cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
POLITICAL COMPETITION AND VIOLENCE IN MEXICO: HIERARCHICAL SOCIAL CONTROL IN LOCAL PATRONAGE STRUCTURES

Many countries that have recently undergone transitions to democracy have experienced increases in violent crime. Yet sociological theories have generally failed to consider the impact of political factors on crime. The author examines the relation between greater electoral competition and homicide at the subnational level in a country undergoing an uneven transition to democracy. In societies characterized by the presence of patronage networks, social and political changes that undermine the source of unequal exchange between actors at different levels in the social hierarchy result in a temporary loss of social control and an increase in crime. The relation between electoral competition and homicide is tested using electoral results from a sample of 1,800 Mexican municipalities. Greater electoral competition is associated with higher homicide rates across municipalities and over time, even after controlling for standard correlates of violent crime. Consistent with the hypothesis that the increase is due to the disruption of patronage networks, this association is present only in rural areas where patron-client relations are more common.
Analysis of Pulsed Plasma Thruster Plume Characteristics

*† Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) are ideal on-board propulsion systems for space missions that require very precise attitude control, such as station keeping and formation flying missions. However, there is still insufficient understanding about characteristics of the exhaust plume, and there is a concern that the exhaust plume could cloud solar panels and possibly harm other optical instruments. Successful modeling of the exhaust plume will help determine optimum locations of PPTs in a satellite, as well as help avoid clouding solar cells and harming optical instruments. In this work, the characteristics of the exhaust plume along the perpendicular plane to the electrodes are investigated. The Dawgstar mini-PPT that utilizes a solid Teflon (C 2F4) propellant is used. The PPT is rotated to different angles in order to measure different locations of the plume. Measurements are made at angles of 0 °, 10 °, 20 °, 30 °, -10 °, -20 °, and –30 ° ° ° °. An instrument that combines time of flight (TOF) and a gridded energy analyzer (GEA) is used. A 3.2 m drift tube, at the end of which is mounted the GEA, collimates traveling ion species from a thruster. A detector in the GEA provides velocity information, and electric potentials are applied on the grids of the GEA to discriminate selected ion species. The energy distribution of multi-component plume is incorporated with the velocity information and the mass to charge ratio of ion species to determine the plume characteristics. The result shows presence of C+, F+, F++, F2+ and CF+ in the plume. The centerline bulk velocity is found to be 23 km/s, and the ion temperature is 2.4eV. The plume characteristics at the other angles are presented on this paper. The comparison with previous experiments is discussed. Future work to determine characteristics of the plume along the horizontal plane to the electrodes is also discussed in this paper.
Can Principals Promote Teacher Development as Evaluators? A Case Study of Principals’ Views and Experiences

Purpose: New teacher evaluation systems have expanded the role of principals as instructional leaders, but little is known about principals’ ability to promote teacher development through the evalu...
Cap-and-Trade Legislation

One approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions, “cap-and-trade” places caps, or limits, on allowable emissions (set by the government) but permits participating facilities to buy and sell, or trade, “allowances” on the open market. The most prominent example in U.S. law is the acid rain control program in the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments. Cap-and-trade legislation is now being promoted to help mitigate global climate change.
Supplemental corn grain for steers grazing native rangeland during summer.

Effects of supplemental corn grain on forage OM intake (FOMI), digesta kinetics, ruminal fermentation patterns, in vitro OM digestibility (IVOMD), and in situ OM digestion were examined in steers grazing summer blue grama rangeland in northeastern New Mexico during July and August 1988. Sixteen ruminally cannulated steers (average BW 507 kg) were allotted to four treatments and individually fed whole-shelled corn at 0, .2, .4, and .6% of BW in a complete random design with repeated measurements over time. Forage OMI decreased linearly (P = .02) with increasing levels of supplemental corn; however, a tendency toward greater FOMI, as well as faster particulate and fluid passage, was observed when corn was fed at .2% of BW compared with 0, .4, or .6% of BW. Molar proportions of butyrate increased (P less than .10) but molar proportions of acetate and propionate, ruminal pH, and total VFA concentration did not change (P greater than .10) with added corn. Added corn linearly decreased (P less than .10) ruminal ammonia N concentrations in July, but patterns were inconsistent in August. A cubic response (P less than .05) for in situ OM disappearance with added corn was noted after 24, 72, and 96 h of incubation. Supplemental whole corn fed at .2% of BW had no detrimental effects and tended to increase FOMI. However, supplemental corn fed at .4 or .6% of BW decreased FOMI compared with 0 or .2% of BW.
Ofatumumab monotherapy as a consolidation strategy in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a phase 2 trial

Summary Background Although several consolidation strategies to prolong treatment-free survival (TFS) in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia have been investigated, most have proven either ineffective or toxic. Ofatumumab is a human type I anti-CD20 antibody approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as maintenance treatment of patients with recurrent or progressive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who are in complete or partial response after at least two lines of treatment; higher efficacy might be observed if used as consolidation strategy than without consolidation in previously untreated patients. Methods We recruited patients with previously untreated progressive chronic lymphocytic leukaemia who had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0–2 and adequate renal and hepatic function from centres in the USA. Patients with recent myocardial infarction; class III or IV heart failure; uncontrolled, HIV, or active hepatitis B or C infection; or active haemolytic anaemia were excluded. In the first arm of this study, which has been previously reported, patients were treated with six cycles of induction with pentostatin (2 mg/m 2 on day 1), cyclophosphamide (600 mg/m 2 on day 1), and ofatumumab (cycle 1: 300 mg on day 1 and 1000 mg/m 2 on day 2; cycles 2–6: 1000 mg/m 2 on day 1) given intravenously every 21 days. Here were report the second arm, where patients received the same regimen as the first arm, with the addition of six cycles of consolidation with ofatumumab (1000 mg once every 4 weeks), also given intravenously. The primary endpoint was TFS at 18 months, assessed in those who began consolidation. We estimated the distribution of TFS using the Kaplan-Meier method, assessing between-group differences with log-rank statistics. The phase 2 trial, which is completed, is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01024010. Findings Between Sept 21, 2011, and Nov 7, 2012, 34 patients were recruited to this second arm of the trial. Among the 31 (91%) patients who completed induction treatment and started consolidation, 26 (84%) completed the planned six cycles of ofatumumab consolidation. TFS at 18 months was 94·1% (95% CI 78·5–98·5). Grade 3 or worse adverse events deemed at least possibly related to treatment were neutropenia (14 [41%] patients), infection (2 [6%]), and one (3%) each with anaemia, haemolysis, fatigue, and a neurological, metabolic, respiratory, and vascular complication. Interpretation Ofatumumab-based consolidation appears to be a well tolerated and effective consolidation strategy in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which could improve survival. Funding GlaxoSmithKline.
Exploring Flipboard to Support Coursework: Student Beliefs, Attitudes, Engagement, and Device Choice

The purpose of the study is to explore the use of a mobile application called Flipboard, which facilitates the curation of digital content into a magazine-like product, to engage students in class discussion and participation in a college course. Research questions include: (1) What were students’ beliefs and attitudes regarding the use of Flipboard in the learning environment? (2) How engaged were students in the activity? (3) How did device choice affect student activity in the Flipboard assignment? A survey revealed that most students found the assignment useful and relevant to their learning and read more articles because the magazine was class-created. Device choice did not affect how many articles students contributed, but those primarily using mobile devices read significantly more articles than those using the computer. Implications and recommendations are shared to practitioners.
Linear Time-Delay Systems and Stability

In this chapter, the theory of linear time-delay systems will be presented. Separated linear systems and diagonalization of square matrix will be discussed first.
Drug Distribution Part 2. Predicting Volume of Distribution from Plasma Protein Binding and Membrane Partitioning

Purpose Volume of distribution is an important pharmacokinetic parameter in the distribution and half-life of a drug. Protein binding and lipid partitioning together determine drug distribution.
Abstract 2069: Stromal-epithelial crosstalk ofMig-6has an important role for tumor suppression via progesterone in endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common malignancy of the female genital tract. This disease is commonly caused by an imbalance of progesterone (P4) and estrogen (E2) action that E2 stimulates proliferation of uterine epithelial cells while P4 is inhibitory to estrogen-mediated proliferation of the epithelium. Endometrial hyperplasia is also associated with endometrial cancer, which is a proliferative process in epithelium by E2. Responsiveness of progesterone is required to treat endometrial cancer and preserve the fertility of patients. Furthermore, PR expression in the uteri of patients with endometrial cancer has been used as an indicator for a first-rate prognosis. However, more than 30% of patients do not respond to progesterone treatment as a result of progesterone resistance and the mechanism of progesterone resistance is still unknown. Thus, identifying the mechanism of progesterone in endometrial cancer is essential to improve the therapy of this disease. Mitogen-inducible gene 6 (Mig-6) is an important mediator of progesterone receptor (PR) action in the murine uterus. As P4 achieves the inhibition of proliferation by coordinating stromal-epithelial cross-talk, we generated a mouse model in which we specifically ablate epithelial endometrial Mig-6 using Sprr2f-cre mice (Sprr2fcre+ Mig-6f/f) to understand the role of epithelial Mig-6 in the uterus. Sprr2fcre+ Mig-6f/f mice displayed endometrial hyperplasia upon 10 weeks of age and develop endometrial cancer by E2 treatment for 3 months. Interestingly, the hyperplasia exhibited by Sprr2fcre+ Mig-6f/f mice was prevented by P4 treatment for 1 week in morphological and histological analysis. Proliferation decreased in the glandular epithelium of Sprr2fcre+ Mig-6f/f mice by P4, and apoptotic signal was also reduced. The expressions of stromal PR and its target genes were induced in Sprr2fcre+ Mig-6f/f mice after P4 treatment, indicating that P4-induced stromal Mig-6 can prevent the hyperplasia via regulating steroid hormonal signaling. This study suggested that stromal-epithelial communication of Mig-6 is critical in tumor suppressor function via regulating steroid hormonal signaling by progesterone. (This work was supported by American Cancer Society Research Grant, RSG-12-084-01-TBG to J.W.J.) Citation Format: Tae Hoon Kim, Byung Gak Kim, Jung-Yoon Yoo, Jae Hee Lee, Diego H. Castrillon, Jae-Wook Jeong. Stromal-epithelial crosstalk of Mig-6 has an important role for tumor suppression via progesterone in endometrial cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 2069. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-2069
Dual-responsive, shape-switching bilayers enabled by liquid crystal elastomers

Materials that change shape are attractive candidates to replace traditional actuators for applications with power or size restrictions. In this work, we design a polymeric bilayer that changes shape in response to both heat and water by the incorporation of a water-responsive hydrophilic polymer with a heat-responsive liquid crystal elastomer. The distinct shape changes based on stimulus are controlled by the molecular order, and consequently the anisotropic modulus, of a liquid crystal elastomer. In response to water, the hydrophilic polymer layer expands, bending the bilayer along the path dictated by the anisotropic modulus of the liquid crystal elastomer layer, which is approximately 5 times higher along the molecular orientation than in perpendicular directions. We demonstrate that by varying the direction of this stiffer axis in LCE films, helical pitch of the swollen bilayer can be controlled from 0.1 to 20 mm. By spatially patterning the stiffer axis with a resolution of 900 μm2, we demonstrate bilayers that fold and bend based on the pattern within the LCE. In response to heat, the liquid crystal elastomer contracts along the direction of molecular order, and when this actuation is constrained by the hydrophilic polymer, this contraction results in a 3D shape that is distinct from the shape seen in water. Furthermore, by using the vitrification of the dry hydrophilic polymer this 3D shape can be retained in the bilayer after cooling. By utilizing sequential exposure to heat and water, we can drive the initially flat bilayer to reversibly shift between 3D shapes.
Hydrologic processes that govern stormwater infrastructure behaviour

Using water budget data from published literature, we demonstrate how hydrologic processes govern the function of various stormwater infrastructure technologies. Hydrologic observations are displayed on a Water Budget Triangle, a ternary plot tool developed to visualize simplified water budgets, enabling side-by-side comparison of green and grey approaches to stormwater management. The tool indicates ranges of hydrologic function for green roofs, constructed wetlands, cisterns, bioretention, and other stormwater control management structures. Water budgets are plotted for several example systems to provide insight on structural and environmental design factors, and seasonal variation in hydrologic processes of stormwater management systems. Previously published water budgets and models are used to suggest appropriate operational standards for several green and grey stormwater control structures and compare between conventional and low-impact development approaches. We compare models, characterize and quantify water budgets and expected ranges for green and grey infrastructure systems, and demonstrate how the Water Budget Triangle tool may help users to develop a data-driven approach for understanding design and retrofit of green stormwater infrastructure.
A Study of Endurance Issues in HfO 2 -Based Ferroelectric Field Effect Transistors: Charge Trapping and Trap Generation

Recent demonstration of aggressively scaled HfO2-based ferroelectric field effect transistors (FE-HfO2-FETs) has illustrated a pathway to fabricate FeFETs that enjoy COMS-compatibility, low power, fast switching speed, scalability, and long retention. One potential issue of this promising technology is its limited endurance, which has been attributed to the degradation of gate stack before the fatigue of polarization in the ferroelectric HfO2 layer. Some associated work has identified charge trapping and trap generation as key villains, but a clear understanding of two aforementioned underlining mechanisms is still missing. In this letter, we initiated this letter to investigate the roles of charge trapping and trap generation in causing endurance failure of FE-HfO2 FETs.
The residential segregation of San Antonio, Texas in 1910: an analysis of ethno-racial and occupational spatial patterns with the colocation quotient

ABSTRACTThe segregation of cities can be traced to a time when the compartmentalization of space and people was based on factors other than race. In segregation research, one of the limiting factor...
The I in Team. Sports Fandom and the Reproduction of Identity

In The I in Team, Erin C. Tarver analyzes the utilization of sport fandom practices as means of creating and reinforcing identities and communities. By drawing on Michel Foucault’s structuralist ph...
A linguist’s journey toward community engaged scholarship: insights on definitions, practice and evaluation policies

This article contributes to the current conversation surrounding the definition of community-engaged scholarship (CES) by providing critical insights from a linguist’s journey towards establishing a CES partnership with a middle school. I argue that a prescribed CES definition for all disciplines is neither possible nor desirable. CES has gained appeal in recent years because of the mutual benefits promised by the scholar–community partner collaboration. At the same time, the conversation around defining CES is ongoing, highlighting the difficulties in establishing a single definition of CES for all disciplines. In response, individual institutions have adopted their own definition in an effort to help their faculty members navigate CES and assist their efforts towards satisfying requirements for promotion and tenure. While designed to ensure rigorous scholarship and true community involvement, institutional-specific definitions can unintentionally limit a scholar’s CES options, particularly given the expectations of the tenure and promotion process. As a result, scholars in disciplines which are not well understood outside academia, such as linguistics, find themselves ill-positioned to engage in CES. And as the general public is unfamiliar with the discipline and its benefits, developing mutually beneficial partnerships with community organisations requires an extensive amount of time – more than is usually required of other disciplines engaged in CES. Furthermore, tenure and promotion timeline expectations may be incompatible with CES work for some disciplines. Two solutions are proposed to address these challenges. First, scholars in disciplines such as linguistics must utilise multiple approaches to developing partnerships, such as volunteerism, community outreach and cross-disciplinary collaboration, and be intentional in college classrooms in engaging undergraduates in activities that make the discipline relevant outside academia. Second, they must challenge current CES definitions and interpretations and advocate for policy changes to the tenure and promotion process on their individual campuses.
Measurement of Changes in Surface Roughness using Ultrasonic Reflection Coefficient

The goal of this work is to develop a technique for on-line monitoring of surface topography. The monitoring of aluminum surfaces must provide reliable and fast distinction between “good” and “bad” surfaces. This project has investigated the feasibility of the ultrasonic reflection coefficient to measure differences in surface roughness. The standard deviations for the surfaces are 10–20 μm.
Ovarian ectopic pregnancy 6 years after supracervical cesarean hysterectomy: a case report.

Background Pregnancy after hysterectomy is very rare, with fewer than 40 cases reported in the English-language literature. The majority of cases are diagnosed in the early posthysterectomy, postoperative period, indicating that the pregnancy was present at the time of hysterectomy. Cases diagnosed remotely from the time of hysterectomy result from a fistulous tract allowing sperm access to the peritoneal cavity. Case A 37-year-old woman 6 years since a supracervical cesarean hysterectomy was treated for a ruptured ovarian pregnancy. Conclusion A woman with intact ovaries presenting with abdominal pain, despite a prior hysterectomy, should be considered at risk for ectopic pregnancy. The presence of a cervix may increase that risk.
MORBIDITY OF EPSTEIN-BARR VIRUS INFECTION IN CHILDREN

Primary infections with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) commonly occur in childhood. However, the classical combination of fever, pharyngitis, adenopathy and splenomegaly which is characteristic of infectious mononucleosis in adolescents and young adults is rare in children. On occasion complications of EBV infection may be the only presenting manifestations of EBV disease in children (1). We have retrospectively reviewed the case records of 41 children with EBV disease referred either to a university pediatric department or to a children’s oncology center for presumed malignancy. Our findings suggest that EBV may cause prolonged illness, and, in addition, may lead to serious, potentially life threatening complications.
Using four-phased unit-based patient safety walkrounds to uncover correctable system flaws.

Article-at-a-Glance Background A unit-based Patient Safety Leadership Walkrounds™ (PSWR) model was deployed in six medical/surgical units at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to identify patient safety issues in the clinical microsystem. Specific objectives of PSWR were to (1) provide a forum for frontline staff to freely report and discuss patient safety problems with unit local leaders, (2) improve teamwork and communication within and across units, and (3) develop a supportive environment in which staff and leaders brainstorm on potential solutions. Methods Baseline data collection and discussion with leaders and staff from the pilot units were used to create a standard set of safety tools and questions. Through multiple Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles, safety tools and questions were refined, while the process of walkrounds in each of the six pilot units was customized. Results Leaders in all six pilot units indicated that PSWR helped them to uncover previously unidentified safety concerns. Top-impact areas included nurse-medical team relationship, work-flow flaws, equipment defects, staff education, and medication safety. The project engaged 149 individuals across all disciplines, including 33 physicians, and entailed 34 PSWR in its first year. Information from these pilot units initiated safety changes that spread across multiple units, with identification of hospital-wide quality and patient safety issues. Conclusions For participating units, the PSWR process is a situational awareness tool that helps management periodically assess new or unresolved vulnerabilities that may affect safety and care quality on the unit. Unit-based PSWR help identify safety concerns at the microsystem level while improving communication about safety events across units and to hospital leaders in the macrosystem.
Oligarchy of New Media

For better and more likely for worse, this section describes (or is it predicts) some future developments in electronic publishing and electronic books. McLuhan’s oligarchy consisted of radio and television and now that oligarchy could be expanded to include the World Wide Web. Will electronic books represent a force that once again places books among the oligarchy?
P163 Accommodation in transplantation – A new model

Aim First defined as the survival and function of an organ graft in the face of otherwise lethal immunity and inflammation, accommodation might be the most common outcome of ABO-incompatible and a frequent outcome of ABO-compatible but HLA-disparate organ grafts. Accommodation was postulated to reflect an acquired resistance to injury; however, more recent work reveals a far more complex condition reflecting predisposing factors of donor and recipient origin and dynamic processes, extending over time and beyond survival and death of cells assaulted by the immune system. The overall goal of the research was to identify and test genetic determinants of accommodation. Methods We investigated donor and recipient genes and processes potentially contributing to accommodation, as it develops over periods of days, by analysis of clinical kidney transplants, murine heterotopic cardiac transplants and cell cultures. Results Human kidney transplant recipients were found commonly to exhibit B cell responses specific for the donor. The nature of these responses anticipated rejection or absence of rejection, suggesting that qualitative aspects of immunity such clonal persistence and affinity maturation, as much as presence or absence of immunity determines graft fate. Genetic loci impacting on the character of adaptive immune responses were sought and two highly polymorphic (non-MHC) loci, TNFRSF13B and TNFRSF17, were identified. Sequencing revealed distinct regions in which variants correlated with rejection versus graft well being. Mice with gene variants introduced in the locus corresponding to the human ”rejection-associated” locus predicted the quality of immune responses to model antigens and the severity of rejection of heterotopic allografts. Conclusions These findings contribute to a larger and more complex picture of biological interactions between graft and recipients that determine whether immunity eventuates in accommodation or rejection of transplants. The interactions have implications that extend beyond organ transplantation.
Charles H. Long

Though not a theologian, Charles H. Long’s historical work on religion has influenced a number of radical theologians. This chapter introduces readers to Long’s biography and works. It suggests that Long’s writings are best understood in relation to three interrelated intellectual movements of the 1960s: Radical Theology, the History of Religions, and the Frankfurt School of Critical Theory. Long remains one of radical theology’s most important critics and conversation partners today.
Long-term follow-up of a 10-year single-center experience with high-dose pharmacokinetics-directed intravenous busulfan in combination with cyclophosphamide and etoposide as preparative regimen for intermediate- and high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

e19521 Background: High dose chemotherapy followed by autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is indicated for patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) recurring after or resista...
X-ray phase contrast imaging of additive manufactured structures using a laser wakefield accelerator

X-rays generated by the betatron oscillations of electrons in a nonlinear plasma wakefield have been proposed to be useful for a range of applications. In this study, the scaling of the x-ray fluence and energy with electron beam properties and laser power are studied and the application of the x-rays for imaging additive manufactured (3D printed) test objects is investigated. The scalings confirm a strong increase in x-ray fluence with laser power and the imaging shows strong fringe contrast due to the micron scale source size.
Modeling Corticosteroid Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics, Part III: Estrous Cycle and Estrogen Receptor-Dependent Antagonism of Glucocorticoid-Induced Leucine Zipper (GILZ) Enhancement by Corticosteroids

Our previous report examined the pharmacokinetics (PK) of methylprednisolone (MPL) and adrenal suppression after a 50 mg/kg IM bolus in male and female rats, and we described in detail the development of a minimal physiologically based pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (mPBPK/PD) model. In continuation of such assessments, we investigated sex differences in genomic MPL responses (PD). Message expression of the glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ) was chosen as a multitissue biomarker of glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-mediated drug response. Potential time-dependent interplay between sex hormone and glucocorticoid signaling in vivo was assessed by comparing the enhancement of GILZ by MPL in the uterus [high estrogen receptor (ER) density] and in liver (lower ER density) from male and female rats dosed within the proestrus (high estradiol/progesterone) and estrus (low estradiol/progesterone) phases of the rodent estrous cycle. An expanded-systems PD model of MPL considering circadian rhythms, multireceptor (ER and GR) control, and estrous variations delineated the determinants controlling receptor/gene-mediated steroid responses. Hepatic GILZ response was ∼3-fold greater in females, regardless of estrous stage, compared with males, driven predominantly by increased MPL exposure in females and a negligible influence of estrogen interaction. In contrast, GILZ response in the uterus during proestrus in females was 60% of that observed in estrus-phased females, despite no PK or receptor differences, providing in vivo support to the hypothesis of estrogen-mediated antagonism of glucocorticoid signaling. The developed model offers a mechanistic platform to assess the determinants of sex and tissue specificity in corticosteroid actions and, in turn, reveals a unique PD drug-hormone interaction occurring in vivo. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Mechanisms relating to sex-based pharmacodynamic variability in genomic responses to corticosteroids have been unclear. Using combined experimental and systems pharmacology modeling approaches, sex differences in both pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic mechanisms controlling the enhancement of a sensitive corticosteroid-regulated biomarker, the glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper (GILZ), were clarified in vivo. The multiscale minimal physiologically based pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamic model successfully captured the experimental observations and quantitatively discerned the roles of the rodent estrous cycle (hormonal variation) and tissue specificity in mediating the antagonistic coregulation of GILZ gene synthesis. These findings collectively support the hypothesis that estrogens antagonize pharmacodynamic signaling of genomic corticosteroid actions in vivo in a time- and estrogen receptor-dependent manner.
An Empirical Examination Of Best Practices That Moderate The Planning - Performance Relationship

Even as both the academic and practitioner literatures express doubts about the value of strategic planning, planning remains a consistently popular management tool, with a number of papers in the ...
Cooperativity of Kv7.4 channels confers ultrafast electromechanical sensitivity and emergent properties in cochlear outer hair cells

The mammalian cochlea relies on active electromotility of outer hair cells (OHCs) to resolve sound frequencies. OHCs use ionic channels and somatic electromotility to achieve the process. It is unclear, though, how the kinetics of voltage-gated ionic channels operate to overcome extrinsic viscous drag on OHCs at high frequency. Here, we report ultrafast electromechanical gating of clustered Kv7.4 in OHCs. Increases in kinetics and sensitivity resulting from cooperativity among clustered-Kv7.4 were revealed, using optogenetics strategies. Upon clustering, the half-activation voltage shifted negative, and the speed of activation increased relative to solitary channels. Clustering also rendered Kv7.4 channels mechanically sensitive, confirmed in consolidated Kv7.4 channels at the base of OHCs. Kv7.4 clusters provide OHCs with ultrafast electromechanical channel gating, varying in magnitude and speed along the cochlea axis. Ultrafast Kv7.4 gating provides OHCs with a feedback mechanism that enables the cochlea to overcome viscous drag and resolve sounds at auditory frequencies.
Diffusion of Scientific Articles across Online Platforms

Online platforms have become the primary source of information about scientific advances for the wider public. As online dissemination of scientific findings increasingly influences personal decision-making and government action, there is a growing necessity and interest in studying how people disseminate research findings online beyond one individual platform. In this paper, we study the simultaneous diffusion of scientific articles across major online platforms based on 63 million mentions of about 7.2 million articles spanning a 7-year period. First, we find commonalities between people sharing science and other content such as news articles and memes. Specifically, we find recurring bursts in the coverage of individual articles with initial bursts co-occurring in time across platforms. This allows for a ranking of individual platforms based on the speed at which they pick up scientific information. Second, we explore specifics of sharing science. We reconstruct the likely underlying structure of information diffusion and investigate the transfer of information about scientific articles within and across different platforms. In particular, we (i) study the role of different users in the dissemination of information to better understand who are the prime sharers of knowledge, (ii) explore the propagation of articles between platforms, and (iii) analyze the structural virality of individual information cascades to place science sharing on the spectrum between pure broadcasting and peer-to-peer diffusion. Our work provides the broadest study to date about the sharing of science online and builds the basis for an informed model of the dynamics of research coverage across platforms.
Adaptive Procedural Task Generation for Hard-Exploration Problems

We introduce Adaptive Procedural Task Generation (APT-Gen), an approach to progressively generate a sequence of tasks as curricula to facilitate reinforcement learning in hard-exploration problems. At the heart of our approach, a task generator learns to create tasks from a parameterized task space via a black-box procedural generation module. To enable curriculum learning in the absence of a direct indicator of learning progress, we propose to train the task generator by balancing the agent's performance in the generated tasks and the similarity to the target tasks. Through adversarial training, the task similarity is adaptively estimated by a task discriminator defined on the agent's experiences, allowing the generated tasks to approximate target tasks of unknown parameterization or outside of the predefined task space. Our experiments on the grid world and robotic manipulation task domains show that APT-Gen achieves substantially better performance than various existing baselines by generating suitable tasks of rich variations.
Fostering singing agency through emotional differentiation in an inclusive singing environment

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to gain insight into experiences of adults who expressed personal discomfort with singing, either alone or when others might hear them. Singing agency...
Primary care pediatrician perceptions towards mental health within the primary care setting.

BACKGROUND Mental health (MH) conditions are highly prevalent, yet only marginal portions of children receive adequate services. Access to specialized mental healthcare is limited and, consequently, pediatricians remain the source of management and care of children with MH disorders. Despite this, research suggests that pediatricians report lack of access to training and support regarding MH care of youth, leading to discomfort with managing the population they are asked to treat. An additional barrier to care that has less research is perceptions regarding MH disorders among pediatricians. This scoping review aims to describe the state of science regarding perceptions and possible stigma towards MH in pediatric primary care. METHODS PsychInfo, PubMed Medline, Ovid Medline, CINAHL, and Embase were searched with terms related to stigma, pediatricians, and MH disorders. New research articles were included after review, which addressed stigma in pediatricians treating youth with MH disorders. RESULTS Our initial search produced 457 titles, with 23 selected for full-text review, and 8 meeting inclusion criteria, N = 1571 pediatricians. CONCLUSIONS While a limited number of studies focus on physician-based perceptions/stigma, and even less data on pediatrician stigma towards MH, more studies are needed to explore how this impacts patient care. IMPACT In this scoping review, we sought to shed light on the limitations regarding MH care access, especially with the increasing need for care and not enough MH specialists, adding to an already tremendous burden pediatric primary care providers face daily. We also reviewed barriers to said care within pediatric primary care, including the potential for physician stigma towards MH diagnosis, treatment, and management. This review adds a concise summary of the current limited studies on stigma towards MH within primary care pediatricians and the importance of continued research into how perception and stigma affect patient care. This material is an original project and has not been previously published. This work is not submitted for publication or consideration elsewhere.
Advancing Neuromorphic Computing With Loihi: A Survey of Results and Outlook

Deep artificial neural networks apply principles of the brain’s information processing that led to breakthroughs in machine learning spanning many problem domains. Neuromorphic computing aims to take this a step further to chips more directly inspired by the form and function of biological neural circuits, so they can process new knowledge, adapt, behave, and learn in real time at low power levels. Despite several decades of research, until recently, very few published results have shown that today’s neuromorphic chips can demonstrate quantitative computational value. This is now changing with the advent of Intel’s Loihi, a neuromorphic research processor designed to support a broad range of spiking neural networks with sufficient scale, performance, and features to deliver competitive results compared to state-of-the-art contemporary computing architectures. This survey reviews results that are obtained to date with Loihi across the major algorithmic domains under study, including deep learning approaches and novel approaches that aim to more directly harness the key features of spike-based neuromorphic hardware. While conventional feedforward deep neural networks show modest if any benefit on Loihi, more brain-inspired networks using recurrence, precise spike-timing relationships, synaptic plasticity, stochasticity, and sparsity perform certain computation with orders of magnitude lower latency and energy compared to state-of-the-art conventional approaches. These compelling neuromorphic networks solve a diverse range of problems representative of brain-like computation, such as event-based data processing, adaptive control, constrained optimization, sparse feature regression, and graph search.
Systemically Important Platforms

Regulating Big Tech is now a matter of intense public debate. We ask how well Big Tech companies fulfill their role as gatekeepers of the public square. We ponder whether their dominant market positions merit an antitrust response. We assess their culpability and complicity in spreading online misinformation and hate. However, in the many normative debates over how Big Tech should use its power, the source of that power remains largely unexamined. Big Tech, like Big Tobacco before it, is an industry founded on addiction. Although typically “free” to use, the world’s largest digital platforms exploit users’ dopamine pathways to consume as much of their time and conscious attention as possible. Many of the problems currently gripping the public consciousness would be fundamentally less important if these platforms were not powerfully addictive. They would be private problems – issues to be resolved between the company and its users. A key reason they are significant, public problems that society can no longer ignore is that Big Tech has intentionally addicted billions of people. The business model of many large technology companies, or significant subsidiaries thereof, is built on maximizing the frequency and duration of use, what the industry refers to as “time on device.” In this, they have been remarkably successful. The average American spends just over 40% of their waking hours online, with that number approaching 60% for American teens. A growing body of research problematizes the “choice” to spend this much time online. Today’s dominant digital platforms are intentionally designed to produce structural and functional changes in various regions of the brain and to trigger the same brain reward pathways as nicotine and other addictive drugs. Thus far, such platforms have managed to almost entirely avoid liability for harms associated with their use. This Article surveys existing tools that may help to combat Big Tech’s manipulative design practices. It finds that existing laws and legal duties fail to protect users from exploitation. Accordingly, this Article proposes designating the largest manipulative technology platforms as “systemically important platforms.” Platforms so designated would be legally required to open their platforms to middleware, a type of software that can modify how data is presented. Such middleware would feature a control panel of tools that would enable users to curate their digital experience. In addition, these platforms would be subject to increased tax burdens and enhanced regulatory scrutiny with the goal of curbing manipulative design practices and providing billions of users with greater agency.
Incivility in the Occupational Therapy Workplace: A Survey of Practitioners.

IMPORTANCE Incivility in health care settings has detrimental effects on practitioners' well-being, patient outcomes, and health care costs. OBJECTIVE To explore the prevalence and types of perceived incivility experienced by occupational therapy practitioners in their workplaces and the relationships between perceived incivility and practitioner demographics. DESIGN Cross-sectional, online survey. SETTING Surveys were posted to occupational therapy social media sites. PARTICIPANTS Occupational therapy practitioners throughout the United States. Outcomes and Measures: The Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised (NAQ-R) was used to measure incivility and bullying. Participants answered demographic questions, and one-way analyses of variance and t tests were used to examine differences between demographic characteristics and mean scores on the NAQ-R. RESULTS A total of 1,320 practitioners completed the survey. Although the incidence of incivility was low compared with prior research in other health professions, 11% of respondents reported being victims of bullying in the workplace. Practitioners with less experience and who worked in long-term care and skilled nursing settings were more likely to experience incivility, and occupational therapy practitioners experienced significantly less incivility than occupational therapy assistants. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Practitioners, colleagues, managers, and organizations must collaborate to foster an environment of civility and respect to mitigate the effects of incivility on patient outcomes, practitioners' well-being, and health care costs. What This Article Adds: This survey provides baseline information regarding incivility experienced by occupational therapy practitioners, an important first step in developing evidence-based interventions to promote safe and healthy workplaces.
Implementation of Oral and Extended-Release Naltrexone for the Treatment of Emergency Department Patients With Moderate to Severe Alcohol Use Disorder: Feasibility and Initial Outcomes.

Study objective Despite evidence supporting naltrexone as an effective treatment for alcohol use disorder, its use in emergency department (ED) patients has not been described. We implemented a protocol that combined substance use navigation with either oral naltrexone or extended-release intramuscular naltrexone for patients with alcohol use disorder as a strategy to improve follow-up in addiction treatment after ED discharge. Methods In this descriptive study, we analyzed the results from adult patients discharged from the ED with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder who received either oral naltrexone or extended-release intramuscular naltrexone between May 1, 2020, and October 31, 2020, and assessed their engagement in formal addiction treatment within 30 days after discharge from the ED. Results Among 59 patients with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder who accepted naltrexone treatment, 41 received oral naltrexone and 18 received extended-release intramuscular naltrexone. The mean (SD) age of the patients was 45.2 (13.4) years; 22 patients (37.3%) were Latinx, 18 (30.5%) were Black, and 16 (27.1%) were White. Among all patients, 9 (15.3%) attended follow-up formal addiction treatment within 30 days after discharge; 5 patients (27.8%) who received extended-release intramuscular naltrexone and 4 patients (9.8%) who received oral naltrexone attended follow-up treatment within 30 days. Conclusion We implemented a clinical protocol for ED patients with moderate to severe alcohol use disorder using oral naltrexone and extended-release intramuscular naltrexone together with substance use navigation. Identification of alcohol use disorder, a brief intervention, and initiation of naltrexone resulted in a 15% follow-up rate in formal addiction treatment. Future work should prospectively examine the effectiveness of naltrexone as well as the effect of substance use navigation for ED patients with alcohol use disorder.
SKILLS, PRODUCTIVITY AND THE EVALUATION OF TEACHER PERFORMANCE

Abstract We examine the relationships between observational ratings of teacher performance, principals’ evaluations of teachers’ cognitive and non-cognitive skills and test-score based measures of teachers’ productivity. We find that principals can distinguish between high and low performing teachers, but the overall correlation between principal ratings of teachers and teachers’ value-added contribution to student achievement is modest. The variation across metrics occurs in part because they are capturing different traits. While past teacher value-added predicts future value-added, principals’ subjective ratings can provide additional information, particularly when prior value-added measures are based on a single year of teacher performance.
Geometry and Medial Structure

This chapter explains methods for determining the geometric properties of a region (or object) Ω and its boundary ℬ in terms of the “radial geometry” on its medial axis M, defined using the multivalued “radial vector field” V (denoted by S in other chapters) formed from spokes from points on M to points of tangency with spheres on ℬ. The radial geometry is captured by “radial and edge shape operators” which measure how the radial vector field V varies on M. In fact, the radial geometry is defined for more general skeletal structures (M, V), which allow the Blum conditions to be relaxed.