cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Indigenous ExtrACTIVISM in Boreal Canada: Colonial Legacies, Contemporary Struggles and Sovereign Futures

This article approaches contemporary extractivism as an environmentally and socially destructive extension of an enduring colonial societal structure. Manifested in massive hydroelectric developments, clearcut logging, mining, and unconventional oil and gas production, extractivism removes natural resources from their points of origin and dislocates the emplaced benefits they provide. Because externally imposed resource extraction threatens Indigenous peoples’ land-based self-determination, industrial sites often become contested, politicized landscapes. Consequently, I also illuminate the struggles of those who strive to turn dreams for sovereign futures into reality through extrACTIVIST resistance to extractivist schemes. Presenting four case synopses—from across Canada’s boreal forest and spanning a broad range of extractive undertakings—that highlight both sides of the extractivism/ACTIVISM formulation, this article exposes the political roots of resource-related conflicts and contributes to an emerging comparative political ecology of settler colonialism. While extractivism’s environmental effects are immediate and arresting, these physical transformations have significant cultural consequences that are underlain by profound political inequities. I ultimately suggest that because extractivism is colonial in its causal logic, effective opposition cannot emerge from environmentalism alone, but will instead arise from movements that pose systemic challenges to conjoined processes of social, economic, and environmental injustice.
Clinical Characteristics of 5 Phenotypes of Coenzyme Q10 Deficiency

Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center, New York; University of Genoa, Italy; and University of Granada, Spain reviewed 149 cases of coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone) deficiency, including their own cohort of 76 patients diagnosed from 1997-2010.
The Adjoint Coarse Mesh Transport (COMET) Method and Reciprocity Relation of Response Coefficients

ABSTRACTAn efficient response-based adjoint radiation transport method is developed and implemented into the coarse mesh transport (COMET) code. The numerical implementation of the adjoint COMET consists of three steps: local calculations to compute adjoint response coefficients for each unique coarse mesh, global calculations to converge on the core eigenvalue and adjoint partial current moments crossing coarse mesh boundaries, and local construction of the adjoint flux distribution within each coarse mesh. The reciprocity relations between forward and adjoint response functions are also derived. This unique property can be used to compute adjoint response coefficients without solving the local adjoint problems directly. As a result, the computational effort to generate adjoint response coefficients is completely avoided. The adjoint COMET is tested for two applications: adjoint whole-core eigenvalue calculations in the 3D C5G7 benchmark problem, and local calculations of adjoint surface-to-volume fissio...
Molecular and biochemical analyses of iodopsin in rd chick retina

Purpose The results of previous immunocytochemical and electrophysiological studies of retinas of rd (retinal degeneration) chicks suggest that the iodopsin cone visual pigment may be defective in this mutant. The goal of this study was to determine if the primary structure and synthesis of this protein is normal in this animal model of inherited retinal degeneration. Methods Northern cDNA sequence and western analyses were used to study rd/rd iodopsin. cDNAs encoding rd/rd iodopsin were obtained by screening an rd/rd cDNA retinal expression library and by reverse transcription PCR. Western blots were probed with either R4 or COS-1, two different monoclonal antibodies that have been shown to specifically recognize chicken iodopsin. Results Hybridization of the +/+, +/rd, and rd/rd poly(A)+ RNA with an iodopsin cDNA probe revealed the presence of a single 1.5 kb band in each of the samples, all of which were labeled with equal intensity. No significant differences were found between the published nucleic acid sequences for normal chicken iodopsin cDNA and that determined for rd/rd iodopsin cDNA. Antibody-dependent differences in the staining intensity of the 34 kDa band containing iodopsin were observed on western blots of +/+, +/rd, and rd/rd retinal protein. R4 stained the 34 kDa band in each sample with equal intensity. COS-1 labeling of the 34 kDa band in the rd/rd sample was less intense than that observed in the +/+ and +/rd samples. Conclusions Based on the results of the cDNA sequence and northern blot experiments, the authors conclude that the gene encoding iodopsin and transcription of this gene are normal in the rd mutant. The results of the western blot analyses of rd/rd iodopsin suggest that post-translational processing of iodopsin may be abnormal in this mutant.
Revenue Portfolio and Expenditures: An Examination of the Volatility of Tax Revenue and Expenditure Patterns during the Great Recession

ABSTRACTLocal governments in the United States are diversifying their revenue streams and becoming less reliant on the inelastic revenue from property taxes. This article examines both how this affects local governments’ revenue stability in economic downturns as well as their levels of expenditures in key functions: capital and social services. Using data from North Carolina counties from both before the Great Recession and after, this article examines reliance on local sales taxes and stability of revenue. The findings suggest that dependence on local sales taxes do increase volatility and reduce expenditures on social services, all else being equal.
Annual Review of Nutrition, 2015

Over the years, the relationship between diet and lifestyle diseases has elicited strong opinions and discussions. Historically, high-calorie, high-fat, especially high saturated fat diets have been associated with metabolic diseases, including obesity. Therefore, dietary recommendations in the 1970s and 80s focused mainly on reducing intake of saturated fat-rich animal foods like red meat.
Inhibition of Cellular Proliferation by the Representative Organic Arsenical Phenylarsine Oxide: Possible Selective Targeting of Glycolysis

Inorganic and organic arsenicals have received recent attention as proven and potential anti-cancer agents. While trivalent arsenic can bind with high affinity to closely-spaced (vicinal) thiols on proteins, proposed mechanisms by which arsenicals kill cancer cells vary. Upregulation of glycolysis, necessary to support rapid cellular growth, occurs in most cancer cells and is a potential target of anticancer therapeutics. We have begun to investigate the hypothesis that trivalent organic arsenicals may inhibit cellular proliferation by selectively targeting glycolytic enzymes containing reactive thiols either directly or following secondary elevations in reactive oxygen species (ROS). We report here the effects of the representative organic arsenical phenylarsine oxide (PAO) on the growth and metabolism of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae which reproduces many of the metabolic features of human cancer cells. Our findings demonstrate that high micromolar concentrations of PAO abolished cellular proliferation and inhibited the uptake and metabolic reduction of the cationic probe 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) by mechanisms that appear to be independent of any secondary production of ROS. Moreover, we identified, by combined immobilized PAO-affinity chromatography and LC-MS/MS, key metabolic enzymes necessary for the support of glycolysis as potential mediators of the cytotoxic actions of PAO. Among these enzymes were glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, pyruvate kinases, alcohol dehydrogenases, and the vacuolar-ATPase which helps to maintain a cytosolic pH optimal for glycolysis. Work aimed at establishing which of these enzymes may be inhibited by PAO is underway. In addition, preliminary results are consistent with the possibility that hydrogen peroxide may inhibit cellular proliferation by a pathway similar to PAO, a result which has implications for targeting highly proliferating cancer cells by redox-active therapeutics.
Bubble Contagion: Mexico City to Tokyo to Bangkok to New York, London, and Reykjavik

That four waves of surges in cross-border indebtedness and surges in prices of securities and of real estate have occurred in 30 years may set a record for global monetary instability. This succession of waves of banking crises might have been a coincidence; the alternative explanation is that one or several of these waves led to increases in cross-border investment inflows that led to increases in the prices of securities in other centers to levels that eventually became too high to be sustained. Obviously the first wave of surges in cross-border flows — which involved the rapid growth in loans from the major international banks to governments and government-owned firms in Mexico and ten other developing countries — was sui generis. Was there a connection between the banking crises in these countries and the surge in the supply of bank loans in Japan in the last half of the 1980s? Similarly was there a connection between the implosion of the prices of securities and real estate in Tokyo at the beginning of the 1990s and the surge in the external indebtedness in Thailand and its neighbors in Southeast Asia in the mid-1990s as well as in the external indebtedness of Mexico, Russia, Brazil, and Argentina? Was there a link between the Asian Financial Crisis that began in mid-1997 and the sharp increase in US stock prices in the next thirty months? And were the sharp increases in the prices of real estate in the United States, Britain, Ireland, Spain, and Iceland between 2002 and 2007 — and in the debt of the governments of Greece and Portugal and Spain in 2008 and 2009 — related to these earlier events?
Factions and Finance in China: The Banking System: Flexible Institutions and Party Domination

Throughout the nearly three decades of reform, the Chinese banking sector has evolved from an appendage of the Ministry of Finance to a sprawling bureaucracy with specialized roles and an increasingly diversified ownership structure. It also has become a central aspect of China's economy as total lending climbed well over China's GDP. As a result of its immense size, the banking sector is also the key to understanding China's inflation and financial efficiency performance. To the extent that money supply affected inflationary expectation, the speed with which the banking system created money has played a major role in inflationary outcomes. At the same time, the banking sector is still the predominant channel for financing investment in China, making it the key to understanding the efficiency of capital allocation. Undeniably, the enormously complex set of institutions governing China's banking sector has affected both monetary expansion and the allocation of capital. Nonetheless, the waves of institutional changes in the reform era have not had a significant, independent impact on our dependent variables: inflation and the efficiency of capital allocation. As this chapter demonstrates, institutional changes often followed shifts in political signals. In other instances, institutional changes, although designed to achieve monetary and distributive outcomes, ultimately had little impact on them. Rather than being an independent causal agent, changes in banking institutions were crucial steps in the causal chain that led from elite political shifts to fluctuations in the dependent variables.
Characterization of Nicalon fibres with varying diameters Part II Modified Weibull distribution

Diameters vary significantly in a tow of commercial NicalonTM fibres, which is one of the most attractive ceramic reinforcements for structural composites. It was found that the strength distribution of Nicalon fibres could not be adequately characterized using either single- or bi-modal Weibull distribution. A recently proposed modified Weibull distribution can account for the effect of varying diameter in the characterization of fibre strength. To verify the validity of the modified Weibull distribution, comprehensive mechanical testing and fractographic studies have been conducted on Nicalon SiC fibres with diameters varying from 8 to 22 μm. The experimental results have been reported in Part I. Part II of this paper further modifies the derivation of the modified Weibull distribution to yield a relationship which is similar in form, but soundly based on experimental findings. Factors considered in the modified Weibull distribution include the dependence of fracture toughness and flaw density on fibre diameter, both of which may vary with fibre diameter, as reported in Part I. Comparison with experimental data shows that the current modified Weibull distribution works very well, while both single-modal and bi-modal Weibull distributions are inadequate for describing Nicalon fibres with varying diameters. © 1998 Chapman & Hall
The role of ketoconazole in current prostate cancer care.

Ketoconazole is a nonselective steroid 17α-hydroxylase/17,20 lyase (CYP17A1) inhibitor that has been used, off-label, as a second-line therapy for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). The drug has shown clinical efficacy without survival benefit. Despite not improving survival, ketoconazole has beneficial characteristics, such as its low cost, a relatively favourable toxicity profile compared with chemotherapy, and its efficacy both before and after chemotherapy. The approval of several new, highly effective treatments, including abiraterone acetate, enzalutamide, and apalutamide, warrants re-evaluation of the role of ketoconazole and other classic agents in achieving the optimal timing and sequencing of available agents to prolong survival and maintain patients’ quality of life. In the current CRPC treatment landscape, we believe that ketoconazole can be considered in patients with nonmetastatic CRPC and in those with metastatic CRPC who do not respond to, tolerate, or have access to chemotherapy and other standard therapeutic options. Despite having efficacy without a survival benefit in castration-resistant prostate cancer, ketoconazole has considerable advantages such as low cost. Here, the authors discuss the clinical experience with ketoconazole, emphasizing treatment timing and sequencing, and highlight patient populations that might benefit.
Development of molecular markers linked to three spinach downy mildew resistance loci

Downy mildew, caused by the obligate oomycete pathogen Peronospora effusa, is the most important disease of spinach. Growing resistant cultivars is the most economical way to manage the disease, particularly for organic spinach production. Therefore, the tools that assist and expedite the development of resistant cultivars are urgently needed. Resistance to P. effusa is typically controlled by major qualitative dominant genes, and at least six resistance loci are known to exist in spinach. Three of these resistant loci, RPF1, RPF2 and RPF3 have been genetically characterized and each locus controls resistance to more than nine of the 17 described races of P. effusa. However, as downy mildew is an obligate pathogen, the bioassays used to evaluate resistance are especially challenging. Thus, having robust molecular markers closely linked to resistance loci would greatly expedite genetic selections. In this study, multiple approaches, including bulked segregant analysis (BSA) using genotyping-by-sequencing, were deployed to develop thirteen, two, and seven markers linked to the RPF1, RPF2, and RPF3 resistance loci, respectively. One marker, RPF3-3, was linked to RPF2 and RPF3, and three markers, RPF3-1, RPF3-2, and RPF3-6, were linked to all three loci, indicating that the three resistance loci are closely linked. In blind tests, the markers effectively discriminated the presence of RPF1, RPF2, and RPF3 in diverse spinach germplasm. Thus, the markers developed in this study accurately predict the presence of RPF1, RPF2, and RPF3 loci, and can accelerate the development of downy mildew resistance in spinach breeding programs.
Proton beam therapy outcomes for localized unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

Abstract Background and purpose This study documents the utilization and efficacy of proton beam therapy (PBT) in western patients with localized unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods and methods Forty-six patients with HCC, Child-Pugh class of A or B, no prior radiotherapy history, and ECOG performance status 0–2 received PBT at our institution from 2007 to 2016. Radiographic control within the PBT field (local control, LC) and overall survival (OS) were calculated from the start of PBT. Results Most (83%) patients had Child-Pugh class A. Median tumor size was 6 cm (range, 1.5–21.0 cm); 22% of patients had multiple tumors and 28% had tumor vascular thrombosis. Twenty-five (54%) patients received prior treatment. Median biologically effective dose (BED) was 97.7 GyE (range, 33.6–144 GyE) administered in 15 fractions. Actuarial 2-year LC and OS rates were 81% and 62% respectively; median OS was 30.7 months. Out-of-field intrahepatic failure was the most common site of disease progression. Patients receiving BED ≥90 GyE had a significantly better OS than those receiving BED Conclusions High-dose PBT is associated with high rates of LC and OS for unresectable HCC. Dose escalation may further improve outcomes.
A note on the Voronoï summation formula

In this paper, we derive the Voronoi summation formula from the standpoint of harmonic analysis.
At the forefront of psychoneuroimmunology in pregnancy: Implications for racial disparities in birth outcomes PART 1: Behavioral risks factors.

Birth prior to full term is a substantial public health issue. In the US, ˜400,000 babies per year are born preterm ( 1 million are early term (37-386/7 weeks). Birth prior to full term confers risk both immediate and long term, including neonatal intensive care, decrements in school performance, and increased mortality risk from infancy through young adulthood. Risk for low birth weight and preterm birth are 1.5-2 times greater among African Americans versus Whites. Psychosocial stress related to being a member of a discriminated racial minority group contributes substantially to these racial disparities. Providing promising targets for intervention, depressed mood, anxiety, and poor sleep are each linked with exposure to chronic stress, including racial discrimination. A rigorous transdisciplinary approach addressing these gaps holds great promise for clinical impact in addressing racial disparities as well as ameliorating effects of stress on perinatal health more broadly. As will be reviewed in a companion paper, the mechanistic roles of physiological sequelae to stress - including neuroendocrine, inflammatory regulation, biological aging, and the microbiome - also require delineation.
Bland–Altman plot: A brief overview

In healthcare research, it is common to compare two methods of measurement to determine the overall degree of agreement. The Bland–Altman (BA) plot is an alternative to traditional correlational analyses. The BA plot portrays the agreement graphically by creating statistical limits of agreement using the mean and standard deviation of the differences between two measurements. The difference (Test #1 − Test #2) is constructed on the vertical axis while the mean ([Test #1 + Test #2]/2) is depicted on the horizontal axis. Within this plot, one can detect bias between the mean differences, as well as estimate an agreement interval. If the data points are normally distributed, 95% of differences will lie between the limits, but smaller sample sizes may be unreliable for estimating larger population parameters. Although nonparametric methods can estimate limits of agreement with nonnormally distributed data, they may be less reliable than logarithmically transforming the data before creating the plot. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Practice-based learning and improvement, Medical knowledge.
The Utility of Preoperative Neuromonitoring for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

ABSTRACT Background: Intraoperative neuromonitoring is well established and widely used to assist in completing corrective surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) safely. The role of preoperative measurement of somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) and/or transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to determine if there is transpinal pathology, however, is not clear. We sought to determine if preoperative SSEP and/or TMS measurement provided clinical benefit to patients with AIS. Methods: A review of medical charts between 2010 and 2012 was conducted for patients undergoing surgery for scoliosis. Patients with diagnoses other than AIS were excluded. Patients with incomplete preoperative or intraoperative data were also excluded. Relevant clinical information such as age, sex, number of levels fused, and major Cobb angle were recorded. Preoperative neuromonitoring measurements and intraoperative neuromonitoring results were reviewed by an attending neurologist. Any instance in which an intraoperative surgical plan or neuromonitoring result interpretation was influenced by preoperative results was recorded. Further imaging obtained based on preoperative results was noted. Any acute neurologic complication such as paralysis was noted. Results: Eighty-one patients met inclusion criteria (64 female, 17 male). Average age was 15 years (± 1.92). Major Cobb angle at preoperative evaluation averaged 57.5 degrees (± 10.81 degrees). Ten patients had abnormal preoperative SSEP/TMS results. There were no changes in protocol during intraoperative neuromonitoring based upon preoperative neuromonitoring findings. No additional imaging was required for patients with abnormal preoperative neuromonitoring results. There was no statistically significant difference in preoperative Cobb angle between the group of patients with abnormal preoperative neuromonitoring and those with normal baseline testing. Conclusion: Preoperative SSEP/TMS measurement prior to corrective surgery for AIS has limited utility. There were no instances in which a patient9s clinical course was improved by testing. We recommend against routine use of preoperative SSEP/TMS testing for AIS patients requiring corrective surgery.
Perfect grating-Mie-metamaterial based spectrally selective solar absorbers

Spectrally selective solar absorbers are widely employed in solar thermal energy systems. This work theoretically investigates thermal radiative properties of metamaterials consisting of 1-D and 2-D grating-Mie-metamaterials (tungsten nanoparticles embedded in alumina) on top of multilayered refractory materials (tungsten-silicon nitride-tungsten) as a promising selective solar absorber. The proposed metamaterial shows high absorptance from the ultraviolet to near-infrared lights, while exhibiting low emittance in the mid-infrared regime owing to Mie-resonances, surface plasmon polaritons, and metal-dielectric-metal resonance. The optical properties of designed metamaterial solar absorbers are angular independence of up to 75° and polarization insensitive. The total absorptance of 1-D and 2-D grating-Mie-metamaterials are 90.59% and 94.11%, respectively, while the total emittance are 2.89% and 3.2%, respectively. The photon-to-heat conversion efficiency is theoretically investigated under various operational temperatures and concentration factors. Thermal performance of grating-Mie-metamaterials is greatly enhanced within a one-day cycle, and the stagnation temperature under different concentration factors manifests the potential feasibility in mid and high-temperature solar thermal engineering.
REM sleep behavior disorder in Parkinson's disease

Abstract Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep behavior disorder is a parasomnia marked by dream enactment behavior, combined with the polysomnographic finding of absence of the normal atonia that occurs during REM sleep. REM sleep behavior disorder occurs in over half of patients with Parkinson's disease and is associated with more severe motor and nonmotor manifestations including depression, cognitive impairment, and psychosis. Accumulating data indicate that REM sleep behavior disorder is a marker of more severe underlying neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease. REM sleep behavior disorder also puts patients and their bed partners at risk of injury. Treatment is indicated particularly to reduce risk of injury and includes institution of safety measures as well as pharmacotherapy when necessary, with melatonin and/or clonazepam.
A Mindfulness-Based Intervention as a Supportive Care Strategy for Patients with Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Their Spouses: Results of a Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND Although mindfulness-based interventions have been widely examined in patients with nonmetastatic cancer, the feasibility and efficacy of these types of programs are largely unknown for those with advanced disease. We pilot-tested a couple-based meditation (CBM) relative to a supportive-expressive (SE) and a usual care (UC) arm targeting psychospiritual distress in patients with metastatic lung cancer and their spousal caregivers. PATIENTS AND METHODS Seventy-five patient-caregiver dyads completed baseline self-report measures and were then randomized to one of the three arms. Couples in the CBM and SE groups attended four 60-minute sessions that were delivered via videoconference. All dyads were reassessed 1 and 3 months later. RESULTS A priori feasibility benchmarks were met. Although attendance was high in both groups, dyads in the CBM group indicated greater benefit of the sessions than those in the SE group (patients, CBM mean = 2.63, SE mean = 2.20, p = .003; spouses, CBM mean = 2.71, SE mean = 2.00, p = .005). Compared with the UC group, patients in the CBM group reported significantly lower depressive symptoms (p = .05; d = 0.53) and marginally reduced cancer-related stress (p = .07; d = 0.68). Medium effect sizes in favor of the CBM compared with the SE group for depressive symptoms (d = 0.59) and cancer-related stress (d = 0.54) were found. Spouses in the CBM group reported significantly lower depressive symptoms (p < .01; d = 0.74) compared with those in the UC group. CONCLUSION It seems feasible and possibly efficacious to deliver dyadic interventions via videoconference to couples coping with metastatic lung cancer. Mindfulness-based interventions may be of value to managing psychological symptoms in the palliative care setting. Clinical trial identification number. NCT02596490 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: The current randomized controlled trial has established that a mindfulness approach to the management of patients' and spouses' psychospiritual concerns is acceptable and subjectively deemed more beneficial than a supportive-expressive treatment for patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We also revealed that videoconference delivery, here FaceTime, is an acceptable approach even for geriatric patients with metastatic NSCLC and that patients and their spousal caregivers prefer a dyadic delivery of this type of supportive care strategy. Lastly, this trial has laid the foundation for the role of mindfulness-based interventions in the palliative care setting supporting patients with advanced NSCLC and their spousal caregivers.
Life and work across the Irish border through Brexit

Changing the status of the Irish border to an external boundary between the UK and the EU was always going to be difficult to manage. Both the UK and the EU shared the objective of avoiding a hard border but finding the means of doing so proved to be a complex technical and diplomatic challenge. Whilst the withdrawal negotiations continued, concerns grew among those who would be most directly affected. Despite a history of conflict and underdevelopment, the Irish border region had become one of the most successfully integrated in the world. This only increased the potential price to be paid for Brexit by those living and working there. Successful cross-border development depends on the conditions for, and habits of, cooperation fostered ‘on the ground’. The Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland in the Withdrawal Agreement brings some assurance about maintaining the conditions of north/south cooperation. Nonetheless, the UK/EU border problem that falls on Northern Ireland will persist as a topic in perpetual need of political sensitivity and accommodation.
Bistability in the unstable flow of polymer solutions through pore constriction arrays

Polymer solutions are often injected in porous media for applications such as oil recovery and groundwater remediation. As the fluid navigates the tortuous pore space, elastic stresses build up, causing the flow to become unstable at sufficiently large injection rates. However, it is poorly understood how the spatial and temporal characteristics of this unstable flow depend on pore space geometry, which can vary widely between different porous media. We investigate this dependence by systematically varying the spacing between pore constrictions in a one-dimensional ordered array. We find that when the pore spacing is large, unstable eddies form upstream of each constriction, similar to observations of an isolated constriction. By contrast, when the pore spacing is sufficiently small, the flow in the different pores exhibits a surprising bistability, stochastically switching between two distinct unstable flow states. We hypothesize that this unusual behaviour arises from the interplay between elongation and relaxation of polymers as they are advected through the pore space. Consistent with this idea, we find that the flow state in a given pore persists for long times; moreover, flow states are strongly correlated between neighbouring pores. Thus, the characteristics of unstable flow are not determined just by injection conditions and the geometry of the individual pores, but also depend on the spacing between pores. Ultimately, these results help to elucidate the rich array of behaviours that can arise in polymer solution flow through porous media.
From grievances to civil war: The impact of geopolitics

I revisit claims that the Cold War had no meaningful effect on civil war after 1990 by probing its empirical veracity. I argue and employ a Bartik-style difference-in-differences identification strategy to show that countries with greater political grievances during the Cold War were more likely to experience civil war after the Cold War. I provide evidence suggesting that changes in the credibility of external support to both governments and rebels affected this uptick in conflict onset in aggrieved countries. These findings suggest the confluence of geopolitics and preexisting grievances played a causal role in civil war after the Cold War.
Supporting neurodiverse college student success: a guide for librarians, student support services, and academic learning environments: Elizabeth M. H. Coghill and Jeffrey G. Coghill, Rowman & Littlefield, 2021, xvi + 296 pp., $49.00 (paperback), ISBN-13: 978-1-5381-3737-6

With a sizable portion of students enrolling in college courses today considered neurodivergent—as many as 11% according to the editors of this new book—it has become crucial for institutions of hi...
Nanophotonics for telecom quantum networks based on neutral silicon vacancy centers in diamond

Color centers in diamond are attractive candidates for implementing single-atom quantum memories in a quantum network. Recently, we reported a color center that exhibits favorable optical properties and long spin coherence times. The integration of this color center, SiV0, into nanophotonic circuits could enable efficient entanglement distribution over long distances.
High incidence of fracture events in patients with Long-Gap Esophageal Atresia (LGEA): A retrospective review prompting implementation of standardized protocol

Purpose To identify factors associated with an increased risk of fractures in Long-Gap Esophageal Atresia (LGEA) patients. Following implementation of a risk-stratified program, we hypothesized a reduction in fracture incidence within this potentially high-risk population.
QCD (lattice) potential and coupling: How to accurately interpolate between multiloop QCD and the string picture.

We present a simple parametrization of the running coupling constant {alpha}{sub {ital V}}({ital q}), defined via the static potential, that interpolates between two-loop QCD in the UV and the string prediction {ital V}({ital r})={sigma}{ital r}{minus}{pi}/12{ital r} in the IR. In addition to the usual {Lambda} parameter and the string tension {sigma}, {alpha}{sub {ital V}}({ital q}) depends on one dimensionless parameter, determining how fast the crossover from UV to IR behavior occurs (in principle we know how to take into account any number of loops by adding more parameters). Using a new {ital Ansatz} for the {ital lattice} potential in terms of the {ital continuum} {alpha}{sub {ital V}}({ital q}), we can fit quenched and unquenched Monte Carlo results for the potential down to {ital one} lattice spacing, and at the same time extract {alpha}{sub {ital V}}({ital q}) to high precision. We compare our {ital Ansatz} with one-loop results for the lattice potential, and use {alpha}{sub {ital V}}({ital q}) from our fits to quantitatively check the accuracy of two-loop evolution, compare with the Lepage-Mackenzie estimate of the coupling extracted from the plaquette, and determine Sommer`s scale {ital r}{sub 0} much more accurately than previously possible. For pure SU(3) we find that {alpha}{submore » {ital V}}({ital q}) scales on the percent level for {beta}{ge}6.« less
The ethane dimethanesulfonate-induced decrease in the fertilizing ability of cauda epididymal sperm is independent of the testis

Several decades ago it was reported that when adult male rats were exposed to a single injection of 50 mg/kg body weight ethane dimethanesulfonate (EDS) and mated with untreated females, average litter size was significantly reduced as early as 2 weeks later. Recently, we demonstrated that EDS exerts multiple effects in the epididymis of adult rats. Some of these effects were independent of reduced serum testosterone (T) levels. Later we found that EDS has direct effects on epididymal epithelial cells in vitro. Herein, we sought to determine whether EDS perturbs the fertilizing ability of cauda epididymal sperm. Four days after exposure to 50 mg/kg EDS, sperm from the proximal cauda epididymidis were inseminated into adult receptive females in utero; on the next day the percentage of fertilized eggs was determined. Exogenous T administration and castration were used to determine what role, if any, androgen deprivation and the testis had on the fertilizing ability of proximal cauda epididymal sperm. Sperm motion parameters, serum T, T in the caput/corpus epididymidis, and detergent-extracted sperm protein were evaluated and correlated with fertilizing ability. We found that both castration and EDS exposure significantly compromised the fertilizing ability of sperm in proximal cauda epididymidis 4 days after exposure. Exogenous T, sufficient to maintain serum T, completely restored the fertilizing ability of sperm following castration, but not after EDS exposure. Moreover, exogenous T failed to restore fertilizing ability when castrated animals were exposed to EDS. Thus, the effects that EDS exerts on sperm maturation in vivo are independent of the testis. Finally, the only endpoint that was well correlated with fertilizing ability was the relative amount of an acidic 18-kDa sperm protein.
Performance implications of peer monitoring

Peer monitoring, which occurs when individuals notice and respond to their peers’ behavior or performance results, is an informal organizational control that has not been extensively studied. Agency theory suggests that peer monitoring should be associated with higher performance because it allows workers whose interests are aligned with those of the organization to encourage their peers to perform well and deters inappropriate behavior by increasing the chances that it would be detected. This paper considers two research questions. The first is, “What is peer monitoring?” We found two types of peer monitoring. Direct peer monitoring occurs when workers notice their peers’ behavior or results and respond in a forthright way, such as correcting coworkers who make mistakes. Indirect peer monitoring occurs when workers gossip about or avoid poorly performing peers. The second research question is, “Is peer monitoring associated with higher work-unit performance?” We examined the effects of both types of peer monitoring on the performance of 67 theme park work units. We considered supervisory monitoring, task interdependence, and cohesiveness as moderators. We measured performance as the degree to which the work unit is free of employee behavior problems and found a positive main effect of direct peer monitoring. The effect was stronger when supervisory monitoring was low or task interdependence was high. Indirect peer monitoring did not have a main effect on work-unit performance, but when supervisory monitoring or cohesiveness was high, indirect peer monitoring was associated with lower performance. We discuss these results and suggest areas for future research.
Biochemical basis for whole-cell uptake kinetics: specific affinity, oligotrophic capacity, and the meaning of the michaelis constant.

Formulations are presented that describe the concentration dependency of nutrient-limited transport and growth in molecular terms. They relate the rate of transport at steady state through a two-sequence process, transport and metabolism, to ambient concentrations according to the amounts and kinetic characteristics of the two rate-limiting proteins in these sequences. Sequences are separated by a metabolic pool. A novel feature of these formulations is the translation coefficient, which relates the transport rate attained at given ambient nutrient concentrations and membrane transporter characteristics to the nutrient concentrations sustained in the metabolic pools. The formulations, termed janusian kinetics, show that hyperbolic kinetics are retained during independent changes in transporter and enzyme contents or characteristics. Specific affinity (a°A) depends strongly on the amount and kinetic characteristics of the transporters; it is also mildly affected by the amount and characteristics of the rate-limiting enzyme. This kinetic constant best describes the ability to accumulate substrate from limiting concentrations. Maximal velocity (Vmax) describes uptake from concentrated solutions and can depend strongly on either limiting enzyme content or the associated content of transporters. The whole-cell Michaelis constant (KT), which depends on the ratio of rate-limiting enzyme to transporter, can be relatively independent of change in a°A and is best used to describe the concentration at which saturation begins to occur. Theory specifies that good oligotrophs have a large a°A for nutrient collection and a small Vmax for economy of enzyme, giving a small KT. The product of the two constants is universally rather constant so that oligotrophy is scaled on a plot of a°A versus KT, with better oligotrophs toward one end. This idea is borne out by experimental data, and therefore typical small difficult-to-culture aquatic bacteria may be classified as oligobacteria.
Three-Dimensional Multiscale Modeling of Dendritic Spacing Selection During Al-Si Directional Solidification

We present a three-dimensional extension of the multiscale dendritic needle network (DNN) model. This approach enables quantitative simulations of the unsteady dynamics of complex hierarchical networks in spatially extended dendritic arrays. We apply the model to directional solidification of Al-9.8 wt.%Si alloy and directly compare the model predictions with measurements from experiments with in situ x-ray imaging. We focus on the dynamical selection of primary spacings over a range of growth velocities, and the influence of sample geometry on the selection of spacings. Simulation results show good agreement with experiments. The computationally efficient DNN model opens new avenues for investigating the dynamics of large dendritic arrays at scales relevant to solidification experiments and processes.
Language across Difference: Ethnicity, Communication, And Youth Identities In Changing Urban Schools

1. Beginnings: shouts of affirmation from 'our culture' 2. 'Spanish is becoming famous': youth perspectives on Spanish in a changing youth community 3. 'True Samoan': ethnic solidarity and linguistic reality 4. 'They're in my culture, they speak the same way': sharing African American language at South Vista 5. 'You rep what you're from': texting identities in multiethnic youth space 6. Making school go: revisioning school for pluralism.
The interrelationships of the various pathways forming gluconeogenic precursors in guinea pig liver mitochondria.

Abstract Previous work has shown that the synthesis of phosphoenolpyruvate by mitochondria from guinea pig liver was controlled by the availability of intramitochondrial oxalacetate. In this study, the livers of fed and fasted guinea pigs were freeze clamped to identify those factors associated with enhanced rates of gluconeogenesis in vivo. The oxidation-reduction potential of the intramitochondrial nicotinamide adenine dinucleotides was markedly shifted toward oxidation in livers of fasted as compared with livers of fed guinea pigs. This transition in the oxidation-reduction potential was recreated in incubations with isolated guinea pig liver mitochondria, and the relative rates of malate, aspartate, and P-enolpyruvate synthesis from a variety of substrates were followed. The rate of P-enolpyruvate formation relative to the rates of aspartate and malate formation was markedly increased at oxidation-reduction potentials resembling those found in the livers of fasted as compared with livers of fed guinea pigs. Those factors regulating the formation of the various gluconeogenic precursors are discussed and the interrelationships of these mechanisms are analyzed.
Bk Channel and Alcohol, a Complicated Affair

Alcohol is a fast acting molecule that alters behavior within a few minutes of absorption. Its rapid behavioral impact suggests early action on ion channels. Of all voltage-gated potassium ion channels, BK channels, a subcategory of potassium channels characterized by their large unitary conductance, and by their capacity of being activated synergistically by membrane potential and intracellular free calcium, are unique due to their high sensitivity to alcohol. In this review, we discuss BK channels structure and function, and how they help us understand the various ways BK channel mediates alcohol's effects on neuronal function and on behavior in the striatum.
Systematic and Idiosyncratic Risk in the Cross-Section of Price Target Expected Returns

Using a measure of ex-ante expected returns based on analyst price targets, we find strong evidence that investors price both systematic (beta and co-skewness) and non-systematic (idiosyncratic volatility) risk when determining the appropriate rate of return on a security. We demonstrate that price targets contain risk-related information not incorporated into other ex-ante measures of expected returns, as the risk/reward relations are not present using the other measures. Use of the price-target based measure therefore drastically improves our ability to detect risk/reward relations in financial markets.
Computer diagnosis of labor progression.

Abnormal labor has been suspected of being inherently deleterious to the fetus. In order to explore this problem, clinical factors, labor progress, and fetal monitoring parameters were compared in matched groups of high-risk patients whose fetuses were in the occipita­posterior (OP) and occipitoanterior positions. The OP group showed significant excesses of dysfunctional labor patterns, uterine contraction pattern abnormalities, and late and variable fetal heart rate decelerations not accounted for by the use of oxytocin or the presence of cord problems. In OP labor, lower Apgar scores were associated with a significant excess of preceding fetal heart rate decelerations independent of operative delivery. This study suggests that neonatal depression in OP labor is related to intrapartum factors preceding delivery and provides direct support for the concept that abnormal labor may adversely affect the fetus. The OP position is an indication for close fetomaternal supervision during labor.
Metformin modulates hyperglycaemia‐induced endothelial senescence and apoptosis through SIRT1

Background and Purpose Endothelial dysfunction can be detected at an early stage in the development of diabetes-related microvascular disease and is associated with accelerated endothelial senescence and ageing. Hyperglycaemia-induced oxidative stress is a major contributing factor to the development of endothelial dysfunction. Clinical data indicate that the hypoglycaemic agent, metformin, has an endothelial protective action; however, its molecular and cellular mechanisms remain elusive. In the present study, we have investigated the protective effect of metformin during hyperglycaemia-induced senescence in mouse microvascular endothelial cells (MMECs). Experimental Approach MMECs were cultured in normal glucose (11 mM) and high glucose (HG; 40 mM) in the presence and absence of metformin (50 μM) for 72 h. The expression of sirtuin-1 (SIRT1) and senescence/apoptosis-associated markers was determined by immunoblotting and immunocyto techniques. SIRT1 expression was inhibited with appropriate siRNA. Key Results Exposure of MMECs to HG significantly reduced SIRT1 protein expression, increased forkhead box O1 (FoxO-1) and p53 acetylation, increased p21 and decreased Bcl2 expression. In addition, senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity in MMECs was increased in HG. Treatment with metformin attenuated the HG-induced reduction of SIRT1 expression, modulated the SIRT1 downstream targets FoxO-1 and p53/p21, and protected endothelial cells from HG-induced premature senescence. However, following gene knockdown of SIRT1 the effects of metformin were lost. Conclusions and Implications HG-induced down-regulation of SIRT1 played a crucial role in diabetes-induced endothelial senescence. Furthermore, the protective effect of metformin against HG-induced endothelial dysfunction was partly due to its effects on SIRT1 expression and/or activity.
Access-controlled resource discovery in pervasive networks: Research Articles

Networks of the future will be characterized by a variety of computational devices that display a level of dynamism not seen in traditional wired networks. Because of the dynamic nature of these networks, resource discovery is one of the fundamental problems that must be solved. While resource discovery systems are not a novel concept, securing these systems in an efficient and scalable way is challenging. This paper describes the design and implementation of an architecture for access-controlled resource discovery. This system achieves this goal by integrating access control with the Intentional Naming System (INS), a resource discovery and service location system. The integration is scalable, efficient, and fits well within a proxy-based security framework designed for dynamic networks. We provide performance experiments that show how our solution outperforms existing schemes. The result is a system that provides secure, access-controlled resource discovery that can scale to large numbers of resources and users. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.