cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Economic Leverage of International Organizations in Interstate Disputes

ABSTRACTAddressing a long-standing debate in international relations scholarship, this study shows that international governmental organizations (IGOs) with high economic leverage over their member states, such as some development banks, substantially lower the risk that political disputes experience the use of military force. Empirical tests covering cases of disputatious claims and international crises since 1946 make use of a new classification of IGOs that have economic leverage and use it toward increasing states’ cost of using force in disputes. When pairs of states are subject to the economic leverage of IGOs, they are substantially less likely to use force. For the understanding and practice of interstate dispute resolution and international conflict more generally, the study suggests a specific linkage between institutionalized economic interdependence and conflict escalation.
Exploring attachment chemistry with FRET in hybrid quantum dot dye-labeled DNA dendrimer composites

Luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and a range of biomolecules are now being routinely co-integrated into functional optical devices in pursuit of creating novel ‘value added’ photonic and energy harvesting/transfer materials. Amongst the biological molecules, structural DNA architectures are particularly useful due to their unrivaled ability to assume almost any desired shape along with allowing fluorophores to be precisely arranged on them with controlled stoichiometry and sub-nanometer positional accuracy. The unique properties available to joint QD–DNA composites suggest them for a host of new applications in light harvesting, biosensing, and molecular computation amongst others. To fully realize the synergistic benefits from such organic–inorganic composites, especially when they constitute complex, multidimensional Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) networks, a detailed understanding of the mechanisms that govern the individual components is imperative. Here, we demonstrate hybrid FRET systems comprising an initial QD scaffold/donor displaying DNA dendrimers decorated with dyes and which are capable of efficiently capturing UV light and transporting it to spectrally and spatially distant fluorophores via multistep FRET. We evaluate two primary strategies to conjugate the DNA-dendrimers to the QDs, namely covalent attachment of DNA to the termini of the QDs surface ligands and polyhistidine-based metal affinity coordination of modified DNA to the QD's ZnS shell surface. Analysis of the resulting FRET data shows that the dendritic arrangement of the dyes and the ability to place multiple dendrimer copies around the QD's nontrivial surface provides for significant energy transfer efficiencies of 20–25% through these multi-FRET step systems. In analyzing the properties of the conjugates, we further find that each assembly chemistry brings with it a series of benefits and liabilities that serve as mutual trade-offs and potential rules of thumb for designing future nanodevices based on these materials.
The Association Between Filial Piety and Depressive Symptoms Among U.S. Chinese Older Adults

Background: Depressive symptoms are detrimental to the overall health and well-being of older adults. This study aimed to examine the association between filial piety and depressive symptoms among U.S. Chinese older adults. Method: Data were derived from the Population Study of Chinese Elderly in Chicago (PINE), a community-engaged, population-based epidemiological study of U.S. Chinese older adults aged 60 years and above in the Greater Chicago area. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was adopted to measure depressive symptoms. Six domains of filial piety were evaluated, involving respect, happiness, care, greeting, obedience, and financial support. Regression analyses were performed. Results: After adjusting for age, sex, education, annual personal income, marital status, living arrangement, number of children, years in the United States, years in the community and medical comorbidities, every one point lower in filial piety expectation score was associated with increased risk of depressive symptoms (RR [rate ratio] = .96, .95-.98). And every one point lower in filial piety receipt score was associated with increased risk of depressive symptoms (RR = .94, .93-.95). Discussion: This study provides insights to research on filial piety and depressive symptoms by examining expectation and perceived receipt of filial piety. Future studies are needed to investigate the association between filial discrepancy and depressive symptoms.
Not "filed away as finally dealt with".

This essay considers some historical, clinical, and personal dimensions of Sandor Ferenczi's contributions to psychoanalysis. It uses a clinical framework to develop a new perspective of the Freud–Ferenczi relation (and of its impact on the development of psychoanalysis), which despite smoldering conflict, persisted for twenty-five years and was Freud's longest-lasting intimate friendship. A case is made for the open, undefensive, experience-drenched basis of Ferenczi's work to assure its continuing usefulness to the psychoanalyst of today, which, as is demonstrated, can lead in surprising directions.
Water and Electrolytes in Malnourished and Uremic Children

The following review presents general concepts about water and electrolyte homeostasis, with particular emphasis on malnourished children and children with chronic renal failure.
Theories, Models, Programs, and Tools of Design: Views from Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Science, and Human-Centered Computing

Our research on design adopts the perspectives of artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and human-centered computing. Thus, it produces information-processing theories, computational models, computer programs, and interactive tools for aspects of design. In this chapter, we describe these perspectives and products. We also illustrate some of the methods and artifacts of our research through a case study of problem–solution coevolution in biologically inspired design. Starting with the Structure-Behavior-Function knowledge model as a seed, we develop a knowledge model of design problems called SR.BID that is grounded in empirical data about biologically inspired design practice. SR.BID captures problem descriptions as well as problem–solution relationships in biologically inspired design, and thus forms the basis for the development of new interactive tools for supporting its practice as well as new pedagogical techniques for learning about problem formulation.
Variability of Phytoplankton Pigment Concentrations and Primary Productivity

The polar oceans have been regarded as regions of high biological activity but moderate primary productivity. During spring and summer, they are sites of extremely high phytoplankton concentrations in part because of the abundance of nutrients and the presence of stable layers of meltwater that provide an ideal platform for photosynthesis. The productivity is more limited in autumn and winter when extended darkness and relatively cold surface temperature prevail and much of the region is covered by sea ice. Analyses of more than a decade of ocean color SeaWiFS data have yielded many interesting results about the spatial distribution and interannual variability of phytoplankton pigment concentration and primary productivity.
Low-Grade Papillary Schneiderian Carcinoma of the Sinonasal Cavity and Temporal Bone.

Objectives:The aim of this study was to further characterize a newly described neoplasm, low-grade papillary Schneiderian carcinoma, occurring simultaneously in the sinonasal cavity and mastoid. Ad...
Electrical Tuning of Focal Size with Single Focused Ultrasonic Transducer

This paper describes a single-element planar focusing ultrasonic transducer with electrically tunable focal size, through modifying the design of a self-focusing acoustic transducer (SFAT). The transudcer is built on a 1-mm-thlck lead zirconate titanate (PZT) with (1) Fresnel acoustic lens formed with annular rings of air cavities on the top and (2) patterned annular ring electrodes on the bottom. By controlling the number of Fresnel rings being driven from the center, we were able to tune the focal size between 371 and 866 µm, while keeping the focal length at 6 mm, with 2.32 MHz pulsed ultrasound. When tested as a droplet ejector, the transducer ejected water droplets with diameter between 294 and 560 µm (between 13.3 and 92.0 nL in volume), depending on which set of electrodes are actuated.
Third Workshop on Computer Architecture Research Directions

CARD 2011 presents three mini-panels consisting of three experts in the field, two as panelists and the third as a moderator/panelist. The purpose of this workshop is to serve as a forum in which experts in each field can debate the state of the field and future directions. The format is designed to quickly focus on areas of disagreement, rather than expounding on areas of agreement which, presumably, have ceased to be controversial, at least between the two panelists. The hope is that the workshop will be useful to a diverse audience from a graduate student looking for good thesis topic areas to a senior researcher who wants to hear the opinions of other area experts. Each 60 minute panel will consist of an opening statement from each panelist (10 minutes each, 20 minutes total), discussion between the moderator and panelists (5 to 10 minutes), and questions from the audience (30 to 35 minutes).
The Authoritarian Wager: Political Action and the Sudden Collapse of Repression:

Authoritarian rulers tend to prevent political action, but sometimes allow it even if it leads to social conflict. The collapse of preventive repression is especially puzzling when rulers have reli...
Perception of Sibilants by Preschool Children with Overt and Covert Sound Contrasts.

Purpose This study explores the role of overt and covert contrasts in speech perception by children with speech sound disorder (SSD). Method Three groups of preschool-aged children (typically developing speech and language [TD], SSD with /s/~/ʃ/ contrast [SSD-contrast], and SSD with /s/~/ʃ/ collapse [SSD-collapse]) completed an identification task targeting /s/~/ʃ/ minimal pairs. The stimuli were produced by 3 sets of talkers: children with TD, children with SSD, and the participant himself/herself. We conducted a univariate general linear model to investigate differences in perception of tokens produced by different speakers and differences in perception between the groups of listeners. Results The TD and SSD-contrast groups performed similarly when perceiving tokens produced by themselves or other children. The SSD-collapse group perceived all speakers more poorly than the other 2 groups of children, performing at chance for perception of their own speech. Children who produced a covert contrast did not perceive their own speech more accurately than children who produced no identifiable acoustic contrast. Conclusion Preschool-aged children have not yet developed adultlike phonological representations. Collapsing phoneme production, even with a covert contrast, may indicate poor perception of the collapsed phonemes.
Rent-Seeking for Madness: The Political Economy of Mental Asylums in the US, 1870 to 1910

From the end of the Civil War to the onset of the Great War, the United States experienced an unprecedented increase in commitment rates for mental asylums. Historians and sociologists often explain this increase by noting that public sentiment called for widespread involuntary institutionalization to avoid the supposed threat of insanity to social well-being. However, this explanation neglects the increased role of rent-seeking within psychiatry and the broader medical field over the same period. In this paper, we argue that increased political influence from mental healthcare providers contributed significantly to the rise in institutionalization. We test our claim empirically by using the taxonomy of medical regulations from 1870 to 1910, as well as primary sources documenting rates of insanity at the state level. Our findings provide an alternative explanation for the historical rise in institutionalization within the US.
Optimizing measurement strengths for qubit quasiprobabilities behind out-of-time-ordered correlators

Out-of-time-ordered correlators (OTOCs) have been proposed as a tool to witness quantum information scrambling in many-body system dynamics. These correlators can be understood as averages over nonclassical multi-time quasi-probability distributions (QPDs). These QPDs have more information, and their nonclassical features witness quantum information scrambling in a more nuanced way. However, their high dimensionality and nonclassicality make QPDs challenging to measure experimentally. We focus on the topical case of a many-qubit system and show how to obtain such a QPD in the laboratory using circuits with three and four sequential measurements. Averaging distinct values over the same measured distribution reveals either the OTOC or parameters of its QPD. Stronger measurements minimize experimental resources despite increased dynamical disturbance.
Violence Depicted in Superhero-Based Films Stratified by Protagonist/Antagonist and Gender.

The objective of this study was to describe and quantify acts of violence depicted in a select number of superhero-based films, further stratified by protagonist/antagonist characters and gender. A total of 10 superhero-based films released in 2015-2016 were analyzed by five independent reviewers. The average number of acts of violence associated with protagonist and antagonist characters for all included films was 22.7 and 17.5 mean events per hour, respectively (p=0.019). The average number of acts of violence associated with male and female characters for all included films was 33.4 and 6.5 mean events per hour, respectively (p<0.001). The most common acts of violence for all major characters were "fighting", "use of a lethal weapon", "bullying/intimidation/torture", "destruction of property", and "murder" (14.9, 11.4, 3.5, 3.4, and 2.4 mean events per hour, respectively). Based on our sample of superhero-based films, acts of violence were associated more with protagonist characters and male characters.
Active, continual fine tuning of convolutional neural networks for reducing annotation efforts

The splendid success of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in computer vision is largely attributable to the availability of massive annotated datasets, such as ImageNet and Places. However, in medical imaging, it is challenging to create such large annotated datasets, as annotating medical images is not only tedious, laborious, and time consuming, but it also demands costly, specialty-oriented skills, which are not easily accessible. To dramatically reduce annotation cost, this paper presents a novel method to naturally integrate active learning and transfer learning (fine-tuning) into a single framework, which starts directly with a pre-trained CNN to seek "worthy" samples for annotation and gradually enhances the (fine-tuned) CNN via continual fine-tuning. We have evaluated our method using three distinct medical imaging applications, demonstrating that it can reduce annotation efforts by at least half compared with random selection.
Traceless Staudinger ligation enabled parallel synthesis of proteolysis targeting chimera linker variants

A parallel, one-pot assembly approach to proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) is demonstrated utilizing activated esters generated in situ, and traceless Staudinger ligation chemistry. The method described allows for rapid structure-activity relationship studies of PROTAC linker variants. Two previously studied systems, cereblon and BRD4 degraders, are examined as test cases for the synthetic method. The two related strategies to assemble PROTAC linker variants discussed can accommodate the chromotographic separations capabilities of labs of many sizes and incorporates commercially available degrader building blocks, thereby easing synthetic entry into PROTAC chemical space.
The Relationship between Weight Cutting and the Female Athlete Triad in Combat Sport Athletes

Background: Females combat sport athletes are likely to partake in rapid weight reduction strategies prior to competitions. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between weight cutting habits of female combat sport athletes and the risk of developing the female athlete triad. Methods: 102 female combat sport athletes (amateur=40; professional=62; 28.8±4.5y), competing in boxing (n=30), kickboxing (n=12), and mixed martial arts (n=60), completed two questionnaires. An adapted version of the Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire (RWLQ) was used to determine the severity of athletes’ weight cutting behaviors, and the Low Energy Availability in Females Questionnaire (LEAF-Q) was used to determine female athlete triad risk. Data was analyzed to determine correlations between LEAF-Q and RWLQ scores along with weight cutting behaviors. Scores were also compared between competition level and combat sports. Results: The results of this study showed that 38% of female combat sport athletes were at risk of developing the female athlete triad. Significant correlation between RWLQ and LEAF-Q scores (p=0.013; r=0.244, r2=0.060) were noted. A significant difference (p=0.006) between the RWLQ scores of amateurs and professionals was also noted, with professionals engaging in more severe weight cutting behavior. Mixed martial artists reported the highest RWLQ and LEAF-Q scores, which were significantly greater than boxers. No other correlations between LEAF-Q and weight cutting behaviors were noted. Conclusion: Despite a small effect size (r²=0.060), the findings of this study demonstrate that more severe weight cutting behaviors may increase the female athlete triad risk among female combat sport athletes.
Independent Voices of Entrepreneurial News: Setting a New Agenda in Latin America

Entrepreneurial journalism relates broadly to digital-native news organizations that are innovating in the field. A chief innovation in Latin America is a newfound opportunity for editorial independence, according to focus groups with entrepreneurial journalists from 16 organizations across the region. Entrepreneurial journalism organizations believe their financial structure gives them editorial autonomy. This study looked at the background for and the reasons why independence is considered a necessary innovation in Latin American journalism. It found that pressures against editorial independence varied from government funding (Argentina and Brazil) to corporate impositions (Peru) and government pressures (Mexico). Our focus group participants found a need for a space to cover topics and issues that were not being addressed or were being misrepresented by mainstream media from the Amazon region of Brazil to investigative reporting in Venezuela and under-covered communities in Chile. This innovation has allowed journalists to embrace an interventionist role (Hanitzsch, Hanusch, & Lauerer, 2016), based on social engagement and the ability to set the agenda, as our expert group stated, and to be a protagonist of public discourse. While the impact of such news organizations is fairly new, some organizations have developed a sizable and strong community of users, and have influenced public opinion.
A Tutorial in Consumer Research: Keeping it Real in Experimental Research – Understanding When, Where, and How to Enhance Realism and Measure Consumer Behavior

In this article, we consider the reasons why employing realistic experimental designs and measuring actual behavior is important and beneficial for consumer research. More specifically, we discuss when, where, and how researchers might go about doing this in order to increase the veracity and believability of their work. We analyze the choice of independent variables (IVs) along the experimental-realism dimension, ranging from artificial to realistic, and the choice of dependent variables (DVs) along the behavioral-measures dimension ranging from hypothetical intention to actual behavior. Importantly, we also map various goals of consumer research along these two dimensions to highlight when it is most appropriate to enhance the realism and behavioral measures of an experiment. Using a number of illustrative examples from research in the extant literature, we specifically highlight how consumer researchers can increase experimental realism and utilize actual-behavior measures in their experiments in order to improve both the fidelity of the research and the likelihood that the research provides insight into “real” consumer behavior.
Abstract P113: IMPACT OF ARTERIAL SITE AND PRESSURE WAVE ACQUISITION METHOD ON ARTERIAL FORM FACTOR AND MEAN AND CENTRAL ARTERIAL PRESSURE

Accurate mean arterial pressure (MAP) measurement requires an integrated arterial pressure waveform but MAP is often estimated from systolic (S) and diastolic (D) BP using a fixed form factor (FF, ...
Infrared Spectra of Proteins and Their Metal Adducts

The purpose of this lecture is threefold: to briefly introduce the non-spectrocopist to infrared spectroscopy of proteins, to introduce the experienced spectroscopist to the spectroscopy of metalloproteins, and to indicate some of the possibilities and technical limitations of current instrumentation.
Inexpensive laboratory-constructed nephelometer.

An inexpensive, simple-to-construct nephelometer which was used to monitor the lysis of spheroplasts is described. The nephelometer is a flow-through device with a linear response to cell concentration from the lower detection limit to 8 × 108 cells per ml. Images
The invention of autonomy: The collapse of modern natural law: Locke and Thomasius

Barbeyrac tells us that Bacon was a major influence on Grotius, and Cumberland claims that his own work answers Bacon's call for empirical investigation of morals. We have seen how important the empiricist outlook was for both Grotius and Cumberland; but Bacon held views that neither would have accepted. In his “Confession of Faith” he declared his belief that God created Man in his own image … that he gave him a law and commandment … that man made a total defection from God, presuming to imagine that the commandments and prohibitions of God were not the rules of Good and Evil, but that Good and Evil had their own principles and beginnings; and lusted after the knowledge of those imagined beginnings, to the end to depend no more upon God's will revealed, but upon himself and his light, as a God; than the which there could not be a sin more opposite to the whole law of God. Bacon was not alone in combining empiricism, voluntarism, and the belief that pride is what moves us to insist that we must be able to understand God's commands by our own lights. Pufendorf's system presents the fullest modern exposition of the implications for morality of a view like this, and Locke recommended Pufendorf's work for the education of any gentleman's son.
Components of Spatial Ability

Three areas of theory and research related to spatial cognition are reviewed and their integration is discussed. These include factor analysis of spatial ability, information processing theories of spatial cognition, and developmental changes in spatial processing. A primary goal is to illustrate how integration of these perspectives, both theoretically and empirically, benefits the understanding of this domain of intellectual ability and can impact test design and instructional applications.Primary consideration is given to spatial ability factors such as perceptual speed, spatial relations and spatial visualisation. The differentiation of these factors, their relationships and their relevance for technical skills training is briefly reviewed. Primary emphasis is given to cognition process approaches to analysing spatial ability and the sources of individual differences in spatial processing. Results are presented from a series of studies examining performance in perceptual comparison tasks, spatial relations and spatial visualisation tasks through componential analysis techniques. In all cases, information processing models form the basis for analysing speed, accuracy and strategy differences in the execution of mental processes. Conclusions regarding the various components of spatial ability and their manifestation in various spatial ability tests and factors are presented and related to general theories of spatial information processing such as Kosslyn’s (1981) theory of mental imagery. Extensions of this process approach to developmental analyses and analyses of the trainability of spatial components are also presented. The implications of integrating psychometric, information processing, developmental and learning approaches to the study of spatial ability are considered with regard to test development, diagnostic testing functions and adaptive instruction. Specifically it is shown how process analysis can be used to systematically design problems for presentation in computer comtrolled testing. The benefits of such an approach to test design include the ability to measure overall ability as is done by present testing procedures as well as specific cognitive components emanating from theory of performance. This type of approach also offers the possibility of using tests for diagnostic as well as predictive purposes. Finally consideration is given to extensions of this approach to analysing individual differences in the capacity to acquire greater skill in various components of spatial information processing. Implications of this assessment approach are presented with respect to the uses of tests in adaptive instruction in technical skills training areas.
Model Un and Class Roles: Case Studies in Role-Playing and Simulations for Learning and Engagement

The object of this study is to see if my method of making politics ‘real’ by using in-class simulations and attending Model UN conferences will enable students to see why its not always easy, as we think, for international organizations and bodies to come to a consensus about issues. Issues that we think are non-controversial such as eradicating poverty or lowering infant mortalities. How does one explain the opposite to something that seems so obvious? How does one explain that even with the obvious intents, international bodies are not always as efficient or effective as they ought to be?
A new criterion for failure of materials by environment-induced cracking

A new criterion has been developed for predicting failure of materials by environment-induced cracking. The criterion has been developed by the use of fracture mechanics concepts and assumes that the relationship between crack-growth rate and stress intensity can be described by three separable regions of behavior as first suggested by Wiederhorn. The analytical form of the criterion relates failure time to the initial crack length and the critical crack length or alternatively, to the initial stress intensity and the fracture toughness for various conditions of stress and the environmental variables. The analytical expression is examined by the use of some experimental data on the hydrogen-induced cracking of Ti-5Al-2.5 Sn, and it is demonstrated that the expression predicts the general expected form of the relationship between the normalized stress intensity parameter and the failure time.
Persons with unilateral transfemoral amputation have altered lumbosacral kinetics during sitting and standing movements

Increases in spinal loading have been related to altered movements of the lower back during gait among persons with lower limb amputation, movements which are self-perceived by these individuals as contributing factors in the development of low back pain. However, the relationships between altered trunk kinematics and associated changes in lumbosacral kinetics during sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit movements in this population have not yet been assessed. Three-dimensional lumbosacral kinetics (joint moments and powers) were compared between 9 persons with unilateral transfemoral amputation (wearing both a powered and passive knee device), and 9 uninjured controls, performing five consecutive sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit movements. During sit-to-stand movements, lumbosacral joint moments and powers were significantly larger among persons with transfemoral amputation relative to uninjured controls. During stand-to-sit movements, lumbosacral joint moments and powers were also significantly larger among persons with transfemoral amputation relative to uninjured controls, with the exception of sagittal joint powers. Minimal differences in kinetic measures were noted between the powered and passive knee devices among persons with transfemoral amputation across all conditions. Altered lumbosacral kinetics during sitting and standing movements, important activities of daily living, may play a biomechanical role in the onset and/or recurrence of low back pain or injury among persons with lower-limb amputation.
Alveolar soft part sarcoma. An ultrastructural and lmmunocytochemical investigation of its histogenesis

Fourteen alveolar soft part sarcomas were studied using electron microscopic analysis and a battery of immunocytochemical procedures in order to critically assess the extent to which these methods could explain the histogenesis of the tumor. All the tumors were stained with antibodies against keratin, vimentin, S-100 protein, Leu-7, neuron-specific enolase, desmin, muscle-specific actin, myoglobin, smooth muscle myosin, and fast and slow myosins. Eight tumors stained for vimentin, eight for desmin, eight for neuron-specific enolase, two for muscle-specific actin, and one for fast myosin. No reactivity was detected with the other antibodies. Electron microscopic study showed a consistent pattern of fine structure and clarified the mode of formation of the distinctive cytoplasmic crystals which were detected in all 14 tumors. Intermediate filaments were sparse and specific myofilaments were not detected. Alveolar soft part sarcoma has a myogenic phenotype and the cells show skeletal muscle differentiation but do not closely resemble any known prototypic normal cell.
From solid modeling to finite element analysis

Solid modeling, finite element mesh generation and analysis of finite element solutions are obviously tightly connected in the design redesign cycle. However, practical realizations of each of these aspects of mathematical analysis of solid objects requires a significant amount of internal independence. Each aspect has to be justified on its own merits and their actual development reflects this independence. Together they form a powerful system and separately they perform useful functions which can interface with other computer codes and systems.
Valuing Real Options: Insight from Competitive Strategy

Growth opportunities and future strategies can comprise a significant proportion of a firm's valuation. At the end of 2006, the median company in the S&P 500 and Russell 3000 had 25% and 40% of their valuation, respectively, attributed to Future Growth Value, the capitalized value of future profit growth. Acquisition premiums can also be interpreted as estimates of value creation attributed to new tactics and operational improvements under a new regime. Unfortunately, managers often find static Net Present Value tools and trading multiples to be too rigid to evaluate the contingent nature of strategic decisions and the cash flow recovery profiles associated with possible outcomes. For example, Microsoft was willing to develop its Xbox platform at a loss because it expected subsequent game and peripheral offerings linked to it to generate significant profits. Similarly, commodities producers frequently choose to delay extraction until output prices swing in their favor. Academics and practitioners have recognized the similarities of payoff functions between such contingent decisions about real assets, classic examples of "real options," and those of financial securities whose value is derived from the price of something else. The Black-Scholes model and Binomial Lattices have emerged as the most frequently prescribed and used tools for evaluating real options within both capital budgeting and enterprise valuation contexts. With the classic real option decision growing increasingly complex, and managers becoming more sophisticated, a frank assessment of modern valuation tools is timely.
The Origins and Rhetorical Evolution of the Term Qizilbāsh in Persianate Literature

This essay traces the use of the term Qizilbāsh in select literature in Persian produced during the approximate period 1490-1700. The survey indicates that the term became the standard name given to devotee-soldiers of the Ṣafavid dynasty only gradually over the sixteenth century. Moreover, the term acquired symbolic meanings and direct connection to the time of Shaykh Ḥaydar (d. 1488) and Shāh Ismāʿīl (d. 1524) only in the seventeenth century. The material presented here argues for reading Persian chronicles and other sources with careful attention to their rhetorical qualities and the contexts in which they were produced.
Use of cytoplasmic male-sterility in making interspecific crosses in Allium.

Cytoplasmic male-sterile plants of Allium cepa were used in making interspecific crosses with A. fistulosum. Some inbred lines of A. cepa produce more seed than others. Other A llium species could also be used as the pollen parent.
In and out of focus

In this article, I trace the history of focus groups as a method and consider how they produce and filter knowledge, interaction, and engagement; their nature as communicative settings; and their political–ideological associations. I analyze focus groups conducted for a primary health care project in Kenya that involved health officials, Washington, DC- and Nairobi-based staff, a U.S. photographer, a U.S. anthropologist, and local women from the project area. This case provides insights into knowledge production in the context of the transnational development industry, how anthropological methods are incorporated and represented in the process, and the epistemological grounds of ethnographic methods.
Organizational Culture: Can It Be a Source of Sustained Competitive Advantage?

Three attributes that a firm's culture must have to generate sustained competitive advantages are isolated. Previous findings suggest that the cultures of some firms have these attributes; thus, these cultures are a source of such advantages. The normative implications of the analysis are discussed. Firms that do not have the required cultures cannot engage in activities that will modify their cultures and generate sustained superior financial performance because their modified cultures typically will be neither rare nor imperfectly imitable. Firms that have cultures with the required attributes can obtain sustained superior financial performance from their cultures.
Second Image Reversed Politics: Britain's Choice of Freer Trade or Imperial Preferences, 1903–1906, 1917–1923, 1930–1932

In 1903-1906, 1917-1923, and 1930-1932 British decision makers debated whether to adopt a system of imperial preferences. Preferences were rejected in 1906 and 1923, but adopted in 1932 at the Ottawa Conference. The existing political economy literature focuses primarily on the hegemon's position in the international system, state or society centered arguments, and the role of ideas and beliefs to explain changes in a hegemon's foreign commercial policy. Using a second image reversed argument, I contend that changes in the commercial composition of the emerging contenders from a mix of liberal and nonliberal contenders in the first and second periods (1903-1906; 1917-1923) to nonliberal contenders in the third period (1930-1932) strengthened economic nationalists over free traders, contributing to Britain's adoption of imperial preferences. Although greatly diminished in strength, free traders were able to moderate the protectionist policies through the Ottawa Agreements and the Sterling Area. Why did Britain's foreign commercial policy prior to World War I and the immediate postwar years differ from its commercial policy in the decade prior to World War II when all three periods were characterized by relative British industrial decline, foreign protectionism, unemployment (in the latter two periods), and emerging competitors for regional hegemony?1 In particular, why did Britain's leaders reject a foreign commercial policy of imperial preferences in 1906 and 1923, but in 1932, at the Ottawa Conference, adopt a system of imperial preferences? The existing political economy literature focuses primarily on changes in the hegemon's position in the international system (hegemonic stability theory), state or society centered arguments, and the role of ideas and beliefs to explain changes in a hegemon's foreign commercial policy. For the most part, these explanations emphasize insideout arguments; the underlying forces that shift a hegemon's foreign commercial Author's note: The ideas in this article originated during a fellowship from the University of California's Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) and TheJohn D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and I am grateful
Graphic Novels in Graduate-Level Library and Information Studies Literature and Materials Courses

Graphic novels and comics have garnered acceptance in recent years, finding their way into library collections, literacy programs, scholarly publications and classrooms. This article examines the use of graphic novels in graduate-level library and information studies programs through a survey conducted of instructors teaching at American Library Association-accredited institutions. The authors wanted to determine whether faculty in library and information studies programs were assigning graphic novels in their literature and materials courses, particularly courses with an emphasis on children's and ‘young adult’ materials, what graphic novels were being assigned, and how they were incorporated into the curriculum.
Organization of cortical microtubules at the plasma membrane in Arabidopsis.

To understand the role of microtubules in the regulation of cell elongation, we characterized micro-tubule patterns in fass, a cell shape mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. Examining microtubule patterns via immunocytochemistry, we found that fass cells were able to organize their microtubules into mitotic spindles and phragmoplasts. During interphase or preprophase, fass cells had cortical microtubules, verified by transmission electron microscopy, but these microtubules were not organized into the cortical array or pre-prophase band. Using chromatin condensation and tubulin localization on the nuclear envelope as prepro-phase stage markers, we found that although fass cells lacked the preprophase band and cortical array, their cell division cycle appeared normal. To pinpoint the defect in fass cells, we delineated the sequential events leading to cortical array formation in Arabidopsis cells and found that fass cells initiated and recolonized cortical microtubules in the same manner as wild-type cells, but failed to order them into the cortical array. Taken together, these results suggest fass cells are impaired in a component of the microtubule organizing center(s) required for the proper ordering of cortical microtubules at the plasma membrane.
Control of Noise and Specimen Temperature During 1 kHz Fatigue Experiments

Both sound-proofing and sound-conditioning methods were employed in the construction of a sound-insulation room to house a 1 kHz servohydraulic fatigue testing machine to protect researchers from excessive noises caused by the running machine. The “box inside a box” construction and acoustical foams were used to improve the sound insulation of the room. Special attention was paid to a door, a window, and cable holes. In addition, the specimen self-heating effect during a high-frequency fatigue experiment was found to influence the fatigue life of materials. The specimen temperature in air during fatigue tests at 700 Hz is much higher than at 10 Hz. The fatigue resistance was lessened by a higher specimen temperature. A cooling method using nitrogen gas was employed to control the specimen temperature during fatigue testing. The fatigue lives of specimens in air were generally longer for the tests conducted at 700 Hz with cooling using nitrogen gas, as compared to those without cooling, and were comparable with those at 10 Hz in air.
On theG-matrices with entries and eigenvalues inQ(i)

LetG be a finite abelian group,K a subfield ofC, C[G] regarded as an algebra of matrices.A G K {A?C[G]| all the entries and eigenvalues ofA are inK} is an association algebra overK. In this paper, the association scheme ofA G K is determined and in the caseK=Q(i), the first eigenmatrix of the association scheme computed. As an application, it is proved thatZ 4×Z 4×Z 4 is the only abelian group admitted as a Singer group by some distance-regular digraph of girth 4 on 64 vertices.
Simulated Responses of a Forest-Interior Bird Population to Forest Management Options in Central Hardwood Forests of the United States

I used estimates of carrying capacity, survival, fe- cundity, and edge effects to simulate the responses of a for- est-interior bird population to selection cutting, clearcut- ting, and no timber harvest. I also modeled population sensitivity to changes in fecundity, survival, K, and edge re- lationships. Because model parameters are based on scant data results should be regarded as hypotheses to be further investigated or measures of the relative impact or sensitivity (given model assumptions). Simulated population size was greater with no timber harvest than with clearcutting, and greater with clearcutting than with group selection when edge effects were included in the model. Without edge effects, population levels were only slightly lower under group se- lection than under no timber harvest, and greater than clearcutting. Edge effects had only a small impact on popu- lation levels under clearcutting. Clearcut size did not have much effect on population levels, but longer and shorter rotation ages resulted in higher and lower population levels, respectively. The model was very sensitive to declines in mean fecundity and survival, suggesting that factors affect- ing mean demographic rates could be more important than local edge effects. Some methods of timber harvest may be compatible with the conservation offorest-interior birds, but
Polyhedral cones and positive operators

Abstract Some results are obtained relating topological properties of polyhedral cones to algebraic properties of matrices whose columns are the extremal vectors of the cone. In addition, several characterizations of positive operators on polyhedral cones are given.
Anomalous oxidative cleavage of the side chain of 18-oxocortisol and its tetrahydro metabolite.

The course of oxidative side chain cleavage of two recently isolated 17α-hydroxy C-18 oxygenated naturally-occurring corticosteroids differed in that 18-hydroxycortisol yielded a 17-ketosteroid (Chu M. D., and Ulick S. (1982) J. biol. Chem. 257, 2218–2224) whereas 18-oxocortisol yielded a γ-etiolactone (Ulick S., Chu M. D. and Land M. (1983) J. biol. Chem. 258, 5498–5502). In an analytic application of the periodic acid oxidative cleavage reaction to 18-oxocortisol, the finding of a second product of the reaction prompted a reinvestigation of its course. Both the Δ4,3-ketone secreted form of the steroid and its tetrahydro urinary metabolite were cleaved predominantly to 17-ketosteroids along with smaller amounts of γ-etiolactones, whose proof of structure is herein reported. This anomalous course of oxidative cleavage was considered to reflect an equilibrium between C-20 ketone and cyclic-hemiketal forms in which the glycerol-type side chain structure of the later becomes the precursor of a 17-ketosteroid. Because of the similarities between in vitro oxidative side chain cleavage and in vivo corticosteroid metabolism, these findings suggest that C-18 oxygenated steroids may contribute to the 17-ketosteroid fraction of human urine.
Education, Social Transformation, and Intellectual Virtue

This article explores the concept of education in such a way as to highlight the crucial place of fostering intellectual virtue and eliminating intellectual vice in teaching. Such teaching is inescapably a matter of discernment, trust, and luck. In this context a network of intellectual virtues provides an attractive vision of a well-rounded cognitive agent. This vision is contrasted with social transformation as the goal of education and teaching. It is easy for the aim of social transformation to morph into the fostering of intellectual vice. Properly understood, however, the concerns behind the drive for social transformation can readily be absorbed into the quest for intellectual virtue in education.
Acute Kidney Injury and Chronic Kidney Disease After Cardiac Surgery

Kidney dysfunction is common after cardiac surgery and predicts mortality risk and poorer long-term outcome, particularly when acute injury superimposes upon chronic kidney disease. Numerous insults contribute to perioperative renal impairment including major surgical trespass, procedure-specific interventions (eg, deep hypothermic circulatory arrest), and postoperative complications. Regardless of cause, evidence supports a role for renal impairment and accumulation of "uremic toxins" as direct contributors to adverse outcome. No one has yet characterized a loss of renal function small enough to be insignificant. Despite considerable research focus, progress in development of interventions aimed at perioperative renoprotection has been disappointing. However, practice modifications can influence the likelihood of acute kidney injury, and several recent advances provide hope for the future. We review pathophysiologic understanding of this disorder; evaluate the confusing relationship (causal v epiphenomena) among acute kidney injury, chronic kidney disease, and adverse outcome after cardiac surgery; and provide an evidence-based assessment of the conduct of cardiac surgery and renoprotection strategies.
A case of isolated splenic tuberculosis

There are few cases of isolated splenic tuberculosis reported in the literature internationally, and nearly none from western medical centers. The incidence of tuberculosis has declined in the United States since the 1950s, with 11,585 reported cases in 2009, 21% of which were exclusively extrapulmonary. Splenic tuberculosis occurs mostly as part of miliary tuberculosis in immunocompromised patients. Isolated splenic tuberculosis is extremely rare, particularly in the immunocompetent patient. Patients susceptible to acquiring splenic tuberculosis usually have one of the following risk factors: immunosuppression, preceding pyogenic infections, splenic abnormalities, prior trauma to the spleen, sickle cell disease and other hemopathies, and in the immunocompetent patient another body site infected by M. tuberculosis. In this report we present the case of a young immunocompetent male with no other significant past medical history with isolated splenic tuberculosis.
Theory and characterization of a separator analyzer mass spectrometer

Abstract A separator analyzer mass spectrometer (SAMS) technique is described. The approach utilizes sequential tandem quadrupole structures. The first quadrupole, operated in the notch filter mode, is used to reject one or more masses of ions. The theory of operation and the performance observed are described.