cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
No Escape from Ethnicity? Confessions of an Accidental CNN Pundit

As a political scientist with expertise in human rights and the Balkans, I was invited to provide critical commentary and analysis of Kosovo's declaration of independence in February 2008 for CNN International. I offered an analysis rooted in the understanding and interpretation of international law, foreign policy, and domestic politics of Serbia and Kosovo. While I was not surprised that my analysis was not popular in Serbia—after all, I did argue that the independence of Kosovo was legitimate—I was surprised at the level of ethnic intensity and the broad-based hostile reaction to my CNN appearance in Serbia. This article first documents the harassment campaign I experienced. I then conduct textual analysis of the hate mail and online postings to offer insights about ethnicity's relation to identity, gender, and political analysis in the public sphere. I conclude by discussing how identities of researchers—as crafted by themselves and others—help define analytical tools we use in scholarly inquiry.
Toward an Horizon in Design Ethics

This paper suggests that design ethics can be enriched by considering ethics beyond the traditional approaches of deontology, teleology, and virtue ethics. Design practice and design ethics literature tend to frame ethics in design according to these approaches. The paper argues that a fundamental and concrete ethical understanding of design ethics can also be found in Sartrean Existentialism, a philosophy centered on the individual and his/her absolute freedom. Through the analysis of four core concepts of Sartrean Existentialism that define a specific ethics, the paper illustrates why such philosophical approach is relevant to design ethics. The paper also shows how Sartrean Existentialism and its ethics apply to critical issues of professional practice in design such as professional engagement and design decision-making. The paper finally argues that Sartre’s philosophy and ethics is a perspective that offers the designer in design practice a solid ground to engage his/her ethical dilemma.
Industrial–Organizational Psychologists in Business Schools: Brain Drain or Eye Opener?

We conducted a quantitative and a qualitative study to assess the extent to which industrial and organizational (I–O) psychology has moved to business schools, understand the nature of this move, and offer a balanced discussion of positive and negative consequences of this phenomenon. In quantitative Study 1, we provide evidence that I–O psychologists affiliated with business schools currently constitute a majority of editorial board members and authors of articles published in Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology but that I–O psychology, as a field, is growing. These results suggest that it is not the field of I–O psychology but some of the most active and influential I–O psychology researchers who are moving to business schools. In qualitative Study 2, we gathered perspectives from 144 SIOP Fellows and 27 SIOP presidents suggesting different views on Study 1's results ranging from very negative (i.e., “brain drain”) to very positive (i.e., “eye opener”) depending on the affiliation of the respondent. On the basis of these results, we offer 10 admittedly provocative predictions to stimulate follow-up research and serve as a catalyst for an important conversation, as well as the development of action plans, regarding the future of I–O psychology as a field.
Dynamic regulation of epigenomic landscapes during hematopoiesis

Human blood develops from self-renewing hematopoietic stem cells to terminal lineages and necessitates regulator and effector gene expression changes; each cell type specifically expresses a subset of genes to carry out a specific function. Gene expression changes coincide with histone modification, histone variant deposition, and recruitment of transcription-related enzymes to specific genetic loci. Transcriptional regulation has been mostly studied using in vitro systems while epigenetic changes occurring during in vivo development remain poorly understood. By integrating previously published and novel global expression profiles from human CD34+/CD133+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), in vivo differentiated human CD4+ T-cells and CD19+ B-cells, and in vitro differentiated CD36+ erythrocyte precursors, we identified hundreds of transcripts specifically expressed in each cell type. To relate concurrent epigenomic changes to expression, we examined genome-wide distributions of H3K4me1, H3K4me3, H3K27me1, H3K27me3, histone variant H2A.Z, ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler BRG1, and RNA Polymerase II in these cell types, as well as embryonic stem cells. These datasets revealed that numerous differentiation genes are primed for subsequent downstream expression by BRG1 and PolII binding in HSPCs, as well as the bivalent H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 modifications in the HSPCs prior to their expression in downstream, differentiated cell types; much HSPC bivalency is retained from embryonic stem cells. After differentiation, bivalency resolves to active chromatin configuration in the specific lineage, while it remains in parallel differentiated lineages. PolII and BRG1 are lost in closer lineages; bivalency resolves to silent monovalency in more distant lineages. Correlation of expression with epigenomic changes predicts tens of thousands of potential common and tissue-specific enhancers, which may contribute to expression patterns and differentiation pathways. Several crucial lineage factors are bivalently prepared for their eventual expression or repression. Bivalency is not only resolved during differentiation but is also established in a step-wise manner in differentiated cell types. We note a progressive, specific silencing of alternate lineage genes in certain cell types coinciding with H3K27me3 enrichment, though expression silencing is maintained in its absence. Globally, the expression of type-specific genes across many cell types correlates strongly with their epigenetic profiles. These epigenomic data appear useful for further understanding mechanisms of differentiation and function of human blood lineages.
Impaired Regulation of Tumor Suppressor p53 Caused by Mutations in the Xeroderma Pigmentosum DDB2 Gene: Mutual Regulatory Interactions between p48DDB2 and p53

Tumor suppressor p53 controls cell cycle progression and apoptosis following DNA damage, thus minimizing carcinogenesis. Mutations in the human DDB2 gene generate the E subgroup of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP-E). We report here that XP-E strains are defective in UV irradiation-induced apoptosis due to severely reduced basal and UV-induced p53 levels. These defects are restored by infection with a p53 cDNA expression construct or with a DDB2 expression construct if and only if it contains intron 4, which includes a nonmutated p53 consensus-binding site. We propose that both before and after UV irradiation, DDB2 directly regulates p53 levels, while DDB2 expression is itself regulated by p53.
The relation between childhood maltreatment and self-injury: a review of the literature on conceptualization and intervention.

The following article reviews literature pertaining to the association between child maltreatment and self-injury and the ways it varies according to maltreatment type. Research supporting various mediators of the relations between different maltreatment types and self-injury is summarized. Informing mediator models, dominant theories of functionality, particularly affect regulation theories, are summarized and granted empirical support. Following from explanations of its functionality, three developmental pathways (regulatory, representational/interpersonal, and reactive/neurobiological) leading from child maltreatment to self-injury are presented within an organizational model of psychopathology. Understanding the deviations in these pathways that perpetuate self-injury helps to inform intervention approaches that forge pathways perpetuating resilience instead. Three psychosocial treatments (i.e., Dialectical Behavior Therapy [DBT], Trauma-Focused Cognitive—Behavioral Therapy [TF-CBT], and Acceptance an...
Modelling utility‐scale wind power plants. Part 1: Economics

As the worldwide use of wind turbine generators continues to increase in utility-scale applications, it will become increasingly important to assess the economic and reliability impact of these intermittent resources. Although the utility industry in the United States appears to be moving towards a restructured environment, basic economic and reliability issues will continue to be relevant to companies involved with electricity generation. This paper is the first of two that address modeling approaches and results obtained in several case studies and research projects at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This first paper addresses the basic economic issues associated with electricity production from several generators that include large-scale wind power plants. An important part of this discussion is the role of unit commitment and economic dispatch in production-cost models. This paper includes overviews and comparisons of the prevalent production-cost modeling met hods, including several case studies applied to a variety of electric utilities. The second paper discusses various methods of assessing capacity credit and results from several reliability-based studies performed at NREL.
Suicide, boycotts and embracing Tagore: The Japanese popular response to the 1924 US Immigration Exclusion Law

In June 1924 popular protests over the US Immigration Exclusion Law erupted throughout Japan as individuals and groups mobilized to express their anger and resentment in a brief but potent wave of anti-Americanism. This paper traces several forms of popular protests and examines the reasons behind anti-American hysteria. I place the protests within the larger ‘dispute culture’ that arose under pre-war imperial democracy and identify how specific individuals and groups, especially the media, encouraged popular protest in order to further their own self-interests.
THE EFFECT OF A POLYSACCHARIDE-SPLITTING ENZYME ON STREPTOCOCCAL INFECTION

1. Confirming the observations of other experimenters, it has been found that group A hemolytic streptococci produce a capsule containing a polysaccharide which is similar to, if not identical with, certain high molecular weight sugars found in the mammalian body. 2. Leech extract possesses a powerful enzyme capable of splitting one of the linkages in this polysaccharide and of decapsulating group A and group C hemolytic streptococci in vitro and in vivo. 3. Mice and guinea pigs can be protected from intraperitoneal infection with a virulent group C streptococcus by the intraperitoneal administration of leech extract. In contrast there is little protective action of leech extract in mice infected with group A hemolytic streptococci. 4. The protective effect of leech extract against streptococcal group C infection is probably due to the removal of the capsule in vivo. 5. The capsule of mouse virulent group C streptococci plays a major role in the virulence of that microorganism, while the capsule of certain mouse virulent group A streptococci plays little, if any, role in virulence, at least when the infection is intraperitoneal in the mouse.
Particle swarm optimization as an inversion tool for a nonlinear UXO model

The physics-based classification of unexploded ordnance (UXO) from electromagnetic induction (EMI) data is an exercise in nonlinear data inversion in which model parameters are extracted from a dataset by way of a physical model. Gradient-descent-based algorithms like Levenberg-Marquart (LM) suffer from local minima entrapment, but deliver rapid, accurate estimates when initialized near the global minima. Global optimizers, like particle swarm optimization (PSO) are less susceptible to this limitation. Here we consider an approach for parameter estimation based on a hybridization of PSO and Levenberg-Marquart. For purposes of initializing the LM procedure, we demonstrate that PSO applied to a reduced form of the physical model reaches a reliable initialization in one tenth the time of a coarse search of parameter space. Monte Carlo testing of the approach shows PSO initialized Levenberg-Marquardt estimation converging to the best-fit solution every time, as opposed to a randomly but reasonably initialized estimation. PSO as a stand alone approach provides less fit solutions on average than the PSO/Levenberg-Marquardt hybrid within the same computation time. We demonstrate these observations using both the simple, dipole model for the UXO problem as well as an enhanced form of this model capable of better capturing signal structure for large UXO-type objects.
A gamma-ray imager with multiplexer readout for use in ultra-high-resolution brain SPECT

An ultra-high-resolution single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) system for brain imaging is discussed. The system uses a multiple-pinhole aperture and many modular detectors, each composed of an array of semiconductor detectors read out by a monolithic integrated circuit called a multiplexer (MUX). The modular detectors, being passive integrators can detect individual gamma rays with good energy resolution. They will also have submillimeter spatial resolution and high count-rate capability. The basic concept of these detectors is described, and some of the design considerations for them are reviewed. Some preliminary experiments are reported that demonstrate that semiconductor detectors with multiplexer read-out act as gamma ray detectors. >
Recent advances in plastic packaging of flip-chip and multichip modules (MCM) of microelectronics

The success in consumer electronics in the 1990's will be focused on low-cost and high performance electronics. Recent advances in polymeric materials (plastics) and integrated circuit (IC) encapsulants have made high-reliability very-large-scale integration (VLSI) plastic packaging a reality. High-performance polymeric materials possess excellent electrical and physical properties for IC protection. With their intrinsic low modulus and soft gel-like nature, silicone gels have become very effective encapsulants for larger, high input/output (I/O) (in excess of 10 000), wire-bonded and flip-chip VLSI chips. Furthermore, the recently developed silica-filled epoxies underfills, with the well controlled thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE), have enhanced the flip-chip and chip-on-board, direct chip attach (DCA) encapsulations. Recent studies indicate that adequate IC chip surface protection with high-performance silicone gels and epoxies plastic packages could replace conventional ceramic hermetic packages. This paper will review the IC technological trends, and IC encapsulation materials and processes. Special focus will be placed on the high-performance silicone and epoxy underfills, their chemistries and use as VLSI device encapsulants for single and multichip module applications.
Fine ambient air particulate matter exposure induces molecular alterations associated with vascular disease progression within plaques of atherosclerotic susceptible mice

Epidemiology studies have reported associations between increased mortality and morbidity with exposure to particulate air pollution, particularly within individuals with preexisting cardiovascular disease (CVD). Clinical and toxicological studies have provided evidence that exposure to ambient air particulate matter (PM) impacts CVD by increasing plaque size. It is unclear whether PM-induced increased plaque size is associated with molecular disease progression. This study examines molecular profiles within plaques recovered from ApoE(-/-) mice exposed to concentrated ambient air particles (CAPs) to determine whether pulmonary deposition of PM contributes to molecular alterations leading to vascular disease progression. Laser capture microdissection was used to recover atherosclerotic plaques from ApoE(-/-) male mice exposed daily for 5 mo to filtered air or CAPs. Alterations in mRNA expression was assessed in microdissected plaques of CAPs-exposed and air controls using the Affymetrix microarray platform. Bioinformatic analysis indicated alterations in 611 genes: 395 genes downregulated and 216 genes upregulated. Gene ontology revealed CAPs-induced changes to inflammation, proliferation, cell cycle, hematological system, and cardiovascular pathways. Quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) verified microarray data also revealing gene expression alterations undetected by the microarray analysis, i.e., decreased expression of alpha-actin for smooth muscle cells, and increased expression of the macrophage marker Cd68 and of beta-actin. Comparison of CAPs-induced gene expression profiles demonstrated consistency with previously published gene expression profiles in the ApoE(-/-) mouse model and humans associated with plaque progression. These results indicate that exposure to fine PM induces molecular alterations associated with vascular disease progression and provides insight into potential biological pathways responsible for this effect.
Genomic Potential for Polysaccharide Deconstruction in Bacteria

Glycoside hydrolases are important enzymes that support bacterial growth by enabling the degradation of polysaccharides (e.g., starch, cellulose, xylan, and chitin) in the environment. Presently, little is known about the overall phylogenetic distribution of the genomic potential to degrade these polysaccharides in bacteria. However, knowing the phylogenetic breadth of these traits may help us predict the overall polysaccharide processing in environmental microbial communities. In order to address this, we identified and analyzed the distribution of 392,166 enzyme genes derived from 53 glycoside hydrolase families in 8,133 sequenced bacterial genomes. Enzymes for oligosaccharides and starch/glycogen were observed in most taxonomic groups, whereas glycoside hydrolases for structural polymers (i.e., cellulose, xylan, and chitin) were observed in clusters of relatives at taxonomic levels ranging from species to genus as determined by consenTRAIT. The potential for starch and glycogen processing, as well as oligosaccharide processing, was observed in 85% of the strains, whereas 65% possessed enzymes to degrade some structural polysaccharides (i.e., cellulose, xylan, or chitin). Potential degraders targeting one, two, and three structural polysaccharides accounted for 22.6, 32.9, and 9.3% of genomes analyzed, respectively. Finally, potential degraders targeting multiple structural polysaccharides displayed increased potential for oligosaccharide deconstruction. This study provides a framework for linking the potential for polymer deconstruction with phylogeny in complex microbial assemblages.
Short-term exercise improves myocardial tolerance to in vivo ischemia-reperfusion in the rat

These experiments examined the independent effects of short-term exercise and heat stress on myocardial responses during in vivo ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). Female Sprague-Dawley rats (4 mo old) we...
An instructional environment for practicing argumentation skills

CATO is an instructional environment for practicing basic skills of legal research: to use cases in arguments about a problem situation and to test a theory about a legal domain. Using the CATO tools, law students analyze a legal problem, frame queries of CATO's database of legal cases, and judge how relevant the retrieved cases are to their developing argument or theory. CATO aids learning by making explicit an abstract model of the process of argument. It allows students to focus on the high-level argumentation issues, by assisting the student in various ways. By providing an abstract representation of the text of cases, it helps students to reason about the texts and helps guide their critical analysis of the texts. CATO makes available opportunities for practice that are hard to set up with traditional instructional methods. CATO differs from other instructional environments in the following respects: Few instructional environments focus on argumentation skills. Although there are other instructional environments in which students work with an abstract representation of the task domain, abstracting from text is unusual. CATO demonstrates a contribution that case-based reasoning techniques can make to instructional environments.
Competitive Exclusion Through Discrete Time Models

In biology, the principle of competitive exclusion, largely attributed to the Russian biologist G. F. Gause, states that two species competing for common resources (food, territory etc.) cannot coexist, and that one of the species drives the other to extinction. We make a survey of discrete-time mathematical models that address this issue and point out the main mathematical methods used to prove the occurrence of competitive exclusion in these models. We also offer examples of models in which competitive exclusion fails to take place, or at least it is not the only outcome. Finally, we present an extension of the competitive exclusion results in [1, 5] to a more general model.
Methodological issues linking costs and outcomes.

OBJECTIVES.The author examined issues in linking costs and outcomes in care delivery systems research.METHODS.Literature regarding cost analyses and outcomes is discussed in light of the following methodological issues: what costs can be captured, how costs should be allocated, whose costs are being
Discussion on the reasonable utilization of antibiotic drugs in the clinics and the medical quality management

Reasonable utilization of antibiotic drugs was one of the important sections of medical quality management. Theproportion of antibiotic drugs reasonable utilization was higher in European countries and America than that of other countries.The measures that could improve the degree of antibiotic drugs reasonable utilization should be executed as follows: (1) to set theantibiotic drugs reasonable utilization as one of the important indexes to evaluate medical quality management (2) to train all thestaffs how to use the antibiotic drugs reasonably. (3) to guidance and inspection the antibiotic drugs reasonable utilization (4) tostrengthen the functions and responsibilities of clinical pharmacist and full-time hospital infection member.
DOMINANT TREES' NICHE CHARACTERISTICS AND FOOD PLANTS IN RHINOPITHECUS ROXELLANA HABITAT IN SHENNONGJIA, CHINA

Aims Study of niche characters of dominant species of the tree layer in Rhinopithecus roxellana forest habitat can assist in understanding how populations use biological resources, interact and adapt, as well as coevolve with tree-inhabiting primates. Methods We quantitatively analyzed niche breadth, niche overlap, and niche similarity proportion of the dominant species of Rhinopithecus roxellana habitat in Qianjiaping, Shennongjia National Nature Reserve, Hubei Province and analyzed niche effects of dominant species on the survival of Rhinopithecus roxellana. Important findings We recorded 255 woody plants from 44 families and 105 genera in a 64 000 m2 quadrat; there were 129 trees from 23 families and 51 genera, 113 shrubs from 22 families and 49 genera and 13 lianas from 9 genera and 7 families. Dominant families included Rosaceae, Lauraceae, Aceraceae, Caprifoliaceae, Fagaceae and Cornaceae. Maximum niche breadth in the arboreal layer occurred in Betula albo-sinensis (5.261), followed by Pinus armandii (4.545), Abies fargesii (4.289) and Betula utilis (3.256). Maximum in the shrub layer occurred in Rhododendron erubescens (2.245), followed by Salix polyclona (2.064), Crataegus wilsonii (1.508) and Malus kansuensis (1.453). Thirty species (11.67% of the plants) had a niche breadth 1; 21 of these species are forage plants, accounting for 10.40% of such plants. Eighteen of these plants account for 74.50% of the importance value of the top 25 species. Niche overlap occurred in dominant species, and seven pairs of these species had an overlap index 0.4. Nearly 83.82% of the species had a niche similarity proportion of 0-0.3. Results suggested that the plant composition of Rhinopithecus roxellana habitat in Shennongjia National Nature Reserve is diverse and the most dominant species are forage plants, but the dominant species are similar, with overlapping niches and strong competition. The survival of Rhinopithecus roxellana would be disadvantaged by changes in the current population structure and plant composition, shortage of grazing plants and decreased habitat. Therefore, it is crucial to protect the current habitat and to construct a more appropriate habitat for Rhinopithecus roxellana in Qianjiaping, Shennongjia National Nature Reserve.
Patient-Specific Simulations Reveal Significant Differences in Mechanical Stimuli in Venous and Arterial Coronary Grafts

Mechanical stimuli are key to understanding disease progression and clinically observed differences in failure rates between arterial and venous grafts following coronary artery bypass graft surgery. We quantify biologically relevant mechanical stimuli, not available from standard imaging, in patient-specific simulations incorporating non-invasive clinical data. We couple CFD with closed-loop circulatory physiology models to quantify biologically relevant indices, including wall shear, oscillatory shear, and wall strain. We account for vessel-specific material properties in simulating vessel wall deformation. Wall shear was significantly lower (p = 0.014*) and atheroprone area significantly higher (p = 0.040*) in venous compared to arterial grafts. Wall strain in venous grafts was significantly lower (p = 0.003*) than in arterial grafts while no significant difference was observed in oscillatory shear index. Simulations demonstrate significant differences in mechanical stimuli acting on venous vs. arterial grafts, in line with clinically observed graft failure rates, offering a promising avenue for stratifying patients at risk for graft failure.
The Future of Immunology

Immunology began as a subdiscipline of microbiology, and many of the early investigators in the field focused on developing methods to prevent or cure infectious diseases. This focus led to the development of vaccines against potential pathogens as well as formulation of drugs to eliminate infectious microorganisms once they had invaded the host. This focus on addressing practical, clinically related questions provides a solid foundation for the future of the discipline. During these early studies, immunologists unraveled many of the mechanisms responsible for the success of the innate host defenses and the adaptive immune responses as well as providing an insight into a variety of pathologies, including immunodeficiency disorders, autoimmune diseases, and hypersensitivities resulting from abnormal or aberrant reactions. Today's immunology student is faced with the daunting task of assimilating the knowledge base accumulated over the past 200 years as well as applying this information to the future. To envision the future, immunology students need to realize the following:
Preliminary Proactive Sample Size Determination for Confirmatory Factor Analysis Models

Proactive preliminary minimum sample size determination can be useful for the early planning stages of a latent variable modeling study to set a realistic scope, long before the model and populatio...
Toward a goodwill ethics of online research methods

As more academic work (teaching, research, and publishing) moves online, we acafans face ever more challenges regarding how academia and online communities can and should interact. Since academia enjoys a position of power, while fan communities are often highly marginalized, I argue that, as acafans, we have a special responsibility to the fan communities we engage with and study. Fulfilling this responsibility means using what I call a goodwill ethics heuristic approach to online research methods, which requires us to balance the concerns of fans with those of scholarly development. In order to trace what this goodwill heuristic approach to online research methods might look like, I start by examining ethical values of research methods as they are defined by the Belmont Report. I then revisit the methods of previous fan studies. I add to these methods an extended set of ethical values as they have been described by prominent scholars in a range of fields using human subjects research. Finally, I discuss my own online fannish profile, focusing on my self-positioning and how it has been crucial in developing a goodwill ethics approach in my own research. Ultimately, I argue that all online research should use a goodwill ethics heuristic approach, and that such an approach is chiefly characterized by researchers' willingness to abdicate their expert status where necessary; ongoing negotiations between researchers and participants; and researchers' taking sufficient time to establish both an emic perspective of the community or site being researched and relationships with participants.
Real-Time Localization of Mobile Robots in Indoor Environments Using a Ceiling Camera Structure

The localization of mobile robots in indoor environments finds lots of problems such as accumulated errors and the constant changes that occur at these places. A technique called global vision intends to localize robots using images acquired by cameras placed in such a way that covers the place where the robots movement takes place. Localization is obtained by marks put on top of the robot. This work proposes a mobile robot localization system at indoor environments using a technique called global vision to estimate the position of a robot in real time. Since the method relies only on information extracted from the current image, accurate position estimates can be calculated.
Practical efficiency of asynchronous stochastic gradient descent

Stochastic gradient descent (SGD) and its distributed variants are essential to leverage modern computing resources for large-scale machine learning tasks. ASGD [1] is one of the most popular asynchronous distributed variant of SGD. Recent mathematical analyses have shown that with certain assumptions on the learning task (and ignoring communication cost), ASGD exhibits linear speed-up asymptotically. However, as practically observed, ASGD does not lead linear speed-up as we increase the number of learners. Motivated by this, we investigate finite time convergence properties of ASGD. We observe that the learning rate used by mathematical analyses to guarantee linear speed-up can be very small (and practically sub-optimal with respect to convergence speed) as opposed to practically chosen learning rates (for quick convergence) which exhibit sub-linear speed-up. We show that such an observation can in fact be supported by mathematical analysis, i.e., in the finite time regime, better convergence rate guarantees can be proven for ASGD with small number of learners, thus indicating lack of linear speed up as we increase the number of learners. Thus we conclude that even with ignoring communication cost, there is an inherent inefficiency in ASGD with respect to increasing the number of learners.
Murine Models of Substance and Alcohol Dependence

Most behavioral traits operate on a phenotypic and genetic continuum, i.e., the phenotypic output is quantitative based on the genetic input. No one gene is either necessary or sufficient to account for the observed phenotype; rather, a collection of genes is responsible. This phenotypic and genetic complexity is particularly evident in psychological disorders. For instance, first-degree relatives of schizophrenics have a 9% risk for a diagnosis, whereas the risk drops to 2% for a third-degree relative (1. These findings suggest that many genes contribute, and as the proportion of shared genes increases among relatives, so does the likelihood of shared diagnosis. Regardless of commonalities among genotypes, phenotypic expression may vary significantly in the frequency and severity of symptoms. This further supports the contention that several genes contribute to the trait, each with small effects.
Evenly spaced Detrended Fluctuation Analysis: Selecting the number of points for the diffusion plot

Abstract Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) has become a widely-used tool to examine the correlation structure of a time series and provided insights into neuromuscular health and disease states. As the popularity of utilizing DFA in the human behavioral sciences has grown, understanding its limitations and how to properly determine parameters is becoming increasingly important. DFA examines the correlation structure of variability in a time series by computing α , the slope of the log S D – log n diffusion plot. When using the traditional DFA algorithm, the timescales, n , are often selected as a set of integers between a minimum and maximum length based on the number of data points in the time series. This produces non-uniformly distributed values of n in logarithmic scale, which influences the estimation of α due to a disproportionate weighting of the long-timescale regions of the diffusion plot. Recently, the evenly spaced DFA and evenly spaced average DFA algorithms were introduced. Both algorithms compute α by selecting k points for the diffusion plot based on the minimum and maximum timescales of interest and improve the consistency of α estimates for simulated fractional Gaussian noise and fractional Brownian motion time series. Two issues that remain unaddressed are (1) how to select k and (2) whether the evenly-spaced DFA algorithms show similar benefits when assessing human behavioral data. We manipulated k and examined its effects on the accuracy, consistency, and confidence limits of α in simulated and experimental time series. We demonstrate that the accuracy and consistency of α are relatively unaffected by the selection of k . However, the confidence limits of α narrow as k increases, dramatically reducing measurement uncertainty for single trials. We provide guidelines for selecting k and discuss potential uses of the evenly spaced DFA algorithms when assessing human behavioral data.
Construction of environmental risk score beyond standard linear models using machine learning methods: application to metal mixtures, oxidative stress and cardiovascular disease in NHANES

There is growing concern of health effects of exposure to pollutant mixtures. We initially proposed an Environmental Risk Score (ERS) as a summary measure to examine the risk of exposure to multi-pollutants in epidemiologic research considering only pollutant main effects. We expand the ERS by consideration of pollutant-pollutant interactions using modern machine learning methods. We illustrate the multi-pollutant approaches to predicting a marker of oxidative stress (gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT)), a common disease pathway linking environmental exposure and numerous health endpoints. We examined 20 metal biomarkers measured in urine or whole blood from 6 cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2003–2004 to 2013–2014, n = 9664). We randomly split the data evenly into training and testing sets and constructed ERS’s of metal mixtures for GGT using adaptive elastic-net with main effects and pairwise interactions (AENET-I), Bayesian additive regression tree (BART), Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR), and Super Learner in the training set and evaluated their performances in the testing set. We also evaluated the associations between GGT-ERS and cardiovascular endpoints. ERS based on AENET-I performed better than other approaches in terms of prediction errors in the testing set. Important metals identified in relation to GGT include cadmium (urine), dimethylarsonic acid, monomethylarsonic acid, cobalt, and barium. All ERS’s showed significant associations with systolic and diastolic blood pressure and hypertension. For hypertension, one SD increase in each ERS from AENET-I, BART and SuperLearner were associated with odds ratios of 1.26 (95% CI, 1.15, 1.38), 1.17 (1.09, 1.25), and 1.30 (1.20, 1.40), respectively. ERS’s showed non-significant positive associations with mortality outcomes. ERS is a useful tool for characterizing cumulative risk from pollutant mixtures, with accounting for statistical challenges such as high degrees of correlations and pollutant-pollutant interactions. ERS constructed for an intermediate marker like GGT is predictive of related disease endpoints.
acn-1, a C. elegans homologue of ACE, genetically interacts with the let-7 microRNA and other heterochronic genes.

The heterochronic pathway in C. elegans controls the relative timing of cell fate decisions during post-embryonic development. It includes a network of microRNAs (miRNAs), such as let-7, and protei...
Renal function recovery after radical nephroureterectomy for upper tract urothelial carcinoma

Purpose To understand the longitudinal renal function trends in patients undergoing radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) and identify clinicopathologic characteristics associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) recovery.
The Genetics of Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colorectal Cancer and Non-Polypotic Colon Cancer

Most colorectal cancers are sporadic but the lifetime risk for this cancer increases with the number of affected individuals in the pedigree. The presence of three affected relatives from two generations is compatible with autosomal dominant inheritance and fulfils the international diagnostic (”Amsterdam”) criteria for hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer, HNPCC.1
On Radially Symmetric Solutions to Conservation Laws

Radially symmetric solutions to multi-dimensional systems of conservations laws are important in applications and computations, as well as in the general theory of conservative systems. Notwithstanding their one-dimensional nature they are poorly understood. In particular this is true for the Euler equations in gas-dynamics. After a short review of symmetric solutions to the Euler system, we introduce a scalar model for symmetric waves. The model is contrasted with standard multi-dimensional conservation laws, both scalar equations and systems. We give explicit examples of focusing nonlinear waves that blow up in amplitude. Based on the examples a suitable solution concept is introduced and compared to related treatments in the literature.
DISCUSSIONS OF PAPERS BY MISLEVY AND BOCK, MUTHÉN AND SATORRA, AND LEWIS

This chapter discusses duplex design. The primary objectives of the duplex design is to estimate the general score of individual i in group h , θ hi the subarea scores for group h , φ * hj , and the change of the individual-level item parameters over time. The hierarchical model, which is used, assumes random group effects ( θ h , φ hj ) and random individual effects ( θ hi , φ hij ) distributed about the group effects. To reduce the model with many parameters to a form more suitable for producing the desired estimates, a number of simplifying assumptions have been made. In practice, the estimation procedure is carried out in two stages: the first is to estimate the item parameters ( a, b ), and the second is to estimate θ h and φ hj by their posterior expectations, conditionally on the item parameters assumed to equal those estimated from the first stage.
The primacy of relation: Social studies teachers and the praxis of critical pedagogy

In this critical qualitative case study, we examined the ways three critically identifying social studies teachers understood and adopted critical pedagogy. We argue that the praxis of these teachers unfolded based on their understanding of and willingness to attend to the many dialectical relations associated with teaching. We understand the praxiological unfolding to be teachers’ critical ontological social studies posture, which we argue reflects those ways teachers see and understand dialectical relation and then approach the world by authentically living their critical epistemology, ontology, and ideology. We conclude that the ways critical social studies teachers situate themselves within the many instances of relational power will uniquely inform the approach they take in their work with students.
Tick, Tock, Tuesday: Serial Timekeeping and the History of the Modern Week

Dailiness provides a powerful paradigm of seriality in modern life. Figures of speech such as quotidian practice, daily happening, and everyday occurrence represent not only the ordinary, uneventfu...
Examining the Relationship Between Race and Juvenile Court Decision-Making: A Counterfactual Approach:

Prior research has found that disproportionate minority contact (DMC) is a problem at various decision-making points in the juvenile justice system. This study addresses two limitations often found...
Buildings.Occupants: a Modelica package for modelling occupant behaviour in buildings

Energy-related occupant behaviour is crucial to design and operation of energy and control systems in buildings. Occupant behaviours are often oversimplified as static schedules or settings in buil...
The need for nonprofit entrepreneurship education

AbstractDespite the growth of entrepreneurship education over the last 20 years, there remains an unserved need for entrepreneurship educational programs designed for those interested in starting n...
Dementia outcomes after addition of proxy-based assessments for deceased or proxy-dependent participants.

OBJECTIVES As people age and the incidence of dementia increases, studies of cognitive function continue to be of importance. Ascertaining cognitive data through different mechanisms is necessary to address missing data concerns. METHODS The Dementia Questionnaire (DQ), which utilizes proxy-based assessments, is a potential tool to determine cognitive status in participants no longer being followed per traditional study protocol. The DQ is currently being used in the Supplemental Case Ascertainment Protocol (SCAP), which is being conducted in an ongoing study of postmenopausal women as part of the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS). RESULTS Ninety-four percent of the 1260 SCAP participants were eligible because of being deceased. Those who are SCAP eligible were older, were less likely to be a minority, and were more likely to have hypertension, diabetes, and prior history of cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as being a past or current smoker. SCAP added 109 cases of probable dementia to WHIMS. Risk factor relationships were modified upon inclusion of the SCAP cases including an attenuation of a hormone therapy effect and discovery of a hypertension effect. CONCLUSIONS Augmenting clinic-based cases with proxy-based assessments is feasible and leads to increased incident cases of dementia. When planning future clinical trials, it may be of study benefit to include a protocol of proxy-based assessments, develop strong relationships with proxies early on in the study, and attempt to maintain this relationship throughout the lifespan of the trial.
What You Really See in the Mirror: A Consumer's Journey with Self-Brand Congruence

In my own life, I have a set of brands that describe my personality, interests, and lifestyle. So, how do companies build this connection between the brand and the consumers’ self-perception? I researched the methods used to establish self-congruence with a brand, meaning how the brand’s personality fits with the consumer’s actual self, versus the consumer’s ideal self. I also examined the different ways advertising can increase brand congruity with the consumer, especially focusing on celebrity endorsements, purchase promotions, and the use of imagery in specific forms of advertising.
Homeless Street Outreach: Spark for the Journey to a Dignified Life

Street outreach is an essential service for connecting people who are living on the streets to housing, disability benefits, and other social services. This chapter describes the core components of street outreach and the values underlying street outreach practice. It also introduces a set of core skills and models used by outreach workers to best serve the vulnerable populations with whom they work.
Collaborative robot selection using analytical hierarchical process

The research addresses the deficiency of a structured methodology for the selection of collaborative robots or cobots, a type of an industrial robot that can perform tasks in cooperation with a human operator in a shared workspace. Without a standard procedure, manufacturing and service industries may experience difficulty determining a suitable cobot for their collaborative robot application. The decision to select a suitable cobot requires multiple requirements that may need to be considered along with the multiple choices of cobot alternatives available from various manufacturers. This decision may be difficult because there has been no literature that addresses the requirements that needs to be considered for cobot selection. Identifying the requirements may serve as the standard criteria for evaluation of the various cobots available as of now. The research is focused on determining the specific criteria useful for evaluation of various cobots. Subsequent to the determination of the criteria for cobot selection, an improved multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) algorithm will be utilised to illustrate the methodology for the selection of a cobot suitable to the manufacturing or service industry.
Absence of an embryonic stem cell DNA methylation signature in human cancer

Differentiated cells that arise from stem cells in early development contain DNA methylation features that provide a memory trace of their fetal cell origin (FCO). The FCO signature was developed to estimate the proportion of cells in a mixture of cell types that are of fetal origin and are reminiscent of embryonic stem cell lineage. Here we implemented the FCO signature estimation method to compare the fraction of cells with the FCO signature in tumor tissues and their corresponding nontumor normal tissues. We applied our FCO algorithm to discovery data sets obtained from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and replication data sets obtained from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data repository. Wilcoxon rank sum tests, linear regression models with adjustments for potential confounders and non-parametric randomization-based tests were used to test the association of FCO proportion between tumor tissues and nontumor normal tissues. P-values of < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Across 20 different tumor types we observed a consistently lower FCO signature in tumor tissues compared with nontumor normal tissues, with 18 observed to have significantly lower FCO fractions in tumor tissue (total n = 6,795 tumor, n = 922 nontumor, P < 0.05). We replicated our findings in 15 tumor types using data from independent subjects in 15 publicly available data sets (total n = 740 tumor, n = 424 nontumor, P < 0.05). The results suggest that cancer development itself is substantially devoid of recapitulation of normal embryologic processes. Our results emphasize the distinction between DNA methylation in normal tightly regulated stem cell driven differentiation and cancer stem cell reprogramming that involves altered methylation in the service of great cell heterogeneity and plasticity.