cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
GSR Measures of Cigarette Smokers’ Temporal Approach and Avoidance Gradients

Several tests have been made of spatial approach and avoidance gradients but none of temporal. To test the latter, 22 cigarette smokers were all subjected to 3 treatments and measured continuously by GSR. Ss watched a clock while anticipating having a cigarette lit for the approach condition, and while anticipating the lighting of the filter of a reversed cigarette for the avoidance condition., and merely watched the clock for control treatment. At the close of the interval the frequency of Ss with skin conductance above their base level for both experimental treatments was significant (p<.001) but not significant (p<.70) for the control as would be expected from the first two assumptions of Miller’s conflict theory. Contrary to the third assumption, the approach condition was steeper than the avoidance.
VULNERABILITY TO SCHIZOPHRENIA: INFORMATION PROCESSING IN THE PUPIL AND EVENT-RELATED POTENTIAL

The psychophysiological markers of vulnerability to schizophrenia reported in this paper focus on evoked potentials and pupillography as indices of information processing. A counting paradigm was adapted to provide three levels of stimulus probability ranging from low to medium to high. The results indicate that for normals there is a direct relationship between level of uncertainty and the extent of dilation of the pupil, and for most subjects, for the amplitude of the P300 component of the event-related potential. For patients undergoing an episode of schizophrenia, this relationship is not apparent. The data suggest that normals tend to be influenced by the conditional probability of the stimulus regardless of change or redundancy in the stimulus, but patients (while in their episodes) seem less influenced by conditional probability and more influenced by change in the stimulus. Thus, not only the amplitude of a response, but also the pattern of responses under different conditions, differentiate between those vulnerable to schizophrenia from controls. The search for markers of vulnerability must take cognizance of the fact that some of the differentials between those vulnerable to schizophrenia and normals reflect the presence of an episode and hence are episode-markers rather than vulnerability markers. It therefore becomes necessary to reexamine patients after termination of an episode to determine whether the marker persists.
Reflections and Conclusions: The Link Between Advances in Marketing Research and Practice

Methodological developments in marketing research would go for naught if the methodology and research techniques were not applied by practitioners (i.e., industry consultants, marketing research firms, and intra-company professionals) and adopted by management. As noted throughout this book, one of the hallmarks of work by pioneers such as Wroe Alderson has been an intense interest in both research and practice. While individuals have spanned these boundaries, there is still work to do in building bridges between research and practice. This will ensure that new ideas are disseminated quickly into the hands of those who can benefit most from them and also will help maintain the relevance of research advances in the field.
VECTOR ALGORITHMS FOR ELLIPTIC PARTIAL DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS BASED ON THE JACOBI METHOD

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the vector algorithms for elliptic partial differential equations based on the Jacobi method. The two-step Jacobi method is to point SOR as the Jacobi method is to Gauss–Seidel. It is also an attractive method for any vector processor in which the vector performance is at least twice its scalar performance. The method is also essentially a long-vector algorithm. Stationary multistep Jacobi algorithms beyond the second degree do not improve convergence and the optimal n-step Jacobi method is one that reduces to the optimal two-step method. Semi-iterative Jacobi methods are enveloped by the Chebyshev semi-iterative Jacobi method in the usual way. Convergence is not significantly better than the two-step Jacobi method. The conjugate gradient Jacobi method envelopes the set of nonstationarysingle-step Jacobi relaxation schemes. Its rate of convergence is better than two-step Jacobi and compares favorably with that of point SOR. The numerical experiments indicate that the intermediate values of the solution at each step compare quite well with those of SIR for the model problem.
Victimization, Fear of Crime, and Trust in Criminal Justice Institutions: A Cross-National Analysis:

Prior studies demonstrate that victimization and fear of crime independently affect criminal justice attitudes, but few have examined trust in criminal justice institutions. In addition, research h...
Heart rate variability biofeedback increases sexual arousal among women with female sexual arousal disorder: Results from a randomized-controlled trial.

Abstract Low resting heart rate variability (HRV) has been associated with poor sexual arousal function in women. In a recent study, a single session of autogenic training increased HRV and facilitated improvements in both sexual arousal and perceived genital sensations among women experiencing decreased arousal. The current study expands upon these findings by examining the efficacy of HRV biofeedback, with and without autogenic training, as a treatment for sexual arousal dysfunction in an at-home setting. Participants (N = 78) were randomized into one of three conditions: HRV biofeedback, HRV biofeedback + autogenic training, or waitlist control. Each condition included three laboratory sessions; participants in the two active conditions completed 4–6 biofeedback sessions at home, and participants in the HRVB + A condition listened to a 14-min autogenic training recording before completing the biofeedback. Across the three laboratory visits, participants in the three conditions singficnatly differed in their genital arousal, subjective sexual arousal, and their perceived genital sensations. Compared to women in the control group, women who engaged in HRV biofeedback at home, with and without additional autogenic training, experienced increases in genital arousal, subjective sexual arousal, and perceived genital sensations. These results provide preliminary support for the contribution of heart rate variability level to female sexual arousal function and for the use of either of these interventions in the treatment of sexual arousal concerns.
On the anaphoric use of demonstratives this/these in L2 academic writing

Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine L2 learners’ use of anaphoric this/these focusing on the variation of use across the skill levels. The writing samples of lower and higher-level L2 learners were compared in terms of the frequencies of this/these as pronouns and as determiners, the structural distribution of antecedents, and the semantic distribution of nouns following the determiners. Writing samples were academic essays (N = 735) from the sub-corpus of English Placement Test (EPT) composed of two levels. The results suggested several meaningful discrepancies in lower versus higher-level writing. First, lower-level students displayed an overall underuse of this/these. Second, students used an increased amount of pronoun this/these in more advanced levels, indicating a more complex nature of higher-level writing. The analysis of the structural types of antecedents suggested a developmental pattern, namely a significant decrease of noun phrase references and an increase of clausal and extended reference. Lastly, lower-level writing included significantly more concrete and abstract nouns after this/these, whereas higher-level students often used this/these followed by shell nouns for a more advanced practice. The study provides implications for L2 writing pedagogy, as well as L2 academic writing research.
Surrogate biomarkers interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 in a spontaneous feline model of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC).

e17056 Background: One translational approach to improving relevancy of cancer drug preclinical work is capitalization on biologically relevant companion animal translational research which allows ...
Non-Parametric Joint Chance Constraints for Economic Dispatch Problem with Solar Generation

Uncertainty modeling has a significant role in power system scheduling and operation. This paper presents a data-driven non-parametric joint chance-constrained programming model for the economic dispatch problem. Solar generation uncertainties are taken into consideration. Kernel density estimator is used to find non-parametric probability density functions (PDFs) of the solar generation in each scheduling interval without imposing any assumption on the classes of PDFs. A joint chance constraint is formulated for the whole considered scheduling horizon to take into account solar generation uncertainty in the generation reserve constraint. A ϕ −divergence tolerance is calculated based on the point-wise error of the estimated non-parametric PDFs, and an increased confidence level (or reduced risk level) is calculated. The joint chance constraint is approximated with a set of individual constraints. A conservative upper bound for the confidence level of the individual chance constraints is calculated from the joint chance constraint confidence level. The chance constrained are converted into their linear equivalent forms to make the optimization problem solvable by standard solvers. The proposed ED model is applied to a six-bus system, and promising results are obtained.
How Does Adoption of the Outlet Channel Impact Customers’ Spending in the Retail Stores: Conflict or Synergy?

We investigate how adoption of a retailer’s factory outlet channel impacts customers’ spending in the retailer’s traditional retail store channel. In recent years, many retailers have added exclusively sourced factory outlet stores into their channel mix to achieve market expansion and customer segmentation. However, the impact of adoption of this lower-quality, lower-price alternative channel on spending at the retailer’s higher-quality, higher-price retail store channel is not clear. Customers adopting the outlet channel might increase their spending in the retail store channel because of the opportunity to become familiar with the brand at a lower price point or transfer of positive associations formed through patronage of the outlet channel to the store channel. Customers adopting the lower-quality channel might also decrease their spending in the retail store channel because of brand dilution or cannibalization. To investigate this issue, we use a unique individual-level panel data set from a special...
Modal phase matched lithium niobate nanocircuits for integrated nonlinear photonics

High complexity, dense integrated nanophotonic circuits possessing strong non-linearities are desirable for a breadth of applications in classical and quantum optics. In this work, we study phase matching via modal engineering in lithium niobate (LN) waveguides and microring resonators on chip for second harmonic generation (SHG). By carefully engineering the geometry dispersion, we observe a 26% W−1cm−2 normalized efficiency for SHG in a waveguide with submicron transverse mode confinement. With similar cross-sectional dimensions, we demonstrate a phase matched microring resonator with 10 times enhancement on SHG. Our platform is capable of harnessing the strongest optical nonlinear and electro-optic effects in LN on chip with unrestricted planar circuit layouts. It offers opportunities for dense and scalable integration of efficient photonic devices with low loss and high nonlinearity.
Nitinol living hinges for millimeter-sized robots and medical devices

A hybrid manufacturing process combining abrasive jet and laser micromaching enables the creation of living hinges in nitinol that retain the superelastic properties of the bulk material. The former selectively etches through the thickness of a workpiece and the latter defines the part’s final geometry. Because the majority of the material removal is done with the room-temperature mechanical etching procedure, thermal damage to the part is minimized. Processing parameters to achieve desired geometries are described, a bending stiffness model for the living hinges is provided, and validation experiments are presented. Lastly, to demonstrate the usefulness of these components to millimeter-sized robotic systems and medical devices, we show their integration in two prototype devices: an endoscopic camera wrist and a simple laser beam steering system.
Successful Functional Aging in Middle-Aged and Older Adults with HIV.

People living with HIV (PLWH) experience greater everyday functioning impairment. We examined frequency and correlates of successful functional aging (SFA) in PLWH. Using gold-standard questionnaires, SFA was defined in 174 HIV+ and 71 HIV− adults as absence of significant everyday cognitive symptoms and declines in instrumental activities of daily living. More HIV− (45%) than HIV+ (18%) adults met SFA criteria (p < 0.01). Depression, cognitive functioning, socioeconomic status, and HIV status were independent correlates of SFA (p values < 0.05). Motor ability, learning, and verbal fluency were associated with SFA. SFA was associated with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). PLWH are three times less likely to achieve SFA than HIV− adults, a phenotype that translates to HRQoL. While SFA is multifactorial, driven by clinico-demographic factors, HIV may pose additional risk to achieving SFA. Further work should examine other mechanisms whereby HIV hinders SFA (e.g., biomarkers, stress, mental health) and ultimately inform interventions to facilitate SFA.
Learning relationships between bat habitats and biosonar behavior

Echolocating bats are known to adapt their biosonar behaviors according to their surroundings. Vespertilionid bats, for example, adapt their pulse duration and bandwidth as a function of their proximity to foliage. However, these relationships have been based on mostly qualitative observations so far. More powerful methods that are capable of handling large quantitative datasets could produce further and more detailed insights. In the current work, aligned multimodal datasets have been gathered to address this challenge: habitat geometry (laser scans), acoustic scene (biomimetic active sonar system), bat flight trajectories (infrared camera array), and biosonar behavior (microphone array). Machine learning approaches can then be used to analyze relationships between the components of these multimodal datasets. To do this, representations of the bat’s surroundings that are suitable for biosonar problems have been developed, for example a probability density function of the angles and distances from the laser scanned points of a habitat model relative to the bat’s position and orientation. These representations will serve as inputs to machine learning algorithms that can predict the quantitative features of the bat’s biosonar behavior. This research could lead to a better understanding of bat pulse adaptation and also aid in developing biomimetic sonar navigation systems.Echolocating bats are known to adapt their biosonar behaviors according to their surroundings. Vespertilionid bats, for example, adapt their pulse duration and bandwidth as a function of their proximity to foliage. However, these relationships have been based on mostly qualitative observations so far. More powerful methods that are capable of handling large quantitative datasets could produce further and more detailed insights. In the current work, aligned multimodal datasets have been gathered to address this challenge: habitat geometry (laser scans), acoustic scene (biomimetic active sonar system), bat flight trajectories (infrared camera array), and biosonar behavior (microphone array). Machine learning approaches can then be used to analyze relationships between the components of these multimodal datasets. To do this, representations of the bat’s surroundings that are suitable for biosonar problems have been developed, for example a probability density function of the angles and distances from the las...
Outcomes following implantable cardioverter-defibrillator generator replacement in adults: A systematic review.

Randomized trials inform the use of implantable cardioverter–defibrillators (ICDs) for prevention of sudden cardiac death, yet management of patients considering ICD generator replacement procedures remains largely dependent on clinical judgment. Thus, we performed a systematic review of all studies evaluating outcomes associated with ICD generator replacement. We queried PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for relevant studies with a prespecified search and adjudication strategy (PROSPERO registration number CRD42018100818) to evaluate outcomes including (1) survival; (2) clinical complications (eg, infection, hematoma); or (3) incidence of ICD therapy. From 1607 unique titles, 37 studies met inclusion criteria, describing outcomes for 238,949 patients. Procedural mortality was rare, but complications including reoperation (median 4.57%; range 0.38%–10.31%), infections (median 2.01%; range 0.03%–9.27%), and hematoma (median 1.22%, range 0.17%–2.53%) were observed in a small fraction of patients. Appropriate ICD therapy after generator replacement was common (median rate 23.03%; range 10.9%–31.4%), with an overall annualized event rate of 8.52% at median duration of follow-up of 32.4 months. Appropriate ICD therapy continued to occur at a significant annual rate even in patients who no longer met implantation criteria (5.27%) and in patients who never previously received ICD therapy (4.87%). This analysis of published observational data regarding ICD generator replacement procedures identifies relatively low risks of procedural complications and clinically meaningful rates of appropriate ICD therapies. These estimates may guide clinical decisions and inform the design of definitive trials.
Regulation of intrinsic polarity establishment by a differentiation-type MAPK pathway in S. cerevisiae .

All cells establish and maintain an axis of polarity that is critical for cell shape and progression through the cell cycle. A well-studied example of polarity establishment is bud emergence in yeast, which is controlled by the Rho GTPase Cdc42p. The prevailing view of bud emergence does not account for regulation by extrinsic cues. Here, we show that the filamentous growth MAPK pathway (fMAPK) regulates bud emergence under nutrient-limiting conditions. The fMAPK pathway regulated the expression of polarity targets including a direct effector of Cdc42p, Gic2p. The fMAPK pathway also stimulated GTP-Cdc42p levels, which is a critical determinant of polarity establishment. The fMAPK pathway activity was spatially restricted to bud sites and active during the period of the cell cycle leading up to bud emergence. Time-lapse fluorescence microscopy showed that the fMAPK pathway stimulated the rate of bud emergence during filamentous growth. Unregulated activation of the fMAPK pathway induced multiple rounds of symmetry breaking inside the growing bud. Collectively, our findings identify a new regulatory aspect of bud emergence that sensitizes this essential cellular process to external cues.
Endovascular Therapy for Spontaneous Ilio-Iliac Arteriovenous Fistula Due To Iliac Artery Aneurysm Rupture With Multi-Organ Dysfunction:

Iliac artery aneurysms can rarely present with rupture into adjacent iliac vein resulting in arteriovenous fistula leading to acute cardiac failure or multi-organ failure. End-organ damage can be reversed with timely diagnosis and intervention. Endovascular therapy is an attractive option to treat this pathology besides allowing for a quick recovery and mitigating the risk of mortality associated with open surgical treatment options. We report treatment of this pathology with Endovascular repair with preservation of ipsilateral hypogastric artery flow using an iliac branch graft device. The postoperative course was complicated by type 3 endoleak due to the separation of components between iliac branch graft and aortic stent graft with resultant recurrence of the fistula. Additional endovascular techniques, including placement of a venous stent and stent grafts to bridge the components, was used to treat the endoleak. We present this report due to the unique nature of the recurrent arteriovenous fistula, technical complexity, and resultant multi-organ dysfunction.
Chapter 49 – Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis

More than 70 years ago, osteoporosis associated with endogenous glucocorticoid excess was described by Harvey Cushing. More common is the increased fracture risk associated with exogenous glucocorticoids, a therapy used for many inflammatory disorders. Despite advances in biologically targeted therapeutics for these diseases, glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIOP) remains the most common secondary form of osteoporosis. For patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis, the fracture risk rises slowly over the years after menopause. In contrast, an increased risk for fracture can be demonstrated as early as 3 months after commencing therapy with oral glucocorticoids.
Translocation of the retinal pigment epithelium and choroidal neovascularization induced by injecting Matrigel to subretinal space of rats

Objective To establish an animal model of sub-retinal pigment epithelium (sub-RPE)deposits,and to explore the pathological process of the transloeation of retinal pigment epithelium, choroidal neovascularization and the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Methods Matrigel was injected to the subretinal space of rats to create an amorphous deposit. Translocation of retinal pigment epithelium and choroidal neovascularization were observed. Results The subretinal deposit of Matrigel induced RPE translocation and therefore it became a sub-RPE deposit. The RPE mobilization required the presence of photoreceptors. Bruch's membrane devoid of RPE attachment became vulnerable to the invasion of new blood vessels from the choroid. Conclusions A novel model of sub-RPE deposit formation is established successfully. The presence of sub-RPE deposit is sufficient to induce choroidal neovascularization to penetrate Bruch's membrane and may cause the exudative form of AMD. Key words: Retinal pigment epithelium; Extracellular matrix; Deposition; Choroidal neovascularization; Rats
A Randomized Trial of Voice-Generated Inpatient Progress Notes: Effects on Professional Fee Billing

Background Prior evaluations of automated speech recognition (ASR) to create hospital progress notes have not analyzed its effect on professional revenue billing codes. As ASR becomes a more common method of entering clinical notes, clinicians, hospital administrators, and payers should understand whether this technology alters charges associated with inpatient physician services. Objectives This study aimed to measure the difference in professional fee charges between using voice and keyboard to create inpatient progress notes. Methods In a randomized trial of a novel voice with ASR system, called voice-generated enhanced electronic note system (VGEENS), to generate physician notes, we compared 1,613 notes created using intervention (VGEENS) or control (keyboard with template) created by 31 physicians. We measured three outcomes, as follows: (1) professional fee billing levels assigned by blinded coders, (2) number of elements within each note domain, and (3) frequency of organ system evaluations documented in review of systems (ROS) and physical exam. Results Participants using VGEENS generated a greater portion of high-level (99233) notes than control users (31.8 vs. 24.3%, p Conclusion Using this voice with ASR system as tested slightly increases documentation of patient symptom details without reliance on copy and paste and may raise physician charges. Increased provider reimbursement may encourage hospital and provider group to offer use of voice and ASR to create hospital progress notes as an alternative to usual methods.
A 58-Year-Old Male with Bronze Hyperpigmented Skin Over the Nape of the Neck and Extremities

A 58-year-old Caucasian male presents to the physician due to generalized fatigue, arthralgias of the metacarpophalangeal joints, and abdominal discomfort for 2 months. He has hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. His grandfather died of liver cancer at the age of 62 years. He is 5 ft 7 in. tall and weighs 205 lb. BMI is 32.11 kg/m2. His temperature is 98 °F, pulse is 106/min, and blood pressure is 130/80 mmHg. Physical examination reveals bronze hyperpigmented skin over the nape of the neck and extremities (Figs. 3.1 and 3.2). The liver is palpated 5 cm below the right costal margin. Wood’s light reveal lime green fluorescence of the patient’s urine.
Renal lipid accumulation, oxidative stress and uric acid handling in a rodent model of obesity and metabolic syndrome

Hyperuricemia is more prevalent among people with obesity and metabolic syndrome, and is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. We hypothesized that increased renal reabsorption of uric acid (UA) in obesity and metabolic syndrome may be an adaptive response of the kidney when faced with fatty acid-induced oxidative stress. To test this hypothesis, we examined lipid accumulation, markers of oxidative stress, and renal UA handling in Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, and in matched lean control animals. Rats were randomized to either normal rodent chow or a diet supplemented with antioxidants (α-tocopheryl acetate, sodium selenite, zinc sulfate, and ascorbic acid), and were followed up for either 4 or 20 weeks after randomization. Dietary antioxidant supplementation had no significant effects in lean control rats but led to partial improvement in markers of elevated oxidative stress in the kidney of ZDF rats. Renal UA handling was not affected by antioxidant supplementation. We observed robust correlations between renal lipid content and oxidative stress markers in the pooled experimental groups, particularly in older animals after 20 weeks on the study diets. Dietary antioxidant supplementation did not prevent the gradual decline in renal function observed in older ZDF rats. These findings suggest that hyperuricemia in the ZDF rat model of obesity and the metabolic syndrome is not caused by renal oxidative stress, that there may be a pathophysiological link between lipid accumulation and oxidative stress in the kidney, and that antioxidant supplementation does not prevent age-related decline in renal function in ZDF rats.
Entrepreneurship and the Racial Wealth Gap: The Impact of Entrepreneurial Success or Failure on the Wealth Mobility of Black and White Families

Research has repeatedly argued that increasing the rate at which Black people start businesses could reduce the racial wealth gap between Black and white families, but increasing the rate of Black entrepreneurship may actually exacerbate the racial wealth gap, due to the economic cost associated with business closure. Using longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), we find that, as past work suggests, Black-owned businesses are less likely to remain open 4 years later, compared to white-owned businesses, and that, due to this disparity, Black business owners are more likely to experience downward economic mobility and less likely to experience upward mobility, compared to their white counterparts. These results suggest that improving the rate at which Black entrepreneurs succeed, rather than increasing the rate at which Black people become entrepreneurs, should be the target of efforts to leverage business ownership to reduce the racial wealth gap.
Introducing a novel technique for measuring hydrogen crossover in membrane-based electrochemical cells

Abstract Hydrogen crossover that is the unwanted hydrogen permeation across the membrane driven by the difference of gas concentrations causes a critical concern of safety and efficiency for electrochemical cells, such as fuel cells and electrolyzer cells. Although the hydrogen crossover measurement in fuel cells that employ platinum based catalysts is simple and widely used in laboratory settings, it is questionable to apply existing limiting current method to water electrolyzer cells and alkaline exchange membrane (AEM) systems, which is due to the typical catalyst materials used and membrane properties, respectively. In this work, we demonstrate the operation of a compact and low-cost method of measuring hydrogen crossover that works for both AEM and proton exchange membrane (PEM) systems. The method entails a tandem configuration that utilizes an upstream crossover cell with a downstream cell in hydrogen pump configuration to measure the crossover in the cell of interest. We have successfully measured the hydrogen crossover with different membranes at various differential pressures. The developed method can be applied to catalyst-free membranes (both PEM and AEM) as well as PGM free catalyst containing cells. It will be a promising technique for measuring hydrogen crossover in-situ for a real operating membraned-based electrochemical cell or stack.
Health Insurance Generosity and Conditional Coverage: Evidence from Medicaid and Managed Care in Kentucky

This paper estimates the impact of the introduction of Medicaid managed care (MMC) on the formal Medicaid participation of children. We employ a quasi-experimental approach exploiting the location-specific timing of MMC implementation in Kentucky. Using data from the March Current Population Survey from 1995-2003, our findings suggest that the introduction of MMC increases the likelihood of being uninsured and decreases formal Medicaid participation. This finding is consistent with an increase in "conditional coverage" – waiting until medical care is needed to sign up or re-enroll in Medicaid. These effects are concentrated among low-income children and absent for high-income children. We find no evidence of "crowd-in" – substituting private coverage for Medicaid. These results are robust to multiple placebo tests and imply the potential for less formal participation (i.e. more conditional coverage) among the ACA Medicaid expansion population (which is likely to be primarily covered under MMC) than is typically predicted.
Posterior brain sensorimotor recruitment for inhibition of delayed responses in children.

Inhibitory control, the ability to suppress irrelevant thoughts or actions, is central to cognitive and social development. Protracted maturation of frontal brain networks has been reported as a major restraint for this ability, yet, young children, when motivated, successfully inhibit delayed responses. A better understanding of the age-dependent neural inhibitory mechanism operating during the awaiting-to-respond window in children may elucidate this conundrum. We recorded ERPs from children and parental adults to a visual-spatial working memory task with delayed responses. Cortical activation elicited during the first 1000 ms of the awaiting-to-respond window showed, as predicted by prior studies, early inhibitory effects in prefrontal ERPs (P200, 160–260 ms) associated with top-down attentional-biasing, and later effects in parietal/occipital ERPs (P300, 270–650 ms) associated with selective inhibition of task-irrelevant stimuli/responses and recurrent memory retrieval. Children successfully inhibited delayed responses and performed with a high level of accuracy (often over 90%), although, the prefrontal P200 displayed reduced amplitude and uniformly delayed peak latency, suggesting low efficacy of top-down attentional-biasing. P300, however, with no significant age-contrasts in latency was markedly elevated in children over the occipital/inferior parietal regions, with effects stronger in younger children. These results provide developmental evidence supporting the sensorimotor recruitment model of visual-spatial working memory relying on the occipital/parietal regions of the early maturing dorsal-visual network. The evidence is in line with the concept of age-dependent variability in the recruitment of cognitive inhibitory networks, complementing the former predominant focus on frontal lobes.
Association of race with receipt of definitive therapy for high risk prostate cancer in older men.

Abstract Objectives Black men are more likely to die of prostate cancer (PCa) than White men. Whether this difference is driven by biological versus sociodemographic and access to care differences is actively investigated. However, studies that have highlighted racial disparities in PCa outcomes have been poorly represented by elderly men, a notoriously undertreated group. Herein, we evaluated use of curative treatment between Black and White elderly men with aggressive PCa in a large US database. Methods Men ≥80 years diagnosed with National Comprehensive Cancer Network-defined high risk PCa between 2004 and 2016 were analyzed from the National Cancer Database. Multivariable logistic regression was used to model the effect of race and sociodemographic factors on receipt of definitive therapy (surgery or radiation +/− androgen deprivation therapy [ADT]) versus non-definitive therapy (ADT alone or observation) in inverse probability weighted groups matched for stage, prostate-specific antigen, and Gleason score. Results Between 2004 and 2016, utilization of definitive therapy with either surgery or radiation therapy increased in both White and Black men in the United States. However, we found that Black men compared with White men were significantly less likely to receive definitive therapy (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.64–0.79, p Conclusions These findings highlight striking but improving racial disparities in elderly men with high risk PCa in the US, an overall undertreated population.
The impact of corruption and good governance on the economic growth of the Balkan countries

The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of good governance on the economic growth in Balkan countries. In particular, we investigate the impact of corruption on the growth of GDP per capita. The results show that in some of the countries of the Balkan area such as Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Greece, the Republic of North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Turkey corruption is negatively correlated with GDP per capita growth. This paper also shows that corruption, in some Balkan countries, tends to decrease before joining the European Union and continues to decrease even after joining. This is due to the fact that, with EU membership, governance tends to improve and adapt more easily to EU rules. The main policy implication is that improved governance is more effective in terms of both reducing corruption and improving the growth potential of an economy and also EU integration.
Host-Parasite Relationships in Microsporidiosis:Animal Models and Immunology

This chapter describes the host-parasite relationships in animals with microsporidiosis and how they relate to microsporidian infections in humans. The majority of immunologically competent hosts who became infected with microsporidia (e.g., rabbits and mice) developed chronic and persistent infections with few clinical signs of disease. At least three levels or stages of defense mechanisms are expressed to prevent or control infection with most microorganisms. These are innate resistance, early induced responses, and adapted immune responses. The majority of the microsporidian spores appeared to be destroyed after phagocytosis, although some microsporidia taken up by phagocytosis had extruded their polar filaments into the cytoplasm of the macrophage. Microsporidia that infect mammals often persist in the face of innate resistance, early induced response, and adapted immune response mechanisms. The clinical manifestations of microsporidiosis in animals, however, have been highly predictive of the disease in humans, and a competent immune system has been shown to be important in preventing lethal disease. A balanced host-parasite relationship developed in many animals with microsporidiosis that displayed few clinical signs of disease yet carried persistent infections. A better understanding of the immune responses that establish a balanced host-parasite relationship in animals will likely prove beneficial in understanding the immunology of microsporidiosis in humans and in developing immunotherapeutic and chemotherapeutic strategies that can be applied to microsporidiosis.
Multiple Myeloma and Related Paraproteinemias

Multiple myeloma (MM) is a complex clonal malignancy of plasma cells in which the malignant cell has synergistic and complex interactions with the stroma. The first description of the disease was in the 1840s. The patient, Thomas Alexander McBean, was a carpenter born in 1800. He went to his family physician Dr. Thomas Watson in 1844 with sternal pain, which was treated with a plaster cast. The pain recurred 1 yr later and was treated with cupping and then steel and quinine. With relapse in August 1845, the patient was referred to William MacIntyre, a Harley Street physician, who personally examined both the urine and the patient. He noted that with boiling, the urine became opaque, and that on cooling, a precipitate formed that clarified on reheating. Henry Bence Jones, physician at St. George’s Hospital, confirmed the finding and, by chemical analysis, determined the substance to be a protein different from albumin. Mr. Bean died on New Year’s Day 1846. John Dalrymple performed the autopsy and, noting bony abnormalities, coined the term “mollities and fragilitas ossium.” Subsequently, Bence Jones presented a paper “On a new substance occurring in the urine of a patient with ‘mollities ossium’,” and 2 years later, MacIntyre described the patient in a paper “Case of mollities and fragilitas ossium accompanied with urine strongly charged with animal matter.”
Choosing the optimal diagnostic dose for monitoring insecticide resistance.

We developed a model to investigate the best conditions for conducting diagnostic dose tests to monitor insecticide resistance when dose-response lines of the susceptible and heterozygous strains overlap. In the model, x2 analysis and a one-tailed Z test were used to test the accuracy or power of the experiment. Seven independent factors (slope, resistance factor, frequency of resistance, inheritance of resistance, dose, number of susceptible strain insects, and number of test strain insects) contributed to a test’s potential accuracy. Only dose and number of insects treated can be altered by the scientist to improve a test’s accuracy. With two exceptions-dose and sample size-the accuracy of the test will be higher as the numerical value of any factor increases. Under our conditions, accuracy decreased as dose approached 100% mortality of the susceptible strain. This relationship suggests that, in the absence of a discriminating dose that has been shown to distinguish genotypes, use of slightly lower doses that do not kill an extremely high proportion of susceptible insects may be preferable.
Modulation of the cloned skeletal muscle L-type Ca2+ channel by anchored cAMP-dependent protein kinase.

Ca2+ influx through skeletal muscle Ca2+channels and the force of contraction are increased in response to β-adrenergic stimulation and high-frequency electrical stimulation. These effects are thought to be mediated by cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of the skeletal muscle Ca2+ channel. Modulation of the cloned skeletal muscle Ca2+ channel by cAMP-dependent phosphorylation and by depolarizing prepulses was reconstituted by transient expression in tsA-201 cells and compared to modulation of the native skeletal muscle Ca2+ channel as expressed in mouse 129CB3 skeletal muscle cells. The heterologously expressed Ca2+ channel consisting of α1, α2δ, and β subunits gave currents that were similar in time course, current density, and dihydropyridine sensitivity to the native Ca2+ channel. cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) stimulation by Sp-5,6-DCl-cBIMPS (cBIMPS) increased currents through both native and expressed channels two- to fourfold. Tail currents after depolarizations to potentials between −20 and +80 mV increased in amplitude and decayed more slowly as either the duration or potential of the depolarization was increased. The time- and voltage-dependent slowing of channel deactivation required the activity of PKA, because it was enhanced by cBIMPS and reduced or eliminated by the peptide PKA inhibitor PKI (5–24) amide. This voltage-dependent modulation of the cloned skeletal muscle Ca2+ channel by PKA also required anchoring of PKA by A-Kinase Anchoring Proteins because it was blocked by peptide Ht 31, which disrupts such anchoring. The results show that the skeletal muscle Ca2+ channel expressed in heterologous cells is modulated by PKA at rest and during depolarization and that this modulation requires anchored protein kinase, as it does in native skeletal muscle cells.
"Outcomes" of Adoptions of Children from India: A Subjective versus Normative View of "Success.".

ABSTRACT Based on the young adult adjustment of adoptees who came to America from Mother Theresa's orphanages, we suggest that the concept of “outcomes” needs to be stretched. Most adoption studies look at outcome from a normative perspective-the success of the adoption as compared to accepted standards of adjustment-ignoring the equally important subjective perspective-the success of the adoption according to the parents and child. We found that while this group of adoptees could be considered “unsuccessful” from a normative standpoint-46% were identified by their parents as having special needs-they were pleased with their lives and themselves as were their parents. Furthermore, those identified by adoptive parents as having difficulties expressed no more dissatisfaction than those not so identified.
Laser diagnostics for flame synthesis of nanostructured materials: instrumentation, metrology, and process control (retraction notice)

This paper (SPIE Paper 70420G) has been retracted by the author and removed from the SPIE Digital Library on 20 October 2009. The original paper was published without the knowledge or consent of other collaborators, for which the author apologizes. As stated in the SPIE Guidelines for Professional Conduct and Publishing Ethics, "SPIE considers it the professional responsibility of all authors to ensure that the authorship of submitted papers properly reflects the contributions and consent of all authors." A serious violation of these Guidelines has occurred, necessitating that the paper be expunged from the conference proceedings. © (2008) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Reinsurance Networks and Their Impact on Reinsurance Decisions: Theory and Empirical Evidence

This article investigates the role of reinsurance networks in an insurer's reinsurance purchase decision. Drawing on network theory, we develop a framework that delineates how the pattern of linkages among reinsurers determines three reinsurance costs (loadings, contagion costs, and search and monitoring costs) and characterizes an insurer's optimal network structure. Consistent with empirical evidence based on longitudinal data from the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry, our model predicts an inverted U-shaped relationship between the insurer's optimal percentage of reinsurance ceded and the number of its reinsurers. Moreover, we find that a linked network may be optimal ex ante even though linkages among reinsurers may spread financial contagion, supporting the model's prediction regarding social capital benefits associated with network cohesion. Our theoretical model and empirical results have implications for other networks such as loan sale market networks and over-the-counter dealer networks.
PMO Treatment of Conjugated Systems

In order to apply the formal scheme developed in the previous chapter, we have to have some way of estimating the various quantities that appear in the perturbation expressions. These fall into two categories, the integral terms and the AO coefficients.
Freedom of the Church Without Romance

This Article is part of a symposium issue titled "Freedom of the Church in the Modern Era." Freedom of the church, roughly, connotes the independent nature or sovereignty of the church. The most dramatic moment in its development was the eleventh century Investiture Controversy, with its confrontation between Pope Gregory VII and Emperor Henry IV at Canossa, but it has a long prior and subsequent history. Recently, with the renewed scholarly interest in the institutional rights of churches and religious organizations and the Supreme Court's decision affirming the "ministerial exception" doctrine in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, the idea of "freedom of the church" has taken on new champions -- and critics.This Article, from an author who has written supportively about freedom of the church and/or religious institutionalism in prior work, takes a deliberately unromantic look at freedom of the church. It evaluates it through two useful disciplinary lenses: history, and the economics of religion. Both historical and economic analysis of the concept of "freedom of the church" suggest the following conclusions: (1) The concept should be treated carefully and with a full awareness of its mixed history, without undue romanticism on the part of its champions, or a confident conclusion on the part of its critics that it is no longer necessary. (2) Whatever the concept of "freedom of the church" means today, the present version is decidedly diminished and chastened, a shadow of the medieval version. Supporters of freedom of the church should welcome that fact. Freedom of the church persists, and may have continuing value, precisely because it has become so domesticated. (3) There are solid historical and economic grounds for some form of freedom of the church or religious institutional autonomy. In particular, religion's status as a credence good, whose value and reliability is certified by religious agents such as ministers, strongly suggests that state interference with religious employment relations can be dangerous to a church's well-being and long-term survival. (4) The history and economics of religion also teach us something about the optimal conditions for freedom of the church -- the conditions under which it is likely to do the most good and the least harm. In particular, they suggest that champions of freedom of the church ought to welcome religious pluralism and a strong non-establishment regime. The Article closes with some speculation about why there has been a recent revival of interest in freedom of the church, including the possibility that its resurgence, even if it is fully justified, also involves an element of rent-seeking by religious institutions.There are two broader underlying suggestions as well. First, there are good reasons to support some version of freedom of the church, but it deserves a more critical and nuanced examination by friends and adversaries alike. Second, legal scholars writing on church-state issues have paid far too little attention to the literature on the economics of religion.
Some practical considerations in fringe projection profilometry

As technologies evolve, there have been high demands for the three-dimensional (3D) shape measurement techniques to posses the following combined technical features: high accuracy, fast speed, easy implementation, capability of measuring multiple objects as well as measuring complex shapes. Generally, the existing techniques can satisfy some of the requirements, but not all of them. This paper presents four practical considerations in fringe projection profilometry (FPP) based 3D shape measurements, along with simple but robust solutions, including gamma correction of digital projection, arbitrary setup of system components, phase unwrapping with multi-frequency fringes, and system calibration with a least-squares inverse approach. The validity and practicability of the FPP-based 3D shape measurement technique using the four corresponding technical approaches have been verified by experiments. The presented technique is capable of satisfying the various critical demands in enormous scientific and engineering applications.