cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seed Rain and Revegetation of Exposed Substrates Following Dam Removal on the Elwha River

Abstract Scheduled to begin in 2011, the removal of two dams on the Elwha River, Washington, will be one of the largest dam removal and river restoration projects undertaken in the United States. One challenge associated with this project is to understand how exposure and downstream deposition of sediments presently detained behind the dams will influence patterns of revegetation and invasive species colonization following dam removal. We conducted two greenhouse experiments assessing the potential effects of reservoir sediments on germination success and growth of (1) propagules dispersed naturally via seed rain, and (2) seeds of selected native and invasive species. Observed summer seed rain density was relatively low (<125 seeds m-2). This suggests slow recolonization in the initial years following dam removal, although these results may have been influenced by sampling methods and timing. In the selected species experiment, four out of five tested species exhibited reduced germination and growth on fi...
Perioperative management of neurofibromatosis type 1.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (neurofibromatosis-1), a relatively common single-gene disorder, is caused by a mutation of the NF1 gene that results in a loss of activity or in a nonfunctional neurofibromin protein. Clinical anesthesiologists may find patients with neurofibromatosis-1 challenging because this condition may affect most organ systems and result in a wide variety of presentations and clinical implications. Current neurofibromatosis-1 research studies include genotype-phenotype correlations, investigation of the pathoetiology behind the different clinical manifestations of neurofibromatosis-1, and the search for treatment options for the different features of the disorder. Neurofibromatosis-1–associated complications of the central nervous, respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, and gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems all present various degrees of considerations for anesthesiologists. Additionally, neurofibromatosis-1 has dramatic implications for pregnant women.
GPU acceleration of a production molecular docking code

Modeling the interactions of biological molecules, or docking, is critical to both understanding basic life processes and to designing new drugs. Here we describe the GPU-based acceleration of a recently developed, complex, production docking code. We show how the various functions can be mapped to the GPU and present numerous optimizations. We find which parts of the problem domain are best suited to the different correlation methods. The GPU-accelerated system achieves a speedup of at least 17.7x with respect to a single core and 6.1x with respect to four cores for all likely problems sizes. This makes it competitive with FPGA-based systems for small molecule docking, and superior for proteinprotein docking.
Structure-Activity Relations of New β-Lactam Compounds and in Vitro Activity Against Common Bacteria

Molecular modifications of the penicillin and cephalosporin nuclei have made it possible to create molecules that more readily cross the outer membranes of bacterial cells, resist destruction by p-lactamases, or bind more avidly to receptors involved in bacterial cell wall synthesis. Penicillin compounds, such as the penicillin mecillinam, owe their activity against gram-negative bacilli to their affinity for a specific penicillin-binding protein (PBP), PBP2. Agents such as apalcillin, azlocillin, mezlocillin, and piperacillin, which are ureido derivatives of ampicillin, are active against many organisms even though they are not p-lactamase-stable because they pass readily through the outer membrane and have a high affinity for PBPs 1 and 3. The methoxyimino cephalosporins, cefotaxime, ceftizoxime, cefmenoxime, and ceftriaxone combine high resistance to hydrolysis by both plasmid and chromosomal p-lactamases with a great affinity for PBPs. The presence of an acid function on the acyl side chain confers both resistance to the cephalosporinases of Pseudomonas and activity against various species to such different compounds as cefsulodin, ceftazidime, and moxalactam. In spite of these changes in structure, which have improved antibacterial activity, organisms resistant to all of the new and novel agents have already been found.
BUTYLATED HYDROXYANISOLE (BHA) INDUCED CHANGES IN THE SYNTHESIS OF POLAR LIPIDS AND IN THE MOLAR RATIO OF TETRAHYMANOL TO POLAR LIPIDS IN TETRAHYMENA PYRIFORMIS

When butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) was added to cultures of Tetrahymena pyriformis at concentrations up to 12.5 μg/ml, an inhibition in the synthesis of polar lipid.s was observed. Increasing concentrations of BHA decreased the percentage of Na-2-[14C]-acetate incorporated into lysophosphatidylcholine, 2-aminoethyl-phosphonolipids, and unknown polar lipid 1 while increasing the incorporation of radiolabel into phosphatidylethanolamine and unknown polar lipid II. BHA increased the cellular level of tetrahymanol and increased the molar ratio of tetrahymanol to lipid phosphorus. These data suggest that T. pyriformis alters its cellular lipid composition in response to perturbations caused by BHA.
The epidemiology of urinary tract infection

Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most common bacterial infections acquired in the community and in hospitals. In individuals without anatomical or functional abnormalities, UTIs are generally self limiting, but have a propensity to recur. Uropathogens have specialized characteristics, such as the production of adhesins, siderophores and toxins that enable them to colonize and invade the urinary tract, and are transmitted between individuals both through person-to-person contact and possibly via food or water. Although generally self limiting, treatment of UTIs with antibiotics leads to a more rapid resolution of symptoms and is more likely to clear bacteriuria, but also selects for resistant uropathogens and commensal bacteria and adversely affects the gut and vaginal microbiota. As uropathogens are increasingly becoming resistant to currently available antibiotics, it may be time to explore alternative strategies for managing UTI.
Recent progress in the experimental studies on the kinetic properties in minerals

This article reviews the current status of experimental studies on some of the kinetic properties of minerals that have been covered by papers presented in this special volume. Properties discussed include plastic deformation, kinetics of phase transformations, thermal conductivity and electrical conductivity. In addition to a brief historical review, some discussions are presented on the issues on plastic deformation and electrical conductivity where results from various groups show some discrepancies. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Cross organization intelligence analysis enabled using net-centric architectures

In today's global environment, effective collaboration across United States intelligence agencies is of dire importance. Efficient knowledge sharing can enable agencies to enhance their ability to detect, classify, and identify possible terrorist threats. Conventional collaborative technologies do not provide enough flexibility to achieve this ambitious goal. Intelligence analysts need the ability to quickly adapt to complex, changing situations in a dynamic environment in which shifts in the overall mission is the norm rather than the anomaly. By applying leading-edge technologies and architectural approaches, a network-centric architecture can be realized to increase information sharing and the collaborative capabilities of the intelligence community. The resulting network will continue to grow over time and provide a mechanism to share data and applications across traditional organizational boundaries. Intelligence analysts will now have access to a vast set of resources that was previously unattainable, providing a capability to preemptively identify suspicious plans and diffuse terrorist activities before they occur.
Gorenge D.D.: Evolution or Revolution

Following a popular leader like Joze Stanic, president of Gorenje d.d., Slovenias largest household appliances manufacturer, is always a challenge.This legendary figure led Gorenje from the brink of bankruptcy in 1991, to its current position as eighth largest household appliance producer in Europe. Stanics successor, Franjo Bobinac, a young executive who had been Stanics second in command for five years, had to lead the company through the countrys accession into the European Union. This meant a changing competitive landscape--and the need for an internal organization willing to change to meet that competitive challenge. Students must put themselves in Bobinacs position as he works toward a clear vision and strategy for the future. How big is his window of opportunity? Would he be able to implement his strategy before the window closed on him? Could the company sustain major change without losing employees or being acquired? What would it take for company employees to follow his leadership as they did with Stanic? Was a survival mentality enough to climb to their goal of holding the fifth position in Europe by 2006? Could the organization evolve or would change require nothing less than a revolution?
Sodium Extrusion by a Fish Acclimated to Sea Water: Physiological and Biochemical Description of a Na-FOR-K Exchange System

1. The effect of external potassium ions on the extrusion of sodium ions by the seawater-acclimated fat sleeper, Dormitator maculatus , was investigated. 2. Removal of external potassium ions reduced the efflux of sodium from the fish by 22% while addition of 10 -4 M ouabain reduced the efflux of sodium ions by 14%. 3. Addition of potassium ions to distilled-water baths into which fish were rapidly transferred stimulated sodium extrusion in a manner which could be described by the Michaelis-Menten equation. The K m of this potassium-stimulated sodium efflux was approximately 2 mM-K/1. 4. The calculated rate of sodium extrusion was 10 times the oral ingestion of sodium ions. 5. Biochemical assays of the levels of the enzyme Na-K-activated ATPase extracted from gill tissue determined that seawater-acclimated fish had 3 times the enzymic activity that fish acclimated to freshwater had. 6. In vitro potassium stimulation of the extracted Na-K-activated ATPase showed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a K m of approximately 2 mM-K/l. 7. It is concluded that the extrusion of sodium ions by Dormitator maculatus acclimated to sea water is coupled with potassium uptake and is mediated by the enzyme Na-K-activated ATPase.
An automated pontine-wave detection system.

Study Objectives: Pontine-waves (P-waves), the pontine component of ponto-geniculo-occipital waves, represent a close marker of brainstem phasic events and are associated with cardiorespiratory changes in sleep. Because visual scoring is subjective and cumbersome, we developed an automated P-wave analysis system, which could detect and classify P-waves as clusters or as isolated events in bipolar recordings of the pontine electroencephalogram (EEG) of conscious rats. Design: A computer algorithm was developed to extract and normalize each half-wave of the pontine EEG according to the background noise level. Candidate events for different P-wave patterns (uniphasic, biphasic, and triphasic) were compared to a corresponding set of amplitude and duration thresholds to identify P-waves and to reject artifacts. Participants: Ten adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented for chronic polysomnography. Measurements and Results: Two human experts manually scored each recording, and their consensus score was used as the "gold standard" for algorithm optimization and validation. The algorithm's scoring thresholds were optimized on a training set of 5 six-hour polysomnographic records, yielding 96.8% accuracy and 97.7% sensitivity versus human consensus scoring. Validation of the algorithm, using the optimized threshold values, was conducted using a set of 5 independent recordings, resulting in 94.8% accuracy and 94.7% sensitivity versus human consensus scoring. Conclusions: We have developed and validated an automated system for detection and classification of P-waves in conscious rats with advantages over human scoring, including increased speed and perfect reliability.
Eco-crimes and Eco-redemptions: Discussing the Challenges and Opportunities of Personal Sustainability

Environmental and sustainability studies can create pathways for positive social transformation through fostering individual reflection and behavioral change. The circumstances in which many people find themselves, however, are not always conducive to immediate change in support of sustainability. There is much navigating and negotiating that takes place in personal decision-making, which can lead to unintended contradictions between people’s pro-sustainability values and their unsustainable actions. In this chapter’s activity, students identify personal behaviors that could be considered “crimes,” against sustainability (that would generate green guilt) and contrast them with “eco-redeeming” acts which cultivate sustainability. Overall, the goal is to engage students in open and creative dialogue about how to promote positive social change through attention to individual behaviors. For a variety of courses, this insightful, exploratory activity can help students become excited about the possible solutions and behaviors that should/could be commonplace in society, if we all operated with more environmentally-ethical and sustainable awareness. After completing the activity, students should be able to (1) evaluate personal and societal behaviors in relationship to positive (“eco-redemptions”) and negative (“eco-crimes”) sustainability outcomes; (2) assess the prominence of green guilt and other personal and societal difficulties of sustainability; (3) articulate the need for creative, positive behaviors and communicate possible eco-redemptions to exemplify that change; and (4) understand the value of nonjudgmental reflection, critical inquiry, and thoughtful dialogue as constructive ways to inspire an individual’s capacity to improve sustainability practices.
Knowledge Management for Agent-Based Tutoring Systems

As the educational field is becoming increasingly technology-heavy, more and more educational systems involve on-line or interactive training and tutoring techniques, and lots of educational information becomes available via Intranet and World Wide Web. Managing large volumes of learning information and knowledge is one of the crucial issues for these educational systems as appropriate knowledge management is the key to more effective and efficient learning. The chapter discusses that an intelligent agents system could be successfully applied to the educational field and how knowledge management techniques plays a very important role.
Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman Republic

List of figures and maps Acknowledgements Note on translations List of abbreviations 1. Introduction 2. Setting the stage 3. Civic knowledge 4. The voice of the people 5. Debate 6. Contional ideology: the invisible 'optimate' 7. Contional ideology: the political drama 8. Conclusion References Index.
Dabigatran etexilate activation is affected by the CES1 genetic polymorphism G143E (rs71647871) and gender

The oral anticoagulant prodrug dabigatran etexilate (DABE) is sequentially metabolized by intestinal carboxylesterase 2 (CES2) and hepatic carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) to form its active metabolite dabigatran (DAB). A recent genome-wide association study reported that the CES1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs2244613 and rs8192935 were associated with lower DAB plasma concentrations in the Randomized Evaluation of Long-term Anticoagulation Therapy (RE-LY) study participants. In addition, gender differences in exposure to DAB were observed in clinical studies. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of CES1 genetic polymorphisms and gender on DABE activation using several in vitro approaches. The genotypes of the CES1 SNPs rs2244613, rs8192935, and the known loss-of-function CES1 variant rs71647871 (G143E), and the activation of DABE and its intermediate metabolites M1 and M2 were determined in 104 normal human liver samples. DABE, M1, and M2 activations were found to be impaired in human livers carrying the G143E variant. However, neither rs2244613 nor rs8192935 was associated with the activation in human livers. The incubation study of DABE with supernatant fractions (S9) prepared from the G143E-transfected cells showed that the G143E is a loss-of-function variant for DABE metabolism. Moreover, hepatic CES1 activity on M2 activation was significantly higher in female liver samples than male. Our data suggest that CES1 genetic variants and gender are important contributing factors to variability in DABE activation in humans. A personalized DABE treatment approach based on patient-specific CES1 genotypes and sex may have the potential to improve the efficacy and safety of DABE pharmacotherapy.
Systemic immunomodulation with SA-FasL-engineered donor splenocytes as an effective means of inducing tolerance to cardiac allografts

A induced by the engagement of FasL with Fas receptor on the surface of lymphocytes is an important immune homeostatic mechanism that ensures tolerance to self-antigens under normal physiological conditions. As such, FasL has been extensively tested as a tolerogenic molecule using gene therapy in settings of autoimmunity and transplantation with conflicting outcomes. Although the mechanistic basis of these contradictory observations is largely unknown, the use of wild type FasL and the means by which the gene was expressed may provide an explanation. To overcome these complications, we recently generated a chimeric FasL protein with streptavidin (SA-FasL) having potent apoptotic activity and displayed this molecule effectively and rapidly on biotinylated biological membranes for immunomodulation. In the present study, we displayed SA-FasL on the surface of allogeneic splenocytes and used the engineered cells for systemic immunomodulation of heart graft recipients. This protocol was effective in inducing tolerance to cardiac allografts in a significant percentage of graft recipients. To improve the efficacy of this tolerance protocol, we used rapamycin as a clinically approved immunosuppression to control initial immune reactions as well as to synergize with SA-FasL for tolerance induction. Immunomodulation with SA-FasL-engineered splenocytes under the cover of a short course of rapamycin resulted in 100% graft survival. Taken together, these results establish immunomodulation with SA-FasL-engineered donor splenocytes under transient cover of rapamycin as an effective regimen in preventing cardiac allograft rejection in rodents with important implications in the field of solid organ transplantation. Haval Shirwan, J Cell Sci Ther 2013, 4:4 http://dx.doi.org/10.4172/2157-7013.S1.024
Solving PP PP -complete problems using knowledge compilation

Knowledge compilation has been successfully used to solve beyond NP problems, including some PP-complete and NPPP-complete problems for Bayesian networks. In this work we show how knowledge compilation can be used to solve problems in the more intractable complexity class PPPP. This class contains NPPP and includes interesting AI problems, such as non-myopic value of information. We show how to solve the prototypical PPPP-complete problem MAJ-MAJSAT in linear-time once the problem instance is compiled into a special class of Sentential Decision Diagrams. To show the practical value of our approach, we adapt it to answer the Same-Decision Probability (SDP) query, which was recently introduced for Bayesian networks. The SDP problem is also PPPP-complete. It is a value-of-information query that quantifies the robustness of threshold-based decisions and comes with a corresponding algorithm that was also recently proposed. We present favorable experimental results, comparing our new algorithm based on knowledge compilation with the state-of-the-art algorithm for computing the SDP.
Hydrothermal precipitation of hydroxyapatite on anodic titanium oxide films containing Ca and P

Highly-crystallized hydroxyapatite (HA) can be precipitated during heat treatment in high-pressure steam at 300 °C on an anodic titanium oxide film containing Ca and P (AOFCP), which has been electrochemically formed on a titanium substrate prior to the hydrothermal treatment. Factors affecting the precipitation, such as a percentage of distilled water in the autoclave and additives in the AOFCP, were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. Ca2+ and PO3− 4 ions were leached from the AOFCP into a water layer covering the film surface, and nucleate HA heterogeneously on the porous TiO2 matrix of the AOFCP which was made by the ion leaching. The morphology of the precipitated crystals was significantly affected by the water volume ratio because the concentrations of the Ca2+ and PO4 3− ions varied depending on the thickness of the water layer. The amount of the precipitation decreased on the AOFCP which was formed in the solution containing a small amount of Mg2+ ions or formed on Ti-6Al-4V alloy instead of titanium.
Catalyzing innovation in clinical trial design and analysis at NHLBI: a funding opportunity for clinical trials in blood disorders.

> > > The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has a legacy of conducting and funding clinical trials that benefit public health through improved prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. Currently, the traditional large randomized controlled
Gene therapy of neoplastic meningosis

Gene therapy of neoplastic meningosis is a promising new approach that relies on introduction of 'suicide' genes into cancer cells. The most commonly used gene has been the herpes virus thymidine kinase gene (HSV-tk) which has been delivered to cancer cells via retroviral or adenoviral vectors. A bystander cytocidal effect to non-transduced tumor cells has been documented and is dependent upon intercellular communication via gap junctions. A variety of gene therapy approaches using the HSV-tk system have been used in experimental models of neoplastic meningosis with promising results. Optimizing vector design and bystander cytotoxicity is a prerequisite for successful gene therapy in patients with neoplastic meningosis.
Developing an Assessment Process for a Master of Information Systems Program

This paper describes the process used to develop and implement an assessment plan from the ground up for a new Master of Information Systems program. The mapping of learning goals to objectives to specific courses is illustrated with direct and indirect measures. The program was first offered January 2008, and the second cohort of completed January, 2010. Assessment results from the first two cohorts as well as preliminary analysis of current cohorts are presented to demonstrate the continuous improvement process in the program. The experience of developing and assessing a new program led to significant improvements in the assessment process itself. The initial cumbersome data collection led to the development of an online system for faculty reporting of results and improvements. Challenges of administering and assessing a blended program of weekend residencies and online course delivery are discussed.
Self-reported prenatal tobacco smoke exposure, AXL gene-body methylation, and childhood asthma phenotypes.

Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation, act as one potential mechanism underlying the detrimental effects associated with prenatal tobacco smoke (PTS) exposure. Methylation in a gene called AXL was previously reported to differ in response to PTS. We investigated the association between PTS and epigenetic changes in AXL and how this was related to childhood asthma phenotypes. We tested the association between PTS and DNA methylation at multiple CpG loci of AXL at birth using Pyrosequencing in two separate study populations, the Children’s Health Study (CHS, n = 799) and the Newborn Epigenetic Study (NEST, n = 592). Plasma cotinine concentration was used to validate findings with self-reported smoking status. The inter-relationships among AXL mRNA and miR-199a1 expression, PTS, and AXL methylation were examined. Lastly, we evaluated the joint effects of AXL methylation and PTS on the risk of asthma and related symptoms at age 10 years old. PTS was associated with higher methylation level in the AXL gene body in both CHS and NEST subjects. In the pooled analysis, exposed subjects had a 0.51% higher methylation level in this region compared to unexposed subjects (95% CI 0.29, 0.74; p < 0.0001). PTS was also associated with 21.2% lower expression of miR-199a1 (95% CI − 37.9, − 0.1; p = 0.05), a microRNA known to regulate AXL expression. Furthermore, the combination of higher AXL methylation and PTS exposure at birth increased the risk of recent episodes of bronchitic symptoms in childhood. PTS was associated with methylation level of AXL and the combination altered the risk of childhood bronchitic symptoms.
Incorporation With Dendrimer-Like Biopolymer Leads to Improved Soluble Amount and In Vitro Anticancer Efficacy of Paclitaxel.

Abstract The aim of this study was to explore the solubilization efficacy of octenylsuccinate hydroxypropyl phytoglycogen (OHPP), an amphiphilic dendrimer-like biopolymer, in improving the soluble amount and efficacy of paclitaxel (PTX), a potent anticancer active pharmaceutical ingredient. PTX was incorporated with OHPP in the form of solid dispersion (PTX-OHPP SD), which was characterized for its PTX crystallinity, interactions between PTX and OHPP, PTX soluble amount and dissolution profile, and in vitro inhibitory efficacy against cancer cell lines. The incorporation with OHPP led to the amorphous state of PTX. FTIR spectra showed potential hydrogen bonding between PTX and OHPP, and hydrophobic interaction could play an important role in the association of PTX molecules with OHPP particulates. The soluble amount of PTX with PTX-OHPP SD was >14,000 times that of PTX alone. During dissolution, over 70% PTX dissolved in 5 min and this soluble amount was maintained for at least 180 min. With the 3 cancer cell lines tested, the PTX of PTX-OHPP SD showed a much lower IC50 than the dimethyl sulfoxide–assisted PTX solutions. Based on the result, the mechanism of using OHPP as a highly potent solubilizer for PTX was discussed.
Is neuron coverage a meaningful measure for testing deep neural networks

Recent effort to test deep learning systems has produced an intuitive and compelling test criterion called neuron coverage (NC), which resembles the notion of traditional code coverage. NC measures the proportion of neurons activated in a neural network and it is implicitly assumed that increasing NC improves the quality of a test suite. In an attempt to automatically generate a test suite that increases NC, we design a novel diversity promoting regularizer that can be plugged into existing adversarial attack algorithms. We then assess whether such attempts to increase NC could generate a test suite that (1) detects adversarial attacks successfully, (2) produces natural inputs, and (3) is unbiased to particular class predictions. Contrary to expectation, our extensive evaluation finds that increasing NC actually makes it harder to generate an effective test suite: higher neuron coverage leads to fewer defects detected, less natural inputs, and more biased prediction preferences. Our results invoke skepticism that increasing neuron coverage may not be a meaningful objective for generating tests for deep neural networks and call for a new test generation technique that considers defect detection, naturalness, and output impartiality in tandem.
Factors in the probability of covid-19 transmission in university classrooms

University students and faculty members need an effective strategy to evaluate and reduce the probability that an individual will become infected with COVID-19 as a result of classroom interactions Models are developed here that consider the probability an individual will become infected as a function of: prevalence of the disease in the university community, number of students in class, number of class meetings, and transmission rate in the classroom given the presence of an infected individual Absolute probabilities that an individual will become infected in a classroom environment cannot be calculated because some of these factors have unknown values Nevertheless, models suggest that some strategies for minimizing probability of infection are more effective than others Given that COVID-19 might be present among faculty and students in the university community, limiting class meetings and class size are not likely effective strategies unless these numbers are dramatically reduced That is, it is likely that infected individuals will be present in classrooms at some point during the term due to the large number of interactions among university faculty and students The probability of infection of an individual in a classroom setting appears to be most sensitive to the effectiveness of transmission in the classroom, given the presence of an infected individual, especially if the likelihood of transmission itself is a function of class size If on-campus instruction takes place, efforts should focus on reducing the probability of transmission through physical modifications and upgrades to classrooms and by social distancing measures © 2020, National Numeracy Network All rights reserved
Extremely Intensive Grandparenting

Grandparenting children with disabilities can be intensive. Generally, the degree of intensity in the care work is linked to the degree of severity of disabilities. As we demonstrated in Chapter 5, for some grandchildren, care work is moderately intensive; challenges may indeed be challenging but can often be taken in stride. The work includes mainly routine grandparenting such as helping with transportation, school work, meals, dressing, medications, and outings to the zoo. Grandparents who perform moderately intensive care work tend to do it in intermittent bursts, according to arranged schedules, or around-the-clock. In Chapter 6 we focus on extremely intensive care work. For these grandparents, care work is extremely intensive, requiring nearly all competing activities to be put on hold. Some grandparents provide intensive supervision, some provide intensive medical care, and some provide both. Grandparents must continue to provide routine care for themselves, including preparing meals, cleaning, paying bills, working out, and visiting doctors. In addition, they must provide assistance with routine tasks for their grandchildren, such as feeding, bathing, dressing, toileting, and medicating. And in addition to all of that, these grandparents provide constant supervision or handle specialized medical equipment and treatments such as feeding tubes and oxygen tanks. The days and nights may prove to be long, and the stresses on aging bodies too much.
Job Search With Legal and Illegal Workers: A Comparative Static Analysis

This paper incorporates government immigration policy variables in a job search and match framework to examine its implication on labour market outcomes. The main assumption is that illegal workers can be penalized by receiving lower equilibrium wages or face possible deportation; and government can regulate illegal workers by introducing a “caught variable”, η, in the model. By a comparative statics analysis, the study has revealed that changes in the wages of illegal workers have both direct and indirect effect on wages of legal workers. Also, an important finding is that η has positive impact on most of the labour market parameters considered in the study.
Von Willebrand Factor and ADAMTS13 as Predictors of Adverse Outcomes in Patients With Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation.

Abstract Background Von Willebrand factor (VWF) elevation correlates with the left atrial blood stasis in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). However, the long-term impact of elevated VWF in patients with NVAF is not well established. Methods To assess the impact of VWF and a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with a thrombospondin type 1 motif, member 13 (ADAMTS13) in conjunction with echocardiographic measures of left atrium blood stasis on clinical outcomes, 414 NVAF prospectively recruited (October 4, 2007, to April 27, 2009) patients were followed for 3 years. VWF antigen, VWF activity, ADAMTS13 activity, and echocardiographic findings were assessed at baseline. Thromboembolism (TE) (stroke/transient ischemic attack (TIA)), myocardial infarction, or TE of other locations), major bleeding, clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding, and all-cause mortality were assessed by clinical follow-up, questionnaire, or telephone communication. Results Among 374 patients (mean age, 63.4 ± 12.7 years; 25% females) who had complete follow-up data, there were 33 TE in 32 patients (8.6%), 18 deaths (5.1%), and 33 bleeding events (21 major bleeding and 12 clinically relevant nonmajor bleeding) in 25 patients (6.7%). VWF antigen was predictive of TE in the univariate examination (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.007, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.002, 1.013, P = 0.011) but not in multivariate analysis. VWF was an independent predictor of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.011, 95% CI: 1.003, 1.020, P = 0.011) and a composite of TE and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.006, 95% CI: 1.001, 1.012, P = 0.039) in multivariate analysis. ADAMTS13 was not predictive of clinical outcomes in multivariate analysis. Conclusions Among patients with NVAF, VWF is an independent predictor of poor outcomes including death and a composite of death and TE. As such, VWF measure may help identify high-risk patients and provide further stratification beyond CHA2DS2-VASc assessment.
Varying Information Complexity in Functional Domain Interactions in Schizophrenia

Understanding the associations of the structural and functional patterns of the brain is vital. Recent studies have focused on utilizing this information within and across the different functional and anatomical domains (i.e., groups of brain networks) using neuroimaging data. In this work, we use a Bayesian optimization-based method known as the Tree Parzen Estimator (TPE) to identify variation in the nature of information encoded by different functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sub-domains of the brain. We show by repeated cross-validation on a schizophrenia classification task that specific sub-domains may require more sophisticated learning architectures to contribute optimally to classification, while others require less complicated ones. Our findings reveal the need for adaptive, hierarchical learning frameworks catering to features from different sub-domains to optimally identify features enabling the prediction of the outcome of interest.
Going Public Abroad: An Alternative Strategy for Enjoying the Benefits of Financial Openness

This paper investigates the extent to which country-level capital inflow control affects a firm’s decision of going public abroad. It begins with a comparison between the advantages of overseas initial public offering (IPO) and those of financial openness in the current economic literature to derive the hypothesis that going public abroad might be a firm-level substitute for financial liberalization. A simplified theoretical gravity model is then proposed to account for the effects of capital inflow control and other determinants of overseas IPO. Next, the empirical section employs a variety of econometric techniques to estimate the gravity equation derived from the simplified theoretical framework, and the results suggest that more stringent capital inflow restrictions in the home country and less stringent capital inflow restrictions in the host country would increase the number of firms that originate from the home country but go public in the host country. According to the results from the Heckman two-step selection model, one standard deviation of decrease in the difference in the degree of overall capital control restrictions between the host and home countries (host minus home) could result in an increase in the number of bilateral IPO cases from the home country to the host country by around 50%. Then this paper evaluates how this treatment effect has evolved after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 and how such effect has varied across different countries. The results show that (i) the elasticity of overseas IPO with respect to capital inflow control has steadily increased since 2012, (ii) such elasticity has been quite heterogenous across different countries, and (iii) countries with restrictive capital inflow control measures have different preferred overseas listing venues: mainland Chinese firms prefer to list in Hong Kong, Malaysian firms prefer to list in Singapore, Russian firms prefer to list in Britain, and Indian firms prefer to list in the United States. These corollary findings suggest that financial deglobalization in equity markets has become increasingly more prevalent in recent years. It has also incentivized more firms to list abroad to attain the benefits they should have enjoyed if there were no financial deglobalization characterized by stringent restrictions for cross-border capital movements.
Bowers of Persuasion: Toward a Posthuman Visual Rhetoric

In 1992, classics scholar George Kennedy proposed that rhetoric existed pre-speech and was present in all-animal life. As visual rhetoric increases in popularity as an area of study, another question emerges: Is visual rhetoric present in non-human animal life? In the natural sciences, the question of bowerbird artistry has been debated for years. The Vogelkop bowerbird, as depicted in the popular BBC Life series, provides an avenue to explore the possibility of bowerbird agency in crafting texts of visual rhetoric. Weaving observations from the documentary with critical tools and frameworks, while continuously embedding research from the natural sciences, this manuscript offers a posthuman, interdisciplinary approach that illuminates the possibility of nonhuman animal visual rhetoric by exploring the aesthetic choices, cultural preferences, and communicative purposes of the Vogelkops’ bowers. Visual rhetoric offers posthuman studies an area of study that focuses on how creatures—humans and nonhumans—exhibit agency in their embodied lives. A posthuman perspective of visual rhetoric allows for a study of the vast and rich study of the history and diversity of visual rhetoric, and encountering the bowers, even through documentary footage, may afford viewers a moment of epiphany that encourages ecological mindedness.
The Nature of “Schooling” in School Transitions: A Critical Re-Examination

Summary Despite an ecological framework, much of the work on school transitions has focused on the characteristics of children that are associated with poor school adjustment. This paper addresses three levels of complexities about schooling-generic changes in assumptions, roles, and social supports that accompany grade transitions, differentia] demands and opportunities that create different lives within the same school or classroom, and temporal/societal pressures that alter the fabric of schooling. We highlight the complex match or mismatch between different school conditions and particular characteristics of children that determine the ultimate quality of the transition outcome. Finally, we urge greater attention toward environmental intervention, that is, school reforms that enhance the capacity of settings to better meet the developmental needs of children and the diversity of the school population.
Measuring Substance Abuse Treatment Need Among Adults in Florida: A Social Indicators Approach

Determining the size and demographiccharacteristics of substance abuse populationsis extremely important for implementing publicpolicies aimed at the control of substanceabuse. Such information not only assists in theallocation of limited treatment resources bythe state, but also in the monitoring ofsubstance abuse trends over time and in theevaluation of innovative policy initiatives. Inthis study, we develop three composite measuresof treatment need. We then use these measuresto estimate treatment need for alcohol abuseand for controlled substance abuse within eachof Florida's 67 counties. This study providesan important empirical component of communityplanning, quantifying and, to a limited degree,specifying the level of need for the substanceabuse treatment of community residents. Anadditional benefit is the development of a costeffective and unobtrusive methodology fordetermining empirically when levels of need arechanging so that treatment levels can beadjusted accordingly. With proper use,policymakers can readily employ the methodologydeveloped in this study in Florida andelsewhere to make better-informed decisions inthe allocation of finite substance abusetreatment resources.
Breech delivery: Evaluation of the method of delivery on perinatal results and maternal morbidity☆

A retrospective study of 460 single-gestation infants in breech position was conducted at the University of Colorado Medical Center to assess the impact of a policy for the selection of cases for vaginal delivery. Among infants weighing more than 2,500 grams, there was an increase in the cesarean section rate from 13% to 54%, with an associated increase in maternal morbidity from 7% to 15%. This occurred with no significant reduction in adverse perinatal outcome. However, a case-by-case review suggests that more frequent and timely cesarean sections would have further reduced perinatal morbidity and deaths among term infants. Among the infants weighing 2,500 grams or less there was an increase in cesarean births from 5% to 55% following the introduction of the strict criteria for vaginal delivery. Among the infants weighing 1,501 to 2,500 grams there was no significant difference in survival between the cesarean and vaginally delivered patients. Although infants weighing 501 to 1,500 grams delivered by cesarean section survived more frequently than did those delivered vaginally, the differences in perinatal deaths may have been due to a higher birth weight in the cesarean-delivered infants or an over-all improvement in neonatal intensive care for infants of very low birth weight.
Rethinking the Bandung conference in an Era of ‘unipolar liberal globalization’ and movements toward a ‘multipolar politics’

In April 1955, a historic conference was held in Bandung, Indonesia. Political leaders from 29 Asian and African countries gathered on the initiative of the leaders from China, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, and Myanmar, to address the issues about economic co-operation, self-determination, decolonization and the peace. These ideas contributed to the creation of the non-alignment movement (NAM). However, in Africa, Nkrumah’s proposal for political unity was defeated, which led to the creation of the Organization of the African Unity as a compromise. NAM was later penetrated from within by the forces of imperialism, notably dictatorships and authoritarian regimes supported by the United States, the Soviet Union, the former colonial powers and their local cronies, weakening its functionality.
Redundancy, Discrimination and Corruption in the Multibillion-Dollar Business of College Admissions Testing

5 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 6 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM 7 PURPOSE STATEMENT 8 RESEARCH QUESTIONS 8 THEORETICAL RATIONALE 8 ASSUMPTIONS 9 BACKGROUND AND NEED 9 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE 11 INTRODUCTION/HISTORICAL CONTEXT 11 REVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS LITERATURE 13 Redundancy 13 Discrimination 16 Corruption 19 INTERVIEW WITH AN EXPERT 25 CHAPTER 3 METHOD 33 INTRODUCTION 33 ETHICAL STANDARDS 33 ACCESS AND PERMISSIONS 33
Women and reproduction: from control to autonomy? The case of Chile.

The return to democratic rule weakened both civil society organizations and the social movement including the women’s movement. Surprisingly feminists have not played a significant role in setting the reproductive agenda. The ability to mobilize women in this area was limited owing perhaps to a marked inability to forge alliances and a keen readiness to needlessly label all those who do not share their views. Most public figures tread very carefully on the issue of reproduction particularly abortion. This is true of traditional political actors and members of the academic community who acted in defiance of the progressive position Chileans consistently stated in opinion polls. This paper is part of a larger study of reproductive rights currently in progress. The paper reviews some of the public policy initiatives that directly impact reproductive rights in the 1990s notably new voluntary sterilization rules and more recently the 2001 approval of emergency contraception. (excerpt)
Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory Problem Sessions: '09--'17

These notes are a summary of the problem session discussions at various CANT (Combinatorial and Additive Number Theory Conferences). Currently they include all years from 2009 through 2019 (inclusive); the goal is to supplement this file each year. These additions will include the problem session notes from that year, and occasionally discussions on progress on previous problems. If you are interested in pursuing any of these problems and want additional information as to progress, please email the author. See this http URL for the conference homepage.
On General Cwikel–Lieb–Rozenblum and Lieb–Thirring Inequalities

These classical inequalities allow one to estimate the number of negative eigenvalues and the sums \(S_\gamma = \sum { |\lambda _i |^\gamma } \) for a wide class of Schrodinger operators. We provide a detailed proof of these inequalities for operators on functions in metric spaces using the classical Lieb approach based on the Kac–Feynman formula. The main goal of the paper is a new set of examples which include perturbations of the Anderson operator, operators on free, nilpotent, and solvable groups, operators on quantum graphs, Markov processes with independent increments. The study of the examples requires an exact estimate of the kernel of the corresponding parabolic semigroup on the diagonal. In some cases the kernel decays exponentially as t → ∞. This allows us to consider very slow decaying potentials and obtain some results that are precise in the logarithmical scale.
Intelligent peripheral modules and applications performed by modular microcontrollers

Microcontrollers of the M68300 and M68HC16 families are built in a modular fashion. These microcontrollers are designed with modules that communicate with other on-chip modules through an intermodule bus. This bus is a silicon bus that is not available outside the chip itself. It is only used between the various modules on a particular implementation of the processor family being discussed in this paper. The intermodule bus is composed of the address and data buses, the interrupt lines and associated interrupt acknowledgement lines along with certain interrupt arbitration circuitry. Using this modular concept, modules can be rapidly assembled to form new derivatives of one of these processor families. Much of the work of implementing a new derivative is simply done with CAD (Computer Aided Design) tools. Still there is considerable work in designing the periphery of the chip so that bonding pads will be properly spaced. However, the focus of this paper is on programming the individual modules.