cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Upper limb impairments associated with spasticity in neurological disorders

While upper-extremity movement in individuals with neurological disorders such as stroke and spinal cord injury (SCI) has been studied for many years, the effects of spasticity on arm movement have been poorly quantified. The present study is designed to characterize the nature of impaired arm movements associated with spasticity in these two clinical populations. By comparing impaired voluntary movements between these two groups, we will gain a greater understanding of the effects of the type of spasticity on these movements and, potentially a better understanding of the underlying impairment mechanisms. We characterized the kinematics and kinetics of rapid arm movement in SCI and neurologically intact subjects and in both the paretic and non-paretic limbs in stroke subjects. The kinematics of rapid elbow extension over the entire range of motion were quantified by measuring movement trajectory and its derivatives; i.e. movement velocity and acceleration. The kinetics were quantified by measuring maximum isometric voluntary contractions of elbow flexors and extensors. The movement smoothness was estimated using two different computational techniques. Most kinematic and kinetic and movement smoothness parameters changed significantly in paretic as compared to normal arms in stroke subjects (p < 0.003). Surprisingly, there were no significant differences in these parameters between SCI and stroke subjects, except for the movement smoothness (p ≤ 0.02). Extension was significantly less smooth in the paretic compared to the non-paretic arm in the stroke group (p < 0.003), whereas it was within the normal range in the SCI group. There was also no significant difference in these parameters between the non-paretic arm in stroke subjects and the normal arm in healthy subjects. The findings suggest that although the cause and location of injury are different in spastic stroke and SCI subjects, the impairments in arm voluntary movement were similar in the two spastic groups. Our results also suggest that the non-paretic arm in stroke subjects was not distinguishable from the normal, and might therefore be used as an appropriate control for studying movement of the paretic arm.
Identification of Protein Transport Complexes in the Chloroplastic Envelope Membranes via Chemical Cross-Linking

Transport of cytoplasmically synthesized proteins into chloroplasts uses an import machinery present in the envelope membranes. To identify the components of this machinery and to begin to examine how these components interact during transport, chemical cross-linking was performed on intact chloroplasts containing precursor proteins trapped at a particular stage of transport by ATP limitation. Large crosslinked complexes were observed using three different reversible homobifunctional cross-linkers. Three outer envelope membrane proteins (OEP86, OEP75, and OEP34) and one inner envelope membrane protein (IEP110), previously reported to be involved in protein import, were identified as components of these complexes. In addition to these membrane proteins, a stromal member of the hsp100 family, ClpC, was also present in the complexes. We propose that ClpC functions as a molecular chaperone, cooperating with other components to accomplish the transport of precursor proteins into chloroplasts. We also propose that each envelope membrane contains distinct translocation complexes and that a portion of these interact to form contact sites even in the absence of precursor proteins.
Entrepreneurial Ventures from Technology-Based Universities: a Cross-National Comparison

This dissertation examines the role of two different but critical factors in shaping entrepreneurial outcomes: individual level career history and the institutional context. The first essay investigates whether prior founding experience improves subsequent start-up firm performance. The second essay asks whether the 1999 Chinese Constitutional amendment increased entrepreneurship among individuals with higher (or lower) levels of human capital. The findings suggest that entrepreneurship among high quality individuals is driven less by the relaxation of constraints to entry and more by constraints to firm growth. The third essay takes advantage of the cross-national data and asks what drives (or limits) an innovation strategy?
Colonization resistance of the digestive tract and gastro-intestinal transit time in SPF mice

The gastro-intestinal colonization resistance to Escherichia coli was assessed in individual CBA/Rij, C3H/StZ and Swiss/Cpb:SE mice. Gastro-intestinal transit time was determined by feeding small steel balls and x-ray examination of sequentially collected faeces. No correlation was found between transit times measured on 3 subsequent days, nor between them and colonization resistance.
The effect of [4,4′-(isopropylidenedithio)bis(2,6-di-t-butylphenol)] (DH-581) on serum lipids and lipoproteins in human subjects☆

Abstract The administration of [4,4′-(isopropyli-denedithio)bis(2,6-di-t-butylphenol)] (DH0581) to six hospitalized subjects, 2 women with familial (“Type II”) hypercholesterolemia, 2 men with mixed (“Type V”) lipemia associated with diabetes mellitus, one woman with carbohydrate-accentuated (“Type IV”) lipemia, and a normolipidemic control, resulted in decreased cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations in the serum of all subjects. Serum triglyceride concentrations did not change in the two women with familial hypercholesterolemia or in the normolipidemic control subject (they were not increased prior to treatment), nor did the very high serum triglyceride concentration in the subject with carbohydrate-accentuated lipemia diminish as a result of DH-581 administration. Serum triglyceride concentrations fell during DH-581 administration in both men with mixed lipemia and diabetes mellitus. Over the period of its administration in this study, as long as 76 days, DH-581 appeared remarkably free of evidence of toxicity or undesirable clinical side effects. Serum uric acid concentrations increased in the three women but not in the men. The optimal dose of DH-581 for lipid lowering is probably about 750 mg. per day.
Radiation through an inhomogeneous plasma covering a ground plane

Electromagnetic radiation from a slot-excited ground plane covered by a plasma layer with exponentially decreasing electron density is considered. It is found that the far-field radiation pattern is simply related to that found for the case where the layer is absent.
A critique of implantation of a systemic artery for myocardial revascularization

Abstract The extensive experimental data available indicate that about 90 per cent of arterial implants remain patent. The development of collateral circulation is an event which should be analyzed separately from continued patency, for collateral circulation is principally influenced by the degree of regional myocardial ischemia. With extensive collateral circulation, flow rates in the internal mammary artery may increase from 3 to 5 ml./min. following implantation to 30 to 40 ml./min. six months later. Reported clinical studies of over 1,000 operations from different groups indicate an operative mortality between 2 and 5 per cent, with a subsequent late mortality of 5 to 10 per cent in the first two years after operation. Eighty-five to 90 per cent of implanted vessels are subsequently found patent on angiography. Improvement of varying degree in angina pectoris can be anticipated in 60 to 75 per cent of patients. Postoperative angiography of the implanted vessel is the best method available for evaluating the efficacy of an implantation procedure, determining patency, degree of collateral circulation, and establishment of anastomoses with the regional coronary circulation. An arterial implant selectively perfuses only the regional coronary arteries near the implant. Hence, with diffuse coronary artery disease, multiple implants are necessary. A variety of techniques are being evaluated to revascularize the posterior portion of the left ventricle, including an autogenous vein graft, the gastroepiploic artery, a double internal mammary implant, and the splenic artery. 2,4,9,10,23,27–33,35–38 Most experience has been with the double internal mammary implant, which on postoperative study has been found to have patency rates near 90 per cent. Hopefully, in the future, methods for determining the rate of blood flow through the implant will become available, providing a numerical index of efficacy of revascularization. With such a guide, the influence of revascularization upon the risk of subsequent myocardial infarction and longevity can be evaluated. The data thus far available indicate that an implanted internal mammary artery does subsequently behave like a coronary artery and truly revascularize the heart. If such an achievement can be routinely accomplished at operation, a significant beneficial influence on the course of coronary occlusive disease can be anticipated. With the widespread prevalence of coronary artery disease, the consequences are far-reaching, for arterial implantations could soon become more widely needed than all other cardiovascular operations now currently performed.
Effects of Whitening and Peak-Clipping on Speech Intelligibility in the Presence of a Competing Message

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effects of peak clipping on speech intelligibility when both a target speech and a competing message were simultaneously peak-clipped. A competing message composed of 5 talkers was electrically mixed with CNC discrimination words. This composite signal was presented to normally hearing subjects in three ways: unmodified, whitened, and whitened and peak-clipped. Discrimination functions were obtained for the CNC material by varying the signal-to-competition ratio. Under these conditions, essentially identical discrimination functions were yielded by the unmodified and whitened speech, whereas substantially reduced discrimination scores were obtained with the whitened/clipped speech. These results would suggest that speech intelligibility is reduced by whitening and peak clipping when more than one talker is present. This is true even though earlier studies have shown that whitening and peak clipping do not reduce speech intelligibility when only a single talker is present. Such a finding has implications for wearable amplification.
The interventional neuroradiological treatment of intracranial aneurysms.

Normal arteries of the brain are thinner and stiffer than extracranial arteries. They are composed of four layers: adventitia, media, internal elastic lamina, and intima. An external elastic lamina is absent. Intra-cranial arteries have no support from surrounding tissue while they pass through the subarachnoid space [60].
What Kind of Empirical Research Should We Publish, Fund, and Reward?: A Different Perspective.

When evaluating empirical papers for publication, grant proposals, or individual contributions (e.g., awarding tenure), the basic question one should ask is how much the contribution adds to unders...
Effects of estrogen on cerebrovascular function: age-dependent shifts from beneficial to detrimental in small cerebral arteries of the rat

The results of the present study reveal that the cerebrovascular effects of estrogen are distinctly age-dependent in female rats, exerting protective effects in younger animals, but detrimental eff...
Comorbidities Among Persons With Incident Psychiatric Condition.

Objective: I sought to determine how medical comorbidities co-exist with incident psychiatric condition. Method: I used data from all 11 available waves (1992-2012) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). I identified 4,358 index participants with self-reported incident psychiatric condition. I collected comorbidity data from participants preceding, including, and succeeding that incident wave. Comorbidities assessed included high blood pressure (HBP), diabetes mellitus, cancer, lung disease, heart disease, stroke, and arthritis. Modified Poisson regression combined with log-linked binomial regression was used to estimate relative risks (RRs) of reporting a comorbidity preceding and following the incident wave. Multiple comparison testing dictated significance of RRs with p < .007. Results: For the waves preceding the index wave, the RRs of reporting all comorbidities except HBP and cancer were significantly (p < .007) increased. For the waves following incident psychiatric condition, the risks of repor...
Interactions of ECS and a light-dark cycle on one-way avoidance learning in rats

After 56 days on a light-dark cycle, male Sprague-Dawley rats, 90 to 120 days old, received either ECS or sham ECS 4 or 24 h prior to training during the light or the dark phase of the cycle in one-way active avoidance. These variables interacted significantly to affect both errors and trials to criterion; however, principal consideration is given the errors data. The ECS-4-Dark group had significantly greater mean errors than all other groups (15.5 error p<.005), except the Sham-ECS-24-Light group, and the ECS-24-Dark group had significantly fewer mean errors than five of the other seven groups (6.2 errors; p <.005). The findings were interpreted in terms of the evidence that ECS and light-dark cycles affect brain acetylcholine and Deutsch’s hypothesis (1971) that too much or too little ACh activity may impair retention; this has been shown by Davis (1972) to be applicable to acquisition of one-way avoidance.
New insights into primary hyperparathyroidism.

Asymptomatic primary hyperparathyroidism poses difficult problems for the clinician. Since the patient is not ‘sick,’ the physician is reluctant to recommend surgery. Untreated, however, the condition can progress with serious sequelae. The risks of surgical intervention versus those of watchful waiting must be carefully weighed in each case.
Development of Multiple Polymorphic Microsatellite Markers for Ceratina calcarata (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Using Genome-Wide Analysis.

The small carpenter bee, Ceratina calcarata (Robertson), is a widespread native pollinator across eastern North America. The behavioral ecology and nesting biology of C. calcarata has been relatively well-studied and the species is emerging as a model organism for both native pollinator and social evolution research. C. calcarata is subsocial: reproductively mature females provide extended maternal care to their brood. As such, studies of C. calcarata may also reveal patterns of relatedness and demography unique to primitively social Hymenoptera. Here, we present 21 microsatellite loci, isolated from the recently completed C. calcarata genome. Screening in 39 individuals across their distribution revealed that no loci were in linkage disequilibrium, nor did any deviate significantly from Hardy-Weinberg following sequential Bonferroni correction. Allele count ranged from 2 to 14, and observed and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.08 to 0.82 (mean 0.47) and 0.26 to 0.88 (mean 0.56), respectively. These markers will enable studies of population-wide genetic structuring across C. calcarata’s distribution. Such tools will also allow for exploration of between and within-colony relatedness in this subsocial native pollinator.
Self-Healing of Bulk Polyelectrolyte Complex Material as a Function of pH and Salt

Self-healing materials are an emerging class of modern materials gaining importance due to environmental and energy concerns. Materials based on the complexation of oppositely charged polyelectrolytes, usually in the form of coatings and films, have been shown to have water activated self-healing properties. In this work, the self-healing of bulk branched poly(ethylene imine) and poly(acrylic acid) (BPEI/PAA) complex is studied as a function of the aqueous solutions used to activate the self-healing. Specifically, exposure to different salt solutions and solutions of different pH was examined including sodium and copper ion containing solutions as well as acidic and basic solutions. By applying NaCl treatment, especially followed by exposure to DI water, the self-healing ability of the BPEI/PAA complex was enhanced. In contrast, after treated by CuCl2, the BPEI/PAA complex lost its self-healing ability, showing an ability to modulate the ability to self-heal as a function of external stimulus. In addition...
Nanoscale Characterization for the Classroom

This report describes the development of a semester course in ‘nano-scale characterization’. The interdisciplinary course is opened to both advanced undergraduate and graduate students with a standard undergraduate preparation in Materials Science, Chemistry, or Physics. The approach is formal rather than the typical ‘research seminar’ and has a laboratory component.
A More Consistent Application of the RNR Model: The Strong-R Needs Assessment

The development of risk–needs assessments has substantially expanded assessment content, which is reflected in the now regular use of both static and dynamic items. However, while the risk–need–res...
Mesoscale cascades and the conundrum of energytransfer from large to dissipation scales in an adiabatic ocean

Abstract. A well-known conundrum in ocean dynamics has been expressed as follows: How does the energy of the general circulation cascade from the large climate scales, where most of it is generated, to the small scales, where all of it is dissipated? In particular, how is the dynamical transition made from an anisotropic, 2D-like, geostrophic cascade at large scales-with its strong inhibition of down-scale energy flux-to 3D-like, down-scale cascades at small scales. (Muller, McWilliams and Molemaker, 2002). To study this as yet unsolved problem, we introduce in the analysis a dynamical consideration based on the mesoscale model developed by Dubovikov (2003) and Canuto and Dubovikov (2005) within which in a quasi-adiabatic ocean interior the large scale baroclinic instability generates mesoscale eddy potential energy (EPE) at scales of the Rossby deformation radius ~ rd. Since at those scales the mesoscale Rossby number is small, the generated EPE cannot convert into eddy kinetic energy (EKE) and cascades to smaller scales at which the spectral Rossby number Ro(k) increases until at some horizontal scales ~ l it reaches Ro(1 / l)~ 1. Under this condition, EPE converts into EKE and thus the cascade of the former terminates while the inverse EKE cascade begins. At scales ~ rd the inverse EKE cascade terminates and reinforces the EPE cascade produced by the large scale baroclinic instability thus closing the mesoscale energy cycle. If the flow were exactly adiabatic, i.e. eddy energy were not dissipated, the latter would increase unlimitedly at the expense of the permanent production of the total eddy energy (TEE) by the mean flow. However, at the same scales ~ l where the EPE cascade terminates and the inverse EKE cascade begins, the vertical eddy shear reaches the value of the buoyancy frequency N that gives rise to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. The latter generates the stratified turbulence which finally dissipates EKE. A steady state regime sets in when the dissipation balances the TEE production by the mean flow.
Relational Influences on One’s Ideal Self and Desires for Intentional Change

Intentional change theory (Boyatzis & Akrivou, 2006) suggests that individuals hold the key to realizing sustainable, desirable personal change. Individuals can be coached or helped by any number o...
Geographic Variability in Diagnosis and Antibiotic Prescribing for Acute Respiratory Tract Infections

Introduction Antibiotic prescribing rates vary substantially across regions in the USA. Whether these differences are driven primarily by a greater tendency to treat certain infections (i.e., overtreatment) in certain regions or differences in the tendency to diagnose certain infections (i.e., overdiagnosis) is poorly understood.
The Emergence of Effortful Control in Young Boys with Fragile X Syndrome.

Abstract Effortful control, or the ability to suppress a dominant response to perform a subdominant response, is an early-emerging temperament trait that is linked with positive social-emotional development. Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a single-gene disorder characterized by hallmark regulatory impairments, suggesting diminished effortful control. This study compared the development of effortful control in preschool boys with FXS (n = 97) and typical development (n = 32). Unlike their typical peers, the boys with FXS did not exhibit growth in effortful control over time, which could not be accounted for by adaptive impairments, FMR1 molecular measures, or autism symptoms. These results contribute to our understanding of the childhood phenotype of FXS that may be linked to the poor social-emotional outcomes seen in this group.
Update on Pediatric Kidney and Urinary Tract Imaging

This paper will review the current roles of imaging for assessing the pediatric kidneys and urinary tract, while emphasizing recent trends and advances in imaging techniques. Imaging aids in the diagnosis, assessment, and follow-up of the spectrum of congenital and developmental, infectious and inflammatory, traumatic, neoplastic, vascular, and acquired renal and urinary tract conditions. While ultrasound is the workhorse imaging modality for evaluating the kidneys and urinary tract in the pediatric population, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, nuclear scintigraphy, and abdominal radiography also play particular roles. Numerous recent advances have improved the diagnostic capabilities of these modalities. Imaging plays an important role in the management of children and young adults with suspected and known renal and urologic abnormalities.
Depletion of Nitrite from Meat Curing Brines during Refrigerated Storage

A meat curing brine typical of those used commercially for injecting pork bellies during processing of sliced bacon was prepared with all curing ingredients including salt, sugar, sodium phosphate, sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite, as a control. Brines without erythorbate, without phosphates and without erythorbate and phosphates were also prepared at the same time to evaluate the effects of those ingredients on nitrite reactions in the brine. Residual nitrite and brine pH were measured after 0, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 9 days of storage at 0 °C – 2 °C. The control brine lost over 200 parts per million (ppm) (19.6%) of the nitrite within 24 hours, and over 300 ppm (31.6%) after 48 hours. The brine with erythorbate but without phosphates lost almost 300 ppm (27.7%) following formulation but did not change during storage. The brines without erythorbate and without erythorbate and phosphate each maintained nitrite concentrations without significant change for up to 9 days of storage. Consequently, the high concentration of curing ingredients necessary for injection brines of cured meats is likely to result in significant losses of nitrite relatively quickly even at refrigerated temperatures, depending on brine conditions and other ingredients. In general, injection brines for cured meats should be used as soon as possible following formulation to avoid potential nitrite losses prior to injection. Nitrite losses from the brine could result in reduced cured color stability in the finished product as well as loss of other cured meat quality characteristics expected from normal nitrite-based curing reactions.
Enantioselective Synthesis of (−)-Vallesine: Late-Stage C17-Oxidation via Complex Indole Boronation

The first enantioselective total synthesis of (−)-vallesine via a strategy that features a late-stage regioselective C17-oxidation followed by a highly stereoselective transannular cyclization is reported. The versatility of this approach is highlighted by the divergent synthesis of the archetypal alkaloid of this family, (+)-aspidospermidine, and an A-ring-oxygenated derivative, (+)-deacetylaspidospermine, the precursor to (−)-vallesine, from a common intermediate.
Major Life Events and the Age-Partisan Stability Association

Stable partisanship in the United States is often attributed to attachments to political parties that become slowly and incrementally stronger with age. Here, I show that switches in partisan identification can happen quickly after major life transitions even in old age and that this pattern of party-switching can explain a surprisingly large fraction of the age-partisan stability association. Using voter registration information over 8 years for more than 20 million voters in California, in combination with American National Election Studies panel surveys, I measure how many individuals switch party affiliation when they move to new homes, switch when separating from a partner, and become less likely to switch after retirement. In both ANES and voter record analyses, accounting for residential mobility alone reduces the association between age and party-switching by 50% or more. The combined findings demonstrate that socially crystallized lives help drive steady partisanship in adulthood and suggest that continuity in day-to-day life could maintain partisan identity at 30 years old almost as much as it does at 60.
Surgical Management of Hilar Cholangiocarcinoma

To provide a comprehensive review of the preoperative and operative considerations for the surgical management of hilar cholangiocarcinoma. The management of hilar cholangiocarcinoma has evolved over the past 20 years, with data from large institutional series emerging, which has influenced decisions regarding the need for preoperative biliary drainage, portal-vein embolization, extent of surgical resection, role of transplantation, and efficacy of adjuvant and palliative therapies. Hepatectomy has become the standard of care for resectable hilar cholangiocarcinoma, while transplantation can offer promising results for unresectable patients with localized disease. Perioperative mortality can be minimized through careful preoperative management of the future liver remnant via appropriate use of biliary drainage and portal-vein embolization. Adjuvant therapies prolong survival after resection, while emerging data on endoluminal therapies and radiation provide palliation and improved survival for patients with advanced, unresectable disease.
A Completeness Theorem for Pseudo-Linear Functions with Applications to UC Security.

We consider multivariate pseudo-linear functions over finite fields of characteristic two. A pseudo-linear polynomial is a sum of guarded linear-terms, where a guarded linear-term is a product of one or more linear-guards and a single linear term, and each linear-guard is again a linear term but raised to the power q-1, where q is the field size. Pseudo-linear functions over GF(2) are given by pseudo-linear polynomials defined over GF(2). Let f1, f2, ..., fk be k pseudo-linear functions in n variables, and let f be another pseudolinear function in the n variables. We show that if f is a function of the given k functions, then it must be a pseudo-linear function of the given k functions. This generalizes the straightforward claim for just linear functions. We also prove a more general theorem where the k functions can in addition take further arguments, and prove that if f can be represented as an iterated composition of these k functions, then it can be represented as a probabilistic pseudo-linear iterated composition of these functions. Proceeding further, we generalize the theorem to randomized pseudo-linear functions. Additionally, we allow f itself to be a randomized function, i.e. we give a procedure for deciding if f is a probabilistic sub-exponential in m time iterated function of the given k randomized functions, and the decision procedure runs in computational time independent of m. These theorems have implications for automatic proving of universally-composable security theorems for ideal and real functionalities composed of if-then-else programs with (uniform) random number generation and data objects from additive group of GF(2). The theorems imply that, within this language framework, there is a decision procedure to find out if a real functionality realizes an ideal functionality, and this procedure is in computational time independent of m (which is essentially the security parameter). ISSN 1433-8092 Electronic Colloquium on Computational Complexity, Revision 1 of Report No. 92 (2010)
Rapid Detection of Salmonella enteritidis in Pooled Liquid Egg Samples Using a Magnetic Bead-ELISA System.

An assay was developed to shorten the time necessary to detect Salmonella enteritidis (SE) in contaminated egg pools. The immunomagnetic separation (IMS)-based assay used the DynabeadsTM Anti-Salmonella, a magnetic bead with mouse anti-Salmonella antibodies affixed to the surface, to bind the SE in the egg pools. The bound SE were concentrated by a magnet and were detected via an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (IMS-ELISA) employing a monoclonal anti-SE flagellar proteins (flagellins) antibody. Following the ELISA, the beads were plated onto differential media (IMS-direct).The efficacy of the assay for detecting SE was compared with that of the standard assay, direct plating, in pooled egg samples spiked with low concentrations of SE and incubated at 37°C for 24 to 96 h. Conventional direct plating of egg samples required a total of 48 h before SE could be identified in egg pools, compared with 24 h for the IMS-ELISA. Plating of the beads (IMS-direct) to confirm the presence of SE required a fur...
Public Good Economics and Standard Essential Patents

Standard essential patents have emerged as a major focus in both the public policy and academic arenas. The primary concern is that once a patented technology has been incorporated into a standard, the standard can effectively insulate it from competition from substitute technologies. To guard against the appropriation of quasi-rents that are the product of the standard setting process rather than the innovation itself, standard setting organizations (SSOs) require patentholders to disclose their relevant intellectual property before the standard has been adopted and to commit to license those rights on terms that are fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory (FRAND).To date courts and commentators have provided relatively little guidance as to the meaning of FRAND. The most common approach is to impose a uniform royalty based on a percentage over overall revenue. The baseline for setting this uniform royalty is the royalty that the patentholder could have charged had the standard had not been created. In essence, this approach takes the ex ante distribution of entitlements as given and attempts to ensure that the standard setting process does not increase patentholders’ bargaining power. However, comparisons to the ex ante baseline do not provide a basis for assessing whether the resulting outcome would maximize economic welfare.Fortunately, public goods economics can provide an analytical framework for assessing whether a particular licensing structure is likely to maximize economic welfare. Although it is often observed that patentable inventions are public goods, key concepts of public good economics (such as the Samuelson condition that provides public good economics’ key optimality criterion) are rarely explored in any depth.A close examination of public good economics reveals that it has important implications standard essential patents and FRAND. The resulting framework surpasses the current approach by providing a basis for assessing whether any particular outcome is likely to maximize welfare instead of simply taking the existing distribution of entitlements as given and allocating them in the most efficient way.In addition, the insight that demand-side price discrimination is a necessary precondition to efficient market provision suggests that economic welfare would be maximized if holders of standard essential patents were permitted to charge nonuniform royalty rates. At the same time, the optimal level of price discrimination would allow consumers to retain some of the surplus. It also underscores that the fundamental problem posed by standard essential patents may be strategic behavior and incentive incompatibility. The literature also suggests several alternative institutional structures that can help mitigate some of these concerns.
Micro-earthquakes beneath ice streams B and C, West Antarctica: observations and implications

Micro-earthquakes have been monitored at two locations on Ice Stream Β and one on Ice Stream C using a seismographic array built specifically for that purpose. Subglacial micro-earthquakes arc 20 times more abundant beneath Ice Stream C than beneath Ice Stream B, despite the 100 times more rapid movement of Ice Stream B. Triangulation shows the foci beneath Ice Stream C, like those beneath Ice Stream B, to be within a few meters of the base of the ice, presumably within the uppermost part of the bed, and fault-plane analysis indicates slips on horizontal planes at about a 30° angle to the presumed direction of formerly active flow. Source parameters, computed from spectra of the arrivals, confirmed that the speed of slip is three orders of magnitude faster beneath Ice Stream C than beneath Ice Stream Β which means that a five orders-of-magnitude greater fraction of the velocity of Ice Stream C is contributed by the faulting, although that fraction is still small. We attribute the difference in activity beneath the two ice streams to the loss of dilatancy in the till beneath Ice Stream C in the process that led to its stagnation.
Formation of Epitaxial Graphene

This chapter starts off with a discussion on the history of graphite growth on SiC. It then gives an overview of various methods to grow epitaxial graphene on SiC; methods discussed include growth on various polytypes, at different vacuum levels and gas flows, and on both the Si- and C-face of SiC. Structural and electronic properties of these films are looked into along with carrier mobility results from Hall-bar and FET-structures where available.
Digital pulse deconvolution with adaptive shaping for real-time high-resolution high-throughput gamma spectroscopy

Abstract A high-resolution high-throughput real-time adaptive digital pulse processing system is developed for high count rate gamma-ray spectroscopy applications. The adaptive digital pulse processing algorithms are implemented on a reconfigurable FPGA and include a pulse deconvolver, adaptive shaping filter, timing filter, baseline restorer, and pile-up rejecter. Digital pulse deconvolution is implemented to reconstruct the original detector signal from the preamplifier signal, which reduces the resolution deterioration due to pulse pile-up. The deconvoluted signal is shaped with a trapezoid filter and the shaping parameter is selected adaptively based on the time separation between successive input pulses. Experimental measurements are performed with a 137 Cs source under varying count-rate conditions and using germanium detectors equipped with resistive feedback and transistor reset preamplifiers (TRP). The results demonstrate that when using a TRP, adaptive digital signal processing allows handling 10 6 counts/s. In addition, the implementation of a deconvolution approach limits resolution deterioration for throughput rates that are 4 to 10 times better than achievable in typical digital and analog gamma-ray spectroscopy systems.
Sermons of Sedition: The Trials of William Winterbotham

William Winterbotham was tried and convicted at two trials at Exeter assizes in summer 1793 of having spoken seditious words in two sermons he had delivered to his Baptist congregation at Plymouth and for which he was condemned to four years in Newgate prison. Winterbotham was the only person during the 1790s to be prosecuted for having delivered a sermon. His case prompts legal questions pertaining to words spoken rather than printed texts. The chapter gives an account of the two trials and considers how the local community mobilized itself to create the terms of the trials.
An Exploration of Calculus Students’ Beliefs about Mathematics

This study explored the mathematics beliefs of students enrolled in a first year calculus class at a Midwestern university in the United States. The Indiana Mathematics Belief Scale was administered to 162 students enrolled in a first year calculus class during the first week of school. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to examine the factor structure of the survey instrument. Five factors were extracted: Effort, Usefulness, Difficult problems, Understanding, and Steps. Students’ responses were analyzed for inter-item correlation and internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s α). The results were compared with similar studies conducted by Kloosterman and Stage (1992) as well as Berkaliev and Kloosterman (2009). The reliability obtained in this study was consistent with the previous studies. In particular, the Steps subscale was quite low (0.52). It might therefore make sense to drop the Steps subscale in future studies.
Epa’s Programs for Cost-Effectively Reducing Methane Emissions and Emissions of Other Greenhouse Gases

Methane is a major greenhouse gas, second only to carbon dioxide in its contribution to future global warming. Methane concentrations have more than doubled over the last two centuries and continue to rise annually. These increases are largely correlated with increasing human populations. Methane emissions from human related activities currently account for about 70 percent of annual emissions. Because methane has a shorter lifetime than other major greenhouse gases, efforts to reduce methane emissions may fairly quickly be translated into lower atmospheric concentrations of methane and lower levels of radiative forcing. This fairly quick response would have the benefit of slowing the rate of climate change and hence allow natural ecosystems more time to adapt.
Examining engagement in context using experience-sampling method with mobile technology

Abstract With the affordances of mobile devices and experience-sampling method, this study took a person-in-context research orientation and examined the interactive relationship between self-efficacy, contextual features, and behavioral and cognitive engagement in authentic mobile learning contexts. Participants include 52 college students in teacher education programs. They responded to experience-sampling surveys based on the study events that they planned for the two weeks prior to exams during the semester. Regression analysis revealed that students’ course-specific self-efficacy and characteristics of planned study events were significantly associated with students’ behavioral engagement related to how well students implemented their study plans. Hierarchical regression analysis also showed that contextual features of the study environment, including study location and reasons for studying, moderated the relationship between task-specific self-efficacy and cognitive engagement. The results highlight the critical roles of self-efficacy and contextual features in influencing engagement in authentic anywhere and anytime mobile learning. The affordances and hinderances of experience-sampling method and mobile technologies in supporting engagement research were discussed.
Metabolic Syndrome and Physical Activity Levels in College Students.

Abstract Background: It is estimated that >30% of young adults attending college are overweight or obese and do not participate in enough physical activity (PA) to maintain a healthy body mass. Man...
A genome-wide almanac of co-essential modules assigns function to uncharacterized genes

SUMMARY A central remaining question in the post-genomic era is how genes interact to form biological pathways. Measurements of gene dependency across hundreds of cell lines have been used to cluster genes into ‘co-essential’ pathways, but this approach has been limited by ubiquitous false positives. Here, we develop a statistical method that enables robust identification of gene co-essentiality and yields a genome-wide set of functional modules. This almanac recapitulates diverse pathways and protein complexes and predicts the functions of 102 uncharacterized genes. Validating top predictions, we show that TMEM189 encodes plasmanylethanolamine desaturase, the long-sought key enzyme for plasmalogen synthesis. We also show that C15orf57 binds the AP2 complex, localizes to clathrin-coated pits, and enables efficient transferrin uptake. Finally, we provide an interactive web tool for the community to explore the results (coessentiality.net). Our results establish co-essentiality profiling as a powerful resource for biological pathway identification and discovery of novel gene functions.
Introduction: “A Home for the Lonely”

This chapter situates my argument within three specific historical moments: the Tractarian Movement, the Papal Aggression Crisis, and the rise of Ritualism. The introduction provides necessary background information on the religious controversies and conflicts of late 1840s to early 1860s, while also establishing the theoretical terms that govern the project.
Vertical Structure of Radiative Heating Rates of the MJO during DYNAMO

AbstractThe vertical structure of radiative heating rates over the region of the tropical Indian Ocean associated with the MJO during the DYNAMO/ARM MJO Investigation Experiment is presented. The m...
The Hippocampal Formation of the Primate Brain

The long-standing interest of neuroscientists in the hippocampal formation has occurred from the perspective of two rather different points of view. On the one hand, the comparatively simple cytoarchitecture of the hippocampal formation and the laminar segregation of its extrinsic and intrinsic afferents make it an interesting and relatively simple model system for experimental manipulation and investigation. Chapter 8 in this volume, by Schwartzkroin and Mueller, is a thoughtful review of how effective the hippocampus has been as a model system for neurophysiological studies using the in vitro slice preparation. Other investigations have utilized the hippocampal formation to study the effects of genetic defects in neuronal development (e.g., Nowakowski and Davis, 1985), collateral sprouting induced by deafferentation (e.g., Lynch et al. 1972; Cotman and Nadler, 1978), or intracerebral transplantation (e.g., Frotscher and Zimmer, 1986). While most of the studies that use the hippocampal formation as a model system have focused on the rodent, the other major interest in the hippocampal formation has grown out of a variety of clinical and experimental data derived from humans and nonhuman primates. These latter investigations have focused on the disruption of certain aspects of the memory process produced by hippocampal lesions as first described in human neurosurgical patients (Scoville and Milner, 1957; Penfield and Milner, 1958) and subsequently investigated in nonhuman primates (e.g., Moss et al. 1981).
Capitalism and Inequality

Abstract According to the prevailing opinion, capitalism is a market economy governed by immutable laws and inequality is the result of competition between free and equal individuals on that market. This paper argues that capitalism, as developed in Western Europe in modern times, has more in common with organized crime than with a system of natural laws. It is rooted in the sale of church and common lands, the privatization of finance (especially public debt) and colonialism. However, its purpose is not the accumulation of wealth. It is merely a particular way of sustaining domination by a small group of people over the rest of the population. Domination in capitalism differs from earlier forms of domination in two ways: it is reproduced via the accumulation of wealth and it is not visible as such. Neither the purpose (domination) nor the functioning (systematic appropriation) is visible on the surface. Even Marx was led to believe that the economy is governed by laws which can be studied scientifically. The paper will argue against this belief by tracing the structures of domination to the reproduction of social inequality in capitalist societies.
From Clinic to Kindergarten: A Path Toward Equity in School Readiness.

* Abbreviations: DPIL — : Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library ROR — : Reach Out and Read Poverty1 and systemic racism2 are critical causes of disparities in early child development and school readiness. Because these early disparities result in lifelong barriers to educational achievement, health, and economic security, there is consensus regarding the urgency of early preventive efforts. Pediatric primary care provides a unique opportunity for population-level engagement of the highest-risk families to support nurturing parent-child relationships critical to healthy child development.3,4 Parent-child book sharing supports early relational health,5 social emotional development,6,7 and early literacy,8 representing a modifiable target for intervention. Over 30 years, Reach Out and Read (ROR) has achieved the highest level of evidence and implementation, to our knowledge, of any early childhood developmental promotion program, with 6100 medical practices reaching 4.5 million children annually.9 In numerous studies, authors have documented large impacts on reading aloud and child language development from the infant-toddler periods through school entry10–12 at a fraction of the cost of intensive parenting interventions like home visiting. In the current issue, Szumlas et al13 added significantly to the evidence base for ROR and health care–based population-level prevention through an innovative study design. First, they combined ROR … Address correspondence to Jill M. Sells, MD, 7724 35th Ave NE, #15943, Seattle, WA 98115. E-mail: jsells{at}edc.org
LABORATORY MODEL TESTING FOR EARTHQUAKE LOADING

Two types of facilities used at the University of California, Berkeley, for laboratory syudy of earthquake response characteristics of typical structures are described: (1)A 20-ft square shaking table; and (2)a variety of controlled loading devices. Shaking table tests of a 0.7 scale concrete building frame, a 1/30 scale highway overcrossing, and a 1/3 scale liquid storage tanks are mentioned. Controlled loading facility testing of concrete and steel members, joints, and subassemblages is described and typical results presented to demonstrate typical behavior mechanisms. Note that loading rate has only a minor influence on the behavior of concrete specimens, so earthquake response behavior can be evaluated by pseudo-static testing procedures. Other comparative advantages and disadvantages of the two types of testing facilities are presented.
Primary Bladder Neck Obstruction in Men and Women: an Update on Diagnosis and Management

Primary bladder neck obstruction (PBNO) is a rare condition of the lower urinary tract seen in young and middle-aged patients. The true prevalence of this entity is unknown; however, it has been reported in 5–11 % of young women and 28–54 % of young men with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS). The diagnosis of PBNO requires a high index of suspicion and an experienced clinician due to the variety of presenting urinary symptoms, and often a much delayed presentation, which frequently is not reported by patients, and often misdiagnosed by clinicians. Videourodynamics (VUDS) will greatly assist in making the diagnosis. Observation, medical therapy, and surgical therapy are the treatment options with variable success rates. This detailed review focuses on history, presentation, diagnosis, and management of PBNO in both men and women.