cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Alternative community structures in a kelp-urchin community: A qualitative modeling approach

Shifts in interaction patterns within a community may result from periodic disturbances and climate. The question arises as to the extent and significance of these shifting patterns. Using a novel approach to link qualitative mathematical models and field data, namely using the inverse matrix to identify the community matrix, we reconstructed community networks from kelp forests off the Oregon Coast. We simulated all ecologically plausible interactions among community members, selected the models whose outcomes match field observations, and identified highly frequent links to characterize the community network from a particular site. We tested all possible biologically reasonable community networks through qualitative simulations, selected those that matched patterns observed in the field, and further reduced the set of possibilities by retaining those that were stable. We found that a community can be represented by a set of alternative structures, or scenarios. From 11,943,936 simulated models, 0.23% matched the field observations; moreover, only 0.006%, or 748 models, were highly reliable in their predictions and met conditions for stability. Predator–prey interactions as well as non-predatory relationships were consistently found in most of the 748 models. These highly frequent connections were useful to characterize the community network in the study site. We suggest that alternative networks provide the community with a buffer to disturbance, allowing it to continuously reorganize to adapt to a variable environment. This is possible due to the fluctuating capacities of foraging species to consume alternate resources. This suggestion is sustained by our results, which indicate that none of the models that matched field observations were fully connected. This plasticity may contribute to the persistence of these communities. We propose that qualitative simulations represent a powerful technique to raise new hypotheses concerning community dynamics and to reconstruct guidelines that may govern community patterns.
The Expert’s Opinion

William King is University Professor in the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh. He is the author of more than a dozen books and 150 technical papers that have appeared in many leading journals in the field of management science, information systems, and strategic planning. Dr. King received the prestigious McKinsey Foundation Award for â€œoutstanding contribution to management literatureâ€ for his co-authored book, Systems Analysis and Project Management. He has served as President of the institute of Management Sciences (TIMS) and as Senior Editor of MIS Quarterly.
How does new venture strategy matter in the environment–performance relationship?

Abstract Drawing on environmental determinism and environmental management perspectives, this study examines the roles of strategy in the relationship between environment and performance in new ventures. With data from 184 ventures in China's high technology industries, I found that new venture strategies play differential roles in dealing with different environmental dimensions to affect performance. In particular, the results suggest that marketing differentiation strategy plays a significant role in mediating the positive effect of perceived industry growth on performance. Market breadth and marketing alliance strategies significantly moderate the negative impact of perceived environmental hostility on performance. Product innovation strategy plays both mediating and moderating roles in the environment–performance relationship. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.
Consequences of restenosis after coronary angioplasty

The consequences of restenosis after angioplasty were evaluated in 466 patients who had coronary angiography 3 to 12 months after successful coronary angioplasty and were followed long term. The 236 subjects with restenosis resembled the 230 without restenosis with respect to age, sex, presence of multivessel disease, mean ejection fraction, prior myocardial infarction, prior coronary artery bypass grafting, and completeness of revascularization. The 5-year relative risk of revascularization for patients with restenosis markedly exceeded that for patients without restenosis. The relative risk of repeat angioplasty in the former group was 4.26 times that in the latter group (95% confidence interval, 2.80 to 6.51), and the risk of coronary artery bypass grafting in patients with restenosis was 3.68 (95% confidence interval, 2.16 to 6.28). There was no difference between the 2 groups in the relative risk of myocardial infarction or death. When the completeness of revascularization was considered, patients with incomplete revascularization and restenosis had the worst outcomes, with 50% needing coronary artery bypass grafting within 5 years. Early restenosis markedly increases the probability of revascularization, but it has little effect on infarction or mortality. Even when early restenosis is absent, further revascularization procedures are still frequent. A solution to the problem of restenosis might reduce by half the need for revascularization during the subsequent 5 years.
On the reusability of query optimization algorithms

Abstract We tackle the problem of software reusability as it pertains to an important class of nonrecursive query optimization algorithms. We demonstrate reusability can be achieved by (1) imposing standardized interfaces and (2) expressing algorithms in a DBMS-implementation-independent manner. The former is accomplished by generalizing the notion of query graphs, and the latter is accomplished by standardizing algorithm definitions in terms of query-graph rewrite rules. Demonstrating algorithm reusability is an essential step toward a building-block technology for extensible database systems.
Steady-State Optimal State and Input Observer for Discrete Stochastic Systems

Developpement d'un observateur optimal qui minimise la trace de la covariance d'erreur en regime permanent sur les estimations d'etat et d'entree pour les systemes discrets, lineaires, stationnaires, stochastiques a entrees inconnues
Model and analyses for solder reflow cracking phenomenon in SMT plastic packages

A quantitative model has been developed to predict solder reflow cracking resistance vs encapsulant properties, package geometry and storage conditions for SMT plastic packages. Sensitivity analyses have shown that the encapsulant's moisture diffusivity, moisture solubility, modulus of elasticity, and high temperature flexural strength are important to crack resistance. Their cumulative effect is quantified by the 'cumulative property performance index' (CPPI) with a larger CPPI indicating better package crack initiation resistance. A master sensitivity analysis plot allows the crack resistance of any mold compound to be predicted from its basic measured properties. Modeling results demonstrated the difficulty of achieving good solder reflow cracking performance by simply improving the mechanical and moisture properties of mold compounds, if the intrinsic mold compound-die pad adhesion is poor. This is especially true for the new thin plastic packages. For excellent adhering interfaces, the overall cracking resistance improves even though the relative effect of other mold compound properties decreases. Encapsulants with low moisture diffusivities continue to perform somewhat better with respect to crack initiation. >
Development of a hyperbaric trap-respirometer for the capture and maintenance of live deep-sea organisms

A major obstacle to the investigation of deep-sea biology is the lack of instrumentation to retrieve deep-sea organisms from their habitat alive, particularly fishes with physoclistous swimbladders. To perform physiological experiments on deep-sea fishes under in situ but controlled conditions, we constructed a high-pressure fish trap-respirometer to capture deep-water fishes at depth and return them to the surface alive at in situ pressure and temperature. Pumps and instrumentation connected aboard ship or in the laboratory are used for maintenance of the animal and experimentation. The trap was designed so that respiration rates, pressure tolerance, and metabolic responses to various gas concentrations (CO 2 and O 2 ) could be examined in a controlled environment. The trap is deployed as an autonomous lander or free vehicle to depths of 4000 m. Once on the seafloor, a fish is captured on a baited hook that triggers the reeling of the fish into the pressure vessel and closure of its sealing door. Two fish, Coryphaenoides acrolepis, have been recovered live from 1450 m and maintained in the laboratory. Both fish were retrieved at ~95% of their in situ pressure and at temperatures of ~6°C. Oxygen consumption rates of these fish were 54.99 µmol O 2 kg ‐1 h ‐1 (1.158 kg, 65.0 cm total length, 23.5 cm pre-anal fin length) and 79.43 µmol O 2 kg ‐1 h ‐1 (1.305 kg, 66.5 cm total length, 24.5 cm pre-anal fin length). The latter fish was maintained for 3.5 d, and it survived gradual decompression to 76% of the pressure at its capture depth.
Enhanced resolution and modeling of exponential signals

A signal enhancement algorithm is described which achieves the objective of modification of the given data set that then serves as a cleansing process whereby corrupting noise, measurement distortion, or theoretical mismatch present in the given data set is removed. Particular attention is directed toward properties that are describable using a singular value decomposition of a data generated matrix. An example is given demonstrating a significant improvement in the performance of subspace-based frequency estimation techniques. The algorithm is shown to provide a useful means for solving a variety of important signal processing problems. It has been successfully applied to the missing data problem, deconvolution, high-dimensional filter synthesis, and image synthesis. >
Azimuthal polarization for Raman enhancement in capillary waveguides

Hollow, metal-lined capillary waveguides have recently been utilized in spontaneous gas-Raman spectroscopy to improve signal strength and response time. The hollow waveguide is used to contain the sample gases, efficiently propagate a pump beam, and efficiently collect Raman scattering from those gases. Transmission losses in the waveguide may be reduced by using an azimuthally polarized pump beam instead of a linearly or radially polarized pump. This will lead to improved Raman signal strength, accuracy, and response time in waveguide-based Raman gas-composition sensors. A linearly polarized laser beam is azimuthally polarized using passive components including a spiral phase plate and an azimuthal-type linear analyzer element. Half-wave plates are then used to switch between the azimuthally polarized beam and the radially polarized beam with no change in input pump power. The collected Raman signal strength and laser throughput are improved when the azimuthally polarized pump is used. Optimization of the hollow waveguide Raman gas sensor is discussed with respect to incident pump polarization.
Long-term adaptation mechanisms for fine-tuning of man-made sensory processing systems

Neurobiological systems possess a tremendous ability to adapt to the surrounding environment at multiple time scales and at multiple stages of processing. Though the purpose of these biological adaptation mechanisms is not clear, some theories suggest that these methods allow for the fine-tuning of the visual system through long-term averaging of measured visual parameters. We have developed the constant statistics model to apply these biologically plausible adaptation constraints to the design of man-made sensory systems. This paper discusses examples of long-term adaptation in the nervous system and shows how similar constraints can be exploited in man-made sensory processing systems. We review several examples of such biologically inspired adaptation mechanisms for such engineering problems as offset/gain correction of IR imagers, adaptive signal processing, motion estimation, and preliminary results in optimal scale detection in image processing.
Exercise-induced orgasm and pleasure among women

Orgasm is typically considered to be a sexual experience. However, orgasms occurring during physical exercise have been occasionally documented. The primary objective of the current study was to understand more about women's experience with exercise-induced orgasm (EIO) including the types of exercise that women have noted have led to EIO and associations with self-reported sexual experiences. A secondary purpose was to understand and assess women's experiences of exercise-induced sexual pleasure (EISP) among a convenience sample of women who had never experienced EIO but who had experienced sexual pleasure during exercise. A total of 530 women completed a cross-sectional, anonymous, Internet-based survey. The average age of first EIO was 18.9 years old. Among the most common exercises reported to induce orgasm were abdominal exercises, climbing and lifting weights. Women reporting EISP, but not orgasm, frequently identified biking/spinning, abdominal exercise and lifting weights as associated with their ...
Temperature dependence of the dynamic mechanical properties of filled polymers

A theory has been developed to explain the jump in the relative modulus of filled polymers near the glass transition temperature Tg and the subsequent decrease in relative modulus at temperatures above the glass transition temperature. The theory is based upon the concept that there are some particle–particle contacts in doublets and in agglomerates containing a larger number of particles. Below Tg motion of particles at the contact points is possible because of the high modulus of the polymer. At Tg particle–particle motion mostly ceases because of the low modulus of the polymer. At higher temperatures, the mismatch in the coefficients of expansion allows some motion to occur at points of contact and slippage may occur at the polymer–particle interfaces, so the modulus decreases. It is shown theoretically and experimentally that both the elastic modulus and the mechanical damping depend upon the nature of the surface of the particles.
A Twisted Turnpike Theorem

Weather, conflict, and sectorally uneven technical progress may cause production possibilities to vary with time. This paper generalizes the M o r i s h i m a turnpike theorem to bounded, but not constant, normalized production possibilities. The variation in the set of efficient paths and prices still becomes small for long programs. However, the “turnpike” may be twisted, and also difficult to compute.
Computing continuous models from discrete image data

A derivation of the optimal function for interpolating between CT (computed tomography) slices is presented. The data are assumed to be averaged over a slice thickness and overlapped. No assumptions about bandlimited data are made. Using DFT (discrete Fourier transform) techniques for the multiplication and inversion of circulant matrices, an interpolation function is easily computed which can be tailored to specific geometries and to the specific signal to noise ratios. For the case of 5-mm-thick slices taken at 3-mm intervals, the optimal resampling for low-noise measurements is almost-linear interpolation. As measurement noise increases, more low-pass filtering is included in the interpolation filter. The results predict that in cases of high signal-to-noise ratio, more complex interpolation functions would not improve the performance of those applications. >
Inhibitory effects of intestinal electrical stimulation on food intake, weight loss and gastric emptying in rats

The aim was to investigate the effects of intestinal electrical stimulation (IES) on food intake, body weight, and gastric emptying in rats. An experiment on food intake and weight change was perfo...
Expert image analysts show enhanced visual processing in change detection

Expertise facilitates change detection performance, but the neural underpinnings of these benefits are unknown. Expert image analysts showed larger change-related ERP effects between about 100–200 msec after stimulus onset than did novices, which correlated with both accuracy and years of analysis experience. These results demonstrate that years of visual experience can induce fundamental changes in early visual processing which are related to change detection abilities.
Concurrency Tradeoffs in Dynamic Adaptation

Software systems need to adapt as requirements change, environment conditions vary, and bugs are discovered and fixed. In context of verification of these adaptive systems, the verification needs to be done for the system before adaptation, for the system during adaptation, and for the system after adaptation. In our previous work, we presented an approach based on transitional-invariant lattice for verifying the correctness of dynamic adaptation. The size (number of nodes and edges) of the lattice affects the complexity of verifying and testing the adaptation. The size of the lattice itself is dependent on the number of steps in the adaptation, and the concurrency (dependency) among those steps. In this paper, we discuss various tradeoffs that arise because of concurrency during adaptation.
Selected Ethical Issues in Bankruptcy: Employment of Special Counsel, Representation of Multiple Creditors, and Withdrawal from Representation of Individual Debtors

Bankruptcy attorneys often confront ethical issues involving the propriety of representing a client given potential conflicts of interest. This article assesses the ethical issues and case law surrounding Section 327(e) employment as special counsel, Rule 2019 representation of multiple creditors, and the duty of counsel to represent a debtor in all phases of a bankruptcy case, including adversary proceedings and appeals.
Reliability-based design optimization under stationary stochastic process loads

Time-dependent reliability-based design ensures the satisfaction of reliability requirements for a given period of time, but with a high computational cost. This work improves the computational efficiency by extending the sequential optimization and reliability analysis (SORA) method to time-dependent problems with both stationary stochastic process loads and random variables. The challenge of the extension is the identification of the most probable point (MPP) associated with time-dependent reliability targets. Since a direct relationship between the MPP and reliability target does not exist, this work defines the concept of equivalent MPP, which is identified by the extreme value analysis and the inverse saddlepoint approximation. With the equivalent MPP, the time-dependent reliability-based design optimization is decomposed into two decoupled loops: deterministic design optimization and reliability analysis, and both are performed sequentially. Two numerical examples are used to show the efficiency of ...
The Unseen Microbial World as a Tool for Learning Biology

This is an exciting time in biology education. Important reports such as Bio2010 and Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education , which are based on science education research, are moving biology education practice toward concepts and competencies in undergraduate education. The Next Generation Science Standards have established a framework for science education on which to build curricula in the K–12 arena. Current teaching promotes inquiry, problem solving, and other forms of active learning. This special issue of The American Biology Teacher highlights the power of microbiology as a tool for teaching these core concepts and competencies. Microbiology is rising within the public consciousness, opening learning opportunities not only for students who want careers in biology but also for the general public. Microbiology touches every aspect of our lives and influences important decisions that affect our health and environment, making it an ideal way to engage students in biology. This engagement goes beyond the obvious topics, such as infectious diseases like Ebola, measles, HIV, and influenza, to global topics such as climate change, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition. Through discussions of the science behind the headlines, these topics provide approachable introductions to science and ethics. A vast array of resources and case studies are available for teaching these concepts using microbiology. Online tutorials on all these topics, along with online games, hands-on activities, and …
Chest pain among combat veterans: a conceptual framework.

ABSTRACT This article describes the decision-making processes regarding seeking treatment for the symptom of chest pain in a population of combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder. Qualitative methods and standardized tools were used to explore the prehospital experiences of combat veterans who met diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorder, and admission to a coronary care unit for the symptom of chest pain. Semistructured audiotaped interviews were conducted. Obtaining medical treatment for the chest pain was dependent on internal and external motivating forces outweighing internal and external restraining forces in the decision-making process. The experience of military training influenced responses because of the expectation of self-reliance. A conceptual model emerged from the data that described the influences and restraints in seeking medical treatment.
Wagner and the Romantic Hero: Wagner's heroism on stage

Richard Wagner is still with us and it is surprising that he is. For some decades after his death, the theatre developed along lines suggested by his theatrical and dramatic practice and theory, but as the forms and functions of theatre changed in the early decades of the twentieth century, the aesthetic legitimacy of his work was challenged. Not only did the romantic–realistic style in which the music-dramas were conceived become archaic, but the heroic atmosphere and ethos of his work grew increasingly suspect. The notion of heroism as a formative agent in public life, always a questionable assumption, has been more discredited in the latter half of the twentieth century than perhaps at any other time in history. The aphorism of Brecht's Galileo, “Unhappy the land where heroes are needed,” must surely stand as one of our defining mottoes since World War II. But Wagner, for all his championing of the hero, did not disappear. A few years after the defeat of Germany, the music-dramas were reinstated in the international and German operatic repertoire, and although subsequent generations have continued to contest their centrality to German culture, they are as popular as they have ever been. Even smaller European opera-houses now regularly stage the Ring and at the Bayreuth Festival applications for tickets, we are told, outweigh availability by a factor of about eight to one. Wagner, it appears, will be with us for several decades to come, probably longer.
A Taxonomy and Survey of Green Data Centers

An issue of great concern as it relates to global warming is power consumption and efficient use of computers especially in large data centers. Green computing is emerging as a solution to this problem as evidenced by a recent boom in publications in this area including those articles published between 2009 and 2014. Here we classify these recent publications by subject, fields of application, and recommended techniques and further categorize them according to environmental, timing, algorithms, and other aspects. We compare and analyze proposed green computing solutions in terms of features like server system power management, green cloud computing employing various types of energy efficient algorithms, data center cooling systems, and processor architecture. We explore future directions in the field and present a guideline for those interested in green computing.
Mask free intravenous 3D digital subtraction angiography (IV 3D-DSA) from a single C-arm acquisition

Currently, clinical acquisition of IV 3D-DSA requires two separate scans: one mask scan without contrast medium and a filled scan with contrast injection. Having two separate scans adds radiation dose to the patient and increases the likelihood of suffering inadvertent patient motion induced mis-registration and the associated mis-registraion artifacts in IV 3D-DSA images. In this paper, a new technique, SMART-RECON is introduced to generate IV 3D-DSA images from a single Cone Beam CT (CBCT) acquisition to eliminate the mask scan. Potential benefits of eliminating mask scan would be: (1) both radiation dose and scan time can be reduced by a factor of 2; (2) intra-sweep motion can be eliminated; (3) inter-sweep motion can be mitigated. Numerical simulations were used to validate the algorithm in terms of contrast recoverability and the ability to mitigate limited view artifacts.
The Genetic Basis of the Alagille Syndrome

Mutations in the human Jagged1 gene are responsible for Alagille syndrome. Oda T, Elkahloun AG, Pike BL, Okajima K, Krantz ID, Genin A, Piccoli DA, Meltzer PS, Spinner NB, Collins FS, Chandrasekharappa SC. Nature Genetics 1997;16: 235-42.Alagille syndrome is caused by mutations in humanJagged1, whic
Beyond the superficial: Coccidioides immitis fungaemia in a man with fever, fatigue and skin nodules: a case of an emerging and evolving pathogen.

Coccidioidomycosis is an insidious fungal disease, endemic to arid regions of the Americas, which is becoming more frequently recognised worldwide. While most infections resemble a mild respiratory illness, a subset of cases progress to severe pneumonia or systemic dissemination. Here, we describe a case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis in a 54-year-old immunocompetent African-American man with geographic and demographic risk factors for Coccidiodes acquisition who presented with 2 months of fevers, fatigue, weight loss and painful skin lesions. Blood count and serum chemistry studies initially demonstrated leukocytosis, anaemia, hyponatraemia and acute renal failure. Chest imaging revealed numerous small pulmonary nodules and skin biopsy, serological studies and blood cultures eventually confirmed disseminated infection with Coccidioides immitis. This case highlights important features regarding the risk factors, spectrum of clinical findings, evaluation and treatment of coccidioidomycosis relevant to providers in endemic areas and throughout the world.
Political Economy of Parcel Tax in California School Districts

This paper examines determinants of parcel tax adoption in California as a means to supplement local public school funding. A parcel tax is a regressive tax imposed on a unit of property and in California requires a two-thirds supermajority vote to adopt. Despite its increasing role as a local funding source, the school parcel tax has not been well understood, particularly how this regressive form of property tax is adopted in different local conditions. Unlike previous research that emphasizes average income within school districts, I predict that the distribution of home prices within a district is an important determinant in parcel tax adoption. Using Heckman selection models and California school district level data, I find that a larger distribution of home values reduces the likelihood of parcel tax adoption.
Behavior and Performance of Weanling Pigs in Pens Equipped with Hide Areas

Two-hundred eighty crossbred pigs were used to determine the efficacy of hide areas (hides) in reducing young pigs' aggressive activity during social stress and the effect of access to hides on young pigs' productive performance. In Exp. 1, 80 pigs were kept in littermate groups of five/pen in 16 home pens. Then one pig was randomly selected from each of four pens, and the four were regrouped in either a control pen or a pen equipped with three hides (each a 20 X 23 X 25 cm box) in one of the walls. Behavior was time-lapse video-recorded for 90 min. Time spent either eating (head-in-feeder) or lying was not affected by access to hides. Pigs with hides to use in escaping attack fought less during the initial 30 min after regrouping. They spent an average of 5.5% of the time with heads hidden during the entire 90-min observation period. Experiment 2 employed 200 pigs in a performance study designed to evaluate effects of regrouping and access to hides on body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency. There were 10 replicates of each of four treatments: (a) regrouped-control pen, (b) regrouped-hide pen, (c) littermates-control pen and (d) littermates-hide pen. During the first 7 d of the 21-d trial, treatments tended to interact in affecting both average daily gain and feed conversion efficiency; littermates in control pens had the highest performance, those regrouped in hide pens were intermediate and those in regrouped-control pen and littermates-hide pen treatment groups had the poorest performance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The effect of different methods of protecting the myocardium on lysosomal activation and acid phosphatase activity in the dog heart after one hour of cardiopulmonary bypass.

The present study was undertaken to determine the involvement of cardiac lysosomes in injury to the myocardium after cardiopulmonary bypass. Twenty conditioned mongrel dogs, weighing 15 to 18 kilograms, were fasted overnight, anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (30 mg. per kilogram), intubated, and maintained on positive-pressure ventilation. The femoral artery and femoral vein were cannulated for pressure measurements. After median sternotomy, intravenous heparin was administered (3 mg. per kilogram) before the aorta and the superior and inferior venae cavae were cannulated for bypass. Bypass was instituted with a Travenol modular pump and a Bentley pediatric bubble oxygenator and heat exchanger. The ultrastructural effects on the myocardium and the acid phosphatase activity in the left ventricle were compared in dogs exposed to bypass for 1 hour with varying types of myocardial support: perfusion of the coronary arteries, normothermic ischemic arrest, or selective cardiac hypothermia. The morphology of control hearts and hearts fixed after 1 hour of coronary perfusion were similar. The distribution and structure of subcellular lysosomes were the same and showed identical patterns of acid phosphatase activity. Normothermic ischemic arrest was associated with a loss of glycogen stores, disrupted sarcoplasmic reticulum and T tubules, vacuolization and decrease in matrix density of mitochondria, and separation of the intercalated discs. Lysosomal activity was absent except for occasional residual bodies in the nuclear pole zone of the myocardial cells. Selective cardiac hypothermia produced results superior to those from normothermic ischemic arrest. Although these hearts showed proliferation of the lysosomal compartment, the organelles responsible for excitation-contraction coupling were spared.
Measuring Violin Bow Force During Performance

Violin bowing is a complex skill and controls a majority of the sound produced by the instrument. Yet despite significant interest in the modal analysis of violins, comparatively little work has been done to study the complexities of this “input.” In this work, we have used fiber optic strain sensors, a modern strain sensing technology, to test a novel method for measuring bowing force during violin performance. Gaining greater insight into how violinists vary bowing force to create sound could not only lead to better violin excitation methods for modal analysis but might also key in discovering indicators of violin quality and musician preferences. Live performance testing was performed by a professional violinist on two violins of differing quality and at different volume levels. The results showed a log-linear relation between bowing force and volume. In addition, a bowing gesture named the “average down-up stroke” was found by averaging several similar gestures. Its duration was observably longer for a high quality violin compared to a fair quality sibling. Such a measure could be adapted for various gestures and styles and subsequently be explored as a potential indicator of violin quality or player preference.
Hellenistic and Roman Ideal Sculpture: The Allure of the Classical

In this book, Rachel Kousser draws on contemporary reception theory to present an approach to Hellenistic and Roman ideal sculpture. She analyzes the Romans' preference for retrospective, classicizing statuary based on Greek models as opposed to the innovative creations prized by modern scholars. Using a case study of a particular sculptural type, a forceful yet erotic image of Venus, Kousser argues that the Romans self-consciously employed such sculptures to represent their ties to the past in a rapidly evolving world. Kousser presents Hellenistic and Roman ideal sculpture as an example of a highly effective artistic tradition that was, by modern standards, extraordinarily conservative. At the same time, the Romans' flexible and opportunistic use of past forms also had important implications for the future: it constituted the origins of classicism in Western art.
Maculabatis ambigua sp. nov., a new whipray (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from the Western Indian Ocean.

A new whipray, Maculabatis ambigua sp. nov., described from material collected from the Red Sea and off Zanzibar (Tanzania), is probably more widespread in the northwestern Indian Ocean. It has been confused with other Indian Ocean whiprays of the genus Maculabatis (formerly Himantura in part) i.e. M. gerrardi and M. randalli . Maculabatis ambigua sp. nov. was first distinguished from these species by molecular analysis, and subsequently by a combination of morphological characters, i.e. disc shape, coloration, morphometrics and squamation. Molecular data suggest that it is most closely related to the morphologically similar M. gerrardi , which occurs further east in the Indian Ocean (Oman to Indonesia) and North-West Pacific (north to Taiwan). The dorsal disc of M. gerrardi typically has a full or partial coverage of white spots (usually present at least on the posterior disc), whereas M. ambigua sp. nov. is plain coloured. Maculabatis randalli , which occurs in the Persian and Arabian Gulfs, is plain coloured, but has a longer disc relative to its width, more acute and longer snout, longer head and larger intergill width, wider internasal distance, and a narrower secondary denticle band in adults. Maculabatis ambigua sp. nov. is relatively common in the shallow, soft-sedimentary habitats of the southern Red Sea from where it is taken as low-value or discarded bycatch of trawl fisheries. It is a medium-sized whipray with a maximum confirmed size of 840 mm disc width.
Emergency Treatment of Inherited Metabolic Diseases

In patients at risk for acute metabolic decompensation, timely intervention during the initial presentation of metabolic imbalance and during later metabolic crises precipitated by dietary indiscretion or intercurrent illnesses are the most important determinants of outcome. With the consideration that an ill patient may have an inherited metabolic disease, a strategy that combines diagnostic studies with immediate intervention is necessary. As a general rule, intervention should strive to reverse the catabolic process that was the likely precipitant. A mandatory first step is to interrupt intake of potentially toxic dietary precursors by stopping all oral intake and providing intravenous glucose. Subsequent management is based on presumptive diagnosis after initial laboratory values are obtained.
A cloud-based framework for smart permit system for buildings

In this paper we propose a novel cloud-based platform for building permit system that is efficient, user-friendly, transparent, and has quick turn-around time for homeowners. Compared to the existing permit systems, the proposed smart city permit framework provides a pre-permitting decision workflow, and incorporates a data analytics and mining module that enables the continuous improvement of a) the end user experience, by analyzing explicit and implicit user feedback, and b) the permitting and urban planning process, allowing a gleaning of key insights for real estate development and city planning purposes, by analyzing how users interact with the system depending on location, time, and type of request. The novelty of the proposed framework lies in the integration of the pre-permit processing front-end with permit processing and data analytics & mining modules, along with utilization of techniques for extracting knowledge from the data generated through the use of the system.
States + War + Movements = Repression

Sidney Tarrow. (2015). War, States, & Contention: A Comparative Historical Study. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, xiv + 314 pp., $27.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-8014-5317-5). Sidney Tarrow has written a rich, insightful, and depressing book. In tracing the interplay between war, state-making, and popular movements across European and American history, he shows how states have generally emerged ever stronger and more controlling over time. Tarrow’s latest work is inspired by his long relationship with Charles Tilly, as co-author and joint researcher. Tarrow noted a major gap in Tilly’s work: while Tilly had developed a theory of how war contributed to state-making, and had written extensively on social movements, Tilly had not linked the two strands of work. Tarrow, however, shows that wars produce movements and movements produce wars, and that state-making is profoundly shaped by the movements that produce wars or result from them. Tarrow begins by looking at two major historical episodes in which movements led to wars, and one in which war produced a state-changing movement. The first case is France and its revolutionary wars. The movements to rationalize the French monarchy’s web of tax and status laws and to limit absolute state and church authority in 18th-century France eventually led to the French Revolution. The revolutionary change of regime then spurred two kinds of wars. The first was an international war, as other European states reacted to the anti-aristocratic character of the new regime and the revolutionaries sought to protect and extend their new domain of liberty. The second was a civil war, inflaming regions where the nationalist and centralizing actions of the revolutionary government clashed with local pro-clerical, regionalist, and traditionalist views. Tarrow makes much of the well-known contradictions of the Revolution: that the new regime with its claims of equality and liberty for all citizens was able to raise an ideologically inspired mass citizen army, which swept through all the aristocratically structured militaries … jgoldsto{at}gmu.edu
Generalized Mass-Energy Equivalence

Where the energy we use comes from is the question we address in many examples involving kinetic energy, potential energy, and internal body energy. Composite body with complex internal dynamics always satisfies Einstein’s \(E=mc^{2}\), irrespective of what is going on inside the body in terms of motion, chemical and nuclear reactions, and even radiation. We show that usable energy always derives from the reduction of the mass of the final state as compared to the initial state of a device, irrespective of whether the power station is conventional or nuclear. The renewable energy sources use the power provided every day by the Sun: it is on the Sun that the mass reduction occurs, driven by nuclear fusion. We offer insight about the natural energy units.
Joint attention and oromotor abilities in young children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Abstract Purpose This study examined the relationship between joint attention ability and oromotor imitation skill in three groups of young children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder using both nonverbal oral and verbal motor imitation tasks. Research questions addressed a) differences among joint attention and oromotor imitation abilities; b) the relationship between independently measured joint attention and oromotor imitation, both nonverbal oral and verbal motor; c) the relationships between joint attention and verbal motor imitation during interpersonal interaction; and d) the relationship between the sensory input demands (auditory, visual, and tactile) and oromotor imitation, both nonverbal oral and verbal motor. Method A descriptive, nonexperimental design was used to compare joint attention and oromotor skills of 10 preschool-aged children with ASD, with those of two control groups: 6 typically developing children (TD), and 6 children with suspected Childhood Apraxia of Speech (sCAS) or apraxic-like symptoms. All children had at least a 3.0 mean length utterance. Results Children with ASD had poorer joint attention skills overall than children with sCAS or typically developing children. Typically developing children demonstrated higher verbal motor imitation skills overall compared to children with sCAS. Correlational analyses revealed that nonverbal oral imitation and verbal motor imitation were positively related to joint attention abilities only in the children with ASD. Strong positive relationships between joint attention in a naturalistic context (e.g., shared story experience) and oromotor imitation skills, both nonverbal oral and verbal motor, were found only for children with ASD. These data suggest there is a strong positive relationship between joint attention skills and the ability to sequence nonverbal oral and verbal motor movements in children with ASD. The combined sensory input approach involving auditory, visual, and tactile modalities contributed to significantly higher nonverbal oral and verbal motor imitation performance for all groups of children. Conclusions Verbal children with ASD in this study had difficulties with both the social and cognitive demands of oromotor imitation within a natural environment that demanded cross-modal processing of incoming stimuli within an interpersonal interaction. Further, joint attention and oral praxis may serve as components of an important coupling mechanism in the development of spoken communication and later developing socialcognitive skills.
An Instructor Learning Analytics Implementation Model

With the widespread use of learning analytics tools, there is a need to explore how these technologies can be used to enhance teaching and learning. Little research has been conducted on what human processes are necessary to facilitate meaningful adoption of learning analytics. The research problem is that there is a lack of evidence-based guidance on how instructors can effectively implement learning analytics to support students with the purpose of improving learning outcomes. The goal was to develop and validate a model to guide instructors in the implementation of learning analytics tools. Using design and development research methods, an implementation model was constructed and validated internally. Themes emerged falling into the categories of adoption and caution with six themes falling under adoption including: LA as evidence, reaching out, frequency, early identification/intervention, self-reflection, and align LA with pedagogical intent and three themes falling under the category of caution including: skepticism, fear of overdependence, and question of usefulness. The model should enhance instructors’ use of learning analytics by enabling them to better take advantage of available technologies to support teaching and learning in online and blended learning environments. Researchers can further validate the model by studying its usability (i.e., usefulness, effectiveness, efficiency, and learnability), as well as, how instructors’ use of this model to implement learning analytics in their courses affects retention, persistence, and performance.
Parental Distress and Child Behavior Problems: Parenting Behaviors as Mediators

Parents of children with developmental disabilities (DD) typically report higher levels of parental stress than parents of typically developing children. While the majority of the literature addresses child behavior problems as predictors of parental stress, research has shown that the relation is bi-directional. However, very little research has examined the effects of parental stress on child behavior problems and the possible parenting factors that may explain this relation. The current study utilized data from the Mindful Awareness for Parenting Stress (MAPS) study (N = 31; % male = 67.7, mean age = 3.5, SD = .96; 81% ethic minority), and examined positive parenting behaviors as mediators in the relation between parenting distress and child behavior. Results from a multiple mediation analysis indicated that Parental Distress had a significant direct effect on total Child Behavior Problems, b = 1.11, p .05. Findings suggest that improving the quality of the parent/child interaction may play a key role in the relation between parenting stress and child behavior problems. The current study could help to inform future parenting interventions by emphasizing the importance of targeting quality of parent assistance type parenting behaviors for improving child behavior outcomes.
Introduction: A Phenomenological Approach

A richly woven connection between the contemplation of appearances and the act of judgment lies dormant in the Western philosophical tradition. Hannah Arendt has brought to our attention the pre-platonic sense of theōria as the viewing of an appearing action or imitation of action such as tragic drama by perspectivally situated spectators. The dramatic ritual would provide a forum for the practice of the spectators’ judgment, a practice echoed in the function of the chorus within the drama. As is well known, Plato gave quite a different sense to the word theōria,retaining the semantic component of visibility as the vehicle for a philosophical metaphor connected with other metaphors of vision such as idea and eidos. Two faces emerge from the meaning of theōria in Plato’s own use: a mystical and a dialectical aspect.1 The mystical aspect exerted a far more profound influence on Neoplatonism, which could be said to begin already in Aristotle’s conception of nous as thought thinking itself and which secures a firm place in Plotinus’s mystical fusion of Platonic ascent and Aristotelian teleology.2 In Plotinus the dialectical aspect of theōria disappears and has no further significant influence upon the Neoplatonist tradition before Leibniz.3 Plato himself had objected to the judgmental nature of theōria in the pre-platonic sense because that earlier meaning had made theōria the source of doxa,meaning both fame and opinion. The development of Neoplatonism from Plotinus to Leibniz had left this pre-platonic meaning dormant. Typically in the Neoplatonism which had ignored the dialectical aspect of Plato’s thought, and particularly in the monastic tradition, contemplation requires solitude.4