cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatial quantization via local texture masking

Wavelet-based transform coding is well known for its utility in perceptual image compression. Psychovisual modeling has lead to a variety of perceptual quantization schemes, for efficient at-threshold compression. Successfully extending these models to supra-threshold compression, however, is a more difficult task. This work attempts to bridge the gap between at threshold modeling and supra-threshold compression by combining a spatially-selective quantization scheme, designed for at-threshold compression with simple MSE-based rate-distortion optimization. A psychovisual experiment is performed to determine how textured image regions can be used to mask quantization induced distortions. Texture masking results from this experiment are used to derive a spatial quantization scheme, which hides distortion in high-contrast image regions. Unlike many spatial quantizers, this technique requires explicit side information to convey contrast thresholds to generate step-sizes. A simple coder is presented that is designed that applies spatially-selective quantization to meet any rate constraints near and above threshold. This coder leverages this side information to reduce the rate required to code the quantized data. Compression examples are compared with JPEG-2000 examples with visual frequency weighting. When matched for rate, the spatially quantized images are highly competitive with and in some cases superior to the JPEG-2000 results in terms of visual quality.
Abstract 736: Development of a novel circulating tumor cell technology for cancer predictive biomarker analysis.

Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC Circulation tumor cells are critically important to understand tumor metastasis and may have a potential to noninvasively evaluate the cancer for clinical management. The isolation and characterization of CTC represent a major technological challenge. While the CellSeach system by J&J has shown that CTC enumeration can be an independent predictor of survival for breast, prostate and colon cancer, little molecular information can be obtained from the CTC to have an impact on patient management or clinical outcome. Most hormone dependent castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) becomes refractory after one to three years of treatment, many through the amplification or mutation of the androgen receptor gene. As multiple targeted agents become available for this cancer and no tumor material can be obtained due to bone metastasis, there is an urgent need to be able to evaluate biomarkers of CRPC for clinical management of the patients. In order to assess biomarkers that may influence the management of CRPC, we worked on a novel antibody-independent CTC purification technology for isolation of Live CTC from CRPC. Citation Format: Zhigang Kang, William Dahut, James Gulley, Yunkai Yu, Paul S. Meltzer, Liang Cao. Development of a novel circulating tumor cell technology for cancer predictive biomarker analysis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 736. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-736
Ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid versus moxalactam in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections

A formulation of 3.0 g of ticarcillin and 0.1 g of clavulanic acid was evaluated in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections, and its efficacy was compared with that of moxalactam in a randomized open study. Thirty-three patients received 3.1 g of ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid every six hours via intravenous infusion, and 36 patients received 2.0 g of moxalactam every eight hours via intravenous infusion. Diagnostic categories included intramuscular abscesses, cellulitis, skin ulcers, gangrene, and perirectal abscesses. The average age of the patients and the duration of therapy were similar in both groups. Overall, 45 aerobic and 25 anaerobic bacteria were isolated from the ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid-treated patients; 58 aerobic and 24 anaerobic bacteria were isolated from the moxalactam-treated patients. Thirty of 33 patients in the ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid-treated group had a satisfactory response; a skin rash developed in one patient; therapy failed in one patient with Staphylococcus aureus infection; and one patient died as a result of a bleeding peptic ulcer. In the moxalactam-treated group, 32 of 36 patients had a satisfactory response; a skin rash developed in one patient; therapy failed in a patient with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection; and two patients were unevaluable. Ticarcillin plus clavulanic acid as a single agent was found to be as effective as moxalactam in the treatment of skin and soft tissue infections.
Cervical Screening and Cervical Cancer Death Among Older Women: A Population-Based, Case-Control Study

Recent research suggests that cervical screening of older women is associated with a considerable decrease in cervical cancer incidence. We sought to quantify the efficacy of cervical cytology screening to reduce death from this disease. Among enrollees of 2 US health plans, we compared Papanicolaou smear screening histories of women aged 55-79 years who died of cervical cancer during 1980-2010 (cases) to those of women at risk of cervical cancer (controls). Controls were matched 2:1 to cases on health plan, age, and enrollment duration. Cytology screening during the detectable preclinical phase, estimated as the 5-7 years before diagnosis during which cervical neoplasia is asymptomatic but cytologically detectable, was ascertained from medical records. A total of 39 cases and 80 controls were eligible. The odds ratio of cervical cancer death associated with screening during the presumed detectable preclinical phase was 0.26 (95% confidence interval: 0.10, 0.63) after adjustment for matching characteristics, smoking, marital status, and race/ethnicity using logistic regression. We estimate that cervical cytology screening of all women aged 55-79 years in the United States could avert 630 deaths annually. These results provide a minimum estimate of the efficacy of human papillomavirus DNA screening-a more sensitive test-to reduce cervical cancer death among older women.
Examining the Nature of Lexical Processing in Children with Specific Language Impairment: Temporal Processing or Processing capacity Deficit?.

The real-time lexical processing of children with specific language impairment (SLI) was examined, and the focus was to determine whether a temporal processing deficit or a general processing capacity deficit disrupts these children's lexical processing. A group of SLI children (mean age 8;3), a group of age-matched children (CA, mean age 8;1), and a group of receptive syntax-matched children (RS; mean age 6;7) completed a sentence processing task in which they monitored sentences for a target word appearing at the beginning, middle, or end of sentences. Sentences systematically varied with respect to containing either a high proportion of stop consonants (stop-loaded sentences) or a high proportion of nonstop consonants (nonstop-loaded sentences). Children also completed the Identification (ID) Speech Perception Task. On the sentence processing task, SLI children yielded significantly slower word recognition reaction time (RT) overall than both CA and RS controls. Sentence type had no effect on any subject group's RT. No Group × Sentence Type interaction was found. On the ID task, SLI children performed significantly worse than CA controls but similarly to RS children. No correlation was found between temporal processing and lexical processing (for either sentence type or sentences combined) for any group. The findings are interpreted to suggest that a general processing capacity limitation was responsible for the poor ID task performance and slower lexical processing of SLI children.
Information Sets in Decision Theory

Information sets were first defined by von Neumann and Morgenstern in 1944 in the context of extensive form games. In this paper, we examine the use of information sets for representing Bayesian decision problems. We call a decision tree with information sets a game tree. We also describe a roll-back procedure for solving game trees using local computation.
Liberation Theology: An Emerging School

Liberation Theology, a term that may still be quite new to many readers, represents a movement in theology that began to shape itself clearly in Latin America in the year 1970. Five international, but predominantly Latin American, conferences of theologians and biblical scholars in that year established the basic vocabulary, the key questions, the general direction of inquiry, and some agreed assumptions concerning method. These conferences, like the authors who subsequently emerged as leading spokesmen, were ecumenical but with a strong concentration of Roman Catholic scholars and churchmen.
Encountering being, identity, and otherness: Reconsidering Guimarães’s ‘‘Amerindian anthropology and cultural psychology’’ and Amerindian perspectivism, with insights from anthropology of religion, African humanities, and collaborative ethnography

Images of self and other are best understood not as static categories, but as fluid and dynamic negotiations in cultural encounters and transformations. In numerous cultural expressive contexts, such as animism, totemism, cosmology/philosophy, myth, and symbol, motifs represent what it means to exist, of ‘‘being’’ in this world, in likeness and difference, and encounters with other worlds: for example, human/animal relationships, time and space travel, and shape-shifting. How do anthropologists and local residents find epistemological and ontological common ground for mutual understanding? The challenge is to elicit local intellectual perspectives without imposing the researcher’s own categories. This commentary introduces comparative ethnographic findings in humanistic anthropology, with a special focus on African humanities, to open up perspectives on Amerindian perspectivism, the topic of Guimaraes’s (2011) essay.
Transcription Factor E3 Protein–Positive Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Tumor of the Appendix Presenting as Acute Appendicitis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Perivascular epithelioid cell tumors (PEComas) are a group of mesenchymal tumors that coexpress melanocytic and smooth muscle markers; their exact origin remains unknown. This group includes renal angiomyolipoma, clear cell sugar tumor, and lymphangioleiomyomatosis, although the term perivascular epithelioid cell tumors is currently used for lesions that exhibit a similar morphologic and immunohistochemical profile throughout the human body. Recently, a distinct subset of PEComas has been shown to harbor transcription factor E3 gene (TFE3) fusions. We report, for the first time, a unique case of TFE3-positive PEComa presenting as acute appendicitis in a 24-year-old woman. Microscopically, the tumor was composed of benign-appearing epithelioid cells with clear and eosinophilic cytoplasm, and arranged in nested and alveolar patterns. Immunohistochemical studies showed diffuse strong positivity for neuron-specific enolase, TFE3, and progesterone receptor and focal strong positivity for human melanoma black-45 (HMB-45) and melanocyte differentiation antigen (Melan-A) in the tumor cells. Although rare, PEComa should be included in the differential diagnosis of mesenchymal tumors of the appendix.
Campaign Support, Conflicts of Interest, and Judicial Impartiality: Can the Legitimacy of Courts Be Rescued by Recusals? *

Many legal scholars and observers perceive elected state courts in the U.S. as under siege by the politicization of judicial elections – by candidates for judicial office making policy pronouncements and promises, using ads attacking their opponents (often scurrilously), and, most important, by accepting campaign contributions and support from organizations litigating before the very judges these groups helped elect. Since no form of political capital is more valuable to courts than institutional legitimacy, the hypothesis that campaign activities undermine judicial legitimacy must be taken quite seriously.Our purpose in this paper is to investigate citizen perceptions of the impartiality and legitimacy of courts. We focus on the residents of West Virginia, because that state has recently been a battleground for intense conflict over campaign support and perceived conflicts of interest and loss of impartiality. We employ an experimental vignette embedded within a representative sample of West Virginians to test hypotheses about several factors that might affect perceived judicial impartiality: (1) campaign contributions and support; (2) the size of such support; (3) whether the judge accused of holding a conflict of interest withdraws from the case; and (4A) if not, whether that judge’s vote was crucial to the outcome, and (4B) if so, whether the party providing the campaign support wins or loses the lawsuit. Our theoretical objectives in this paper are to assess the determinants of citizens’ views of judicial impartiality, following earlier research on how campaigning affects such perceptions. More practically, we test the hypothesis that recusals can rehabilitate a judge and/or court from perceptions of a conflict of interest. In almost every respect, our findings are not as expected. Perhaps most important, contributions offered but rejected by the candidate have similar effects to contributions offered and accepted. And, although recusal can rehabilitate a court/judge to some degree, the effect of recusal is far from the complete restoration of the impartiality and legitimacy of the institution. We are also surprised that about one-third of the respondents are unfazed by the most conflicted circumstance our vignette imagines. We attribute that finding to the “reservoir of goodwill” enjoyed by courts and to the framing effects flowing from pre-existing loyalty to the judiciary. The processes by which citizens form and update their opinions of judges and courts are certainly complicated, but seem at least to involve pre-existing attitudes, expectations of judges, and perceptions of contextual factors, as our analysis of conditional influences demonstrates. Finally, our findings indicate that several of the assumptions of the majority in the recently decided Caperton v. Massey are empirically inaccurate, at least from the viewpoint of the citizens of West Virginia.
Deposition of Potassium Niobate Thin Films by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition and their Nonlinear Optical Properties

Single phase, highly textured strontium barium niobate (SBN) thin films were deposited by low pressure metal-organic chemical vapor deposition on both crystalline and amorphous substrates. The metal precursors employed were niobium pentaethoxide as well as barium and strontium (hexafluoroacetylacetonate)2 \ tetraglyme. SBN thin films with compositions across the entire solid solution range were deposited. The nonlinear optical properties of the SBN films were also measured. Nonlinear optical coefficients approaching bulk values were obtained for as-deposited oriented films. The room temperature, effective second-order nonlinear coefficient was 3.0 pm/V. Films with the highest degree of crystalline perfection had the largest effective nonlinear coefficient. The second harmonic intensity was strongly temperature dependent with a maximum at the ferroelectric transition.
Culture and Resistance at Work

Producing Power: Ethnicity, Gender, and Class in. Caribbean Workplace. Kevin A. Yelvington. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1995. 286 pp. The Terror of the Machine: Technology, Work, Gender, and Ecology on the U.S.-Mexico Border. Devon G. Pena. Austin: Center for Mexican American Studies, University of Texas, 1997.460 pp. Patriarchy on the Line: Labor, Gender, and Ideology in the Mexican Maquila Industry. Susan Tiano. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1994. 260 pp.
Configuration Research in Strategic Management: Key Issues and Suggestions

This paper discusses major theoretical and methodological issues that strategic management researchers must consider when developing and testing configuration theories. The theoretical issues include: (1) number of domains, (2) causality, and (3) temporal stability. The methodological issues are: (I) specification of key constructs, (2) effects of data aggregation, (3) the choice of unit of analysis, and (4) the appropriateness of research methodologies. Greater attention to these issues should result in more accurate findings and more meaningful interpretations.
A geographical information system-based web model of arbovirus transmission risk in the continental United States of America

A degree-day (DD) model of West Nile virus capable of forecasting real-time transmission risk in the continental United States of America up to one week in advance using a 50-km grid is available online at https://sites. google.com/site/arbovirusmap/. Daily averages of historical risk based on temperatures for 1994-2003 are available at 10km resolution. Transmission risk maps can be downloaded from 2010 to the present. The model can be adapted to work with any arbovirus for which the temperature-related parameters are known, e.g. Rift Valley fever virus. To more effectively assess virus establishment and transmission, the model incorporates "compound risk" maps and forecasts, which includes livestock density as a parameter.
Negative photoconductivity associated with impurity conduction in germanium

Negative photoconductivity in germanium at temperature and doping levels important with impurity conduction
Bounds on the derivatives of polynomials on Banach spaces

We generalize the classical Bernstein's and Markov's Inequalities for polynomials on any real Banach space. We also give estimates for the derivatives of homogeneous polynomials on real Banach spaces.
Surgical management of breast cancer in the elderly patient

Background: Breast cancer in the older woman is a major health issue and therapeutic challenge. This study asked if presentation, surgical treatment, and outcome of breast cancer are different in elderly women compared with their younger counterparts. Methods: There were 816 women <70 years (younger) and 190 ≥70 years (older) treated surgically for breast carcinoma between January 1992 and April 2000. Data for younger and older patients was analyzed from our prospective database. Results: More older women had mammographic lesions (P <0.006). Breast conservation was the treatment of choice for both groups. Stage, tumor size, histology and disease-specific survival were similar for both. There was no evidence of disease in 93% of cases in the <70 years group at median follow-up of 38.4 months and 91% for the ≥70 years group at 44.5 months. Conclusions: In our population the presentation, surgical treatment, and survival from breast cancer is similar in older and younger women.
Some results on the covering radii of Reed-Muller codes

Let R(r,m) be the rth-order Reed-Muller code of length 2/sup m/ and let rho (r,m) be its covering radius. R
Monocyte/macrophage traffic in HIV and SIV encephalitis

This short review focuses on the role of central nervous system (CNS) perivascular macrophages as targets of productive infection of the CNS. Data discussed include the importance of these cells as early targets of infection and their productive infection with AIDS. Many of the immune molecules on perivascular macrophages are also found on subsets of blood monocyte/macrophages, some of which are expanded during human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. These observations paired with the known bone marrow (BM) origin of perivascular macrophages and the BM as a site of HIV infection underscore the importance of the study of monocyte populations in the BM and blood, which are activated and infected as a source of virus that enters the CNS. Data presented and discussed herein suggest a role of HIV-infected BM-derived monocytes as "Trojan horse" cells that traffic to the CNS to become perivascular macrophages. The study of such cells including their timing of infection, activation, and traffic and the role of HIV-specific immune responses controlling their accumulation in the CNS warrant study with regard to CNS neuropathogenesis.
Reduction of the bioavailability of 20 μg/kg aflatoxin in trout feed containing clay

Abstract The absorption, metabolism, and excretion of dietary aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) by trout given different diets were compared. Fish were fed one of two diets: an AFB1 contaminated basal diet or the contaminated basal diet with 2% sodium bentonite. Urine, feces, and gill excretions were collected and analyzed separately over a 7-day test period. On completion of the feeding trials, the fish were euthanized for chemical analysis of body fluids and major organs. Total organ loads as low as 0.05 ng AFB1 were quantified through the use of tritium ( 3 H ) labeled AFB1 coupled with chloroform/methanol extraction, oxygen bomb combustion and liquid scintillation counting of samples. Results demonstrated that 2% dietary bentonite supplementation blocked intestinal absorption of dietary aflatoxin, reducing liver and kidney aflatoxin loads by at least 80±10%, and increasing the amount of AFB1 found in the feces about 470±20%, compared to control fish not fed bentonite. AFB1 or metabolite concentrations in urine increased daily for 6 days for both groups, but were always significantly lower in the bentonite-fed group. On average, insoluble aflatoxin metabolites accounted for 40%–60% of the total aflatoxin load in tissues, indicating a high percentage conversion to an adduct that binds to protein (or other materials in the tissues) and is not extracted by solvents. All data indicate that 2% bentonite contained in trout diets contaminated with 20 μg/kg AFB1 significantly reduces the amount of AFB1 absorbed from the digestive system following ingestion of contaminated diets.
Molecular biosensing system based on intrinsically disordered proteins

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) that undergo structural transition upon binding their target molecules are becoming increasingly known. IDPs, because of their binding specificity and induced folding properties, can serve as biological recognition elements for sensing applications. In this paper, BRCA1, an IDP, was utilized as the biological recognition element to detect tumor suppressor protein p53 through the BRCA1/p53 binding interaction to serve as a proof-of-concept for the use of IDPs as recognition elements. The binding resulted in a disordered-to-ordered BRCA1 conformational change, as seen in our circular dichroism (CD) measurements. This conformational change in BRCA1 (residues 219–498) was utilized in the detection of p53 (residues 311–393) via both intrinsic and extrinsic fluorescent probes. Intrinsic tryptophan residues within the BRCA1 sequence detected p53 (311–393) with a detection limit of 0.559 nM (0.112 pmol). Two environmentally sensitive fluorophores, tetramethylrhodamine-5-maleimide (TMR) and 6-((5-dimethylaminonaphthalene-1-sulfonyl)amino)hexanoic acid, succinimidyl ester (dansyl-X, SE) were conjugated to BRCA1 (219–498). Dansyl-X, SE-conjugated BRCA1 (219–498) detected p53 (311–393) with a detection limit of 1.50 nM (0.300 pmol). The sensitivities for TMR and dansyl-X, SE-conjugated BRCA1 for the detection of p53 were nearly threefold and twofold higher, respectively, than the sensitivity reported using intrinsic BRCA1 tryptophan fluorescence. CD measurements did not reveal a disruption of p53/dye-conjugated BRCA1 binding, thus validating the applicability of environmentally sensitive fluorophores as transduction moieties to detect molecules which bind to IDPs and induce a structural change.
Activation of p53, inhibition of telomerase activity and induction of estrogen receptor beta are associated with the anti-growth effects of combination of ovarian hormones and retinoids in immortalized human mammary epithelial cells

Background A full-term pregnancy has been associated with reduced risk for developing breast cancer. In rodent models, the protective effect of pregnancy can be mimicked with a defined regimen of estrogen and progesterone combination (E/P). However, the effects of pregnancy levels of E/P in humans and their underlying mechanisms are not fully understood. In this report, we investigated the growth inhibitory effects of pregnancy levels of E/P and both natural and synthetic retinoids in an immortalized human mammary epithelial cell line, 76N TERT cell line.
Structure and magnetic properties of a multi-principal element Ni–Fe–Cr–Co–Zn–Mn alloy

Abstract A nanocrystalline alloy with a nominal composition of Ni 20 Fe 20 Cr 20 Co 20 Zn 15 Mn 5 was produced by mechanical alloying and processed using annealing treatments between 450 and 600 °C for lengths from 0.5 to 4 h. Analysis was conducted using x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, magnetometry, and first-principles calculations. Despite designing the alloy using empirical high-entropy alloy guidelines, it was found to precipitate numerous phases after annealing. These precipitates included a magnetic phase, α-FeCo, which, after the optimal heat treatment conditions of 1 h at 500 °C, resulted in an alloy with reasonably good hard magnetic properties. The effect of annealing temperature and time on the microstructure and magnetic properties are discussed, as well as the likely mechanisms that cause the microstructure development.
Black and Male on Campus: An Autoethnographic Account

The pur pose of this autoethnographic study was to explore the ways in which race and racism coalesce in shaping the college experiences of Black men. I employ Critical Race Theory (CRT) to analyze my own reflections about lived realities experienced as an undergraduate at a predominantly White institution (PWI). Findings center on the role that race played in shaping my experiences related to achievement, engagement, and representation in college. Implications for the study highlight the importance of grit and double consciousness in the success of Black men in college, as well as the role of “racial symbolism” in coloring their experiences at PWIs.
Possible Sharing Arrangements in ARMA Supply Chains

We introduce a class of new sharing arrangements in a multi-stage supply chain in which the retailer observes stationary autoregressive moving average demand with Gaussian white noise (shocks). Similar to previous research, we assume each supply chain player constructs its best linear forecast of the leadtime demand and uses it to determine the order quantity via a periodic review myopic order-up-to policy. We demonstrate how a typical supply chain player can create a sequence of partial information shocks (PIS) from its full information shocks FIS and share these with an adjacent upstream player. We go on to show how such a sharing arrangement may be benecial to the upstream player by characterizing the player's FIS in such a case. Hence, we study how a player can determine its available information under PIS sharing, and use this information to forecast leadtime demand. We characterize the value of FIS sharing for a typical supply chain player. Furthermore, we show conditions under which a player is able to form and share valuable PIS without (i) revealing its historic demand sequence or (ii) revealing its FIS sequence. We also provide a way of comparing various PIS sharing arrangements with each other and with conventional sharing arrangements involving demand sharing or FIS sharing. We show that demand propagates through a supply chain where any player may share nothing or a sequence of PIS shocks with an adjacent upstream player as quasi-ARMA in - quasi-ARMA out.
Drinking Water Treatment Residual Amendment Lowers Inorganic Arsenic Bioaccessibility in Contaminated soils: a Long-Term Study

Inorganic arsenical pesticides were used widely in agriculture for a long time, leaving large tracts of farmlands and orchards contaminated with high levels of arsenic. These contaminated soils pose a significant public health risk as residential developments encroach on these lands due to urban sprawl. Several studies have documented the effectiveness of iron and aluminum hydroxides in immobilizing arsenic in contaminated soils. Solid residues left from drinking water treatment (Drinking water treatment residuals, or WTRs) have been proposed as a low-cost and effective amendment, as they contain large amounts of aluminum (Al) and iron (Fe) oxides. By conducting in vitro tests after 1 year of equilibration, our group recently documented the effectiveness of two types of WTRs (Fe- and Al-based) in significantly (p < 0.01) lowering As bioaccessibility. However, long-term studies under realistic conditions are necessary to test the ability of WTRs in reducing soil arsenic bioaccessibility. In the current study, the effect of WTRs on inorganic arsenic bioaccessibility and distribution in two soils (Immokalee and Orelia) with variable properties was evaluated over a 3-year time period in a greenhouse setup. Results show that arsenic bioaccessibility decreased significantly (p < 0.001) from 100 to ~25 % after 3 years of equilibration, compared to the unamended controls. There was a significant (p < 0.001) decline in water-soluble arsenic with time, accompanied by an increase in Fe/Al and Ca/Mg-bound fractions, suggesting that these phases control the mobility of arsenic. The negative correlation between arsenic bioaccessibility Fe/Al- and Ca/Mg-bound fractions can be attributed to the transformation of soluble arsenic to less soluble mineral phases.
Pintura de los reinos. Identidades compartidas en el mundo hispánico. Miradas varias, siglos XVI–XIX

Pintura de los reinos is a collection of essays generated from conferences that accompanied the exhibition Pintura de los Reinos in Madrid in the Museo del Prado and the Palacio Real in 2010–2011 a...
Fast mapping from argument structure alone

Parents often utter verbs when their referents are not co-present. We therefore ask whether toddlers can discover a verb’s meaning from its argument structure alone. Toddlers (21-months) heard a novel verb in either transitive or intransitive sentences. They then viewed two test scenes, a causative and a synchronous event, and heard, “Find dacking!” Within 2.5s of the novel verb’s onset, toddlers who had heard transitive sentences reliably preferred the causative scene. The results (1) indicate that 21-month-olds discover verb meaning using argument structure cues, even absent a co-occurring event, and (2) establish the time-course with which 21-month-olds process novel verbs.
Solubility of Fluorosed Enamel and Dentine

ConclusionThe presence of fluorine in large amounts may decrease the solubility of the dental hard tissues. Small amounts of fluorine show no demonstrable reduction in enamel solubility. It seems doubtful that the amounts of fluorine present in slightly fluorosed teeth is sufficient to alter their acid solubility.
TAK1 Regulates Myocardial Response to Pathological Stress via NFAT, NFκB, and Bnip3 Pathways

TAK1 (TGFβ-activated kinase-1) signaling is essential in regulating a number of important biological functions, including innate immunity, inflammatory response, cell growth and differentiation, and myocardial homeostasis. The precise role of TAK1 in the adult heart under pathological conditions remains largely unknown. Importantly, we observed that TAK1 is upregulated during compensatory hypertrophy but downregulated in end-stage heart failure. Here we generated transgenic mice with inducible expression of an active TAK1 mutant (TAK1ΔN) in the adult heart. TAK1ΔN transgenic mice developed greater cardiac hypertrophy compared with control mice after transverse aortic constriction (TAC), which was largely blocked by ablation of calcineurin Aβ. Expression of TAK1ΔN also promoted NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T-cells) transcriptional activity in luciferase reporter mice at baseline, which was further enhanced after TAC. Our results revealed that activation of TAK1 promoted adaptive cardiac hypertrophy through a cross-talk between calcineurin-NFAT and IKK-NFκB pathways. More significantly, adult-onset inducible expression of TAK1ΔN protected the myocardium from adverse remodeling and heart failure after myocardial infarction or long-term pressure overload, by preventing cardiac cell death and fibrosis. Mechanistically, TAK1 exerts its cardioprotective effect through activation of NFAT/NFκB, downregulation of Bnip3, and inhibition of cardiac cell death.
Schleiermacher: The Psychological Significance of Translation

As Freud consistently emphasizes, it is through pathology that normal psychological functioning is most easily understood. In the case of transference, the neurotic restaging of old relationships leads to one of the core insights of psychoanalysis: the world that is real to me is my world, a world conditioned by my own interpretations, repressions, and anxieties. The less that world resembles the world recognized by others, the more problematic my perception and behavior will be to me and to those around me. However, the need to invest meaning in the world animates both normal and abnormal perception. The pathological state is only an intensification of the normal process of trying to make sense of experience by arranging it according to familiar concepts and patterns.
Parties and the Election Process

Elections are in a very real sense a major test for political parties in democracies. After all, their leadership selection activity, their organizational effort, their intensive campaign work, and the election all tell parties and their candidates where they stand vis-a-vis the public. Since parties must win elections (or demonstrate that they have the potential for winning) if they are to be taken seriously, elections force a discipline on parties that cannot be matched by any other aspect of democratic life. Although there are many ways to look at elections, certainly a central perspective is their relevance for testing the strength, viability, and power potential of the parties.
Family Relationships, Social Connections, and Depressive Symptoms Among Chinese Older Adults in International Migrant Families

ABSTRACTThis study explored whether and how family relationships and social connections influence depressive symptoms of older migrants and older adults in transnational families using the data gathered from a cross-sectional survey in Los Angeles, California, United States, and Beijing, China. Regression results showed that the older migrants reported significantly higher levels of depression than the elders in transnational families. The findings highlight the importance of maintaining close family relations and having large friendship networks for older adults in international migrant families.
Wear and its effects on dental topography measures in howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata).

Objectives Three dental topography measurements: Dirichlet Normal Energy (DNE), Relief Index (RFI), and Orientation Patch Count Rotated (OPCR) are examined for their interaction with measures of wear, within and between upper and lower molars in Alouatta palliata. Potential inferences of the “dental sculpting” phenomenon are explored. Materials and methods Fifteen occluding pairs of howling monkey first molars (15 upper, 15 lower) opportunistically collected from La Pacifica, Costa Rica, were selected to sample wear stages ranging from unworn to heavily worn as measured by the Dentine Exposure Ratio (DER). DNE, RFI, and OPCR were measured from three-dimensional surface reconstructions (PLY files) derived from high-resolution CT scans. Relationships among the variables were tested with regression analyses. Results Upper molars have more cutting edges, exhibiting significantly higher DNE, but have significantly lower RFI values. However, the relationships among the measures are concordant across both sets of molars. DER and EDJL are curvilinearly related. DER is positively correlated with DNE, negatively correlated with RFI, and uncorrelated with OPCR. EDJL is not correlated with DNE, or RFI, but is positively correlated with OPCR among lower molars only. Discussion The relationships among these metrics suggest that howling monkey teeth adaptively engage macrowear. DNE increases with wear in this sample presumably improving food breakdown. RFI is initially high but declines with wear, suggesting that the initially high RFI safeguards against dental senescence. OPCR values in howling monkey teeth do not show a clear relationship with wear changes.
A novel ER–microtubule-binding protein, ERLIN2, stabilizes Cyclin B1 and regulates cell cycle progression

The gene encoding endoplasmic reticulum (ER) lipid raft-associated protein 2 (ERLIN2) is amplified in human breast cancers. ERLIN2 gene mutations were also found to be associated with human childhood progressive motor neuron diseases. Yet, an understanding of the physiological function and mechanism for ERLIN2 remains elusive. In this study, we reveal that ERLIN2 is a spatially and temporally regulated ER–microtubule-binding protein that has an important role in cell cycle progression by interacting with and stabilizing the mitosis-promoting factors. Whereas ERLIN2 is highly expressed in aggressive human breast cancers, during normal development ERLIN2 is expressed at the postnatal stage and becomes undetectable in adulthood. ERLIN2 interacts with the microtubule component α-tubulin, and this interaction is maximal during the cell cycle G2/M phase where ERLIN2 simultaneously interacts with the mitosis-promoting complex Cyclin B1/Cdk1. ERLIN2 facilitates K63-linked ubiquitination and stabilization of Cyclin B1 protein in G2/M phase. Downregulation of ERLIN2 results in cell cycle arrest, represses breast cancer proliferation and malignancy and increases sensitivity of breast cancer cells to anticancer drugs. In summary, our study revealed a novel ER–microtubule-binding protein, ERLIN2, which interacts with and stabilizes mitosis-promoting factors to regulate cell cycle progression associated with human breast cancer malignancy.
The impact of item-writing flaws and item complexity on examination item difficulty and discrimination value

Failure to adhere to standard item-writing guidelines may render examination questions easier or more difficult than intended. Item complexity describes the cognitive skill level required to obtain a correct answer. Higher cognitive examination items promote critical thinking and are recommended to prepare students for clinical training. This study evaluated faculty-authored examinations to determine the impact of item-writing flaws and item complexity on the difficulty and discrimination value of examination items used to assess third year veterinary students. The impact of item-writing flaws and item complexity (cognitive level I-V) on examination item difficulty and discrimination value was evaluated on 1925 examination items prepared by clinical faculty for third year veterinary students. The mean (± SE) percent correct (83.3 % ± 17.5) was consistent with target values in professional education, and the mean discrimination index (0.18 ± 0.17) was slightly lower than recommended (0.20). More than one item-writing flaw was identified in 37.3 % of questions. The most common item-writing flaws were awkward stem structure, implausible distractors, longest response is correct, and responses are series of true-false statements. Higher cognitive skills (complexity level III-IV) were required to correctly answer 38.4 % of examination items. As item complexity increased, item difficulty and discrimination values increased. The probability of writing discriminating, difficult examination items decreased when implausible distractors and all of the above were used, and increased if the distractors were comprised of a series of true/false statements. Items with four distractors were not more difficult or discriminating than items with three distractors. Preparation of examination questions targeting higher cognitive levels will increase the likelihood of constructing discriminating items. Use of implausible distractors to complete a five-option multiple choice question does not strengthen the discrimination value.
One Size Does Not Fit All: A Contextual Approach to Fiduciary Duties Owed to Preferred Stockholders From Venture Capital to Public Preferred to Family Business

This Article examines whether corporations should owe fiduciary duties to its preferred stockholders as preferred stockholders across all settings of preferred stock holding. In one context, sophisticated venture capitalists purchase preferred stock after carefully negotiating the stock price, control over the corporate governance, and other key stipulations by contract. Additionally, because the initial preferred stockholder could protect its interests through staged financing or board control, the preferred stockholder might not discount the stock even if it lacked protection since the other protective devices made the lack of such protections inconsequential so the initial holders won’t pay for these added fiduciary protections. In such settings it does not make sense for the corporation to owe fiduciary duties to the preferred stockholders as preferred. In fact, doing so rearranges the basis on which the initial stockholders purchased the stock and implying a fiduciary term constitutes a hit to the common stockholders and thus ignores the terms of the claimants and the risk and targeted return for each of them. However, while it makes sense for sophisticated venture capitalists to rely only on bargained-for contractual protections, this Article identifies two specific contexts where a limited fiduciary obligation should be extended to preferred stockholders who lack bargaining power. The first is when non-working children are given preferred stock in a family business. The second is when a corporation takes on a new unfamiliar product line, allowing common stockholders to wipe out the value of publicly traded preferred stock. When the preferred stock is purchased in the public marketplace, the preferred stockholders will not have any bargaining power in the preferred stock’s contractual arrangement. Moreover, the additional terms routine in shareholder agreements between VC’s and founders are almost never found in the Charter documents, so those provisions won’t be transferable. To the subsequent purchaser of preferred stock the lack of such protections might call for a limited fiduciary duty if the markets for preferred stock are not as efficient as for common stock or if there are chinks in the efficient capital market hypothesis. Where the disciplining effects of the market are weaker, subsequent buyers of the preferred stock may not price the stock accurately to reflect the lack of transferable protections, providing a justification for a limited fiduciary duty in that context if implying the term would add value.
Applied Anatomy of the Direct Anterior Approach for Femoral Mobilization.

Overview Introduction Study of the anterior anatomy of the hip reveals specific aspects that are crucial to success in performing both the surgical approach to the hip and mobilization of the femur. In this article, we present the relevant anatomy and our operative technique. Indications & Contraindications Step 1: The Anterior Anatomy of the Hip (Video 1) Review the anatomy of the hip as it relates to the surgical technique as doing so is essential to understanding the surgical technique 6 . Step 2: Approach to the Anterior Aspect of the Hip (Video 2) Review the surgical approach to the hip . Step 3: Release of the Capsule (Video 3) In the first step of femoral mobilization, release the superior-posterior capsule . Step 4: Release of the Conjoined Tendon and Piriformis Flip (Video 4) If sufficient elevation of the femur is not achieved with release of the capsule, perform rotator visualization and serial release . Results Our prospective, nonrandomized study compared DAA THA using our technique for femoral mobilization with the posterior approach THA 12 . Pitfalls & Challenges
Single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz temper from prehistoric Intermountain Ware ceramics, northwestern Wyoming, USA

Abstract This study applies single-grain optically stimulated luminescence (SG OSL) dating of quartz sand temper to Intermountain Ware ceramics recovered from four archaeological sites in northwestern Wyoming, USA. We show that SG OSL dating can strengthen and further refines existing archaeological site chronologies in certain settings. The SG OSL results are compared to multi-grain infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) dating of the polymineral (feldspar and quartz) silt fraction in the ceramic paste of the same sherds. Results from the two methods are statistically indistinguishable, although coarse-grained quartz SG OSL ages have consistently lower standard error terms due to higher relative sensitivity and avoidance of anomalous fading calculations. Moreover, the SG OSL results produced precision at two-sigma standard error greater than or equal to associated calibrated radiocarbon ages. SG OSL dating of quartz temper from Intermountain Ware ceramics provides more reliable site occupation timing than radiocarbon dating, which can be conditioned by incorporation of old wood and contamination from young soil carbon. This study highlights the importance of SG OSL dating on sherds from buried contexts when exposure to wildfires may have occurred, as ceramics recovered from the ground surface of one site after a high-intensity fire produced near-modern apparent ages, suggesting they were thermally reset during the fire. We suggest SG OSL should be applied to date similar ceramics with quartz temper to determine site age and bolster regional chronologies.
An updated review of pediatric drug-induced sleep endoscopy.

Objectives Drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) involves assessment of the upper airway using a flexible endoscope while patients are in a pharmacologically-induced sleep-like state. The aim of this article is to review the current literature regarding the role of DISE in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The indications, typical anesthetic protocol, comparison to other diagnostic modalities, scoring systems, and outcomes are discussed. Methods A comprehensive review of literature regarding pediatric DISE up through May 2017 was performed. Results DISE provides a thorough evaluation of sites of obstruction during sedation. It is typically indicated for children with persistent OSA after tonsillectomy, those with OSA without tonsillar hypertrophy, children with risk factors predisposing then to multiple sites of obstruction, or when sleep-state dependent laryngomalacia is suspected. The dexmedotomidine and ketamine protocol, which replicates non-REM sleep, appears to be safe and is often used for pediatric DISE, although propofol is the most commonly employed agent for DISE in adults. Six different scoring systems (VOTE, SERS, Chan, Bachar, Fishman, Boudewyns) have been used to report pediatric DISE findings, but none is universally accepted. Conclusions DISE is a safe and useful technique to assess levels of obstruction in children. There is currently no universally-accepted anesthetic protocol or scoring system for pediatric DISE, but both will be necessary in order to provide a consistent method to report findings, enhance communication among providers and optimize surgical outcomes. Level of evidence N/A.
Liquid-like P granules require ATP hydrolysis to avoid solidification

RNA granules are RNA/protein condensates proposed to form in cells by liquid-liquid phase separation, a thermodynamic process that partitions molecules between two liquid phases without energy input. The C. elegans P granules are RNA granules that exhibit liquid-like behaviors. Using ex vivo methods, we find that P granules are not simple liquids. P granules solidify outside of cells, becoming resistant to dilution and high salt. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP), but not GTP or non-hydrolyzable ATP analogs, restores liquid-like behavior. P granules also solidify in cells upon shift to high temperature or inactivation of the DDX6 RNA helicase. Solidification of RNA granules has been linked to neurodegeneration. Our findings suggest that active processes that consume ATP are needed continuously to counteract the intrinsic propensity of RNA granules to solidify.