cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Altered Regional Brain Cortical Thickness in Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea.

Rationale: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 2-5% of all children, and is associated with cognitive and behavioral deficits, resulting in poor school performance. These psychological deficits may arise from brain injury, as seen in preliminary findings of lower gray matter volume among pediatric OSA patients. However, the psychological deficits in OSA are closely related to functions in the cortex, and such brain areas have not been specifically assessed. The objective was to determine whether cortical thickness, a marker of possible brain injury, is altered in children with OSA. Methods: We examined regional brain cortical thicknesses using high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images in 16 pediatric OSA patients (8 male; mean age ± SD = 8.4 ± 1.2 years; mean apnea/hypopnea index ± SD = 11 ± 6 events/hour) and 138 controls (8.3 ± 1.1 years; 62 male; 138 subjects from the NIH Pediatric MRI database) to identify cortical thickness differences in pediatric OSA subjects. Results: Cortical thinning occurred in multiple regions including the superior frontal, ventral medial prefrontal, and superior parietal cortices. The left side showed greater thinning in the superior frontal cortex. Cortical thickening was observed in bilateral precentral gyrus, mid-to-posterior insular cortices, and left central gyrus, as well as right anterior insula cortex. Conclusions: Changes in cortical thickness are present in children with OSA, and likely indicate disruption to neural developmental processes, including maturational patterns of cortical volume increases and synaptic pruning. Regions with thicker cortices may reflect inflammation or astrocyte activation. Both the thinning and thickening associated with OSA in children may contribute to the cognitive and behavioral dysfunction frequently found in the condition.
A Secondary Spatial Analysis of Gun Violence near Boston Schools: a Public Health Approach

School neighborhood violence continues to be a major public health problem among urban students. A large body of research addresses violence at school; however, fewer studies have explored concentrations of violence in areas proximal to schools. This study aimed to quantify the concentration of shootings near schools to elucidate the place-based dynamics that may be focal points for violence prevention. Geocoded databases of shooting and school locations were used to examine locational patterns of firearm shootings and elementary, middle, and high schools in Boston, Massachusetts. Analyses utilized spatial statistics for point pattern data including distance matrix and K function methodology to quantify the degree of spatial dependence of shootings around schools. Results suggested that between 2012 and 2015, there were 678 shooting incidents in Boston; the average density was 5.1 per square kilometer. The nearest neighbor index (NNI = 0.335 km, p < .001, O = 0.95 km, E = 0.28 km) and G function analysis revealed a clustered pattern of gun shooting incidents indicative of a spatially non-random process. The mean and median distance from any school to the nearest shooting location was 0.35 and 0.33 km, respectively. A majority (56%, 74/133) of schools in Boston had at least one shooting incident within 400 m, a distance that would take about 5 min to walk if traveling by foot. The bivariate K function indicated that a significantly greater number of shootings were clustered within short distances from schools than would be expected under a null hypothesis of no spatial dependence. Implications for students attending schools in racially homogenous neighborhoods across all income levels are discussed.
Application and advantages of monoenergetic reconstruction images for the reduction of metallic artifacts using dual-energy CT in knee and hip prostheses.

The study aimed to assess image quality when using dual-energy CT (DECT) to reduce metal artifacts in subjects with knee and hip prostheses. Twenty-two knee and 10 hip prostheses were examined in 31 patients using a DECT protocol (tube voltages 100 and 140 kVp). Monoenergetic reconstructions were extrapolated at 64, 69, 88, 105, 110, 120, 140, 170, and 190 kilo-electron volts (keV) and the optimal energy was manually selected. The B60–140 and Fast DE reconstructions were made by CT. The image quality and diagnostic value were subjectively and objectively determined. Double-blind qualitative assessment was performed by two radiologists using a Likert scale. For quantitative analysis, a circular region of interest (ROI) was placed by a third radiologist within the most evident streak artifacts on every image. Another ROI was placed in surrounding tissues without artifacts as a reference. The inter-reader agreement for the qualitative assessment was nearly 100%. The best overall image quality (37.8% rated “excellent”) was the Fast DE Siemens reconstruction, followed by B60–140 and Opt KeV (20.5 and 10.2% rated excellent). On the other hand, DECT images at 64, 69 and 88 keV had the worse scores. The number of artifacts was significantly different between monoenergetic images. Nevertheless, because of the high number of pairwise comparisons, no differences were found in the post hoc analysis except for a trend toward statistical significance when comparing the 170 and 64 keV doses. DECT with specific post-processing may reduce metal artifacts and significantly enhance the image quality and diagnostic value when evaluating metallic implants.
Two Contemporary Problems in Magnetized Plasmas: The ion-ion hybrid resonator and MHD stability in a snowflake divertor

The first part of the dissertation investigates the effects of multiple-ions on the propagation of shear Alfven waves. It is shown that the presence of a second ion-species allows for the formation of an ion-ion hybrid resonator in the presence of a magnetic well. A full- wave description is shown to explain the measured eigenfrequencies and spatial form of the resonator modes identified in experiments in the Large Plasma Device (LAPD) at UCLA. However, it is determined that neither electron collisions or radial convection of the mode due to coupling to either the compressional or ion-Bernstein wave can explain the observed dissipation.Ray tracing studies for shear Alfven waves are performed in various magnetic geometries of contemporary interest. In a tokamak, it is found that the hybrid resonator can exist in the cold-plasma regime, but that ion-temperature effects combined with curvature effects cause the wave reflection point to shift towards the cyclotron frequency of the heavier ion. A one-dimensional WKB model is applied to a tokamak geometry for conditions corresponding to a burning fusion plasma to characterize the resonator. Instability due to fusion-born alpha particles is assessed. An approximate form of the global eigenmode is considered. It is identified that magnetic field shear combined with large ion temperature can cause coupling to an ion-Bernstein wave, which can limit the instability. Finally, the radiation pattern of shear Alfven waves generated by a burst of charged particles in the presence of two-ion species is considered. The spectral content and spatial patterns of the radiated waves are determined.The second part of the dissertation considers the MHD stability of the plasma near a divertor in a tokamak. Two types of modes are considered: a ballooning mode and an axisymmetric, quasi-flute mode. Instability thresholds are derived for both modes and numerically evaluated for parameters relevant to recent experiments. This is done to determine whether these modes could be responsible for convection of the plasma in the vicinity of the poloidal null point. It is determined that MHD instability about a standard equilibrium is unlikely to explain the experimental results observed on the tokamak, TCV [Reimerdes et al., Plasma Phys. Contr. Fusion 55, 124027 (2013)]. From these results, it is concluded that the most likely explanation for the discrepancy is that the underlying equilibrium assumed in the calculation does not contain all the complexities present in the experiments.
The hypermetabolism of major thermal burn: Implications for infections

The decade of the 1980s saw a tremendous diminution of mortality in major thermal burn injuries. Early massive excision and grafting of burns has increased the LD50 to 98% total body surface area (TBSA) burn in referral pediatric burn centers such as the Shriners Burns Institute-Galveston Unit. We believe that early excision of the burn wound, within 72h of the time of injury, is absolutely essential in the very largest of 3rd degree burns, and we advocate, as a standard of care, the use of fresh cadaver skin as a temporary cover. We initially thought that excising and grafting the acute burn wound would return the patients’ immunologic and hypermetabolic responses to normal. Surprisingly, this has not been the case; the physiologic and metabolic alterations following thermal injury continue despite these measures. Essentially, a burn patient is one whose outer defense, the skin, is breached and whose inner defense mechanism is deranged.
Do Long-time Team-mates Lead to Better Team Performance? A Social Network Analysis of Data from Major League Baseball

To estimate the effects of team-mate shared experience on overall team performance as well as to determine whether concentration of time together among subgroups of players and/or focal players enhances team performance. Social network analysis (SNA) was used to model 30 active Major League Baseball teams from 2006 to 2015 with years of experience together connecting players resulting in 300 individual team networks. Social network metrics of network density, network centralization, and average weighted degree were computed and analyzed with team attributes by generalized least squares regression to predict wins, and team rank. Logistic regression was used to predict binary outcomes of world series and division wins. Network density was negatively associated with team rank (β = − 0.115, p = .05), while average weighted degree was positively associated with team rank (β = 0.147, p = .01). On average, each extra year of shared player time per team was associated with 14.86% higher probability of winning a division title (B = 2.69, exp(B) = 14.86, p = .05). Each extra shared year of infield membership among team-mates predicted 2.4% lower odds of winning the world series (B = −0.024, exp(B) = 0.976, p = .01), and each extra shared year between outfield players predicted 2.9% lower probability of winning a team’s division (B = −0.029. exp(B) = 0.972, p = .05). Prolonged shared time between players is beneficial when it is spread evenly among all players of the team, whereas having few focal players who have been on a team together for many years is a disadvantage to overall performance.
Burkholderia pseudomallei ΔtonB Δhcp1 Live Attenuated Vaccine Strain Elicits Full Protective Immunity against Aerosolized Melioidosis Infection.

ABSTRACT Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative facultative intracellular bacterium and the causative agent of melioidosis, a severe infectious disease found throughout the tropics. This organism is closely related to Burkholderia mallei, the etiological agent of glanders disease which primarily affects equines. These two pathogenic bacteria are classified as Tier 1 select agents due to their amenability to aerosolization, limited treatment options, and lack of an effective vaccine. We have previously successfully demonstrated the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a live attenuated vaccine strain, B. malleiΔtonB Δhcp1 (CLH001). Thus, we applied this successful approach to the development of a similar vaccine against melioidosis by constructing the B. pseudomalleiΔtonB Δhcp1 (PBK001) strain. C57BL/6 mice were vaccinated intranasally with the live attenuated PBK001 strain and then challenged with wild-type B. pseudomallei K96243 by the aerosol route. Immunization with strain PBK001 resulted in full protection (100% survival) against acute aerosolized melioidosis with very low bacterial burden as observed in the lungs, livers, and spleens of immunized mice. PBK001 vaccination induced strong production of B. pseudomallei-specific serum IgG antibodies and both Th1 and Th17 CD4+ T cell responses. Further, humoral immunity appeared to be essential for vaccine-induced protection, whereas CD4+ and CD8+ T cells played a less direct immune role. Overall, PBK001 was shown to be an effective attenuated vaccine strain that activates a robust immune response and offers full protection against aerosol infection with B. pseudomallei. IMPORTANCE In recent years, an increasing number of melioidosis cases have been reported in several regions where melioidosis is endemic and in areas where melioidosis had not commonly been diagnosed. Currently, the estimated burden of disease is around 165,000 new cases annually, including 89,000 cases that have fatal outcomes. This life-threatening infectious disease is caused by B. pseudomallei, which is classified as a Tier 1 select agent. Due to the high case fatality rate, intrinsic resistance to multiple antibiotic treatments, susceptibility to infection via the aerosol route, and potential use as a bioweapon, we have developed an effective live attenuated PBK001 vaccine capable of protecting against aerosolized melioidosis.
What's streamflow got to do with it? A probabilistic simulation of the competing oceanographic and fluvial processes driving extreme along-river water levels

Abstract. Extreme water levels generating flooding in estuarine and coastal environments are often driven by compound events, where many individual processes such as waves, storm surge, streamflow, and tides coincide. Despite this, extreme water levels are typically modeled in isolated open-coast or estuarine environments, potentially mischaracterizing the true risk of flooding facing coastal communities. This paper explores the variability of extreme water levels near the tribal community of La Push, within the Quileute Indian Reservation on the Washington state coast, where a river signal is apparent in tide gauge measurements during high-discharge events. To estimate the influence of multiple forcings on high water levels a hybrid modeling framework is developed, where probabilistic simulations of joint still water level and river discharge occurrences are merged with a hydraulic model that simulates along-river water levels. This methodology produces along-river water levels from thousands of combinations of events not necessarily captured in the observational records. We show that the 100-year still water level event and the 100-year discharge event do not always produce the 100-year along-river water level. Furthermore, along specific sections of river, both still water level and discharge are necessary for producing the 100-year along-river water level. Understanding the relative forcing driving extreme water levels along an ocean-to-river gradient will help communities within inlets better understand their risk to the compounding impacts of various environmental forcing, which is important for increasing their resilience to future flooding events.
Sustainable livelihoods analysis of post-conflict rural development in southern Sudan

4 Introduction 5 Conceptual Basis 12 Data and Methods 18 Conclusions 31 CHAPTER 3. GERERAL CONCLUSIONS 36 General Discussion 36 Recommendation for Future Research 37
Collective Efficacy, Group Threat, and Urban Change: Examining Informal Social Control Forces in Areas of Gentrification:

Since the term gentrification was first coined in the 1960s, scholars have had an interest in understanding how this process of change can impact neighborhoods. Empirical research focusing on the r...
Scientific and Regulatory Considerations for an Ontogeny Knowledge Base for Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology

Understanding all aspects of developmental biology, or pediatric ontogeny, that affect drug therapy from the fetus to the adolescent child is the holy grail of pediatric scientists and clinical pharmacologists. The scientific community is now close to being able to tie together the vast amount of information collected on pediatric ontogeny over the past 60 years. An organized knowledge base and new tools would allow us to utilize this information effectively in pediatric drug development.
Purpose as a Unifying Goal for Higher Education

Purpose, a long-term commitment to goals that are meaningful to the self and contribute beyond the self, is associated with academic and vocational success, resilience, and psychological and physic...
Use of Stratified Cascade Learning to predict hospitalization risk with only socioeconomic factors.

Abstract Background and objective Published models predicting health related outcomes rely on clinical, claims and social determinants of health (SDH) data. Addressing the challenge of predicting with only SDH we developed a novel framework termed Stratified Cascade Learning (SCL) and used it for predicting the risk of hospitalization (ROH). Materials and methods The variable set includes 27 SDH and “age” and “sex” for a cohort of diabetic patients. The SCL model uses three sub-models: SM1 (whole training set) stratifies training set into “predictable” and “unpredictable” subsets, SM2 (built on whole training set) classifies test set patients into “predictable” and “unpredictable”, and SM3 (built on only the “predictable” subset) predicts the ROH for the patients classified as “predictable” by SM2. Results The SCL model does not improve either the AUC or the NPV of the basic classifier, but materially improves accuracy and specificity measures at the expense of lowering sensitivity for the “predictable” subset. Optimization of the risk thresholds of the sub-models does not noticeably change the AUC and NPV but further improves the accuracy and specificity at the expense of further lowering sensitivity. Conclusion Since the SLC model yields low sensitivity it fails to predict high risk patients. But it yields high specificity that can be useful when the objective is to eliminate low-risk patients as candidates for further testing or treatment. The use of the SCL is not limited to healthcare, it can be applied to any predictive modeling problem when reliable predictions can only be made for a fraction of incoming data.
Pulmonary hypertension: A rare Presentation of thiamine deficiency in infancy

Persistent pulmonary hypertension (PPHN) is seen in approximately 10% of infants with respiratory failure with significant mortality and morbidity. Pulmonary hypertension in infants can be idiopathic, associated with vascular or parenchymal diseases. Thiamine deficiency is one of the reversible causes of pulmonary hypertension. 7 month old male infant presented with cough, fast breathing, decreased oral acceptance and excessive irritability. Echocardiography was suggestive of severe pulmonary hypertension without any structural heart disease. Rapid progression, history of exclusive breast feeding, persisting lactic acidosis prompted us to investigate for thiamine deficiency. Low blood thiamine levels confirmed the diagnosis. It was further confirmed by thiamine challenge (IV thiamine for 5 days) with rapid clinical improvement. Mother was also found thiamine deficient, started on oral supplements. Hence thiamine deficiency should be considered in all infants with pulmonary hypertension of unknown origin.
Genome‐wide association study for host genetic factors associated with equine herpesvirus type‐1 induced myeloencephalopathy

Background Equid herpesvirus (EHV-1) infections in horses can lead to equine herpesvirus myeloencephalopathy (EHM), characterised by neurological clinical signs. The sporadic occurrence of the disease in horse herds suggests a host genetic component. A recent study reported an association between the occurrence of EHM and genetic markers on horse chromosome 6 (ECA6). Objectives To investigate the association of EHM with genetic host factors, especially with reference to the association reported for ECA6. Study design Genome-wide association study (GWAS) was conducted based on 94 horses that had EHV-1 infections and comparing the 27 developing clinical EHM to the 67 which did not. Methods DNA samples were tested from 94 horses for 382,529 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with the Affymetrix Axiom 670K SNP array to identify possible associations with EHM. The data analysis included tests for basic, additive, dominant and recessive modes of inheritance, haplotype associations and runs of homozygosity (ROH). Results Results from this study did not identify significant SNPs, haplotypes or ROH associations with the development of EHM following EHV-1 infections and excluded the involvement of a recessive genetic factor in the susceptibility to develop EHM. Main limitations Sample size and complex phenotype. Conclusions The results exclude the involvement of a recessive genetic factor in the susceptibility to develop clinically apparent EHM but do not have the power to exclude the involvement of other, complex host genetic factors. Furthermore, there was no association between development of EHM and genes on equine chromosome 6, as previously reported.
Routine use of the Bath Adolescent Pain Questionnaire in a paediatric pain clinic

Introduction:Assessment of outcomes from health interventions are of increasing importance, primarily to identify effective and safe treatment, but also to justify funding decisions. The Bath Adole...
Improving Diversity and Inclusion in the Post-Coronavirus Disease 2019 Era Through a Radiation Oncology Intensive Shadowing Experience (RISE).

Purpose In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, current AAMC guidelines discourage away rotations, posing significant challenges for attracting students to radiation oncology (RO). This is particularly concerning for medical students underrepresented in medicine (UIM) due to the potential of widening existing disparities in applicant and workforce composition. To proactively address this, we created a Radiation Oncology Intensive Shadowing Experience (RISE) to expose UIM students to the field of radiation oncology. Methods and materials Key stakeholders within the residency program, including both UIM faculty and residents with experience in health disparities and medical education designed a one-week virtual Radiation Oncology Intensive Shadowing Experience (RISE) intended for fourth year UIM students recruited through established national organizations serving UIM medical students. A one-week disease specific curriculum was developed using four components: 1) foundational exposure to radiation oncology, 2) didactic teaching, 3) mentorship opportunities, and 4) a capstone experience. Mentorship was continuously weaved through the experience by attendings, peer resident mentors and a UIM resident panel to optimize exposure. Results RISE was successfully initiated at two academic medical centers with twelve UIM students enrolled through August. Anonymized pre- and post- clerkship surveys were developed for students, residents and faculty involved in RISE to evaluate participants' satisfaction, resident and attending time burden, and perceptions of program effectiveness. Conclusions We created a unique virtual RO shadowing experience for UIM students to address a critical gap in exposure to radiation oncology, heightened by the COVID pandemic, with the goal of improving diversity, equity and inclusion in our field.
Algebra, coherent states, generalized Hermite polynomials, and path integrals for fractional statistics—Interpolating from fermions to bosons

This article constructs the Hilbert space for the algebra αβ − eiθβα = 1 that provides a continuous interpolation between the Clifford and Heisenberg algebras—this particular form is inspired by the properties of anyons. We study the eigenvalues of a generalized number operator (N=βα) and construct the Hilbert space, classified by values of a complex coordinate (λ0): the eigenvalues lie on a circle. For θ being an irrational multiple of 2π, we get an infinite-dimensional representation; however, for a rational multiple (MN) of 2π, it is finite-dimensional, parameterized by the complex coordinate λ0. The case for N = 2, θ = π is the usual Clifford algebra for fermions, while the case for N = ∞, θ = 0 is the Heisenberg algebra of bosons, albeit with two copies for positive and negative eigenvalues. We find a smooth transition from the fermion to the boson situation as N → ∞ from N = 2. After constructing the Hilbert space from the algebra, the cases for N = 2, 3 can be mapped to the “fuzzy sphere” of SU(2), while for general N, the “fuzzy pancake” is found to be the correct representation. Then, we motivate the study of coherent states, which are the eigenstates of α (the lowering operator), labeled by complex numbers for non-zero λ0. We specialize the study of coherent states to the very interesting case of λ0 = 0 and construct a calculus of the generalized Grassmann variables that result, applying it to compute a partition function for these particles. We then make some remarks about extending this study to that of anyons.
Values and Limits of Telemedicine: a Case Report.

In the era of a pandemic, the utilization of telemedicine is growing at a rapid speed. This new and necessary adaption in medicine is a threat to the basics of medicine which include the physical exam. A 72-year-old woman presents for a 1-week history of cervical neck discomfort. The patient was found to be febrile with initial physical exam nonrevealing due to patient preference of not taking off hospital gown. After blood cultures grew group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus and a computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis with contrast demonstrated subtle bilateral renal hypodensities suggesting possible septic emboli, a more thorough physical exam was sought out which revealed a large rodent ulcer which the patient had been hiding from her family for 2 years. Transthoracic echocardiography was done which demonstrated a vegetation on the mitral valve confirming the diagnosis of endocarditis. The source of infection was the ulcer which was biopsied and found to be basal cell carcinoma. We present a unique case of endocarditis that was reliant on the physical exam to reveal the source of infection which was a rodent basal cell carcinoma ulcer. This case reminds physicians that at the forefront of telemedicine, the physical exam should not be forgotten.
Discovering concepts of geometry through robotics coding activities

In recent years, mathematics classrooms in the U.S. and around the world have seen an increasing integration of educational robotics with interest from both students and teachers. Through their robotics coding activities, students in the present study discovered the concepts of special angle pairs in geometry—namely, complementary and supplementary angles—as they learned to navigate the immediate feedback from the robot Sphero SPRK+ into a trial-and-error mathematics problem-solving process. Students’ experiences in these three coding activities revealed, to a certain extent, that engaging in reflective play could be shaped into meaningful teachable moments where students could participate in a “doing with learning” pedagogical method using educational robotics. These activities had transferability implications that might afford STEM learning access and opportunities for students to develop not only mathematical reasoning skills, but also problem solving and critical thinking skills operable to a coding environment. This paper presents students’ use of educational robotics in a school geometry curriculum setting to demonstrate the possibility that mathematics concepts could be gathered and mastered in a playful and informal manner, and that robotics games and computer coding could be performed and framed in a thoughtful and challenging manner.
Morituri Te Salutant

In this essay, I weave together the readings and appraisals of the volume Re-Envisioning Peacekeeping offered by the contributors to this issue to further reflect on some of the key themes of the book and to highlight the critical provocations featured in this issue’s essays.
The Role of Hemorheology in Cerebral Vasospasm Following Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (SAH)

This study is an investigation of hemorheological alterations in 26 SAH patients. Altered blood rheology was seen in all patients studied and was characterized by elevated whole blood viscosity (WBV) in comparison to hematocrit-matched normals, and increased red cell rigidity. Patients with slightly elevated WBV (below 24% at du/dr = 0.1 s−1) did not show serious secondary complications. However, those with WBV in the range of 27–41% above normal showed a high incidence of vasospasm, coma and/or death associated with one or a combination of increased red cell rigidity, plasma fibrinogen and whole blood platelet aggregation. Our results also show that hemorheological alterations are sever in the patients who experience vasospasm (n = 12) and suggest that therapeutic measures aimed at improving hemorheology would favorably influence cerebral hemodynamics both by altering vascular responses and improving blood flow properties.
The First Day of Criminal Law: Forgetting Everything You Thought You Already Knew

Law school presents many challenges, not the least of which is the large body of legal doctrines that students must digest in the first year of law school. Whether from the media or the seemingly endless rotation of Law and Order episodes, many students enter law school with a great deal of knowledge about important concepts that dominate Criminal Law, including murder, manslaughter, conspiracy, self-defense, or insanity. This familiarity with criminal law presents a dual challenge for students and professors alike. First, as future lawyers, they must force themselves to think critically about these familiar topics, and despite their basic knowledge of the criminal justice system, students quickly learn that there is much more to criminal law than meets the eye. Second, part of this critical analysis requires students to shed any preconceived notions about the criminal justice system they may have acquired. For my students, this means appreciating that criminality exists in all sectors of society and is not reserved for any particular race, gender, or socioeconomic class. Armed with knowledge of criminal law and its principles, my hope is that they will develop their own ideas about making our great justice system better. In order to introduce these concepts, I begin the first day of Criminal with an interactive exercise to debate the merits of criminal prosecution and punishment involving a scenario plucked from the headlines of a modem news story. For the first of many times during the semester, I divide the class into two groups: prosecutors and defense attorneys. The exercise encourages students to think about many questions we will consider during the course of the semester. How do we define "crime" or "punishment"? What are the goals of punishment, and how much punishment is enough to accomplish these goals? Why punish someone who encouraged or assisted a criminal actor but did not actively participate in the crime? Are there any circumstances about the individual or the situation that might warrant exoneration or leniency? Throughout the hour, we slowly peel back the intricate layers of the scenario to reveal some of the complexities and confounding principles of criminal law.
Una revisión de los géneros periodísticos en la información especializada

La informacion periodistica recogida en los medios de comunicacion precisa de una estructura informativa, que responde a unas normas de redaccion y a un estilo que aportan organizacion al material informativo. Un sistema que permite disenar la informacion adaptandola a la redaccion del Genero Periodistico que mas se adapte a la propia noticia. Pero, en la actualidad, la catalogacion de generos que hasta el momento conociamos esta siendo objeto de profundos cambios, debido a la evolucion que esta experimentando la informacion y a las transformaciones que estan sucediendose tanto en la produccion como en la circulacion de nuevos productos informativos, influidos por la irrupcion de las TIC y los nuevos medios audiovisuales. Una situacion que llega acompanada por la proliferacion de generos mixtos, que responden a la necesidad de nuevas formulas, que se adapten a los nuevos contenidos informativos especializados, a nuevos canales y a nuevos medios de informacion.
Least Squares and Total Least Squares Methods in Image Restoration

Image restoration is the process of removing or minimizing degradations (blur) in an image. Mathematically, it can be modeled as a discrete ill-posed problem Hf=g, where H is a matrix of large dimension representing the blurring phenomena, and g is a vector representing the observed image. Often H is severely ill-conditioned, and both H and g are corrupted with noise. Regularization is used to reduce the noise sensitivity of the numerical scheme. Most of these methods, however, assume that there is no noise in H, and therefore least squares techniques are used to reconstruct f. In some applications, though, H is also corrupted with noise. In this case a total least squares approach may be more appropriate. These least squares and total least squares methods will be investigated in the context of signal restoration.
Intentions and Unified Agency: Insights from the Split‐brain Phenomenon

Under experimental conditions, behavior suggesting dual agency is easily elicited from split-brain subjects who usually behave in an unremarkable fashion. This article presents a model of split-brain agency that accounts for this apparent tension. Right and left hemisphere are associated with distinct agents, R and L, each of whose unity is grounded in the special inferential and experiential relations that its mental states bear to each other. These same relations do not hold interhemispherically; rather, unified behavior is largely the result of a split-brain subject's having a single body, much of whose coordination in action is maintained by forces operating downstream of reasons and intentions and conscious experiences. The split-brain subject as a whole is still a unified agent as well, however, in virtue of R's and L's intentions bearing, with respect to one and the same body, those special causal powers that an individual's intentions (and hers alone) bear to her body (and to her body alone).
Partial amino acid sequence of mouse beta2-microglobulin.

Abstract A highly purified preparation of mouse β2-microglobulin has been obtained from sodium thiocyanate extracts of liver cell membranes of A J strain mice and the amino acid sequence has been partially determined. The first 40 residues have been assigned except for position 34. In the sequence, the mouse protein differs only at 9 positions from human β2-microglobulin at 8 positions from the dog homologue and at 11 positions from the rabbit homologue. The sequence has also a homology to the constant regions of mouse γG2a, most closely to the CH3 region. These data support the conclusion that the mouse protein is indeed the mouse homologue of human β2-microglobulin.
Dobutamine stress echocardiography Doppler estimation of cardiac diastolic function: a simultaneous catheterization correlation study.

Background: Doppler echocardiography using the ratio of early diastolic transmitral velocity to early diastolic mitral annular tissue velocity (E/E′) is routinely used to evaluate left ventricular (LV) filling pressures at rest. We tested the hypothesis that measurement of E/E′ in patients undergoing dobutamine stress echocardiography (DSE) will detect changes in LV filling pressures. Methods: In this prospective study, 16 patients with normal LV ejection fraction and normal coronary arteries by angiography underwent a standard DSE protocol with simultaneous LV filling pressure monitoring with a fluid filled pigtail catheter. Doppler echocardiographic assessment of LV diastolic function was performed using E/E′ at rest and during DSE. Results: The average age of the study participants was 57 ± 8 years. Average heart rate was 61 ± 11 bpm at baseline and 141 ± 12 bpm at peak stress. LV mean diastolic pressure decreased from 12.3 ± 2.6 mmHg at baseline to 9.0 ± 2.3 mmHg at peak stress (P = 0.0001). Baseline E/E′ at the septum and lateral annulus were 8.7 ± 2.2 and 7.5 ± 1.9 and during peak stress were 8.3 ± 3.1 and 7.9 ± 3.5, respectively. There was no significant change in E/E′ at either the septum or the lateral annulus (P = 0.55, P = 0.66). There was no significant correlation between LV mean diastolic pressure and E/E′ with dobutamine stress. Conclusions: In patients with normal LV ejection fraction and no significant coronary artery disease undergoing DSE, the ratio of early diastolic transmitral velocity to early diastolic tissue velocity (E/E′) at peak stress with dobutamine does not predict changes in LV filling pressures. (Echocardiography 2011;28:442-447)
A Model for the Oxidation of C/Sic Composite Structures

A mathematical theory and an accompanying numerical scheme have been developed for predicting the oxidation behavior of C/SiC composite structures. The theory is derived from the mechanics of the flow of ideal gases through a porous solid. Within the mathematical formulation, two diffusion mechanisms are possible: (1) the relative diffusion of one species with respect to the mixture, which is concentration gradient driven and (2) the diffusion associated with the average velocity of the gas mixture, which is total gas pressure gradient driven. The result of the theoretical formulation is a set of two coupled nonlinear differential equations written in terms of the oxidant and oxide partial pressures. The differential equations must be solved simultaneously to obtain the partial vapor pressures of the oxidant and oxides as a function of space and time. The local rate of carbon oxidation is determined as a function of space and time using the map of the local oxidant partial vapor pressure along with the Arrhenius rate equation. The nonlinear differential equations are cast into matrix equations by applying the Bubnov-Galerkin weighted residual method, allowing for the solution of the differential equations numerically. The end result is a numerical scheme capable of determining the variation of the local carbon oxidation rates as a function of space and time for any arbitrary C/SiC composite structures.
Measurements and Modeling of Sm0.5Sr0.5CoO3-x-Ce0.9Gd0.1O1.95 SOFC Cathodes Produced Using Infiltrate Solution Additives

Nanocomposite Sm 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3-x (SSC)-Ce 0.9 Gd 0.1 O 1.95 (GDC) solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes were produced by infiltrating SSC nitrate solutions into GDC scaffolds. A single infiltration of a concentrated solution resulted in a low polarization resistance of 0.1 Ω cm 2 at 600°C. Infiltrate solution additives slightly improved the SSC phase purity but did not significantly alter the SSC particle morphology/size or the infiltrated cathode polarization resistance. Polarization resistance predictions made using microstructural observations and a simple model were found to be within 35% of the experimentally measured values without the use of fitting parameters.
Updating the global‐local disorder concept (revisiting Peck and Tickell)

This essay updates and refines Peck and Tickell's important notion of global-local disorder that is identified as the centrepiece of their classic thesis ‘Jungle law breaks out’. Three points are offered to nuance this concept in today's complex political-economic times. First, we need to identify local governances as more vibrant and active in engaging capital. Whereas Peck and Tickell present a constricted, moribund local governance, I posit this formation as surprisingly active (i.e. it accepts and spurns fractions of capital). Second, we need to recognise the importance of the national scale in structuring governance-driven economic development. While Peck and Tickell posit an essentially ‘hollowed out’, unimportant national scale, I suggest that this scale continues to house an important resource routinely tapped by local economic development actors: nationalist ideologies. Third, we need to identify the most recent survivalist strategy used by local governances: the deploying of the ‘economy of fear’ generally and the ‘global trope’ in particular. Peck and Tickell provide little specificity about this governance's ability to negotiate turbulence and contradiction. These points are meant as refinements of a thesis that I suggest is still important in guiding our understanding of contemporary economic development policy in the UK and US.
Increased types I and III collagen and transforming growth factor-beta 1 mRNA and protein in hypertrophic burn scar

Hypertrophic scar is the result of abnormal healing that often follows thermal injury. Hypertrophic scar is characterized by excessive dermal fibrosis and scarring. Five cases of human hypertrophic scar were compared with normal skin using in situ hybridization to localize mRNAs for procollagen types I and III and transforming growth factor-β1. Expression of type I procollagen and TGF-β1 were also examined with immunohistochemistry. The results demonstrated a significant increase in the expression of mRNA for types I and HI procollagen and type I procollagen protein by fibroblasts in hypertrophic scar compared with normal skin. In all cases of hypertrophic scar, significant numbers of cells expressed TGF-β1 mRNA or peptide. Neither TGF-β1 mRNA nor protein was detected in control tissues. These results suggest a profound increase in production and expression of typos I and III collagen mRNA by the fibroblasts in hypertrophic scar. This may result from increased TGF-β1 production, through paracrine and autocrine pathways, as have been described for this fibrogenic cytokine.
Investigating the effective implementation of pair programming: an empirical investigation

Pair programming is a programming technique where two programmers work together on the same programming task. Previous research has shown that it is effective for improving the learning effectiveness, efficiency, and enjoyment of students in introductory programming courses. Much research has also been dedicated to determining effective strategies for forming pairs. This paper discuss two different empirical studies conducted at North Dakota State University to a) test the feasibility of using pair programming in introductory computer science courses and b) determine whether or not major-based pairing produces effective pairs. The results of these studies provide support for implementing pair programming in introductory computer science courses and show that pairing of computer science and non-computer science students may produce pairs which are less compatible than other pairing methods.
Characteristics and Pregnancy Outcomes of Pregnant Women Asymptomatic for Bacterial Vaginosis

To determine the clinical, behavioral or demographic factors associated with asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis (BV) and to examine if women with asymptomatic BV had a higher risk of a variety of pregnancy outcomes compared to symptomatic BV positive women. For this study, 1916 pregnant women who were 12 weeks’ gestation or less were enrolled. Interviewers facilitated vaginal swab collection for BV assessment, and completed the baseline questionnaire. BV was identified by Gram stain. Forty percent of pregnant women screened positive for BV and a substantial proportion of BV positive pregnant women were asymptomatic (67%). Asymptomatic BV positive women reported lower stress scores (RR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.67–0.89), slightly more prior STD’s (RR = 1.03, 95% CI: 1.01–1.07), and a higher quantity of Mobiluncus (RR = 1.04 95% CI: 1.01–1.07) compared to symptomatic BV positive women. We did not find an increase in adverse pregnancy outcomes related to BV symptomatology. Among first trimester pregnant women, only stress, STD history, and quantity of Mobiluncus were associated with symptom reports among BV positive pregnant women. We also found that women with asymptomatic BV did not have an increased risk of a variety of adverse pregnancy outcomes compared to symptomatic BV positive women.
Julian of Norwich: Problems of Evil and the Seriousness of Sin

Julian of Norwich emphasizes God’s eternal and unchanging love for humankind. Her visions show how God is not angry with our sins and so has no need to forgive us. God does not shame or blame us but excuses us and plans how to reward and compensate us for sin. In relation to Mother Jesus, we remain dear lovely children who need help, correction, and education. Although these remarks suggest to some that Julian must be “soft” on sin, that she has no adequate appreciation of the worthiness of God or the dignity of human nature, I argue that this is far from the case. On the contrary, she makes Divine worthiness axiomatic and urges readers to live into it. She relocates human dignity not in its intrinsic value but in our centrality to God’s plan. She measures the seriousness of sin in terms of the “real hard work” it takes to rear us up out of it: crucifixion for Christ, the hell of being a sinner and the crucifixion of life-long penance for us. Nevertheless, the brightness of her visions dominates with her assurance that despite the sin-produced sufferings of this present life, all will be well.
Diffusion and Discontinuous Distribution

THE problem of discontinuous distributions is one that has plagued anthropologists for many years. Several explanations have been made for geographically remote occurrences of culture traits and complexes. These explanations can be grouped under two main headings: diffusion' and independent invention. Perhaps the simplest of the two is that of diffusion. In view of the known eclecticism of cultures, the problems inherent in a theory of diffusion are mainly the mechanical ones of time, space, and means of transport of materials or ideas. It is recognized that the nature of the traits and the attitudes of the donor and recipient groups also enter importantly into the successful transmission of culture elements (Linton 1936: 344-346). The other means of producing cultural similarity, independent invention, seemingly presents a more complicated problem, or at least one which is less well understood. Similarities here are usually attributed to parallelism (the parallel development of a temporally spaced group of traits in distinct areas) or convergence (increasing identity of traits having diverse origins). The full implications of these concepts, however, have been little explored. The problem of diffusion versus independent invention relates closely to a process which is often treated as a separate field of inquiry-cultural elaboration through patterning. We wish to emphasize this, for the traditional treatment of patterning has tended to be static and descriptive-synchronic rather than diachronic. Here we hope to reexamine certain concepts that relate to patterning and discontinuous distributions. The terms pattern elaboration and complex demand have been selected for this purpose. They represent extensions of long-held ideas but are believed to focus more sharply on certain aspects of culture growth. A third term, complex nucleus, is used to refer to the pattern prior to its elaboration. It compares, in part, with Linton's "basic invention" (1936: 316). No one approach to the problems of how patterns elaborate similarly in distinct areas will be sufficient. Part of the explanation must relate to certain very generalized attributes which derive from human psychology and societal needs. These are normally thought of as "generic" categories, and anthropologists would not consider them valid evidence for diffusion. If in two separate areas, however, certain of these categories are the same-and their sociopsychological "naturalness" enhances the chance of this-then the multitude of the more detailed traits that usually develop from them in the two areas may have a higher than average chance for similarity.