes. Compared to native English speakers, ESL learners showed signif...
Radiative decay of the J(ψ) in a spectrum-generating SU(4)

The radiative decay rates of the ''old'' vector mesons are used to determine the suppression factor for the spectrum-generating SU(4) group. From the suppression factor the decay rate for J (psi) ..-->.. chi (2.75) + ..gamma.. is predicted. (AIP)
CONJUGATE GRADIENT METHODS FOR LINEARLY CONSTRAINED NONLINEAR PROGRAMMING

This paper considers the problem of minimizing a nonlinear function subject to linear constraints. The method adopted is the reduced gradient method as described by Murtagh and Saunders, with a conjugate gradient method due to Shanno used for unconstrained minimization on manifolds. It is shown how to preserve past information on search directions when a basis change occurs and when a superbasic variable is dropped. Numerical results show a substantial improvement over the reported results of Murtagh and Saunders when conjugate gradient methods are used.
Submicron silicon anode stabilized by single-step carbon and germanium coatings for high capacity lithium-ion batteries

Abstract Stabilization of micro/submicro sized silicon anode has been a challenge for its commercial application as high capacity electrode. Here, we demonstrate a single-step, low temperature (580 °C) synthesis of Si@Ge@C core-shell electrode which can stabilize the micro/submicro Si electrode, and offer high capacity and long life. The Si@Ge@C electrode delivered high specific capacity of ∼900 mAh/g at the current density of 2 A/g for the composition of 34.2 wt% C, 39 wt% Si, and 26.8 wt% Ge with over 80% capacity retention after 200 cycles. The C and Ge rich electrodes were mostly spherical in shape and were able to preserve the pre-cycling morphology even after 10 cycles at low current density of 200 mA/g. Irrespective of the initial electrode morphology, the core-shell architecture offered better cyclic stability than that of the bare Si electrode.
Overview of Part III

In the chapters in this part of the book we have focused on some of the social cost issues related to casinos. In Chaps. 13 and 14, we present the economic perspective on social costs. Importantly, many social cost studies do not define what they mean by “social cost.” This has led to a wide variety of social cost estimates in the literature. Most of these likely overestimate the true social costs of gambling. Because of the inherent problems in defining and measuring social costs, it may be beneficial for researchers to stop trying to estimate a monetary value for costs, and instead identify the types of problems that disordered gamblers experience. Psychologists have been working on this issue for several decades.
Graphene nanogap electrodes in electrical biosensing

Abstract Graphene nanogap electrodes are reported here for the first time in an electrical biosensor for the detection of biomolecular interactions. Streptavidin-biotin was chosen as a model system for evaluating the sensor’s performance. High-affinity interactions of streptavidin-gold nanoparticles (strep-AuNPs) to the biotin-functionalized nanogap localizes AuNPs, thereby bridging the gap and resulting in changes in device conductance. Biosensing performance was optimized by varying the gap size, AuNP diameter, and streptavidin coverage on AuNPs. The sensitivity and limit of detection (LOD) of streptavidin detection with the optimized parameters were determined to be 0.3 µA/nM and 0.25 pM, respectively. The proposed platform suggests high potential as a portable point-of-use biosensor for the detection of other affinity-based biomolecular interactions, such as antigen-antibody, nucleic acid, or chemo-selective interactions.