cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Internalizing symptoms and conduct problems: Redundant, incremental, or interactive risk factors for adolescent substance use during the first year of high school?

Abstract Aim The complex interplay of externalizing and internalizing problems in substance use risk is not well understood. This study tested whether the relationship of conduct problems and several internalizing disorders with future substance use is redundant, incremental, or interactive in adolescents. Methods Two semiannual waves of data from the Happiness and Health Study were used, which included 3383 adolescents (M age = 14.1 years old; 53% females) in Los Angeles who were beginning high school at baseline. Logistic regression models tested the likelihood of past six-month alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, and any substance use at follow-up conditional on baseline conduct problems, symptoms of one of several internalizing disorders (i.e., Social Phobia and Major Depressive, Generalized Anxiety, Panic, and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder), and their interaction adjusting for baseline use and other covariates. Findings Conduct problems were a robust and consistent risk factor of each substance use outcome at follow-up. When adjusting for the internalizing-conduct comorbidity, depressive symptoms were the only internalizing problem whose risk for alcohol, tobacco, and any substance use was incremental to conduct problems. With the exception of social phobia, antagonistic interactive relationships between each internalizing disorder and conduct problems were found when predicting any substance use; internalizing symptoms was a more robust risk factor for substance use in teens with low (vs. high) conduct problems. Conclusions Although internalizing and externalizing problems both generally increase risk of substance use, a closer look reveals important nuances in these risk pathways, particularly among teens with comorbid externalizing and internalizing problems.
The conundrums of chronic kidney disease and aging

Chronic kidney disease (CKD), as presently defined, is a common disorder. Aging is a nearly universal phenomenon that can affect renal anatomy and function, but at variable rates in individuals. Loss of nephrons and a decline in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a characteristic of normal aging, called renal senescence. Using fixed and absolute thresholds for defining CKD on the basis of GFR for all ages may lead to diagnostic uncertainty (a conundrum) in both young and older subjects. This brief review will consider the physiological and anatomical changes of the kidney occurring in the process of normal renal senescence focusing on GFR and will examine the relevance of these observation for the diagnosis of CKD using GFR as the distinguishing parameter. Once a better understanding of the pathobiology underlying renal senescence is obtained, specific interventions may become available to slow the process.
The destabilising effect of ethical counter-narrative: a qualitative inquiry in a non-profit setting

This study examines the destabilising effects of an ethically corrupt counter-narrative within a non-profit organisation through a longitudinal qualitative research approach. The research focuses on determining whether embedded organisational tendencies, unbeknownst and tacit within the organisation, unwittingly contribute to radical and revolutionary organisational change. The results suggest a refined taxonomy for describing destabilising organisational change and make practical contributions to the non-profit literature. Based on the results of the study and the integration with other theoretical contributions, applications for practice and an agenda for future research are proposed and discussed.
Expertise and the constitution of publics

Expertise presents an enduring political problem. It is, on one hand, essential to a functioning society. On the other hand, it is inextricably entwined with hierarchies and power disparities. A so...
Coping with Acute Health Crises

How can the process and determinants of coping with acute health crises be described? What are the major adaptive tasks seriously ill patients encounter and what types of coping skills do they use? How does the patient adapt to the existential crisis created by learning that he or she has a life-threatening illness? What stressors are encountered by health care professionals and how can they facilitate effective coping and adaptation by patients and their families? I deal with these questions here by presenting a conceptual framework of physical illness as a life crisis and describing how patients and staff cope with the stress of illness and of treatment.
The Utility of Repeat Blood Cultures for Bacteremic Urinary Tract Infections and Associated Durations of Therapy

AbstractBackgroundUrinary tract infections (UTIs) are common among hospitalized patients with 10–40% of cases complicated by bacteremia. Recent literature suggests limited utility in repeating blood cultures for non-Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia; however, clinicians often repeat blood cultures to document clearance prior to selecting definitive therapy for bacteremias. Additionally, comparative data evaluating treatment duration for bacteremic UTIs are lacking and clinical practice guidelines do not address optimal duration for bacteremic UTIs. We aimed to evaluate local practice patterns and utility of repeat blood cultures and their influence on treatment durations for bacteremic UTIs.MethodsWe identified patients with bacteremia from a urinary source at the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital from a previously compiled cohort of inpatients with bacteremia from any source between November 2013 and October 2015. Demographic and clinical information including presence of comorbidities, source of infection, number of repeat blood cultures collected, repeat blood culture positivity, planned duration of antibiotic therapy and recurrent bacteremia with the same organism within 30 days of discharge were collected by manual chart review.ResultsFifty-three bacteremic UTIs were included during the study period. Ninety-four percent of patients were male with a median age of 77. Repeat blood cultures were drawn in 77% (41/53) of cases; however, only 7% (3/41) of repeats were positive, all with Enterococcus faecalis. Median duration of therapy was 14 days (IQR 14, 15), with a longer mean duration in patients with repeat blood cultures as compared with not (15 vs.. 12 days, P = 0.03). Two patients had recurrent bacteremia with the same organism within 30 days; both with negative repeat blood cultures at the time of initial bacteremia and undetected metastatic complications.ConclusionPatients with bacteremic UTIs are at low risk of persistent bacteremia. Repeat blood cultures are of low utility, specifically with Gram-negative organisms, and may lead to prolonged durations of therapy. The impact of reducing repeat blood culture collection on outcomes, length of stay, and antibiotic durations warrants further evaluation.Disclosures All authors: No reported disclosures.
Ant-Inspired Dynamic Task Allocation via Gossiping

We study the distributed task allocation problem in multi-agent systems, where each agent selects a task in such a way that, collectively, they achieve a proper global task allocation. In this paper, inspired by specialization on division of labor in ant colonies, we propose several scalable and efficient algorithms to dynamically allocate the agents as the task demands change. The algorithms have their own pros and cons, with respect to (1) how fast they react to dynamic demands change, (2) how many agents need to switch tasks, (3) whether extra agents are needed, and (4) whether they are resilient to faults.
Exposure and Risk Assessment of Environmental Nitric Oxides in Tumor Progression

Nitric monooxide (NO) and nitric oxides (NOx) are the dangerous air pollutants possessing high nitrosative and genotoxic potential with adverse health effects. Environmental NO is related to nitrosative stress development in human body. Overproduction of NO has been implicated as a pathological factor in several forms of chronic human diseases, including cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate exposure and risk associated with exogenic NOx impact on the growth of model tumor Guerin's carcinoma (GC), xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) activity, levels of mobile lipid domens (MLD), functional activity of peritoneal macrophages (PM) and lipid peroxidation (LPO) in tumor tissue. Exogenous NOx inhalation leads to nitrosative stress development and toxic effect on cells of immune system in vivo. Tumor growth was accompanied by activation of PM. The prolonged inhalation of exogenous NOx caused hyperactivation of PM (4.9-fold), increased MLD formation and total XOR activity (1.6-fold), and accompanied by accelerated tumor growth. In paralel observed sharp decrease (2.4-fold) of xanthine oxidase (XO) activity and LPO level (3.5-fold). The ratio of XOR isoforms increased by 18-fold mainly due to inactivation of xanthine dehydrogenase form (XDH). Reverse correlation was observed between the considerable increase of XOR activity in tumors and decline of GC nodes sizes. The high activity of enzyme in tumor tissues was accompanied by a 3.8-fold decrease in a final size of GC nodes as compared to tumors with lower activity of XOR.
Developing Software Engineering Skills using Real Tools for Automated Grading

Situated learning theory supports engaging students with materials and resources that reflect professional standards and best practices. Starting with our introductory courses, we incorporate situated learning to support student engagement in software engineering practices and processes through the use of industrial strength open-source tools in several classes throughout the undergraduate computer science curriculum at NC State University. Additionally, these tools support several logistical and educational needs in computer science classrooms, including assignment submission systems and automated grading. In this tools paper, we present our Canary Framework for supporting software engineering practices through the use of Eclipse for development; GitHub for submission and collaboration; and Jenkins for continuous integration and automated grading. These tools are used in five of ten core courses by more than 3000 students over ten semesters. While the use of these tools in education is not unique, we want to share our model of using professional tools in a classroom setting and our experiences on how this framework can support multiple courses throughout the curriculum and at scale.
State-of-the-Art of the Fossil Fuel Issue in the Environment

Abstract Energy production from fossil fuels through both conventional and newer processes will have immediate and long-term effects on the environment in which we live. The exploitation, handling, and usage of our natural hydrocarbon resources, thus, requires that we understand and mitigate to the extent possible the small and large scale environmental problems associated with these applications. Fossil energy issues associated with the newer and more technologically advanced processes for recovering and utilizing these resources in an environmentally acceptable manner are the focus of these remarks. Problem areas and phenomena related to the use of these technologies is discussed in terms of state-of-the-art techniques and treatment processes for mitigating environmental concerns. Of primary interest are the environmental research activities supported through the Office of Oil, Gas, and Shale Technology, U.S. Department of Energy. These activities are directed to the Definition of Environmental Effects, Pollutant Characterization Studies, Modeling, and Mitigation Techniques.
Intermittent Stressors and Protectors: Modifiers of Disaster

Considering all negative contextual factors as “vulnerabilities” and all positive contextual factors as “capacities” does a disservice to our understanding of the complex interplay of variables that both influence the production of disasters and that may guide disaster management. We propose that vulnerabilities are better understood as chronic weaknesses that are independent of and precede the hazard; they are already present in the affected community beyond the times when a hazard strikes. Likewise, capacities are preexisting strengths that characterize a population and are incidentally important during hazards. Vulnerabilities and capacities therefore combine with hazards to produce disaster outcomes. However, there are other factors that modify outcomes after a hazard strikes.
Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder presenting with multifocal aggressive osseous lesions.

Post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder (PTLD) encompasses a broad category of lymphoid and plasmacytic proliferations that occur following solid organ and/or allogeneic stem cell transpl...
Surface characterization and chemical speciation of adsorbed iron(iii) on oxidized carbon nanoparticles

Carbonaceous nanomaterials represent a significant portion of ultra-fine airborne particulate matter, and iron is the most abundant transition metal in air particles. Owing to their high surface area and atmospheric oxidation, carbon nanoparticles (CNP) are enriched with surface carbonyl functional groups and act as a host for metals and small molecules. Using a synthetic model, concentration-dependent changes in the chemical speciation of iron adsorbed on oxidized carbon surfaces were investigated by a combination of X-ray and electron microscopic and spectroscopic methods. Carbon K-edge absorption spectra demonstrated that the CNP surface was enriched with carboxylic acid groups after chemical oxidation but that microporosity was unchanged. Oxidized CNP showed a high affinity for sorption of Fe(iii) from solution (75-95% uptake) and spectroscopic measurements confirmed a 3+ oxidation state of Fe on CNP irrespective of surface loading. The bonding of adsorbed Fe(iii) at variable loadings was determined by iron K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy. At low loadings (3 and 10 μmol Fe m-2 CNP), mononuclear Fe was octahedrally coordinated to oxygen atoms of carboxylate groups. As Fe surface coverage increased (21 and 31 μmol Fe m-2 CNP), Fe-Fe backscatters were observed at interatomic distances indicating iron (oxy)hydroxide particle formation on CNP. Electron-donating surface carboxylate groups on CNP coordinated and stabilized mononuclear Fe(iii). Saturation of high-affinity sites may have promoted hydroxide particle nucleation at higher loading, demonstrating that the chemical form of reactive metal ions may change with surface concentration and degree of CNP surface oxidation. Model systems such as those discussed here, with controlled surface properties and known chemical speciation of adsorbed metals, are needed to establish structure-activity models for toxicity assessments of environmentally relevant nanoparticles.
The Impact of Rubric Use on Peer Feedback Tasks in a TESOL Practicum

This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study examines the impact of analytic rubric use in peer feedback on preservice teachers’ ability to recognize indicators of best practice for second language lesson planning and lesson delivery. Fifty-three preservice teachers in a university-level, semester-long TESOL practicum course received direct instruction on indicators presented in the analytic rubrics. They were then randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group used rubrics with the indicators during peer feedback tasks, while the control group used a modified rubric without the indicators. The result from an independent samples t-test on posttest mean scores indicated a significant difference between groups for both lesson planning and lesson delivery, favoring the experimental group (p=.012). Qualitative data were also collected via written comments on the posttests and from focus-group interviews. From thematic analyses of qualitative data, three key themes emerged, including specific tensions that resulted from the type of feedback preservice teachers desired and the type of feedback they were willing to give to their peers. These findings provide further insight into the use of analytic rubrics in peer feedback practices in second language teacher education (SLTE).
Research on Overall Framework of Cloud Support Platform for Electricity Trading

In the wake of promulgation and enforcement of the file 9th of electricity market reform and deepening design scheme for national unified electricity market, core mode and process of electricity trading have changed tremendously. Under the new circumstance of the joint operation of “spot + medium-and-long term” market, higher function and performance of technical support platform for electricity market is desperately needed, such as timely respondence to rapidly changing trading rules, the Internet-oriented high concurrent access, cross-system data integration, etc. Whereupon, after analyzing the requirement of technological support platform, design objectives of platform are introduced, and platform architectures are elaborated in succession, which consist of software architecture, function architecture, technical architecture, deployment architecture and data integration architecture. Finally, the whole work that has been done and to be done in future is summarized.
Prospective Evaluation of Universal BRCA Testing for Women With Triple-Negative Breast Cancer.

Background Limited published literature exists on women with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) diagnosed over the age of 60 years with breast cancer gene (BRCA) pathogenic variants. Our study determined whether the rate of BRCA pathogenic variants in a prospective cohort of TNBC patients outside the definition of current clinical genetic testing (GT) guidelines warrants a change in recommendations. Methods A prospective study of 395 women with TNBC underwent genetic counseling and 380 (96.2%) underwent clinical BRCA GT regardless of age of diagnosis beginning January 2014 to October 2015 at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston. TNBC patients older than 60 years who did not meet clinical GT guidelines had comprehensive sequencing and large rearrangement GT as part of the research protocol. Results Fifty-one of 380 (13.4%) women with TNBC who underwent clinical BRCA GT were BRCA positive. Of the 86 patients diagnosed at age over 60 years and underwent GT, only two (2.3%) were positive for BRCA. These two patients would have met clinical testing criteria due to family or ancestral history. Conclusions Our study does not support universal BRCA testing for TNBC patients diagnosed older than 60 years as their only risk factor for a BRCA pathogenic variant. Both of the positive BRCA patients older than 60 years identified would have met current National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria for testing. Therefore, our study demonstrates that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines provide sufficient criteria for identifying BRCA pathogenic variants in women with TNBC at 60 years or younger.
The Better Future International’s family care model in Tanzania: Creating social capital as a means to empowerment in social work practice:

This article describes the impact on social services of an innovative model of family care in Moshi, Tanzania, aimed at orphaned children and youth who are affected by HIV/AIDS and their caregivers...
Comprehensive study of phase transformation in age-hardening of Mg–3Nd–0.2Zn by means of scanning transmission electron microscopy

Abstract Effects of thermal history on precipitation behavior and precipitation kinetics in Mg–3Nd–0.2Zn (wt.%) alloy were studied. Microstructure analysis of the aged alloys revealed the presence of new phases in the microstructure in addition to the old description: Super saturated solid solution (SSSS) → G. P. zones → β ″ → β ′ /β 1 → β , reported for Mg–Nd system. In this regard, the sequence of precipitation for the studied alloy was identified as: Super saturated solid solution (SSSS) → Clusters of atoms → G. P. zones (I, II, III) → β ′ → β 2 → β 1 /γ ′ → β. The formation of clusters of solute atoms in this system was confirmed by high angle annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy (HAADF-STEM) and atom probe tomography analysis. In addition, new metastable phases designated as G. P. zones (I, II, III) and β 2 were identified in the microstructure of the aged alloys by means of high resolution HAADF-STEM. The β 2 phase was found to be a transition phase in transformation of β ′ to β 1 . Furthermore, the microstructure analysis revealed that the structure of β 1 phase is indeed a body centered tetragonal structure in spite of face centered cubic structure that has been reported for this phase in the literature.
A Stroke Care Model at an Academic, Comprehensive Stroke Center During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract Background and purpose The COVID-19 pandemic has required the adaptation of hyperacute stroke care (including stroke code pathways) and hospital stroke management. There remains a need to provide rapid and comprehensive assessment to acute stroke patients while reducing the risk of COVID-19 exposure, protecting healthcare providers, and preserving personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies. While the COVID infection is typically not a primary cerebrovascular condition, the downstream effects of this pandemic force adjustments to stroke care pathways to maintain optimal stroke patient outcomes. Methods The University of California San Diego (UCSD) Health System encompasses two academic, Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSCs). The UCSD Stroke Center reviewed the national COVID-19 crisis and implications on stroke care. All current resources for stroke care were identified and adapted to include COVID-19 screening. The adjusted model focused on comprehensive and rapid acute stroke treatment, reduction of exposure to the healthcare team, and preservation of PPE. Aims The adjusted pathways implement telestroke assessments as a specific option for all inpatient and outpatient encounters and accounts for when telemedicine systems are not available or functional. COVID screening is done on all stroke patients. We outline a model of hyperacute stroke evaluation in an adapted stroke code protocol and novel methods of stroke patient management. Conclusions The overall goal of the model is to preserve patient access and outcomes while decreasing potential COVID-19 exposure to patients and healthcare providers. This model also serves to reduce the use of vital PPE. It is critical that stroke providers share best practices via academic and vetted social media platforms for rapid dissemination of tools and care models during the COVID-19 crisis.
Accelerating Estimation of a Multi-Input Multi-Output Model of the Hippocampus with a Parallel Computing Strategy

To build hippocampal memory prosthesis for restoring memory functions, we previously developed and implemented a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) nonlinear dynamic model of the hippocampus. This model can successfully predict hippocampal output spike activities based on input spike activities, and thus be used to drive microstimulation to bypass the damaged hippocampal region. Building such a MIMO model involves estimations of a large number of model coefficients, which typically takes hundreds of hours using a single personal computer. In practice, however, due to the requirement of medical care and clinical trials, the modeling processes must be completed within 72 hours after the recording, so that models can be used to drive stimulations. To solve this problem, we utilized a parallelization strategy to divide the whole MIMO model computation involving iterative estimation and optimization into independent computing tasks that can be performed simultaneously in multiple computer nodes. Such a strategy was implemented on the high-performance computing cluster at the University of Southern California. It reduced the model estimation time to tens of hours and thus allowed us to complete the modeling process within the required time frame to further test model-driven electrical stimulation for the hippocampal memory prosthesis.
Barriers and financial impact of same-day discharge after atrial fibrillation ablation.

BACKGROUND Same-day discharge (SDD) after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation is increasingly being considered. This study examined the barriers and financial impact associated with SDD in a contemporary cohort of patients undergoing elective AF ablation. METHODS A single center retrospective review was conducted of the 249 first case-of-the-day outpatient AF ablations performed in 2019 to evaluate the proportion of patients that could have undergone SDD. Barriers to SDD were defined as any intervention that prevented SDD by 8 p.m. The financial impact of SDD was based on savings from avoidance of the overnight hospital stay and revenue related to management of chest pain facilitated by a vacant hospital bed. RESULTS SDD could have occurred in 157 patients (63%) without change in management and in up to 200 patients (80%) if avoidable barriers were addressed. Barriers to SDD included non-clinical logistical issues (43%), prolonged post-procedure recovery (42%) and minor procedural complications (15%). On multivariate analysis, factors associated with barriers to SDD included increasing age (P = .01), left ventricular ejection fraction ≤ 35% (P = .04), and severely dilated left atrium (P = .04). The financial gain from SDD would have ranged from $1,110,096 (assuming discharge of 63% of eligible patients) to $1,480,128 (assuming 80% discharge) over the course of a year. CONCLUSIONS Up to 80% of patients undergoing outpatient AF ablation were amenable to SDD if avoidable delays in care had been anticipated. Based on reduced hospital operating expenses and increased revenue from management of individuals with chest pain, this would translate to a financial savings of ∼$1.5 million.
Whitest City in America: A Smaller Black Community's Experience of Gentrification, Displacement, and Aging in Place.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The influx of people with higher socioeconomic status into large Black communities is well documented; less is known regarding smaller, aging Black communities. Older Black adults in Portland, Oregon, among America's fastest gentrifying cities with the smallest metropolitan Black population, discussed barriers to healthy aging. Perspectives centered on the experience of gentrification, displacement, and its impact on social microsystems, place security, and aging in place. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS One-time focus groups engaged 41 Black adults aged at least 45. A demographic survey included residence area/duration. Discussions were thematically coded. Ecological Systems Theory guided interpretation. RESULTS The majority of participants resided within gentrifying historically Black neighborhoods (89.2%), were aged at least 65 (54.6%), and lived in their neighborhood for at least 21 years (24.3%). Emergent discussion themes were rise and fall of Black ownership, displacement, race-related stress, and financial burden. Gentrification contributed to the dismantling of Black property ownership curated over generations, increased financial burden, and threatened place security. Physical displacement strained social networks, diminishing intergenerational neighborhood ties that supported aging in place. Cultural and physical displacement weakened the sense of social cohesion and belonging and induced race-related stressful interactions with new residents within original and relocation neighborhoods. DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS Gentrification in the Pacific Northwest echoes national trends, uprooting critical close-proximity social networks and deteriorating motivation to engage in neighborhood-based social activity. Smaller, aging Black communities may be particularly vulnerable to these effects, which critically affect aging in place. Data inform researchers and policymakers to better understand how gentrification affects smaller, aging Black communities.
Between Mao and Gandhi: The Social Roots of Civil Resistance

From Eastern Europe to South Africa to the Arab Spring, nonviolent action has proven capable of overthrowing autocratic regimes and bringing about revolutionary political change. How do dissidents come to embrace a nonviolent strategy in the first place? Why do others rule it out in favor of taking up arms? Despite a new wave of attention to the effectiveness and global impact of nonviolent movements, our understanding of their origins and trajectories remains limited. Drawing on cases from Nepal, Syria, India and South Africa, as well as global cross-national data, this book details the processes through which challenger organizations come to embrace or reject civil resistance as a means of capturing state power. It develops a relational theory, showing how the social ties that underpin challenger organizations shape their ability and willingness to attempt regime change using nonviolent means alone.
The Adam Smith Problem in Reverse: Self-Interest in Wealth of Nations and Theory of Moral Sentiments

Adam Smith wrote two major books - The Theory of Moral Sentiments (TMS) and The Wealth of Nations (WN). Usually WN is described as the book promoting self-interest and TMS as the book promoting benevolence or sympathy, but not self-interest. The two books are generally described as either independent from each other, in contradiction with each other (The Adam Smith Problem), or complementary to each other. Using a close textual analysis of both books, I argue that if there is a tension between the two books, it is because TMS is the book about the beneficial effects of self-interest, while WN is the book that criticizes self-interest.
A Lex Mercatoria for Corporate Social Responsibility Codes Without the State?: A Critique of Legalization Within the State Under the Premises of Globalization

Recent efforts have sought to theorize the legalization of the social and economic sphere that is undiminished by time. Though the context has changed over time, the project remains the same—to embed behavior control within a network of mandatory proscriptions attached in some authoritative way to the state. Corporate social responsibility has been bound up in corporate codes of behavior and related private governance standards systems. In that form, it serves as a key site for the evolution of legalization and legitimacy in governance. That evolution appears to take corporate social responsibility from its twentieth century formalist rigidity into something of a bridge between the political and social sphere. This essay considers the legalization project and its challenge to the logic and legitimacy of law and the dangers—for state and business enterprise—that flow from the fundamental ideological premises that appear to make this legalization project within the state both necessary and inevitable. These dangers include the misdirection of labeling—dismissing nonlaw as necessarily illegitimate, the obliteration of the fundamental construct of and constraints inherent in the corporate form, the error of conflating regulation with law, the unintended consequence of subverting law through the incorporation of a societal element in lawmaking, the error of denaturing the societal element of corporate codes, and the production of perversity through the formalism of law that masks inverted power relations between powerful enterprises and weak states. Paradoxically, perhaps, the project of legalization evidences how a love of ancient custom, in this case the customs and patterns of the post-Westphalian law-state, remains, while power shifts to those, enterprises included, that have brought about a revolution in the state and in the meaning of legalization in a new world order that has yet to be revealed.
Free port fallout: Gender, employment, and migration on Margarita Island

Abstract Life on Margarita Island (Venezuela) has been transformed by the development of the free port that attracts a stream of shoppers from mainland Venezuela. The traditional agricultural, fishing, and craft economy has almost disappeared. Rural men and women have been differently affected. Men are employed in transportation and construction, but women have not taken the new jobs in free-port stores or hotels. The pattern of predominantly male emigration has reversed; men have returned to the island and women, particularly from the middle class, migrate. Lower-class women have higher unemployment rates than men. The study implies that the effects of this domestic tourism development are comparable with those of international tourism in that outsiders appear to be significant beneficiaries. Changes in opportunities on the basis of gender contrast with findings of other research on tourism in island resorts.
Caribbean slavery and British growth: The Eric Williams hypothesis

Abstract The paper supports the hypothesis advanced by Eric Williams that slavery in the British West Indies contributed significantly to English industrial growth in the second half of the eighteenth century. Objections are raised to earlier criticisms of the Williams hypothesis, and a simple Cobb-Douglas model is used to demonstrate how the slave colonies contributed to home country growth and that this contribution was quantitatively important. The paper concludes that colonial slavery increased British national income and the pool of investable funds and resulted in a pattern of trade that encouraged industrialization.
Racial and Ethnic Differences in Extended Family, Friendship, Fictive Kin, and Congregational Informal Support Networks

This study examined differences in kin and nonkin networks among African Americans, Caribbean Blacks (Black Caribbeans), and non-Hispanic Whites. Data are taken from the National Survey of American Life, a nationally representative study of African Americans, Black Caribbeans, and non-Hispanic Whites. Selected measures of informal support from family, friendship, fictive kin, and congregation/church networks were utilized. African Americans were more involved in congregation networks, whereas non-Hispanic Whites were more involved in friendship networks. African Americans were more likely to give support to extended family members and to have daily interaction with family members. African Americans and Black Caribbeans had larger fictive kin networks than non-Hispanic Whites, but non-Hispanic Whites with fictive kin received support from them more frequently than African Americans and Black Caribbeans. The discussion notes the importance of examining kin and nonkin networks, as well as investigating ethnic differences within the Black American population.
Predictors of unfavorable outcomes following deep brain stimulation for movement disorders and the effect of hospital case volume on outcomes: an analysis of 33, 642 patients across 234 US hospitals using the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample from 2002 to 2011

OBJECT With limited data available on association of risk factors and effect of hospital case volume on outcomes following deep brain stimulation (DBS), the authors attempted to identify these associations using a large population-based database. METHODS The authors performed a retrospective cohort study involving patients who underwent DBS for 3 primary movement disorders: Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, and dystonia from 2002 to 2011 using the National (Nationwide) Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Using national estimates, the authors identified associations of patient demographics, clinical characteristics, and hospital characteristics on short-term postoperative outcomes following DBS. Additionally, effect of hospital volume on unfavorable outcomes was investigated. RESULTS Overall, 33, 642 patients underwent DBS for 3 primary movement disorders across 234 hospitals in the US. The mean age of the cohort was 63.42 ± 11.31 years and 36% of patients were female. The inpatients’ postoperative risks...
Bispectral index system (BIS) monitoring reduces time to extubation and discharge in children requiring oral presedation and general anesthesia for outpatient dental rehabilitation.

Purpose Pediatric oral rehabilitation patients who receive presedation with oral Versed and general anesthesia (GA) occasionally experience prolonged sedation and delayed discharge. The Bispectral Index System (BIS) is an EEG monitor that measures the anesthesia level. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of monitoring the BIS to not monitoring the BIS on time from discontinuation of GA to extubation and to discharge. Methods Twenty-nine children were enrolled. BIS was monitored from admission until discharge. Each child received 0.7 mg/kg of oral Versed. In the operating room, GA with sevoflurane (IH), rocuronium 1 mg/kg (IV), fentanyl 1 microg/kg (IV), and ondansetron 0.15 mg/kg (IV) was administered. Randomly, in half the patients, the anesthesiologist maintained the level of anesthesia and BIS by adjusting sevoflurane. In the rest, the anesthesiologist did not know BIS. The time from turning off sevoflurane to discharge was compared. Results Group 1 patients were extubated 5+/-2 minutes sooner than group 2 patients (P=.04). The post-anesthesia care unit stay for group 1 patients was 47+/-17 minutes compared to 63+/-17 minutes in group 2. (p=0.02). Conclusions Monitoring anesthesia with BIS promotes earlier extubation and discharge for pediatric dental patients who receive oral Versed and sevoflurane GA.
Perinephric Fat Thickness Is an Independent Predictor of Operative Complexity During Robot-Assisted Partial Nephrectomy

Abstract Background and Purpose: Obesity is often categorized by body mass index (BMI), but abdominal wall and visceral fat quantity vary with equivalent BMI. This study compares multiple fat measurements as predictors of operative complexity during robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN). Because perinephric fat around the kidney impacts the operative field, it is expected to be a superior predictor of complexity. Patients and Methods: Consecutive RAPN cases were used for multivariate analysis of the association between fat mass (BMI; measurements of abdominal wall fat in anterior, posterior, posterolateral, and lateral orientation, and perinephric fat in anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral orientation) and complexity metrics: Operative time and estimated blood loss (EBL). Adjustments were made for age, sex, tumor side, nephrometry score, comorbidities, and abdominal surgery. Results: Among 53 patients undergoing RAPN, perinephric fat measurements were independently associated with increased EBL a...
Inferior Parietal Lobule Function in Spatial Perception and Visuomotor Integration

The sections in this article are: 1 Lesion Studies 1.1 Lesions in Humans 1.2 Lesions in Monkeys 2 Anatomical and Functional Organization 2.1 Cytoarchitectural Subdivisions 2.2 Functional Subdivisions 2.3 Corticocortical Connections 2.4 Thalamocortical Connections—Pulvinar 2.5 Corticopontine Projections 3 Physiology 3.1 Response Properties of IPL Neurons 4 Speculations Regarding Role of IPL in Behavior 4.1 Command Hypothesis 4.2 Attention Hypothesis 4.3 Visuomotor Integration Hypothesis 5 Conclusion
Acquisition of resources for commercializing emerging technologies: comparing large firms with startups

Radical innovation programs designed for commercializing emerging technologies are compared to emerging technology startup firms in terms of the research work, risk, uncertainty and acquisition of resources and capabilities. Current literature shows that companies with potentially disruptive technologies are focusing initially on simple applications in industries with short product development cycles. A continuing question is how initial resources and resource acquisition strategies associated with disruptive technology commercialization are translated to positions of sustainable competitive advantage. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, transaction costs theory and the dynamic organization capability perspective; we characterize the chief resources being used by large firms and startups. We further analyze the ways in which these resources are acquired and categorize them under four distinct groups: internal and external resources, internal and external collaboration. The study shows how the risk, uncertainty, and flexibility associated with each of these resource groups affects the product development cycles. A comparative analysis is then undertaken to understand the role of the "acquisition of resources" process in commercialization of emerging technologies. The paper compares small and large firms in three "hot" areas of emerging technologies, biotechnology, photonics and nanotechnology. Drawing on this examination and a review of the literature we offer a schematic of how large and small firms differ in their approaches to commercialization of emerging technologies. Based on several propositions derived from our investigation, we provide conjectures about what large and startup firms can learn from each other regarding commercializing emerging technologies.
Do firms understate stock option-based compensation expense disclosed under SFAS 123?

Focusing on the four key option pricing model inputs—expected option life, expected stock price volatility, expected dividend yield, and the risk-free interest rate for the expected life of the option—this study finds that firms understate option value estimates and, thus, stock-based compensation expense disclosed under SFAS 123. As predicted based on incentives and opportunities for management to understate SFAS 123 expense, the understatement of option value estimates is increasing in proxies for the magnitude of the expense, is greater for firms with weaker corporate governance, and, to a lesser extent, is increasing in the excessiveness of executive pay. The findings are strongest for the expected option life and expected stock price volatility input assumptions, consistent with firms’ greater latitude in determining these inputs. We find weaker evidence of understatement associated with the expected dividend yield assumption, and none for the interest rate assumption, consistent with these inputs being less amenable to discretion. Taken together, our findings raise some concern that the exercise of management discretion adversely affects the overall reliability of SFAS 123 expense.
Iron(III) coordination properties of a pyoverdin siderophore produced by Pseudomonas putida ATCC 33015.

The iron complexation of a fluorescent green pyoverdin siderophore produced by the environmental bacterium Pseudomonas putida was characterized by solution thermodynamic methods. Pyoverdin binds iron through three bidentate chelate groups, a catecholate, a hydroxamate, and an α-hydroxycarboxylic acid. The deprotonation constants of the free pyoverdin and Fe(III)−pyoverdin complex were determined through a series of potentiometric and spectrophotometric experiments. The ferric complex of pyoverdin forms at very low pH (pH < 2), but full iron coordination does not occur until neutral pH. The calculated pM value of 25.13 is slightly lower than that for pyoverdin PaA (pM = 27), which coordinates iron by a catecholate and two hydroxamate groups. The redox potential of Fe−pyoverdin was found to be very pH sensitive. At high pH (∼pH 9−11) where pyoverdin coordinates Fe in a hexadentate mode the redox potential is −0.480 V (NHE); however, at neutral pH where full Fe coordination is incomplete, the redox potential...
A Photothermal Reversibly Crosslinkable Polymer System

Influence du vieillissement sur le fluage de polyurethanne elastomere en fonction de la densite de reticulation (derives de l'anthracene)
Ballistic behavior for biased self-avoiding walks

For self-avoiding walks on the d-dimensional cubic lattice defined with a positive bias in one of the coordinate directions, it is proved that the drift in the favored direction is strictly positive.
Stochastic equations for linear random functionals and statistical problems

Linear Random Functionals have been introduced by the author [2] to develop the theory of Kalman filtering for infinite dimensional linear systems. It is reminiscent of the concept of stochastic integral, which it partly generalizes. We compare it to that of cylindrical Wiener processes, introduced by G. Da Prato- J. Zabczyk [4]. Like distributions, linearity limits the power of the tool. We can consider however some non-linear problems. We show that it is a powerful tool to deal with statistical problems in infinite dimensional spaces. For additional relevant references see [1], [6], [7], [3].
Nutrition in the CF Population: Impact on Wait-List and Post-Transplant Survival, a Single Center’s Experience

Purpose Body mass index (BMI) affects mortality outcomes in cystic fibrosis (CF) and optimizing BMI is an important part of CF care. Enteral nutritional support through initiation of a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube is a known method to increase BMI. Our aim was to investigate how BMI goals and aggressive nutritional interventions apply to patients undergoing lung transplantation. Methods and Materials A single center retrospective cohort analysis was performed on all CF patients who have undergone lung transplantation from 200-2011. BMI at time of listing and at time of removal/transplant, wait-list and post-transplant survival were analyzed using Kaplan Meier survival estimates and assessed with a log-rank value. Results 81 CF patients were included in the cohort, 57 survived to lung transplant and 24 patients expired while waiting for transplant. There was no significant difference in wait list survival based on BMI, although there was a trend towards improved survival with the presence of a PEG tube. Survival in the one year following transplant was improved in patients with BMIs figure 1 ] Conclusions In patients with suboptimal BMIs, the presence of a PEG tube resulted in improved survival in the year following lung transplantation. Additional nutritional factors that may impact survival which need to be examined include contact with dietician prior to transplant and assessment of pre-albumin measurements.
Nucleoside cyclic 3',5'-phosphates: chair-twist equilibria of the phosphate rings of methyl phosphate and phenylphosphonate derivatives of cTMP.

Abstract The cis and trans forms of thymidine methyl cyclic 3′,5′-phosphate (9) and of the corresponding phenylphosphonate derivatives (10) were prepared in two steps from the corresponding cyclic amide. 1H NMR spectroscopy showed the phosphorus-containing six-membered rings of cis-9 (MeO and thymin-1-yl cis) to be in the chair conformation, but trans-9 to be ∼ 40% in the twist conformation in pyridine-d6 and 33% in acetone-d6. For trans-9, there was resistance of conversion of the chair form into the twist form with the MeO group pseudo-axial with a ΔG°(C → T) value of 3.0 kcal/mol. Similarly, for cis-10 (23-39% twist population in CD3CN, acetone-d6, and CDCl3), a ΔG°(C → T) value of 0.5-0.6 kcal/mol for placement of the phosphoryl oxygen pseudo-axial was obtained. Both values are taken to be approximations for ΔG(C → T) for cTMP. For trans-10, the twist conformation was populated to the extent of 6-13% with a ΔG°(C → T) value of 1.3 kcal/mol.
Mid‐altitude modeling of cusp ion injection under steady and varying conditions

A cusp ion injection model incorporating mutually consistent electric and magnetic fields is developed. We have simulated cusp ion energy-latitude spectrograms for paths similar to certain orbits of DE-1 and Viking. Both the large-scale energy-latitude dispersion and the embedded small-scale energy-pitch-angle V signatures are clearly evident in these simulated spectrograms. Our results show that a much narrower V microsignature is obtained when the ion injection source is restricted to a small region. However, the cutoff of the plasma injection at the magnetosheath sonic line alone also yields relatively narrow V‧s, without restricting the injection region. This effect is most noticeable in winter conditions. By introducing a time-dependent magnetosheath plasma density variation along the magnetopause to our cusp model, we are also able to reproduce a well observed meso-scale ion injection pattern which can appear to be the overlap of multiple injections, even with assuming steady interconnection.