cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Risk Stratification of Emergency Department Patients With Crohn's Disease Could Reduce Computed Tomography Use by Nearly Half

Background & Aims Computed tomography (CT) is a useful tool for assessing disease activity and excluding complications in patients with Crohn's disease (CD). However, excessive radiation increases risk for malignancy. We aimed to identify automatable algorithms with high negative predictive values for significant CT findings in patients with CD who present at the emergency department. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of a tertiary center's medical records to identify adults diagnosed with CD who presented from 2000 through 2011. Logistic regression was used to model complications (perforations, abscesses, or other serious findings) and inflammation. Results There were 1095 visits made by 613 individuals that included a CT scan within 24 hours of arrival. The average number of CT scans was 1.8 (range, 1–31). Complications of CD were observed in 16.8% of CT scans, inflammation in 54.5%, and new/worse findings in 67.2%. On the basis of 10-fold cross-validation, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve value for the complications model was 0.80 (95% confidence interval, 0.74–0.86) and for the inflammation model was 0.71 (95% confidence interval, 0.68–0.74). Scanning only patients with model-predicted complications would reduce scans by 43.0%, with a miss rate of 0.8% (4 of 491). Conclusions Patients presenting to the emergency department with CD are frequently assessed by CT. However, no significant findings are observed in 32.8%, and only 17% have complications from CD. We created models to identify patients not likely to have significant findings from CT with high negative predictive values; these could aid physicians in avoiding CT scans for many patients. Studies are needed to validate these models beyond a single center.
Latinos and School Choice.

The authors describe how Latino students are underrepresented in public schools of choice. They provide evidence to refute the claim that Latino students who choose to leave assigned public schools enroll in religious schools instead. Charter schools stand out as the type of public schools of choice where Latino students are well represented. However, because charter schools enroll only 2% of public school students in Grades 1–12, they do not currently represent a broad avenue of opportunity for Latino students. The authors conclude by making recommendations regarding how public school choice can be increased for Latino students.
Femtosecond laser waveguide micromachining of PMMA films with azoaromatic chromophores

We report on the femtosecond-laser micromachining of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films doped with nonlinear azoaromatic chromophores: Disperse Red 1, Disperse Red 13 and Disperse Orange 3. We study the conditions for controlling chromophore degradation during the micromachining of PMMA doped with each chromophore. Furthermore, we successfully used fs-micromachining to fabricate optical waveguides within a bulk sample of PMMA doped with these azochromophores.
Insulin and metabolic substrates during human sepsis

Rusavy and colleagues recently endeavoured to dissect out the metabolic effects of insulin in patients with severe sepsis, in the setting of normoglycaemia. Twenty stable patients were studied 3–7 days after admission using a euglycaemic clamp at two supraphysiological insulin levels. Increased doses of exogenous insulin caused preferential use of glucose as a metabolic substrate, while total energy expenditure remained constant. Consequently, hyperinsulinaemia reduced tissue oxygen demand and catabolism of protein in patients with sepsis; the benefits of these effects are not proven. The effects of insulin at different time points in sepsis were not examined.
Motion planning for a direct metal deposition rapid prototyping system

A motion planning strategy was developed and implemented to generate motion control instructions from solid model data for controlling a robotically driven solid free-form fabrication process. The planning strategy was tested using a PUMA type robot arm integrated into a LENS/sup TM/ (Laser Engineered Net Shape) system. Previous systems relied on a series of x, y, and z stages, to provide a minimal coordinated motion control capability. This limited the complexity of geometries that could be constructed. With the coordinated motion provided by a robotic arm, the system can produce three dimensional parts by "writing" material onto any face of existing material. The motion planning strategy relied on solid model geometry evaluation and exploited robotic positioning flexibility to allow the construction of geometrically complex parts. The integration of the robotic manipulator into the LENS/sup TM/ system was tested by producing metal parts directly from CAD models.
Misfortunes of Memory

Information presented after a witnessed event may become incorporated into a person's memory, and either supplement or alter the original memory. One consequence is a distorted recollection of the event. Many variables influence the likelihood that memory is distorted by post-event suggestion, including (1) the violence of the event itself, (2) the time intervals between the event, post-event information, and final test, (3) the syntactic form of the post-event information, and (4) the presence of warnings cautioning about the possibility of post-event suggestion, and the timing of those warnings. A common principle tying these findings together is the notion of `detection of discrepancies'. Recollection change is enhanced to the extent that a person does not detect discrepancies between the original memories and the post-event information at the time that the latter is being processed.
Left Ventricular Myocardial Contractile Response to Aortic Constriction in the Hyperthyroid Guinea Pig

Maximum left ventricular systolic pressure response to aortic constriction served as a measure of myocardial contractility in anesthetized euthyroid and hyperthyroid guinea pigs. This response in hyperthyroid guinea pigs (155.4 ± 1.40 mm Hg) was significantly greater than in euthyroid animals (147.3 ± 1.33 mm Hg) (P<.001) and developed at a lower end-diastolic pressure in hyperthyroid (11.27±0.418 mm Hg) than in euthyroid guinea pigs (14.15±0.521 mm Hg) (P<.001). Beta-adrenergic receptor blockade with propranolol decreased the heart rate in both groups of animals but did not alter the contractile response. After propranolol, the heart rate of the hyperthyroid animals, though decreased, was still greater than that of euthyroid controls. Cardiac stimulation at a rate similar to that of the hyperthyroid animals (430 beats/min) did not change the left ventricular contractile response of normal guinea pigs. It is concluded that myocardial contractility in hyperthyroid guinea pigs is greater than normal. Increa...
Marine Renewable Energy and Environmental Interactions: Baseline Assessments of Seabirds, Marine Mammals, Sea Turtles and Benthic Communities on the Oregon Shelf

The wave climate along the west coast of North America presents great opportunities for the development of offshore renewable energy, yet initial assessments of the potential ecological effects of wave energy development have only just started. An enhanced regional understanding of the biological resources in the area is needed, and a key information gap is the distribution of both physical substrata and important biological communities. An initial renewable energy project targeted for Oregon is a mobile Ocean Test Facility developed by the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center (NNMREC), led by Oregon State University (OSU), for testing wave energy converters. In addition, a number of wave and wind energy projects have been proposed for the Pacific Northwest of the US. In this chapter, an overview of the oceanographic characteristics of the region is presented, summarizing some of the interactions of concern, and highlighting baseline research projects focused on seabirds, marine mammals and benthic ecology in preparation for siting and deploying the NNMREC Ocean Test Facility and offshore renewable structures generally in the region.
Chain and Segmental Dynamics of Poly(2-vinylpyridine) Nanocomposites

The influence of different oxide nanoparticles on segmental and chain dynamics of poly(2-vinylpyridine) is investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS), dynamic mechanical measurements, and calorimetry. While significant changes in rheological properties are observed with increasing nanoparticle loading, only weak effects are found in the glass transition temperature, the segmental mobility, and fragility. These results are discussed in the context of recent controversies in studies of polymer nanocomposites and polymer thin films.
System Identification and Multivariate Controller Design for a Satellite Ultraquiet Isolation Technology Experiment (SUITE)

A mathematical model of a six-degree-of-freedom hexapod system for vibration isolation was derived in the discrete-time domain on the basis of the experimental data obtained from a satellite. Using Box-Jenkins model structure, the transfer functions between six piezoelectric actuator input voltages and six geophone sensor output voltages are identified empirically. The 6×6 transfer function matrix is symmetric, and its off-diagonal terms indicate the coupling among different input/output channels. Though the coupling was observed among various input/output channels up to 10 Hz, the single-input single-output (SISO) controllers were designed neglecting the effect of coupling. The SISO controllers demonstrated limited performance in vibration attenuation. Using multi-input multi-output (MIMO) control techniques such as Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) and H∞ , high-order controllers were developed. The simulation results using these controllers obtain 33 dB, and 12 dB attenuation at 5, and 25 Hz corner frequencies, respectively.© 2002 ASME
Analysis on Main Results of Power Quality Test of Power Supply for Electrified Railway

In order to grasp present condition of power quality in the power supply for electrified railway to ensure the secure operation of power grid and to meet the demand on power supply due to rapid growth of electrified railway, the State Grid Corporation of China organized a large-scale testing of power quality.According to the power quality testing results of substations supplying electric power to electrified railway, the authors put in order the main problems in the power supply for electrified railway and analyze the main testing data such as harmonics and negative-sequence components.Analysis results show that the power factors of traction loads of electrified railway are low and the harmonics and negative-sequence components produced by traction loads generally exceed specified limits, it makes the power quality of power system deteriorated and brings hidden danger to power system security and stability, thus much attention should be paid to this problem and its solution.
Third-Order Optical Response of Metallic Armchair Graphene Nanoribbons to an Elliptically-Polarized Terahertz Excitation Field

We present a theoretical description of the third-order response induced by an elliptically-polarized terahertz beam normally-incident on intrinsic and extrinsic metallic armchair graphene nanoribbons. Our results show that using a straightforward experimental setup, it should be possible to observe novel polarization-dependent nonlinearities at low excitation field strengths of the order of ${\text{10}}^4 \; \text{V/m}$ . At low temperatures the Kerr nonlinearities in extrinsic nanoribbons persist to significantly higher excitation frequencies than they do for linear polarizations, and at room temperatures, the third-harmonic nonlinearities are enhanced by $2\hbox{--}3$ orders of magnitude. Finally, the Fermi-level and temperature dependence of the nonlinear response is characterized.
Nickel-Catalyzed Suzuki Polycondensation for Controlled Synthesis of Ester-Functionalized Conjugated Polymers

Controlled synthesis of conjugated polymers with functional side chains is of great importance, affording well-defined optoelectronic materials possessing enhanced stability and tunability as compared to their alkyl-substituted counterparts. Herein, a chain-growth Suzuki polycondensation of an ester-functionalized thiophene is described using commercially available nickel precatalysts. Model compound studies were used to identify suitable catalysts, and these experiments provided guidance for the polymerization of the ester-substituted monomer. This is the first report of nickel-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling for catalyst-transfer polycondensation, and to further illustrate the versatility of this method, block and alternating copolymers with 3-hexylthiophene were synthesized. The presented protocol should serve as an entry point into the synthesis of other electron-deficient polymers and donor–acceptor copolymers with controlled molecular weights and low dispersity.
The Generalized Plant Cell

The organization and activity of living cells has always been a fascinating aspect of biology for students and researchers alike, and information obtained through the use of modern research tools such as the electron microscope has greatly enhanced its fascination. In surveying the plant and animal kingdoms, we see that there are many so-called simple or primitive organisms existing as unicellular individuals throughout their entire lives, in significant contrast to the higher or more advanced organisms which are, almost without exception, multicellular.
The Stability of Rapid Stretching Plastic Jets

Shaped charged jet is a fast stretching fluid jet having a nearly cylindrical shape, with possibly some necking, as shown in Figure 16.1.
Simulating the Pineapple Express in the half degree Community Climate System Model, CCSM4

Atmospheric rivers are recognized as major contributors to the poleward transport of water vapor. Upon reaching land, these phenomena also play a critical role in extreme precipitation and flooding events. The Pineapple Express (PE) is defined as an atmospheric river extending out of the deep tropics and reaching the west coast of North America. Community Climate System Model (CCSM4) high-resolution ensemble simulations for the twentieth and 21st centuries are diagnosed to identify the PE. Analysis of the twentieth century simulations indicated that the CCSM4 accurately captures the spatial and temporal climatology of the PE. Analysis of the end 21st century simulations indicates a significant increase in storm duration and intensity of precipitation associated with landfall of the PE. Only a modest increase in the number of atmospheric rivers of a few percent is projected for the end of 21st century.
The Diversity of Photosynthetic Cytochromes

This chapter explores the myriad of cytochromes involved in the photosynthetic process that generates the most energy and oxygen on Earth. All photosynthetic organisms rely on cytochromes to move electrons around the cell and drive the photosynthetic mechanism. Although cytochromes have many jobs in many environments, only a few types of cytochromes are involved in these electron transport chains. The hemes vary in axial ligation to meet the needs and reduction potential of each specific role. Some cytochromes diverge from the typical alpha helical structure, such as cytochrome f with beta sheet secondary structure. Whether in membranes or in the cytoplasm, diverse cytochromes keep photosynthesis pumping in many ecosystems.
Climatic consequences of adopting drought-tolerant vegetation over Los Angeles as a response to California drought

During 2012–2014, drought in California resulted in policies to reduce water consumption. One measure pursued was replacing lawns with landscapes that minimize water consumption, such as drought-tolerant vegetation. If implemented at broad scale, this strategy would result in reductions in irrigation and changes in land surface characteristics. In this study, we employ a modified regional climate model to assess the climatic consequences of adopting drought-tolerant vegetation over the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Transforming lawns to drought-tolerant vegetation resulted in daytime warming of up to 1.9°C, largely due to decreases in irrigation that shifted surface energy partitioning toward higher sensible and lower latent heat flux. During nighttime, however, adopting drought-tolerant vegetation caused mean cooling of 3.2°C, due to changes in soil thermodynamic properties and heat exchange dynamics between the surface and subsurface. Our results show that nocturnal cooling effects, which are larger in magnitude and of great importance for public health during heat events, could counterbalance the daytime warming attributed to the studied water conservation strategy. A more aggressive implementation, assuming all urban vegetation was replaced with drought-tolerant vegetation, resulted in an average daytime cooling of 0.2°C, largely due to strengthened sea breeze patterns, highlighting the important role of land surface roughness in this coastal megacity.
Calling all cars: Motorola's early police radios

In June 1930 Galvin Manufacturing Corporation introduced the Motorola radio, one of the first commercially successful car radios. Company founder Paul V. Galvin created the brand name Motorola for the car radio — linking “motor” (for motorcar) with “ola” (which implied sound). Thus the Motorola brand meant sound in motion. This radio was intended for the general public, but soon police departments and city governments in United States ordered radios for public safety use. This was the beginning of Motorola's expertise in mobile communications and long customer relationships.
The Effect of Concurrent Plyometric Training Versus Submaximal Aerobic Cycling on Rowing Economy, Peak Power, and Performance in Male High School Rowers.

Plyometric training has been shown to increase muscle power, running economy, and performance in athletes. Despite its use by rowing coaches, it is unknown whether plyometrics might improve rowing economy or performance. The purpose was to determine if plyometric training, in conjunction with training on the water, would lead to improved rowing economy and performance. Eighteen male high school rowers were assigned to perform 4 weeks of either plyometric training (PLYO, n = 9) or steady-state cycling below ventilatory threshold (endurance, E, n = 9), for 30 min prior to practice on the water (matched for training volume) 3 days per week. Rowing performance was assessed through a 500-m rowing time trial (TT) and peak rowing power (RP), while rowing economy (RE) was assessed by measuring the oxygen cost over four work rates (90, 120, 150, and 180 W). Rowing economy was improved in both PLYO and E (p 0.05). Finally, RP was moderately higher in the PLYO group post-training (E 569 ± 75 W, PLYO 629 ± 51 W, ES = 0.66) In a season when the athletes performed no rowing sprint training, 4 weeks of plyometric training improved the 500-m rowing performance and moderately improved peak power. This increase in performance may have been mediated by moderate improvements in rowing power, but not economy, and warrants further investigation.
Moving Forward: Next Steps in Preventing and Disrupting Human Trafficking

The history of combating human trafficking and modern slavery in the United States is built on a long legislative foundation from the abolition of slavery in 1865 to more contemporary laws established since 2000. This policy foundation provides law enforcement tools to prosecute human traffickers and equips community organizations and service providers to protect survivors of trafficking. The matrix of federal and state laws on human trafficking established the effective implementation of the criminal justice framework in the US anti-trafficking field. As the country and international community looks ahead for ways to better prevent and disrupt human trafficking, a public health framework can build on the importance of rule of law to support the health and well-being of families, communities, and populations disproportionately impacted by human trafficking. Integrating a robust public health framework into anti-trafficking strategies will expand the group of stakeholders responsible for creating change, add perspectives on how we create change, and examine the types of changes we need to make. A public health approach also addresses three primary risk factors: (1) the existence of other forms of violence that contribute to normalizing the commercialized violence of trafficking; (2) the experience of disconnection, social isolation, shame, and stigma; and (3) the economic dynamics and demand that fuel the profit incentives of trafficking.
ENDOCRINE CONTROL OF SEXUAL DIFFERENTIATION IN THE HUMAN

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the endocrine control of sexual differentiation in the human. It describes sexual differentiation as an ordered and sequential process. Chromosomal sex, established during fertilization, directs the development of gonadal sex. Hormonal secretions from the fetal testes then transform the phenotypically indifferent embryonic urogenital tract into that of the male. Despite the difference in chromosomal constitution, the gonads and the urogenital tracts of male and female embryos develop initially in an identical manner. The first evidence of sexual dimorphism in the human embryo is the appearance of the spermatogenic cords in the fetal testes between week 6 and week 7 of gestation. The factors involved in the differentiation of the ovaries and testes are not fully understood, but the characterization of the male-specific histocompatibility antigen (HY antigen) has provided a working model to explain the mechanisms by which the Y chromosome directs testicular development. During the indifferent stage of sexual development, the urogenital tract of the embyro consists of two components: (1) two duct systems (wolffian and mullerian), derived from the mesonephros, and (2) the urogenital sinus and genital tubercle. The development of the internal urogenital tract of the male involves regression and ultimate disappearance of the mullerian ducts as well as the growth and differentiation of the wolffian ducts into the epididymides, vasa deferentia, and seminal vesicles. In females, the mullerian ducts persist to form the fallopian tubes, the uterus, and the upper portion of the vagina, and the wolffian ducts degenerate. Thus, the internal genital tracts develop from different anlagen in the two sexes.
Diving into the multiplicity: Liberating your design process from a convention-centered approach

Stop feeling bad about not having a language of VR, and embrace the multiplicity! This full day tutorial explores ways of applying the vibrant creativity of early media to VR, AR, and MR work today, using a new cross-historical concept called media of attraction. Participants will be guided through a prototyping process focused not on best practices, but on restriction mining, bespoke solutions, and associative creative strategies inspired by fascinating historical examples and artistic methods. The session concludes with prototype creation, and the development of speculative design work envisioning next technologies for media of attraction of the future.
Preferential binding effects on protein structure and dynamics revealed by coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulation

The effect of preferential binding of solute molecules within an aqueous solution on the structure and dynamics of the histone H3.1 protein is examined by a coarse-grained Monte Carlo simulation. The knowledge-based residue-residue and hydropathy-index-based residue-solvent interactions are used as input to analyze a number of local and global physical quantities as a function of the residue-solvent interaction strength (f). Results from simulations that treat the aqueous solution as a homogeneous effective solvent medium are compared to when positional fluctuations of the solute molecules are explicitly considered. While the radius of gyration (Rg) of the protein exhibits a non-monotonic dependence on solvent interaction over a wide range of f within an effective medium, an abrupt collapse in Rg occurs in a narrow range of f when solute molecules rapidly bind to a preferential set of sites on the protein. The structure factor S(q) of the protein with wave vector (q) becomes oscillatory in the collapsed s...
Heteronormativity in Employment Discrimination Law

This symposium Essay responds to the EEOC’s new decision to interpret federal employment discrimination law’s ban on discrimination on the basis of sex to include a ban on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. It argues that although the EEOC’s decision does provide cause to celebrate, ongoing heteronormativity in federal employment discrimination law will continue to stand as a barrier to equal employment opportunity for gay workers. First, Title VII provides an exception to the sex discrimination ban in the context of intimate spaces, allowing, for example, only women to be hired to serve as labor and delivery nurses. This exception proceeds on the assumption that same-sex spaces are no-sex spaces, furthering the presumption that all employees are heterosexual. Second, Title VII provides an exception to the ban on sex discrimination in the context of role-modeling for children, allowing, for example, only women to be hired as counselors to serve as role models for female clients. This exception assumes that sex dictates the ability to fulfill particular parenting roles, furthering the notion that heterosexual couples have a parenting advantage over same-sex couples. Finally, Title VII’s ban on sexual harassment generally treats male-on-female harassment as sex discrimination by assuming that harassers are heterosexual, reinforcing heteronormative assumptions with every such case. So while the EEOC’s decision will provide some protection for gay workers, a more searching inquiry of the law to root out bias on the basis of sexual orientation will be necessary for employment discrimination law to achieve its promise of equal employment opportunity for these workers.
Is Epicurus a Direct Realist

In his Letter to Herodotus, Epicurus presents a controversial theory of perception according to which "all perceptions are true." In this paper, I argue that Epicurus' theory of perception should be interpreted as a version of direct realism. If this interpretation is correct, then Epicurus holds that typical human perceivers have direct perceptual awareness of mind-independent objects. In the first section, I present an interpretation of Epicurus' theory of perception. I interpret Epicurus as subscribing to the view according to which our perceptions always provide us with entirely accurate information about the world. In the second section, I provide an outline of a version of direct realism. The version of direct realism I present here is strongly indebted to the work of Michael Huemer. In the third section, using the framework developed in the second section, I argue that Epicurus should be interpreted as a direct realist.
Adolescent gender differences in cognitive control performance and functional connectivity between default mode and fronto-parietal networks within a self-referential context

Ineffective reduction of functional connectivity between the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN) during cognitive control can interfere with performance in healthy individuals – a phenomenon present in psychiatric disorders, such as depression. Here, this mechanism is studied in healthy adolescents by examining gender differences in task-regressed functional connectivity using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a novel task designed to place the DMN – supporting self-referential processing (SRP) – and FPN – supporting cognitive control – into conflict. Compared to boys, girls showed stronger functional connectivity between DMN and FPN during cognitive control in an SRP context (n = 40; boys = 20), a context that also elicited more errors of omission in girls. The gender difference in errors of omission was mediated by higher self-reported co-rumination – the extensive and repetitive discussion of problems and focus on negative feelings with a same-gender peer – by girls, compared to boys. These findings indicate that placing internal and external attentional demands in conflict lead to persistent functional connectivity between FPN and DMN in girls, but not boys; however, deficits in performance during this context were explained by co-rumination, such that youth with higher co-rumination displayed the largest performance deficits. Previous research shows that co-rumination predicts depressive symptoms during adolescence; thus, gender differences in the mechanisms involved with transitioning from internal to external processing may be relevant for understanding heightened vulnerability for depression in adolescent girls.
Defining the Divine

There is no more central concept in the philosophy of religion than the concept of God. The theist proposes and the atheist denies that this focal concept is instantiated in the actual world. And of course, as in every major philosophical dispute, an understanding and assessment of the best arguments offered by both sides requires a good grasp of precisely what is the subject of argument. Yet it is a rather remarkable feature of the extensive contemporary literature in the philosophy of religion that little attention has been given to the question of a proper definition of the divine. What exactly is meant in traditional religious discourse by those terms standardly translated as ‘God’? What is the proper source or method for articulating a philosophically adequate conception of the divine? In this essay, I want to begin to explore such issues as these. As we shall see, the definition of such a metaphysically important term as ‘God’ is no trivial matter and can itself yield philosophical insight.
A Taxonomy on Event-Driven Production Systems

Intelligent Computing Systems require an integration of the traditional Expert system technologies with real-time response and control capabilities. The purpose of this paper is to exploit the synergism between the use of an event-driven Al-based expert system and the issues in deriving parallel algorithms for various applications. The two issues that will be considered in this proposal are: (i)the effect of variations in the dynamics of the environment on overall system stability, and (ii) the structure and properties of event-driven parallel algorithms for some real time applications.
Fog-Aided Data Reception in Next-Generation MIMO Radio Access Networks with Edge Sensing

Fog radio access networks (F-RANs) with edge compute and caching capabilities have been proposed as an advanced RAN architecture for fifth-generation (5G) mobile networks. This work considers a novel application of fog-RAN for assisting physical-layer data reception at user equipments (UEs), by leveraging edge nodes of the fog-RAN as sensors to estimate statistical parameters of interest to UEs in the vicinity. As a specific example, UEs offload the estimation of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) second-order channel and noise statistics to the fog-RAN. Since knowledge of these statistics is necessary for downlink channel estimation and data decoding, the fog-RAN is able to enhance the estimation accuracy by accumulating a larger number of samples. Following a quantitative outline and feasibility analysis of the fog-aided reception protocol, numerical examples demonstrate that fog assistance can enhance the quality of MIMO channel and data demodulation estimates, while simultaneously reducing the need for lengthy UE sensing durations.
Copyright Trolls and the Common Law

Copyright trolls have been treated as a kind of IP boogeyman — an apocryphal malevolent occupying the realm of legal nightmares. But Matthew Sag’s important new work, “Copyright Trolling, An Empirical Study,” helps bring copyright trolls out of the dark. In a way that only sharp data can, Sag’s research serves as a wakeup call to anyone who thinks that litigation trolling remains a rare and inconsequential burden on the U.S. copyright regime and federal courts.Sag’s research draws from his database of all federal district court copyright lawsuits filed between January 1, 2001 and March 31, 2014. Within that time period, Sag focused on a form of trolling that has come to dominate the federal copyright docket — the Multi-­Defendant John Doe (“MDJD”) lawsuit — and discovered a seismic shift in the nature of copyright lawsuits. Though almost unheard of in 2001 and rare before 2010, 43% of copyright lawsuits filed in 2013 were against John Does; most of those were related to pornography. Moreover, MDJD lawsuits constituted the majority of copyright cases in “19 of the 92 federal district courts” and “in the Third, Fourth, Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits in 2013.” Sag points to two key factors: the availability of statutory damages and the laxness of joinder standards in copyright infringement actions.Indirectly, Sag also sheds light on the question of who should redress copyright trolling: Congress or courts? By placing copyright trolls within the tradition of opportunistic plaintiffs and helping quantify the MDJD form, Sag reminds us that copyright trolls have a transient nature. As I discuss below, amorphous trolling forms are best addressed through ad hoc determinations rather than per se classifications. This understanding urges a judicial approach over a legislative one.
Mobility bridges a gap in care: Findings from an early mobilisation quality improvement project in acute care.

Aims and objectives To qualitatively evaluate an early mobilisation quality improvement project implemented on a general medicine unit. Background Early mobility quality improvement projects show promising quantitative results yet have failed to collect data from patient and staff experience associated with physical activity during illness and the impact of this change in clinical practice. Design A mixed methods case study was used to evaluate a mobility quality improvement project. Quantitative results will be published separately. The qualitative evaluation used a phenomenological lens to explore the patient and staff experience. Methods Semi-structured interviews with twelve participants (four patients and eight staff) were performed during the project. Data were analysed using open coding, direct interpretation and then categorised into an overarching and four supporting themes. Findings are reported per the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research. Results Participants reported that early mobilisation bridged a gap in care. Staff understood the benefits of early mobility. Patients expressed how mobility aligned with personal preferences and their need to prepare for hospital discharge. Greater functional independence and higher mobility levels in patients on the unit reduced staff level of care. When patients were consistently presented with opportunities to be mobile and active, they expected mobility to be a part of their daily care plan. Conclusions Findings suggest that early mobility quality improvement projects have the potential to transform clinical practice and improve the quality of care for patients in acute care. Relevance to clinical practice All members of the healthcare team, including the patient, recognise the importance of maintaining mobility and function during hospitalisation yet focus on these needs are often delayed or missed. Early mobility quality improvement projects help to set patient expectations and build a culture that promotes patient mobility and function during acute illness.
Manderlay and the Universe of American Whiteness

This chapter discusses Lars von Trier’s Manderlay and what he exposes about race in the United States. What seems like an uninteresting critique of white, American liberalism really gets to the heart of the all-encompassing aspect of whiteness that permeates the drama and by extension the culture of the United States. This meditation reflects upon this thesis by examining several aspects of the film including the stage set and lighting, the storyline, the plot, the main protagonist’s liberalism and fetishization of black experience and bodies, and the denouement. In the end, what von Trier reveals in Manderlay is a white universe of the United States that is foundational, ordering, perpetual, and irrepressible even as it seems to have disappeared or receded into the background going seemingly unnoticed.
Consumer Responses to Print Advertisements Featuring Gay Males Over Time

Heterosexual participants browsed a digital magazine containing advertisements featuring gay males before completing a questionnaire measuring ad appeal and consumer behavioral intentions related to the advertised brands immediately after exposure. Participants exposed to the digital magazine and those in a control group then reported consumer behavioral intentions 3 weeks post-exposure. Ad appeal was positively correlated with cognitive effort, suggesting participants who liked the advertisements featuring gay males exerted more effort attending to and evaluating the ads. Participants who found the advertisements featuring gay couples appealing reported higher consumer behavioral intentions than participants who deemed the advertisements unappealing immediately following exposure and 3 weeks post-exposure. The consumer behavioral intentions of participants who found advertisements featuring gay couples unappealing significantly increased after a 3-week delay, but did not change among those who found the advertisements appealing. The findings suggest that the influence of negative reactions to gay imagery in advertisements fades after a short temporal delay, whereas the influence of positive reactions to gay imagery in advertisements is more lasting. Implications of this research for theory and practice are discussed.
Residual Tumor on Wide Excisional Margins After Treatment of Invasive Melanoma.

BACKGROUND/AIM The surgical management of invasive melanoma has been debated for many years and recommended excisional margins have been established. We aimed to describe the factors and survival related to the presence of residual tumor in patients with invasive melanoma lymph nodes negative. PATIENTS AND METHODS We performed a retrospective study by querying the National Cancer Database from 2004 to 2015. Associations were tested using a multivariate analysis. Overall survival was compared using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS A total of 26,440 patients met the inclusion criteria. For Breslow depth groups ≤1 mm and >2 mm, older age and location in the head and neck were factors associated to residual tumor in margins (p<0.05), whereas only location in the head and neck was associated to residual tumor for patients with Breslow depth between 1.01-2.00 mm (p<0.05). CONCLUSION Knowledge of the factors associated with the residual tumor will help establish a patient-centered management and decrease the recurrence of disease.
Effect of iliofemoral-caval venous intervention on lower extremity compartment pressure in patients with chronic venous insufficiency

Abstract Background Chronic compartment syndrome (CCS) secondary to venous hypertension from chronic venous insufficiency is an uncommonly described entity. The measurement of high resting compartment pressure is helpful in establishing the diagnosis of CCS. The effect of deep venous intervention on compartment pressures in patients with chronic venous insufficiency is not well described. This study evaluated a subset of patients with signs and symptoms of venous disease in whom intervention (hyperdilation or new endovenous stent placement) was performed on the iliofemoral-caval venous system. The effect of the specific intervention was objectively measured by documenting preoperative and postoperative compartment pressures in the posterior superficial compartment of the calf at rest in the supine position. Methods From January 2018 to January 2019, there were 80 limbs that underwent either hyperdilation (n = 34) or new endovenous stent placement (n = 46). All patients had measurement of compartment pressures before and after intervention with a simple needle manometer system. Values of 15 mm Hg or higher were considered indicative of CCS in the appropriate clinical context. Clinical parameters such as pain, swelling, and Venous Clinical Severity Score were measured preoperatively and postoperatively. Results Venous intervention in the form of hyperdilation or endovenous stent placement was associated with reduction in compartment pressure of the extremity undergoing the intervention. In the new stent subset, the compartment pressure was reduced from 17.4 (±4.9) mm Hg to 12.6 (±3.7) mm Hg (P Conclusions Deep venous intervention in the form of hyperdilation or endovenous stent placement was associated with symptomatic improvement and reduction of compartment pressure of the extremity undergoing intervention.
Generalized Momentum Distributions

Generalized momentum distributions are needed in analyzing final state effects which occur in deep inelastic neutron scattering experiments on liquid 4He. We elucidate their physical interpretation and extract their structure by exploring the associated two-body density matrix characterizing the ground state of a boson fluid. The formal analysis permits an accurate evaluation of these quantities by applying established many-body techniques such as the variational approach. Qualitative approximations hitherto adopted are critically reviewed.
Forced Disappearance in the Borderland: Unveiling Victims' Invisibility in Norte de Santander

The 55 year-long armed conflict in Colombia left more than 80,000 individuals forcibly disappeared across the country, more than any other country in Latin America. Despite the peace agreement reached between the guerrilla FARC group and the Colombian government in 2016, features of the conflict continue, particularly in Norte de Santander, where the phenomenon of forced disappearances has increased on behalf of armed groups, narco-trafficking circles, and both small and large criminal organizations. As a borderland, distant from the state center and of transnational nature, Norte de Santander encompasses specific dynamics that cannot be ignored when responding to the phenomenon of forced disappearance. Using quantitative data from Colombia’s Office of the Attorney General and audio interviews of victims' families, this capstone project sheds light upon this increasing phenomenon in the context of three distinct explanatory variables: (i) FARC demobilization following the 2016 peace accord with the Colombian government, followed by a reemergence of other armed non-state actors in their stead; (ii) illicit economies such as coca and black market gasoline, which characterize economic informality and regionwide insecurity; and (iii) a dramatic increase of displacement from Venezuela into Colombia via both regular and irregular border crossings in Norte de Santander. This capstone project calls for further research on the idiosyncrasies that make Norte de Santander a particularly dangerous borderland and, ultimately, serves as a reminder for the Colombian state to comply with its obligations to prevent, investigate, and sanction the crime of forced disappearance under domestic and international law.
CONFEDERATE MONUMENT INSCRIPTIONS: Different Times, Different Places, Different Messages

Confederate monuments are a contested piece of the public landscape. Debates generally focus on the division between “heritage” and “hate,” but some scholars have argued that the meaning of monuments is more complex. There is little research examining variation among Confederate monuments, but this may be critical to understanding their social foundations and consequences. We provide insight into Confederate monuments and their complexity by examining their inscriptions and how the use of different inscriptions changed over time and varies between the Upper South and Deep South. We employ content analysis to organize the inscriptions associated with 856 Confederate monuments located in public spaces throughout the U.S. South into common themes. Our results suggest three distinct types of inscriptions: those connected to the lost cause ideology that glorifies the Confederacy and its cause; those that were comparatively plain in their description of people, places, and events; and others that focused exclusively on mourning the death of Confederate soldiers. The majority of monuments (59%) contain a Lost Cause inscription. Plain monuments comprise 35%, and only 6% of public Confederate monuments were dedicated purely to the dead. Our descriptive analysis also indicates substantial temporal and spatial variation in the use of these different types of inscriptions. Despite sharing a connection to the Confederacy, we assert that the specific messages associated with a monument are more varied and, in part, reflect the social conditions of the time and place in which they were built.
OXTR DNA methylation moderates the developmental calibration of neural reward sensitivity.

The Adaptive Calibration Model of Stress Responsivity (ACM) suggests that developmental experiences predictably tune biological systems to meet the demands of the environment. Particularly important is the calibration of reward systems. Using a longitudinal sample (N = 184) followed since adolescence, this study models the dimensions of early life stress and their effects on epigenetic modification of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and individual differences in neural response to reward anticipation. We first created a latent variable model of developmental context using measures collected when participants were 13 years old. As adults, two subsets of participants completed a reward anticipation fMRI paradigm (N = 82) and agreed to have their blood assayed for (OXTR) DNA methylation (N = 112) at two CpG sites. Three latent constructs of developmental context emerged: Neighborhood Harshness, Family Harshness, and Abuse and Disorder. Greater OXTR DNA methylation at CpG sites -924 and -934 blunted the association between greater Neighborhood Harshness and increased neural activation in caudate in anticipation of rewards. Interaction effects were also found outside of reward-related areas for all three latent constructs. Results indicate an epigenetically derived differential susceptibility model whereby high methylation coincides with decreased association between developmental environment and neural reward anticipation.
Do Americans Want to Tax Capital? Evidence from Online Surveys

A vast theoretical literature in public finance has studied the question of the desirability of capital taxation. Distinct from questions of the optimality of taxing wealth is whether it is politically feasible. We provide, to our knowledge, the first investigation of individuals' preferences over jointly taxing income and wealth, via a survey on Amazon's Mechanical Turk. We provide subjects with a set of hypothetical individuals' incomes and wealth and elicit subjects' preferred (absolute) tax bill for these individuals. Our method allows us to unobtrusively map both income earned and accumulated wealth into desired tax levels. Our regression results yield roughly linear desired tax rates on income of about 14 percent. Respondents' suggested tax rates indicate positive desired wealth taxation. When we distinguish between sources of wealth we find that, in line with recent theoretical arguments, subjects' implied tax rate on wealth is three percent when the source of wealth is inheritance, far higher than the 0.8 percent rate when wealth is from savings. We show these tax rates are consistent with reasonable parameterizations of recent theoretical optimal wealth tax formulae.