cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Worst case scenario: potential long-term effects of invasive predatory lionfish (Pterois volitans) on Atlantic and Caribbean coral-reef communities

The Pacific red lionfish has recently invaded Western Atlantic and Caribbean coral reefs, and may become one of the most ecologically harmful marine fish introductions to date. Lionfish possess a broad suite of traits that makes them particularly successful invaders and strong negative interactors with native fauna, including defensive venomous spines, cryptic form, color and behavior, habitat generality, high competitive ability, low parasite load, efficient predation, rapid growth, and high reproductive rates. With an eye on the future, we describe a possible "worst case scenario" in which the direct and indirect effects of lionfish could combine with the impacts of preexisting stressors—especially overfishing—and cause sub- stantial deleterious changes in coral-reef communi- ties. We also discuss management actions that could be taken to minimize these potential effects by, first, developing targeted lionfish fisheries and local removals, and second, enhancing native biotic resistance, particularly via marine reserves that could conserve and foster potential natural enemies of this invader. Ultimately, the lionfish invasion will be limited either by the lionfish starving—the worst end to the worst case scenario—or by some combination of native pathogens, parasites, predators, and competitors controlling the abundance of lionfish.
A novel technique for the solution of second-order difference equations

The class of second-order difference equations that arise in the diffraction of a plane wave at skew incidence on an impedance wedge is investigated. For a typical equation which was solved by the introduction of elliptic integrals, it is shown that the solution can be obtained in a very trivial manner from a convolution-type integral equation and the results are in complete agreement with those previously found.
Psycholegal issues in child sexual abuse evaluations: A survey of forensic mental health professionals

Mental health professionals play a significant role in assessment, rendering expert opinions, and making dispositional recommendations in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. Although there have been recent efforts to develop guidelines for practice, little is known about how evaluators actually prefer to proceed in such evaluations, or whether there is consensus with respect to how to proceed. In this study, a sample of Massachusetts child forensic mental health professionals who specialize in conducting evaluations of children in cases involving allegations of sexual abuse were surveyed to assess their normative evaluation and testimony practices with respect to information gathered during clinical interviews and psychosocial assessment of the child. The survey assessed evaluators: (a) opinions; (b) reasons for opinions; and (c) typical practices concerning psycholegal issues associated with child sexual abuse evaluations. Survey questions covered three topics: (a) the evaluation process and methods; (b) the limits of expert opinions and testimony; and (c) child advocacy. Results of the survey are presented, and implications for child forensic practice are discussed.
How Implementation of Systems Biology into Clinical Trials Accelerates Understanding of Diseases

Systems biology comprises a series of concepts and approaches that have been used successfully both to delineate novel biological mechanisms and to drive translational advances. The goal of systems biology is to re-integrate putatively critical elements extracted from multi-modality datasets in order to understand how interactions among multiple components form functional networks at the organism/patient-level, and how dysfunction of these networks underlies a particular disease. Due to the genetic and environmental diversity of human subjects, identification of critical elements related to a particular disease process from cross-sectional studies requires prohibitively large cohorts. Alternatively, implementation of systems biology principles to interventional clinical trials represents a unique opportunity to gain predictive understanding of complex diseases in comparatively small cohorts of patients. This paper reviews systems biology principles applicable to translational research, focusing on lessons from systems approaches to inflammation applied to multiple sclerosis. We suggest that employing systems biology methods in the design and execution of biomarker-supported, proof-of-principle clinical trials provides a singular opportunity to merge therapeutic development with a basic understanding of disease processes. The ultimate goal is to develop predictive computational models of the disease, which will revolutionize diagnostic process and provide mechanistic understanding necessary for personalized therapeutic approaches. Added, biologically meaningful information can be derived from diagnostic tests, if they are interpreted in functional relationships, rather than as independent measurements. Such systems biology based diagnostics will transform disease taxonomies from phenotypical to molecular and will allow physicians to select optimal therapeutic regimens for individual patients.
Hypoxia‐induced developmental plasticity of the gills and air‐breathing organ of Trichopodus trichopterus

The air-breathing blue gourami Trichopodus trichopterus, an anabantid with a suprabranchial labyrinth organ, was used to study morphological development of respiratory systems in response to chronic hypoxia (13% O2, combined aquatic and aerial hypoxia). Overall growth (fork length, wet mass and cutaneous surface area) of T. trichopterus did not differ between control fish and those reared in hypoxia. Both lamellar and labyrinth surface areas of the hypoxic larvae, however, increased more rapidly than controls, producing c. 16% larger lamellar and 30% larger labyrinth mass-specific surface areas within the first 120 days of development. This is the first study to show developmental respiratory plasticity of a bimodally respiring fish. It reveals that chronic hypoxia stimulates development of the gills and air-breathing organ, and that labyrinth growth is even more sensitive to hypoxia than branchial growth.
Application of a Threshold Method to Airborne–Spaceborne Attenuating-Wavelength Radars for the Estimation of Space–Time Rain-Rate Statistics

Abstract A method is proposed for estimating the area-average rain-rate distribution from attenuating-wavelength spaceborne or airborne radar data. Because highly attenuated radar returns yield unreliable estimates of the rain rate, these are eliminated by means of a proxy variable, Q, derived from the apparent radar reflectivity factors and a power law relating the attenuation coefficient and the reflectivity factor. In determining the probability distribution function of areawide rain rates, the elimination of attenuated measurements at high rain rates and the loss of data at light rain rates, because of low signal-to-noise ratios, leads to truncation of the distribution at the low and high ends. To estimate it over all rain rates, a lognormal distribution is assumed, the parameters of which are obtained from a nonlinear least squares fit to the truncated distribution. Implementation of this type of threshold method depends on the method used in estimating the high-resolution rain-rate estimates (e.g., ...
A statistical analysis of earthquake focal mechanisms and epicenter locations in the eastern Tennessee seismic zone

Abstract The location and orientation of possible seismogenic basement faults in the eastern Tennessee seismic zone is studied using information provided by focal mechanisms and the location of earthquake epicenters. Twenty-six well-constrained focal mechanism solutions are derived using a new velocity model and relocated hypocenters. The results suggest that strike-slip motion on steeply dipping planes is the dominant mode of faulting throughout the 300-km-long seismic zone. Most of the mechanisms can be grouped into two populations. The larger population is characterized by steeply dipping N-S- and E-W-striking nodal planes with right-lateral and left-lateral slip, respectively. The second population differs from the first by an approximate 45° eastward rotation about the B axis. An analysis of the distribution of azimuths between epicenters was conducted. The frequency distribution of interevent azimuths shows significant clustering in the northeasterly and easterly directions, for interevent epicentral distances less than 30 km. Those directions represent the most often observed nodal plane orientations and are interpreted as the dominant strike directions of seismogenic basement faults. The locations of potential faults are inferred on the basis of statistically significant alignments of juxtaposed epicenters and correlation with focal mechanisms. The results suggest a series of northeast-trending, en-echelon basement faults, intersected by several east-trending faults. Most of the larger magnitude, instrumentally located, earthquakes in the seismic zone occurred in proximity to the statistically identified potential faults.
Among the devils in the details are protease sequence, susceptibility, and structure in CRF02_AG viruses.

antiretrovirals, licensed largely on the basis of clinical trials conducted in the United States and Europe, as active against non– subtype B viruses (specifically CRF02_AG, the dominant CRF in West Africa) as they are against subtype B viruses? Do common, subtype-related polymorphisms in gag-pol in subtype CRF02_AG viruses— some of which are associated with drug resistance—significantly impact the effectiveness or the outcome of protease inhibitor–based therapies? Do the modest changes in drug susceptibility, carefully sought through sensitive recombinant phenotypic assays and in structural binding studies, identify an important mechanism for drug failure and selection of resistance in non–subtype B infection? Despite nearly 10 years of HAART, only
A Review of Melioidosis Cases in the Americas

Melioidosis is a bacterial infection caused by Burkholderia pseudomallei, a gram-negative saprophytic bacillus. Cases occur sporadically in the Americas with an increasing number of cases observed among people with no travel history to endemic countries. To better understand the incidence of the disease in the Americas, we reviewed the literature, including unpublished cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of 120 identified human cases, occurring between 1947 and June 2015, 95 cases (79%) were likely acquired in the Americas; the mortality rate was 39%. Burkholderia pseudomallei appears to be widespread in South, Central, and North America.
The Highs and Lows of Maternal Depression: Cluster Analysis of Depression Symptoms in a Sample of African American Women

Background Maternal depression affects between 10% and 15% of US mothers. Emerging evidence suggests that variability in symptoms is linked to different risk factors and different pathological subtypes. Building on this research, this study examines manifestations of depression symptoms and risk factors associated with different manifestations among a socioeconomically heterogeneous sample of African American mothers. Methods Data were collected via telephone interviews with a community sample of 208 self-identified African American women with children 2 to 18 months old. Mothers were screened for depression symptoms using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale and reported on several psychosocial factors including social support, history of depression, and demographic characteristics. Cluster analysis was used to determine whether there were distinct subtypes of depression symptoms in this sample. Results A k-means cluster analysis of the 57 women with a positive depression symptom screen revealed 2 distinct groups characterized by higher versus lower symptom severity. A logistic regression indicated that mothers were more likely to fall into the high severity cluster if they were employed and reported lower levels of social support. Limitations Because of its cross-sectional design, this study could not explore the timing and the course of depression symptoms, which may be more closely related to risk and functional impairment than the severity distinction found in this research. Conclusions Researchers, pediatricians, and obstetricians working with African American mothers should screen for social support, with the understanding that those with low levels may be at increased risk for severe depression symptoms. Finally, the heterogeneity in symptoms suggests that clinicians should be aware of all depression symptoms among their patients rather than looking for specific, potentially stereotypical symptoms as cues.
Living Polymerization of Isobutylene

Truly living polymerizations, i.e., polymerizations that proceed in the absence of termination and chain transfer, are a most desirable objective of the synthetic polymer chemist. Living polymerizations are not only of great scientific interest but also of considerable commercial consequence and several modern industrial processes are based on living systems, e.g., cis-1,4-polybutadiene,1 triblock polymers of styrene/butadiene/styrene,2 polytetrahydrofuran;3 however these processes are not carbocationic in nature.
Measurement of adolescent dating violence: a comprehensive review (Part 1, behaviors)

Abstract Measurement of adolescent dating violence has substantial implications for our understanding of prevalence, correlates and outcomes; thus, the selection of a measure for a given research study is an important task. Currently, however, no comprehensive compendium presents adolescent dating violence measures with evidence of reliability and validity, or discusses strengths and limitations of these measures. Such a document would aid researchers in the selection of appropriate measures, and would also identify gaps in the literature, as well as directions for future research. Thus, this two-part comprehensive review presents adolescent dating violence measures that have been the focus of psychometric testing. Part 1 of this review presents behavior measures (i.e. measures that assess victimization and perpetration), while Part 2 presents attitude measures. We also review empirical literature that uses identified measures. In Part 2, we conclude by discussing the implications of this review for adolescent dating violence measurement.
Definitive or Preoperative Chemoradiation Therapy for Esophageal Cancer: Patterns of Care and Survival Outcomes.

Background The optimal management of patients with localized esophageal cancer is uncertain. The objective of this study was to analyze contemporary patterns of care for esophageal cancer using the National Cancer Database. Methods Patients diagnosed with localized esophageal adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma from 2004 to 2011 and who received preoperative chemoradiation therapy, followed by esophagectomy (trimodality), or definitive chemoradiation therapy were identified in the National Cancer Database. Only patients who received a radiation dose between 41.4 and 64.8 Gy were included. Kaplan-Meier, Cox regression, and propensity score-matched survival analyses were performed to compare overall survival between those receiving chemoradiation therapy vs trimodality therapy. Results There were 8,064 patients, of whom 44.9% received trimodality therapy and 55.1% chemoradiation therapy. Trimodality therapy was associated with improved overall survival (p Conclusions Definitive chemoradiation therapy is more commonly used than trimodality therapy, but trimodality treatment is associated with excellent survival outcomes on propensity-matched and unmatched survival analysis. Dose escalation beyond 50 Gy remains frequently used but is not associated with a survival benefit.
Visualising professional vision interactions in design reviews

AbstractA visual notation called the interaction dynamics notation was used for analysing the moment-to-moment interpersonal interactions in design reviews. The expressions of professional vision (PV) – a system of seeing and interpreting that characterises a professional group – are identified in these design review interactions. The analysis showed that students’ participation was important to the articulation of PV in design reviews. Specifically, there were four interaction patterns – question-asking, supportive behaviour, building-on behaviour and humour that were associated with nine types of PV expressions in design review interactions. These interaction patterns are examined in the context of existing literature on design reviews. The implication of using the visual representation of review interactions as an educational tool is explored.
A Chilling Table for Immobilizing Insects

A chilling table for immobilizing flying insects with cooled air is described. Cooled air is recirculated through a permeable surface, which supports the insects and diffuses the air. The use of cooled air prevents moisture condensation on the insects, and recirculation of the air minimizes condensation and frost on the cooling coil. Several features of the device result in a substantial improvement over other methods used for immobilizing flying insects.
Visions of a Nation Transformed: Modernity and Ideology in Wilson's Political Thought

Over the past several decades, our understanding of modernity has been profoundly changed. This change has occurred as a result of a body of critical scholarship that challenges the widely-held notion that the modern world is characterized primarily by the triumph of secular rationalism and the steadily declining influence of religion and spiritu ality. The works of Eric Voegelin, Karl Lowith, Ernst Lee Tuveson, Jacob Talmon, Henri de Lubac, Norman Cohn, Hans Jonas, and Michael Walzer represent a series of elaborations on the various revo lutionary outbursts that have driven Western civilization since the Ren aissance.1 Each of these authors has advanced the general thesis that the self-understanding of the modern West, as revealed through these revolutionary movements, has been informed in part by an immanen tized Christian eschatology, and this self-understanding cannot be fully understood apart from its roots in innerworldly messianic speculation. Modern political symbols, in other words, have distinctly religious par
Optimal Bode plots for single input linear systems - With application to D-stabilizing compensators

This paper presents necessary and sufficient conditions for LQ optimality using the Bode plots for a loop transfer function. An explicit relation between magnitude and phase plots generalizes all the properties of LQ optimal controllers observed in single input systems. The loop transfer function can incorporate either state or output feedback compensators. Through an appropriate assignment of zeros to the loop transfer function, the result can be applied to seek an optimal D-stabilizing controller. An aircraft example for flying qualities is illustrated. (Author)
NATURAL SELECTION FOR REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION IN PHLOX.

Divergence in the genic and chromosomal architecture of local populations from the population system norm has been documented in numerous plant and animal species (cf. Grant, 1963, 1964; Mayr, 1963; Ford, 1965). The stimulus for such divergence may be provided by one of an array of environmental challenges. The immediate presence of a potentially interbreeding congener, or one which competes for biotic or physical resources of the environment may constitute such a challenge. A shift in the adaptive mode of one of the congeners could intensify existing external and internal barriers to gene exchange, or could permit the two species more efficiently to exploit their habitats. Population divergence in areas of congener sympatry, which may involve morphological, physiological, ecological, or ethological traits, has been termed "character divergence" (Darwin, 1859) and "character displacement" (Brown and Wilson, 1956; Wilson, 1965). The term "Wallace effect" has been applied to shifts in population structure whose primary adaptations are to strengthen reproductive isolating barriers (Grant, 1966).
Exploration of West Nile Virus Infection in Mouse Models

West Nile virus (WNV) causes neurological diseases by penetrating the central nervous system (CNS)-an immune-privileged system. Although the CNS residential cells can produce antiviral immune responses, the blood leukocytes are required to contain virus spread. However, infiltrating leukocytes may also contribute to immunopathology if they overreact. Thus analyses of WNV infectivity and leukocyte numbers in the CNS are critical for understanding of WNV pathogenesis in experimental mouse models. Here I describe two basic assays for quantification of viral titers and infiltrating leukocytes in the mouse brain after WNV infection.
Using fMRI Analysis to Unpack a Portion of Prospect Theory for Advertising/Marketing Understanding

One of the key elements being used today to support/reject/enhance marketing/advertising theory is Kahneman and Tversky’s prospect theory (1979). Interest has been growing on how that concept might support/explain how advertising “works” based on Kahneman’s later concepts as found in his text “Thinking Fast and Slow” (2011). All have spawned and supported the field of behavioral economics (Kahneman, American Economic Review, 93: 1449–1475, 2003). Literally thousands of discussions, speculations, hypotheses, and applications of these concepts can now be found in the advertising literature. Yet, in spite of its broad industry and practitioner acceptance, the basic fundamentals of prospect theory, as Kahneman and Tversky outlined them in their original paper, “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk” (1979), and their follow-on book, “Choices, Values and Frames” (2000) still rely mostly on support from small scale, academic, laboratory experiments based on questionnaires and researcher interpretations. We employ the new tools of fMRI in an age-related experiment. Loss Aversion has a long history in marketing and communication theory and the ability to connect or refute that concept to aging in marketing theory would seem a major aid to marketers going forward.
Reduced neuronal size and mTOR pathway activity in the Mecp2 A140V Rett syndrome mouse model.

Rett syndrome (RTT) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by mutation in the X-linked MECP2 gene, encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein 2. We have created a mouse model ( Mecp2 A140V “knock-in” mutant) expressing the recurrent human MECP2 A140V mutation linked to an X-linked mental retardation/Rett syndrome phenotype. Morphological analyses focused on quantifying soma and nucleus size were performed on primary hippocampus and cerebellum granule neuron (CGN) cultures from mutant ( Mecp2 A140V/y ) and wild type ( Mecp2 +/y ) male mice. Cultured hippocampus and cerebellar granule neurons from mutant animals were significantly smaller than neurons from wild type animals. We also examined soma size in hippocampus neurons from individual female transgenic mice that express both a mutant (maternal allele) and a wild type Mecp2 gene linked to an eGFP transgene (paternal allele). In cultures from such doubly heterozygous female mice, the size of neurons expressing the mutant (A140V) allele also showed a significant reduction compared to neurons expressing wild type MeCP2, supporting a cell-autonomous role for MeCP2 in neuronal development. IGF-1 (insulin growth factor-1) treatment of neuronal cells from Mecp2 mutant mice rescued the soma size phenotype. We also found that Mecp2 mutation leads to down-regulation of the mTOR signaling pathway, known to be involved in neuronal size regulation. Our results suggest that i) reduced neuronal size is an important in vitro cellular phenotype of Mecp2 mutation in mice, and ii) MeCP2 might play a critical role in the maintenance of neuronal structure by modulation of the mTOR pathway. The definition of a quantifiable cellular phenotype supports using neuronal size as a biomarker in the development of a high-throughput, in vitro assay to screen for compounds that rescue small neuronal phenotype (“phenotypic assay”).
The Effects of Criminal Propensity and Strain on Later Offending

Recently, Agnew has narrowed the focus of General Strain Theory by arguing certain factors must converge for criminal coping to occur. Specifically, individuals must have certain crime-related traits, experience strains that are perceived as unjust and high in magnitude, and occur in situations that encourage criminal coping. A longitudinal sample of serious adolescent offenders was used to assess the impact of direct and vicarious victimization on later offending among those with higher and lower criminal propensity. Regardless of their criminal propensity, youth who experienced victimization were more likely to engage in antisocial behavior compared with those who were not victimized. The results are mixed regarding Agnew’s thesis and suggest that victimization experiences may push justice-involved youth into further crime.
Study of directionally solidified eutectics with emphasis on oscillatory instabilities

The presence of oscillatory instabilities during directional solidification of thin lamellar eutectics is explored. A linear stability analysis is performed in which the triple points are perturbed tangential to the interface, i.e., no Mullins-Sekerka type of morphological instabillity is allowed. A locally planar interface is assumed except in the thermal boundary condition where a curvature term is included. Neither the quasistationary approximation nor the equal-average-undercooling assumption is used; instead, the average concentration over a phase is forced to be consistent with the thermal boundary condition. This analysis reveals two oscillatory modes, an "acoustic" mode of wavelength twice that of the lamellar spacing and an "optical" mode of wavelegth equal to the lamellar spacing.
Learning visual object definitions by observing human activities

Humanoid robots, while moving in our everyday environments, necessarily need to recognize objects. Providing robust object definitions for every single object in our environments is challenging and impossible in practice. In this work, we build upon the fact that objects have different uses and humanoid robots, while co-existing with humans, should have the ability of observing humans using the different objects and learn the corresponding object definitions. We present an object recognition algorithm, FOCUS, for finding object classifications through use and structure. FOCUS learns structural properties (visual features) of objects by knowing first the object's affordance properties and observing humans interacting with that object with known activities. FOCUS combines an activity recognizer, flexible and robust to any environment, which captures how an object is used with a low-level visual feature processor. The relevant features are then associated with an object definition which is then used for object recognition. The strength of the method relies on the fact that we can define multiple aspects of an object model, i.e., structure and use, that are individually robust but insufficient to define the object, but can do so jointly. We present the FOCUS approach in detail, which we have demonstrated in a variety of activities, objects, and environments. We show illustrating empirical evidence of the efficacy of the method
Single-sided radiation of a fractal-shaped reconfigurable dual-band slot-ring antenna using electromagnetic band-gap surfaces

This paper provides a ground plane solution for the fractal-shaped reconfigurable dual-band slot-ring antenna by using the Electromagnetic Band-Gap (EBG) surfaces. The EBG surface is designed with an in-phase bandwidth from 1.7 to 3.0 GHz. A distance between the EBG and the antenna is selected to be 7. 5 mm. The EBG-backed reconfigurable slot-ring antenna operates at two frequency bands based on the status of the switches loaded on the antenna. The lower band is observed from 2.0 to 3.7 GHz while higher band is from 4.9 to 8.4 GHz. During both frequency bands, the backside radiation of the antenna is reduced by the EBG surface.
The Evolving Paradigm of Individualized Postresuscitation Care After Cardiac Arrest

The postresuscitation period after a cardiac arrest is characterized by a wide range of physiological derangements. Variations between patients include preexisting medical problems, the underlying cause of the cardiac arrest, presence or absence of hemodynamic and circulatory instability, severity of the ischemia-reperfusion injury, and resuscitation-related injuries such as pulmonary aspiration and rib or sternal fractures. Although protocols can be applied to many elements of postresuscitation care, the widely disparate clinical condition of cardiac arrest survivors requires an individualized approach that stratifies patients according to their clinical profile and targets specific treatments to patients most likely to benefit. This article describes such an individualized approach, provides a practical framework for evaluation and triage at the bedside, and reviews concerns specific to all members of the interprofessional postresuscitation care team.
Gender and the Transition to Parenthood: Introduction to the Special Issue

The transition to parenthood is a rite of passage for most adults; however, given the dynamic state of gender roles in society, the parameters surrounding the ease or difficulty with this transition are evolving. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the work included in the special issue, Gender and the Transition to Parenthood. Academic literature has been filled with articles on how women cope with the transition to parenthood from a variety of perspectives, including a feminist perspective. However, much of this literature is dated and cannot account for how today’s gender roles in society (particularly those of fathers) may influence the transition to parenthood. We argue that, with the rapidly changing gender roles in society, it is crucial to consider three perspectives in parenting: hers, his, and theirs. The ten works included in this special issue represent these three perspectives and seek to understand the transition to parenthood and its intersection with today’s gender roles. Based on these works, the authors encourage researchers interested in the transition to parenthood to incorporate both male and female perspectives, as well as the interplay between the genders in making the transition smooth or difficult. Following a brief overview of the existing literature, we introduce the articles in the special issue. All papers in this special issue are based on U.S. samples.
A symbolic CSG system written in Maple V

We have designed a working 2-D Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) system in MAPLEV, which is currently comprised of more than 1600 lines of code. Our research in this area is important for several reasons. To begin with, it is the first user expandable CSG system. We designed the system to allow the user to add their own definitions of curves and primitives. It is also the first symbolic CSG system. The advantage of this is that the user can change the initial values of the parameters to obtain different sizes of the same conceptual object. An inequality list, generated by our program, will ensure that the object is conceptually the same. This is important as to enable shape optimization of objects. The generated inequality list will also eliminate needless computations as parameters are varied by simply checking whether or not the new input values satisfy the inequality list. Finally, this method of symbolic evaluation serves as a paradigm for other areas of science and engineering.
CHAPTER 23 – Metabolism of Pesticides

This chapter focuses on the metabolism or biotransformation of xenobiotics, especially pesticides. The metabolism of xenobiotics generally occurs in two phases. Phase I involves predominantly oxidations, reductions, and hydrolyses, and serves to introduce a polar group into the molecule. Phase II, consisting primarily of conjugation reactions, involves the combination of the products of phase I reactions with one of several endogenous molecules to form water soluble, and hence excretable, products. In the past, the most emphasis has been placed microsomal cytochrome P450 (P450)-dependent oxidations and reductions of pesticides, and they are described in detail in this chapter. With the exception of glutathione conjugation, phase II conjugation reactions involving pesticides are secondary, involving, as substrates, the products of phase I reactions. They include glutathione conjugation, glucoside formation, glucuronic acid formation, sulfate formation, and conjugation with amino acids. This chapter describes various factors affecting the metabolism of xenobiotics, including species differences due to differences in activity of liver microsomal enzymes, gender of the organism, polymorphisms in the expression of the xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. The terms resistance and tolerance refer to a relative insusceptibility of a population of organisms to the effects of a toxicant.
Color Science and Engineering for the Display of Remote Sensing Images

In this chapter we discuss the color science issues that arise in the display and interpretation of artificially-colored remote-sensing images, and discuss some solutions to these challenges. The focus is on visualizing images that naturally have more than three components of information, and thus displaying them as a color image necessarily implies a reduction of information. A good understanding of display hardware and human color vision is useful in constructing and interpreting hyperspectral visualizations. After detailing key challenges, we review and propose solutions to create and refine visualizations to be more effective.
Resource competition and apparent competition in declining mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus)

Resource competition and apparent competition have both been suggested as the cause of mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus (Rafinesque, 1817)) decline concurrent with white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmerman, 1780)) increase. I tested for both hypotheses by conducting a “press” and “release” experiment in a mule deer, white-tailed deer, and cougar (Puma concolor (L., 1771)) community. If resource competition is causal, then predation should decrease, but other sources of mortality should increase following increased mortality of cougars and release of competing white-tailed deer. If apparent competition is causal, then predation should decrease and mule deer should increase following increased mortality of cougars and release of white-tailed deer. I accepted the apparent competition hypothesis because high mortality of female cougars and cougar population decline was associated with both white-tailed deer and mule deer population growth. Very high mortality of female cougars appeared to result in m...
Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory (CMRI) and Evidence for Two Superordinate Domains

Abstract. The Coalitional Mate Retention Inventory (CMRI; Pham, Barbaro, Mogilski, & Shackelford, 2015) assesses the frequency with which individuals solicit allies to assist with mate retention efforts. The current study subjected the CMRI to confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs). A model comparison approach was employed using data from a large community sample of participants currently in a heterosexual romantic relationship (n = 1,003, 54% male). The seven-factor structure of the CMRI demonstrates good model fit and provides significantly better fit than an alternative single-factor structure. The results also demonstrate that the seven tactics of the CMRI are subsumed by two superordinate domains of Benefit-Provisioning and Cost-Inflicting coalitional mate retention. Correlational analyses with the superordinate domains of coalitional mate retention are presented and highlight their predictive utility. We recommend the continued use of the CMRI in psychological research.
The Politics of Cultural Identity in Mulk Raj Anand's The Bubble

This paper explores the psycho-historical and bio-political search for the cultural identity of Krishan Chander Azad, Mulk Raj Anand's persona invested in The Bubble. Krishan, presently enrolled as...
Motivational processes in Sport Education programs among high school students: A systematic review

The purpose of this study was to conduct a literature review on the motivational processes in a Sport Education curriculum model among high school-aged students using self-determination theory and ...
“Protecting Mothers and Children:” The Castbergian Children’s Laws and Maternity Assistance for Single Mothers in the 1910s

Norwegian women who did not qualify for maternity benefits under the sickness insurance law often sought public assistance from another law passed in 1915. Written by feminist Katti Anker Moller and her brother-in-law Johan Castberg, the Castbergian Children’s Laws guaranteed certain rights of inheritance to illegitimate children and granted single mothers access to financial assistance during confinement. Due to the rights this legislation granted illegitimate children, the Laws were contested and garnered international attention. This chapter shows how Moller and Castberg were able to get these controversial laws passed by framing the discussion of the laws as a form of protection for children and their mothers. This led to the passage of maternity assistance that was more comprehensive than the provisions outlined under the sickness insurance laws. Yet the assistance was also more restrictive and means-tested than the insurance benefit, and the chapter documents how Moller and Castberg’s rhetoric of protection led to this outcome. The chapter also outlines reasons why the Castberg Laws were passed in Norway at a time when many European countries limited welfare policies to women they found “deserving:” mainly widows and married mothers.
THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT: CURRENT CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

This session is under the heading: “The International Criminal Court in the 21st Century.” On 17 July 1998, half a century after the Judgment at Nuremberg, which we are remembering here today, the Rome Statute—the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court (ICC)—was adopted at the Rome Conference. By way of introduction, let me give a very brief summary of the work of the Court over the last four years: On 1 July 2002, the date the Rome Statute entered into force, a socalled “ICC Advance Team,” composed of the first five members of the staff of the future ICC, entered a completely empty office building in The Hague. Their aim was to start the build-up of the Court. Since then and up to the present day, significant, often enormous, progress has been achieved in the build-up of the ICC, in all key areas—in the Registry, in the Office of the Prosecutor and also in the Chambers. The Court has grown from a small embryonic unit to a newly emerging international organization with a current staff of around 700 and growing fast—sometimes maybe even too fast. Indeed, we are now in the critical transition from the build-up of the Court to more and more judicial proceedings. With regard to Uganda, warrants of arrest concerning five members of the Lords Resistant’s Army (LRA) were unsealed in October 2005. The fact that the arrest warrants are not executed and that the five suspects are not yet in the custody of the ICC highlights the critical dependency of the ICC on effective
The Future of Clinical Trials in Traumatic Brain Injury

Over the past 30 years, clinical trials have repeatedly failed to demonstrate a definitive benefit of any neuroprotective agent for moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). As a result, TBI researchers have called for a critical reappraisal of the design, conduct, and analysis of TBI clinical trials. Some have argued that key limitations in preclinical research continue to hinder the translation of bench science to the clinical world. Others have focused on the details of the clinical trials themselves, arguing that the heterogeneous nature of TBI calls for unique considerations with regard to trial design, sample size, subject recruitment, outcome measurement, and statistical analysis in future clinical trials.
Opposing functions of F-BAR proteins in neuronal membrane protrusion, tubule formation, and neurite outgrowth

The F-BAR family of proteins play important roles in many cellular processes by regulating both membrane and actin dynamics. The CIP4 family of F-BAR proteins is widely recognized to function in endocytosis by elongating endocytosing vesicles. However, in primary cortical neurons, CIP4 concentrates at the tips of extending lamellipodia and filopodia and inhibits neurite outgrowth. Here, we report that the highly homologous CIP4 family member, FBP17, induces tubular structures in primary cortical neurons and results in precocious neurite formation. Through domain swapping and deletion experiments, we demonstrate that a novel polybasic region between the F-BAR and HR1 domains is required for membrane bending. Moreover, the presence of a poly-PxxP region in longer splice isoforms of CIP4 and FBP17 largely reverses the localization and function of these proteins. Thus, CIP4 and FBP17 function as an antagonistic pair to fine-tune membrane protrusion, endocytosis, and neurite formation during early neuronal development.
The impact of India’s accredited social health activist (ASHA) program on the utilization of maternity services: a nationally representative longitudinal modelling study

In 2006, the Government of India launched the accredited social health activist (ASHA) program, with the goal to connect marginalized communities to the health care system. We assessed the effect of the ASHA program on the utilization of maternity services. We used data from Indian Human Development Surveys done in 2004–2005 and in 2011–2012 to assess demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with the receipt of ASHA services, and used difference-in-difference analysis with cluster-level fixed effects to assess the effect of the program on the utilization of at least one antenatal care (ANC) visit, four or more ANC visits, skilled birth attendance (SBA), and giving birth at a health facility. Substantial variations in the receipt of ASHA services were reported with 66% of women in northeastern states, 30% in high-focus states, and 16% of women in other states. In areas where active ASHA activity was reported, the poorest women, and women belonging to scheduled castes and other backward castes, had the highest odds of receiving ASHA services. Exposure to ASHA services was associated with a 17% (95% CI 11.8–22.1) increase in ANC-1, 5% increase in four or more ANC visits (95% CI − 1.6–11.1), 26% increase in SBA (95% CI 20–31.1), and 28% increase (95% CI 22.4–32.8) in facility births. Our results suggest that the ASHA program is successfully connecting marginalized communities to maternity health services. Given the potential of the ASHA in impacting service utilization, we emphasize the need to strengthen strategies to recruit, train, incentivize, and retain ASHAs.
God and the IRS: Accommodating Religious Practice in United States Tax Law

Seventy-five percent of Americans claim religious affiliation, which can impact their taxpaying responsibilities. In this illuminating book, Samuel D. Brunson describes the many problems and breakdowns that can occur when tax meets religion in the United States, and shows how the US government has too often responded to these issues in an unprincipled, ad hoc manner. God and the IRS offers a better framework to understand tax and religion. It should be read by scholars of religion and the law, policymakers, and individuals interested in understanding the implications of taxation on their religious practices.
Effects of sex, age, and two loading rates on the tensile material properties of human rib cortical bone

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of sex, loading rate, and age on the tensile material properties of human rib cortical bone over a wide range of subject demographics. Sixty-one (n = 61) subjects (M = 32, F = 29) ranging in age from 17 to 99 years of age (Avg. = 56.4 ± 26.2 yrs) were used in this study. Two rectangular coupons of cutaneous rib cortical bone were obtained from each subject and milled into dog-bone coupons for testing. For each subject, one coupon was tested to failure in tension on a material testing system at a targeted strain rate of 0.005 strain/s, while the other coupon was tested at 0.5 strain/s. A reaction load cell was used to measure axial load, and an extensometer was used to measure displacement within the gage length of the coupon. Data were obtained from fifty-eight (n = 58) subjects at 0.005 strain/s and fifty-eight (n = 58) subjects at 0.5 strain/s, with fifty-five (n = 55) matched pairs. The elastic modulus, yield stress, yield strain, failure stress, failure strain, ultimate stress, elastic strain energy density (SED), plastic SED, and total SED were then calculated for each test. There were no significant differences in material properties between sexes and no significant interactions between age and sex. In regard to the differences in material properties with respect to loading rate, yield stress, yield strain, failure stress, ultimate stress, elastic SED, plastic SED, and total SED were significantly lower at 0.005 strain/s compared to 0.5 strain/s. Spearman correlation analyses showed that all material properties had significant negative correlations with age at 0.005 strain/s except modulus. At 0.5 strain/s, all material properties except yield strain had significant negative correlations with age. Although the results revealed that the material properties of human rib cortical bone varied significantly with respect to chronological age, the R2 values only ranged from 0.15 to 0.62, indicating that there may be other underlying variables that better account for the variance within a given population. This is the first study to analyze the effects of sex, loading rate, and age on tensile material properties of human rib cortical bone using a reasonably large sample size. Overall, the results of this study provide data that will allow FEMs to better model and assess differences in the material response of the rib cage for nearly all vehicle occupants of driving age.
Machine Learning Techniques in the CMS Search for Higgs Decays to Dimuons

With the accumulation of large collision datasets at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, the LHC experiments can search for rare processes, where the extraction of signal events from the copious Standard Model backgrounds poses an enormous challenge. Multivariate techniques promise to achieve the best sensitivities by isolating events with higher signal-to-background ratios. Using the search for Higgs bosons decaying to two muons in the CMS experiment as an example, we describe the use of Boosted Decision Trees coupled with automated categorization for optimal event classification, bringing an increase in sensitivity equivalent to 50% more data.