cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A preliminary assessment of avian mortality at utility-scale solar energy facilities in the United States

Despite the benefits of reduced toxic and carbon emissions and a perpetual energy resource, there is potential for negative environmental impacts resulting from utility-scale solar energy (USSE) development. Although USSE development may represent an avian mortality source, there is little knowledge regarding the magnitude of these impacts in the context of other avian mortality sources. In this study we present a first assessment of avian mortality at USSE facilities through a synthesis of available avian monitoring and mortality information at existing USSE facilities. Using this information, we contextualize USSE avian mortality relative to other forms of avian mortality at 2 spatial scales: a regional scale (confined to southern California) and a national scale. Systematic avian mortality information was available for three USSE facilities in the southern California region. We estimated annual USSE-related avian mortality to be between 16,200 and 59,400 birds in the southern California region, which was extrapolated to between 37,800 and 138,600 birds for all USSE facilities across the United States that are either installed or under construction. We also discuss issues related to avian–solar interactions that should be addressed in future research and monitoring programs.
ATRIAL FIBRILLATION HAS GRADUAL BUT NOT ACUTE ORGANIZATION INTO ATRIAL TACHYCARDIA SPONTANEOUSLY OR WITH ABLATION

During ablation, it is unpredictable when atrial fibrillation (AF) will organize and convert to tachycardia (AT). However, this transition may help to better understand fibrillatory conduction, and clinically may help to guide ablation to sites likely to organize AF. We hypothesized that
Self-organized patchiness facilitates survival in a cooperatively growing Bacillus subtilis population.

Ecosystems are highly structured. Organisms are not randomly distributed but can be found in spatial aggregates at many scales, leading to spatial heterogeneity or even regular patterns1. The widespread occurrence of these aggregates in many different ecosystems suggests that generic factors intrinsic to the populations—such as interactions between the organisms—play a major role in their emergence1,2. Beyond the emergence of spatial patchiness, its functional consequences remain unclear. Here we show in Bacillus subtilis that cooperative interactions in a spatial environment are sufficient to form self-organized patches. These patches allow for survival even when the microbe density is too low to sustain growth in a well-mixed environment. Decreasing cell mobility leads to more compact patches that enhance this survival advantage but also reduce the overall growth. Our results highlight that even populations lacking specific group-forming mechanisms can nonetheless form spatial patterns that allow for group survival in challenging environments. Interactions amongst Bacillus subtilis cells in a defined spatial environment are sufficient to enable the formation of self-organized patches that allow survival at cell densities otherwise too low to sustain growth.
Feeding of Coumaphos, Ronnel, and Rabon to Dairy Cows: Larvicidal Activity Against House Flies and Effect on Insect Fauna and Biodegradation of Fecal Pats

Eight dairy cows 2/treatment, were fed a concentrate—alfalfa hay pellet-corn silage ration supplemented as follows (1) no insecticide, (2) 56 ppm coumaphos, (3) 56 ppm Rabon® (2-ehloro-1-[2,4,5-trichlorophenyl] vinyl dimethyl phosphate), or (4) 112 ppm ronnel. Larvicidal activity against Musca domestica L. was significantly greater in feces from cows fed Rabon than in feces from cows fed either coumaphos or ronnel. Milk from cows fed coumaphos or Rabon contained no residues (<0.005 ppm), however, residues were detected in milk from cows fed ronnel. Feces examined after 6 or 9 weeks in a pasture showed no difference between the biodegradation of untreated and treated feces except that little tunneling was observed in the pats containing coumaphos. This tunneling was apparently done by larvae of soldier fly, Sargus cuparius (L.).
Effects of cortisol-protein complexes on RNA polymerase activity in isolated pig liver and thymus nuclei.

SummaryCortisol is known to alter RNA polymerase activity in liver and thymus. It also binds to cytosol proteins in several tissues. These experiments tested the possibility that cytosol steroid-protein complexes could alter the RNA polymerase activity of homologous nuclei.Steroid-protein complexes were prepared by incubating liver and thymus minces with 10-7M3H-cortisol at 37°. The partially purified steroid-protein complexes were obtained by fractionation of the cytosol on Sephadex G-100. Steroid-protein complexes were incubated with intact homologous nuclei and a nuclear sediment was prepared by hypotonic lysis of nuclei and centrifugation. RNA polymerase activity was determined in the nuclear sediment.It was found that a liver cytosol steroid-protein complex significantly (p < .01) increased RNA polymerase activity when compared to free cortisol or buffer. Cytosol proteins from adrenalectomized pigs had no effect on nuclear RNA polymerase. A steroid-protein complex in the thymus significantly decrease...
Situation of Agriculture Communication System and Thoughts on Its Development

Agriculture Communication System is an appropriate information service model for vast rural areas in our country,providing many services by voice phone,short message service,and internet and so on.Through two years operation,the cooperation mode of information service between the research institute and company was explored,steady expert team was formed,standardized management and operation mechanism were established and good effects were acquired.For better development of the agriculture communication system,we should increase the numbers of experts,expand service points,and establish multilevel service systems from province,city and county to county,obtain finance through more channels,expand functions of agriculture communication system platform and add function of mobile phone paper.
Purine-enriched asanguineous cardioplegia retards adenosine triphosphate degradation during ischemia and improves postischemic ventricular function.

Myocardial dysfunction after induced ischemic arrest is an important problem in cardiac surgery. Adenosine-5’-triphosphate content in myocardial tissue remains depressed for days after ischemia, perhaps because of reperfusion washout of diffusable purine substrates. Left ventricular function is also depressed after ischemia, but its relationship to absolute tissue adenosine triphosphate content is unclear. We tested the hypothesis that arresting hearts with a cardioplegic solution containing adenosine, hypoxanthine, and ribose would result in improved tissue adenosine triphosphate content and left ventricular function after 1 hour of normothermic global ischemia in dogs supported by cardiopulmonary bypass. Animals with ischemic arrest initiated with a crystalloid cardioplegic solution containing adenosine 100 μmol/L, hypoxanthine 100 μmol/L, and ribose 2 mmol/L demonstrated significant improvement (p
Introduction to step-indexing

Many kinds of recursive definitions and recursive predicates appear in the descriptions of programs and programming languages. Some recursive definitions, such as list and tree data structures, are naturally covariant ; these are straightforward to handle using a simple least-fixed-point method as described in Chapter 10. But some useful kinds of self-referencing definitions are not covariant. When the recursion goes through function arguments, it may be contravariant (see F funopt on page 64) or some mixture that is neither covariant nor contravariant. This kind of recursion requires more difficult mathematics, yet it is essential in reasoning about certain kinds of programs: • Object-oriented programs in which class C has methods with a “this” or “self” parameter of type C; • Functional programming languages with mutable references at higher types—such as ML; • Concurrent languages with dynamically creatable locks whose resource invariants can describe other locks—a typical idiom in Pthreads concurrency; • Functional languages (such as ML) where datatype recursion can go through function-parameters. D oes the C programming language have these features ? Well, yes. C's type system is rather loose (with casts to void* and back). C programs that use void* in design patterns similar to objects or function closures can be perfectly correct, but proving their correctness in a program logic may need noncovariant recursion. This chapter, and the next two chapters (predicate implication and subtyping; general recursive predicates) present the logical machinery to reason about such recursions in the VST program logics.
Wernicke’s Encephalopathy with Self Starvation

A 10-year-old boy was referred for inpatient psychiatric evaluation at the Children’s National Medical Center, Washington, DC, because of a 2-month history of food refusal and a 9 kg weight loss after choking on a raisin.
Modeling of GaAs/Silicon PVMirror tandem system: A case study

We propose a new, optically coupled tandem architecture with a silicon “PVMirror” as the bottom cell. A silicon PVMirror is a curved silicon module with an integrated dichroic mirror that transmits near-infrared light to the silicon cells and reflects and focuses visible light onto a GaAs receiver. Simulating such a system with record GaAs and silicon cells and an ideal dichroic mirror shows the tandem efficiency can reach over 36% with no diffuse light and over 30% with 20% diffuse light. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the PVMirror tandem is most sensitive to the GaAs cell performance and dichroic mirror cut-off wavelength but relatively insensitive to the silicon cell performance.
Differential Expression of BK Channel Beta1 Subunits in Rat Mesenteric, Coronary and Cerebral Arteries

Large conductance, Ca2+i/voltage-gated K+ (BK) channels regulate several physiological processes (Yang et et al., 2015). In smooth muscle, BK complexes include channel-forming α and auxiliary β1 subunits (Brenner et al., 2000). BK β1 increases the channel's apparent Ca2+ sensitivity (Brenner et al.,2000) and is required for channel activation by lithocholate (LCA)(Bukiya et al., 2009). Here, we studied the expression of BK α and β1 subunits in mesenteric, coronary and cerebral (anterior, middle, posterior and basilar) arteries, and the contribution of such differential expression to LCA-induced artery dilation. Thus, we conducted quantitative real-time PCR, fluorescence confocal imaging and patch-clamp electrophysiology on freshly isolated cerebral artery myocytes, and diameter determination of arteries pressurized in vitro. Data show that: 1) BK α mRNA is higher in cerebral anterior and basilar arteries. In turn, β1 mRNA is higher in basilar and coronary arteries; 2) BK α protein levels at the myocyte membrane surface are similar across the different arteries whereas β1 levels are higher in basilar and coronary arteries; 3) BK channel basal activity is also higher in basilar and coronary artery myocytes; 4) Likewise, BK channels from basilar and coronary artery myocytes are more responsive to LCA; 5) Finally, LCA-induced dilation of basilar and coronary arteries is higher than dilation of other arteries. Our results demonstrate a differential protein expression and functional impact on both basal channel activity and its response to LCA, of BK β1 subunits across arteries from cerebral and systemic vasculatures. In particular, basilar and coronary artery myocytes show an increased biochemical and functional presence of BK β1 subunits, suggesting that these vascular territories are more susceptible to modulation via BK β1. Support: HL104631, R37AA11560 (AMD); AHA Pre-doctoral Fellowship (GK).
Clinical Aspects of Subdural Hemorrhage (SDH)

Abstract Subdural hemorrhage is the accumulation of blood between the dura and the brain surface. Acute subdural hematomas (ASDHs) tend to occur after trauma in both the young and elderly population. Presenting symptoms include headache, altered mental status, and hemiparesis. Chronic SDH tends to occur in the elderly even after minimal to no head trauma. Presenting symptoms include headache, but more often it causes gait difficulty and altered mental status. The pathogenesis and treatment are discussed.
Values, heuristics and the politics of knowledge

There is a set of values, often called cognitive, epistemicor scientific, frequently called upon as informative of good scientifi c judgment when evidence runs out. By contrasting those values with an alternate set drawn from the work of feminist scientists, historians, and philosophers, it is possible to show how the reliance on these so-called scientific values can have problematic social consequences. The article reviews the differential social valence of the two sets of values, argues that neither should be viewed as truth conducive, and proposes that both belong to a (probably larger) pool of heuristics whose appropriateness will depend on features of the particular inquiry in which they are deployed
Molecular engineering solutions for therapeutic peptide delivery

Proteins and their interactions in and out of cells must be well-orchestrated for the healthy functioning and regulation of the body. Even the slightest disharmony can cause diseases. Therapeutic peptides are short amino acid sequences (generally considered <50 amino acids) that can naturally mimic the binding interfaces between proteins and thus, influence protein–protein interactions. Because of their fidelity of binding, peptides are a promising next generation of personalized medicines to reinstate biological harmony. Peptides as a group are highly selective, relatively safe, and biocompatible. However, they are also vulnerable to many in vivo pharmacologic barriers limiting their clinical translation. Current advances in molecular, chemical, and nanoparticle engineering are helping to overcome these previously insurmountable obstacles and improve the future of peptides as active and highly selective therapeutics. In this review, we focus on self-assembled vehicles as nanoparticles to carry and protect therapeutic peptides through this journey, and deliver them to the desired tissue.
Evaluation of Child with Fever Without Source: Review of Literature and Update

Fever is one of the most common reasons for a visit to the primary care provider or the emergency department. Traditionally, clinicians have used various risk-stratification strategies to identify serious bacterial infections (SBI) without an obvious source in febrile children, because missed bacterial infections in such children can result in meningitis, sepsis, and death; therefore, early and accurate identification of SBIs is critical. Infants aged less than 60 to 90 days are at greatest risk of SBI. The epidemiology of SBI continues to evolve, especially after the successful introduction of conjugate vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae.
Antimalarial drug toxicities in patients with cutaneous lupus and dermatomyositis: A retrospective cohort study.

Background Although existing evidence demonstrates the efficacy of antimalarials for rheumatic skin disease, the safety of these medications, and particularly quinacrine, remains debated. Objective We investigated the toxicity risk associated with antimalarials in patients with cutaneous lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis. Methods A total of 532 patients (mean age, 52.29 years; sample composition by sex, 85.15% female vs 14.85% male) were selected from 2 databases on cutaneous lupus erythematosus (69.92%) and dermatomyositis (30.08%). Details regarding treatment and toxicities were extracted and 5 treatment courses were defined (ie, hydroxychloroquine [HCQ], chloroquine [CQ], quinacrine [Q], HCQ-Q combination therapy [HCQ-Q], and CQ-Q combination therapy [CQ-Q]). The hazard ratio for each major toxicity was estimated by using the Cox proportional hazard model to compare the different treatments with HCQ. Results The most common toxicities included cutaneous eruption, gastrointestinal upset, mucocutaneous dyspigmentation, neurologic toxicity, and retinopathy. The hazards of cutaneous eruption, gastrointestinal upset, and neurologic toxicities were lower with HCQ-Q than with HCQ; however, this may represent selection bias. Although there was increased retinopathy risk with CQ and CQ-Q versus with HCQ, retinopathy was not seen with Q. Limitations Retrospective analysis. Conclusions With the exception of retinopathy, which was not seen with Q, the risks for other toxicities associated with Q monotherapy or combination treatment were not significantly different from those with HCQ.
The Microbiota Regulates Immunity and Immunologic Diseases in Dogs and Cats

The complex commensal microbiota found on body surfaces controls immune responses and the development of allergic and inflammatory diseases. New genetic technologies permit investigators to determine the composition of the complex microbial populations found on these surfaces. Changes in the microbiota (dysbiosis) as a result of antibiotic use, diet, or other factors thus influence the development of many diseases in the dog and cat. The most important of these include chronic gastrointestinal disease; respiratory allergies, such as asthma; skin diseases, especially atopic dermatitis; and some autoimmune diseases.
The role of elective neck dissection in the treatment of maxillary sinus squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective This study is designed to analyze the survival benefits of elective neck dissection (END) in the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus (MS-SCC) with clinically negative neck lymph nodes (N0) and no metastasis (M0). Study design The aim of this study was to evaluate whether END improves survival in patients with MS-SCC. Methods This study is a population-based, concurrent retrospective database analysis of patients diagnosed with N0M0 MS-SCC from 2004 to 2013. Data were acquired from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Frequency functions, Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression models were queried to analyze demographics, treatment status, and survival outcomes. Results There were a total of 927 MS-SCC cases in the database between 2004 and 2013. This analysis revealed that for the overall cohort, END significantly and independently reduces the 5-year hazard of death in MS-SCC (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.646, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.419-0.873, P = 0.047). For early tumor (T)1/T2 tumors and T4 tumors, END did not independently improve 5-year survival. However, for T3 disease, END significantly reduced the 5-year hazard of death in MS-SCC (HR = 0.471, 95% CI = 0.261-0.680, P = 0.001), regardless of other covariates, including adjuvant radiation. There has been an increase in the percentage of MS-SCC surgeries that have been accompanied by END since SEER started collecting this data, although this did not demonstrate significance (R2 = 0.622). Conclusion END improves disease-specific survival in patients with MS-SCC size > 4 cm and advanced T-stage (American Joint Committee on Cancer AJCC TIII). Therefore, surgeons performing maxillectomies should consider conducting an END concurrent with maxillectomy for those with size > 4 cm advanced stage cancer. Level of evidence 4. Laryngoscope, 1835-1841, 2018.
Inclusion or expulsion: Digital technologies and the new power relations in China’s “Internet finance”:

The financial sector in China is well known as a government-dominated hierarchy, and the access to financial services has been controlled primarily by the state-run banks. Fin-tech businesses, or s...
Microwave characterization of 3D printed conductive composite materials

Effective electromagnetic shielding is important for reducing unwanted electromagnetic radiation from high frequency circuits. Recently, electrically conductive (carbon-based) polymer composites have been considered as a viable alternative to traditional electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials due to their light weight, corrosion resistance and ease and flexibility of processing (i.e., three-dimensional/3D printing techniques). As such, in order to be able to take advantage of these benefits, the dielectric properties of these materials at microwave frequencies must be known. To this end, this work considers a set of 3D printed (3-layer) samples consisting of 2 solid outer layers, and an internal mesh layer (with triangular and honeycomb mesh features) with varying polymer volume content. Dielectric measurements were made in the X-band (8.2–12.4 GHz) for the samples with and without the cover layers. The results show that conductive polymers used for 3D printed structures have high potential as another option for EMI shielding structures.
Planning algorithms and planning problems

A body of recent work in plan generation can be characterized as an attempt to understand the “fit” between design decisions that can be made in developing planning algorithms, and characteristics of the problems those algorithms are intended to solve. In this talk, I will survey this work, and relate it to more general questions about the role of experimentation and evaluation in the AI enterprise. In particular, I will argue that the doing of AI and the evaluating of an AI system can often be one and the same activity: both amount to understanding whether and why a system is doing the right thing.
THU0198 Immunogenicity associated with a transition from adalimumab reference product to abp 501 in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Background In clinical practice, patients treated with an originator product may be transitioned to a biosimilar. Therefore, it is important to ensure that such transition is safe and is not associated with increased immunogenicity. Objectives To study the incidence of binding anti-drug antibodies (bADAs) and neutralising anti-drug antibodies (nADAs) after patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are transitioned from adalimumab reference product (RP) to ABP 501, an approved biosimilar for adalimumab. Methods We analysed data from the open-label extension (OLE) of a randomised 26 week phase 3 study (NCT 01970475) comparing ABP 501 and adalimumab. In this OLE study (NCT02114931), patients originally randomised to ABP 501 in the parent study continued on ABP 501 while patients originally randomised to adalimumab (RP) were switched to ABP 501 so that all patients received ABP 501. Specifically, we studied the incidence of new ADAs in patients who were ADA negative at the time of entry into the OLE study. The incidence after excluding transiently elevated ADAs was also examined. Results The Table summarises the incidence of ADAs. Conclusions Transitioning from adalimumab reference product to ABP 501 was not associated with increased immunogenicity over the observational period of 72 weeks. Disclosure of Interest E. Krishnan Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., D. Mytych Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., N. Zhang Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., H. Wang Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc., A. Kaliyaperumal Shareholder of: Amgen Inc., Employee of: Amgen Inc.
Enabling Pb-Free Flip Chip QFN Technology: Understanding Kirkendall Voiding and Factors Affecting Its Formation During Bump Process

Previous comprehensive studies like those by Mei et al. and Kim et al. have posted significant milestones in understanding the phenomenon of Kirkendall voiding (KV) and their behavior through various conditions of reliability testing and reflow on Ball Grid Array (BGA) technologies. [1],2] This paper presents results under constant conditions with regard to temperature cycling $(-55/ 125^{o}\mathrm{C})$ and high temperature bake $(170^{\circ}\mathrm{C}$ and $200^{\circ}\mathrm{C})$ specifically for Flip Chip Quad Flat No-Lead (QFN) technologies.The consolidation of this study in union with previous studies has shown that there is an utmost significance in mitigating Kirkendall void formation at its source, so that its necessity for control through various reliability conditions can be streamlined. Microvoid formation, then, was studied with respect to impurities situated at the Cu-Sn alloy intermetallic compound (IMC) induced during the bumping process. It was observed through design of experimentation (DOE) that an oxygen (O 2 ) descum step in between a short Cu-Sn alloy electroplating window time yielded the best results of 75% improvement on KV density (%KV), 11% on minimum KV distance and 56% on maximum KV size at time zero (T0). Recommendations include exploring the phenomenon’s behavior with the inclusion of a metal barrier, and varying alloy concentrations to be also subjected to extended thermal aging and cycling.
Testing Competing Hypotheses

In the preceding chapter, we found that manipulating the rule-enforcing conditions in two residence halls resulted in significantly different legal socialization effects than were produced through the natural socialization process. In order to better understand these varying effects, we tested competing hypotheses drawn from the two leading theories of legal socialization. According to legal development theory (Levine & Tapp, 1977; Tapp & Kohlberg, 1977; Tapp & Levine, 1970), legal socialization occurs through stage-dependent change in the cognitive structures that produce legal reasoning, which is then reflected in an individual’s legal development level. By contrast, social learning theory (Akers, 1985; Akers et al., 1979; Aronfreed, 1968, 1969; Bandura, 1969a, 1969b, 1977) holds that differential association and reinforcement contingencies shape an individual’s attitudes and behaviors with respect to rules and the exercise of authority and that these factors therefore control the learning process that is legal socialization.
Adaptive versus Standard Descent Methods and Robustness Against Adversarial Examples.

Adversarial examples are a pervasive phenomenon of machine learning models where seemingly imperceptible perturbations to the input lead to misclassifications for otherwise statistically accurate models. In this paper we study how the choice of optimization algorithm influences the robustness of the resulting classifier to adversarial examples. Specifically we show an example of a learning problem for which the solution found by adaptive optimization algorithms exhibits qualitatively worse robustness properties against both $L_{2}$- and $L_{\infty}$-adversaries than the solution found by non-adaptive algorithms. Then we fully characterize the geometry of the loss landscape of $L_{2}$-adversarial training in least-squares linear regression. The geometry of the loss landscape is subtle and has important consequences for optimization algorithms. Finally we provide experimental evidence which suggests that non-adaptive methods consistently produce more robust models than adaptive methods.
How Significant Was the 1877/78 El Niño?

AbstractPrevious research has shown that the 1877/78 El Nino resulted in great famine events around the world. However, the strength and statistical significance of this El Nino event have not been...
Rival Carceralities: Legitimising Discourses of Prison Regime Formations in Bolivarian Venezuela

Venezuela has two types of prisons: a prison regime ruled by a hierarchical organisation of armed inmates and the securitised ‘New Regime’ system under the control of the Ministry of Penitentiary Services. This article uses a comparative approach to examine how legitimacy is constructed in these competing yet co-existing prison regime formations in Venezuela. Both the Venezuelan state and the prisons under ‘carceral self-rule’ legitimate their respective carceral orders through discourses of left-wing emancipation that correspond with different phases of the Bolivarian project. Yet contradictions emerge from these legitimising discourses and neither regime conforms to its respective discourse of participation or socialism. In the state-abandoned, violent and hierarchical prisons under carceral self-rule, prisoners are only partially empowered, while in the New Regime prison types predation at the hands of one's fellow inmates is replaced by the violence of the ‘humanising’ state.
Toward understanding the prevalence and purpose of placemaking among community development institutions in the United States

Placemaking is a form of public engagement that impacts community development by building social capital, motivating public policy, and shaping real estate development. Popular across public-focuse...
Exploring Best-Worst Scaling for Communication Sciences and Disorders

Purpose The primary purpose of this study is to introduce the method of best–worst scaling (BWS) and explore how it can be applied to the field of communication sciences and disorders. Method Two h...
An Examination of Empathy and Interpersonal Dominance in BDSM Practitioners.

Abstract Background Recent research has indicated that participation in BDSM (bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, and/or sadism-masochism) is not associated with psychological distress or psychopathology but that sexual roles may be associated with personality characteristics, specifically interpersonal dominance and empathy. Aim The present study examined potential differences between those who identify as dominant, switch, and submissive on interpersonal dominance and empathy. Methods Individuals who identified as members of the BDSM community were recruited online via a social networking site. Main Outcome Measures Self-reported demographic variables, the Personality Assessment Inventory, Dominance subscale, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index Empathic Concern subscale. Results Participants were well distributed across sexual roles (n = 279; 25.4% dominant, 38% submissive, 36.6% switch), identified as primarily female (59.5%), primarily heterosexual (53.4%), and the most common age group was 25-34 years (27.2%). BDSM role was associated with scores on the Dominance subscale; dominant BDSM practitioners scored significantly higher on the Dominance scale than switches, who in turn scored significantly higher than submissives (dominant mean [M] = 61.44, standard deviation [SD] = 8.26; switch M = 53.99, SD = 11.18, P Clinical Implications The study provides information on the relationship between interpersonal dominance as a personality trait and dominance as a sexual role and has implications for reducing stigma related to these practices. Strengths and Limitations The study contributes to the growing literature suggesting that while BDSM roles may correspond with specific personality characteristics, they are not indicative of personalities significantly different than the general population's. The study also included individuals who identified as switch, a group often excluded from quantitative research in the BDSM community. The sample was, however, recruited exclusively online, and findings may not be applicable to all BDSM practitioners. Conclusion These findings suggest that there are no differences in empathy between BDSM practitioner roles, and although there are differences in interpersonal dominance, these characteristics are not likely to be prominent in individuals’ everyday interactions. Jansen KL, Fried AL, Chamberlain J. An Examination of Empathy and Interpersonal Dominance in BDSM Practitioners. J Sex Med 2021;18:549–555.
Achieving Reproductive Efficiency in Beef Cow Herds

Excellent reproductive efficiency can be achieved in a beef herd by using a multifaceted approach focusing on herd production and management issues. Numbers that would define reproductive efficiency for most herds would include a 90-95% pregnancy rate, less than 2% abortion rate with 65, 88, and 100% of the calves born by days 21, 42, and 65 of the calving season, respectively. Heritability of reproductive traits tends to be low and disease causing reproductive failure in beef herds is uncommon in many parts of North America. Heifer selection and development, nutrition and utilizing heterosis are some of the keys to success. Efficiency is not synonymous with maximums, but rather is more closely aligned to ‘optimums’. Recent research with cost control as the core of heifer development shows that heifers can be developed more efficiently than previously thought.
Mitochondrial NADPH is a pro at Pro synthesis.

Redox cofactors are essential for the metabolic reactions that support cell proliferation. NADPH is important both to combat oxidative stress and to facilitate reductive reactions in biosynthesis. In this issue, Tran et al. find that the enzyme that produces mitochondrial NADPH is critical in enabling proline synthesis to support cell proliferation when environmental proline is limited.
The Impact of Gamification on Learner Engagement, Enjoyment and Performance: An Abstract

Approaches to higher education pedagogies and techniques evolve as the learner needs and instructional technologies change. The new generation of tech natives are seeking more engaging activities and expect learning to be an enjoyable experience according to PearsonEd (2018). Consequently, gamification is gaining popularity both among students and instructors looking for practical solutions to make classrooms more dynamic and interactive. In addition to higher education, game-based modalities are also common in employee training (e.g. call center simulations) and customer retention (e.g. monopoly games by McDonald’s and Safeway). The measurement of this modality in the classroom setting may also inform the job training and customer retention contexts by explaining the process. Thus, there is a need to assess the impact of these types of techniques and how they affect the learning process.
The Benefits-Value-Advisor Program For Shoppable Medical Services

In healthcare markets, there is often a great deal of variation in prices charged by providers of non-urgent and routine medical procedures such as MRI and CT Scan. Price differences are typically not related to either the complexity or the quality of services provided. Some insurers have recently introduced the Benefits-Value-Adviser (BVA) program to help improve the quality and reduce the cost of such services. In this paper, we ask and answer the following question: can the BVA program add value? Value is defined as the cost of all services normalized by quality. We incorporate the characteristics of healthcare markets in a game-theoretic model of provider competition to derive the providers' decisions in price-only and comprehensive equilibrium settings. In the price-only setting, providers can only change prices whereas in the comprehensive model, providers make quality and marketing activity level decisions first, followed by pricing decisions. We find that the magnitudes of changes in quality and price sensitivity as a result of the BVA program influence the performance of the BVA program. In the price-only equilibrium, the BVA program is guaranteed to add value in a market where the differences in providers' pre-existing quality and marketing activity levels are both simultaneously low. Conversely, it is very likely to fail in a market with low marketing activity level difference but high quality difference. Additionally, through the numerical examples, we find that in the comprehensive model, the BVA program adds more value when it can affect a large increase in quality sensitivity relative to the change in price sensitivity.
Tunnel excavation in granular media: the role of force chains

We investigate how force chains in a granular packing influence and change during a tunnel excavation process. A two-dimensional (2D) frictional cohensionless packing is considered under gravity and a set of contiguous particles are removed in the interior. Using discrete element simulations on realistic non-spherical soil grains, we investigate the role of force chains in the stability of the resulting tunnel. We illustrate that force disturbance due to excavation is transmitted over considerable distance by force chains. Such force chains behave as one-dimensional (1D) load carrying members, leading to nonlocal influences on tunnel stability as these chains rearrange around tunnels. Based on these observations, we posit the non-existence of a local stability prediction criterion that examines only the set of grains adjacent to the tunnel boundary. Finally, we study the mechanics of transition to the new equilibrium configuration by examining how the various components of force disturbance vary with distance from the tunnel. This work lays the framework for a systematic analysis of granular excavation process by examining how forces applied in the domain interior are transmitted into the granular media.
A Lower Bound for Regret in Logistic Regression

We study logistic regression with binary features in which the number (or degree) of occurring features determines the label probability. This model fits one of social networks, where the number of friends determines the likelihood of outcomes instead of the identity of the friends, or more generally, a graph model, where the degree of a node can determine its structure. It includes the case in which weights can be viewed as i.i.d. (e.g., in Bayesian modeling). For such a model, we introduce the maximal minimax regret that we analyze using a unique combination of analytic combinatorics and information theory. More importantly, the resulting regret is a general lower bound for the pointwise regret of a general logistic regression over all algorithms (learning distributions). We show that the introduced worst case (maximum over feature sequences) maximal minimax regret grows asymptotically as $(d/2)\log(T/d)+(d/2)\log(\pi/2)+O(d/\sqrt{T})$ for dimensionality $d=o(\sqrt{T})$ , which is a lower bound for a regret of a general logistic regression. We extend our results to loss functions other than logistic loss and non-binary labels.
A radiation oncology approach to brain metastases

Brain metastases are a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality. The incidence of brain metastases is increasing due to increased time for metastasis development in the setting of improved systemic therapy and extracranial disease control and improved detection by magnetic resonance imaging. Radiotherapy is an essential treatment modality for brain metastases in both the definitive and post-surgical adjuvant treatment contexts, and radiation oncologists rely heavily on diagnostic neuroimaging to guide treatment. Insight into the aspects of diagnostic neuroimaging that radiation oncologists rely on for clinical decision-making, radiation treatment planning, and assessment of treatment response or complications, can help guide radiologists when constructing their neuroimaging reports in the context of brain metastases.
Justice without Borders: Cosmopolitanism, Nationalism, and Patriotism

The cosmopolitan idea of justice is commonly accused of not taking seriously the special ties and commitments of nationality and patriotism. This is because the ideal of impartial egalitarianism, which is central to the cosmopolitan view, seems to be directly opposed to the moral partiality inherent to nationalism and patriotism. In this book, Kok-Chor Tan argues that cosmopolitan justice, properly understood, can accommodate and appreciate nationalist and patriotic commitments, setting limits for these commitments without denying their moral significance. This book offers a defense of cosmopolitan justice against the charge that it denies the values that ordinarily matter to people, and a defence of nationalism and patriotism against the charge that these morally partial ideals are fundamentally inconsistent with the obligations of global justice. Accessible and persuasive, this book will have broad appeal to political theorists and moral philosophers.
In Search of a Human Scale

Future decades may chronicle the failure of a vast network of “community” mental health programs in the United States that never really existed. The landmark Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963 sought the transfer of principal responsibility for treating mental illness and promoting mental health from state mental hospitals to a network of mental health centers in places called “the community.” By 1980, a mere 800 of the 2,000 community mental health centers (CMHCs) envisioned in the 1963 act actually existed. Yet the policy of “deinstitutionalizing” patients from state hospitals to the “community” continued, even where community care was totally absent. Of the 800 CMHCs, few had much to do with “community.”
Red-shifted fluorescent proteins monitor enzymatic activity in live HT-1080 cells with fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM)

Membrane type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is a membrane-tethered collagenase primarily involved in the mechanical destruction of extracellular matrix proteins. MT1-MMP has also been shown to be upregulated in several types of cancers. Many coordinated functions of MT1-MMP during migration and invasion remain to be determined. In this paper, live cells from the invasive cell line HT-1080 were imaged using an intracellular Forster resonance energy transfer-based biosensor specific for MT1-MMP; a substrate specific for MT1-MMP was hybridized with the mOrange2 and mCherry fluorescent proteins to form the Forster resonance energy transfer-based sensor. The configuration of the biosensor was determined with fluorescence lifetime-resolved imaging microscopy using both a polar plot-based analysis and a rapid data acquisition modality of fluorescence lifetime-resolved imaging microscopy known as phase suppression. Both configurations of the biosensor (with or without cleavage by MT1-MMP) were clearly resolvable in the same cell. Changes in the configuration of the MT1-MMP biosensor were observed primarily along the edge of the cell following the removal of the MMP inhibitor GM6001. The intensities highlighted by phase suppression correlated well with the fractional intensities derived from the polar plot.
A Conserved Motif in the 5.8S Ribosomal RNA (rRNA) Gene is a Useful Diagnostic Marker for Plant Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) Sequences

The nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region has become an important nuclear locus for molecular systematic investigations of angiosperms at the intergenic and interspecific levels. Universal PCR primers are positioned on the conserved rRNA genes (18S, 5.8S, 26S) to amplify the entire ITS spacer region. Recent reports of fungal and algal contaminants, first described as plant ITS sequences, stress the need for diagnostic markers specific for the angiosperm ITS region. This report describes a conserved 14 base pair (bp) motif in the 5.8S rRNA gene that can be used to differentiate between flowering plants, bryophytes, and several orders of algae and fungi, including common plant pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi. A variant of the motif (found in fungi and algae) contains a convenient EcoRI restriction site that has several applications for eliminating problematic contaminants from plant ITS preparations.
Language, ethnography, and education: bridging new literacy studies and Bourdieu, by Michael Grenfell, David Bloome, Cheryl Hardy, Kate Pahl, Jennifer Rowsell and Brian Street

Language, ethnography, and education: bridging new literacy studies and Bourdieu is a remarkably ambitious work; its authors, Michael Grenfell, David Bloome, Cheryl Hardy, Kate Pahl, Jennifer Rowse...
An enzyme produced by a phage-host cell system. I. The properties of a Klebsiella phage.

Abstract The characteristics of phage Kp attacking Klebsiella pneumoniae, type 2, have been studied. This phage resembles the large coliphages T2 and T5 rather than the smaller phages T1 and T3. Its most striking peculiarity is the production of an enzyme that seems to be under the control of the phage genotype.
Reactive Vega: A Streaming Dataflow Architecture for Declarative Interactive Visualization

We present Reactive Vega, a system architecture that provides the first robust and comprehensive treatment of declarative visual and interaction design for data visualization. Starting from a single declarative specification, Reactive Vega constructs a dataflow graph in which input data, scene graph elements, and interaction events are all treated as first-class streaming data sources. To support expressive interactive visualizations that may involve time-varying scalar, relational, or hierarchical data, Reactive Vega's dataflow graph can dynamically re-write itself at runtime by extending or pruning branches in a data-driven fashion. We discuss both compile- and run-time optimizations applied within Reactive Vega, and share the results of benchmark studies that indicate superior interactive performance to both D3 and the original, non-reactive Vega system.
Teaching Practices in Mexico: A Way to Understand Mexican English Learners in the United States

Normal 0 false false false EN-US KO X-NONE This paper presents findings from a qualitative study conducted in fifth and sixth grade classrooms in five public schools in Guadalajara, Mexico, in June of 2009. The goal of the study was to learn about current instructional and institutional practices in a region with high migratory rates to the United States, with the express purpose of understanding the type of school experiences Mexican-born English learners usually gain before entering the American school system. Findings include close teacher-student relationships, a strong respect for teachers, school-wide disciplinary chants and in-class routines in which all students participate, and the integration of Enciclomedia in the classroom.
Comparison of forward versus backward walking using body weight supported treadmill training in an individual with a spinal cord injury: a single subject design.

AbstractPurpose/Hypothesis: Body weight supported treadmill training (BWSTT) is a task-specific intervention that promotes functional locomotion. There is no research evaluating the effect of backward walking (BW) using BWSTT in individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The purpose of this single subject design was to examine the differences between forward walking (FW) and BW training using BWSTT in an individual with quadriparesis. Methods: The participant was a 57-year-old male with incomplete C3–C6 SCI. An ABABAB design (A = BW; B = FW; each phase = 3 weeks of biweekly sessions) was utilized. Outcome measures included: gait parameters; a timed 4-meter walk; the 5-repetition sit-to-stand test (STST); tandem stance time; and 6-minute walk test (6MWT). Data was analyzed with split level method of trend estimation. Results: Improvements in gait parameters, on the timed 4-meter walk, 6MWT, tandem balance and aerobic endurance were similar with FW and BW training. The only difference between FW and BW trai...
The induction of liver microsomal proteins by 3-methylcholanthrene in rats of different age, sex and strain

Abstract The treatment of male and female adult and male and female immature rats with 3-methylcholanthrene results in increases in the intensity of two liver microsomal protein bands separated by sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The induced protein species have estimated molecular weights of about 55 000 and 52 500. The time course of the induction of these species has been followed in a semi-quantitative manner. In immature rats an additional band, corresponding to a protein species with a molecular weight of about 43 000, is also increased by 3-methylcholanthrene treatment. In male adults rats exclusively, treatment with 3-methylcholanthrene also results in a decrease in the intensity of a band corresponding to a protein species of about 51 000. The appearance of this band in the liver microsomal fraction of adult male rats occurs following sexual maturation and its presence represents a significant difference in the microsomal proteins between male and female rats, this protein is not detected in younger male rats or in female rats at any age. These findings are discussed in terms of their possible relevance to the cytochrome P-450 content of the endoplasmic reticulum of rat hepatocytes.