cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Respiratory Disorders in the Newborn: Identification and Diagnosis

1. Hany Aly, MD, FAAP* 1. *Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and of Obstetrics & Gynecology; Director, Newborn Services, George Washington University, Washington, DC After reading this article, readers should be able to: 1. Describe the specific radiologic findings in neonatal respiratory distress syndrome. 2. Differentiate between the normal results of a newborn chest radiograph and the radiographic patterns that reflect meconium aspiration. 3. Differentiate between the normal results of a newborn chest radiograph and the radiographic patterns that reflect pneumonia. 4. Distinguish between pulmonary disease and cyanotic congenital heart disease as a cause of hypoxemia and acidosis in a neonate. Respiratory distress is encountered frequently in newborns and represents the most frequent indication for re-evaluation of the young infant. Because respiratory distress in the newborn may be a potentially life-threatening condition, physicians are expected to assess and manage affected infants promptly. The key to successful management of the infant who has respiratory distress is based on the ability to obtain a complete maternal and newborn history, perform a thorough physical examination, recognize the common respiratory disorders, differentiate among various diagnostic entities, and identify those that are life-threatening. Respiratory distress in the newborn is characterized by one or more of the following: nasal flaring, chest retractions, tachypnea, and grunting. Nasal flaring is a relatively frequent finding in an infant attempting to decrease airway resistance. Suprasternal retraction indicates upper airway obstruction. Subcostal retraction, on the other hand, is a less specific sign that may be associated with either pulmonary or cardiac diseases. Normally, the neonate takes 30 to 60 breaths/min. The infant breathes at a faster rate to maintain ventilation in the face of decreased tidal volume. An infant in respiratory distress may try to maintain lung volume with adequate gas exchange by partially closing the glottis during expiration. This is the mechanism responsible for the audible grunting in these infants. An infant who has an advanced degree of respiratory distress may exhibit additional signs, such as cyanosis, gasping, …
Salt Toxicity to Treefrogs (Hyla Chrysoscelis) Depends on Depth

Abstract Salinization of aquatic habitats is an emerging environmental concern, especially in colder climates where salt is used to prevent road icing during winter months. Salt applied to roads is carried into aquatic environments in storm-water runoff, where fluctuating water levels can result in salt stratification and spatially complex exposure scenarios for embryonic and larval pond-breeding amphibians. We conducted an experiment to investigate the potential interaction between oviposition site selection and toxicity of road salt to embryonic Cope's Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis). We simulated road-salt stratification in 7-L microcosms containing sediment from a salt-contaminated pond and placed developing eggs at three water depths and directly on the sediment of the microcosms. At the beginning of the experiment, conductivity at the bottom of the microcosms was four to seven (from ∼4.0 to 6.5 mS cm−1) times higher than at the top or middle of the water column (∼1.0 mS cm−1). Subsequently, survi...
Skin and proximity effects in multi-layer transformer windings of finite thickness

Losses due to skin and proximity effects within power transformer windings were previously calculated using the assumption that the curvature and thickness of the winding could be neglected and the magnetic field boundary conditions were known. This paper presents formulae suitable for a wider range of dimensions which accurately account for differences in the winding radii and do not use magnetic fields as an input parameter. The results show the conditions under which the AC resistance loss can be significantly different than in prior publications. Thus, the expressions presented can be used with a much higher level of confidence to predict transformer performance. Transformers with solenoidal windings and transformers with coaxial windings are structural duals of each other and both are subject to equivalent skin and proximity effects. Presented in detail are the relationship between solenoidal and coaxial windings, the key analytic expressions for both winding types, normalized AC resistance curves with and without accounting for curvature and the effects of winding layers. Additionally, the results are verified by numerical and expert data. A useful appendix is included which provides a practical, straight-forward procedure to numerically evaluate the seemingly complicated expressions.
Poetics and Metaphor in Mixtec Writing

The structure and meaning of Mixtec codical symbolism is examined, based on data drawn from language, ethnography, and ethnohistory. The article is divided into three parts: (a) a discussion of Mixtec ideology and myth, with respect to codex symbolism; (b) a description of Mixtec poetics and symbolic correlates; and (c) an interpretive commentary of a brief mythological passage from the Vienna codex as a practical illustration of the first two parts of the article.
Gastrointestinal motor effects of erythromycin in humans

The effects of an antibacterially effective IV dose of erythromycin on gastrointestinal motor activity were investigated in eight normal healthy human volunteers in the fasted state and the fed state. Motor activity was recorded by a multilumen manometric tube. Data were analyzed visually and by a computer method. Blood samples were obtained for erythromycin and motilin assays. In the gastric antrum, erythromycin significantly increased the total duration, amplitude, and area under contractions from 0 to 60 minutes and frequency of contractions from 0 to 30 minutes from the start of its infusion in the fasted state. A similar response in the fed state occurred mostly from 0 to 30 minutes after the start of erythromycin infusion. By contrast, erythromycin inhibited the frequency and decreased the duration of small intestinal contractions in the fed state but had no effect in the fasted state. The gastric motor response was related to the plasma concentration of erythromycin, but not to plasma motilin. Erythromycin significantly shortened the duration of migrating motor complex disruption by a meal. Erythromycin also induced symptoms of upper abdominal pain, bloating, and nausea. Abdominal pain was related to strong antral contractions in both fasted and fed states; bloating occurred only in the fed state. Nausea occurred in both fasted and fed states, but it was not related to any specific pattern of motor activity. It is concluded that the strong antral contractions induced by erythromycin may accelerate the rate of gastric emptying, but they may also be responsible for causing the sensations of upper abdominal pain and bloating. The motor response to erythromycin is less during the fed than during the fasted state. The strong antral contractions induced by erythromycin are not mediated by the release of motilin.
Measuring How Fiscal Shocks Affect Durable Spending in Recessions and Expansions

We estimate how durable expenditures respond to government spending shocks at different points in the business cycle using a nonlinear VAR approach that allows for the durable multiplier to vary smoothly with the state of the economy. We find strong evidence that the aggregate durable spending response to fiscal shocks is substantially larger during expansions than during recessions, in contrast to what has been has been observed for the aggregate multiplier. We argue that these results are consistent with the theoretical predictions of the fixed cost model of durable demand in Berger and Vavra (2012).
Immersive virtual reality on-the-go

We propose to demonstrate a ubiquitous immersive virtual reality system that is highly scalable and accessible to a larger audience. Latest trends in mobile communications as well as the entertainment industry seem to validate that, accessibility and scalability play an important role in democratizing technology. We present a practical design of such a system that offers the core affordances of immersive virtual reality in a portable and untethered configuration. In addition, we have developed an extensive immersive virtual experience that involves engaging users visually and aurally. This is an effort towards integrating VR into the space and time of user workflows.
Modeling and testing crosstalk faults in inter-core interconnects that include tri-state and bi-directional nets

In this paper, we carry out a systematic simulation study of crosstalk effects in inter-core interconnects that include tri-state and bi-directional nets and have arbitrary topologies. These studies allow us to develop a new crosstalk fault model for such interconnects. We also develop a framework to generate compact tests for such interconnects. We present experimental results that show that the proposed approach provides high fault coverage using a small number of tests.
Peatland types influence the inhibitory effects of a humic substance analog on methane production

Abstract Methane (CH 4 ) production is often impeded in many northern peatland soils, even though more thermodynamically favorable inorganic terminal electron acceptors (TEAs) used in anaerobic respiration are often present in low concentrations in these soils. Recent studies suggest that humic substances in wetland soils can be utilized as organic TEAs for anaerobic respiration and may directly inhibit CH 4 production. Here we utilize the humic analog anthraquinone-2, 6-disulfonate (AQDS) to explore the importance of humic substances, and their effects on the temperature sensitivity of anaerobic decomposition, in two peatland soils. In a bog peat, AQDS was not initially utilized as a TEA, but greatly inhibited the fermentative production of acetate by > 98%, carbon dioxide by > 49%, hydrogen by > 90%, and CH 4 production by 86%. When added together with glucose, 4 production, reflecting temporal changes in the temperature responses of other decomposition processes with effects on methanogenesis. Our results show that the inhibitory effects of a humic analog on CH 4 production depend on peatland type, acting primarily as a toxic compound in bog soils and as a competitive TEA in fen soils. The results also suggest that the high concentrations of humic substances in northern peatlands may impact the temperature sensitivity of soil carbon cycling in these ecosystems.
Reversal of a Neurospora Translocation by Crossing over Involving Displaced Rdna, and Methylation of the Rdna Segments That Result from Recombination

In translocation OY321 of Neurospora crassa, the nucleolus organizer is divided into two segments, a proximal portion located interstitially in one interchange chromosome, and a distal portion now located terminally on another chromosome, linkage group I. In crosses of Translocation x Translocation, exceptional progeny are recovered nonselectively in which the chromosome sequence has apparently reverted to Normal. Genetic, cytological, and molecular evidence indicates that reversion is the result of meiotic crossing over between homologous displaced rDNA repeats. Marker linkages are wild type in these exceptional progeny. They differ from wild type, however, in retaining an interstitial block of rRNA genes which can be demonstrated cytologically by the presence of a second, small interstitial nucleolus and genetically by linkage of an rDNA restriction site polymorphism to the mating-type locus in linkage group I. The interstitial rDNA is more highly methylated than the terminal rDNA. The mechanism by which methylation enzymes distinguish between interstitial rDNA and terminal rDNA is unknown. Some hypotheses are considered.
Changes of starch during parboiling of rice kernels

Abstract The morphologies of starch granules within rice kernels were examined immediately after the steaming process (110 °C for 20 min) and after aging of the parboiled rice. Freshly, one-month aged, and commercial parboiled rice were studied to better understand the parboiling process. Starch was completely gelatinized as determined by differential scanning calorimetry, and X-ray diffraction, indicating the disruption of all short-range crystallinity of starch in parboiled rice. However, scanning electron microscopic images showed some intact starch granules, and light microscopic images showed starch granules embedded in the center of the rice kernel. Interestingly, these granules displayed Maltese cross patterns. For the first time, we demonstrated that parboiled rice starch granules could swell in glycerol to four to five times of its original size but still showed Maltese cross.
Use of Participatory Design to Enhance Accessibility of Slate-Type Devices:

Individuals with Blindness or Severe Visual Impairment (IBSVI) have not had equivalent access to reading materials, especially for slate-type devices. Features such as highlighting and note taking are essential for active reading and engagement. The purpose of this project is to iteratively design a software system for slate type devices (e.g., iPad) to provide IBSVIs with equivalent reading experience as to sighted users. A participatory design (PD) approach is being adopted throughout the project by designing ‘with’ IBSVI users. The first PD session aimed to explore and obtain feedback on the different layouts of the overlays (tactile pattern over iPad to guide reading), different text densities, sonification, and navigation through the STAAR (Spatial Touch Audio Annotator and Reader) system. IBSVI consultants gave significant feedback and design inputs. Consultants also brainstormed with researchers for ideas to improve the features of the system.
Sex and the renal transplant patient.

During the period 1980 to 1987, 2,694 transurethral and 325 open subcapsular prostatectomies were performed in the eight national hospitals of Japan. The frequency of the transurethral procedure has steadily increased, now accounting for over 95% of all prostatectomies. The likelihood of detecting cancer in patients presumed to have benign prostatic hypertrophy increased markedly with age, rising from 0.6% in patients aged 50 to 59 years to 21.4% in patients aged 90 or over.
The stabilization of morphological field size during slime mold morphogenesis

The relationship between aggregate size and morphological field size has been investigated in the cellular slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum. Evidence is presented that aggregate size and field size exhibit different temperature sensitivities and that an aggregate can be induced to separate into several morphological fields by a decrease in temperature. In addition, evidence is presented that field size is stabilized at a point in time just prior to tip formation.
Developing an Improved Radiology Workstation User Interface: A Photographic Survey of Current Approaches

Most PACS/IMACS development effort has been directed to hardware-related issues such as networks, databases and storage. Unfortunately, little attention has been focused on user interface design for radiology workstations, which in part has limited system acceptance by radiologists. The next generation PACS/IMACS will need to incorporate a refined, high-performance user interface optimized for efficient primary diagnosis, with enhancements for quantitative analysis and simplifications for remote clinical viewing.
Design and implementation of prototype potable base station for catastrophic situation

The continuous development of software defined radio peripheral devices and software tools enable a wide range of potential applications, selected to either augment or even replace commercial communication equipment. These devices and software can be used to implement a variety of communication standards and systems. This paper presented a novel prototype software defined radio system using GNURadio, Universal Software Radio Peripherals (USRP), and Compute Unified Device Array (CUDA) along with detailed explanation on the current limitations and future opportunities. The goal of this paper is to provide a fast and easy to build communication access point using cost-effective and commercial off-the-shelf components to be used after the catastrophic infrastructure failure following earthquakes and tornadoes. The polyphase channelizer part was implemented on two Graphic Processing Units (GPU) systems. The parallel implemented models give a speed up factor of more than ten times faster the sequential ones.
Morphological and optical properties of low temperature processed SnO2 :F

Thin films of transparent conducting fluorine doped tin oxide (SnO2:F) on soda lime glass and stainless steel substrates are prepared by spray pyrolysis at low temperature ≤250 °C. Optical properties in the form of complex dielectric function (ϵ = ϵ1 + iϵ2) spectra are obtained using spectroscopic ellipsometry from 0.035 to 5.89 eV for SnO2:F on glass and from 0.75 to 5.89 eV for SnO2:F on stainless steel. The absorption coefficient (α) spectra are extracted from spectra in ϵ for the film on soda lime glass from 0.035 to 5.89 eV and on stainless steel from 0.75 to 5.89 eV. Direct band gaps for SnO2:F thin films on soda lime glass and stainless steel substrates are determined to be 3.45 ± 0.01 and 3.60 ± 0.01 eV, respectively. Infrared extended measurement shows an absorption feature at 0.063 eV (508 cm−1) which may be attributed to Sn–O and Sn–F bonding. A broad background phonon absorption feature due to Sn–OH and O–H bonding is also identified at 0.3 eV (2420 cm−1). Resistivity is deduced from ϵ. Improved agreement between optically and electrically determined resistivity is obtained when the infrared range spectrum is analyzed. The morphologies of both the films are studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM).
Substance Use Assessment Instruments: 13 Years Later

The authors surveyed Master Addiction Counselors and members of the International Association of Addictions and Offender Counselors (N = 131) about their use of substance use disorder and process addiction screening and assessment instruments. The results are compared with those of Juhnke, Vacc, Curtis, Coll, and Paredes (2003).
IP3 3-kinase B controls hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis and prevents lethal hematopoietic failure in mice (HEM5P.228)

Tight regulation of HSC homeostasis ensures life-long hematopoiesis and prevents blood cancers. The mechanisms balancing HSC quiescence with expansion and differentiation into hematopoietic progenitors are incompletely understood. Here, we identify inositoltrisphosphate (IP 3 ) 3-kinase B (Itpkb) as a novel essential regulator of HSC quiescence and function. Young Itpkb -/- mice accumulated phenotypic HSC which were less quiescent and proliferated more than wildtype controls. Itpkb -/- HSC downregulated quiescence associated mRNAs, but upregulated activation, oxidative metabolism, protein synthesis and lineage associated transcripts. Although they showed no significant homing defects and had normal to elevated viability, Itpkb -/- HSC had a severely reduced competitive long-term repopulating potential. Aging Itpkb -/- mice lost hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and died with severe anemia. Wildtype HSC normally repopulated Itpkb -/- hosts, indicating a HSC-intrinsic Itpkb requirement. In vitro, Itpkb -/- HSC had reduced cobblestone-area forming cell activity and showed increased stem cell factor activation of the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) effector Akt. This was reversed by exogenous provision of the Itpkb product IP 4, a known PI3K/Akt antagonist. Itpkb -/- HSC also showed transcriptome changes consistent with hyperactive Akt/mTOR signaling. Thus, we propose that Itpkb ensures HSC quiescence and function in part by limiting cytokine-induced PI3K signaling in HSC.
Behind the scenes at the museum

You don't have to trek into the wild to discover a new species. Just rummage in the drawers of forgotten and neglected collections, says Christopher Kemp
Recent Trends in the Study of Late Bronze Age Ceramics in Syro-Mesopotamia and Neighbouring Regions

In the grand scheme of archaeology, pottery is an indelible fixture that is at once crucial and mundane. Ubiquitous in the Ancient Near East from the early days of agriculture, pottery has provided...
The Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey

(2001). The Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey. Quality Management Journal: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 83-84.
Big IoT Data Stream Analytics with Issues in Privacy and Security

Internet of Things (IoT) Devices are monitoring and controlling systems that interact with the physical world by collecting, processing and transmitting data using the internet. IoT devices include home automation systems, smart grid, transportation systems, medical devices, building controls, manufacturing and industrial control systems. With the increase in deployment of IoT devices, there will be a corresponding increase in the amount of data generated by these devices, therefore, resulting in the need of large scale data processing systems to process and extract information for efficient and impactful decision making that will improve quality of living.
Health-Related Quality of Life Instruments for Children with Cochlear Implants: Development of Child and Parent-Proxy Measures

Objectives Severe to profound hearing loss is associated with worse health-related quality of life (HRQoL), reflecting the wide-ranging effects of deafness on spoken language, cognition, and social/behavioral development. However, there are currently no cochlear implant (CI)-specific HRQoL measures that were developed using the Food and Drug Administration Guidance on patient-reported outcomes. This study developed the first HRQoL instruments (CI-QoL) for children with CIs, ages 6 to 12, and a parent-proxy measure for this age group. Design Two phases of instrument development were conducted. Phase 1 consisted of a literature review yielding a conceptual framework and discussion guides to elicit information from stakeholder focus groups at CI clinics in Miami and Philadelphia (n = 30; e.g., physicians, speech pathologists). During phase 2, open-ended interviews were conducted with 21 parent-child dyads (M child age = 9.1 years) recruited from these two clinics. Interviews were transcribed, followed by content analysis in NVivo to identify the most frequent and difficult themes. Items were then derived from these themes to form the initial draft instruments. A multimodal approach was used to create the child-report version (i.e., pictorial representations, audio recording of items, written text above the drawings) to maximize comprehension and ease of responding. Both measures were developed to be administered electronically on a tablet device. In phase 3, a new set of parent-child dyads (n = 20; child age M = 9.2 years) completed a cognitive testing protocol to ensure clarity, ease of use, and comprehensiveness. Cognitive testing led to revisions and finalization of the instruments. Results The final self-report measure contained 33 items across eight domains: Noisy Environments, Academic Functioning, Child Acceptance, Oral Communication, Social Functioning, Fatigue, Emotional Functioning, and Device Management. The final parent-proxy measure included 42 items on nine scales: the same eight scales that appear on the child version, with the addition of Behavior Problems. Correlations between child and parent reports on each scale ranged from r = 0.08 to 0.48. Conclusions CI-specific HRQoL instruments have now been developed for school-age children with CIs, with an accompanying parent-proxy version. After a psychometric validation, these CI-specific measures will enable us to track long-term outcomes, evaluate the efficacy of interventions to improve CI use (e.g., single versus bilateral implantation, AV therapy, maternal sensitivity training), and provide a profile of the "whole child's" functioning to facilitate care.
Calcitonin gene-related peptide-dependent vascular relaxation of rat aorta. An additional mechanism for nitroglycerin.

We investigated the involvement of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) in the vasodilatory mechanism of action of nitric oxide (NO) donors. The functional role of CGRP in NO donor-induced vasodilation of isolated rat aortic rings was determined by incubating these drugs with and without CGRP8–37, a selective CGRP receptor antagonist. CGRP8–37 (0.63 μM) induced rightward shifts in the vasodilatory concentration–response curves for nitroglycerin (NTG), Piloty’s acid (PA), and SIN-1 (linsidomine). The ec50 values for NTG, PA, and SIN-1 were increased by 8.3-, 5.2-, and 2.3-fold, respectively (P 0.05). NO donors also were incubated with aortic strips, and NTG and PA alone induced significant formation of hydroxylamine, a NO- metabolite (232.4 and 364.9%, respectively, P < 0.05). These results indicate that only NTG and PA, and to a lesser extent SIN-1, stimulate the release of CGRP from the rat aorta, which subsequently contributes to the vasodilatory activity of these agents. The hydroxylamine formation suggests a possible link between NO- generation and CGRP release from the vascular wall.
The Kheṭamuktāvalī of Nṛsiṃha

One of the most distinguished families of jyautisis in India was that whose first member was Keśava, the son of Kamalākara of the Kauśikagotra.1 He and his descendants resided at Nandigrāma (modern Nandod in Gujarāt, north of Rajpipla and on the south bank of the Narmadā near its mouth) from the late fifteenth till the mid seventeenth centuries. Keśava, who studied under Vaidyanātha, wrote an astronomical karana entitled Grahakautuka or Kheṭakautuka, whose epoch is Śaka 1418 = A.D. 1496. The Kheṭasāraṇī mentioned in Kheṭamuktāvalī 3 was presumably a set of tables intended to accompany the Grahakautuka, though more than the text’s fifty years had passed in Śaka 1488 = A.D. 1566, which is Nṛsiṃha’s epoch. The number was not meant to be precise.
UCT for tactical assault planning in real-time strategy games

We consider the problem of tactical assault planning in real-time strategy games where a team of friendly agents must launch an assault on an enemy. This problem offers many challenges including a highly dynamic and uncertain environment, multiple agents, durative actions, numeric attributes, and different optimization objectives. While the dynamics of this problem are quite complex, it is often possible to provide or learn a coarse simulation-based model of a tactical domain, which makes Monte-Carlo planning an attractive approach. In this paper, we investigate the use of UCT, a recent Monte-Carlo planning algorithm for this problem. UCT has recently shown impressive successes in the area of games, particularly Go, but has not yet been considered in the context of multiagent tactical planning. We discuss the challenges of adapting UCT to our domain and an implementation which allows for the optimization of user specified objective functions. We present an evaluation of our approach on a range of tactical assault problems with different objectives in the RTS game Wargus. The results indicate that our planner is able to generate superior plans compared to several baselines and a human player.
Web-based architecture for at-home health systems

Technologies are revolutionizing the way health care is managed and delivered, especially in the areas of telemedicine and home care. Many at-home e-Health products are being developed and brought to market, but one of the factors that prevent widespread adoption is the need for customized solutions that result in lack of economies of scale. In this paper, we describe our Web-ENabled Devices and Instruments (WENDI) platform that addresses this challenge, utilizing technologies that promote low-cost and rapid development of web-based applications.
Effect of Delayed Primary Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction on Medial Compartment Cartilage and Meniscal Health.

Background:The time required to develop a secondary cartilage or meniscal injury in the medial compartment after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury is not well understood.Purpose:To determine ...
Refining Severe Tricuspid Regurgitation Definition by Echocardiography with a New Outcomes-Based "Massive" Grade.

Background Current echocardiographic guidelines recommend that tricuspid regurgitation (TR) severity be graded in three categories, following assessment of specific parameters. Findings from recent trials have shown that the severity of TR frequently far exceeds the current definition of severe. We postulated that a grading approach that emphasizes outcomes could be useful to identify patients with severe TR at increased risk of mortality. Methods We identified 284 patients with echocardiograms demonstrating severe functional TR, defined as vena contracta (VC) ≥ 0.7 cm. Demographics and mortality data were obtained from the medical records. Patients were divided into study (n = 122 patients with three-dimensional images) and validation (n = 162) cohorts. The VC was measured in both the right ventricular (RV) inflow and apical four-chamber views and averaged. For the study cohort, tricuspid annular, RV end-diastolic (basal, mid, long axis) dimensions, tricuspid leaflet tenting height and area, RV free-wall longitudinal strain, and RV volumes were measured from two- and three-dimensional data sets. A K-partition algorithm was used in the study cohort to derive a mortality-related cutoff VC value, above which TR was termed “massive.” The ability of this VC cutoff to identify patients at greater mortality risk was then tested in the validation cohort using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis. Results In the study cohort, VC > 0.92 cm (massive TR) was optimally associated with worse survival. Tricuspid annular and RV size were larger in the massive group (P Conclusions Among patients traditionally defined as having severe TR, a subset exists with massive TR, resulting in greater adverse RV remodeling and increased mortality. These patients may derive the greatest benefit from emerging percutaneous therapies.
“Things Forever Speaking” and “Objects of all Thought”

“Things for ever speaking” and “Objects of all thought”: the phrases are from Wordsworth, the first from “Expostulation and Reply,” the second from “Tintern Abbey,” but variations of them appear throughout his verse. To contemporary readers, they seem interchangeable in the vernacular, although not always: such as when I tell you to pack up your “things” but not to pack up your “objects,” or if I affectionately say that you are a “sweet thing” but not, at least to your face, a “sweet object.” To Wordsworth, they were antonyms, contradictions, opposites. And, technically, they are still: the changes in meaning originate in massive cultural, philosophical, sociological, and economic changes during his lifetime. In serious intellectual discourse, every major thinker—Marx, Darwin, Fraser, Freud, John Stuart Mill, even Kierkegaard, Lewis Carroll, Hans Christian Andersen, and Foucault—defined them, in cases other than the vernacular, as different, not even opposites, as different as “Thing theory” and “Object theory”: “Thing theory,” an aesthetic growing out of anthropology, and “Object theory,” a psychological concept explaining family dynamics and human emotional development. Thing-ing is what we are doing in this book, taking a word, concept, object, even person out of its natural or material setting and projecting human values, meanings, or explanations on it.
Local Sovereign Immunity

When governmental actors offend federal rights, victims are often left with no one to hold accountable in federal courts. This Article explores this accountability gap in cases involving local officials' violations of the Constitution. Local government, after all, is the layer of government that is often closest to our daily lives, from law enforcement to education. This Article argues that as a descriptive matter, contrary to the conventional account, a form of sovereign immunity protects local governments from federal constitutional suits. And this immunity unduly obstructs constitutional accountability. Local sovereign immunity operates primarily through two doctrines that, together, prevent remedies for violations of federal rights. First, a special, stringent causation requirement often prohibits recovery against local governments, even when that government's agent violates federal constitutional rights. This causation requirement shares core historical and ideological commitments with the Supreme Court's state sovereignty jurisprudence. The requirement also shares historical roots with common law doctrines barring or limiting suits against local governments for traditional torts. Second, like federal and state officials, local actors are often entitled to qualified and absolute immunities, blocking suits against such actors in their individual capacities. Qualified and absolute immunities have roots in the doctrine of sovereign immunity. This Article observes that the version of state sovereignty that infuses these immunity doctrines is inflected with concerns about republicanism, representative government, federalism, and autonomy. It concludes by advocating for reforms that would narrow the rights-remedies gap for constitutional violations, while showing due respect for 410 the values that undergird this American jurisprudence of “republican sovereignty.” Potential reforms include permitting suits against local governments when there is no other federal remedy available and placing restrictions on the execution of judgments instead of restricting the availability of suits.
Density of States for Random Band Matrices

By applying the supersymmetric approach we rigorously prove smoothness of the averaged density of states for a three dimensional random band matrix ensemble, in the limit of infinite volume and fixed band width. We also prove that the resulting expression for the density of states coincides with the Wigner semicircle with a precision 1/W2, for W large but fixed.
The Joint Effects of Rich Data Visualization and Analytical Procedure Categorization on Auditor Judgment

We predict that the audit-effectiveness benefits of richer visualization depend on how auditors categorize the procedures used to generate visualized evidence. We experimentally test our prediction using analytical procedures, which can be categorized either as risk assessment or substantive procedures under certain conditions. As predicted, audit-senior participants more frequently identify more richly visualized outliers as high risk, but only when these visuals arise from risk assessment procedures rather than substantive procedures. Richer visuals also increase the comprehensiveness of auditors’ prescribed follow-up tests, again only when risk assessment procedures generate these visuals. Post-experimental responses corroborate our theory: Auditors view evidence as more persuasive and sufficient when categorized as substantive procedures rather than as risk assessment procedures, in which case they view evidence as more preliminary. We conclude that whether and the degree to which richer data visuals improve audit effectiveness depends on how audit procedures generating these visuals are categorized.
Making Engineering Sociotechnical

Under the National Science Foundation Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (IUSE/PFE: RED) program, we proposed to "Develop Changemaking Engineers" by infusing the socio with the technical into engineering education, and in the process to revitalize the conversation about what engineering is within the academy. In this project, we have developed curriculum that infuses the lenses of social justice, humanitarian practice, and peace into engineering content. We have also developed workshops aimed at broadening the capacity of engineering faculty to teach these topics. We have also created focused cluster hiring to bring new faculty to the school that have the desire and expertise to work in these areas. Finally, we have reached out to other schools and universities to find others who want to engage with us as we try to redefine the engineering canon.This work-in-progress paper includes reflections on this work from two perspectives: that of a department chair who created a new department as a place to prototype new curricular ideas and that of a dean of engineering that has been working with organizational change. From our two viewpoints, we reflect on:1.Challenges in understanding the goals of making engineering education more sociotechnical.2.Having the conversations about what engineering is and what it is not.3.Changing the culture within the school to value the sociotechnical nature of engineering.
Mobile entanglements and communitas: the embodied nature of play in Pokémon Go

This phenomenological study opens up the embodied nature of play, adding to the field’s understanding of embodiment as it manifests in a non-standardized (outside formal education) realm of human experience. The location-aware, augmented reality mobile game, Pokemon Go, provided a viable context to consider the ways the game/device, players, play spaces, and even non-players come together in lived, embodied play moments. The authors analyzed lived-experience data from 30 Pokemon Go players to better understand various possibilities for play, specifically how these possibilities were embodied in the lifeworld of players. This paper explicates two salient manifestations of the phenomenon. The first concerns the player-space-technology entanglements, detailing the simultaneous emergence of virtual and real spaces, variant modes of embodied mobility, the way players shaped physical spaces, and the emergence of human–technology relations. The second elaborates on the community that emerged among Pokemon Go players, helping to characterize embodiment as it permeates social and cultural aspects of play. The phenomenological insights explicated here provide explanatory power that has the potential to inform ludology and game studies while further grounding and extending the work of embodied cognitive scientists, possibly contributing to social accounts of embodiment.
The design and performance of a pluggable protocols framework for real-time distributed object computing middleware

To be an effective platform for performance-sensitive real-time and embedded applications, off-the-shelf CORBA middleware must preserve the communication-layer quality of service (QoS) properties of applications end-to-end. However, the standard CORBA GIOP/HOP interoperability protocols are not well suited for applications that cannot tolerate the message footprint size, latency, and jitter associated with general-purpose messaging and transport protocols. It is essential, therefore, to develop standard pluggable protocols frameworks that allow custom messaging and transport protocols to be configured flexibly and used transparently by applications.This paper provides three contributions to research on pluggable protocols frameworks for performance-sensitive distributed object computing (DOC) middleware. First, we outline the key design challenges faced by pluggable protocols developers. Second, we describe how we resolved these challenges by developing a pluggable protocols framework for TAO, which is our high-performance, real-time CORBA -compliant ORB. Third, we present the results of benchmarks that pinpoint the impact of TAO's pluggable protocols framework on its end-to-end efficiency and predictability.Our results demonstrate how the application of optimizations and patterns to DOC middleware can yield both highly flexible/reusable designs and highly efficient/predictable implementations. In particular, the overall roundtrip latency of a TAO two-way method invocation using the standard inter-ORB protocol and using a commercial, off-the-self Pentium II Xeon 400 MHz workstation running in loopback mode is ~189 µsecs. The ORB middleware accounts for approximately 48% or ~90 µsecs of the total roundtrip latency. Using the specialized POSIX local IPC protocol reduces roundtrip latency to ~125 µsecs. These results illustrate that (1) DOC middleware performance is largely an implementation detail and (2) the next-generation of optimized, standards-based CORBA middleware can replace ad hoc and proprietary solutions.
PROCESS AND MORPHOLOGY CHARACTERISTICS OF TWO BARRIER BEACHES IN THE MAGDALEN ISLANDS, GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE, CANADA

Detailed field investigations of barrier beach morphology and processes at adjacent sites in the Magdalen Islands, Gulf of St. Lawrence, show that the two beaches are in distinctly different morphodynamic environments. The differences are expressed in terms of wave energy levels, sediment dispersal patterns, and nearshore, littoral, and dune geomorphology. The exposed west-facing coast has a steeper offshore gradient, is a zone of sediment bypassing, and has a complex sequence of three nearshore bars. Wave energy levels are lower on the sheltered east coast, and this is a zone of sediment redistribution and deposition with a single, linear nearshore bar. The different morphological characteristics of the two barriers are attributed to the spatial variation in energy levels and to the differences in offshore gradients on the two coasts. Computed wave energy values, derived from data monitored during two study periods (August and November, 1974), indicate that the mean wave energy levels were greater on the west coast as compared to the east coast by factors of 2.25 in summer and 2.95 in winter. This is due primarily to the dominance of winds out of the westerly quadrant throughout the year. 1975
Observations of the Solar Proton Event of August 28, 1966

The Csi scintillator telescope aboard IMP-III indicated a peak intensity of 6·25 proton/sec cm2 ster for a SPE (Solar Proton Event) commencing during the period 1600 to 1700 UT on August 28, 1966. This SPE appears to have been associated with the importance 2–3 flare occurring at 22N/06S at 1522 UT on this date. The comparison of this event to other large proton events occurring during the period May 25, 1965 to September 30, 1966, is made.
Temporal development of salt marsh value for nekton and epifauna: utilization of dredged material marshes in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA.

Densities of nekton and other fauna were measured inthree created salt marshes to examine habitatdevelopment rate. All three marshes were located onPelican Spit in Galveston Bay, Texas, USA and werecreated on dredged material from the Gulf IntracoastalWaterway. The youngest marsh was planted on 1-mcenters in July of 1992. At the time sampling wasinitiated in fall 1992, the marshes were 9, 5, andless than 1 year in age; sampling continued in thefall and spring through spring 1994. Animaldensities were measured within the vegetation at twoelevations using an enclosure sampler. In the fall of1992, 4 months following the planting of the 92Marsh,densities of most marsh organisms were lower in thismarsh compared with the older two marshes. Significantly lower densities were observed fordominant crustaceans (including three species of grassshrimps, two species of commercially-important penaeidshrimps, thinstripe hermit crabs Clibanarius vittatus,and juvenile blue crabs Callinectes sapidus), adominant fish (Gobionellus boleosoma), and thedominant mollusc (Littoraria irrorata). By the fallof 1993, however, densities of most nekton specieswere similar among the three created salt marshes. Incontrast, reduced densities of less mobile epifauna(C. vittatusand L. irrorata) persisted in the 92Marshthroughout the 2 years of sampling. The patterns ofnekton utilization exhibited in these marshes suggestthat the 92Marsh reached its maximum habitat supportfunction for these animals in less than 1 year. Comparisons of the older marshes with natural marshesin the bay system, however, suggest that all three ofthese created marshes are functioning at lower levelsthan natural marshes in terms of supporting productionof commercially important fishery species such aspenaeid shrimps and C. sapidus.
Membrane phospholipid bilayer as a determinant of monoacylglycerol lipase kinetic profile and conformational repertoire

The membrane-associated serine hydrolase, monoacylglycerol lipase (MGL), is a well-recognized therapeutic target that regulates endocannabinoid signaling. Crystallographic studies, while providing structural information about static MGL states, offer no direct experimental insight into the impact of MGL's membrane association upon its structure–function landscape. We report application of phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs as biomembrane models with which to evaluate the effect of a membrane system on the catalytic properties and conformational dynamics of human MGL (hMGL). Anionic and charge-neutral phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs enhanced hMGL's kinetic properties [apparent maximum velocity (Vmax) and substrate affinity (Km)]. Hydrogen exchange mass spectrometry (HX MS) was used as a conformational analysis method to profile experimentally the extent of hMGL–nanodisc interaction and its impact upon hMGL structure. We provide evidence that significant regions of hMGL lid-domain helix α4 and neighboring helix α6 interact with the nanodisc phospholipid bilayer, anchoring hMGL in a more open conformation to facilitate ligand access to the enzyme's substrate-binding channel. Covalent modification of membrane-associated hMGL by the irreversible carbamate inhibitor, AM6580, shielded the active site region, but did not increase solvent exposure of the lid domain, suggesting that the inactive, carbamylated enzyme remains intact and membrane associated. Molecular dynamics simulations generated conformational models congruent with the open, membrane-associated topology of active and inhibited, covalently-modified hMGL. Our data indicate that hMGL interaction with a phospholipid membrane bilayer induces regional changes in the enzyme's conformation that favor its recruiting lipophilic substrate/inhibitor from membrane stores to the active site via the lid, resulting in enhanced hMGL catalytic activity and substrate affinity.
A second endogenous cannabinoid that modulates long-term potentiation

Cannabinoid receptors are molecular targets for marijuana and hashish, the widespread drugs of abuse. These receptors are expressed in areas of the central nervous system that contribute in important ways to the control of memory, cognition, movement and pain perception. Indeed, such functions can be strongly influenced by cannabinoid drugs, with consequences that include euphoria, analgesia, sedation and memory impairment. Although the pharmacology of cannabinoid drugs is now beginning to be understood, we still lack essential information on the endogenous signalling system(s) by which cannabinoid receptors are normally engaged. An endogenous ligand for cannabinoid receptors, anandamide, has been described. Here we report that sn-2 arachidonylglycerol (2-AG), a cannabinoid ligand isolated from intestinal tissue, is present in brain in amounts 170 times greater than anandamide. 2-AG is produced in hippocampal slices by stimulation of the Schaffer collaterals, an excitatory fibre tract that projects from CA3 to CA1 neurons. Formation of 2-AG is calcium dependent and is mediated by the enzymes phospholipase C and diacylglycerol lipase. 2-AG activates neuronal cannabinoid receptors as a full agonist, and prevents the induction of long-term potentiation at CA3-CA1 synapses. Our results indicate that 2-AG is a second endogenous cannabinoid ligand in the central nervous system.