cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The nature and role of the basal pinacoderm of Corvomeyenia carolinensis Harrison (Porifera: Spongillidae) A histochemical and developmental study

The nature and role of the basal pinacoderm in the freshwater sponge Corvomeyenia carolinensis Harrison was examined using phase contrast microscopy, cytochemistry, and morphogenic analysis of regeneration. The pinacoderm is a nonsyncytial simple squamous epithelium. Pinacocytes, normally nucleolate, contain little histochemically demonstrable RNA, suggesting low levels of protein synthesis. The lack of a major role in food storage is indicated by the slight amount of PAS-positive carbohydrate and the absence of glycogen and acid mucopolysaccharides. Marginal pinacocytes are active in feeding. High levels of acid phosphatase in these cells indicate digestion is following ingestion. Pinacocytes contain numerous contractile vacuoles and play an active role in osmoregulation. These cells play the dominant role in wound healing, becoming actively ameboid to initiate the regenerative process.
Bloom-Gilman duality in renormalizable field theory

We study the validity of Bloom-Gilman duality in renormalizable field theory. It is found that, in pseudoscalar theory and neutral vector-gluon theory, Bloom-Gilman duality is in general violated. We also discuss whether the leading-logarithmic approximation is the cause of the breakdown of Bloom-Gilman duality.
Gendered influence of downward social comparisons on current and possible selves

Because men and women differ with regard to independent and interdependent self-construals, we propose that downward comparisons are more likely to lower women’s achievement-related self-evaluations compared to men’s. We also hypothesize that gendered self-schemas provide men with advantages in the processing of self-related dispositional information and women with advantages in the processing of self-related social-contextual information. To the extent that a downward social comparison presents a potential threat to the self, men and women differ in how effectively they can fend off the implications of different types of comparisons. Results from three experiments (total N = 393) support these hypotheses, suggesting that gendered responses to downward comparison are at least in part driven by a culturally normative focus on dispositional information prevalent in the West.
Image quality and dose optimisation for infant CT using a paediatric phantom

To optimise image quality and reduce radiation exposure for infant body CT imaging. An image quality CT phantom was created to model the infant body habitus. Image noise, spatial resolution, low contrast detectability and tube current modulation (TCM) were measured after adjusting CT protocol parameters. Reconstruction method (FBP, hybrid iterative and model-based iterative), image quality reference parameter, helical pitch and beam collimation were systematically investigated for their influence on image quality and radiation output. Both spatial and low contrast resolution were significantly improved with model-based iterative reconstruction (p < 0.05). A change in the helical pitch from 0.969 to 1.375 resulted in a 23 % reduction in total TCM, while a change in collimation from 20 to 40 mm resulted in a 46 % TCM reduction. Image noise and radiation output were both unaffected by changes in collimation, while an increase in pitch enabled a dose length product reduction of ~6 % at equivalent noise. An optimised protocol with ~30 % dose reduction was identified using model-based iterative reconstruction. CT technology continues to evolve and require protocol redesign. This work provides an example of how an infant-specific phantom is essential for leveraging this technology to maintain image quality while reducing radiation exposure. • A size-specific phantom is critical in protocol development for infant CT. • New reconstruction technology enables ~30 % dose reduction at equivalent image quality. • A consistent performance is observed for this scanner system across protocol changes. • A tradeoff exists between reducing exposure time and enabling tube current modulation.
Connection between interface corner and interfacial fracture analyses of an adhesively-bonded butt joint

Abstract Interfacial crack growth in a tensile-loaded, adhesively-bonded butt joint with rigid adherends is analyzed. First, the asymptotic, small-scale cracking solution for a short interfacial crack originating at a sharp interface corner is presented. Then the asymptotic, steady-state solution for a long interfacial crack is discussed. These asymptotic results are compared with full finite element solutions of a butt joint containing a 0.001 to 10 bond thickness long interfacial crack. Finally, the applicability of both interface corner and interfacial fracture mechanics approaches to failure analysis is discussed. The small-scale cracking solution indicates that when one can apply an interface corner failure analysis, one can also apply an interfacial fracture mechanics approach with a suitably chosen inherent flaw. Although the two methods are equivalent, it should be emphasized that the inherent flaw and corresponding toughness may have limited physical significance.
Model aggregation: a building-block approach to creating large macromolecular regulatory networks

Motivation: Models of regulatory networks become more difficult to construct and understand as they grow in size and complexity. Modelers naturally build large models from smaller components that each represent subsets of reactions within the larger network. To assist modelers in this process, we present model aggregation, which defines models in terms of components that are designed for the purpose of being combined. Results: We have implemented a model editor that incorporates model aggregation, and we suggest supporting extensions to the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML) Level 3. We illustrate aggregation with a model of the eukaryotic cell cycle ‘engine’ created from smaller pieces. Availability: Java implementations are available in the JigCell Aggregation Connector. See http://jigcell.biol.vt.edu. Contact: [email protected]
DNA loops generate intracentromere tension in mitosis

The centromere is the DNA locus that dictates kinetochore formation and is visibly apparent as heterochromatin that bridges sister kinetochores in metaphase. Sister centromeres are compacted and held together by cohesin, condensin, and topoisomerase-mediated entanglements until all sister chromosomes bi-orient along the spindle apparatus. The establishment of tension between sister chromatids is essential for quenching a checkpoint kinase signal generated from kinetochores lacking microtubule attachment or tension. How the centromere chromatin spring is organized and functions as a tensiometer is largely unexplored. We have discovered that centromere chromatin loops generate an extensional/poleward force sufficient to release nucleosomes proximal to the spindle axis. This study describes how the physical consequences of DNA looping directly underlie the biological mechanism for sister centromere separation and the spring-like properties of the centromere in mitosis.
pH-Dependent accumulation of indoleacetic acid by corn coleoptile sections

The uptake of auxin by 1-mm slices of corn (Zea mays L.) coleoptiles, a tissue known to transport auxin polarly, depends on the pH of the medium. Short-term uptake of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in coleoptiles increases with decreasing pH of the buffer as would be expected if the undissociated weak acid, IAA·H, were more permeable than the auxin anion, IAA-, and IAA- accumulates in the tissues because of the higher pH of the cytoplasm. Although uptake of [3H]IAA is reduced in neutral buffers, it is greater than expected if it were limited to just the extracellular space of the tissue. The radioactivity accumulated by the tissue can be quantitatively extracted by organic solvents and identified as IAA by thin-layer chromatography. The tissue radioactivity is freely mobile and can efflux from the tissue. Thus these cells in pH 5 buffer are able to retain an average internal concentration of mobile IAA that is at least several times greater than the external concentration. A prominent feature of auxin uptake from acidic buffers is enhanced accumulation at high auxin concentration. This indicates that, in addition to fluxes of IAA·H, a saturable site is involved in auxin uptake. Whenever the auxin-anion gradient is directed outward, saturating the efflux of auxin anions increases accumulation. Furthermore, the observed slowing of short-term uptake of radioactive IAA by increasing concentrations of IAA or K+ indicates either an activation of the presumptive auxin leak or saturation of another carrier-mediated uptake system such as a symport of auxin anions with protons. By contrast in neutral buffers, effects of concentration on uptake rates disappear. This implies that at neutral pH the anion leak is decreased and influx depends on the symport.
The Juvenile Corrections Interagency Transition Model: Moving Students from Institutions into Community Schools

Moving students from juvenile corrections institutions back to local public school programs seriously disrupts students' educational programs. Frequently, the schools and other public agencies have not been adequately prepared to place students in their program. The Juvenile Corrections Interagency Transition project developed, field-tested, and evaluated 56 strategies to help local schools and the Division of Juvenile Rehabilitation in Washington State coordinate planning as juveniles move from one school program to another. The model contains step-by-step procedures to address problems in four areas: interagency awareness, transfer of school records, preplacement planning before a juvenile leaves an institution, and placement maintenance and communication when a juvenile is released from an institution. Systematic planning for transition of juveniles resulted in more efficient transfer of records and increased awareness and cooperation among service providers.
Tendon Contraction After Cyclic Elongation Is an Age-Dependent Phenomenon: In Vitro and In Vivo Comparisons.

Background:Tendons are viscoelastic tissues that deform (elongate) in response to cyclic loading. However, the ability of a tendon to recover this elongation is unknown.Hypothesis:Tendon length significantly increases after in vivo or in vitro cyclic loading, and the ability to return to its original length through a cell-mediated contraction mechanism is an age-dependent phenomenon.Study Design:Controlled laboratory study.Methods:In vitro, rat tail tendon fascicles (RTTfs) from Sprague-Dawley rats of 3 age groups (1, 3, and 12 months) underwent 2% cyclic strain at 0.17 Hz for 2 hours, and the percentages of elongation were determined. After loading, the RTTfs were suspended for 3 days under tissue culture conditions and photographed daily to determine the amount of length contraction. In vivo, healthy male participants (n = 29; age, 19-49 years) had lateral, single-legged weightbearing radiographs taken of the knee at 60° of flexion immediately before, immediately after, and 24 hours after completing ecc...
Quality and quantity of data recovered from massively parallel sequencing: Examples in Asparagales and Poaceae

 Premise of the study: Genome survey sequences (GSS) from massively parallel sequencing have potential to provide large, cost-effective data sets for phylogenetic inference, replace single gene or spacer regions as DNA barcodes, and provide a plethora of data for other comparative molecular evolution studies. Here we report on the application of this method to estimating the molecular phylogeny of core Asparagales, investigating plastid gene losses, assembling complete plastid genomes, and determining the type and quality of assembled genomic data attainable from Illumina 80 – 120-bp reads.  Methods: We sequenced total genomic DNA from samples in two lineages of monocotyledonous plants, Poaceae and Asparagales, on the Illumina platform in a multiplex arrangement. We compared reference-based assemblies to de novo contigs, evaluated consistency of assemblies resulting from use of various references sequences, and assessed our methods to obtain sequence assemblies in nonmodel taxa.  Key results: Our method returned reliable, robust organellar and nrDNA sequences in a variety of plant lineages. High quality assemblies are not dependent on genome size, amount of plastid present in the total genomic DNA template, or relatedness of available reference sequences for assembly. Phylogenetic results revealed familial and subfamilial relationships within Asparagales with high bootstrap support, although placement of the monotypic genus Aphyllanthes was placed with moderate confi dence.  Conclusions: The well-supported molecular phylogeny provides evidence for delineation of subfamilies within core Asparagales. With advances in technology and bioinformatics tools, the use of massively parallel sequencing will continue to become easier and more affordable for phylogenomic and molecular evolutionary biology investigations.
Classical conditioning and celebrity endorsers: An examination of belongingness and resistance to extinction

Three studies attempt to better explain how celebrities are used effectively as conditioned stimuli in the associative learning process. Study 1 establishes that direct affect transfer can occur using celebrities via conditioning. Study 2 suggests that celebrity conditioning will be more effective when there is an appropriate fit (belongingness) between the celebrity and the product endorsed—also known as the match-up hypothesis. Finally, Study 3 examines whether attitudes toward brands paired with celebrities are resistant to efforts to extinguish them using extinction procedures. The findings suggest that conditioning with celebrities yields brand attitudes that are robust and enduring. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
MutL-catalyzed ATP Hydrolysis Is Required at a Post-UvrD Loading Step in Methyl-directed Mismatch Repair

Methyl-directed mismatch repair is a coordinated process that ensures replication fidelity and genome integrity by resolving base pair mismatches and insertion/deletion loops. This post-replicative event involves the activities of several proteins, many of which appear to be regulated by MutL. MutL interacts with and modulates the activities of MutS, MutH, UvrD, and perhaps other proteins. The purified protein catalyzes a slow ATP hydrolysis reaction that is essential for its role in mismatch repair. However, the role of the ATP hydrolysis reaction is not understood. We have begun to address this issue using two point mutants: MutL-E29A, which binds nucleotide but does not catalyze ATP hydrolysis, and MutL-D58A, which does not bind nucleotide. As expected, both mutants failed to complement the loss of MutL in genetic assays. Purified MutL-E29A protein interacted with MutS and stimulated the MutH-catalyzed nicking reaction in a mismatch-dependent manner. Importantly, MutL-E29A stimulated the loading of UvrD on model substrates. In fact, stimulation of UvrD-catalyzed unwinding was more robust with MutL-E29A than the wild-type protein. MutL-D58A, on the other hand, did not interact with MutS, stimulate MutH-catalyzed nicking, or stimulate the loading of UvrD. We conclude that ATP-bound MutL is required for the incision steps associated with mismatch repair and that ATP hydrolysis by MutL is required for a step in the mismatch repair pathway subsequent to the loading of UvrD and may serve to regulate helicase loading.
Tardive dysphoria: the role of long term antidepressant use in-inducing chronic depression.

Abstract Background Treatment-resistant and chronic depression appear to be increasing. The recent identification of antidepressant tachyphylaxis, the loss of antidepressant efficacy over time, is only a partial explanation. This is an emerging evidence that, in some individuals, persistent use of antidepressants may be prodepressant. Methods A literature search of PubMed utilizing the terms: antidepressant tachyphylaxis, treatment-resistant depression, chronic depression, and antidepressant tolerance was performed, and relevant articles were used. Results Depressed patients who ultimately become treatment resistant frequently have had a positive initial response to antidepressants and invariably have received these agents for prolonged time periods at high doses. Parallels between this course and tardive dyskinesia are noted. It is proposed that neuroplastic processes related to dendritic arborization may underlie the treatment resistant depression that occurs in the setting of chronic antidepressant use. Since the prodepressant effect is seen after prolonged antidepressant use, the term tardive dysphoria is proposed. Conclusions Tardive dysphoria, needs to be considered in studies of treatment resistant depression, and should be examined in blinded, randomized antidepressant discontinuation trials.
A Research Note On The Issue Of Non-Articulation And The Method Used To Calculate Net Operating Cash Flow

Using a proxy for nonarticulation, prior researchers found evidence that many companies using the indirect method of reporting net cash flow from operations have a significant level of nonarticulation. The purpose of this study is to determine if companies using the direct method of reporting net cash flow from operations experience significantly lower levels of nonarticulation than companies that use the indirect method of reporting net cash flow from operations. Results show that companies using the direct method have significantly less nonarticulation than companies using the indirect method. This finding suggests that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) should consider requiring companies to use the direct method of preparing the Statement of Cash Flows.
Online estimation of linear state-space parameters of the Generic Transport Model for a set of structural damage scenarios

This paper reports the results of online state-space parameter estimation for a nonlinear Generic Transport Model during changing operating conditions and a set of six damage scenarios including lost control surfaces. The motivation is to provide rapid and accurate model information for use in online assessment of the flight envelope. Providing this information to the pilot and control systems is critical for aircraft safety. The parameters are estimated based on a linearized aircraft model using the modified sequential least squares algorithm. An excitation signal is proposed to reduce linear dependencies among the data. Common tuning mechanisms are discussed to improve parameter estimation during upset conditions.
Scheduling Straight-Line Code Using Reinforcement Learning and Rollouts

The execution order of a block of computer instructions can make a difference in its running time by a factor of two or more. In order to achieve the best possible speed, compilers use heuristic schedulers appropriate to each specific architecture implementation. However, these heuristic schedulers are time-consuming and expensive to build. In this paper, we present results using both rollouts and reinforcement learning to construct heuristics for scheduling basic blocks. The rollout scheduler outperformed a commercial scheduler, and the reinforcement learning scheduler performed almost as well as the commercial scheduler.
Population Size Estimation with Truncated Data: A Survey

We review the literature for the problem of estimating the size, N, of a finite population. Each member of the population has associated with it a value of a random variable X, and X 1, …, X N are independent and identically distributed with density f(x;θ), θ being unknown. Only those members of the population with X-values in some restricted subset R of the sample space can be observed. The problems discussed here are more closely related to truncated sampling than to traditional population size estimation.
Renal cortical tumors. Cytogenetic characterization.

The authors examined three cortical tumors (adenomas) of the kidney and found a consistent chromosome pattern. A combination of chromosome abnormalities (+.7, +7, +17, −Y) was shared by these tumors. In contrast, none of them showed alterations of chromosome 3p and 5q, the most common changes in renal cell carcinomas. The chromosome abnormalities in these patients may define a subgroup of renal tumors, so-called adenomas, that cannot be distinguished easily from adenocarcinomas in histopathologic examination.
Geophysical imaging reveals topographic stress control of bedrock weathering

Bedrock fracture systems facilitate weathering, allowing fresh mineral surfaces to interact with corrosive waters and biota from Earth’s surface, while simultaneously promoting drainage of chemically equilibrated fluids. We show that topographic perturbations to regional stress fields explain bedrock fracture distributions, as revealed by seismic velocity and electrical resistivity surveys from three landscapes. The base of the fracture-rich zone mirrors surface topography where the ratio of horizontal compressive tectonic stresses to near-surface gravitational stresses is relatively large, and it parallels the surface topography where the ratio is relatively small. Three-dimensional stress calculations predict these results, suggesting that tectonic stresses interact with topography to influence bedrock disaggregation, groundwater flow, chemical weathering, and the depth of the “critical zone” in which many biogeochemical processes occur.
Influence of HLA AB and DR antigen matching in transfused cadaver renal transplant patients.

This is a retrospective analysis of the results of HLA AB and DR antigen matching in 56 transfused cadaver transplant patients. Maintenance immunosuppression in these patients comprised Imuran, prednisone, and an initial two-week course of ALG. Matching for HLA AB or DR antigens alone failed to yield subgroups with significant differences in graft outcome. However, with combined HLA AB and DR matching criteria, a subgroup of 0 DR,
Ectoparasitic Fly Camus hemapterus (Diptera: Carnidae) in a Nesting Population of Common Barn-Owls (Strigiformes: Tytonidae)

As part of a comprehensive study of the common barn-owl (Tyto alba Scopoli) in southwestern New Jersey, we captured and examined owls for ectoparasites during the May–July nesting seasons of 1986 and 1987. We examined 179 young ( 5 wk old) and adult owls appeared to be relatively free of flies, infestation of downy nestlings by C. hemapterus was common.
Targeting Protein Kinase Substrate Docking in Cancers

Copyright: © 2014 Padmanabhan A. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Cancers are characterized by uncontrolled cell growth, increased cell survival, remodeling of tumor microenvironment, neovascularization, invasion and metastasis. Each of these processes involves perturbation of key regulatory pathways. Disruption of these pathways is often caused by mutations and modifications in proteins that occupy hub positions, resulting in either disruption of their function or aberrant activation. Protein kinases are an excellent example of a class of enzymes whose activity if often found to be deregulated in diseases including cancers [1,2]. Protein kinases mediate the covalent addition of phosphate group to amino acid side chains in proteins thereby modifying them post-translationally. The hydroxyl groups of serine, threonine, tyrosine or histidine amino acid side chains are the most common phosphoacceptor sites on proteins. Reversible protein phosphorylation plays an important role in essentially every aspect of life including cellular processes that mediate metabolism, cell cycle progression, proliferation, apoptosis, differentiation, cytoskeletal dynamics, cell migration, immune response, and intracellular transport.
12 PROGNOSTIC VALUE OF SERUM SODIUM CONCENTRATION AND MODEL FOR END-STAGE LIVER DISEASE IN PATIENTS ON THE LIVER TRANSPLANTATION WAITING LIST

Background/Aim Model for end stage liver disease (MELD), an accurate predictor of survival in patients with end stage liver disease (ESLD), has been used to prioritize livers for transplantation (OLT). Hyponatremia, a common complication of ESLD, is also considered a poor prognostic indicator. However, there are few data on how much prognostic value serum sodium (Na+) adds to MELD in predicting survival among patients with ESLD awaiting OLT. We assess the prognostic value of Na+ in conjunction with MELD in predicting survival among patients awaiting OLT. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of a prospective cohort consisting of all adult patients with ESLD registered on the waiting list at our institution from the preMELD era (1990-1999). Acute liver disease and hepatic malignancies were excluded. Laboratory data at the time of listing for OLT were obtained from a computerized laboratory database. The outcome of interest was death on the waiting list within 30, 60, and 90-days of listing. Odds ratios (OR) and receiver operator characteristic curves (ROC) were generated using multivariate logistic regression. Additionally, these same data were also analyzed using Cox regression competing risks. Results 861 patients met inclusion criteria with mean age of 50 (SD = 10) of whom 55% were male. Median MELD at listing was 15 (interquartile range, IQR: 11-19). Median Na+ was 137 mEq/L (IQR: 134-140). Using logistic regression, MELD was significantly associated with increased mortality on the waiting list at 30 and 90-days, OR = 1.15 and 1.23, respectively (p Conclusion In a simple alive/dead analysis (logistic regression), serum Na+ does not appear to add a measurable gain to the prognostic value of MELD. However, in a more appropriate competing risk analysis, serum Na+ is a significant predictor of death in patients awaiting liver transplantation. Therefore, the addition of sodium to MELD in this group of patients may help optimize allocation.
Computational Calorimetry: High-Precision Calculation of Host–Guest Binding Thermodynamics

We present a strategy for carrying out high-precision calculations of binding free energy and binding enthalpy values from molecular dynamics simulations with explicit solvent. The approach is used to calculate the thermodynamic profiles for binding of nine small molecule guests to either the cucurbit[7]uril (CB7) or β-cyclodextrin (βCD) host. For these systems, calculations using commodity hardware can yield binding free energy and binding enthalpy values with a precision of ∼0.5 kcal/mol (95% CI) in a matter of days. Crucially, the self-consistency of the approach is established by calculating the binding enthalpy directly, via end point potential energy calculations, and indirectly, via the temperature dependence of the binding free energy, i.e., by the van’t Hoff equation. Excellent agreement between the direct and van’t Hoff methods is demonstrated for both host–guest systems and an ion-pair model system for which particularly well-converged results are attainable. Additionally, we find that hydrogen...
Adenosine cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate in fetal rat brain cell cultures. I. Effect of catecholamines.

The effects of various neurohormones and other chemical agents on intracellular levels of adenosine cyclic 39,59-monophosphate were evaluated in surface cultures of fetal rat brain cells. Treatment of cells with dopamine, prostaglandin F2α ,5-hydroxytryptamine, or KCl was without effect on cyclic AMP levels. Increases were found following exposure to adenosine, prostaglandin E1 , norepinephrine, or isoproterenol. The catecholamines were considerably more effective than the other compounds, causing up to a 100-fold increase in cyclic AMP content. This maximal response was not affected by 1 mM theophylline, was blocked by the beta adrenergic antagonists sotalol and dichloroisoproterenol, and was maximal after 5-15 min of exposure of the cells to the catecholamine. The response to isoproterenol developed during culture; its magnitude increased to a maximum after about 14 days in culture.
Melorheostosis mimicking synovial osteochondromatosis

Melorheostosis is an uncommon, sporadic, sclerosing bone lesion that may affect the adjacent soft tissues. It has been associated with many entities such as osteopoikilosis, soft tissue vascular malformations, bone and soft tissue tumors, nephrotic syndrome, segmental limb contractures, osteosarcoma, desmoid tumor, and mesenteric fibromatosis. Synovial osteochondromatosis is a benign neoplasia of the hyaline cartilage presenting as nodules in the subsynovial tissue of a joint or tendon sheath. The intra-articular extension of melorheostosis mimicking synovial osteochondromatosis has not been reported before. In this article, the authors describe an unusual case mimicking synovial chondromatosis arising as a result of melorheostosis and their characteristic imaging findings.
Baseball 100 Years Ago

(1939). Baseball 100 Years Ago. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 10, No. 5, pp. 278-313.
When States Come Out: Europe's Sexual Minorities and the Politics of Visibility

In the last two decades, the LGBT movement has gained momentum that is arguably unprecedented in speed and suddenness when compared to other human rights movements. This book investigates the recent history of this transnational movement in Europe, focusing on the diffusion of the norms it champions and the overarching question of why, despite similar international pressures, the trajectories of socio-legal recognition for LGBT minorities are so different across states. The book makes the case that a politics of visibility has engendered the interactions between movements and states that empower marginalized people - mobilizing actors to demand change, influencing the spread of new legal standards, and weaving new ideas into the fabrics of societies. It documents how this process of 'coming out' empowers marginalized social groups by moving them to the center of political debate and public recognition and making it possible for them to obtain rights to which they have due claim.
NATO Burden-sharing: Rules or Reality?

In 1978 and again in 1985, the NATO ministers pledged to increase their real military expenditures by 3 per cent per year. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that fixed-percentage pledges of this kind are unworkable policies since they do not account for an ally’s income cycles, its incentive to rely (or to free ride) on other allies’ military expenditures, or an ally’s contingencies or future threats. A secondary, but related, purpose here is to re-examine what the true determinants of defence burdens are. To accomplish this task, we formulate a reduced-form demand equation for an ally’s defence expenditures, and then present ordinary-least-squares estimates of this equation for nine NATO allies. The estimated coefficients of these equations are used to forecast real growth in defence expenditures. These predicted growth rates are in significant contrast with the fixed 3-per-cent pledges. Except for the USA, no ally is predicted to come near to their agreed-upon pledges.
Symptomatic care in primary progressive multiple sclerosis

A 60-year-old woman with a long-standing history of primary progressive multiple sclerosis (PPMS) presented for further evaluation of ongoing lower extremity pain. The patient was diagnosed with PPMS 7 years ago after she presented to a neurologist with progressive gait decline and falls. Her initial work-up revealed findings typical for PPMS, including multifocal demyelinating lesions on MRI (spine more than brain) and an elevated immunoglobulin G (IgG) index within her cerebrospinal fluid. Over the last couple of years, the patient developed an uncomfortable burning sensation in her feet circumferentially. This discomfort is worse at night and does not respond to ibuprofen or acetaminophen. Her foot pain will often prevent her from walking long distances and has become more constant. She no longer attends weekly bingo with her friends and rarely leaves her house in order to limit amplification of her pain.
Dreaming Big: Comments on Kelly Bulkeley’s Big Dreams

This paper describes some of the strengths and contributions to the field of religious studies of Kelley Bulkeley’s book Big Dreams. It concludes by raising some issues that could be further elaborated.
Physical Activity Interventions for Children with Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Disabilities-A Systematic Review.

Objective Perform a systematic review of the available literature regarding the effectiveness of exercise interventions on children with any type of social, emotional, or behavioral disability (SEBD), with attention to a range of physiological, behavioral, and mood outcomes. Methods Six databases were searched using a systematic methodology. References of included studies, as well as relevant reviews, were also examined. The review was limited to studies published since 2000 reporting a quantitative analysis of the effects of a physical activity (PA) intervention on at least 1 behavioral, psychological, or cognitive outcome in children aged 21 and under, diagnosed with a SEBD. Only studies with a control group were included. Results We identified 24 eligible studies. Studies varied in design, participant characteristics, and intervention characteristics (single-bout vs repeated exposure, duration, intensity level, mode of exercise). Of the 20 behavioral outcome assessments, there was 1 negative finding, 12 null findings, 5 positive findings, and 2 mixed findings. For the 25 executive functioning outcome assessments, there were 5 null findings, 18 positive findings, and 2 mixed findings. For the remaining outcome domains, 1 of 2 studies looking at academic performance, 3 of 6 studies looking at objective neurological measures, and 1 of 3 studies looking at affect outcomes found positive results. All other results were null or mixed. Conclusion Although additional research is warranted to further understand the mechanisms by which PA affects behavioral and cognitive outcome measures in children with SEBDs, PA offers a safe and alternative form of treatment for this population.
A perspective on the impact of radiation therapy on the immune rheostat

The advent and success of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) in cancer treatment has broadened the spectrum of tumours that might be considered "immunogenic" and susceptible to immunotherapeutic (IT) intervention. Not all cancer types are sensitive, and not all patients with any given type respond. Combination treatment of ICIs with an established cytotoxic modality such as radiation therapy (RT) is a logical step towards improvement. For one, RT alone has been shown to be genuinely immunomodulatory and secondly pre-clinical data generally support combined ICI-RT approaches. This new integrated therapy for cancer treatment holds much promise, although there is still a lot to be learned about how best to schedule the treatments, manage the toxicities and determine what biomarkers might predict response, as well as many other issues. This review examines how RT alters the immune rheostat and how it might best be positioned to fully exploit IT.
Advances in multi-dimensional coherent spectroscopy of semiconductor nanostructures.

AbstractMulti-dimensional coherent spectroscopy (MDCS) has become an extremely versatile and sensitive technique for elucidating the structure, composition, and dynamics of condensed matter, atomic, and molecular systems. The appeal of MDCS lies in its ability to resolve both individual-emitter and ensemble-averaged dynamics of optically created excitations in disordered systems. When applied to semiconductors, MDCS enables unambiguous separation of homogeneous and inhomogeneous contributions to the optical linewidth, pinpoints the nature of coupling between resonances, and reveals signatures of many-body interactions. In this review, we discuss the implementation of MDCS to measure the nonlinear optical response of excitonic transitions in semiconductor nanostructures. Capabilities of the technique are illustrated with recent experimental studies that advance our understanding of optical decoherence and dissipation, energy transfer, and many-body phenomena in quantum dots and quantum wells, semiconductor...
What’s theoretically novel about emerging-market multinationals?

We review the classic theory of the MNE and past attempts to use it to understand the internationalization of firms from emerging markets. We offer two criteria to determine whether EMNEs modify classic theory or not: (1) establishing appropriate theoretical reference points, and (2) distinguishing between theoretical constructs and empirical variables. We suggest that the literature can benefit from moving beyond comparing EMNEs to DMNEs and focusing instead on more fruitful issues. Specifically, emerging markets offer the opportunity to observe the origin of the capabilities of MNEs in general and the development of the institutional ecosystem that supports internationalization.
Biogenic coal-to-methane conversion efficiency decreases after repeated organic amendment

Addition of organic amendments to coal-containing systems can increase the rate and extent of biogenic methane production for 60–80 days before production slows or stops. Understanding the effect of repeated amendment additions on the rate and extent of enhanced coal-dependent methane production is important if biological coal-to-methane conversion is to be enhanced on a commercial scale. Microalgal biomass was added at a concentration of 0.1 g/L to microcosms with and without coal on days 0, 76, and 117. Rates of methane production were enhanced after the initial amendment but coal-containing treatments produced successively decreasing amounts of methane with each amendment. During the first amendment period, 113% of carbon added as amendment was recovered as methane, whereas in the second and third amendment periods, 39% and 32% of carbon added as amendment was recovered as methane, respectively. Additionally, algae-amended coal treatments produced ∼38% more methane than unamended coal treatments and ∼1...
Swelling of fiber-reinforced soft tissues is affected by fiber orientation, fiber stiffness, and lamella structure.

Native and engineered fiber-reinforced tissues are composites comprised of stiff collagen fibers embedded within an extrafibrillar matrix that is capable of swelling by absorbing water molecules. Tissue swelling is important for understanding stress distributions between collagen fibers and extrafibrillar matrix, as well as for understanding mechanisms of tissue failure. The swelling behavior of fiber-reinforced tissues in the musculoskeletal system has been largely attributed to the glycosaminoglycan content. Recent work demonstrated anisotropy in the swelling response of the annulus fibrosus in the intervertebral disc. It is well known that collagen fiber orientation affects elastic behavior, but the effect of collagen fiber network on tissue swelling behavior is not well understood. In this study, we developed three series of models to evaluate the effect of collagen fiber orientation, fiber network architecture (i.e., single or multi-fiber families within a layer), and fiber stiffness on bulk tissue swelling, which was simulated by describing the extrafibrillar matrix as a triphasic material, as proposed by Lai et al. Model results were within one standard deviation of reported mean values for changes in tissue volume, width, and thickness under free swelling conditions. The predicted swelling response of single-fiber family structures was highly dependent on fiber orientation and the number of lamellae in the bulk tissue. Moreover, matrix swelling resulted in tissue to twist, which reduced fiber deformations, demonstrating a balance between fiber deformation and matrix swelling. Large changes in fiber stiffness (20 × increase) had a relatively small effect on tissue swelling (~ 2% decrease in swelling). In conclusion, fiber angle, fiber architecture (defined as single- versus multiple fiber families in a layer), and the number of layers in a single fiber family structure directly affected tissue swelling behavior, including fiber stretch, fiber reorientation, and tissue deformation. These findings support the need to develop computational models that closely mimic the native architecture in order to understand mechanisms of stress distributions and tissue failure.
Current Concepts and Treatment Strategies for Genitourinary Fistulas

Vesicovaginal fistulae are epithelialized or fibrous communications between the bladder and vagina. VVF are...
Teaching 'Trump Feminists'

This article takes up the question of how to develop effective strategies for engaging conservative students who feel under attack in feminist classrooms. Every semester I teach a Women’s Studies course that introduces students to the history and breadth of contemporary feminist social movements, with a focus on feminist struggles that center anti-racist, queer, and economic justice analytical frameworks. As a general education course, listed in the university course catalog under the rather generic title of “Introduction to Women’s Movements,” this class attracts students with a range of political perspectives from a variety of academic majors. While the majority of the students tend to enter the class with relatively liberal analyses of gender and racial oppression, a significant minority of students have more conservative views. Dealing with resistant and conservative students in women and gender studies is not a new phenomenon, especially in my position teaching at a regional comprehensive public university in northern California. While the university administration is supportive of students of color and undocumented students, it is also heavily invested in discourses of civility and ‘free speech.’ The recent election cycle and the current Trump presidency have empowered the more conservative students in my classes to mobilize this language to claim that they feel ‘unsafe’ in class and on campus. The appropriation of feminist and queer discourses of ‘safe space’ by students on the right to position themselves as being under attack and vulnerable presents a series of pedagogical challenges. I challenge explicit racist, misogynist, homophobic, and transphobic comments in class and my course readings rigorously challenge these forms of bias. Personally and politically I am committed to making sure that my students who are actually under threat – undocumented students, students of color, queer and trans students – are receiving the support that they need. However, I am also invested in challenging all of my students and trying to make my classrooms into spaces of transformational learning. I explore the question of dissent in feminist classrooms through the problem of conservative students who deploy rhetorics of safety in ways that flatten out power relations and systemic oppression. How to respond to students who proudly proclaim they voted for Trump and consider themselves feminists, or to students who tearfully confess they feel unsafe on campus because of their political views? What pedagogical strategies actively engage conservative students rather than silence and alienate them? How can instructors problematize the notion of ‘safety’ for conservative students to help them develop more critical understandings of structural violence and precarity?
Reconnecting Modern Economics with Its Classical Origins: Discovering Adam Smith

Quite distinct from the two kinds of markets studied in laboratory and field was the large experimental literature on two-person extensive form games, particularly, “trust” and “ultimatum” games demonstrating the massive failure of self-interested utility maximizing choice to predict and enable understanding of the highly replicable findings in these experiments. My co-authors and I struggled to explain, understand, and reformulate human choice theory in this new environment. The vast majority of scholars took the “social preference” route in which the maximized utility function included both own and other outcome payoffs. To me that could not be right and was challenged by early test experiments. The reciprocity route we took seemed better but as we discovered, was too circular—flawed at its roots in failing to do anything beyond giving a name to the pattern of observations. The insight came from a fundamental discovery: Adam Smith’s first, largely obscure book, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, elegantly and masterfully modeled human sociability governed and disciplined by rule-following conduct. We get along with our neighbors and friends by developing an acute sensitivity to the gratitude they feel when we intentionally act to do good things for them. They resent our deliberately hurtful actions toward them and feel that we deserve punishment in response. To judge benefit and hurt, however, Smith relied on common knowledge that all were “self-loving.” Crisply stated propositions in this coherent model make plain what accounts for both cooperative and non-cooperative play in these games. A big scientific bonus is that the propositions make possible new experimental designs and predictions.
Elucidating the Chemical Dynamics of the Elementary Reactions of the 1-Propynyl Radical (CH3CC; X2A1) with Methylacetylene (H3CCCH; X1A1) and Allene (H2CCCH2; X1A1)

The reactions of the 1-propynyl radical (CH3CC; X2A1) with two C3H4 isomers, methylacetylene (H3CCCH; X1A1) and allene (H2CCCH2; X1A1), along with their (partially) deuterated counterparts were explored at collision energies of 37 kJ mol-1, exploiting crossed molecular beams to unravel the chemical reaction dynamics to synthesize distinct C6H6 isomers under single collision conditions. The forward convolution fitting of the laboratory data along with ab initio and statistical calculations revealed that both reactions have no entrance barrier, proceed via indirect (complex-forming) reaction dynamics involving C6H7 intermediates with life times longer than their rotation period(s), and are initiated by the addition of the 1-propynyl radical with its radical center to the π-electron density of the unsaturated hydrocarbon at the terminal carbon atoms of methylacetylene (C1) and allene (C1/C3). In the methylacetylene system, the initial collision complexes undergo unimolecular decomposition via tight exit transition states by atomic hydrogen loss, forming dimethyldiacetylene (CH3CCCCCH3) and 1-propynylallene (H3CCCHCCCH2) in overall exoergic reactions (123 and 98 kJ mol-1) with a branching ratio of 9.4 ± 0.1; the methyl group of the 1-propynyl reactant acts solely as a spectator. On the other hand, in the allene system, our experimental data exhibit the formation of the fulvene (c-C5H4CH2) isomer via a six-step reaction sequence with two higher energy isomers-hexa-1,2-dien-4-yne (H2CCCHCCCH3) and hexa-1,4-diyne (HCCCH2CCCH3)-also predicted to be formed based on our statistical calculations. The pathway to fulvene advocates that, in the allene-1-propynyl system, the methyl group of the 1-propynyl reactant is actively engaged in the reaction mechanism to form fulvene. Because both reactions are barrierless and exoergic and all transition states are located below the energy of the separated reactants, the hydrogen-deficient C6H6 isomers identified in our investigation are predicted to be synthesized in low-temperature environments, such as in hydrocarbon-rich atmospheres of planets and their moons such as Titan along with cold molecular clouds such as Taurus Molecular Cloud-1.
Effect of iFISH defined 1q21 amplification/gain in multiple myeloma patients treated on total therapy protocols.

8023Background: The amplification of the proximal 1q21 region has been reported by interphase FISH (iFISH) in about 40% of newly diagnosed patients, and in 70% of MM patients at relapse. We hereby ...