cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Lex Varia

The outbreak of the Social War brought in its wake a furious succession of criminal prosecutions with important political implications. The wheels of ‘justice’ were set in motion by the notorious lex Varia, a criminal law passed on the motion of the tribune Q. Varius Severus Hybrida. It was not long before numerous prominent individuals came under attack and the Roman political scene was thrown into turmoil. The lex Varia will repay close scrutiny.Modern scholarship has been content with the analysis of this measure delivered by Appian. Some time after the death of M. Livius Drusus, the tribune of 91 B.C., the equites endeavoured to make his liberal policy towards the Italians a ground for malicious prosecution of their enemies, and to this end they induced Q. Varius to pass his law. The purpose was to bring the entire senatorial oligarchy under the odious charge of sympathy with the Italian insurgents and to entrench equestrian control of the state. Such is the version of Appian. It is certainly true that, as was by now customary, external crises were made the pretext for attacks upon political opponents. The charge of bearing responsibility, in some sense, for the outbreak of war could be stretched to fit a wide variety of activities. But a careful examination of the lex Varia and of the cases heard under it will demonstrate that Appian's judgment leaves much to be desired. Legal and political consequences have never yet been fully understood or analysed, and the law can shed much light on Roman internal struggles in this period.
Mandibulofacial dysostosis (hemifacial microsomia) with cutaneous angiomas and choroidal depigmentation—a new syndrome

The association of unilateral mandibulofacial dysostosis with cutaneous angiomas and ocular manifestations is reported here. the proband was born with fused mandible-maxilla on the left side and ipsilateral cutaneous angiomas of the neck. Choroidal depigmentation was found in the inferior part of the left fundus. Horner's syndrome, decreased corneal sensation and conductive hearing loss was also present in the same side. Chemical blood studies were normal. This malformation syndrome bridges the nosologic gap between the vascular phakomatosis (Sturge-Weber syndrome, Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber syndrome, retinal hemangiomas) and the first branchial arch syndromes (Goldenhar and Treacher-Collins syndromes).
Satellite rainfall estimates for global flood monitoring and prediction

Flooding continues to exact a significant economic and humanitarian toll worldwide. Rainfall estimates from satellite data represent an important source of information for monitoring and predicting these events, particularly in regions where radar data are unavailable and the rain gauge network is unsuitable for smaller-scale applications. This paper will present several real-time satellite-based rainfall estimation and forecasting techniques that are in use at NOAA/NESDIS that take advantage of the global coverage offered by both the geostationary and polar-orbiting satellite constellations. One is the Hydro-Estimator rainfall algorithm, which produces 4- to 5-km resolution estimates of rainfall at sub-hourly time scales from geostationary infrared data. Another is the Tropical Rainfall Potential (TRaP) algorithm, which produces 24-hour forecasts of rainfall from landfalling tropical cyclones based on extrapolation of current microwaveestimated rain rates along the predicted storm track. Examples of these and other techniques will be presented, along with future advances that are anticipated as new instruments become available on upcoming satellite missions.
Rates of Parent-Centered Developmental Screening: Disparities and Links to Services Access

BACKGROUND: In 2006, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended developmental screening of young children with a standardized screening tool as a routine component of well-child care. OBJECTIVES: To assess the national and state prevalence of standardized, parent-completed developmental screening (DS-PC) in the previous 12 months and evaluate associations between screening and receipt of an early-intervention plan or mental health services for children at higher risk. METHODS: Data from the 2007 National Survey of Children9s Health were used. Nested t tests were used to compare each state to national prevalence. Logistic and multilevel regression models evaluated variations and associations with DS-PC. RESULTS: Nationally, 19.5% of children received a DS-PC in the previous 12 months, although the figure varied from 10.7% to 47% across the United States. Prevalence did not rise above 26.7% for any socioeconomic subgroup of children and was highest for younger, black, and publicly insured children and lowest for uninsured children and children with gaps in insurance coverage. Equally high-risk children varied twofold in their probability of receiving early intervention or needed mental health services according to whether they had received a DS-PC. CONCLUSIONS: There is a significant gap between the developmental screening that is recommended and what is reported nationally. When children are not screened consistently, opportunities for early identification, intervention, and treatment may be delayed. Gaps in screening and wide variations across states present considerable opportunities for cross-state learning to improve quality on this critical component of preventive pediatric care. Measurement systems for assessing prevalence and impact of screening require continued evaluation and development.
Mapping quantitative trait loci in oligogenic models.

SUMMARY We discuss strategies for mapping quantitative trait loci with emphasis on certain issues of study design that have recently received attention: e.g. genotyping only selected pedigrees and the comparative value of large pedigrees versus sib pairs. We use a standard variance components model and a parametrization of the genetic effects in which the ‘segregation’ parameters are locally orthogonal to the ‘linkage’ parameters. This permits simple explicit expressions for the expectation of the score statistic, which we use to compare the power of different strategies. We also discuss robustness of the score statistic.
Heparin as a Chemoattractant for Mouse Spermatozoa

The presence of heparin (0.005 mg/mL) in BWW induces a statistically significant increase in spermatozoa concentration to 7.76 × 104/450 μL in experimental wells compared with 2.69 × 104 450 μ of sperm cells in controls.
Using message-driven objects to mask latency in grid computing applications

One of the attractive features of grid computing is that resources in geographically distant places can be mobilized to meet computational needs as they arise. A particularly challenging issue is that of executing a single application across multiple machines that are separated by large distances. While certain classes of applications such as pipeline style or master-slave style applications may run well in grid computing environments with little or no modification, tightly-coupled applications require significant work to achieve good performance. In this paper, we demonstrate that message-driven objects, implemented in the Charm++ and adaptive MPI systems, can be used to mask the effects of latency in grid computing environments without requiring modification of application software. We examine a simple five-point stencil decomposition application as well as a more complex molecular dynamics application running in an environment in which arbitrary artificial latencies can be induced between pairs of nodes. Performance of the applications running under artificial latencies are compared to the performance of the applications running across TeraGrid nodes located at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications and Argonne National Laboratory.
Spatiotemporal Systems Biology

ABSTRACT Computational and theoretical considerations for the extension of systems biology into the spatiotemporal realm will be discussed. Both limitations and extensions of current approaches within the research community will be investigated, along with the approach taken by our group in a newly developed software package, CellSim. Application of all computational aspects described rely on cellular assays imaged by fluorescence confocal microscopy. Taken together, this extension to systems biology may answer questions about complex protein networks and the role spatial heterogeneity may play in such processes.
Characterization of glycosphingolipid epimers by radical-directed dissociation mass spectrometry

Glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are important metabolic regulators that control critical cellular functions and are found in all cell membranes. GSL epimers which only differ in the orientation of a single OH group are indicators for different lysosomal storage diseases. In this study, we investigate structural discrimination of GSL isomers using radical-directed dissociation (RDD). Radical fragmentation of different GSL species can be enabled by either noncovalent or covalent modification strategies. The results reveal that RDD can quantitatively distinguish lyso-GSL epimers without the requirement of prior separation by liquid chromatography. In addition, it is demonstrated that covalent labeling with boronic acid enables chemical separation of the two glycolipids isomers due to differential reactiviy of the respective sugar moiteties, offering another avenue for both molecular identification and radical characterization.
Importance of finite-temperature exchange correlation for warm dense matter calculations

The effects of an explicit temperature dependence in the exchange correlation (XC) free-energy functional upon calculated properties of matter in the warm dense regime are investigated. The comparison is between the Karasiev-Sjostrom-Dufty-Trickey (KSDT) finite-temperature local-density approximation (TLDA) XC functional [Karasiev et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 076403 (2014)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.112.076403] parametrized from restricted path-integral Monte Carlo data on the homogeneous electron gas (HEG) and the conventional Monte Carlo parametrization ground-state LDA XC [Perdew-Zunger (PZ)] functional evaluated with T-dependent densities. Both Kohn-Sham (KS) and orbital-free density-functional theories are used, depending upon computational resource demands. Compared to the PZ functional, the KSDT functional generally lowers the dc electrical conductivity of low-density Al, yielding improved agreement with experiment. The greatest lowering is about 15% for T=15 kK. Correspondingly, the KS band structure of low-density fcc Al from the KSDT functional exhibits a clear increase in interband separation above the Fermi level compared to the PZ bands. In some density-temperature regimes, the deuterium equations of state obtained from the two XC functionals exhibit pressure differences as large as 4% and a 6% range of differences. However, the hydrogen principal Hugoniot is insensitive to the explicit XC T dependence because of cancellation between the energy and pressure-volume work difference terms in the Rankine-Hugoniot equation. Finally, the temperature at which the HEG becomes unstable is T≥7200 K for the T-dependent XC, a result that the ground-state XC underestimates by about 1000 K.
Effects of Long-Term Care Insurance on Financial Well-Being

From a policy perspective, private long-term care insurance (LTCI) is often discussed as a potential solution to the need for long-term care (LTC) financing. However, given that financial protection is arguably the primary purpose of health insurance, there exists remarkably little empirical evidence on the financial protection effect of LTCI. We use U.S. Health and Retirement Study data to examine how LTCI affects key financial outcomes of insured individuals, including asset accumulation. Using an instrumental variable (IV) approach to account for the endogeneity of LTCI purchase, we find that LTCI leads to consistently positive effects on assets, consistently negative effects on Medicaid and Food Stamps enrollment and parent-child financial transfers, and ambiguous effects on out-of-pocket (OOP) medical payments. These results suggest that although private LTCI is ineffective at protecting insured individuals against large medical expenditures, it improves the general financial well-being of insured individuals by reducing Medicaid-related disincentives to asset accumulation, motivating them to save more and reduce asset transfers.
Consensus Propagation

We propose consensus propagation, an asynchronous distributed protocol for averaging numbers across a network. We establish convergence, characterize the convergence rate for regular graphs, and demonstrate that the protocol exhibits better scaling properties than pairwise averaging, an alternative that has received much recent attention. Consensus propagation can be viewed as a special case of belief propagation, and our results contribute to the belief propagation literature. In particular, beyond singly-connected graphs, there are very few classes of relevant problems for which belief propagation is known to converge.
Evaluation of thermally induced macromolecular changes in cartilage using FT-IR spectroscopy

Photothermal effects following laser irradiation of cartilage were investigated using an infrared focal plane array camera and a Fourier transform infra-red (FT-IR) spectrometer. The results indicate that in response to Ho:YAG laser irradiation (λ=2.1 μm) infrared absorption peaks of water and macromolecules decrease, respectively, due to dehydration and thermal denaturation. The methodology may be useful for quantitative investigation of the relationship between the clinically important phenomenon of accelerated stress relaxation and the kinetics of macromolecular denaturation.
Who engages in health protective behaviors? A replication

The purpose of this article is to replicate Berkanovic's study suggesting that general health orientations are weak mediators of the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics and health protective behaviors, and thus, health education campaigns attempting to alter health orientations in target populations would have little effect on health protective behaviors. Our methodology is similar to that used by Berkanovic although additional sociodemographic factors as well as measures of general health orientations are included in the analysis of the three types of health protective behaviors (i.e., voluntary life style change, physician recommended life style change, and physician recommended treatment). Our results support Berkanovic's earlier view. The effect of attitudes toward physicians on asymptomatic life style change is also considered, and the implications for health education are discussed. Language: en
GENERAL PRINCIPLES IN TREATING SOFT-TISSUE INJURIES

Most primary care physicians will encounter soft tissue injuries in their office. The acute treatment of these injuries using the acronym RICEM is the most important part of treatment so that the athlete may progress to a more functional phase of rehabilitation in older to allow for a rapid recovery and safe return to sport.
Acute renal failure secondary to ciprofloxacin use.

AbstractWe report on a 22-year-old woman with a continent urinary diversion in whom acute renal failure developed on ciprofloxacin therapy for pelvic osteomyelitis. Renal failure resolved rapidly once the drug was withheld. Because ciprofloxacin is used extensively by the urological community, we believe that it is important to be aware of this potential complication of therapy. We review the literature on the association of ciprofloxacin and renal failure.
Small bowel obstruction caused by self-anchoring suture used for peritoneal closure following robotic inguinal hernia repair

Laparoscopic inguinal herniorraphy is a commonly performed procedure given the reported decrease in pain and earlier return to activity when compared with the open approach. Moreover, robotic assistance offers the operating surgeon considerable ergonomic advantages, making it an attractive alternative to conventional laparoscopic herniorraphy. Robotic herniorraphy utilizes the transabdominal preperitoneal approach where following repair peritoneal closure is necessary to avoid mesh exposure to the viscera. Self-anchoring sutures are frequently used to this end given the ease of use and knotless application. We present an unusual case of post-operative small bowel obstruction following robotic inguinal hernia repair caused by the self-anchoring suture used for peritoneal closure. This patient presented 3 days post-procedure with symptoms and cross-sectional imaging indicative of small bowel obstruction with a clear transition point. Underwent laparoscopic lysis of a single adhesive band originating from the loose intraperitoneal end of the suture leading to resolution of symptoms.
Diversidad, identidad, sexualidad. Reseñando un palimpsesto

Resena del libro:Castelar, Andres Felipe (2015). Diversidad, identidad, sexualidad (Un palimpsesto). Cali: Universidad Icesi. 266 pp.
An automated behavioral measure of mind wandering during computerized reading

Mind wandering is a ubiquitous phenomenon in which attention shifts from task-related to task-unrelated thoughts. The last decade has witnessed an explosion of interest in mind wandering, but research has been stymied by a lack of objective measures, leading to a near-exclusive reliance on self-reports. We addressed this issue by developing an eye-gaze-based, machine-learned model of mind wandering during computerized reading. Data were collected in a study in which 132 participants reported self-caught mind wandering while reading excerpts from a book on a computer screen. A remote Tobii TX300 or T60 eyetracker recorded their gaze during reading. The data were used to train supervised classification models to discriminate between mind wandering and normal reading in a manner that would generalize to new participants. We found that at the point of maximal agreement between the model-based and self-reported mind-wandering means (smallest difference between the group-level means: M model = .310, M self = .319), the participant-level mind-wandering proportional distributions were similar and were significantly correlated (r = .400). The model-based estimates were internally consistent (r = .751) and predicted text comprehension more strongly than did self-reported mind wandering (r model = −.374, r self = −.208). Our results also indicate that a robust strategy of probabilistically predicting mind wandering in cases with poor or missing gaze data led to improved performance on all metrics, as compared to simply discarding these data. Our findings demonstrate that an automated objective measure might be available for laboratory studies of mind wandering during reading, providing an appealing alternative or complement to self-reports.
A Vast Image Out of Spiritus Mundi: The Existential Crisis of Law Schools

In her recent book, Teaching Law: Justice, Politics, and the Demands of Professionalism, Robin L. West articulates that the crisis is not merely as the The New York Times and other media outlets have described it — not entirely about the faulty business practices of law schools or the lack of practice-oriented teaching in law classrooms. Instead, the crisis lies at the existential core of law schools. The original nineteenth-century set-up of the American law school and that model’s continued existence today have contributed to an identity crisis for law schools, revealing its major incompatibility with how the law is currently understood and practiced. This Review considers the findings in West’s enlightening and well-research book — where she observes how legal formalist ideals of lawyering established a law school model that led the academy astray from what ought to be the academy’s values on teaching, scholarship, and the profession. Such a wayward trajectory, which if left ignored, will harbor serious ramifications about the how the academy thinks about justice and politics in relation to the law. At the root of West’s law school reforms is a critical overhaul of the law school curriculum to reflect the teaching of legal knowledge that demonstrates normatively what it means to be a modern lawyer — and not just what it means to “think like a lawyer.” This Review builds on her findings and advocates that in addition to reconsidering what law schools teach, the academy must also ensure that students can transfer that learning into a more comprehensive lawyering experience.
Heterotopic Heart Transplantation: Technical Considerations

Heterotopic heart transplantation is seldom used but may be due a renaissance. In a left assist configuration, heterotopic heart transplantation could expand the pool of heart donors and also enable transplantation in groups of patients who are currently not eligible for a heart transplant. With the biologic left ventricular assist (bio-LVA) concept, much as with a left ventricular assist device, the graft supports only the left side of the heart. It may be used in potential recipients with significant pulmonary hypertension in the absence of native right heart failure, as well as for small donor hearts, high-risk donor hearts, and left ventricular assist device contraindications. We have used bio-LVA transplantation sparingly over the years but see more opportunity for use in this era of donor shortage and improved postoperative management. This article describes the history of heterotopic heart transplantation, indications for the operation, results in recent series, and the technical details of bio-LVA transplantation.
A Block Matching Based Approach with Multiple Simultaneous Templates for the Real-Time 2D Ultrasound Tracking of Liver Vessels

Purpose The implementation of motion management techniques in radiation therapy can aid in mitigating uncertainties and reducing margins. For motion management to be effective, it is necessary to track key structures both accurately and at a real-time speed. Therefore, the focus of this work was to develop a 2D algorithm for the real-time tracking of ultrasound features to aid in radiation therapy motion management. Materials and Methods The developed algorithm utilized a similarity measure-based block matching algorithm incorporating training methods and multiple simultaneous templates. The algorithm is broken down into three primary components, all of which use normalized cross-correlation (NCC) as a similarity metric. First, a global feature shift to account for gross displacements from the previous frame is determined using large block sizes which encompass the entirety of the feature. Second, the most similar reference frame is chosen from a series of training images that are accumulated during the first K frames of tracking to aid in contour consistency and provide a starting point for the localized template initialization. Finally, localized block matching is performed through the simultaneous use of both a training frame and the previous frame. The localized block matching utilizes a series of templates positioned at the boundary points of the training and previous contours. The weighted final boundary points from both the previous and the training frame are ultimately combined and used to determine an affine transformation from the previous frame to the current frame. Results A mean tracking error of 0.72 ± 1.25 mm was observed for 85 point-landmarks across 39 ultrasound sequences relative to manual ground truth annotations. The image processing speed per landmark with the GPU implementation was between 41 and 165 frames per second (fps) during the training set accumulation, and between 73 and 234 fps after training set accumulation. Relative to a comparable multithreaded CPU approach using OpenMP, the GPU implementation resulted in speedups between -30% and 355% during training set accumulation, and between -37% and 639% post-accumulation. Conclusions Initial implementations indicated an accuracy that was comparable to or exceeding those achieved by alternative 2D tracking methods, with a computational speed that is more than sufficient for real-time applications in a radiation therapy environment. While the overall performance reached levels suitable for implementation in radiation therapy, the observed increase in failures for smaller features, as well as the algorithm's inability to be applied to non-convex features warrants additional investigation to address the shortcomings observed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Exploring the Use of `Acknowledgement Analysis' to Map Intellectual Diversity and Cross-disciplinary Activity Within the iSchools

Fostering intellectual diversity in the iSchools is a critical task and central to the unique iSchool vision. However, beyond recent efforts to track hiring patterns and figure out the representation of various disciplines within the iSchool community, there is currently a lack of empirical research about cross-disciplinary activity within iSchool faculties. In this research note, which seeks to build on and complicate a recent paper by Wiggins and Sawyer (2012), we foreground the various zones and activities that make up everyday iSchool life instead of discussing the iSchool as a coherent unit. Specifically, we examine faculty involvement with the dissertation production process as a potentially key zone of cross-disciplinary faculty contact and exchange. We also explore the use of “acknowledgement analysis,” a relatively unexplored method for studying academic social networks. Our findings, based on analyzing the acknowledgements of every dissertation published in 2010 (N=78) by a sample of 15 research-intensive iSchools, suggest that the dissertation production process is a site of cross-disciplinary activity but not evenly so across the various disciplines populating the iSchools. Some discipline areas within the iSchools engage in cross-disciplinary exchange more frequently than others and with a more diverse array of intellectual interlocutors.
Queen–Worker Conflicts Over Colony Sex Ratio

Studies of sex-ratio conflict in the eusocial Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps) have provided powerful tests of kin-selection theory, particularly because exact predictions can be derived from theory and because sex ratios are generally easy to measure. The ratio of male to female reproductives produced by a eusocial insect colony is presumed to be in conflict between the queen and her daughter workers because of differences in their genetic relatedness to the sexuals. Over 30 years of research on sex-ratio conflict has documented many cases of worker control over sex ratios but few examples of queen control. Future research will need to test mechanisms by which queens and workers achieve control over sex ratios and integrate sex-ratio conflict with other queen–worker conflicts for a better understanding of conflict resolution in hymenopteran societies.
Forms and Patterns Found in a Natural State

.. ...... ... .. v INTRODUCTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 DEVELOPING PHILOSOPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 THE PROJECT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Huntsville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Antelope Island....... ... .. .. ..... . . . ... .. .... . .... 8 City of Rocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 ILLUSTRATIONS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION . ...... . ... . ....... ...... . . .... 22 BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • 25
Surface Temperature and the Surface Energy Balance

Surface temperatures, determined from measurements of emitted radiation, can be obtained at scales ranging from a few square millimetres to the global hemisphere. The ability to measure temperatures over large areas has led to the development of techniques for evaluating the surface energy balance at regional scales. In addition to surface temperatures, some techniques require inputs of surface-measured meteorological parameters. Others model the surface fluxes and use a comparison of predicted and measured surface temperatures to keep the models on track. Because of the large scale, validation of the models is difficult. On a smaller scale, it is possible to use both remotely-sensed data and ground-based data to evaluate the energy balance, with validation being somewhat easier. In this review, both regional- and local-scale techniques are discussed. An experiment in which remotely-derived results were compared with Bowen ratio data is described in detail. It is shown that the remote technique will produce adequate values of latent heat flux for uniform surfaces, but may yield erroneous values for heterogeneous surfaces such as partial canopies.
Cellulase Production by Thermophilic Actinomyces Strain MJØr and Characterization of the Enzyme

The utilization of cellulose is one of the major challenges to technology. Cellulose is a photosynthetic product of green plants and is a replenishable resource. The annual production of cellulose has been estimated at 80 billion tons (1). However, most of the cellulose is not in a form suited to human needs as food and fuel. The cellulose occurs mainly in combination with other polymers such as lignin and hemicellulose as insoluble lignocellu-lose fibers. The efficient utilization of cellulose by conversion to other useful materials would be simplified if the cellulose were hydrolyzed into soluble sugar such as glucose (Fig. 1). Complete hydrolysis can be achieved in 1% sulfuric acid at an elevated temperature (170–180°C)(2). Unfortunately, the process has a low yield of glucose and produces toxic byproducts such as furfural and acetic acid. Cellulose can also be degraded by living organisms at a moderate temperature and pH. The organisms product extracellular enzymes (cellulases) that hydrolyze the cellulose into soluble sugar. The sugar is utilized for growth. A process based on enzymatic saccharification might involve the use of isolated enzymes or the enzyme produced in situ by the organisms growing in the culture.
Multiple Vehicle Speed Detection and Fusion Technology on the Road Network: A Case Study from Taiwan

Real-time traffic information service is an important part of Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), and the performance of service is a major concern to transportation planners and road users. For users, getting sufficient and complete traffic information is helpful for them to arrange optimal road path before heading. This paper describes some traffic prediction technologies deployed in Taiwan, such as vehicle detector (VD), GPS-based vehicle probe (GVP) and cellular floating vehicle probe (CFVP), and each of them has different intended purposes. Through data fusion to analyze and regularize traffic information from various traffic prediction technologies, it makes the incomplete information converting into systematic and useful traffic information.
From syntax to meaning in natural language processing

The development of larger scale natural language systems has been hampered by the need to manually create mappings from syntactic structures into meaning representations. A new approach to semantic interpretation is proposed, which uses partial syntactic structures as the main unit of abstraction for interpretation rules. This approach can work for a variety of syntactic representations corresponding to directed acyclic graphs. It is designed to map into meaning representations based on frame hierarchies with inheritance. We define semantic interpretation rules in a compact format. The format is suitable for automatic rule extension or rule generalization, when existing hand-coded rules do not cover the current input. Furthermore, automatic discovery of semantic interpretation rules from input/output examples is made possible by this new rule format. The principles of the approach are validated in a comparison to other methods on a separately developed domain. Instead of relying purely on painstaking human effort, this paper combines human expertise with computer learning strategies to successfully overcome the bottleneck of semantic interpretation.
Zahra’s Paradise: the virtual technics and political potential of subjective (dis)orientation

Zahra’s Paradise is a webcomic-turned-graphic novel depicting the aftermath of Iran’s Green Movement, where untold numbers of protesters were arrested, tortured and killed. The comic occupies matri...
Mesoscale crystal plasticity modeling of nanoscale Al–Al2Cu eutectic alloy

Abstract Nanolaminated composites composed of alternate metal and intermetallic or ceramic lamellae exhibit high strength, high strain hardening rate and measurable plasticity at ambient and elevated temperatures. Due to the difference in plastic deformation capability between the two phases, structural instability occurs in hard lamellae associated with buckling when a compression strain is applied parallel to the lamellae. Taking nanoscale Al–Al2Cu eutectic alloy as a model system, we develop a mesoscale crystal plasticity (CP) model based on the confined layer slip (CLS) mechanism (referred to as CLS-CP) to understand the buckling behavior of the nanolaminates. In the CLS-CP model, buckling in Al2Cu lamellae is constrained by the elastic-plastic deformation of Al lamellae. The critical resolved shear stress for dislocation slip in Al lamellae varies with layer thickness, estimated by the CLS mechanism. To capture the essential features of confined layer slip mechanism that dislocations propagate within the layer and are deposited at the interfaces, plastic deformation in each lamella is the same through the layer thickness. The variation of elastic deformation through the layer thickness is captured through dividing each Al lamella into three or more elements that have the same plastic deformation through the thickness. In comparison, we also conduct standard crystal plasticity modeling in which plastic deformation in the three elements through the layer thickness is calculated individually according to phenomenological power law. In these simulations, plasticity in Al2Cu lamellae is modeled with slips on {121} planes due to the slip continuity across the interface, which have been observed in our recent experiments. The CLS-CP model is able to predict mechanical properties of nano-scale lamellar materials. In contrast, the standard CP model is more suitable to study deformation behavior of sub-micro scale lamellar materials. The CLS-CP model calculations reveal that critical compression strain corresponding to buckling increases as layer thickness decreases, which agree with micro-pillar compression tests.
Integrating conventional management methods with biological control for enhanced Tamarix management

Invasive shrubs like Tamarix spp. are ecological and economic threats in the U.S. Southwest and West, as they displace native vegetation and require innovative management approaches. Tamarix control typically consists of chemical and mechanical removal, but these methods may have negative ecological and economic impacts. Tamarisk leaf beetles (Diorhabda spp.) released for biocontrol are becoming increasingly established within Western river systems and can provide additional control. Previous Diorhabda research studied integration of beetle herbivory with fire and with mechanical management methods and herbicide application (e.g., cut stump), but little research has been conducted on integration with mowing and foliar herbicide application, which cause minimal soil disturbance. At Caballo Reservoir in southern New Mexico, we addressed the question: “How does Tamarix respond to chemical and mechanical control when Diorhabda is well established at a site?” A field experiment was conducted by integrating mowing and foliar imazapyr herbicide at standard (3.6 g ae L−1 [0.75% v/v] and low (1.2 g ae L−1 [0.25% v/v]) rates with herbivory. Treatments were replicated five times at two sites—a dry site and a seasonally flooded site. Beetles and larvae were counted and green foliage was measured over 2 yr. Mowing and full herbicide rates reduced green foliage and limited regrowth compared with low herbicide rate and beetles alone. Integrating conventional management such as mowing and herbicide with biocontrol could improve Tamarix management by providing stresses in addition to herbivory alone.
The Utility of the Timed Up-and-Go Test in Predicting Cognitive Performance: A Cross-Sectional Study of Independent Living Adults in a Retirement Community:

Physical, emotional, and cognitive changes are well documented in aging populations. We administered a comprehensive battery of mental and physical health measures and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA; a cognitive screening tool) to 93 independently living older adults (OAs) residing in a Continuing Care Senior Housing Community. Performance on the Timed Up-and-Go (TUG) test (a measure of functional mobility) correlated more strongly with the MoCA total score than did measures of aging, psychiatric symptoms, sleep, and both self-report and objective physical health. Furthermore, it was associated with MoCA Attention, Language, Memory, and Visuospatial/Executive subscales. The MoCA-TUG relationship remained significant after controlling for demographic and physical/mental health measures. Given that the TUG explained significantly more variance in broad cognitive performance than a comprehensive battery of additional physical and mental health tests, it may function as a multimodal measure of health in OAs, capturing physical changes and correlating with cognitive measures.
In Situ X-ray Tomography and 3D X-ray Diffraction Measurements of Cemented Granular Materials

In situ x-ray tomography and three-dimensional (3D) x-ray diffraction analysis have been combined to investigate the mechanical behavior of noncemented and lightly cemented quartz particles under quasistatic confined uniaxial compaction. The motivation for this study is to understand the particle-scale origin of the mechanical behavior of cemented particulate materials and to isolate what makes this behavior distinct from that of noncemented particulate materials. Tomography measurements elucidated the particle packing structure, contact fabric, cementation, and particle fragmentation, while 3D x-ray diffraction measurements provided insight into particle rotations and particle-resolved strain and stress tensors. The cemented sample was found to exhibit higher resistance to individual particle fragmentation and significantly restrained particle motion, compared with the noncemented sample, likely due to the cement bridges between particles. This reduction in particle fragmentation and motion may explain the significantly enhanced macroscopic stiffness of the cemented sample, as well as the strong alignment of intraparticle principal stresses with the macroscopic strain direction. These findings advance particle-scale understanding of cemented granular media and provide motivation for further research focused on developing fundamental understanding of the constitutive response of these materials.
Patent foramen ovale prevalence in atrial fibrillation patients and its clinical significance; A single center experience

Abstract Background Patent foramen ovale (PFO) has been reported in 25–30% of the general population. The most commonly used test for detecting PFO is a contrast enhanced transesophageal echocardiography (TEE). PFO presence can be confirmed during pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) procedure by passing the transseptal catheter assembly through the foramen ovale, crossing the septum from the right to the left atrium without using a trans-septal needle for puncture. Methods We retrospectively reviewed data from a cohort of 178 patients with AF who underwent PVI at Saint Louis University. Pre-PVI procedure, scheduled TEE reports were reviewed to assess for the presence of PFO and the PVI procedure reports were reviewed for confirmation. Results Records of 178 patients (55.6% male, mean population age 60.4 ± 11.8) were reviewed. 102 of 178 patients had a PFO detected during the PVI procedure. This translates into a 57.3% prevalence of PFO in AF patients. Out of the 178 patients, 75 patients had a pre-PVI procedure TEE for whom PFO presence was reported in 18.7%. The sensitivity and specificity of TEE in detection of PFO were 36.8% and 100%, respectively. There was no statistically significant association between stroke and PFO diagnosed during PVI (RR 1.07; 95% CI, 0.53–2.19; P = 0.805). Conclusions Our study reports a PFO prevalence of 18.7% using a pre-procedure TEE and 56.6% during the PVI procedure in AF patients. Given that TEE is the gold standard for detection of PFO, our study suggests that the prevalence of PFO may be underestimated in our AF population.
Design of Lower-Limb Exoskeletons and Emulator Systems

Abstract This chapter provides guiding principles for design and case studies of effective approaches to help developers begin the process of designing their own lower-limb exoskeletons. This is discussed mainly in the context of exoskeleton emulator systems which are used to emulate existing exoskeletons or to test candidate control strategies and hardware designs before they are prototyped. Topics include the pros and cons of exoskeleton testbeds, selection of actuators, development of free body diagrams for evaluating loading and stresses, comfort and safety measures, tips for frame and joint design, sensor selection, materials and manufacturing, series elasticity for improved torque tracking, and a brief description of low-level control strategies.
From Constitutional Psychopathic Inferiority to AIDS: What is in the Future for Homosexual Aliens?

abroad. It then considers United States immigration policy, focusing on how the immigration laws have dealt, and should deal, with homosexuality. Finally, it discusses the AIDS virus and the influence it has had upon public perception of homosexuality. In this controversial area, this Article attempts to develop a more coherent and rational policy regarding the exclusion of homosexual aliens than the practice that currently exists.1
Sinonasal Osteosarcoma: Report of 14 New Cases and Systematic Review of the Literature.

Objective The objective of this study is to describe the clinical presentation, tumor characteristics, natural history, and treatment patterns of sinonasal osteosarcoma. Methods Fourteen patients who had been treated for osteosarcoma of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses at a tertiary care center were reviewed. In addition, a systematic review of the literature for osteosarcoma of the sinonasal cavity was performed. Results In a systematic review, including 14 patients from the authors' institution, 53 total studies including 88 patients were assessed. Median follow-up was 18 months (interquartile range: 8–39 months). The most common presenting symptoms were facial mass or swelling (34%), and nasal obstruction (30%). The most common paranasal sinus involved by tumor was the maxillary sinus (64%), followed by the ethmoid sinuses (52%). The orbit (33%), dura (13%) and infratemporal fossa (10%) were the most common sites of local invasion. The majority of patients underwent surgery followed by adjuvant therapy (52.4%). Increasing age was associated with decreased overall survival rate (unit risk ratio [95% confidence interval (CI)] = 1.02 [1.003–1.043]; p = 0.0216) and T4 disease was associated with decreased disease-specific survival rate (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.87; p = 0.0495). The 2- and 5-year overall survival rates were 68 and 40%, respectively, while 2- and 5-year disease-specific survival rates were 71% and 44%, respectively. Conclusions Sinonasal osteosarcomas are uncommon tumors and can pose a significant therapeutic challenge. Increasing age and T4 disease are associated with worse prognosis. This disease usually warrants consultation by a multidisciplinary team and consideration of multimodality therapy.
The Story of Angiogenesis Inhibitors in Non–small-cell Lung Cancer: The Past, Present, and Future

The treatment of advanced non-small-lung cancer (NSCLC) has steadily evolved over the past 2 decades, and current therapy includes chemoimmunotherapy or targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Angiogenesis inhibitors were first approved in the mid-2000s in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of NSCLC. The addition of anti-angiogenics to chemotherapy resulted in modest increases in survival when median overall survival was less than 1 year. More recently, the use of anti-angiogenics has fallen out of favor with the advent of checkpoint inhibitors and never-before-seen durable long-term responses. However, we postulate that there is still an important role for anti-angiogenics in this era of targeted therapy and checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of NSCLC. Preclinical studies have shown that combination blockade of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathways leads to synergistic antitumor effects. These results have been replicated in the clinical setting in patients who harbor EGFR mutations, with VEGF inhibitor-TKI dual therapy leading to impressive survival outcomes. Similarly, combination treatment with checkpoint inhibitors and VEGF inhibitors have led to unprecedented survival outcomes in both advanced renal cell cancer as well as NSCLC. In this review, we explore the evolution of anti-angiogenic therapy in advanced NSCLC and discuss the clinical efficacy of angiogenesis inhibitors in combination with chemotherapy, TKI therapy, and checkpoint inhibitors.
Navigating Theological Resources: A Webometric Content Analysis

Objectives This study assesses the navigability of a selection of American Theological Library Association and Association of Christian Librarians library websites and measures the extent to which these libraries employ responsive design. Methods This study uses quantitative content analysis. Results The most frequent navigational path for key content was in the main text of the landing page, either through a direct hyperlink or simply as text displayed on the website. Two-thirds (66%) of the websites were found to be fully functional in their mobile versions, with only 5 (6%) partially functional and 19 (23%) not functional at all. Conclusions Theological libraries should consider their mission and resources when organizing their websites. Additionally, they should strive to include basic customer service and research assistance through their website. Putting key content in the main text of the homepage will make it more available to potential users. Libraries will do well to continue efforts toward responsive design.
Republication of: Philosophy Rediscovered: Exploring the Connections Between Teaching Philosophies, Educational Philosophies, and Philosophy:

Teaching philosophy statements reflect our personal values, connect us to those with shared values in the larger teaching community, and inform our classroom practices. In this article, we explore ...
Formulog: Datalog for SMT-based static analysis

Satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) solving has become a critical part of many static analyses, including symbolic execution, refinement type checking, and model checking. We propose Formulog, a domain-specific language that makes it possible to write a range of SMT-based static analyses in a way that is both close to their formal specifications and amenable to high-level optimizations and efficient evaluation. Formulog extends the logic programming language Datalog with a first-order functional language and mechanisms for representing and reasoning about SMT formulas; a novel type system supports the construction of expressive formulas, while ensuring that neither normal evaluation nor SMT solving goes wrong. Our case studies demonstrate that a range of SMT-based analyses can naturally and concisely be encoded in Formulog, and that — thanks to this encoding — high-level Datalog-style optimizations can be automatically and advantageously applied to these analyses.