cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing service in faculty reviews: mentoring faculty and developing transparency

Universities generally have clear expectations for teaching and scholarship, and often a faculty member’s publications, research and scholarship are the primary factors in tenure and promotion decisions. Many universities do include service as one component in annual reviews as well as in assessing progress toward tenure and promotion. Unfortunately, criteria for evaluating service are often not specified. Having vaguely outlined expectations for service sends a message that service does not matter, ultimately doing a ‘disservice’ to faculty who need guidance on appropriate levels of service. As much as possible, department chairs, governance bodies that represent the faculty, and administrators who are responsible for evaluating faculty need to ensure that faculty members understand how they will be assessed in the area of service and to make evaluation in this area as transparent as possible.
Characterization of a high-contrast front-end prototype for the OMEGA EP laser facility

The temporal and spectral properties of a high-contrast front-end prototype developed for the OMEGA EP chirped pulse amplification system are described. A hundredfold contrast improvement and improved beam quality are obtained.
Higher order large-domain FEM modeling of 3-D multiport waveguide structures with arbitrary discontinuities

A highly efficient and accurate higher order large-domain finite-element technique is presented for three-dimensional (3-D) analysis of N-port waveguide structures with arbitrary metallic and dielectric discontinuities on standard PCs. The technique implements hierarchical polynomial vector basis functions of arbitrarily high field-approximation orders on Lagrange-type curved hexahedral finite elements of arbitrary geometrical orders. Preprocessing is carried out by a semiautomatic higher order meshing procedure developed for waveguide discontinuity problems. The computational domain is truncated by coupling the 3-D finite-element method (FEM) with a two-dimensional (2-D) modal expansion technique across the waveguide ports. In cases where analytical solutions are not available, modal forms at the ports are obtained by a higher order 2-D FEM eigenvalue analysis technique. The examples demonstrate very effective higher order hexahedral meshes constructed from a very small number of large curved finite elements (large domains). When compared to the existing higher order (but small domain) finite-element solutions, the presented models require approximately 1/5 of the number of unknowns for the same (or higher) accuracy of the results.
Performance analysis of parallel programs via message-passing graph traversal

The ability to understand the factors contributing to parallel program performance are vital for understanding the impact of machine parameters on the performance of specific applications. We propose a methodology for analyzing the performance characteristics of parallel programs based, on message-passing traces of their execution on a set of processors. Using this methodology, we explore how perturbations in both single processor performance and the messaging layer impact the performance of the traced run. This analysis provides a quantitative description of the sensitivity of applications to a variety of performance parameters to better understand the range of systems upon which an application can be expected to perform well. These performance parameters include operating system, interference and variability in message latencies within the interconnection network layer.
GIS-BASED MODEL FOR HIGHWAY NOISE ANALYSIS

Elevated noise levels due to vehicular traffic are cause of grave concern in residential areas. They can significantly reduce property values. Most of the highway noise literature has been focused in predicting noise levels, estimating cost of installing noise barriers, and assessing effectiveness of noise barriers in reducing the amount of noise. The Federal Highway Administration’s traffic noise model (TNM) is typically used to estimate noise levels due to vehicular traffic in the vicinity of residential properties. One key problem in highway noise analysis that has received limited attention is to automatically identify highway segments along which installation of noise barriers may be warranted due to elevated noise levels. This can be made possible by integrating the geographic information system’s (GIS’s) spatial modeling capability and the TNM methodology. In this paper, a GIS-based model for identifying highway segments for noise barrier installation is developed that uses TNM for noise level pred...
Soil binding properties of mucilage produced by a basidiomycete fungus in a model system

A saprophytic, lignin-decomposing basidiomycete fungal isolate (BB1), identified as a member of the russuloid lineage closest to the genus Peniophora, plays a role in soil aggregation and stabilization. In liquid media this fungus secretes large amounts of extracellular materials or mucilage that act as soil binding agents. We investigated the nature of these materials using periodate treatment and lectin cytochemistry, and studied whether or not these materials are involved in soil aggregation. Water stability of artificial fungal amended soil aggregates was destroyed by periodate treatment suggesting that polysaccharides produced by the basidiomycete were involved in soil aggregation. Binding patterns of fluorescently labeled lectins were also investigated to determine specific carbohydrate moieties present in the fungal mucilage. Fluorescently conjugated lectins (Ulex europaeus Agglutinin I and Lotus tetragonolobus lectin) bound to extracellular mucilage indicating that this basidiomycete mucilage contains fucosyl sugar residues. We also demonstrated that water stability of artificial soil aggregates prepared with fungal mycelia pretreated with L(-)fucose lectins were significantly reduced. This study indicates that fungal-derived material containing fucosyl residues plays a role in soil adhesion.
Inflammation-induced acid tolerance genes gadAB in luminal commensal Escherichia coli attenuate experimental colitis.

Dysregulated immune responses to commensal intestinal bacteria, including Escherichia coli, contribute to the development of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) and experimental colitis. Reciprocally, E. coli responds to chronic intestinal inflammation by upregulating expression of stress response genes, including gadA and gadB. GadAB encode glutamate decarboxylase and protect E. coli from the toxic effects of low pH and fermentation acids, factors present in the intestinal lumen in patients with active IBDs. We hypothesized that E. coli upregulates gadAB during inflammation to enhance its survival and virulence. Using real-time PCR, we determined gadAB expression in luminal E. coli from ex-germfree wild-type (WT) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) knockout (KO) (IL-10−/−) mice selectively colonized with a commensal E. coli isolate (NC101) that causes colitis in KO mice in isolation or in combination with 7 other commensal intestinal bacterial strains. E. coli survival and host inflammatory responses were measured in WT and KO mice colonized with NC101 or a mutant lacking the gadAB genes (NC101ΔgadAB). The susceptibility of NC101 and NC101ΔgadAB to killing by host antimicrobial peptides and their translocation across intestinal epithelial cells were evaluated using bacterial killing assays and transwell experiments, respectively. We show that expression of gadAB in luminal E. coli increases proportionately with intestinal inflammation in KO mice and enhances the susceptibility of NC101 to killing by the host antimicrobial peptide cryptdin-4 but decreases bacterial transmigration across intestinal epithelial cells, colonic inflammation, and mucosal immune responses. Chronic intestinal inflammation upregulates acid tolerance pathways in commensal E. coli isolates, which, contrary to our original hypothesis, limits their survival and colitogenic potential. Further investigation of microbial adaptation to immune-mediated inflammation may provide novel insights into the pathogenesis and treatment of IBDs.
A Tale of Two Priests and Two Struggles: Liberation Theology from Dictatorship to Democracy in the Brazilian Northeast

Land for the landless, food for the hungry, literacy for the uneducated—not through charitable works, but by forcing the state to take seriously its responsibilities to its poorest citizens. This was integral to the theology of liberation as it was practiced by bishops, priests, and nuns in Brazil beginning shortly after the close of the Second Vatican Council in 1965. Important sectors of the Brazilian Catholic Church were “opting for the poor” at a time when economic development, modernization, and democracy were not considered appropriate or meaningful partners in the repressive environment characterized by the Brazilian military dictatorship (1964-1985).
Homogeneity Effects in Corporate Law

Entrepreneurs enjoy considerable freedom in choosing the rules that will govern their firms. As a general rule, they are able to select not only the state of incorporation, but also the entity type. When making these choices, entrepreneurs have reason to care about the extent to which other firms are using a particular legal regime. Traditionally, corporate law scholarship on this topic has drawn attention to the relevance of the number of other firms using a given legal regime. Drawing on insights from network theory, Michael Klausner has famously shown that the benefits of a particular legal regime increase as more firms come to use it.This article does not dispute that the number of other users matters, but argues that the qualitative features of a legal regime’s users are relevant as well: in particular, firms benefit if the users of their chosen legal regime form a relatively homogeneous group. The benefits of such homogeneity come in two flavors. Some homogeneity benefits are ancillary to network benefits; firms profit from homogeneity because more homogeneous networks yield greater benefits. Other homogeneity benefits, however, are independent from network effects in the sense that they do not presuppose the existence of a network. In particular, firm homogeneity increases the predictability of judicial and legislative interventions, and also promises to improve the fit between such interventions and firm needs.Homogeneity effects are of substantial practical and theoretical interest. They help to explain, or provide efficiency rationales for, a variety of otherwise puzzling or difficult-to-justify phenomena in corporate law. These include the seemingly excessive number of different entity types, the survival of important mandatory norms, and the fact that corporate mobility is observed in some environments but not in others.
Osteochondrosis of the Distal Tibial Epiphysis

Two cases have been presented in which the clinical course and progressive roentgenographic changes were strongly suggestive of osteochondrosis of the distal tibial epiphysis, an occurrence that is unusual, if not rare.
Sensitivity and Specificity of an Adult Stroke Screening Tool in Childhood Ischemic Stroke.

Abstract Background There are frequent delays in the diagnosis of acute pediatric ischemic stroke. A screening tool that could increase the suspicion of acute ischemic stroke could aid early recognition and might improve initial care. An earlier study reported that children with acute ischemic stroke have signs that can be recognized with two adult stroke scales. We tested the hypothesis that an adult stroke scale could distinguish children with acute ischemic stroke from children with acute focal neurological deficits not due to stroke. Methods We retrospectively applied an adult stroke scale to the recorded examinations of 53 children with acute symptomatic acute ischemic stroke and 53 age-matched control subjects who presented with focal neurological deficits. We examined the sensitivity and specificity of the stroke scale and the occurrence of acute seizures as predictors of stroke status. Results The total stroke scale did not differentiate children with acute ischemic stroke from those who had acute deficits from nonstroke causes; however, the presence of arm weakness was significantly associated with stroke cases. Acute seizures were significantly associated with stroke cases. Conclusions An adult stroke scale is not sensitive or specific to distinguish children with acute ischemic stroke from those with nonstroke focal neurological deficits. The development of a pediatric acute ischemic stroke screening tool should include arm weakness and perhaps acute seizures as core elements. Such a scale must account for the limitations of language in young or intellectually disabled children.
METFORMIN-SUSTAINED WEIGHT LOSS AND REDUCED ANDROID FAT TISSUE AT 12 MONTHS IN EMPOWIR (ENHANCE THE METABOLIC PROFILE OF WOMEN WITH INSULIN RESISTANCE): A DOUBLE BLIND, PLACEBO-CONTROLLED, RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF NORMOGLYCEMIC WOMEN WITH MIDLIFE WEIGHT GAIN

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess 12-month body weight (BW) and body composition changes in normoglycemic women with midlife weight gain, after dietary and pharmacologic interventions targeting hyperinsulinemia. Methods: EMPOWIR (Enhance the Metabolic Profile of Women With Insulin Resistance; NCT00618072) was a double-blind, placebo-controlled, 12-month trial of women with >20-pound weight gain, normal glucose tolerance test, and increased area-under-the-curve insulin. Subjects (mean ± SD, 46.7 ± 6.5 years of age; body mass index, 30.8 ± 2.8 kg/m2; 50% white) attended 4 nutrition workshops to introduce a novel carbohydrate-modified diet (CMD) and were then randomized to one of three arms for 6 months (phase 1): CMD alone (D), or in combination with metformin (M), or metformin + rosiglitazone (MR), with rerandomization of the D group to one of the active treatment arms (phase 2, months 7 through 12). Repeated measure analysis of variance was used to assess BW at baseline, 6 months, and 12 months in 32 subjects...
Control for Robots With Braking Actuators in a Uniform Force Field

This paper concerns the control strategy of a robot with controllable brakes placed in a uniform force field. Without loss of generality this force field is assumed to be gravity, and the robot to be an object resting on an inclined plane. The controller’s objective is then to use the brakes to lead the robot into a desired position and orientation.The system’s dynamics were derived from Newton’s second law with a Coulomb friction model. The controller was derived from geometric properties and the energy equation. The controller was then tested using Matlab and Simulink on the dynamics that were derived. The results of the simulation shows high accuracy even with some disturbances, and uncalibrated parameters.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Two Introduced Field Crickets New to Eastern United States (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

The Jamaican field cricket Gryllus assimilis (Fabricius), widely distributed in the West Indies and in South and Central American countries bordering the Caribbean, appears to be established in south Florida. A Japanese burrowing cricket, Scapsipedus micado Saussure, was found in Huntsville, Alabama, in August 1959. Distinguishing characters and song descriptions are given for both species. Their manner and time of introduction are not known: assimilis has been abundant from the Miami area south since 1958, but live pinned specimens dated 1941, 1954, and 1956 have beer seen. The Gryllinae of the eastern United States are listed, common names are suggested, and the probable effect of shipping various kinds of crickets for bait purposes is discussed.
Comments on “Dennis Wrong:The Lonely Crowd revisited”

Reading Dennis Wrong's essay has been exhilarating. It is refreshing to be so completely understood, and beyond that, appreciated. There was also understanding in an earlier work to which this essay of Wrong's makes reference, in which Wrong and Robert Gutman put scrupulous analytical talents to work on the problems of The Lonely Crowd and Faces in the Crowd, showing our tendency to confuse analysis of social character with analysis of societal formations (Gutman and Wrong, 1961). Some years ago I concluded that the concept in these books of "other-direction" was no longer appropriate for the upper middle-class groups to which we had first applied it, but that egocentrism, or narcissism, might be a more appropriate term (Riesman, 1980). In the light of much current anthropology and social history, the residual concept of "tradition-direction" also seems to me open to question. In contrast, the notion of "inner-direction," applied to those individuals who attend to the voices of parents and other authorities of their childhood, may still have relevance. Wrong's new essay examines the larger intellectual landscape out of which The Lonely Crowd originated and to which it contributed.2 It says
Joint impairment and self-reported disability in elderly persons

Recent findings indicating that arthritis is a major contributor to disability in elderly persons are based on self-reported diagnostic information. We conducted physical examinations of the joints at baseline on 541 older persons. We then tested a multivariate model of total/generic disability which included respondent group, demographic and chronic disease variables (joint impairment and comorbid conditions), arthritis pain, and psychological status. Hierarchical multiple regression found that the model explained 55 percent (adjusted R2 = .55) of the variance in baseline disability with joint impairment accounting for 15 percent (change in R2 = .15) of the variance. When joint impairment was removed from the model, arthritis pain worked well as a surrogate. Together, these findings strongly support the importance of musculoskeletal disease in explaining disability in the elderly population.
Hypertension and antihypertensive therapy as risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background Previous research has suggested that thiazide diuretics and beta-blockers may promote the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, the results of these studies have been inconsistent, and many studies have been limited by inadequate data on outcomes and by potential confounding. Methods We conducted a prospective study of 12,550 adults 45 to 64 years old who did not have diabetes. An extensive health evaluation conducted at base line included assessment of medication use and measurement of blood pressure with a random-zero sphygmomanometer. The incidence of new cases of diabetes was assessed after three years and after six years by measurement of serum glucose concentrations while the subjects were fasting. Results After simultaneous adjustment for age, sex, race, education, adiposity, family history with respect to diabetes, physical-activity level, other health-related behavior, and coexisting illnesses, subjects with hypertension who were taking thiazide diuretics were not at greate...
Abstract 159: Glycemic Status and Sleep Duration Among Individuals With Diabetes in Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos

Background: Healthy sleep has gained growing recognition in its relationship to cardiometabolic health to include type 2 diabetes. The association between sleep and glycemic management among individuals with diabetes is understudied. Therefore, we examined the relationship between sleep duration and glycemic control among a diverse group of US Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 3,180 adults with diabetes who reported quantity of sleep. Individuals with glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) 7% were considered to have suboptimal or uncontrolled glycaemia. Using multivariable regression, we assessed associations between glycemic control and three categories of sleep duration ( 9hrs) adjusting for covariates. Covariates included age, sex, language of interview, US residency duration, household income, education level, insurance status, Hispanic/Latino background, field center site, body mass index, insomnia, sleep apnea, diet quality, physical activity, and depression and anxiety symptomology among others. Results: Almost half of individuals (47%) had suboptimal diabetes control assessed by HbA1c levels. Most individuals (83%) reported sleeping 7-9 hours per night. Few individuals (8%) slept less 6 hours per night while 27% slept more than 9 hours. Findings indicate that sleep duration was significantly associated with glycemic control after adjusting for covariates. Specifically, individuals with long sleep duration (>9 hours) were less likely to have controlled glycemic status compared to those who reported average sleep duration of 6-9 hours (OR=0.76; 95% CI; 0.57-1.00; P=0.038). In addition, covariates such as age, heritage group and participants recruitment site were also found to be significant in glycemic control status. Key words: sleep, diabetes, glycemic regulation, Latinos
Evaluation Method of Medical Rigid Endoscope's Relative Effect of Edge Light Luminosity

Using view axes symmetrical sphere Z as the modal,the body concave characteristics were simulated and the analysis base was established.According to the analysis of radiance transferring characteristics,the final relative effect of edge light luminosity into two parts as internal and external functions was analyzcd.The definition of external function's relative effect of edge light luminosity was proposed.Using photometry and optics theory the expression and meaning of two parts of the medical rigid endoscope itself as illumination and imaging routes' relative effect edge light luminosity was derived.The formula of external function's relative effect on edge light luminosity,the calculation formula and measurement method of the final relative effect of edge light luminosity on the assumption were given,too.
Pathogenesis of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Cet editorial presente des donnees recentes concernant la pathogenie du SIDA. La biologie moleculaire du virus HIV, son mode d'infection et de propagation sont mis en evidence. Les informations concernant la biologie du HIV permettront de developper une theorie de la pathogenie et de la propagation du SIDA qui sera utile pour le developpement de protocoles therapeutiques efficaces
Behavioral approaches in tobacco control

In most Western societies, there is an abundance of information on what needs to be done to control the use of tobacco. This paper presents different strategies for addressing tobacco control. Many of the strategies such as increasing taxes, increasing control over promotion of tobacco, and the restriction of smoking should be made a priority. However, there is still the need to provide help for the smoker to quit. The evidence with regards to effective ways of getting smokers to quit and the effectiveness of different modalities is reviewed. Programs found to be effective include self-help, individual counseling, and group counseling. Counseling programs appear to double the effect of success compared to no program. Nicotine replacement therapy has been demonstrated to be an important adjunct therapy to the behavioral programs. Issues regarding the cessation of tobacco by youth need to be addressed distinctively from adult cessation. Relapse prevention for both youth and adults needs to become a major focus of programs dealing with smokers who want to quit.
Time in Context

The key to taking in Aristotle’s treatise on time is to approach it with the understanding that Aristotle was not a philosopher concerned with time —in questions about time or in delimiting the being of time.
Further Aspects of Time Series Forecasting

An unsophisticated forecaster uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts—for support rather than for illumination.
Micropatterning B104 neuroblastoma cells in culture: an assay for neuronal pattern synthesis

Our goal is the reliable synthesis of patterned living neural networks. To assess rapidly the qualities of candidate substrates we use the B104 neuroblastoma cell line with and without the differentiating agent dibutyrylcyclicAMP (DBcAMP). B104 cells prefer, in order, poly-D-lysine (PDL), to phenyltrichlorosilane (PTCS), coverslip glass, and silicon dioxide coated coverslips. At 8 hours micropatterned B104 cells had excellent compliance of somata (86%), but not of neurites (10% of background areas free of neurites). Compliance was greatly reduced thereafter. Addition of DBcAMP increased the compliance of neurites (70%), with patterns maintained up to 72 hours. The assay identified chondroitin sulfate (CSPG) as more cytophobic than mouse fibrinogen, bovine serum albumin (BSA), and glycine, suggesting that a pattern of PDL against CSPG in the background would be optimal. The results are being applied to a culture system of hippocampal neurons.
Sex Life and Impact of Operative Intervention on Sex Life-related Pain in Degenerative Spinal Conditions: An Analysis of the SPORT Study.

STUDY DESIGN This study is a therapeutic retrospective cohort study OBJECTIVES.: This study aims to determine whether sexual function is relevant for patients with spinal stenosis (SPS) and degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) and to determine the impact of operative inter vqAvention on sexual function for these patients. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA The benefits of nonoperative versus operative treatment for patients with SPS and DS with regards to sexual function are unknown. METHODS Demographic, treatment, and follow-up data, including the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), were obtained on patients enrolled in the SPORT study. Based on the response to question #9 in the ODI, patients were classified into a sexual life relevant (SLR) or sexual life not relevant (NR) group. Univariate and multivariate analysis of patient characteristics comparing the NR and SLR group were performed. Operative treatment groups were compared to the nonoperative group with regards to response to ODI question #9 to determine the impact of surgery on sexual function. RESULTS A total of 1235 patients were included to determine relevance of sex life. Three hundred sixty-six patients (29%) were included in the NR group. Eight hundred sixty-nine patients (71%) were included in the SLR group. Patients that were older, female, unmarried, had three or more stenotic levels, and had central stenosis were more likely to be in the NR group. Eight hundred twenty-five patients were included in the analysis comparing operative versus nonoperative treatment. At all follow-up time points, the operative groups had a lower percentage of patients reporting pain with their sex life compared to the nonoperative group (P < 0.05 at all time points except between more than one level fusion and nonoperative at 4 years' follow-up). CONCLUSION Sex life is a relevant consideration for the majority of patients with DS and SPS; operative treatment leads to improved sex life-related pain. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3.
Comparison of the role of property rights in right wing and left wing American and European environmental policy deliberations

Abstract Developing effective approaches to increasingly complex global environmental challenges requires understanding and respect for underlying policy differences within and among nations. The defense of property rights against perceived intrusion by governmental authorities has been noted as an environmental policy issue related to specific laws and regulations in the United States, and as a basis for opposition to sustainability. We assessed the extent to which the defense of property rights and opposition to sustainability has become part of mainstream US policy deliberations by evaluating its inclusion within positions of candidates for the presidential nomination of the Republican and Democratic parties and by review of party platforms. We performed a similar review of the positions and platforms of right wing. EU political parties and of positions taken on the Brexit issue. Increasing concern about property rights, including using it as a basis to oppose and overturn sustainability initiatives, was found among the US right wing. This concern was tied to rights granted in the US Constitution and concern about governmental intrusion. In contrast, interference for environmental reasons in the rights of landowners to manage their property does not appear to be a concern of the EU right wing, nor was this issue raised by supporters of Brexit. Although just one of many factors, differences in concern about property rights should be recognized as contributing to EU/US differences in environmental policy.
Data center challenges and their power electronics

Data centers use more than 1.5% of all electricity in China and the U.S., with continuing growth. This paper reviews the power hierarchy levels within modern data centers. It considers energy consumption and power electronics challenges across all levels of a data center, including building distribution, dc architectures, and conversion down to the board level. Power electronics plays a central role throughout the hierarchy, and emerging approaches are described. Strategies that enhance center energy efficiency, both in terms of overall center operation and in terms of computation performance, are discussed.
The transformative potential of an integrative approach to pregnancy.

Abstract Background Complex traits typically involve diverse biological pathways and are shaped by numerous genetic and environmental factors. Pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies are further complicated by extensive communication across multiple tissues in two individuals, interactions between two genomes—maternal and fetal—that obscure causal variants and lead to genetic conflict, and rapid evolution of pregnancy-associated traits across mammals and in the human lineage. Given the multi-faceted complexity of human pregnancy, integrative approaches that synthesize diverse data types and analyses harbor tremendous promise to identify the genetic architecture and environmental influences underlying pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies. Methods We review current research that addresses the extreme complexities of traits and pathologies associated with human pregnancy. Results We find that successful efforts to address the many complexities of pregnancy-associated traits and pathologies often harness the power of many and diverse types of data, including genome-wide association studies, evolutionary analyses, multi-tissue transcriptomic profiles, and environmental conditions. Conclusion We propose that understanding of pregnancy and its pathologies will be accelerated by computational platforms that provide easy access to integrated data and analyses. By simplifying the integration of diverse data, such platforms will provide a comprehensive synthesis that transcends many of the inherent challenges present in studies of pregnancy.
Numerical methods for thermally stressed shallow shell equations

Abstract We develop efficient and accurate numerical methods to solve a class of shallow shell problems of the von Karman type. The governing equations form a fourth-order coupled system of nonlinear biharmonic equations for the transverse deflection and Airy’s stress function. A second-order finite difference discretization with three iterative methods (Picard, Newton and Trust-Region Dogleg) is proposed for the numerical solution of the nonlinear PDE system. Three simple boundary conditions and two application-motivated mixed boundary conditions are considered. Along with the nonlinearity of the system, boundary singularities that appear when mixed boundary conditions are specified are the main numerical challenges. Two approaches that use either a transition function or local corrections are developed to deal with these boundary singularities. All the proposed numerical methods are validated using carefully designed numerical tests, where expected orders of accuracy and rates of convergence are observed. A rough run-time performance comparison is also conducted to illustrate the efficiency of our methods. As an application of the methods, a snap-through thermal buckling problem is considered. The critical thermal loads of shell buckling with various boundary conditions are numerically calculated, and snap-through bifurcation curves are also obtained using our numerical methods together with a pseudo-arclength continuation method. Our results are consistent with previous studies.
Communication Privacy Management

In today's world, managing private information is an issue that is discussed frequently, lamented often, and wildly misunderstood. Privacy protection and privacy revelations, deciding to grant or deny access, and determining how much information a person wants to disclose to family members or physicians, all reflect examples of choices people make on a daily basis. With ever-expanding informational technologies, the challenges of making effective choices are heightened. People are more sensitized to decisions about revealing and concealing, not only in online communities, but also in face to face interactions. The need to regulate information individuals consider private has become more apparent. Although many researchers are exploring angles to better understand ways to identify the issues, the evidenced-based, social behavioral theory of communication privacy management (CPM) has proved useful in grasping the many facets of private information management and answers questions about why privacy management is wildly misunderstood. Keywords: communication theory; confidentiality; disclosure; family communication; health communication; interpersonal theory; privacy; social media
Globalised Imaginaries of Love and Hate: Immutability, Violence, and LGBT Human Rights

The U.S.-led global LGBT human rights campaign, formalised on International Human Rights Day 2011, sutures human rights policing with a politics of protection. Centred on a singular LGBT victim of violence, the campaign’s multiple projects legitimate military and financial intervention under the auspices of human rights. This article examines the regulatory production of globalised LGBT rights through the nexus of international LGBT human rights/hate crime laws, U.S. asylum law, and equal protection treatment of sexual orientation. I argue that the juridical and ideological frameworks that guide state action in each of these areas converge in the construction of an immutable LGBT identity that is the object of racialised, culturally othered violence. This rendering of sexual difference through the flattening of culture elides structural violence and advances human rights imperialism.
The ‘Spiritual’ World: The Personal, the Social, and the Communal

Husserl’s Ideen II, subtitled “Phenomenological Investigations on Constitution” and one of Husserl’s most comprehensive works, encompasses wide-ranging analyses of what Husserl calls “material nature,” “animal nahlre,” and “the spiritual world.” In this paper, I shall reflect briefly on his understanding of the interplay among the notions of person, society, and community Both personal and professional factors contribute to this reflection. Each of us belongs to several different, but interrelated and overlapping, communities. family, circle of friends, departmental colleagues, faculty, college or university community, professional society, and political communities of various levels (city or county, state or province, country, world). The functionings and malfunctionings of some of these communities are themselves sufficient to motivate a reflection on the nature of a well-ordered community. In addition, however, the recent publication of the articles Husserl wrote for the Japanese journal Kaizo on the theme of renewal (XXVII: 3–124) and his early lectures on ethics and value-theory (XXVIII), along with some of the previously published materials on intersubjectivity (esp. “Gemeingeist I” and “Gemeingeist II,” XIV: 165–232)—as well as the fine commentaries on Husserl’s ethical writings by writers such as Karl Schuhmann, James Hart, and Philip Buckley (cf. bibliography)—provides new reason to reflect on Husserl’s ethical thought, which is too often dismissed as marginal to his work.
Biological Hierarchies, Their Birth, Death and Evolution by Natural Selection

Description of the biologicalhierarchy of the organism has been extendedhere to included the evolutionary andecological sub-hierarchies with theirrespective levels in order to give a completehierarchical description of life. These newdescriptions include direction of formation,types of constraints, and dual levels. Constraints are produced at the macromolecularlevel of genes/proteins, some of which (a) aredescendent restraints which hold a hierarchytogether and others (b) interact horizontallywith selective agents at corresponding levelsof the niche. The organism is a dual levelconstrained by both the ecologicalsub-hierarchy (survival) and evolutionarysub-hierarchy (fitness) while serving as thehighest level of the specializationsub-hierarchy, therefore, it is unique inbelonging to three sub-hierarchies. Organismsexperience birth, sometimes death, andparticipate in evolution. Birth of an organismis realized when a cell is removed from theconstraints of the organism and assumes itsown organismal constraints. Death occurs withthe cessation of protein synthesis becauseproteins and their products constitutecomponents at high levels of the hierarchy. Selection is of two types, natural selection,involving adaptive traits interacting withfeatures in a niche, and hierarchicalselection, requiring traits to be compatiblewith existing hierarchical constraints.
Introducing Gaming-Simulations into the Planning Process in a Developing Country

Under the sponsorship of UNDP (the United Nations Development Program), a multistage process of introducing gaming-simulation into various stages of the planning process in Ghana has been underway for the past year. The consultation was invited in response to the pressing demand for a larger number of trained development planners in both the public and private sectors in Ghana. Over the course of two 1-month visits, this author worked with staff at the Department of Planning, Faculty of Environmental and Development Studies, University of Science and Technology (UST), Kumasi, with several major goals connected with the overall aim of strengthening the capacity for using and designing gaming-simulations. As a result of the success of this first consultation, a second stage has been proposed. This paper will elaborate on the first phase of the project.
Funding Challenges During Transition to Adulthood for Young Adults Who Use Medical Technology

This paper describes some issues related to financing school and postschool needs for young adults who use medical technology, and the challenges families, professionals, and students face in planning for life after school. These descriptions are based on a study of young adults who use ventilators and gastrostomy tubes (g-tubes) as medical technologies to replace or supplement lost physiological functions. We conducted the interviews over a 2-year period (1995–1997), during which time students, parents, and professionals discussed supportive policies and barriers to the student's transition to adulthood. Students using ventilators were found to have different experiences from students using gastrostomy tubes, suggesting that use of medical technology is not the sole factor influencing the transition process to adulthood. Instead, presence or absence of cognitive disabilities and the student's eligibility and involvement with vocational rehabilitation service agencies are more influential factors than the technology they use.
Chapter 10 Agricultural finance: Credit, credit constraints, and consequences

Abstract The theory and methods used to analyze the market, management, and policy elements of agricultural finance draw substantially on modern finance concepts, but with significant tailoring to the unique characteristics of agricultural sectors throughout the world. Both developed and developing economies are considered in this chapter. Discussed in detail are lender-borrower relationships, financial growth and intertemporal analysis, portfolio theory and financial risk, investment analysis, the financial structure of agriculture, and private and public sector suppliers of financial capital. Other key issues involve the linkages between investment and finance, and the extent of credit rationing in agriculture.
Small-Molecule Acetylation Controls the Degradation of Benzoate and Photosynthesis in Rhodopseudomonas palustris

ABSTRACT The degradation of lignin-derived aromatic compounds such as benzoate has been extensively studied in Rhodopseudomonas palustris, and the chemistry underpinning the conversion of benzoate to acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) is well understood. Here we characterize the last unknown gene, badL, of the bad (benzoic acid degradation) cluster. BadL function is required for growth under photoheterotrophic conditions with benzoate as the organic carbon source (i.e., light plus anoxia). On the basis of bioinformatics and in vivo and in vitro data, we show that BadL, a Gcn5-related N-acetyltransferase (GNAT) (PF00583), acetylates aminobenzoates to yield acetamidobenzoates. The latter relieved repression of the badDEFGAB operon by binding to BadM, triggering the synthesis of enzymes that activate and dearomatize the benzene ring. We also show that acetamidobenzoates are required for the expression of genes encoding the photosynthetic reaction center light-harvesting complexes through a BadM-independent mechanism. The effect of acetamidobenzoates on pigment synthesis is new and different than their effect on the catabolism of benzoate. IMPORTANCE This work shows that the BadL protein of Rhodopseudomonas palustris has N-acetyltransferase activity and that this activity is required for the catabolism of benzoate under photosynthetic conditions in this bacterium. R. palustris occupies lignin-rich habitats, making its benzoate-degrading capability critical for the recycling of this important, energy-rich biopolymer. This work identifies the product of the BadL enzyme as acetamidobenzoates, which were needed to derepress genes encoding benzoate-degrading enzymes and proteins of the photosynthetic apparatus responsible for the generation of the proton motive force under anoxia in the presence of light. In short, acetamidobenzoates potentially coordinate the use of benzoate as a source of reducing power and carbon with the generation of a light-driven proton motive force that fuels ATP synthesis, motility, transport, and many other processes in the metabolically versatile bacterium R. palustris.
Pseudoblock of the Posterior Mitral Line With Epicardial Bridging Connections Is a Frequent Cause of Complex Perimitral Tachycardias.

Background: The mitral isthmus is the critical element of perimitral reentrant tachycardias. Prolongation in transisthmus conduction time and differential pacing techniques are commonly used to det...
Scanless volumetric imaging by selective access multifocal multiphoton microscopy

Simultaneous, high-resolution imaging across a large number of synaptic and dendritic sites is critical for understanding how neurons receive and integrate signals. Yet, functional imaging that targets a large number of submicrometer-sized synaptic and dendritic locations poses significant technical challenges. We demonstrate a new parallelized approach to address such questions, increasing the signal-to-noise ratio by an order of magnitude compared to previous approaches. This selective access multifocal multiphoton microscopy uses a spatial light modulator to generate multifocal excitation in three dimensions (3D) and a Gaussian–Laguerre phase plate to simultaneously detect fluorescence from these spots throughout the volume. We test the performance of this system by simultaneously recording Ca2+ dynamics from cultured neurons at 98–118 locations distributed throughout a 3D volume. This is the first demonstration of 3D imaging in a “single shot” and permits synchronized monitoring of signal propagation across multiple different dendrites.
Religious coping, general coping strategies, perceived social support, PTSD symptoms, resilience, and posttraumatic growth among survivors of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti

This study examines the relationships between coping strategies, perceived social support, resilience, PTSD symptoms, and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a sample of 256 survivors of the 2010 Haiti e...
Analysis of Spatial Mismatch and Equity using Commuting and Labor Sheds: Trends in Indiana:

Commuting patterns are spatial interactions that result from the location decisions of firms, households, and the availability of transportation. Empirical evidence shows that these patterns differ...
Predicting Opioid Use, Increased Health Care Utilization and High Costs for Musculoskeletal Pain: What Factors Mediate Pain Intensity and Disability?

Abstract This study determined the predictive capabilities of pain intensity and disability on health care utilization (number of condition-specific health care visits, incident, and chronic opioid use) and costs (total condition-specific and overall medical costs) in the year following an initial evaluation for musculoskeletal pain. We explored pain catastrophizing and spatial distribution of symptoms (ie, body diagram symptom score) as mediators of these relationships. Two hundred eighty-three military service members receiving initial care for a musculoskeletal injury completed a region-specific disability measure, numeric pain rating scale, Pain Catastrophizing Scale, and body pain diagram. Pain intensity predicted all outcomes, while disability predicted incident opioid use only. No mediation effects were observed for either opioid use outcome, while pain catastrophizing partially mediated the relationship between pain intensity and number of health care visits. Pain catastrophizing and spatial distribution of symptoms fully mediated the relationship between pain intensity and both cost outcomes. The mediation effects of pain catastrophizing and spatial distribution of symptoms are outcome specific, and more consistently observed for cost outcomes. Higher pain intensity may drive more condition-specific health care utilization and use of opioids, while higher catastrophizing and larger spatial distribution of symptoms may drive higher costs for services received. Perspective This article examines underlying characteristics that help explain relationships between pain intensity and disability, and the outcomes of health care utilization and costs. Health care systems can use these findings to refine value-based prediction models by considering factors that differentially influence outcomes for health care use and cost of services.