cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanisms and explanatory realization relations

My topic is the confluence of two recently active philosophical research programs. One research program concerns the metaphysics of realization. The other research program concerns scientific explanation in terms of mechanisms. In this paper I introduce a distinction between descriptive and explanatory approaches to realization. I then use this distinction to argue that a well-known account of realization, due to Carl Gillett, is incompatible with a well-known account of mechanistic explanation, due to Peter Machamer, Lindley Darden, and Carl Craver (MDC, Philos Sci 57:1–25, 2000). This is surprising, not least of which because Gillett has cited MDC’s work as evidence that his account of realization is the right way to think about realization in the sciences.
CyberGIS for data-intensive knowledge discovery

CyberGIS is an interdisciplinary field combining advanced cyberinfrastructure, geographic information science and systems (GIS), spatial analysis and modeling, and a number of geospatial domains to improve research productivity and enable scientific breakthroughs. It has emerged as a new-generation GIS that enables synergistic advances in data-driven knowledge discovery, visualization and visual analytics, and collaborative problem solving and decision making. This paper describes a cutting-edge cyberGIS software environment from a system perspective. Two case studies focus on elucidating BioScope: a data-driven and computationally intensive cyberGIS application for bioenergy supply chain optimization, and MovePattern: interactive and multi-scale visual analytics for complex and massive movement data extracted from the Twitter steaming application programming interfaces. These studies demonstrate widely accessible capabilities of cyberGIS for resolving the variety, velocity, and volume of spatial big data to enable unprecedented data-intensive knowledge discovery.
Paleoclimatic significance of Late Cenozoic paleosols east of Waterton—Glacier Parks, Alberta and Montana

Abstract Stratigraphy and inferred genesis of pre-Wisconsinan paleosols east of Waterton—Glacier Parks provide information on the timing and magnitude of late Tertiary-Quaternary climate changes. Highly weathered relict and buried paleosols in superposed late Tertiary-Quaternary tills and diamicts on (Upper Miocene-Pliocene) Flaxville Bench remnants record at least five, and up to ten, soil forming episodes (inferred interglacials) separating at least five pre-Wisconsinan glacial and possibly pre-glacial depositional events. Similar paleosols occur at the surface in outwash/alluvium on Flaxville and Number 2 (early Pleistocene) and Number 3 (middle and late Pleistocene) Benches. The paleosols are clearly not in equilibrium with the present environment. Rather, they resemble fersiallitic soils (Paleudalfs, Paleustalfs, Paleudolls) which occur in more southerly latitudes in warmer, wetter, and more equable climates. Thus, properties of the paleosols suggest they formed under mean annual temperatures (MATs) and precipitation (MAP) at least 6–8°C and 40 cm higher than present, respectively. Paleobiological and pedological evidence from Eurasia and North America, marine records, sea level reconstructions, and climatological models suggest similar and even greater climatic fluctuations occurred in other middle and high latitude continental regions.
“Some more” notes, toward a “third” sophistic

Historians of rhetoric refer to two Sophistics, one in the 5th century B.C. and another c. 2nd century A.D. Besides these two, there is a 3rd Sophistic, but it is not necessarily sequential. (The 3rd is “counter” to counting sequentially.) Whereas the representative Sophists of the 1st Sophistic is Protagoras, and the second, Aeschines, the representative sophists of the 3rd are Gorgias (as proto-Third) and Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Francois Lyotard, Michel Foucault, Jacques Lacan, and Paul de Man. To distinguish between and among Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and then Protagoras, Gorgias, and Lacan, the author determines how far each of these personages can “count.” The model of counting, used semiotically across the topoi of “possible/impossible,” is that of the people of New Guinea: “one thing, two things, many things.” It is determined (generally) that the philosophers, including Aristotle, count to “one”; the Sophists to “two”; and Gorgias, Lacan, and Lyotard, et al. count to “many things,” thereby breaking up a monism or binarism. The ancient philosophers employ a substratum of probability to hold together the contraries of “possible/impossible”; the Sophists employ anti/logic, which keeps the contraries/antitheses separate and therefore without synthesis, but which eventually threatens the integrity of the substratum, or the law of non-contradiction; and Gorgias, Lacan, Lyotard et al. theorize about the “impossibility”/“Resistance” of the Logos (reason, logic, law, argumentation, history) to Theory/Totalization, because of the Gorgian Kairos and the Lacanian Real — both of which enter the Logos and break up the cycle of the antitheses and create “something new, irrational” (Untersteiner). This “breaking up” has a negative/positive influence on Protagoras's “man-measure doctrine,” which in turn has a similar influence on “the problem of the ethical subject.” The subject/agent not only no longer “knows” (by way of Logos) but also no longer “acts” (as independent agent); the subject becomes a function of Logos as determined by Kairos/Real; it moves from a hypotaxis/syntaxis of “one” and “two” to a radical parataxis/paralogy of “some more.” From the “Impossibility”/“tragedy” of knowledge, however, comes the “Possible,” or “Possibilisms,” which allows for the new (though divided) ethical subject to reclaim its position as “individual.” Such a reclamation of the subject, however, has a profound effect on argumentation, and especially the notion of “consensus.” What is wanted, then, in a Third Sophistic “ethical” — as opposed to a “political” — rhetoric is “dissensus” through radical parataxes and paralogies.
The effects of an anabolic agent on body composition and pulmonary function in tetraplegia: a pilot study.

Prospective repeated-measures longitudinal study. To determine if an 8-week course of an oral anabolic steroid can positively effect body composition or pulmonary function in healthy individuals with chronic tetraplegia. United States. Oxandrolone (20 mg per day) was administered for 8 weeks to 10 men with motor complete tetraplegia. Dual X-ray absorptiometry scans, pulmonary function tests (PFTs), serum lipids and liver function tests (LFTs) were obtained at baseline, 4, 8, 12 and 20 weeks. To analyze change over time, a repeated measures General Linear Model and nonparametric tests were utilized. Following treatment, total lean body mass (LBM) increased 1.9% and LBM of the arms increased 5.4%. Total body fat decreased 1.5%, and increased 3.9% in the arms and, on average, combined measures of PFTs improved 2.2%. High-density lipoprotein cholesterol decreased 31.8%, low density lipoprotein cholesterol increased 41.2%, and LFTs increased 9.7–65.6% while on therapy but all trended to baseline at 20 weeks. Baseline body composition was characterized by a high proportion of fat and a body mass index that underestimated chronic disease risk. Treatment with oxandrolone was associated with modest improvements in PFTs and in arm and total body LBM. Unfavorable changes in serum lipids and LFTs indicate that reported benefits of using oxandrolone in this population must be carefully weighed against potential adverse effects.
Promoting Resilience in Youth From Divorced Families: Lessons Learned From Experimental Trials of the New Beginnings Program

This article focuses on the contributions that the program of research on the New Beginnings Program (NBP) has made to understanding pathways to resilience in youth who experience parental divorce. First, the research demonstrating that divorce increases risk for mental health, physical health, and social adaptation problems is reviewed. Next, theory and research linking social environmental-level and youth-level modifiable risk factors and resilience resources to youth's postdivorce adjustment are presented. The conceptual framework underlying the NBP and the risk factors and resilience resources targeted in this program are described next. The short-term and long-term results of two experimental, randomized efficacy trials of the NBP and moderators and mediators of its effects are then presented. Analyses that examine whether youth self-systems beliefs account for the links between program-induced changes in family-level resilience resources and positive long-term program on adaptation outcomes are presented and how experimental trials can be used to further theories of resilience for youth facing adversities is discussed. The final section describes directions for future research on the NBP.
Electron dynamics of the buffer layer and bilayer graphene on SiC

Angle- and time-resolved two-photon photoemission (TPPE) was used to investigate electronic states in the buffer layer of 4H-SiC(0001). An image potential state (IPS) series was observed on this strongly surface-bound buffer layer, and dispersion measurements indicated free-electron-like behavior for all states in this series. These results were compared with TPPE taken on bilayer graphene, which also show the existence of a free-electron-like IPS series. Lifetimes for the n = 2, and n = 3 states were obtained from time-resolved TPPE; slightly increased lifetimes were observed in the bilayer graphene sample for the n = 2 the n = 3 states. Despite the large band gap of graphene at the center of the Brillouin zone, the lifetime results demonstrate that the graphene layers do not behave as a simple tunneling barrier, suggesting that the buffer layer and graphene overlayers play a direct role in the decay of IPS electrons.
Strategic marketing fit in manufacturer-retailer relationships: Price leaders versus merchandise differentiators

Abstract The traditional channels paradigm suggests increasing one 's relative power within the manufacturer/ retailer dyad. Manufacturers should focus instead on increasing total marketplace power of their dyads against other manufacturer/retailer dyads. Retailers and manufacturers are interdependent, and can compete best by harnessing the interdependence. We propose and test a model of manufacturerretailer relationships based on interdependence, called the Strategic Marketing Fit (SMF) model. Our study confirms the relationships hypothesized in the SMF model. Retailers pursuing merchandise differentiation retail strategies are better partners than retailers pursuing price leadership strategies
Giant magnetoresistance and Co-cluster structure in phase-separated Co-Cu granular alloys.

We examine the effect of Co-cluster morphology on giant magnetoresistance (MR) in phase-separated Co-Cu films. The Co clusters were characterized through grazing incidence, anomalous, small-angle x-ray scattering. With thermal annealing the Co cluster diameter increases from 21 to \ensuremath{\sim}250 \AA{} with a concomitant drop from \ensuremath{\sim}35% to 1% in the 4.2 K MR. The MR scales approximately as the inverse cluster size. Comparison with theory indicates that interfacial spin-dependent electron scattering is the dominant scattering mechanism underlying giant MR for cluster diameters up to at least 250 \AA{}.
Vibrational and electronic spectra of matrix-isolated tetracene cations

Abstract The electronic and vibrational spectra of tetracene cations, generated by vapor-phase electron bombardment and deposited in an argon matrix, have been recorded. Integrated intensities of the infrared bands of neutral and cationic tetracene compare well with a recent density functional calculation by Langhoff. As observed in previous studies of PAH ions, the intense neutral out-of-plane CH bends decrease drastically in the cation, while the very weak neutral in-plane CC stretches and CH bends gain dramatically upon ionization. The possible contribution of tetracene cations and neutrals to the ‘unidentified interstellar infrared’ bands is discussed.
The axolotl limb blastema: cellular and molecular mechanisms driving blastema formation and limb regeneration in tetrapods

The axolotl is one of the few tetrapods that are capable of regenerating complicated biological structures, such as complete limbs, throughout adulthood. Upon injury the axolotl generates a population of regeneration-competent limb progenitor cells known as the blastema, which will grow, establish pattern, and differentiate into the missing limb structures. In this review we focus on the crucial early events that occur during wound healing, the neural-epithelial interactions that drive the formation of the early blastema, and how these mechanisms differ from those of other species that have restricted regenerative potential, such as humans. We also discuss how the presence of cells from the different axes of the limb is required for the continued growth and establishment of pattern in the blastema as described in the polar coordinate model, and how this positional information is reprogrammed in blastema cells during regeneration. Multiple cell types from the mature limb stump contribute to the blastema at different stages of regeneration, and we discuss the contribution of these types to the regenerate with reference to whether they are "pattern-forming" or "pattern-following" cells. Lastly, we explain how an engineering approach will help resolve unanswered questions in limb regeneration, with the goal of translating these concepts to developing better human regenerative therapies.
The Test Anxiety Measure for Adolescents (TAMA): Examination of the Reliability and Validity of the Scores of a New Multidimensional Measure of Test Anxiety for Middle and High School Students

A new multidimensional measure of test anxiety, the Test Anxiety Measure for Adolescents (TAMA), specifically designed for U.S. adolescents in Grades 6 to 12 was developed and its psychometric prop...
Exact calculation of the multivariable structured-singular-value stability margin

The extraordinary and little known nonconvex non-linear program solving algorithm of Garcia and Zangwill (G-Z) [8-11] is shown to be suitable for exactly computing the stability margin of diagonally perturbed multivariable feedback systems, even when the number of perturbations exceeds the number three.
College students’ apparel shopping orientation and brand/product preferences

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to provide detailed information about the shopping behaviors and brand/product preferences of college students. To accomplish this purpose the following objectives were proposed: to identify college student segments’ underlying clothing shopping orientations; to profile these consumers by demographics and brand/product preferences; and to use apparel expenditures to further characterize the market segments.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of college students at a major university was conducted. After adopting the listwise deletion method, 185 useable questionnaires were available for analysis. For data analysis, descriptive statistics, K‐means cluster analysis, Chi‐square, ANOVA, and Dunnett T3 tests were employed. Results showed that three segments were identified (i.e. apathetic price‐forward shoppers, hedonic fashion‐forward shoppers, involved price‐forward shoppers), and the three hypotheses were supported.Findings – The paper shows that the three segments ...
Video segmentation and occlusion detection over multiple frames

Spatial segmentation of image sequences is usually performed based on motion between two frames, and then followed by tracking. Some recent approaches extend this to joint segmentation in space-time; the resulting 3-D segmentation (in x-y-t space) can be interpreted as a volume 'carved out by a moving object in the image sequence domain. We call such volumes 'object tunnels'. In this paper, we propose a new approach to occlusion analysis and characterization that is based on object tunnels. It results from the observation that object-tunnel wall for a fully visible object has different shape than that for an object undergoing occlusion or exposure. Walls of tunnels associated with moving objects have tangent planes that are, in general, non-parallel to the time axis. When an object gets occluded or exposed by a static feature, part of the object tunnel wall stops evolving freely; its spatial coordinates remain fixed (static occlusion boundary) while the temporal coordinate increases linearly (time evolution). This forces part of the wall to be comprised of lines parallel to the time axis, each line defined by a single point on the occlusion boundary. In case this boundary is a straight-line edge, the occluding part of the wall becomes planar. We propose to detect occlusions by searching for such characteristic surfaces of object tunnel walls. We formulate the problem for planar occlusion walls based on a robust distance metric, and we show experimental results for various occlusion types on synthetic and camera-acquired image sequences.
Creation of particles by singularities in asymptotically flat spacetimes

The creation of massless scalar particles by naked singularities in asymptotically flat spacetimes is investigated within the geometrical-optics approximation. To avoid the need to impose boundary conditions on the singularity, we consider models in which a curvature singularity arises at a finite time in the past. We consider two particular types of models. One is a shell-crossing singularity formed in the gravitational collapse of a dust cloud. The energy flux of the created particles remains finite up to the time of formation of the singularity. In the particular case when the singularity forms on the event horizon, geometrical optics yields the exact flux, in spite of the high curvature of spacetime. The radiation obtained is identical to the thermal Hawking radiation emitted by black holes. The other models considered are those of charged shells for which the charge exceeds the mass. If these shells collapse to form naked singularities (which is possible if the proper mass is negative or if Einstein's equations are not imposed), an infinite flux of created particles results. In the cases examined here, the flux is negative for two-dimensional models and for the minimally coupled scalar field in four-dimensional models, whereas it is positive for the conformally coupled scalar field in four-dimensional models. In either case, the back reaction from particle creation will be large and may prevent formation of a naked singularity.
Fueling fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C

In the 23 y that have elapsed since the discovery of hepatitis C virus (HCV), many thousands of papers have been published dealing with chronic hepatitis C. Tremendous strides have been made, especially in the development of efficacious antiviral agents that can be administered orally (1). Nonetheless, many gaps remain in our understanding of the disease, and the burden it imposes on the health of Americans and others continues unabated. A recent Canadian study revealed that HCV was first among 51 infectious agents in causing loss of health-adjusted life years, and accounted for 11% of the overall health burden caused by infectious diseases in Ontario (2). Since 2007, the annual number of deaths attributable to hepatitis C within the United States has exceeded those caused by HIV/AIDS (3), and projections are that the number of HCV-infected individuals with cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma, the final stages of HCV-associated liver disease, will continue to increase significantly over the next decade (4). Against this sobering backdrop, the two most pressing questions today are why the immune systems of most persons fail to clear the virus when they are first infected, resulting in lifelong virus persistence in as many as 70%, and why some chronically infected persons develop progressive, life-threatening liver disease whereas others do not. In PNAS, Farci et al., leaders in the field since the early days of non-A, non-B hepatitis, provide insight into this important second question (5).
Electrical and structural degradation of GaN high electron mobility transistors under high-power and high-temperature Direct Current stress

We have stressed AlGaN/GaN HEMTs (High Electron Mobility Transistors) under high-power and high-temperature DC conditions that resulted in various levels of device degradation. Following electrical stress, we conducted a well-established three-step wet etching process to remove passivation, gate and ohmic contacts so that the device surface can be examined by SEM and AFM. We have found prominent pits and trenches that have formed under the gate edge on the drain side of the device. The width and depth of the pits under the gate edge correlate with the degree of drain current degradation. In addition, we also found visible erosion under the full extent of the gate. The depth of the eroded region averaged along the gate width under the gate correlated with channel resistance degradation. Both electrical and structural analysis results indicate that device degradation under high-power DC conditions is of a similar nature as in better understood high-voltage OFF-state conditions. The recognition of a unified degradation mechanism provides impetus to the development of a degradation model with lifetime predictive capabilities for a broad range of operating conditions spanning from OFF-state to ON-state.
Some Cross-Linguistic Evidence for Modulation of Implicational Universals by Language-Specific Frequency Effects in Phonological Development

Although broad-focus comparisons of consonant inventories across children acquiring different languages can suggest that phonological development follows a universal sequence, finer-grained statistical comparisons can reveal systematic differences. This cross-linguistic study of word-initial lingual obstruents examined some effects of language-specific frequencies on consonant mastery. Repetitions of real words were elicited from 2- and 3-year-old children who were monolingual speakers of English, Cantonese, Greek, or Japanese. The repetitions were recorded and transcribed by an adult native speaker for each language. Results found support for both language-universal effects in phonological acquisition and for language-specific influences related to phoneme and phoneme sequence frequency. These results suggest that acquisition patterns that are common across languages arise in two ways. One influence is direct, via the universal constraints imposed by the physiology and physics of speech production and pe...
Carrier-envelope phase shift caused by variation of grating separation.

The effects of variation of the grating separation in a stretcher on the carrier-envelope (CE) phase of amplified pulses are investigated. By translating one of the telescope mirrors in the stretcher with a piezoelectric transducer, it is found that a 1 μm change of the distance causes a 3.7±1.2 rad shift of the CE phase, which is consistent with theoretical estimations. The results indicate that optical mounts used for gratings and telescope mirrors must be interferometrically stable; otherwise their vibration and thermal drift will cause significant phase error. The CE phase drift was corrected by feedback controlling the grating separation.
Electron Microscope Comparison of Freeze-Substitution and Conventional Chemical Fixation of Undecalificied Human Dentin

Within the stated limits of cell fine structure preservation and within the observed anatomical limits specified in the Results and Discussion sections, a freeze-substitution method using an ethylene glycol-Hank's solution eutectic mixture with a glutaraldehyde additive can be used to effectively prepare undecalcified human dentin for electron microscopy. The ultrastructual appearance of the odontoblast cell body and the odontoblastic process subjected to freeze-substitution differs from that seen with conventional chemical fixation. Artifacts produced by freeze-substitution differ in appearance and frequency of occurrence from those produced by glutaraldehyde-osmium tetroxide sequential double fixation. The cellular component of dentin shows greater structural preservation of protein when it is subjected to freeze-substitution that when it is prepared by conventional chemical fixation. The absence of ice crystal defects in the odontoblastic process in calcified dentin and the presence of ice crystal defects in the odontoblast cell body suggest that intracellular water in the odontoblastic process in the calcified dentin may exist in a more highly structured state than intracellular water in the odontoblast cell body. If intracellular water exists in a more highly structured state in the odontoblastic process of the calcified dentin than in the cell body, the ratio of protein molecules to cytoplasmic volume may be greater in the odontoblastic process than in the cell body. After glutaraldehyde-osmium tetroxide sequential double fixation, the use of graded alcohol dehydration obtained cell fine structure preservation and artifact control superior to that obtained by use of ethylene glycol cryodehydration. Further refinements of the freeze-substitution technique, as it applies to the preparation of undecalcified human dentin, are necessary to increase the amount of cellular preservation, to decrease the number of ice crystal artifacts, and to improve the overall quality of cell fine structure preservation.
Expression analysis of the mixed function oxidase system in rat brain by the polymerase chain reaction

Metabolism of therapeutic drugs in the body by the mixed function oxidase system is an important consideration in the analysis of a drug's effectiveness. P450-dependent metabolism within the brain of a neuro-specific drug may affect the drug's course of action. To determine whether cytochrome P450 was expressed in brain, RNA was isolated from the whole brains of rats treated with a variety of known hepatic P450 inducers, including amitriptyline, imipramine, isosafrole, phenobarbital, and β-naphthoflavone. The RNA was analyzed for the presence of P450 isozymes by the PCR technique. Differential expression of P450IA1, P450IIB1, P450IIB2, P450IID, and P450IIE1 was detected in the brain samples, depending on the treatment. Cytochrome P450 reductase expression was also detected in the brain samples, giving strong evidence that the brain contains a competent mixed function oxidase system under all conditions studied. (Mol Cell Biochem120: 171–179, 1993)
Transglutaminase is linked to neurodegenerative diseases.

Transglutaminase catalyzes a covalent bond between peptide-bound glutamine residues and either lysine-bound peptide residues or mono- or polyamines. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that transglutaminase is involved in neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, Huntington disease (HD), and Parkinson disease. In all of the neurodegenerative diseases examined to date, transglutaminase enzyme activity is upregulated in selectively vulnerable brain regions, transglutaminase proteins are associated with inclusion bodies characteristic of the diseases, and prominent proteins in the inclusion bodies are modified by transglutaminase enzymes. These prominent proteins in the inclusion bodies, including tau, α-synuclein, and huntingtin protein, are modified by transglutaminase in vitro and α-synuclein and huntingtin protein are modified in cells in culture. Similar changes in transglutaminase and transglutaminase-modified proteins are replicated in transgenic mouse models of the neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington disease and progressive supranuclear palsy. Lastly, inhibition of transglutaminase either via drug treatments or molecular approaches is beneficial for the treatment of HD transgenic mice but has yet to be explored for the other neurodegenerative diseases. Further research is needed to determine the specific role(s) that transglutaminase plays in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases with possible implications for transglutaminase as a therapeutic target.
A mechanism for copper inhibition of infectious prion conversion.

We employ ab initio electronic structure calculations to obtain two structural models for copper bound in the strongest binding site of the noninfectious form of the prion protein. The models are compatible with available experimental constraints from electron spin resonance data. The bending of the peptide backbone attendant with the copper binding is not compatible with the requisite straight β-strand backbone structure for the same sequence contained in two recently proposed models of the prion protein structure in its infectious form. We hypothesize that copper binding at this site is protective against conversion to the infectious form, discuss experimental data that appear to support and conflict with our hypothesis, and propose tests using recombinant prion protein, genetically modified cultured neurons, and transgenic mice.
STABILITY OF BOREHOLES IN A GEOLOGIC MEDIUM INCLUDING THE EFFECTS OF ANISOTROPY

An analytical formulation is developed to investigate the stability of a deep, inclined borehole drilled in a geologic medium and subjected to an internal pressure and a non-hydrostatic stress field. The formulation consists of a three-dimensional (3-D) analysis of stresses around a borehole, combined with internal pressurization of the borehole to obtain an approximate solution of the overall stress distribution. The orientation of the borehole, the in-situ stresses and bedding plane can all be arbitrarily related to each other to represent the actual field situations. Both tensile failure and shear failure potentials of a borehole are investigated. The failure criteria applied assume that when the least principal stress exceeds the strength of the formation in tension, a tensile failure occurs. Shear failure is represented using the modified Drucker-Prager failure criterion for anisotropic materials. A parametric study is carried out to assess the effect of material anisotropy, bedding plane inclination and in-situ stress conditions on borehole stability. Results of the parametric study indicate that wellbore stability is significantly influenced by a high borehole inclination, high degree of material anisotropy, in-situ stress conditions and high formation bedding plane inclination.
Roads, Speculators, and Colonization in the Ecuadorian Amazon

In view of the generally disappointing performance of colonization projects in the Amazon basin, unusual projects merit close scrutiny because they may suggest a more effective organizational form for the colonization of humid lowlands. With this end in mind, this article examines those aspects of the Upano-Palora project in southeastern Ecuador that are attributable to the project's unusual plan of establishing settlements first and building the roads afterwards. It concludes that the “settlements first, roads second” developmental sequence reduced the costs of the project, produced an egalitarian pattern of landownership, and contributed to a pattern of land use that had potentially damaging ecological effects. These findings suggest that variations in the timing of road building have an important impact on outcomes in new land settlement schemes.
Reading Hobson through Feminist Lenses

In this article, I suggest ways in which feminist analysis would further enrich Hobson�s text. Questioning Hobson�s assumption that it is possible to create separate �metanarratives� about Eurocentrism and patriarchy, I claim that patriarchy, imperialism and Eurocentrism were co-constituted through the practices of Western imperialism and the creation of modern Western knowledge. I then take up Hobson�s question that asks whether one is, or is not, Eurocentric is a more important question than whether or not one is a positivist. I argue that both these questions are important and interrelated. Whereas positivism aspires to tell one universal story, post-positivism acknowledges that all theories are constructed in the interest of someone. Therefore it offers us the opportunity to be reflective about our epistemological standpoints � whether or not they are Eurocentric. I then describe some methodological sensitivities concerning these issues that IR feminists have brought to their research. I conclude by reviewing some feminist post-colonial literature that reflects these sensitivities, thereby offering us some tools to overcome the Eurocentric trap.
Accretion and Vegetation Community Change in the Wax Lake Delta Following the Historic 2011 Mississippi River Flood

ABSTRACT Carle, M.V.; Sasser, C.E., and Roberts, H.H., 2015. Accretion and vegetation community change in the Wax Lake Delta following the historic 2011 Mississippi River flood. During the 2011 Mississippi River flood, discharge to the lower river exceeded that of the 1927 and 1937 floods and the lower river remained above flood stage for nearly 2 months. A combination of WorldView-2 and Land Satellite 5 Thematic Mapper (Landsat 5 TM) imagery was used to assess the impact of this flood event on the Wax Lake Delta, one of few areas where the river is building new land. Vegetation community change was mapped from 2010 to 2011 and related to elevation change using plant species elevation distributions calculated from light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data. Changes in the land area in the delta were also assessed by regressing land area against water level for a series of pre- and postflood Landsat 5 TM images. The results indicate a net growth of 6.5 km2 at mean water level and 4.90 km2 at mean sea level. ...
Neither caspase-3 nor DNA fragmentation factor is required for high molecular weight DNA degradation in apoptosis.

: In this paper, we show that there is a two-step process of DNA fragmentation in apoptosis; DNA is first cleaved to large fragments of 50–300 kb that are subsequently cleaved to smaller oligonucleosomes in some, but not all cells. Significantly, only the first stage is considered essential for cell death since some cells, for example human MCF7 breast carcinoma cells and human NT2 neuronal cells, do not show this behavior but still display normal nuclear morphological apoptotic changes. In cells that usually produce small fragments blocking the second (internucleosomal) stage of DNA fragmentation prevents neither nuclear condensation nor apoptosis. We are beginning to understand why the extent of DNA fragmentation during apoptosis varies enormously and why it appears to be a function of the cell type not the inducer. Presumably, this reflects the content of not only endonuclease activit(ies) but also on the ability of the cells to activate caspases, particularly caspase-3, and other proteases that may be involved in endonuclease activation. Since NT2 cells activate caspase-3, but do not correctly process DFF45, b other factors must also impinge on the inevitability of that process.
Lumped-element RC model for high-data-rate thin-film heads

We have developed a lumped-element model for a thin-film giant magnetoresistive head with an inductive writer and used it to study the effect on the data rate capability. Our work shows that the reader can be approximated well by a resistor (R/sub eff/) and a capacitor (C/sub eff/) in parallel. The paper discusses the relative importance of different contributors to C/sub eff/ and addresses the effect of C/sub eff/ on the spectrum of the read-back signal and the electrical reader pulsewidth (PW50) in detail. The model predictions and spin-stand data agree reasonably well. The paper also reports on our study of the amount of writer-to-reader coupling in the transducer. Our work points out the importance of minimizing the parasitic capacitance between elements in the writer and reader and avoiding direct coupling between the writer and reader leads.
Risk of Cancer in Relatives of Prostate Cancer Probands

Background : It is estimated that there will be more than 244 000 new prostate cancer cases diagnosed and that more than 40 000 men will die of this disease during 1995. Evidence exists for a hereditary predisposition to prostate cancer, but the proportion of cases attributable to the inheritance of a specific gene or genes is not large. Some hereditary cancer syndromes involve more than one tumor site, and some studies have reported a familial association between prostate cancer and other cancers. The presence of other cancers in prostate cancer families may indicate a specific type of hereditary predisposition. Purpose : We studied families that were selected because of the presence of prostate cancer to determine whether hereditary prostate cancer is associated with cancers at other sites and possibly with other heritable cancer syndromes. Methods : Data from two distinct study populations were studied retrospectively. The first population consisted of 690 case patients undergoing radical prostatectomy who were not selected for family history of prostate cancer and 640 control subjects who were the spouses or female companions of the case patients. The second population consisted of 75 multiplex families (i.e., families with multiple cases of prostate cancer) referred because they fulfilled the criteria for hereditary prostate cancer. A comparison between case and control populations for the occurrence of 14 aggregated groups of cancer was performed. Data were analyzed using Poisson regression, and relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results : Brothers and fathers of prostate cancer probands have a statistically significant higher risk of prostate cancer than the male first-degree relatives of control subjects (RR = 1.76 ; 95% CI = 1.28-2.43). Therefore, the risk for prostate cancer is 76% higher among first-degree relatives of prostate cancer patients compared with first-degree relatives of control subjects. This higher risk was not modified by an occurrence of breast cancer in the pedigree. Also, a statistically significant higher risk was found for tumors of the central nervous system in hereditary families (RR = 3.02 ; 95% CI = 1.08-8.41). Statistically significant higher risks of cancer at other major sites, such as breast, ovary, or endometrium were not observed in these families. Conclusion : Even among families that were specifically selected because of the presence of prostate cancer, risks for cancer at other sites appeared not to be increased. Therefore, hereditary prostate cancer appears to be a relatively site-specific disease, and it does not seem to be a part of other hereditary cancer syndromes. [J Natl Cancer Inst 87 :991-996, 1995]
Pathology of the Distal Phalanx in Equine Laminitis: More Than Just Skin Deep

The etiopathogenesis of laminitis is complex and involves multiple tissue types. It may be initiated by biomechanical, traumatic, inflammatory, vascular, toxic, and metabolic factors. Although histopathologic changes occurring within the lamellae of experimental models of laminitis are well described and reported, histopathologic changes occurring in the distal phalanx are not, even though gross and radiographic evidence of disease are often apparent and bony lesions could be considered a significant source of pain. Recent scientific evidence indicates that the microenvironment of bone is an important modulator of inflammatory processes that can both influence, and be influenced by components of other organ systems, including the immune, nervous, gastrointestinal, and integumentary systems. This article describes various laminitis-associated histopathological changes in the distal phalanx, introduces concepts of osteoimmunology with regards to equine laminitis, and provides a rationale for histopathological examination of the distal phalanx, as well as the soft tissue structures of the lamellae and corium in laminitis cases.
Do Low-Achieving Students Benefit More from Small Classes? Evidence from the Tennessee Class Size Experiment

Recent evidence about the effects of class size on academic achievementfrom randomized experiments points to positive effects of small classes. However, the evidence about the mechanism producing these effects is less clear. Some scholars have arguedfor mechanisms that would imply greater effects of small classesfor low-achieving students. This article investigates possible differential effects of small classes on achievement using data from Project STAR, afour-year, large-scale randomized experiment on the effects of class size. We examined the differential effects of small classes for students in the bottom half and bottom quarter, respectively, of their class's achievement distribution in kindergarten. Although small class effects are somewhat largerfor low-achieving students in reading, the differential effects (interactions) are not statistically significant. Moreover, the small class effects for low-achieving students in mathematics are actually smaller than those for higher achieving students. Thus while there are unambiguous positive effects of small classes on achievement, there is no evidence for differentially larger effects of small classes for lower achieving students.
Conceptual priming in semantic dementia: A window into the cognitive and neural basis of conceptual implicit memory

The present study examined the impact of impairment in semantic memory on conceptual repetition priming by means of the longitudinal study of a patient with semantic dementia. ST was tested in four consecutive years, during which his semantic memory progressively deteriorated. On each occasion, he performed an abstract/concrete verification task and a verb generation task. In both of these tasks, performance during a test phase was compared for stimuli previously processed in a study phase and stimuli first seen in the test phase. Control subjects showed priming, as indicated by faster responses to studied than to baseline stimuli. ST showed intact priming that was of normal magnitude in the first two years of testing, but failed to show priming in the subsequent two years of testing. This pattern of results is interpreted with reference to the differential decline of item-specific and superordinate knowledge. The implications of these findings for the neural basis of conceptual priming are also discussed.
Delay Dynamics of Cancer and Immune Cell Model

We investigate optimal control of a cancer-immune cell interactive model with delay in the interphase compartment. By applying the optimal control theory, we seek to minimize the cost associated with the chemotherapy drug, minimize the accumulation of cancer cells, and increase the immune cell presence. Optimality conditions and characterization of the control are provided. Numerical analyses are given to enhance the understanding of the difficulties that occur in the control of cancer.
Social Perceptions of Students with Learning Disabilities Who Differ in Social Status.

As a group, students with learning disabilities (LD) have social difficulties. One possible explanation for these difficulties is the unique way they process social information. Although students with LD may differ from their nondisabled peers in their social cognition, investigators have suggested the presence of subgroups within the population of students with LD who may differ in their social competence and, thereby, shed light on the source of the difficulties. The present exploratory study examined how two subgroups of students with LD in inclusive settings, students with high and low social status, perceive social situations. Using a sociometric technique, three students with LD receiving high social-status ratings and three students with LD receiving low social-status ratings were identified. A qualitative approach was used to gather and evaluate data from the participants and their teachers. Results suggested differences between the two subgroups in their (1) sensitivity to cues in the environment, (2) interpretation of social situations in relation to their own experiences, and (3) levels of self-control. Implications of these findings for practice and future research are discussed.
Evaluation of Pump Pulsation in Respirable Size-Selective Sampling: Part III. Investigation of European Standard Methods

Lee et al. (Evaluation of pump pulsation in respirable size-selective sampling: part I. Pulsation measurements. Ann Occup Hyg 2014a;58:60–73) introduced an approach to measure pump pulsation (PP) using a real-world sampling train, while the European Standards (EN) (EN 1232-1997 and EN 12919-1999) suggest measuring PP using a resistor in place of the sampler. The goal of this study is to characterize PP according to both EN methods and to determine the relationship of PP between the published method (Lee et al., 2014a) and the EN methods. Additional test parameters were investigated to determine whether the test conditions suggested by the EN methods were appropriate for measuring pulsations. Experiments were conducted using a factorial combination of personal sampling pumps (six medium- and two high-volumetric flow rate pumps), back pressures (six medium- and seven high-flow rate pumps), resistors (two types), tubing lengths between a pump and resistor (60 and 90 cm), and different flow rates (2 and 2.5 l min−1 for the medium- and 4.4, 10, and 11.2 l min−1 for the high-flow rate pumps). The selection of sampling pumps and the ranges of back pressure were based on measurements obtained in the previous study (Lee et al., 2014a). Among six medium-flow rate pumps, only the Gilian5000 and the Apex IS conformed to the 10% criterion specified in EN 1232-1997. Although the AirChek XR5000 exceeded the 10% limit, the average PP (10.9%) was close to the criterion. One high-flow rate pump, the Legacy (PP = 8.1%), conformed to the 10% criterion in EN 12919-1999, while the Elite12 did not (PP = 18.3%). Conducting supplemental tests with additional test parameters beyond those used in the two subject EN standards did not strengthen the characterization of PPs. For the selected test conditions, a linear regression model [PPEN = 0.014 + 0.375 × PPNIOSH (adjusted R2 = 0.871)] was developed to determine the PP relationship between the published method (Lee et al., 2014a) and the EN methods. The 25% PP criterion recommended by Lee et al. (2014a), average value derived from repetitive measurements, corresponds to 11% PPEN. The 10% pass/fail criterion in the EN Standards is not based on extensive laboratory evaluation and would unreasonably exclude at least one pump (i.e. AirChek XR5000 in this study) and, therefore, the more accurate criterion of average 11% from repetitive measurements should be substituted. This study suggests that users can measure PP using either a real-world sampling train or a resistor setup and obtain equivalent findings by applying the model herein derived. The findings of this study will be delivered to the consensus committees to be considered when those standards, including the EN 1232-1997, EN 12919-1999, and ISO 13137-2013, are revised.
Just one g: consistent results from three test batteries

The concept of a general intelligence factor or g is controversial in psychology. Although the controversy swirls at many levels, one of the most important involves g’s identification and measurement in a group of individuals. If g is actually predictive of a range of intellectual performances, the factor identified in one battery of mental ability tests should be closely related to that identified in another dissimilar aggregation of abilities. We addressed the extent to which this prediction was true using three mental ability batteries administered to a heterogeneous sample of 436 adults. Though the particular tasks used in the batteries reflected varying conceptions of the range of human intellectual performance, the g factors identified by the batteries were completely correlated (correlations were .99, .99, and 1.00). This provides further evidence for the existence of a higher-level g factor and suggests that its measurement is not dependent on the use of specific mental ability tasks.