cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Examining complexities of forest cover change during armed conflict on Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast

The effects of armed conflict on biodiversity are an emerging concern in conservation due in part to the occurrence of war in biodiversity hotspots, though few studies have addressed it. We investigate this topic by examining changes in forest cover on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua from 1978 to 1993, a period covering their civil war. We predict an increase in forest cover between pre- and post-conflict periods as residents abandoned agriculture plots and migrated from conflict areas. We used a remote sensing approach to detect changes in forest cover area and fragmentation at two study sites. Results confirmed that in the first 5-7 years of the conflict, reforestation was greater than deforestation, but in the latter years of the conflict deforested land almost doubled that which was reforested. Although some forest loss was due to Category 4 Hurricane Joan, several conflict-related factors were partially responsible for these results, such as mass human migration and land reform. Understanding how and why forest cover changes during periods of conflict can help conservationists protect resources both during war and in the tumultuous period following the cessation of violence when nascent governments lack the power to effectively govern and community institutions are fractured by war. In areas where the livelihoods of people are directly dependent on local resources, antic- ipating ecological and social impacts can help improve future conservation efforts.
Cooperators and Competitors in Conflict: A Test of The “Triangle Model”:

Kelley and Stahelski's “triangle model” describes differences in the perceptions and behaviors of cooperative versus competitive personality types and has important implications for theories of social influence and conflict. However, the generality of the model has been seriously questioned, data exist that seem to contradict some of its basic predictions, and the findings can be “conceptualized in terms of an alternative information-processing approach. To test predictions of the triangle model against those derived from the alternative, 158 male and female subjects were classified as cooperators or noncooperators, paired with a cooperative or noncooperative partner, and participated in a mixed-motive game that had a cooperative or competitive payoff structure. The results largely supported the predictions of the triangle model and showed high general-izability across situational demands and subject's sex. Noncooperators expected others to be primarily competitive, misidentified cooperative opponents, an...
A simple technique for fine-scale, vertical sectioning of fresh sediment cores

Biogeochemical processes occurring at the sediment-water interface and within the very near-surface sediments are known to affect or control what occurs above or below the sediment surface (see reviews ofNowell 1983· Jumars and Nowell 1984; Nowell and Jumars 1984; Grant and Mad~en 1986; Butman 1987; Rumohr et a!. 1987). Studies of these phenomena often require vertical sampling of the variables of interest over very fine (e.g., millimeter) spatial scales. Existing techniques for such fine-scale vertical sectioning of fresh sediment cores were developed primarily for studies of porewater chemistry (Craven et a!. 1986; Jahnke et a!. 1986; Reimers and Smith 1986) and of the distributions of meiofauna or microbes (Boaden and Platt 1971; Joint et a!. 1982; Palmer and Molloy 1986), where only very small samples (cores ::53.0 em in diameter) are required. Furthermore, in most cases, the verticalsectioning technique requires subcoring a much larger sediment sample (e.g., a box core) after it is taken. This potentially introduces error (contamination between layers) when sectioning at millimeter intervals, because near-surface sediments within the sample may mix vertically
Lake-Effect Snowfall over Lake Michigan.

Abstract Aircraft measurements of snow particle size spectra from 36 flights on 26 snowy days are used to estimate snow precipitation rates over Lake Michigan. Results show that average rates during 14 wind-parallel-type lake-effect storms increased from the upwind shore to about midlake and then were essentially uniform (1.52 mm day−1, liquid water equivalent) to the downwind shore. Snow from midlake bands and shoreline bands maximized over the lake. The position of the maximum during these types of lake-effect storms depends on meteorological conditions. In any given case it may be near either shore or anywhere between them. This study combines 12 cases of midlake and shoreline bands. The resulting cross-lake snow profile shows a broad maximum reaching over 4 mm day−1 near midlake. The single sample maximum snow precipitation rate encountered in this study was 77.7 mm day−1. The average cross-lake profile from combining 26 cases of lake-effect storms shows that snowfall into the lake is considerably gr...
Testing 'The Dirty Little Secret…' Black Mayoral Politics and the Complexities of Electoral Coalitions

The purpose of this paper is to speculate whether the coalitions that have elected (or re-elected) the “new class” of “Obama Era” black politicians vary more greatly than current categorizations imply. We focus upon the short-lived and controversial mayoralty of Kwame Kilpatrick in Detroit. We partly confirm Thompson’s (2006) provocative thesis - “the Dirty Little Secret of Black Politics” - which presumes, overtime, African American mayors do not actively court the black poor as members of their electoral coalitions because of the fiscal and political costs of meeting these constituents’ needs over the needs of the middle and upper classes who ask for growth and economic development. Thompson asserts that whereas a “Third Wave” of black politicians - such as Mayor Harold Washington of Chicago or David Dinkins of New York - have averted this dilemma and explicitly built grassroots alliances, previous cohorts of “civil rights” mayors and “technocratic” mayors did or have not. Merging and analyzing data from Detroit’s 2005 mayoral primary and general elections with 2000 census data, we find that Kilpatrick’s re-election coalition fits across two of the three categories of Thompson’s interesting typology. It is quite conceivable that Kilpatrick narrowly won re-election because he made traditional “racial” appeals to black voters even against a black competitor. But age, class, and gender mattered in the 2005 election and presented cross-cutting cleavages. In this regard, we believe this paper is not only an interesting extension upon the work in political participation but further suggests that the mobilization of black grassroots constituencies in this new era is not as easy as a candidate calling for symbolic racial representation or undeterred growth politics.
Neoplasia and Proliferative Disorders of Nonhuman Primates

The study of neoplasia in nonhuman primates is a slowly developing field with major emphasis directed at several important tumor models. The most common and well understood neoplasms include ileocecal adenocarcinoma in rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) and colonic adenocarcinoma in cotton-top tamarins ( Saguinus oedipus ). In recent years, increased numbers of aging nonhuman primates in research colonies have allowed for the discovery and description of a litany of neoplasms and have broadened our comparative understanding of tumor development in many nonhuman primate species. Newly recognized neoplasms are constantly being reported in primate colonies and the similarities between nonhuman primate and human neoplasms are becoming clearer. Some nonhuman primate neoplasms have underlying etiologies similar to their human counterpart (e.g. rhesus lymphocryptovirus associated lymphosarcoma); however the vast majority of nonhuman primate cancers arise without any known etiologic association and further exploration into the genesis of spontaneous neoplasia in nonhuman primates awaits.
Sorption Testing and Generalized Composite Surface Complexation Models for Determining Uranium Sorption Parameters at a Proposed In-situ Recovery Site

Solid-phase iron concentrations and generalized composite surface complexation models were used to evaluate procedures in determining uranium sorption on oxidized aquifer material at a proposed U in situ recovery (ISR) site. At the proposed Dewey Burdock ISR site in South Dakota, USA, oxidized aquifer material occurs downgradient of the U ore zones. Solid-phase Fe concentrations did not explain our batch sorption test results, though total extracted Fe appeared to be positively correlated with overall measured U sorption. Batch sorption test results were used to develop generalized composite surface complexation models that incorporated the full generic sorption potential of each sample, without detailed mineralogic characterization. The resultant models provide U sorption parameters (site densities and equilibrium constants) for reactive transport modeling. The generalized composite surface complexation sorption models were calibrated to batch sorption data from three oxidized core samples using inverse modeling, and gave larger sorption parameters than just U sorption on the measured solid-phase Fe. These larger sorption parameters can significantly influence reactive transport modeling, potentially increasing U attenuation. Because of the limited number of calibration points, inverse modeling required the reduction of estimated parameters by fixing two parameters. The best-fit models used fixed values for equilibrium constants, with the sorption site densities being estimated by the inversion process. While these inverse routines did provide best-fit sorption parameters, local minima and correlated parameters might require further evaluation. Despite our limited number of proxy samples, the procedures presented provide a valuable methodology to consider for sites where metal sorption parameters are required. These sorption parameters can be used in reactive transport modeling to assess downgradient metal attenuation, especially when no other calibration data are available, such as at proposed U ISR sites.
Circuit design of Clos-based on-chip interconnection networks

Abstract Single-hop non-blocking networks have the advantage of providing uniform latency and throughput, which is important for cache-coherent network-on-chip systems. This paper focuses on high performance circuit designs of multi-stage non-blocking networks as alternatives to crossbars. Existing work shows that Benes networks have much lower transistor count and smaller circuit area but longer delay than crossbars. To reduce the timing delay, we propose to design the Clos network built with larger size switches. Using less than half number of stages than the Benes network, the Clos network with 4 × 4 switches can significantly reduce the timing delay. The circuit designs of both Benes and Clos networks in different sizes are conducted considering two types of implementation of the configurable switch: with N-type metal-oxide-semiconductor logic (NMOS) transistors only and full transmission gates (TGs). The layout and simulation results under 45 nm technology show that the TG-based implementation demonstrates much better signal integrity than its counterpart. Clos networks achieve average 60% lower timing delay than Benes networks with even smaller area and power consumption.
Tests of Attention in Newly Diagnosed Idiopathic Epilepsy

Performance on tests of Reaction Time, Color Trails, Manual Tapping and Steadiness, and Sustained Attention were compared in 51 children with epilepsy (age 7-16 years) and 48 healthy classmates, in a study at Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Risk of early mortality after placement of a temporary-permanent pacemaker

Abstract Background Temporary-permanent pacemakers [TPPM] are externally placed permanent generators attached to active fixation transvenous leads. TPPM can be used as an alternative to standard temporary pacing leads when placement of a permanent pacemaker is contraindicated. We sought to determine the incidence and risk factors for early (within 6 months) mortality after placement of a TPPM. Methods Electronic medical records were used to extract baseline characteristics for 152 patients from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center who had a TPPM placed between the years 2007 and 2012. Multivariable adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate hazard ratios [HR] and 95% confidence intervals [C]) for baseline characteristics [age, sex, race, hypertension, diabetes, heart failure, coronary artery disease, smoking, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease [CKD], and indication for pacemaker] on early mortality. Results Of the 152 patients [mean age 68.9 years; 57.2% female; 86.8% white], 45 [29.6%] died within the first 6 months after TPPM placement. No deaths occurred as a direct result of TPPM placement, and only 1 patient experienced documented non-fatal complications. Maximum time to PPM from the date of insertion of TPPM was 336 days. Using a backward multivariable adjusted hazard regression model, independent risk factors for early mortality were pre-existing CKD [HR (95% CI): 2.240 (1.002–5.010) for eGFR 30–59 and 7.645 (3.594–16.263) for eGFR 60] and history of smoking [HR (95% CI): 2.015 (1.099–3.696)]. Surprisingly, dyslipidemia was protective of early mortality [HR (95%CI): 0.470 (0.240–0.924)]. Conclusion TPPM placement is a safe procedure with rare direct complications. CKD and smoking are predictive of increased risk for early mortality in patients undergoing TPPM placement.
Performance of cryopreserved pre-embryos obtained in in vitro fertilization cycles with or without a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist

Objective To evaluate the viability and potential for pregnancy of cryopreserved/thawed preembryos obtained after ovarian stimulation using gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) adjunct therapy. Design Retrospective clinical evaluation of all patients receiving a gonadotropin ovarian stimulation protocol (follicle-stimulating hormone/human menopausal gonadotropin [FSH/hMG]) with/without GnRH-a. Setting Academic tertiary clinical care unit. Patients Patients receiving leuprolide acetate (LA)/FSH/hMG (n=136: LA in the luteal phase; long protocol) were compared with patients receiving FSH/hMG alone (n=130) within the same time-frame in our program (April 1987 through October 1989). Interventions All patients had both a cycle in which pre-embryos were transferred fresh and a cycle of thaw of cryopreserved pre-embryos (frozen at the pronuclear stage in a slow freeze-thaw protocol using 1,2 propanediol) transferred in monitored natural cycles. Main Outcome Measures Groups were similar in age, etiology of infertility, and cycle day 3 serum FSH levels; a significantly higher ( P Results Non-GnRH-a group (113 transfers): pre-embryo survival, 71.5%; PR/transfer, 24.7%; implantation rate, 16.0%; GnRH-a group (125 transfers): pre-embryo survival 71.6%; PR/transfer, 32.8%; implantation rate, 12.0% (no significant differences). Conclusions The use of GnRH-a produced pre-embryos of equal aptitude for development after cryopreservation at the pronuclear stage when compared with a similar gonadotropin stimulation treatment without GnRH-a.
Flow Diversion for the Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms.

Importance Brain aneurysms have traditionally been treated with surgical clipping or endovascular coiling techniques. With these modalities, many large or complex aneurysms remain difficult to treat. A new option, flow diversion, is now available to treat aneurysms. Objective To summarize the clinical progression of flow diversion technology, from an experimental treatment to a commonly used method to treat large or complex aneurysms. Evidence Review References for this topical review were identified by searches of PubMed and GoogleScholar between January 2000 and January 2016. The search terms aneurysm , flow diverter , stent , pipeline , FRED , SURPASS , SILK , flow diversion , and endovascular were used. Ongoing clinical trials were identified using the same search terms in the clinicaltrial.gov registry. Attention was focused on current indications, rates of complications, and areas of ongoing study in randomized clinical trials. Findings Flow diversion is a treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for brain aneurysms that redirects blood flow away from the aneurysm, thereby promoting growth of a new endothelial lining across the aneurysm opening. Cure rates with this technology are high and complication rates are low. Conclusions and Relevance Flow diversion is a disruptive technology that has changed the way many brain aneurysms are treated. It is currently a preferred treatment option for large or giant wide-necked proximal internal carotid artery aneurysms. Ongoing randomized studies will help to more rigorously determine the efficacy of flow diversion.
Blood vessel crosstalk during organogenesis—focus on pancreas and endothelial cells

Blood vessels form a highly branched, interconnected, and largely stereotyped network of tubes that sustains every organ and tissue in vertebrates. How vessels come to take on their particular architecture, or how they are 'patterned,' and in turn, how they influence surrounding tissues are fundamental questions of organogenesis. Decades of work have begun to elucidate how endothelial progenitors arise and home to precise locations within tissues, integrating attractive and repulsive cues to build vessels where they are needed. Conversely, more recent findings have revealed an exciting facet of blood vessel interaction with tissues, where vascular cells provide signals to developing organs and progenitors therein. Here, we discuss the exchange of reciprocal signals between endothelial cells and neighboring tissues during embryogenesis, with a special focus on the developing pancreas. Understanding the mechanisms driving both sides of these interactions will be crucial to the development of therapies, from improving organ regeneration to efficient production of cell based therapies. Specifically, elucidating the interface of the vasculature with pancreatic lineages, including endocrine cells, will instruct approaches such as generation of replacement beta cells for Type I diabetes. WIREs Dev Biol 2016, 5:598-617. doi: 10.1002/wdev.240 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.
Translating Genome Engineering to Survival

Abstract An incredible number and diversity of genetic diseases afflict humans. Despite the best efforts of medicine to reduce the suffering these diseases cause, curing them has remained out of reach. We are now at the point in time where genome engineering is stunningly close to being able to repair a genetic error and restore gene function. This volume outlines important examples of the tools and practice of gene therapy today. This incredible capability remains at the edges of existing science in new and predictably controversial territory. Similar to any other medical intervention, gene therapy is not devoid of risks. Understanding and controlling these risks while moving these technologies into the practice of medicine remain the goals for translational research. The chapters you are about to read demonstrate that fluency across basic science and clinical practice is possible and necessary for the robust application of gene therapy to improved survival.
High phenolics Rutgers Scarlet Lettuce improves glucose metabolism in high fat diet-induced obese mice.

cope The ability of high phenolic Rutgers Scarlet Lettuce (RSL) to attenuate metabolic syndrome and gut dysbiosis was studied in very high fat diet (VHFD)-fed mice. Phenolic absorption was assessed in vivo and in a gastrointestinal tract model. Methods and results Mice were fed VHFD, VHFD supplemented with RSL (RSL-VHFD) or store-purchased green lettuce (GL-VHFD), or low-fat diet (LFD) for 13 weeks. Compared to VHFD or GL-VHFD-fed groups, RSL-VHFD group showed significantly improved oral glucose tolerance (p<0.05). Comparison of VHFD, RSL-VHFD, and GL-VHFD groups revealed no significant differences with respect to insulin tolerance, hepatic lipids, body weight gain, fat mass, plasma glucose, triglycerides, free fatty acid, and lipopolysaccharide levels, as well as relative abundances of major bacterial phyla from 16S rDNA amplicon data sequences (from fecal and cecal samples). However, RSL and GL-supplementation increased abundance of several taxa involved in plant polysaccharide degradation/fermentation. RSL phenolics chlorogenic acid, quercetin-3-glucoside, and quercetin-malonyl-glucoside were bioaccessible in the TIM-1 digestion model, but had relatively low recovery. Conclusions RSL phenolics contributed to attenuation of post-prandial hyperglycemia. Changes in gut microbiota were likely due to microbiota accessible carbohydrates in RSL and GL rather than RSL phenolics, which may be metabolized, absorbed, or degraded before reaching the colon.
Inflicted and Noninflicted Traumatic Brain Injury

Neuroimaging, physical, and neurobehavioral findings after inflicted and noninflicted traumatic brain injury (TBI) in 40 children, 0 to 6 years of age, were compared in a prospective longitudinal study at the University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center, and Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
Evaluation of Online Graduate Epidemiology Instruction and Student Outcomes.

In the last two decades, online learning has transformed the field of higher education. Also during this time, institutions of higher education have seen increases in their adult learner populations. The flexibility and accessibility of an online education model is often particularly appealing to adult learners, who bring unique needs, expectations, and learning styles to their educational experiences. Using Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory and Knowles’ andragogy model as theoretical frameworks, this study evaluates an online graduate course in epidemiology in terms of the demographics, learning styles, satisfaction, and achievement of students. Comparing the online course to the same, land-based course that was offered concurrently, we found no differences between students’ learning styles, satisfaction, and overall achievement. However, students in the land-based class were more likely to be matriculated into a degree program (p<0.005), more likely to be full-time students (p<0.002), and more likely to work part-time or not at all (p<0.002). These findings provide evidence that student preferences for method of content delivery are correlated to lifestyle factors and not age, previous experiences, or learning styles.
Total Nephrectomy Alters Circulating Humoral Agents in Salt-Fed, Low-Renin Dahl S Rats to Favour Reduced Vasoconstriction in an Isolated, Perfused Bioassay Hindquarters

1. When all renal tissue is removed from salt-fed Dahl S rats, the excessive amounts of a circulating humoral vasoconstrictor effect (or lack of a vasodilator effect) are abolished, and Dahl S rats become the equal of Dahl R rats with regard to these circulating vasoconstrictor effects. 2. Total nephrectomy of salt-fed S rats also alters circulating humoral agents so that vasoconstrictor responses to sympathetic nerve stimulation and to noradrenaline infusions are markedly diminished in a perfused hindquarters preparation. 3. Both these effects of total nephrectomy are seen only in S rats, not in R rats, although plasma renin levels are lower in S rats. Thus total nephrectomy must remove much more renin and angiotensin II in R rats. 4. The effect of total nephrectomy in S rats need not necessarily be the direct removal of circulating vasoconstrictor humoral agents issuing from the S kidney. It is quite possible that removal of S kidneys has a strong influence upon the release of circulating vasconstrictor or vasodilator agents emerging from other parts of the body. 6. These effects of total nephrectomy occurring solely in S rats add still more evidence pointing to a pivotal role for the kidney in the mechanism of the NaCl hypertension of Dahl S rats.
The arterial barrier to lipoprotein influx in the hypercholesterolemic rabbit. 2. Long-term studies in deendothelialized and reendothelialized aortas.

Abstract These studies consider whether a mild aortic injury that does not increase cholesteryl ester influx during the first few days promotes atheromatosis in the hypercholesterolemic rabbit. The cholesteryl ester influx in uninjured, deendothelialized, and reendothelialized aorta was also measured in order to account for the different cholesteryl ester contents in these areas. By 32–33 days after localized aortic injury which was made after 5–7 days of cholesterol feeding, uninjured (control) areas of the thoracic aortas had accumulated 48 μg/cm 2 each of esterified and nonesterified cholesterol due to continued cholesterol feeding. However, the previously injured deendothelialized and'reendothelialized areas of the aortas had accumulated 6 and 10 times as much esterified cholesterol, and 2 and 5 times as much nonesterified cholesterol, respectively, as the adjacent uninjured areas. Esterified cholesterol influx was low during the second day after injury but increased with time so that 30–31 days later the esterified cholesterol influx in deendothelialized and reendothelialized aorta was respectively 44 and 7 times as great as the 0.1 μg/h/cm 2 in the adjacent uninjured aorta. However, expressed per mg aortic cholesteryl ester, cholesteryl ester influx in reendothelialized aorta was no greater than in noninjured aorta. These studies suggest that an injury that does not initially increase cholesteryl ester influx can promote atheromatosis and that the higher rate of cholesteryl ester influx that develops with time in reendothelialized areas is closely related to its increased cholesteryl ester content.
THE CHALLENGES OF NATURAL SELECTION

Natural Selection: Domains, Levels, and Challenges by George Williams consists of ten chapters of soliloquies, vignettes, and short essays loosely woven into the fabric of a book of enormous evolutionary scope. The book sweeps across nearly the entire spectrum of "S" topics in evolutionary biology, including units and levels of selection, senescence, strategies, sex, species, systematics, and stasis. The centerpiece of the book is a resurrection and nearly complete overhaul of ideas that he first presented in Adaptation and Natural Selection (1966), his lethal critique of group selection and biotic adaptation (sensu Wynne Edwards). This time Williams explores the dimensions of how different units of selection (codices) evolve. In so doing, he seeks unifying principles that can explain how selection acting at various levels and on different units can affect the evolution of phenotypes, life histories, and species assemblages-in short, any biological entity that has a genealogy. Only an author with a deep and broad knowledge of evolutionary issues, only someone like George Williams, could hope to bring insight and coherence to such a gamut of evolutionary issues. The question is, does he pull it off? The answer is a qualified no. He certainly brings insight, much of it agnostic, original, and deceptively simple, to many daunting problems in evolutionary biology. At the same time, and in stark contrast to his previous books, Natural Selection seems more preoccupied with identifying the symptoms of a host of difficult problems in evolution, and less concerned with diagnosing the causes and offering remedies. Williams begins his book with a provocative and useful trichotomization of biological research into three areas-mechanism, natural selection, and historicity-giving a premonition of
Axonal Regeneration in the Context of Spinal Cord Trauma

The possibility of repairing spinal cord injuries remains an important practical stimulus for studies in the basic cell biology of axonal regeneration. Much phenomenology of degeneration and regeneration in the central nervous system (CNS) has derived from attempts to produce in higher vertebrates the kind of spontaneous recovery of function seen following complete spinal cord transection in lower vertebrate species. The history of those attempts is sometimes not the stuff of scientific textbooks, though it includes illuminating examples of the response of the mind when faced with a complex intellectual barrier to an apparently achievable goal held up by Nature. There is perhaps a rough analogy with the history of aviation before the twentieth century. It may not be wise at this stage, therefore, to deprecate too fiercely the potential contribution of inventive approaches, nor to follow blindly the scientific tradition of overestimating the necessity of basic understanding for practical implementation (Kuhn, 1971). As scientists, we are faced with dismantling the intellectual barrier, but it would be obviously of great advantage if some more empirical approach were first to find a way around it.
Networking Froissart’s Florin

ABSTRACTJean Froissart’s 1389 Dit du florin stages a dialogue between a penurious poet-narrator and the single, misshapen coin remaining at the bottom of his otherwise empty purse. Described as clipped, disfigured, and broken, the coin is now worthless: paradoxically, its former value lay at its now-missing periphery, not at its center. The florin nonetheless offers a faithful accounting of the narrator’s expenditures, and ultimately binds the poet in a network of patrons that might restore his lost wealth. This article considers the Dit du florin’s unusual positioning of value, knowledge, and power at the margins of things — at the geographic boundaries the poet skirts in his travels, in the seams of a purse, in the clippings of a coin — and this in a text that is itself situated at the margins of Froissart’s oeuvre. Viewing the florin through the lens of Actor-Network Theory and Disability Studies, we uncover how the Dit’s gestures of accounting and recounting implicate the poet and the coin in complex ...
Cambridge Growth Models

For the past two decades, a group of distinguished economists on the faculty of the University of Cambridge in England have severely criticized the approaches to the theory of economic growth used by the neo-classical school. Almost all the growth models discussed until now adopt the neo-classical approach. Salient features of that approach are the concept of an aggregate capital stock, smooth and well-behaved production functions, marginal productivity theory of income distribution, no independent investment function and full or near-full employment assumed. The Cambridge School (Nicholas Kaldor, Joan Robinson, Luigi Pasinetti, etc.), on the other hand, prefers to work with fixed coefficients or an activity analysis approach to production, independently determined investment function, factor prices not determined by marginal products, different propensities to save for workers and firms, and full employment not necessarily attained automatically. Some of the objections of the Cambridge critics have been taken into account in recent works by neo-classicists. For instance, the Keynes-Wicksell approach, discussed in Chapter 5, retains most of the features of the neo-classical models but considers saving and investment behavior as being determined independently. Vintage models relax, at least partly, the concept of a homogeneous capital stock. In the last chapter we explored in detail the properties of neo-classical models using the Kaldor-Pasinetti assumption of two income classes with different propensities to save. In the present chapter we explore some of the alternative approaches adopted by the Cambridge economists and examine their implications. For an excellent treatment of the Cambridge controversy, the reader is referred to Wan’s book [ 15, Ch. 3].
Settlement and Geographic Redistribution Patterns

The following section describes the movement and settlement patterns of Hispanics from the 1990s onward. Special emphasis is placed on foreign-born individuals and maps are presented that detail the changing geographic distribution of this group from 1990 to 2006. Information is based on decennial census data for 1990 and 2000, while ACS data is used for 2006. The maps display that a significant change in movement patterns has been observed beginning in the 1990s with a greater concentration of immigrants settling in the South and Midwest .
Coarse-Geometric Perspective on Negatively Curved Manifolds and Groups

Let (X, g) be a compact negatively curved Riemannian manifold with fundamental group Γ. Restricting the lifted metric on the universal cover \(\left( {\tilde X,\tilde g} \right)\) of (X, g) to a Γ-orbit, Γx, one obtains a left invariant metric d g, x on Γ, which is well defined up to a bounded amount, depending on the choice of the orbit Γx. Motivated by this geometric example, we study classes [d]of general left-invariant metrics d on general Gromov hyperbolic groups Γ, where [d 1]= [d 2]if d 1 — d 2 is bounded. It turns out that many of the geometric objects associated with (X, g) — such as marked length spectrum, crossratio, Bowen-Margulis measure — can be defined in the general coarse-geometric setting. The main result of the paper is a characterization of the compact negatively curved locally symmetric spaces within this coarse-geometric setting.
Public Health Disasters During Earthquakes: A Solidaristic Approach

Natural and human-made disasters belong to the class of public health disasters largely because their disaster-related dynamics elicit different types of health consequences at the individual, social, trans-national, and global planes. This chapter examines and articulates the public health disaster dynamics of earthquakes and underscores how natural disasters may engender serious public health consequences. It also teases out the attendant moral quandaries and develops a solidaristic ethical lens in relation to resolving them.
Improved Proportional Base Driver for SiC BJTs

The benefits of high-power silicon carbide (SiC) bipolar junction transistors (BJTs) in terms of low conduction and switching losses, high-temperature capability, and increased reliability associated with the lack of gate oxide have been partially shadowed by the high-power consumption of its driver. This paper focuses on the optimization of SiC BJT base drivers and presents an innovative design of a proportional base current driver. The driver is a stand-alone system achieving instantaneous tracking of the collector current without the need for a current sensor and can also account for variations of the BJT’s dc current gain with the temperature. Implementation of these two features is realized by sensing the collector–emitter voltage, which is conditioned to be used as a reference voltage for a switching regulator featuring a megahertz synchronous buck converter. This leads to a variable base current that is proportional to the instantaneous collector current for the SiC BJT. The concept is validated using a 1.5-kW boost converter, which shows a significant reduction in power consumed by the driver.
Ambulances under siege in Syria.

Background Healthcare is under attack in Syria with repeated air strikes on hospitals and ambulances and the largest death toll of health workers in any recorded conflict.1 Ambulances in Syria have been bombed, shot at, stolen, looted and obstructed, significantly impeding their ability to safely evacuate the wounded and provide medical aid. Methods This article presents the summary of a literature review on attacks against ambulances in Syria from 2011 to 2018, as well as a descriptive secondary data analysis on individual attacks reported by the Syrian Network for Human Rights from January 2016 to December 2017. A peer-reviewed literature search included three databases (PubMed, ProQuest and Embase), and a grey literature search included reports from groups involved in the Syrian health response or human rights monitoring. Findings From 2016 to 2017, there were 204 individual attacks involving 243 ambulances. Half (49%) were either heavily damaged or put out of service. The main perpetrators were the Syrian regime (60%) and the Russian armed forces (29%). Half (52%) of ambulances were directly targeted. The peer-reviewed literature search yielded 18 articles, from which the following themes were drawn: targeting of ambulances, ‘double-tap’ attacks, delays to care, obstruction and other forms of violence, and long-term consequences. Interpretation Ambulances have been intentionally and repeatedly targeted throughout the Syrian conflict as part of a war strategy. Real challenges in monitoring and systematically tracking attacks on ambulances exist, but as a result, they are understudied and likely under-reported.
Heavy ion jet physics studies using precision jet substructure and quark-gluon jet classification

In the first talk I discuss the usefulness of jet grooming for testing jet quenching mechanisms, and I present a calculation of soft-drop jet mass distribution in proton-proton and heavy ion collisions. In the second talk I discuss the comprehensive studies of quark and gluon jet substructure as a way to search for qualitatively new jet modification signatures. I emphasize the importance of precise understanding of jet substructure as well as powerful analysis tools in future heavy ion jet physics studies, with direct applications to hard probes using heavy flavors and hadronically-decaying electroweak bosons.
On the Dynamics of Conspicuity

Objective:To examine the influences of dynamic conspicuity on object recognition and to evaluate the real-world implications of these processes.Background:Conspicuity is the major influence on pers...
Detection of Isotopic Shifts and Hyperfine Structures of Uranium Transitions Using LIF of Laser Ablation Plumes

We report isotopic shifts and hyperfine structures of selected U transitions employing tunable laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy of laser ablation plumes. © 2019 The Author(s)
Knowledge of COPD Patients on the Signs and Symptoms of Pneumonia in a Public Hospital Setting

Background: In 2012, the Affordable Care Act established the Hospital Readmission Reduction Program (HRRP). The intent of this program is to reduce hospital readmission rate in six medical conditions. COPD and pneumonia are two conditions in the HRRP. Patients with COPD are prone to develop pneumonia and require hospitalization if it is not recognized and treated promptly. The goal of this study is to evaluate the knowledge of COPD patients on the signs and symptoms of pneumonia in a public hospital setting. Methods: Institutional IRB approvals were obtained. A patient interview form was developed to collect patient data and verbal responses. From review of literatures, seven common signs and symptoms of pneumonia were included in the interview form: (1) cough, (2) mucus production, (3) fever, (4) shortness of breath, (5) chest pain, (6) fatigue, and (7) nausea, vomiting and diarrhea (N/V/D). Patients admitted to a public hospital in Alabama with a diagnosis of COPD were asked "Do you know the signs and symptoms of a lung infection or pneumonia?" Responses to this and other questions were recorded on the interview form. Data analysis was done by using the frequency count method. Results: The results are summarized in the Figure where N represents the total number of patients (20 M and 15 F). The signs and symptoms identified by these patients are as follows: Cough - 21 patients (60%) ; Fever / Mucus production - 14 patients (40%) ; N/V/D - 9 patients (26%) ; SOB / Chest pain - 7 patients (20%) ; Fatigue - 5 patients (14%). Conclusions: With a total of 35 patients with COPD in a public hospital setting, seven (20%) could not name at least one of the common signs and symptoms of pneumonia. Patient education on the recognition of signs and symptoms of pneumonia should be emphasized in all patient care settings. If recognized early, pneumonia can readily be treated in a subacute or home care setting. Early recognition and effective treatment of pneumonia may reduce the needs and frequency of hospital admissions.
The Neighborhood and Family Services Project

There is a growing realization today that mental health problems cannot be met by the services of professionals alone. The Report to the President from the President’s Commission on Mental Health (1978) states that despite improvements in the current mental health service system, there are millions of Americans who remain unserved, underserved, or inappropriately served. Among those groups most underserved, as noted by the commission, are ethnic and racial minorities, the aged, and the urban poor. The commission specifically stresses the importance of community support systems (informal helping networks including friends, clergy, natural helpers, self-help groups, etc.) in meeting the needs of underserved populations and generally strengthening and maintaining the mental health of the citizenry.
Ilya Noé’s Deerwalk

This chapter focuses on the rhetorical term ‘form’ and the figure of enthymeme which is a figure with a missing element. Ilya Noe is a performance artist from Mexico, now living in Berlin, who created a piece called Deerwalk for a town in Portugal. Noe curates a rehearsal with both a sociosituated group and a wider public audience, through collaboration rather than sociocultural fit. This is the alongside work that generates the form performance needs to be open to becoming embodied material for the audience to engage with. The missing element of enthymeme insists on drawing the audience into co-labouring with materials, and experiencing the change that not-knowing those materials generates. The critical writing counterpoints these documentings and articulations as it raises questions about the work of the critic as audience.
Cryptococcal pneumonia in an adolescent with a gain-of-function variant in signal transduction and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1)

An adolescent male with a history of autoimmune enteropathy, autoimmune hypothyroidism, aphthous stomatitis and recurrent oral Candida infections only in the setting of curative antibiotic courses presented with cryptococcal pneumonia and perihilar adenitis, which was successfully treated with antifungal therapy. The patient had a complex history with several immunological anomalies. Whole exome sequencing revealed a known STAT1 pathogenic variant, associated with gain of function (GOF). This case expands our understanding of the broad clinical phenotype manifested by STAT1 GOF and emphasises the importance of consideration of this diagnosis in patients presenting with opportunistic infections and autoimmunity.
The effects of protamineon cytokines and complements in infants with cardiopulmonary bypass

：Objective To study theeffects of protamine on complement activation and cytokine generation in infants withcardiopulmonary bypass. Methods Sixty infants under 1 year of age underwentcardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) from heart surgery were recruited in this study, and randomlygrouped into 2 groups. Experimental group had 30 patients, who received protamineinjection via ascending aorta. The control group also had 30 patients, but they receivedprotamine injection via superior vena cava. Blood samples were collected from right atriumat the time prior to protamine injection (T1) and 1 hour after the injection (T2). IL-6,TNF-α, C3a and Csa plasma levels were measured by ELISA. Left radialartery systolic arterial pressures (SAPs) were measured at the time prior to protamineinjection (Time 1), 1 min (Time 2), 2 min (Time 3), 3 min (Time 4), 5 min (Time 5), and10min (Time 6) after the injection. Results At Time 1, IL-6, TNF-α, C3aand C5a plasma levels were not significantly different between the control group and theexperimental group (P＞0. 05). In the patients of control group, IL-6 (25.4 ± 10. 7 ng/L), TNF-α (22. 1 3. 5μg/l),C3a (23. 0 ± 3. 5 μg/L), and C5a (0. 9 ± 0. 1 μg/L)at Time 7 were significantly increased compared with these at Time 1 (P＜0.01). In the patients of experimental group, levels of TNF-α (25. 2 ± 0. 4 ng/L), C3a (19. 6 ± 3. 5μg/L) and Csa (0. 8 ± 0. 1μg/L) at Time 7 were not significantly different from those at Time 1 (P＞0.05), but IL-6 (19. 2± 10. 2 ng/L) at Time 7 was significantly increased than that at Time1 (P＜0. 05). Before injection, no difference of left radial artery SAPswas found between experimental group and control group (P＜0. 05). After injection, theleft radial artery SAPs of the patients of the 2 groups were decreased compared with theSAPs before injection (P＜0. 05), but no differencebetween experimental and control group was found (P＞0. 05). Conclusions Protamineinjection via ascending aorta decreased IL-6, TNF-α, C3a and C5a plasma levels in the infants withcardiopulmonary bypass. Key words: Protamines; Cardiopulmonary bypass; Lung preservation; Cytokines; Complement proteins
Synthesis and electronic properties of a linearly fused anthracene dimer

Abstract We describe the synthesis and electronic properties of the novel interrupted hexacene 5,16-diphenylcyclobuta[1,2-b:3,4-b′]dianthracene (1). The synthesis is rooted in a sequential twin Sonogashira coupling of 2,3-dibromo-9,10-dihydro-9,10-epoxyanthracene followed by a Vollhardt 2+2+2 cyclotrimerization to give o-bromoaryl(trimethylsilyl) 8, after selective bromination. A Diels-Alder cycloaddition of the aryne from 8 and 1,3-diphenylisobenzofuran gave 1 after deoxygenation. Photophysical studies suggest that the fused cyclobutane ring been the two anthracene rings allows through-conjugation, but does not allow 1 to behave as a conjugated acene. Attempts to synthesize the parent analogue, cyclobuta[1,2-b:3,4-b′]dianthracene (2) were not successful, but detailed calculations are reported for both 1 and 2.
Increased Contact System Activation in Mild Cognitive Impairment Patients with Impaired Short-Term Memory

An activated plasma contact system is an abnormality observed in many Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Since mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients often develop AD, we analyzed the status of contact system activation in MCI patients. We found that kallikrein activity, high molecular weight kininogen cleavage, and bradykinin levels- measures of contact system activation- were significantly elevated in MCI patient plasma compared to plasma from age- and education-matched healthy individuals. Changes were more pronounced in MCI patients with impaired short-term recall memory, indicating the possible role of the contact system in early cognitive changes.
A Simple and Accurate Apollo-Trained Neural Network Controller for Mars Atmospheric Entry

We present a new method to design the controller for Mars capsule atmospheric entry using deep neural networks and flight-proven Apollo entry data. The controller is trained to modulate the bank angle with data from the Apollo entry simulations. The neural network controller reproduces the classical Apollo results over a variation of entry state initial conditions. Compared to the Apollo controller as a baseline, the present approach achieves the same level of accuracy for both linear and nonlinear entry dynamics. The Apollo-trained controller is then applied to Mars entry missions. As in Earth environment, the controller achieves the desired level of accuracy for Mars missions using both linear and nonlinear entry dynamics with higher uncertainties in the entry states and the atmospheric density. The deep neural network is only trained with data from Apollo reentry simulation in an Earth model and works in both Earth and Mars environments. It achieves the desired landing accuracy for a Mars capsule. This method works with both linear and nonlinear integration and can generate the bank angle commands in real-time without a prestored trajectory.