cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Zero-flux boundary condition in a two-probability-parameter random walk model

Zero-flux boundary condition is revisited in the context of a two-probability-para meter and a rigorous combinatorial model. The two-parameter model distinguishes partial segregation, partial absorption, and partial reflection. Both models show that vanishing flux across the barrier can be realized for non-zero gradient of the dopant distribution at the boundary.
Benzoquinone levels as a function of age and gender of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

Abstract Liquid chromatography with both photodiode array and electrochemical detection was used to analyze as a function of age and gender the levels of two ρ-quinones, methyl-1,4-benzoquinone (MBQ) and ethyl-1,4-benzoquinone (EBQ), which are found in defensive secretions of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. We developed a method to simultaneously analyze quinones and hydroquinones excreted from or in homogenates of individual beetles. The major components present in beetle extracts were the benzoquinones and not free or conjugated forms of the hydroquinones. Greater than 95% of the quinone/hydroquinone mixture in extracts was present in the oxidized form. Because of their lability, however, the quinones were quantified indirectly as their hydroquinone derivatives after extraction in dilute acid supplemented with ascorbic acid as a reducing agent. Comparisons of whole body rinses and homogenates revealed that rinses recovered only up to 60% of the total quinones that were extracted after homogenization. The levels recovered also depended on the age and sex of the individual beetles sampled. ρ-Benzoquinones in both male and female beetles increased after adult eclosion and cuticle sclerotization for 40–50 days and then remained at their highest levels (15–21 μg MBQ and 22–32 μg EBQ per beetle) through 80 days posteclosion. Virgin females that were collected 40–80 days after eclosion contained approximately 40% more of these compounds than males of the same age. The build-up of ρ-benzoquinones subsequent to cuticle sclerotization apparently reflects the need for an adequate cuticular barrier for self-protection from these defensive compounds.
Increased Cerebral Blood Flow Associated with Better Response Inhibition in Bipolar Disorder

Impairment on inhibitory tasks has been well documented in bipolar disorder (BD). Differences in cerebral blood flow (CBF) between BD patients and healthy comparison (HC) participants have also been reported. Few studies have examined the relationship between cognitive performance and regional CBF in this patient population. We hypothesized that group differences on an inhibitory task (the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function Scale’s Color-Word Inhibition task) would be associated with differential CBF in bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) regions. Whole brain resting CBF was measured using Multiphase Pseudocontinuous Arterial Spin Labeling MR imaging for 28 euthymic BD and 36 HC participants. Total gray matter (GM) CBF was measured, and regional CBF values were extracted for each region of interest (ROI) using Freesurfer-based individual parcellations. Group, CBF, and group-by-CBF interaction were examined as predictors of inhibition performance. Groups did not differ in age, gender or education. BD patients performed significantly worse on Color-Word inhibition. There were no significant group differences in CBF in either total GM or in any ROI. There was a group by CBF interaction in the bilateral ACC, right IPL and right DLPFC such that better inhibitory performance was generally associated with higher resting state CBF in BD subjects, but not HC participants. Although CBF was not abnormal in this euthymic BD sample, results confirm previous reports of inter-episode inhibitory deficits and indicate that the perfusion-cognition relationship is different in BD compared to HC individuals. (JINS, 2015, 21, 105–115)
Same‐Sex Cultures and Sexualities: An Anthropological Reader

Same-Sex Cultures and Sexualities: An Anthropological Reader. Jennifer Robertson, ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. 310 pp.
On the use of multiple probe insertions at the same site for repeated intracerebral microdialysis experiments in the nigrostriatal dopamine system of rats.

Abstract: The effects of implantation of a dialysis probe into the striatum of awake rats on indices of dopamine (DA) and serotonin neurotransmission were assessed, first over 24 h following initial insertion of a probe, and then again following reinsertion of a probe at the same site 1 week later. It was found that the basal concentration of DA in dialysate stabilized within 20–40 min after probe implantation, although DA showed a modest decline 24 h later. There was, however, no significant difference in basal DA between two test sessions separated by 1 week. On the other hand, the basal concentrations of the DA metabolites, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid, progressively increased for 2–3 h after probe implantation and decreased markedly by 24 h later. Furthermore, in contrast to DA, the DA metabolites decreased even further after the second probe insertion. Amphetamine-stimulated DA release was also greatly attenuated following the second probe insertion, relative to the first probe insertion. Two probe insertions had only modest effects on the concentration of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid in dialysate, relative to the DA metabolites. It is suggested the effects of two probe insertions on DA metabolism and amphetamine-stimulated DA release described here are indicative of probe-induced damage to the nigrostriatal DA system. If this is the case, multiple probe insertions may not provide a feasible strategy for within-subjects design dialysis experiments over extended periods of time, at least in the DA system of small animals. It is suggested further that a stable basal concentration of DA in dialysate may be an especially poor indicator of the integrity of the dopaminergic input to the striatum.
How I review an original scientific article.

experience, knowing the old stuff and (2) mastery of the relevant WHY WRITE THIS? science, i.e., being able to apply and relate scientific principles There has been substantial recent interest in the quality of the and findings to the new science. peer review system in biomedical publication, with several InterSeveral different areas of expertise may be relevant for a national Congresses (1) and a recent JAMA issue entirely degiven submission. A paper that is sent to me, for example, may voted to the topic (2). The quality of reviews of articles submitted include elements of clinical and applied science, general pulmofor publication varies widely (1, 3–5). Black and colleagues have nary physiology, basic lung and chest wall mechanics, mathematisuggested that their quality might be improved if journals trained cal modeling, or stereology. Although my expertise is uneven their reviewers (6). How do we currently learn the trade? Some among these topics and a submission often requires significant of us have learned by doing reviews, by fielding reviews of our expertise in disciplines that I cannot cover responsibly, the Assoown submissions, and by comparing our own reviews with other ciate Editor usually turns out to have selected reviewers to cover reviews of the same articles. When editorial consideration of a all main areas. submission is completed, the editorial offices generally forward
Left Ventricular Strain and Myocardial Fibrosis in Congenital Aortic Stenosis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether left ventricular (LV) systolic strain in children and young adults with congenital aortic stenosis (AS) and preserved ejection fraction was different from normal subjects and to determine whether any alterations in strain were related to myocardial fibrosis. In this retrospective study, 29 patients with congenital AS with a median age of 15.3 years (range 1.7 to 23.7), highest lifetime AS peak Doppler gradient of 73 mm Hg (22 to 110), most recent AS peak Doppler gradient of 49 mm Hg (0 to 90), and ejection fraction of 65 (55 to 79) were included. Strain was measured using 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography. Cardiac magnetic resonance was used to identify focal fibrosis by late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) and diffuse fibrosis by calculating the extracellular volume fraction (ECV) from T1 measurements. Compared to age-matched controls (n = 29), patients with AS had reduced LV longitudinal (17.0 ± 3.0% vs 20.6 ± 2.2%, p
The New qd Algorithms

Let us think about ways to find both eigenvalues and eigenvectors of tridiagonal matrices. An important special case is the computation of singular values and singular vectors of bidiagonal matrices. The discussion is addressed both to specialists in matrix computation and to other scientists whose main interests lie elsewhere. The reason for hoping to communicate with two such diverse sets of readers at the same time is that the content of the survey, though of recent origin, is quite elementary and does not demand familiarity with much beyond triangular factorization and the Gram-Schmidt process for orthogonalizing a set of vectors. For some readers the survey will cover familiar territory but from a novel perspective. The justification for presenting these ideas is that they lead to new variations of current methods that run a lot faster while achieving greater accuracy.
Clinical Relevance of Sonographically Estimated Amniotic Fluid Volume

Polyhydramnios is an excessive amount of amniotic fluid within the amniotic cavity. The etiology of polyhydramnios may be idiopathic, the consequence of fetal structural anomalies, or the consequence of various fetal and maternal conditions. The clinical importance of polyhydramnios is found in its association with adverse pregnancy outcomes and the risk of perinatal mortality. The antenatal management of polyhydramnios can be challenging as there are no formalized guidelines on the topic. The purpose of this review is to provide a literature-based overview on the subject of polyhydramnios in singleton pregnancies, demonstrate its clinical implications, and describe a practical approach to its management.
Rollout-based Game-tree Search Outprunes Traditional Alpha-beta

Recently, rollout-based planning and search methods have emerged as an alternative to traditional tree-search methods. The fundamental operation in rollout-based tree search is the generation of trajectories in the search tree from root to leaf. Game-playing programs based on Monte-Carlo rollouts methods such as "UCT" have proven remarkably effective at using information from trajectories to make state-of-the-art decisions at the root. In this paper, we show that trajectories can be used to prune more aggressively than classical alpha-beta search. We modify a rollout-based method, FSSS, to allow for use in game-tree search and show it outprunes alpha-beta both empirically and formally.
Assessing output performance of information technology service industries: Productivity, innovation and catch-up

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to assess the output performance of information technology (IT) service industries of twelve Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries over the years from 2000 to 2011. We use Malmquist productivity index (MPI) as the performance metric and stochastic production frontier (SPF) as the measurement approach. We then decompose MPI into two ingredient components that represent technological change for innovation capability and efficiency change for catch-up effort. It is found that the IT service industries display an impressive annual rate of 7.4% for productivity growth during the study period. The parametric decomposition of MPI unveils that almost all of the productivity growth observed is enabled by technological advance made to the production process by IT service providers while efficiency change has little effect. Moreover, each country׳s IT service industry demonstrates a distinctive pattern relating to the three measures of productivity growth, technological change, and efficiency change. This observation suggests that each country׳s IT service industry possesses certain strengths that become the sources of its competitive advantage, and there are weaknesses that could be targets for performance improvement. Based on our empirical results, we offer practical implications and identify future research topics for performance evaluation of IT service and other industries.
A robust automated left ventricle region of interest localization technique using a cardiac cine MRI atlas

Region of interest detection is a precursor to many medical image processing and analysis applications, including segmentation, registration and other image manipulation techniques. The optimal region of interest is often selected manually, based on empirical knowledge and features of the image dataset. However, if inconsistently identified, the selected region of interest may greatly affect the subsequent image analysis or interpretation steps, in turn leading to incomplete assessment during computer-aided diagnosis or incomplete visualization or identification of the surgical targets, if employed in the context of pre-procedural planning or image-guided interventions. Therefore, the need for robust, accurate and computationally efficient region of interest localization techniques is prevalent in many modern computer-assisted diagnosis and therapy applications. Here we propose a fully automated, robust, a priori learning-based approach that provides reliable estimates of the left and right ventricle features from cine cardiac MR images. The proposed approach leverages the temporal frame-to-frame motion extracted across a range of short axis left ventricle slice images with small training set generated from les than 10% of the population. This approach is based on histogram of oriented gradients features weighted by local intensities to first identify an initial region of interest depicting the left and right ventricles that exhibits the greatest extent of cardiac motion. This region is correlated with the homologous region that belongs to the training dataset that best matches the test image using feature vector correlation techniques. Lastly, the optimal left ventricle region of interest of the test image is identified based on the correlation of known ground truth segmentations associated with the training dataset deemed closest to the test image. The proposed approach was tested on a population of 100 patient datasets and was validated against the ground truth region of interest of the test images manually annotated by experts. This tool successfully identified a mask around the LV and RV and furthermore the minimal region of interest around the LV that fully enclosed the left ventricle from all testing datasets, yielding a 98% overlap with their corresponding ground truth. The achieved mean absolute distance error between the two contours that normalized by the radius of the ground truth is 0.20 ± 0.09.
Effect of Adrenalin and Pituitrin on the Volume of the Liver.

In view of the contradiction which exists in the literature in regard to the effects of adrenalin and pituitrin on the circulation in the liver, we have used the liver plethysmograph, which has been previously described,1 in a new attack on this problem. The results will be very briefly described in this preliminary report without substantiation from actual records or attempt to cite the literature; these will appear in due time.Cats and rabbits under chloralose anesthesia have been used in this work; the results are as follows:I. Intravenous injections of adrenalin. 1. Pressor doses invariably produce constriction in the liver, whether introduced by way of the femoral, or portal veins, or hepatic artery, provided the general blood pressure is high and the animal in good condition. This constriction may last as long as the pressor response or it may at times give way to prompt and active dilation; when this latter occurs it may be abolished by section of the depressor nerves (rabbit). On the other hand, i...
Effect evaluation of clinical path in multi-months induced abortion

Objective:To evaluation the effect of clinical path in patients who had multi-months induced abortion.Methods:160 patients who had multi-months induced abortion at the same hospitalization period in our hospital from January 2010 to July 2011 were divided respectively into the clinical path group(path group) and the normal medical nursing mode group(control group) ,each had 80 cases.The age,pregnancies,menopause days,expense per capita,hospitalization days,complications rate and medicine expenses were comprehensively analyzed and evaluated.Results:The hospitalization days,hospitalization days before operation,expense per capita and medicine expenses of the clinical path group were lower than the normal medical nursing mode group(P0.01) .There was no difference between clinical path group and normal medical nursing mode group in complications rate,age,pregnancies and menopause days(P0.05) .Conclusion:The implement of multi-months induced abortion patients are treated with clinical path can reduce medical expenses and hospitalization days,which is a practical new mode of medical nursing.
Multi-window post-Doppler dimensionality reduction for multi-waveform STAP

A multi-waveform version of space-time adaptive processing, denoted as MuW-STAP (or W-STAP), was recently developed as a single-input multiple-output (SIMO) emission scheme that incorporates training data generated by multiple secondary filters into the estimation of the sample covariance matrix. This integration of additional training data was found to increase robustness to non-homogeneous clutter because the secondary filters serve to "homogenize" the interference in range. Here we incorporate μ-STAP into multi-window post-Doppler STAP (specifically PRI-Staggered and Adjacent-Bin implementations) to assess the impact when dimensionality reduction techniques are employed. SINR analysis was used to evaluate the performance of these reduced dimension μ-STAP formulations under various simulated clutter conditions.
Flash-Induced 1H nmr Relaxation Enhancements from the OEC: Analysis of Temperature and Magnetic Field Dependence

Previous studies (1–3) have shown that manganese redox chemistry in the oxygen evolving center (OEC) can be probed by flash-induced enhancements of the nmr relaxation rate of solvent protons (nmr-PRE). We report here an analysis of temperature profiles of the 1 and 2 flash nmr-PRE amplitudes at two field strengths, 0.48 and 1.08 Tesla. Results on model Mn complexes are also reported.
Narrow Band Laser Ultrasonic NDE

The generation and detection of ultrasound with lasers has evolved to become a useful laboratory tool. An extensive compilation of laser ultrasonic technology and applications is available [1]. These laser ultrasonic techniques are complimentary to other methods such as piezoelectric transducers. Since they are non-contact and have very high resolution, these techniques provide otherwise unavailable NDE options. They are unfortunately relatively inefficient in their signal to noise ratio (SNR) in comparison to other NDE techniques limiting their value to potential applications where traditional NDE methods are unable to perform satisfactory. The work presented here demonstrates progress in overcoming some of the problems which have prevented laser ultrasonics from becoming useful in industrial environments.
For the want of a nail: The interaction of managerial capacity and human resource management on organizational performance

Human resource management and managerial capacity are well documented in the public management literature as integral management functions. The field has devoted attention to the importance of human resources, but it has yet to consider whether human resource management interacts with capacity in attaining organizational outcomes. Using a large-N, multiyear data set of public organizations, this article seeks to rectify this gap in the literature. The findings validate scholarly arguments on the importance of public organizations’ need to manage human resources and capacity effectively, identifying just the right combination for performance gains. Empirical results encourage practitioners to consider the ways in which human resource management and capacity work together to influence performance but sometimes undermine each other in counterintuitive ways.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder

In the second part of an excellent review of disorders of higher cerebral function, Dr. Isabelle Rapin, at the Albert Einstein College of Med, Bronx, NY, outlines the evaluation and management of preschool children with autism and inadequate communication skills.
Discrepancies Between Perceived Benefit of Opioids and Self-Reported Patient Outcomes.

Objective There is little empirical evidence supporting the long-term use of opioid therapy for chronic pain, suggesting the need to reevaluate the role of opioids in chronic pain management. Few studies have considered opioid use and opioid cessation from the perspective of the patient. Methods This prospective structured interview study included 150 new patients seeking treatment for chronic pain at an outpatient tertiary care pain clinic. Results Of the 150 patients, 56% (N = 84) reported current opioid use. Opioids users reported higher pain severity (t(137) = -3.75, P 7), 60.8% reported low functioning (>7), and 71.4% reported less than a 30% reduction in pain severity since starting opioids, suggesting that many patients are unlikely to be receiving adequate benefit. Overall, 66.3% of current opioid users reported moderate to high opioid-related difficulties on the prescribed opioids difficulties scale, and patients with depression were more likely to report greater difficulties. There was no association between helpfulness of opioids over the past month and opioid-related difficulties (r(75) = -0.07, P = 0.559), current pain severity (r(72)=0.05, P = 0.705), or current pain interference (r(72) = 0.20, P = 0.095). Conclusions Despite clinical indicators that question the benefit, patients may continue to report that their opioids are helpful. Such discrepancies in patients' perceptions will likely pose significant barriers for implementing opioid cessation guidelines in clinical practice.
Simultaneous Equations in Mechanics Solved by Iteration

Iteration (meaning “repetition”) stands for the process of successive approximations applied to the solution of simultaneous equations. A set of simultaneous equations may be characterized by a sin...
National Trends in Admission for Aspiration Pneumonia in the United States, 2002–2012

Rationale: Aspiration pneumonia is a subset of pneumonias prevalent in elderly patients and patients with neurologic disorders. Researchers in previous studies mostly reported incidence and/or mortality rates based on regional data or in specific subgroups of patients. There is a paucity of nationwide data in the contemporary U.S. population.Objectives: To describe U.S. national trends in acute care hospital admission for aspiration pneumonia from 2002 to 2012.Methods: We used the U.S. National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample database to identify patients admitted with a primary diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia between 2002 and 2012. We estimated trends in the incidence, in-hospital mortality, length of stay, and total hospitalization cost for patients admitted for aspiration pneumonia and stratified on the basis of patient age (≥65 yr vs. <65 yr). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors for in-hospital mortality.Results: A total of 406,798 patients (weighted ...
Poloidal and toroidal plasmons and fields of multilayer nanorings

Composite and janus type metallodielectric nanoparticles are increasingly considered as a means to control the spatial and temporal behavior of electromagnetic fields in diverse applications such as coupling to quantum emitters, achieving invisibility cloaks, and obtaining quantum correlations between qubits. We investigate the surface modes of a toroidal nanostructure and obtain the canonical plasmon dispersion relations and resonance modes for arbitrarily layered nanorings. Unlike particle plasmon eigenmodes in other geometries, the amplitudes of the eigenmodes of tori exhibit a distinct forward and backward coupling. We present the plasmon dispersion relations for several relevant toroidal configurations in the quasistatic limit and obtain the dominant retarded dispersion relations of a single ring for comparison, discuss mode complementarity and hybridization, and introduce two new types of toroidal particles in the form of janus nanorings. The resonance frequencies for the first few dominant modes of a ring composed of plasmon supporting materials such as gold, silver, and aluminum are provided and compared to those for a silicon ring. A generalized Green's function is obtained for multilayer tori allowing for calculation of the scattering response to interacting fields. Employing the Green's function, the scalar electric potential distribution corresponding to individual poloidal and toroidal modes in response to an arbitrarily polarized external field and the field of electrons is obtained. The results are applied to obtain the local density of states and decay rate of a dipole near the center of the torus.
Iron Laboratory Studies in Pediatric Patients With Heart Failure from Dilated Cardiomyopathy.

Iron deficiency (FeD), with or without anemia, in adults with heart failure (HF) is associated with poor outcomes, which can be improved with replacement therapy. A similar therapeutic opportunity may exist for children; however, iron laboratory measurements and FeD have not been described in pediatric patients with HF. A single-center, retrospective study was conducted on 28 patients
Purdue University Team Tackles Global Underwater-Vehicle Competition

Each year, the Marine Advanced Technology Education Center holds a remotely operated underwater-vehicle competition, with students from around the world undertaking tasks that simulate real-world implementations. A Purdue University team took home two first-place team awards and an individual achievement award. The web extra at https://youtu.be/wI9a4O4CgmU highlights the Purdue University student group as it designed, built, and piloted a remotely operated underwater vehicle.
Volatility and Variance Swap Using Superposition of the Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard type Lévy Processes

The main goal of this paper is to model variance and volatility swap using superposition of Barndorff-Nielsen and Shephard (BN-S) type models. In particular, in this paper we propose superposition of Levy process driven by Γ(ν,α) and Inverse Gaussian distributions. Model performance is assessed on data not used to build the model (i.e., test data). It is shown that the prediction error rate for the models considered in this paper are much lower compared to those from previous related models. Moreover, it is shown that unlike previous related models which are restricted to stable markets, the present approach can be applied to both stable and unstable markets.
Development and Refinement of Functional Properties of Adult-Born Neurons

Summary New neurons appear only in a few regions of the adult mammalian brain and become integrated into existing circuits. Little is known about the functional development of individual neurons in vivo . We examined the functional life history of adult-born granule cells (abGCs) in the olfactory bulb using multiphoton imaging in awake and anesthetized mice. We found that abGCs can become responsive to odorants soon after they arrive in the olfactory bulb. Tracking identified abGCs over weeks revealed that the robust and broadly tuned responses of most newly arrived abGCs gradually become more selective over a period of ∼3 weeks, but a small fraction achieves broader tuning with maturation. Enriching the olfactory environment of mice prolonged the period over which abGCs were strongly and broadly responsive to odorants. Our data offer direct support for rapid integration of adult-born neurons into existing circuits, followed by experience-dependent refinement of their functional connectivity.
Development blind spots and environmental impact assessment: Tensions between policy, law and practice in Brazil's Xingu river basin

Abstract This paper explores the tensions involved in Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and environmental licensing through a detailed analysis of the legal disputes and public contestations surrounding two projects, a large hydroelectric dam and a gold mine, which are proximately located to each other. Broadly, we argue that EIAs may function to reinforce rather than genuinely inform or potentially resist prevailing developmental logics. The research extends David Mosse's argument that development self-perpetuates “success” through participation and procedural licensing mechanisms while on-the-ground realities diverge significantly. It offers a critical examination of EIA utility and processes through identifying three general mechanisms within EIA and environmental licensing procedures that contribute to approval of projects and promote a perception of their legitimacy, while detracting from the intended purposes of EIAs as opportunities for meaningful public discussion and sustainability-oriented decision making. These mechanisms include discourses that entrench project necessity and make them appear inevitable, public participation, and the isolated treatment of related projects. This work situates an understanding of particular EIAs within a deeper process of regional territorial development and resource extraction.
Immunology of Tissue Transplantation

Composite tissue allograft (CTA) is one of the tissue reconstruction options in plastic and reconstructive surgery. Surgical techniques in CTA are well established; however, the immunologic characters of the components of CTA still require extensive research to protect allografts from rejection. CTA are histologically heterogeneous and composed of tissues such as skin, muscle, bone with bone marrow, lymph nodes, nerves, and vessels, which represent variable levels of immunogenicity and may generate different types of immunologic responses.
Institutionalizing Inequality: The Political Origins of Labor Codes in Latin America

When do labor laws protect workers from workplace risks, and when do they serve to institute or insulate the privilege of particular political and economic actors? This paper argues that Latin American labor laws are highly politicized, and have been since their early origins. In the early decades of the twentieth century, the first labor codes were formulated to favor skilled, unionized labor in key economic sectors controlled by business and governmental elites. Non-skilled labor outside of these sectors was largely locked out of the benefits of legislation. Recent efforts at market-oriented reforms, rather than creating a common (albeit weakened) norm for all workers, have only strengthened the privileges given to formal-sector, unionized workers, and widened the gap between these sectors and the unskilled workers in the informal sector. In this paper, I develop a theory of the political dynamics of labor code origins, emphasizing the explanatory role of skilled labor profiles, geographic isolation, and union organization, as well as the concentration of capital and nascent state power in the hands of a limited group of elites. I then illustrate the principal claims of the theory through a historical examination of three cases of labor law formulation: Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
Heavy-Ion Radiative Capture

The radiative capture of light particles (≤ alphas) is a well-established mechanism that has been used for a variety of studies such as the spectroscopy of shell-model states, the decay of giant resonances, and the properties of isobaric analog resonances. In contrast, comparatively little is known about the radiative capture of heavy ions. This is mainly due to the small cross sections encountered. The Coulomb barriers that must be overcome for heavy-ion fusion are much higher. This, together with consistently larger Q values, leads to much higher excitations in the compound nuclei. States at such high energies tend to have much larger total widths, with the result that the branching ratios for radiative decay Γγ/Γ tend to be much smaller than in light-ion capture. Consequently, only a few experiments relating to this area of heavy-ion science have been performed. These have been compiled and are listed in Table 1.
The human sensory unit — new concepts and syndromes

This is an update on aspects of structure, function and pathology of the primary sensory unit in man, emphasizing concepts which form the basis for understanding a) rationales of new physiological clinical tests and b) the nature of neuropathic sensory syndromes of recent recognition.
Thrust Force Analysis of Drilling Burr Formation Using Finite Element Method

This study is focused on thrust force analysis of the drilling burr formation. A finite element model (FEM) for drilling burr formation was proposed with a stainless steel (AISI 304L) workpiece and a conventional twist drill. The thrust force variation during drilling process from FEM was obtained and compared with the experimental results. The estimation of burr size was briefly discussed.
Identification of epitopes of the receptor binding subunit of cholera toxin by synthetic peptide and CBIB approaches.

Cholera toxin (CT) and related diarrheagenic heat-labile enterotoxins (LTs) are produced, among others, by strains of Vibrio cholerae as well as strains of Escherichia coli of human (H) and porcine (P) origin (reviewed in Finkelstein, 1988). These enterotoxins are structurally, immunologically and functionally related. All CT-related toxins consist of a homopentamer receptor-binding B-subunit protein and an enzymatically active A-subunit. The B-subunit proteins, designated as CT-B-1 and CT-B-2 (from classical and E1 Tor biotype strains of V. cholerae 569B and 3083, respectively) as well as H-LT-B and P-LT-B (from E. coli strains) bind to GM1 ganglioside on the surface of target cells. Receptor-binding is essential for the internalization and the intracellular activity of the A-subunit protein. Identification of the epitopes of the immunodominant CT-related B-subunit proteins, particularly those that are involved in the receptor-binding process, is of great interest for vaccine development. In this report we describe two different approaches that we have taken to analyze the epitopic regions of CT-B-1.
Time to improvement in semen parameters after microsurgical varicocelectomy in men with severe oligospermia.

Introduction: We aimed to determine the time and predictive factors of semen quality improvement in men with severe oligospermia after microsurgical varicocelectomy. Methods: Men with total motile sperm count (TMSC) 6 months. We evaluated preoperative factors for successful semen quality upgrading based on assisted reproductive technology (ART) eligibility: in vitro fertilization [IVF] ( 9 million). We compared men with TMSC 6 months postoperatively. Results: A total of 33 men were included. TMSC improved from 1.5±0.2 to 7.3±1.8 million at 3–6 months (p 6 months (p 6 months. Sixteen (48.5%) men upgraded semen quality into the range of natural pregnancy. Preoperative TMSC from 2–5 million was predictive of upgrading semen quality. Twenty-four couples were contacted by phone; 20 were attempting pregnancy in the postoperative period and five (25%) of them had achieved natural pregnancy. Conclusions: Men with TMSC 2 million was most predictive of semen quality upgrading.
Substituent effects on cellulose dissolution in imidazolium-based ionic liquids

The dissolution of cotton cellulose with ionic liquids (ILs) has been extensively studied. However, the mechanism of cellulose dissolution, especially the role of the IL cation in the dissolution process, is not well understood. This paper describes a systematic study of the effects of the substituent groups on the cation in imidazolium-based ILs on cellulose dissolution. A series of imidazolium-based ILs with acetate as the anion, 1-hepyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([C7C1im][OAc]), 1-(cyclohexylmethyl)-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([CyhmC1im][OAc]), 1-benzyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([BnzC1im][OAc]), 1,3-dibenzylimidazolium acetate ([(Bnz)2im][OAc]), and 1-(2-napthylmethyl)-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([NapmC1im][OAc]) were synthesized. In each dissolution experiment, 5% (w/w) ground cotton fiber was dissolved in the ILs at 90 °C. The progress of the dissolution was monitored periodically with a polarized light microscope. This study revealed that [BnzC1im][OAc] dissolved cotton cellulose more efficiently than the other four ILs. The results are discussed within the context of previous published theoretical and experimental studies on cellulose dissolution in ILs. For the five ILs that were investigated, we find that the effect of the cation can be rationalized on the basis of both the size and shape of the cation. In addition to the dissolution, cellulose was regenerated and characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).
Public Policy in the United States: Challenges, Opportunities, and Changes

Offering the widest breadth of policy issue coverage on the market, the sixth edition of this well-regarded text covers events through the 2016 elections and beyond. Though the content has been extensively and thoughtfully revised and updated, the sixth edition maintains its clear approach, without an overreliance on policy theory, and popular threefold structure: First, it introduces readers to the American approach to public policy making as it has been shaped by our political institutions, changing circumstances, and ideology. Second, it surveys all of the major policy areas from foreign policy to health care policy to environmental policy, and does so with well-selected illustrations, case studies, terms, and study questions. Third, it provides readers with analytical tools and frameworks to examine current problems and be able to understand and critique proposed public policy solutions. New to the sixth edition is an exploration of: The Affordable Care Act and its implementation, controversies, and impact The American economy since the end of the Great Recession, trade policy, and economic equality issues Foreign policy including relations with Russia, China, and Iran, as well as the civil war in Syria, the continuing conflicts in Iraq, and the challenge of ISIS The US Criminal Justice system and its incarceration challenges as well as issues of minorities, police, and crime. This new edition includes, for the first time, a test bank with multiple choice, short answer, and discussion/essay questions as well as an instructor’s manual. Public Policy in the United States, 6e is an ideal undergraduate text for introductory courses on American Public Policy and Politics, and can be used as supplementary reading in undergraduate courses on policy process, policy analysis, and American government.
Haloacid Dehalogenase Proteins: Novel Mediators of Metabolic Plasticity in Plasmodium falciparum:

Widespread antimalarial drug resistance has prompted the need for new therapeutics and greater understanding of malaria parasite biology. To this end, the isoprenoid biosynthesis inhibitor fosmidomycin has been used to probe the metabolic regulation in the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Genetic changes in the haloacid dehalogenase (HAD) superfamily member HAD2 conferred resistance to fosmidomycin, at the cost of decreased fitness. In the absence of fosmidomycin, parasites gained mutations to phosphofructokinase that restored growth and fosmidomycin sensitivity, thus revealing an intriguing example of plasticity in a core glycolytic process. Moreover, this study marks a second report of a HAD superfamily protein-modulating metabolic homeostasis in P falciparum parasites. Haloacid dehalogenase enzymes are distributed across all domains of life and have increasingly been found to influence central carbon metabolism and drug sensitivity in P falciparum. Investigating the mechanisms by which HAD superfamily members modulate metabolism may shed light on how metabolic networks are connected in apicomplexan parasites and other organisms and may guide future therapeutic endeavors.
Spatial and temporal patterns of heavy metal deposition resulting from a smelter in El Paso, Texas

Abstract Heavy metal contamination in the environment is detrimental to human and environmental health. Air emissions from industry, especially ore smelting and refining, are a source of heavy metal contamination that affects land and populations downwind. A smelter constructed in 1887 in El Paso, Texas, USA and later decommissioned in 1999 resulted in significant environmental contamination and subsequent remediation of nearby neighborhoods. We sampled dust accumulated in attics from two distinct neighborhoods different distances and topographic positions downwind from the smelter site to determine if we could detect metal-bearing particulates related to smelter emissions and to evaluate potential spatial and temporal patterns of deposition. Both neighborhoods showed evidence of accumulation of smelter-related particulates the depositional environment of vented attics. The proportion of smelter-associated elements in attic dust from the neighborhood nearer the smelter was greater than the neighborhood further away and across a ridge. A temporal pattern of deposition defined by the construction of a 252 m tall smokestack in 1967 and other engineering controls significantly reduced the deposition of smelter particulates in both neighborhoods. However, we found the reduction effect was more significant in the neighborhood nearer the smelter, once again demonstrating the spatial effect of distance from source.
VRI Photometry of Late Dwarf Common Proper-Motion Stars

From the photometric observations of a sample of late dwarf common proper motion pairs it may be inferred that about 30%–50% of such systems contain one or more additional stellar components. A small fraction of such systems have separations in excess of 5000 A.U.
A projection-based approach to diffraction tomography on curved boundaries

An approach to diffraction tomography is investigated for two-dimensional image reconstruction of objects surrounded by an arbitrarily-shaped curve of sources and receivers. Based on the integral theorem of Helmholtz and Kirchhoff, the approach relies upon a valid choice of the Green's functions for selected conditions along the (possibly-irregular) boundary. This allows field projections from the receivers to an arbitrary external location. When performed over all source locations, it will be shown that the field caused by a hypothetical source at this external location is also known along the boundary. This field can then be projected to new external points that may serve as a virtual receiver. Under such a reformation, data may be put in a form suitable for image construction by synthetic aperture methods. Foundations of the approach are shown, followed by a mapping technique optimized for the approach. Examples formed from synthetic data are provided.
Organic glass scintillator bars with dual-ended readout

Abstract Organic glass scintillator (OGS) bars (6 × 6 × 50 mm 3 ) were melt-cast and characterized with dual-ended readout by silicon photomultiplier arrays. The results were compared to trans-stilbene bars of the same size. Energy resolution was measured via a 137Cs Compton-coincidence experiment. Time resolution was determined via a 22Na coincidence-timing experiment. Depth-of-interaction resolution was measured by moving a gamma-ray fan beam along the major axis of the bars. Pulse shape discrimination capability and neutron light output were determined via a time-of-flight measurement of a 252Cf source. The OGS bars exhibited better energy resolution at 478 keV ( 10 . 3 ± 0 . 5 % vs. 11 . 2 ± 0 . 5 %), better time resolution from 200–341 keVee ( 270 ps vs. 340 ps FWHM), slightly poorer depth-of-interaction resolution, poorer PSD performance, and higher neutron light output than the stilbene bars. The low cost, ease of manufacturing, brightness, and excellent time resolution make OGS a strong candidate for use in compact radiation imaging systems.
TNF-α Carried by Plasma Extracellular Vesicles Predicts Knee Osteoarthritis Progression

Objectives To identify plasma extracellular vesicles (EVs) associated with radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression. Methods EVs of small (SEV), medium (MEV) and large (LEV) sizes from plasma of OA participants (n=30) and healthy controls (HCs, n=22) were profiled for surface markers and cytokine cargo by high-resolution flow cytometry. The concentrations of cytokines within (endo-) and outside (exo-) EVs were quantified by multiplex ELISA. EV associations with knee radiographic OA (rOA) progression were assessed by multivariable linear regression (adjusted for baseline clinical variables of age, gender, BMI and OA severity) and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results Based on integrated mean fluorescence intensity (iMFI), baseline plasma MEVs carrying CD56 (corresponding to natural killer cells) predicted rOA progression with highest area under the ROC curve (AUC) 0.714 among surface markers. Baseline iMFI of TNF-α in LEVs, MEVs and SEVs, and the total endo-EV TNF-α concentration, predicted rOA progression with AUCs 0.688, 0.821, 0.821, 0.665, respectively. In contrast, baseline plasma exo-EV TNF-α (the concentration in the same unit of plasma after EV depletion) did not predict rOA progression (AUC 0.478). Baseline endo-EV IFN-γ and exo-EV IL-6 concentrations were also associated with rOA progression, but had low discriminant capacity (AUCs 0.558 and 0.518, respectively). Conclusions Plasma EVs carry pro-inflammatory cargo that predict risk of knee rOA progression. These findings suggest that EV-associated TNF-α may be pathogenic in OA. The sequestration of pathogenic TNF-α within EVs may provide an explanation for the lack of success of systemic TNF-α inhibitors in OA trials to date.
PUSH-PULL THEORY IN BLACK AND WHITE: EXAMINING RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN FIRM STARTUPS BEFORE AND AFTER THE GREAT RECESSION

Although Blacks in the United States suffered disproportionately high unemployment, housing and wealth losses during the Great Recession, little is known about the recession’s impact on Black entre...
Metastability and dynamic modes in magnetic island chains.

The uniform states of a model for one-dimensional chains of thin magnetic islands on a nonmagnetic substrate coupled via dipolar interactions are described here. Magnetic islands oriented with their long axes perpendicular to the chain direction are assumed, whose shape anisotropy imposes a preference for the dipoles to point perpendicular to the chain. The competition between anisotropy and dipolar interactions leads to three types of uniform states of distinctly different symmetries, including metastable transverse or remanent states, transverse antiferromagnetic states, and longitudinal states where all dipoles align with the chain direction. The stability limits and normal modes of oscillation are found for all three types of states, even including infinite range dipole interactions. The normal mode frequencies are shown to be determined from the eigenvalues of the stability problem.