cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development and validation of a state adult attachment measure (SAAM)

For over two decades, individual differences in adult attachment style have been conceptualized and measured in terms of anxiety, avoidance, and security. During this time, the prevailing assumption has been that an adult’s attachment style is a relatively stable disposition, rooted in internal working models of self and relationship partners. These models are based on previous experiences in close relationships. Recent research, however, suggests that levels of attachment anxiety, avoidance, and security are also affected by situational factors. To capture temporary fluctuations in the sense of attachment security and insecurity we developed a state adult attachment measure (SAAM). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded three reliable subscales measuring state levels of attachment-related anxiety, avoidance, and security. Additional studies demonstrated both convergent and discriminant validity of the new measure, and its sensitivity to a variety of experimental manipulations. Our discussion focuses on potential uses for the SAAM for both researchers and clinicians.
Hunting for Excitement: NMDA Receptors in Huntington's Disease

Excitotoxic cell death stimulated by quinolinic acid injection into the striatum has a long history of "mimicking" many aspects of motor, behavioral, and neurochemical changes observed in Huntington's disease patients. In this issue of Neuron, provide insight into the role of NMDA receptors in the cell-specific excitotoxic death observed in Huntington's disease (HD) using a HD mouse model expressing full-length mutant huntingtin (htt).
Withholding versus withdrawing life-sustaining treatment: patient factors and documentation associated with dialysis decisions.

Measuring the equity of life-sustaining treatment use will require evaluation of care withheld, not just care withdrawn.
Degree of Handedness, but not Direction, is a Systematic Predictor of Cognitive Performance

A growing body of evidence is reviewed showing that degree of handedness (consistent versus inconsistent) is a more powerful and appropriate way to classify handedness than the traditional one based on direction (right versus left). Experimental studies from the domains of episodic memory retrieval, belief updating/cognitive flexibility, risk perception, and more are described. These results suggest that inconsistent handedness is associated with increased interhemispheric interaction and increased access to processes localized to the right cerebral hemisphere.
Situated Organizational Identification in Newcomers Impacts of Preentry Organizational Exposure

When employees enter organizations, they bring their life experiences with them, and those experiences may influence their organizational identification. The current study provides evidence for how Scott, Corman, and Cheney’s perspective on situated identification explains varying degrees of organization identification before and after newcomer orientation. Using a pretest, posttest survey design, these findings suggest that identification is changed by attending new employee orientation. Furthermore, prior non-work-related experiences with the hiring organization are explained as a type of membership negotiation that influences preorientation identification. The interaction effects are further examined to advance a more comprehensive view of how newcomers both individualize and adapt during new employee orientation and the role that multiple personal exposures to the organization can have.
Behavior of OH and HO2 in the winter atmosphere in New York City

Abstract Hydroxyl (OH) and hydroperxy (HO 2 ) radicals, collectively known as HO x , were measured during an intensive field study in January and February 2004 in New York City. Much less OH and HO 2 levels were observed than in the summer of 2001 at the same site. On average, the maximum daytime mixing ratios were 0.05 pptv (1.4×10 6 cm −3 ) for OH and 0.7 pptv for HO 2 , which were about one fifth of the levels in the summer of 2001. A zero-dimensional chemical model, based on the regional atmospheric chemical mechanism (RACM) and constrained by the measured concentrations of O 3 , NO, NO 2 , CO, SO 2 , speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and meteorological parameters, was used to study the HO x chemistry in this environment. The model generally reproduced the daytime OH well, with a median measured-to-model ratio of 0.98. However, HO 2 was significantly under-predicted both at day and at night, with a median measured-to-model ratio of 6.0 during daytime. The discrepancy is pronounced when NO concentrations were high, a result that is consistent with some previous studies in urban environments. Photolysis of HONO was the dominant calculated HO x source during daytime; O 3 reactions with alkenes became the main calculated HO x source at night. The main calculated HO x sink was the OH reaction with NO 2 . The discrepancy between measured and modeled HO 2 may be caused by significant HO x production that is missing in the model. An additional HO 2 production of up to 3×10 7 cm −3 s −1 (1.1 pptv s −1 ), which is three times the calculated HO x production, is needed. This HO 2 production can come either from unknown new HO x production or from unknown HO 2 recycling that does not go through OH.
Modernizing the Sexes: Changing Gender Relations in a Moroccan Town

The title of this article is intended to suggest that Moroccan youth are experiencing new pressures to change traditional values and behaviors having to do with sexuality and gender. Modernizing images are partially imported as images gleaned from television, popular music, schooling, and travel permeate each community and shape individual fantasies. Changed images may be as superficial as they are pervasive, and what we know about the newly adult Moroccans from our Zawiya study ten years ago suggests that their gender behavior is less changed from that of their older cousins than might have been expected. Yet novel images are more apparent each year. Hour after hour, the same beautiful American teenagers appear on Moroccan television, drenched and dancing on a beach before their recreational vehicles as they "feel so good coolin' down" with 7-Up. Each August the highway down from Tangier fills with the Peugots and Mercedeses of the emigrant Moroccan workers as they return briefly from Europe with carloads of VCRs, their well-dressed adolescent children finding the dusty streets of Zawiya a shocking contrast to the wonders of Bordeaux or Brussels. To be sure, few American teenagers will have experiences and aspirations identical to Brandon or Brenda, characters in the
Bioavailability of lead from vitrified slagged aggregate

Abstract This study was conducted to determine the leachability of lead (Pb) from a vitrified slagged aggregate (VSA) into water, as well as the bioaccumulation of lead into specified tissues of sunfish (Lepomis megalotis) maintained in aquaria containing VSA over a period of 100 days. The experiments consisted of solubility studies comparing the leaching or release of lead from 600 and 1200 g of VSA into aquaria. Over the course of the study, results indicate that relative to controls there occurred no leaching of lead from the VSA into the water. In addition, there was no apparent contribution of lead from the VSA with respect to bioaccumulation in the specified tissues of fish (gills, skeleton, skin and scales, muscle, and viscera). There was, however, a significant dose-dependent bioaccumulation of lead in fish housed in aquaria containing a soluble salt of lead (50 and 100 ppb lead as lead nitrate). These studies indicate that bioaccessibility is an important component in determining the ultimate bioavailability of lead.
An Observational Study of Voters on the Internet

Voters in a democracy have the responsibility to learn about the candidates and issues on which they are deciding. The Internet offers voters unparalleled opportunities for finding information relevant to elections. Use of the Internet for politics is increasing dramatically, yet we know little about the details of what people are doing with it. We describe an observational think-aloud study of people using the Internet in a mock-voting situation. Our voters were primarily opportunistic browsers following a noncompensatory search strategy who engaged in simultaneous searching, reading, evaluating, and deciding. Based on our results, we offer ideas for the design of a voter portal
Controversies in the use of lower extremity sonography in the diagnosis of acute deep vein thrombosis and a proposal for a unified approach.

Abstract During the past 10 years, lower extremity venous ultrasonography (LEUS) has essentially replaced contrast venography for the evaluation of patients suspected of acute thromboembolic disease. Along with this change in technology, the number of studies performed to rule out DVT has increased dramatically, and there has been controversy in the literature regarding the most appropriate role of LEUS. Specifically, four questions have been raised: (1) What is the appropriate role of LEUS in patients with a nondiagnostic V Q scan?; (2) Is there a need to examine the contralateral (asymptomatic) leg of patients presenting with unilateral DVT symptomatology?; (3) What role, if any, does LEUS play in the evaluation of patients with bilateral leg symptoms?; and (4) When can a limited examination of the leg be performed? The purpose of this article is to provide a balanced review of these issues and to present an algorithm for a reasonable, integrated approach to the use of LEUS among patients suspected of having acute thromboembolic disease.
Assessment of routine use of an anaerobic bottle in a three-component, high-volume blood culture system.

The relative value of routine anaerobic blood culture for recovery of organisms and identification of episodes of bloodstream infection was assessed in a three-component, high-volume blood culture system which employs aerobic and anaerobic bottles of BacT/Alert (Organon-Teknika, Durham, N.C.) and aerobic cultures of Isolator (Wampole Laboratories, Cranbury, N.J.). The results of 5,595 blood culture sets from patients with suspected bloodstream infection were analyzed. Compared with either the aerobic BacT/Alert bottle or aerobic culture of Isolator, the BacT/Alert anaerobic bottle recovered significantly fewer isolates (242 versus 294, P 0.05; 141 versus 147, P > 0.05). The BacT/Alert anaerobic bottle recovered significantly more isolates of obligately anaerobic bacteria (16 versus 4, P < 0.05; 16 versus 0, P < 0.05) and detected significantly more episodes of bloodstream infection caused by obligately anaerobic bacteria (10 versus 3, P < 0.05; 10 versus 0, P < 0.05) than either the aerobic bottle of BacT/Alert or the aerobic culture of Isolator. The combination of the BacT/Alert anaerobic bottle and the aerobic culture of Isolator recovered as may isolates (374 versus 377) and detected as many episodes of bloodstream infection (194 versus 191) as the combination of the aerobic bottle of BacT/Alert and the aerobic culture of Isolator, and both of these combinations identified at least 8% more isolates and detected at least 3% more bloodstream infections than the combination of the BacT/Alert aerobic and anaerobic bottles. Further analysis of the data revealed that the utility of the BacT/Alert anaerobic bottle, especially when combined with the aerobic culture of Isolator, resulted from not only enhanced recovery of obligately anaerobic bacteria but also effective recovery of facultatively anaerobic bacteria. These results demonstrate the utility of the anaerobic BacT/Alert bottle for detecting bloodstream infection caused by either facultatively anaerobic bacteria or obligately anaerobic bacteria and support the routine inclusion of anaerobic blood culture in the three-component blood culture system used in our hospital.
PC-based trolley test instrument

The author describes the design of a trolley test instrument based on an IBM-XT-compatible, single-board computer and plug-in A/D (analog/digital) converter card. The CMOS technology used for the single-board computer reduces the power consumption from the portable battery pack. The operating system and computational algorithm were burned into EPROM (electrically programmable ROM) to eliminate the disk drive and provide rugged nonvolatile program execution. The trolley tester collects the voltage and current parameters during trolley surveys and then calculates the available fault current, time constant, and appropriate circuit-breaker settings. The hardware design, software coding, and laboratory testing of the instrument are discussed. A simplified method for burning the operating system and computational algorithm into EPROM is shown. >
Two sessions of sleep-focused mind―body bridging improve self-reported symptoms of sleep and PTSD in veterans: A pilot randomized controlled trial

Objective: Sleep disturbance is highly prevalent among veterans. As an alternative to sleep medications with their undesirable side effects, nonpharmacological mind–body interventions may be beneficial for sleep management in primary care. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether a novel mind–body intervention, mind–body bridging (MBB), focusing on sleep, could improve self-reported sleep disturbance and comorbid symptoms in veterans. Methods: This pilot study was a randomized controlled trial at the Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System in which 63 veterans with self-reported sleep disturbance received MBB or an active sleep education control. Both interventions were conducted in two sessions, once per week. Patient-reported outcomes included the following: primary— Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Sleep Survey, MOS Short Form-36V; secondary—Center for Epidemiological Studies– Depression, PTSD Check List–Military, Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire. Results: At both Week 1 (1 week after the first session) and post-intervention assessments, while sleep disturbance decreased in both groups, MBB performed significantly better than did the control group. Furthermore, self-reported PTSD symptoms improved in MBB, while they remained unchanged in the control. Overall mindfulness increased in MBB, while it remained unchanged in the control. Conclusions: This study provides preliminary evidence that a brief sleep-focused MBB could be a promising intervention for sleep and potentially other comorbid symptoms (e.g., PTSD). MBB could help patients develop awareness skills to deal with sleep-related symptoms. Integration of MBB into primary care settings may enhance care of patients with sleep disturbance and co-morbid symptoms.
Experimental evaluation of mixed fluid reactions between supercritical carbon dioxide and NaCl brine: Relevance to the integrity of a geologic carbon repository

Abstract The reactive behavior of a mixed fluid (supercritical CO2 and brine) under physical–chemical conditions relevant to geologic storage and sequestration in a carbon repository is largely unknown. Experiments were conducted in a flexible cell hydrothermal apparatus to evaluate fluid–rock (aquifer plus aquitard) reactions that may adversely impact the integrity of the repository. A 5.5 molal NaCl brine–rock system was held at 200 °C and 200 bars (20 MPa) for 32 days (772 h) to approach steady state, then injected with CO2 and allowed to react for an additional 45 days (1079 h). In a separate experiment at 200 °C and 200 bars, the system was allowed to react for 77 days (1845 h) without injection of CO2. Corroded magnesite and euhedral siderite crystallized in a paragenetic sequence after CO2 injection. Nucleation and growth of siderite on shale suggests the aquitard is a reactive component in the system. Changes in elemental abundances in the brine following addition of CO2 include pH decrease and depletion of sodium due to accelerated growth of analcime. A pH increase follows pressure and temperature decrease and loss of saturated CO2 from acidic brine. Silica concentrations and dissolution rates are enhanced and silica precipitation inhibited in the acidic brine. Geochemical reactions in a carbon repository extend beyond pH decrease and carbonate mineral precipitation. Rock-dominated reaction systems yield to acid-dominated and related reactions controlled by mixed fluid equilibria (i.e., a fluid-dominated system). Escape of CO2 or migration of brine from the repository into overlying aquifers may cause silica super-saturation and increased alkalinity due to mixed fluid phase equilibria. These geochemical changes could be monitored in aquifers as indicators of repository integrity. Return of silica super-saturated brine to a rock-dominated reaction system buffered to neutral pH conditions may enhance precipitation of quartz, chalcedony, or amorphous silica. In addition to the potential effects (beneficial or deleterious) that silica super-saturation and precipitation may hold for repository performance, an understanding of the effects of multi-phase equilibrium relationships between supercritical CO2 and dissolved silica in aquifer–brine systems also raises new questions for a variety of geologic systems. Multi-phase fluid equilibria may, for example, account for quartz cements in some sedimentary basin sandstones and quartz vein mineralization in some ore districts.
INTERFERONS AND THEIR STIMULATED GENES IN THE TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT

Constitutive expression of interferons (IFNs) and activation of their signaling pathways have pivotal roles in host responses to malignant cells in the tumor microenvironment. IFNs are induced by the innate immune system and in tumors through stimulation of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and through other signaling pathways in response to specific cytokines. Although in the oncologic context IFNs have been thought of more as exogenous pharmaceuticals, the autocrine and paracrine actions of endogenous IFNs probably have even more critical effects on neoplastic disease outcomes. Through high-affinity cell surface receptors, IFNs modulate transcriptional signaling, leading to regulation of more than 2,000 genes with varying patterns of temporal expression. Induction of the gene products by both unphosphorylated and phosphorylated STAT1 after ligand binding results in alterations in tumor cell survival, inhibition of angiogenesis, and augmentation of actions of T, natural killer (NK), and dendritic cells. The interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) signature can be a favorable biomarker of immune response but, in a seemingly paradoxical finding, a specific subset of the full ISG signature indicates an unfavorable response to DNA-damaging interventions such as radiation. IFNs in the tumor microenvironment thus can alter the emergence, progression, and regression of malignancies.
Introductory AI for Both Computer Science and Neuroscience Students

Macalester College offers a single undergraduate elective in artificial intelligence. This course is cross-listed between Computer Science and Cognitive and Neuroscience Studies, and includes majors from both disciplines. Computer science students bring strong technical knowledge and skills but little awareness of the deeper issues of cognition and intelligence, while neuroscience students bring knowledge about biologi- cal and psychological models for human and animal behav- ior, but much less technical knowledge and experience. To meet the needs of these very different student populations, the course was redesigned from the ground up: choice of topics, classroom activities, kinds of assigned work. The resulting course retains strong technical content, and provides opportu- nities for all students to pursue topics related to their interests. It has maintained strong enrollment by computer science ma- jors, even as the number of majors has declined, and has seen an increasing number of neuroscience majors each time it is offered. institutions. At Macalester we have developed an introductory AI course that is cross-listed with an interdisciplinary program in Cognitive and Neuroscience Studies. The course must meet the needs of computer science students as well as stu- dents whose primary interests lie in neuroscience, psychol- ogy, biology, philosophy, and linguistics. Computer science students have taken several programming courses, and typi- cally complete a course on algorithm analysis. The cognitive and neuroscience students have taken one semester of intro- ductory computer science, plus some relevant coursework in their own disciplines. We have tried to balance the needs of each population of students, while ensuring the course re- mains challenging and deep.
Prosody, linguistic demands, and auditory comprehension in aphasia.

Prosody plays a clear role in the auditory comprehension of narratives by aphasic listeners. Previous research, however, has pointed to questions regarding variables which increase task complexity (e.g., memory, reading level) and the influence of the severity of aphasia. This study examined the role of the severity of aphasia and linguistic complexity in narrative comprehension by aphasic listeners. Findings indicate that while all subject groups improved their auditory comprehension when emphasis was present, people with severe aphasia improved significantly more, but only in a low linguistic complexity condition. However, subjects had additional opportunity for improved performance in both low and high linguistic complexity conditions. These results pose additional questions about perceived task difficulty (and performance) and resource allocation strategies.
The Noisy-Logical Distribution and its Application to Causal Inference

We describe a novel noisy-logical distribution for representing the distribution of a binary output variable conditioned on multiple binary input variables. The distribution is represented in terms of noisy-or's and noisy-and-not's of causal features which are conjunctions of the binary inputs. The standard noisy-or and noisy-and-not models, used in causal reasoning and artificial intelligence, are special cases of the noisy-logical distribution. We prove that the noisy-logical distribution is complete in the sense that it can represent all conditional distributions provided a sufficient number of causal factors are used. We illustrate the noisy-logical distribution by showing that it can account for new experimental findings on how humans perform causal reasoning in complex contexts. We speculate on the use of the noisy-logical distribution for causal reasoning and artificial intelligence.
The decline and fall of the roman denarius

The basic silver coin of the early Roman Empire was the denarius. By decree of Caesar Augustus in 15 B.C.E., it was nearly pure silver, 95%-98%, and had a fixed weight and value in relationship to the rest of the Roman monetary system. Over the next 270 years, the silver content of the denarius declined gradually and then precipitously to about 2%. This degradation occurred more rapidly in the provinces than in Rome. The microstructures of a series of Roman denarii taken from this time period are used to illustrate these changes. The final stage of the denarius was a duplex plated coin with a nearly copper core and a silver surface. This produced a lower-cost coin with an apparent value equal to the previous ones. Eventually, the surface coating was so thin that it quickly rubbed off after the coin left the mint. By this time (280 C.E.), the silver coinage of the empire had almost totally lost its value and had to be reconstituted by Diocletion. Among the coins studied is an early duplex plated denarius of Caesar Augustus, probably an early forgery produced during his lifetime in clear violation of his edict.
Observability based control for cooperative localization

In this paper, we focus on localizing a stationary target in a GPS denied environment using a team of aerial unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with bearing-only sensors. The vehicles use cooperative localization to localize themselves and the target. We develop an observability-based controller that improves the overall localization accuracy of the team as well as of the target. We use receding horizon control to plan vehicle paths such that the nonlinear observability conditions are satisfied while improving the localization accuracy and maintaining minimum safe distance from each other and the landmarks. The controller performance is verified using simulation results.
Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor Sensitizes Apoptosis-Resistant Melanomas to Cytotoxic Human T Lymphocytes through Regulation of TRAIL/DR5 Pathway

Modern immune therapies (PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4 checkpoints blockade and adoptive cell transfer) have remarkably improved the response rates of metastatic melanoma. These modalities rely on the killing potential of CTL as proximal mediator of antimelanoma responses. Mechanisms of tumor resistance to and the predominant cytotoxic pathway(s) used by melanoma-reactive CTL are important outcome determinants. We hypothesized that downmodulation of death receptors (DRs) in addition to aberrant apoptotic signaling might confer resistance to death signals delivered by CTL. To test these two hypotheses, we used an in vitro model of MART CTL–resistant melanoma sublines. TCR-transgenic and patient-derived CTLs used the TRAIL cytotoxic pathway through DR5. Furthermore, recombinant human TRAIL and drozitumab (anti-DR5 agonistic mAb) were used to explicitly verify the contribution of the DR5/TRAIL pathway in killing melanomas. CTL resistance was due to DR5 downregulation and an inverted ratio of pro- to antiapoptotic molecules, both of which were reversed by the histone deacetylase inhibitor suberoylanilide hydroxanic acid. Apoptosis negative (c-IAP-2 and Bcl- xL ) and positive (DR5) regulators were potential incriminators partly regulating CTL sensitivity. These preclinical findings suggest that exposure to this chromatin remodeling drug of immune-resistant melanomas can skew toward an intracellular proapoptotic milieu, increase DR expression, and overcome acquired immune resistance.
How Should Echocardiography Be Used in CRT Optimization

Despite the established clinical and survival benefits of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in advanced heart failure, 20% to 30% of patients in randomized trials have been ‘‘nonresponders.’’ The definition of this term is still under debate; experts disagree as to whether clinical parameters (symptoms and exercise capacity) and/or echocardiographic parameters (ejection fraction, mitral regurgitation [MR], ventricular dimensions and volumes) adequately define a ‘‘CRT responder.’’ Further complicating the characterization of CRT response is the repeated lack of concordance between echocardiographic and clinical parameters after implantation. Resynchronization of myocardial contraction occurs at three levels: (1) from the atria to the ventricles, or atrioventricular (AV) resynchronization; (2) interventricular (VV), between the right and left ventricles; and (3) intraventricular, among the different left ventricular (LV) segments. Although the physiology is unclear, emerging evidence regarding dyssynchrony indicates the importance of individually modifying pacing intervals as opposed to ‘‘out of the box’’ settings and suggests that resynchronization occurs at these three levels. Numerous techniques have been studied, predominantly focusing on echocardiographic parameters, to determine optimal AV and VV duration to enhance the effectiveness of CRT. Many trials have shown acute benefits after identifying optimal pacing intervals, but whether this translates into improved clinical outcomes in the long term has yet to be firmly established, primarily regarding VV optimization. In this issue of JASE, Taha et al. describe a comprehensive echocardiographically guided optimization technique that is all inclusive in terms of assessing multiple systolic and diastolic echocardiographic parameters, as opposed to the more widespread practice of following one or two of these parameters during the optimization procedure. They conclude that such a comprehensive Doppler echocardiographic approach performed for every tested AV and VV interval improves functional status and that acoustic cardiography, with reduction in S3 intensity, serves as an additive component for this protocol. Before commenting on their approach, it is imperative to review the different methods of echocardiographic optimization, including advantages and disadvantages.
mCAT Got YouR TEF

See related article, pages 883–892 Adult smooth muscle cells are highly plastic and can exhibit a range of phenotypes in response to different environmental and developmental cues. Their phenotypes can range from quiescent highly contractile cells with high levels of characteristic contractile protein isoforms, to highly proliferative cells that secrete large amounts of extracellular matrix and express only low levels of smooth muscle-specific isoforms of contractile proteins. These two states are often referred to as differentiated and dedifferentiated or phenotypically modulated states.1 In reality the situation is more complex, with smooth muscle cells likely existing in a continuum of phenotypes between these two extremes. This smooth muscle cell plasticity often makes the unequivocal identification of smooth muscle cells challenging, particularly for the more dedifferentiated smooth muscle cells that are very similar to fibroblasts. The situation is further complicated by the existence of cell types with phenotypes part way between a fibroblast and a fully differentiated adult smooth muscle cell, namely myoepithelial and myofibroblast cells, and pericytes.2–4 A major challenge to developmental biologists is determining how these cells relate to each other, determining whether they are derived from common or distinct precursors, and whether myofibroblasts or pericytes can become smooth muscle cells. One approach to begin to answer these questions is to determine the molecular mechanisms that control the phenotype of each of these cell types. A new study by Gan and colleagues,5 described in this issue of Circulation Research , provides definitive molecular evidence that distinguishes myofibroblasts from adult smooth muscle cells by the distinct transcriptional mechanisms that they use to direct expression of a shared molecular marker, smooth muscle α-actin. In this elegant study, the authors demonstrate that the binding of RTEF-1 to MCAT elements within the smooth muscle α-actin promoter is required for transcription …
Turkish Managers as a Part of the Transnational Capitalist Class

During the period after 1970s, capitalism has gone through a significant restructuring. This period has been primarily characterized by the process of globalization. Globalization has not emerged as the natural result of capitalism but it has been actively promoted and the appropriate conditions for the functioning of global capitalism have been created by certain actors. Many scholars argue that it is a newly emerging transnational capitalist class which transformed capitalism into a globalizing project. Although the members of this class are located in different parts of the world, they have a common interest in supporting globalization. They are aware of their common interests and they have a certain class consciousness. Moreover, their habits, tastes, and lifestyles are becoming increasingly similar. Considering these debates on transnational capitalist class, in a case study of the Turkish top managers working in the ?stanbul branch of a multinational corporation, this paper looks at the lifestyle characteristics of this group of managers, comparing them with those aspects of the lifestyle of the transnational capitalist class that are indicated by the scholars. A second question that has been considered is to what extent these managers feel themselves as part of a transnational class that has common goals and interests. This study shows that for this group of managers the primary identification is with the people who have the same position with them, regardless of their country or corporation, not with their fellow nationals.
In Defence of Yaotey v. Quaye: Redeeming a Confounded Approach to the Essentials of a Valid Customary Law Marriage in Ghana

In Yaotey v Quaye, Ollennu J (as he then was) considered the validity of a marriage contracted under customary law and enumerated thereto certain requirements which he considered “essential” to the validity of those marriages. Having regard particularly to the practical challenges the ascertainment of customary law sometimes poses to the Courts, that attempt at restating the law provided a useful guideline for judicial decision-making. However, the decision provoked a backlash from academics for being rigidly out of step with modern realities and thereby allowing the Courts to bludgeon, with medieval anvils, all customary marriages into naught. This paper invites a critical reconsideration of the decision in Yaotey v Quaye as well as other decisions decided on its urging. It argues that the circumstances of these cases as well as a contextual reading of their underlying reasoning undermines any suggestion that Yaotey v Quaye was intended to be slavishly relied upon. Finally the paper argues in favour of the enduring relevance of that decision and its usefulness as a liberal yardstick for judicial decision-making pertaining to customary marriages.
Automatic analysis of singleton and geminate consonant articulation using real-time magnetic resonance imaging

We explore robust methods of automatically quantifying constriction location, constriction degree and gestural kinematics of Italian short and long consonants using direct image analysis techniques applied to rtMRI data. Articulatory kinematics are estimated from correlated regional changes in pixel intensity. We demonstrate that these methods are capable of quantifying differences in constriction duration exhibited by short and long Italian consonants for labial, coronal and dorsal segments, and differences in constriction degree for labial and coronal consonants. No difference in constriction location is observed for geminates and singletons, while systematic differences in constriction location are observed between (i) coronal oral stops and coronal sonorants and (ii) dorsal stops flanked by vowels differing in backness.
Clinical trials: Heart failure treatment - clinical trials versus clinical practice.

Clinical trials are designed to test efficacy and safety of interventions in populations with carefully defined medical illnesses. Clinical practice is aimed at caring for individuals who might have similar characteristics. Clinical trial guidelines can obscure benefits of interventions in individuals, which might account for the failure to demonstrate benefit of a renin inhibitor in heart failure.
The significance of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 in growth hormonetherapy of idiopathic short stature in prepuberty

Objective To observe the change of serum levels of insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3(IGFBP-3) during rhGH therapy in children with ISS in prepuberty, and to explore its significance. Methods We used chinese rhGH to treat 50 ISS children(observation group) in prepuberty and measured their serum levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay before, after 7 days, after 1 month and after 6 months of rhGH therapy. There were 20 normal children in control group. Results In ISS children,the serum levels of IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 before rhGH therapy were lower than those in normal control group( P 0.01). Those after 7 days of rhGH therapy were higher than those before rhGH therapy(P 0.01). Those were close to the peak after 1 month of therapy. There was a negative correlation between the serum level of IGF-1 before rhGH therapy and the △GV, △HtSDSCA and △HtSDSBA after 6 months of therapy; There was a positive correlation between the △IGF-1 after 1 month of therapy and the △GV, △HtSDSCA and △HtSDSBA after 6 months of therapy. Conclusion To ISS children in prepuberty with rhGH therapy, the serum IGF-1 can be the good indicator of assessing and predicting GH efficacy.
Giant-cell-bearing lesions of bone of the hands.

SUMMARY Giant cell tumors, giant-cell reparative granulomas, and aneurysmal bone cysts may produce rarefying defects in the bones of the hand. The radiologic features of the three lesions overlap so much that the distinction must be made on the basis of pathologic study. Experience at the Mayo Clinic and reports in the literature suggest that, when small bones are involved, giant cell tumors are more likely to be multicentric and to recur; two thirds of the giant cell tumors of small bones, 39 per cent of the giant cell reparative granulomas, and 33 per cent of the aneurysmal bone cysts recurred. This difference in recurrence makes it seem important to distinguish these three benign lesions.
Nutritional aspects of strictures.

Esophageal strictures, whether caused by malignant or benign disease, can be associated with progressive dysphagia and secondary malnutrition. From the time of onset of dysphagia, patients may adapt by decreasing the amounts and frequency of meals in an attempt to avoid symptoms. Malnutrition is common and often undiagnosed in affected patients, especially those in the hospital, and is associated with impaired organ function, increased morbidity, and prolongation of hospital stay. It should be recognized and treated appropriately, because artificial nutritional support in malnourished patients leads to improvement in nutritional status and clinical outcome.
Programming complex shapes in thin nematic elastomer and glass sheets

Nematic elastomers and glasses are solids that display spontaneous distortion under external stimuli. Recent advances in the synthesis of sheets with controlled heterogeneities have enabled their actuation into nontrivial shapes with unprecedented energy density. Thus, these have emerged as powerful candidates for soft actuators. To further this potential, we introduce the key metric constraint which governs shape-changing actuation in these sheets. We then highlight the richness of shapes amenable to this constraint through two broad classes of examples which we term nonisometric origami and lifted surfaces. Finally, we comment on the derivation of the metric constraint, which arises from energy minimization in the interplay of stretching, bending, and heterogeneity in these sheets.
Interleaving Jamming in Wi-Fi Networks

The increasing importance of Wi-Fi in today's wireless communication systems, both as a result of Wi-Fi offloading and its integration in IoT devices, makes it an ideal target for malicious attacks. In this paper, we investigate the structure of the combined interleaver/convolutional coding scheme of IEEE 802.11a/g/n. The analysis of the first and second-round permutations of the interleaver allows us to design deterministic jamming patterns across subcarriers that when de-interleaved results in an interference burst. We show that a short burst across carefully selected sub-carriers exceeds the error correction capability of Wi-Fi. We implemented this attack as a reactive interleaving jammer on the firmware of the low-cost HackRF SDR. Our experimental evaluation shows that this attack can completely block the Wi-Fi transmissions with jamming power less than 1% of the communication (measured at the receiver) and block 95% of the packets with less than 0.1% energy. Furthermore, it is at least 5dB and up to 15dB more power-efficient than jamming attacks that are unaware of the Wi-Fi interleaving structure.
Mesenchymal stem cell growth on and mechanical properties of fibrin‐based biomimetic bone scaffolds

Using the microenvironment of healing bone tissue as inspiration, this study utilized fibrin hydrogels combined with collagen type I and calcium phosphate ceramics to create a biomimetic bone scaffold. The contribution each component had on the growth of mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) was assessed, and changes in the scaffold's mechanical properties were measured by indentation testing. The results show cell growth was greatest in scaffolds with lower concentrations of fibrinogen complex and followed a similar trend with the addition of collagen. However, cell growth was greatest in fibrin scaffolds with high concentrations of fibrinogen complex when combined with hydroxyapatite-β-tricalcium phosphate. The fibrin scaffold's stiffness does not significantly change over time, but the addition of collagen to scaffolds with low concentrations of fibrinogen complex had significant increases in stiffness by day 14. These results demonstrate that hMSC do not rapidly degrade fibrin and fibrin-collagen scaffolds in vitro. The data reported here can aid in the design and fabrication of fibrin-based engineered tissues and cell delivery vehicles that promote hMSC growth and viability as well as meet the mechanical requirements of native tissues. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 104A: 2945-2953, 2016.
Vocal Tremor: Novel Therapeutic Target for Deep Brain Stimulation

Tremulous voice is characteristically associated with essential tremor, and is referred to as essential vocal tremor (EVT). Current estimates suggest that up to 40% of individuals diagnosed with essential tremor also present with EVT, which is associated with an impaired quality of life. Traditional EVT treatments have demonstrated limited success in long-term management of symptoms. However, voice tremor has been noted to decrease in patients receiving deep brain stimulation (DBS) with the targeting of thalamic nuclei. In this study, we describe our multidisciplinary procedure for awake, frameless DBS with optimal stimulation targets as well as acoustic analysis and laryngoscopic assessment to quantify tremor reduction. Finally, we investigate the most recent clinical evidence regarding the procedure.
Deciphering the Fringe-Mediated Notch Code: Identification of Activating and Inhibiting Sites Allowing Discrimination between Ligands.

Summary Fringe proteins are β3- N -acetylglucosaminyltransferases that modulate Notch activity by modifying O -fucose residues on epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats of Notch. Mammals have three Fringes: Lunatic, Manic, and Radical. While Lunatic and Manic Fringe inhibit Notch1 activation from Jagged1 and enhance activation from Delta-like 1, Radical Fringe enhances signaling from both. We used a mass spectrometry approach to determine whether the variable effects of Fringes on Notch1 result from generation of unique glycosylation patterns on Notch1. We found that Lunatic and Manic Fringe modified similar sites on Notch1, while Radical Fringe modified a subset. Fringe modifications at EGF8 and EGF12 enhanced Notch1 binding to and activation from Delta-like 1, while modifications at EGF6 and EGF36 (added by Manic and Lunatic but not Radical) inhibited Notch1 activation from Jagged1. Combined, these results suggest that Fringe modifications "mark" different regions in the Notch1 extracellular domain for activation or inhibition.
Encouraging Results of Reduced Intensity Conditioning (RIC) Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) Transplantation for the Treatment of Advanced Lymphoid Malignancies.

We have reported on the safety and efficacy of RIC UCB transplantation for patients with advanced hematologic diseases. Here we report on 65 patients, median age of 46 yrs (range, 6–68), who underwent RIC UCB transplantation for the treatment of advanced lymphoid malignancies between October 2001 and December 2006. Patients received either one (n=9) or two (n=56) UCB unit grafts matched at 4–6/6 HLA loci. Forty were male and 27 CMV seropositive. Diagnoses were follicular lymphoma (FL, n=11), small lymphocytic lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia (SLL/CLL, n=9), mantle cell lymphoma (MCL, n=8), large cell lymphoma (LCL, n=14), and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL, n=23). Conditioning regimen was cyclophosphamide 50 mg/kg (Day-6), fludarabine 40mg/m2 for 5 days (Day-6 to -2), and single fraction total body irradiation of 200cGy (Day -1), plus cyclosporine A and mycophenolate mofetil (to day +30). At transplantation 53 patients (81%) had chemotherapy sensitive disease, 5 (8%) had bulky adenopathy (≥ 5 cm), 27 (42%) had prior radiation therapy, 26 (40%) had prior autologous transplant, 22 (34%) had an elevated LDH, and 10 (15%) had marrow involvement. The median number of prior treatment courses was 4 (range, 1–9). The median follow-up for survivors is 23 mos. (range, 4–62). Patients were analyzed as indolent (IND=FL+ SLL/CLL), aggressive (AGR=LCL+MCL), and HL. Incidence of acute GVHD grades II–IV was 57% (95%CI, 43–70); grades III–IV 25% (95%CI, 14–35); chronic GVHD 23% (95%CI, 11–35), with similar incidence of acute and chronic GVHD between lymphoma subgroups. The 3-year nonrelapse mortality (NRM) was 15% (95%CI, 5–26) with no significant difference among lymphoma subgroups (IND 5% vs. AGR 24% vs. HL 13%, p=.41). Thirty-five patients (53%) had relapsed or progressive disease with a 3-year progression-free survival (PFS) of 31% (95%CI, 19–44); IND 44% (95%CI, 22–66); AGR 20% (95%CI, 2–39); HL 35% (95%CI, 15–54) (p=.30). Fourteen of these 35 patients were treated with tapering of immunosuppression and rituximab and/or chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and 8 achieved a complete remission. Three-year OS was 55% (95%CI, 42–68); IND 69% (95%CI, 48–90); AGR 54% (95%CI, 33–75); HL 43% (95%CI, 18–69) (p=.37). We conclude that RIC UCB is effective alternative for the treatment of patients with advanced lymphoid malignancy resulting in acceptable NRM and encouraging OS and PFS. Patients with advanced lymphoid malignancies should be considered for a RIC UCBT as a promising alternative for those with no available sibling donor.
An offline approach for output-only Bayesian identification of stochastic nonlinear systems using unscented Kalman filtering

Abstract In this paper an offline approach for output-only Bayesian identification of stochastic nonlinear systems is presented. The approach is based on a re-parameterization of the joint posterior distribution of the parameters that define a postulated state-space stochastic model class. In the re-parameterization the state predictive distribution is included, marginalized, and estimated recursively in a state estimation step using an unscented Kalman filter, bypassing state augmentation as required by existing online methods. In applications expectations of functions of the parameters are of interest, which requires the evaluation of potentially high-dimensional integrals; Markov chain Monte Carlo is adopted to sample the posterior distribution and estimate the expectations. The proposed approach is suitable for nonlinear systems subjected to non-stationary inputs whose realization is unknown, and that are modeled as stochastic processes. Numerical verification and experimental validation examples illustrate the effectiveness and advantages of the approach, including: (i) an increased numerical stability with respect to augmented-state unscented Kalman filtering, avoiding divergence of the estimates when the forcing input is unmeasured; (ii) the ability to handle arbitrary prior and posterior distributions. The experimental validation of the approach is conducted using data from a large-scale structure tested on a shake table. It is shown that the approach is robust to inherent modeling errors in the description of the system and forcing input, providing accurate prediction of the dynamic response when the excitation history is unknown.
The radial clubhand.

SUMMARY Deficiency of the radial ray is both isolated and syndromatic. Before treatment is undertaken, careful consideration has to be given to the entire child. In individuals in whom treatment is indicated, a program of plasters, centralization, and prolonged intramedullary rod fixation is recommended.