cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
States, Insurgents, and Wartime Political Orders

Bargains, deals, and tacit understandings between states and insurgents are common in civil wars. This fascinating mix of conflict and cooperation shapes patterns of politics, governance, and violence. Building on recent findings about state formation, I offer a conceptual typology of political orders amidst civil war. Wartime political orders vary according to the distribution of territorial control and the level of cooperation between states and insurgents. Orders range from collusion and shared sovereignty to spheres of influence and tacit coexistence to clashing monopolies and guerrilla disorder. Examples from contemporary South Asian conflicts illustrate these concepts, which are scalable and portable across contexts. Scholars need to think more creatively about the political-military arrangements that emerge and evolve during war. A key policy implication is that there are many ways of forging stability without creating a counterinsurgent Leviathan.
Resetting of neodymium isotopes and redistribution of REEs during sedimentary processes: The Early Proterozoic Chelmsford Formation, Sudbury Basin, Ontario, Canada

Abstract The REEs abundances and neodymium isotope compositions of sandstones and siltstones from the Early Proterozoic Chelmsford Formation reveal that the REEs in some samples were redistributed during the Early Proterozoic by surficial processes and that prior to redistribution, the Nd isotope system was partially reset. The Chelmsford Formation is a coarse-grained turbidite sequence, the youngest of three clastic units that fill the Sudbury Basin in Ontario. It is constrained to have been derived from nearby Late Archean Superior Province rocks by petrography, major- and trace-element chemistry, and Pb isotopic compositions of whole-rocks and feldspar. Although REE patterns and Nd model ages for samples from around the base of the formation reflect their derivation from undisturbed Superior Province rocks (TDM ~ 2800 Ma), five samples from higher in the stratigraphic section show evidence that up to 60% of their La has been removed, and Sm Nd has increased by up to 60%. These samples also have anomalously high Nd model ages (TDM = 3400 to 4400 Ma). The presence of pronounced positive Ce anomalies in the samples with anomalous TDM indicates the influence of surficial processes on the REE composition. The data scatter about a vertical array on a plot of f Sm Nd vs. ϵNdt = 1800 (ϵNd calculated at 1800 Ma, approximately the depositional age), with values of f Sm Nd between −0.45 and −0.14. Mixing of Nd from other sources is difficult to reconcile with the petrography, major- and trace-element geochemistry, and Nd and Pb isotopes. Removal of an LREE-enriched phase from the sedimentary system provides a viable mechanism to produce the REE and Nd isotopic characteristics of the Chelmsford Formation samples. Neodymium isotopes require that this phase was partially isotopically equilibrated with the matrix sediment near the time of sedimentation. This study shows the dangers of indiscriminate use of Nd model ages in provenance studies and demonstrates that the simultaneous examination of Sm Nd and Nd isotopes on f Sm Nd vs. ϵNd (or isochron) plots is required for the recognition of sedimentary redistribution of the REE.
Lyophilised corium grafts for repair of abdominal wall defects

Summary Repair of abdominal wall defects in experimental animals using lyophilised corium is described. Corium allografts prepared in Merthiolate and lyophilised would appear to fulfill all the requirements of a patch graft. Experimental results indicate that pretreatment of the allograft with Merthiolate presumably alters the antigenicity of the lyophilised corium, rendering it immunologically inert.
Parallel Approximate Matrix Factorization for Kernel Methods

The kernel methods play a pivotal role in machine learning algorithms. Unfortunately, working with the kernel methods must deal with an n times n kernel matrix, which is memory intensive. In this paper, we present a parallel, approximate matrix factorization algorithm, which loads only essential data to individual processors to enable parallel processing of data. Our method reduces space requirement for the kernel matrix from O(n2) to O(np/m), where n is the amount of data, p the reduced matrix dimension (p << n), and m the number of processors.
Expanded polyglutamine domain proteins bind neurofilament and alter the neurofilament network.

Eight inherited neurodegenerative diseases are caused by genes with expanded CAG repeats coding for polyglutamine domains in the disease-producing proteins. The mechanism by which this expanded polyglutamine domain causes neurodegenerative disease is unknown, but nuclear and cytoplasmic polyglutamine protein aggregation is a common feature. In transfected COS7 cells, expanded polyglutamine proteins aggregate and disrupt the vimentin intermediate filament network. Since neurons have an intermediate filament network composed of neurofilament (NF) and NF abnormalities occur in neurodegenerative diseases, we examined whether pathologic-length polyglutamine domain proteins also interact with NF. We expressed varying lengths polyglutamine-green fluorescent protein fusion proteins in a neuroblast cell line, TR1. Pathologic-length polyglutamine-GFP fusion proteins formed large cytoplasmic aggregates surrounded by neurofilament. Immunoisolation of pathologic-length polyglutamine proteins coisolated 68-kDa NF protein demonstrating molecular interaction. These observations suggest that polyglutamine interaction with NF is important in the pathogenesis of the polyglutamine repeat diseases.
Collective and individual migration following the epithelial–mesenchymal transition

During cancer progression, malignant cells in the tumour invade surrounding tissues. This transformation of adherent cells to a motile phenotype has been associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Here, we show that EMT-activated cells migrate through micropillar arrays as a collectively advancing front that scatters individual cells. Individual cells with few neighbours dispersed with fast, straight trajectories, whereas cells that encountered many neighbours migrated collectively with epithelial biomarkers. We modelled these emergent dynamics using a physical analogy to phase transitions during binary-mixture solidification, and validated it using drug perturbations, which revealed that individually migrating cells exhibit diminished chemosensitivity. Our measurements also indicate a degree of phenotypic plasticity as cells interconvert between individual and collective migration. The study of multicellular behaviours with single-cell resolution should enable further quantitative insights into heterogeneous tumour invasion.
The problem of equilibrium conditions in stress relaxation analyses of solid foods

Since most solid food materials are biologically active or physically unstable, they do not reach mechanical equilibrium in the true sense of the term. Consequently, their stress relaxation data alone cannot provide information sufficient to decide whether these materials are true solids or not. The implications of this problem in the selection of rheological models for foods are emphasized and a method by which the problem can be bypassed is presented and its capabilities and limitations evaluated.
On a Property of a Class of Offset-Free Model Predictive Controllers

We consider a model predictive control framework that includes a discrete-time linear time-invariant nominal plant model augmented with an output integrator disturbance model and a Kalman filter to estimate the state and disturbance vectors. While the application of this framework can guarantee offset-free control, it has shown a consistent limitation in the achievable closed loop estimator performance. Using root locus techniques, we identify sufficient conditions for a class of nominal plant models with at least one real pole for which the closed loop estimator poles cannot be arbitrarily selected regardless of the augmented system's statistics. We present several examples illustrating the limitations of the closed loop estimator pole locations.
What We Can Learn From Twins Congenital Heart Disease in the Danish Twin Registry

Our understanding of the causes of congenital heart defects has benefited tremendously from state-of-the-art genetic and epigenetic tools. The rapid progress is due in part to the development of novel, high throughput, cost effective sequencing technology - so called next generation sequencing - has made it possible to sequence the entire genome or all genes (whole exome sequencing). However, to fully understand the causes of congenital heart disease it has been important also to study population-based data that are available from large registries, which may take decades to establish. One such program has been in existence for over 60 years and has provided novel insights into the genetic and environmental mechanisms of many diseases including congenital heart defects. The Danish Twin Registry is one of the oldest twin registries in the world and it contains information about twins born in Denmark over the last more than 130 years.1
Explaining Visual Changes in Web Interfaces

Web developers often want to repurpose interactive behaviors from third-party web pages, but struggle to locate the specific source code that implements the behavior. This task is challenging because developers must find and connect all of the non-local interactions between event-based JavaScript code, declarative CSS styles, and web page content that combine to express the behavior. The Scry tool embodies a new approach to locating the code that implements interactive behaviors. A developer selects a page element; whenever the element changes, Scry captures the rendering engine's inputs (DOM, CSS) and outputs (screenshot) for the element. For any two captured element states, Scry can compute how the states differ and which lines of JavaScript code were responsible. Using Scry, a developer can locate an interactive behavior's implementation by picking two output states; Scry indicates the JavaScript code directly responsible for their differences.
Merrill Lynch and Co., Inc. Addendum

The case notes that in early 2001, despite growth in accounts and assets, the online brokerage industry suffers from the stock market decline. Snapshots of financial situation of Merrill Lynch, Charles Schwab, and E*Trade are compared to give students a clear picture of the situation at that time.
Sideline Response and Transport

On-field head and neck emergencies can occur during any physical activity and at any level of participation. Sideline physicians along with athletic trainers and coaches need to be prepared with an organized approach to acutely evaluate and manage these injuries. In this chapter, we will review the primary assessment, immobilization, and stabilization of a youth athlete with suspected head or neck injury. We will review guidelines for cervical spine protection of the equipment-laden athlete in addition to safe packaging and transport to an emergency care setting. Lastly, we will discuss the importance of emergency planning and sideline preparedness in ensuring successful sideline emergency care and promotion of safety for the athlete.
Ultrastructural changes during reticulopod withdrawal in the foraminiferan protozoanAllogromia sp., strain NF

Allogromia sp. is a benthic foraminiferan protozoan which extends and withdraws a dynamic network of branching and anastomosing pseudopodia,i.e., reticulopods. Each reticulopod contains an elongate cytoskeleton composed primarily of microtubules (MT). When withdrawal was induced with artificial seawater supplemented with MgCl2, we found a time-dependent decrease in the number of reticulopodial MTs and a concomitant increase in 5-nm-diameter helical filaments. During the initial stages of withdrawal these helical filaments associated laterally to form loose aggregates. Later they formed dense paracrystalline aggregates, which appeared similar to those seen in the cell bodies of untreatedAllogromia juveniles prior to network extension. Similar results were obtained when withdrawal was induced by using seawater supplemented with other salts (NaCl, KCl). Treatment with an isotonic seawater substitute with an altered Na+:K+ ratio induced a momentary withdrawal, after which the organism recovered and reextended a network. During the withdrawal phase of this response, MTs became less abundant and aggregates of helical filaments more conspicuous. Together with earlier observations these findings suggest that helical filaments and paracrystalline material are an alternative or intermediate assembly form of MT proteins.
Is It Possible to Prevent ARDS

Since its initial description, the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) has been the target of many therapeutic interventions, but with only modest success.1 Improved understanding of the complex pathogenesis responsible for ARDS has led to several promising pharmacologic therapies aimed at reducing the morbidity and mortality associated with ARDS in critically ill patients. However, the majority of clinical trials of pharmacologic interventions have shown no beneficial effects, leaving ARDS mortality and morbidity unacceptably high. One possible explanation for the inefficacy of ARDS therapies is timing of delivery. Conventional ARDS clinical trials have been designed to enroll patients within 48 hours of ARDS onset, sometimes well into the critical illness phase. In rodent models, several potential therapies are effective at preventing lung injury if administered prior to insult but are less effective at rescuing the animals once the injury is substantial.2,3 These findings suggest that some therapies may be better at interrupting the initial cascade of events leading to ARDS (eg, leukocyte recruitment, platelet activation, and microvascular coagulation) than reversing lung injury once the alveolar-capillary barrier has broken down.
Histamine release with intravenous narcotics: protective effects of H1 and H2-receptor antagonists.

High dose narcotic anesthesia with fentanyl or morphine is not associated with significant direct myocardial depression. Morphine is reported to produce arteriolar dilatation and a decrease in SVR (probably due to histamine release) while fentanyl is not. Studies were undertaken to determine if morphine or fentanyl caused histamine release; if such a release correlated with hemodynamic changes, and if H1 and H2 antagonists could provide protection. In a randomized double blind study of 40 patients in 4 groups, patients who received morphine (1 mg/kg) demonstrated significant increases in plasma histamine (880±163 to 7,437±2,684 pg/ml−p<0.01) accompanied by an increase in CI (2.4±0.2 to 3.0±0.2 l/min/m2−p<0.01) and decreases in\(\overline {BP} \) (88±4 to 61±4 torr−p<0.01) and SVR (15.5±1 to 9.0±1 torr-l-min−1p<0.01). The prior administration of H1 (dyphenhydramine 1 mg/kg) and H2 (cimetidine 4 mg/kg) antagonists provided significant protection (SVR 17.4±1 to 14.6±1 torr-l-min−1−p<0.05) although histamine increased comparably (1,059±22 to 7,653±4,242 pg/ml−p<0.05). In a separate study, seven patients receiving fentanyl 50 µg/kg showed no histamine changes (935±51 to 685±51 pg/ml) and no significant hemodynamic response. Eight patients receiving morphine 1 mg/kg again showed significant increases in plasma histamine (880±163 to 7,480±2,230 pg/ml−p<0.05) which collelated with the decrease in SVR (r=0.81). These data demonstrate that morphine releases histamine in amounts which correlate with the hemodynamic changes seen. Prior administration of H1 and H2 histamine antagonists provide significant protection — more so than either alone. Fentanyl produced no histamine release which may account for much of the cardiovascular stability reported with this drug.
The cost of administering intravenous conscious sedation.

Intravenous conscious sedation is a technique which can be used instead of general anesthesia or monitored anesthesia care in some diagnostic or the rapeutic procedures and in some surgeries. It is also widely used in sedating mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units. The costs related to the use of conscious sedation and general anesthesia in electrophysiologic procedures are examined and compared. A discussion of the delivery of conscious sedation, the costs associated with the technique, and reduction of costs with the use of this method is offered for the reader ‘s consideration.
Long-term follow-up of couples after hamster egg penetration testing

Objective To determine the clinical usefulness of the zona-free hamster egg penetration test as a long-term prognostic indicator for future pregnancy. Setting Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the Washington University Medical Center. Participants All couples (n = 148) who had a hamster egg penetration assay performed between March 1, 1985 and December 31, 1986 were identified and followed with direct or telephone contact up to 68 months after the initial assay. Main Outcome Measure The monthly fecundity rates using life table analysis and the 5-year incidence of pregnancy were categorized by the percentage of hamster eggs penetrated and by history of previous urologic surgery. Results There were no significant differences in the rate nor incidence of pregnancy in couples with hamster egg penetration scores of 0%, > 0% and ≤ 10%, > 10% and ≤ 20%, or > 20%. Although men with previous urologic surgery tended to have lower scores, there was no significant difference in the 5-year incidence of pregnancy. Conclusion The hamster egg penetration score is not predictive of incidence of pregnancy nor time to conception.
A Nucleoporin at the Meiotic Kinetochore.

In this issue of Developmental Cell, Hattersley et al. (2016) use the unique biology of meiosis I, in which the cell can exit the division without reforming the nuclear envelope, to uncover an intriguing role of the nucleoporin MEL-28 in mediating chromosome segregation via its interaction with PP1 at the kinetochore.
NO release and the opening of K+ATP channels mediate vasodilator responses to histamine in the cat

Responses to histamine were investigated in the hindlimb vascular bed of the cat under constant-flow conditions. Injections of histamine, the H1 agonist HTMT, the H2 agonist dimaprit, and the H3 agonist R(-)-alpha-methylhistamine caused dose-related decreases in hindlimb perfusion pressure. Pyrilamine reduced the responses to histamine and HTMT by approximately 80%, whereas cimetidine reduced the responses to histamine by 20% and to dimaprit by approximately 50%. The H3-receptor antagonist thioperamide reduced the responses to R(-)-alpha-methylhistamine by approximately 60% but was without effect on the other histamine agonists. These data suggest the presence of H1, H2, and H3 receptors in the hindlimb vascular bed of the cat, that histamine acts, for the most part, by stimulating H1 receptors, and that H3-receptor activation is not involved in mediating the responses to histamine. The responses to histamine and the H1-, H2-, and H3-receptor agonists were significantly reduced by a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor and enhanced in duration by the guanosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP)-selective phosphodiesterase inhibitor zaprinast, suggesting that the responses are mediated, in part, by the release of nitric oxide and an increase in cGMP levels. The responses to histamine agonists but not to nitric oxide donors were significantly reduced by the nonselective K(+)-channel antagonist tetraethylammonium. The responses to histamine and the H1, H2, and H3 agonists were not affected by the cyclooxygenase inhibitor meclofenamate. The responses to histamine and HTMT are also reduced 30-50% by U-37883A, an ATP-sensitive K+ (K+ATP)-channel antagonist, at a time when the responses to the H2 and H3 agonists were unaltered. The present data suggest that vasodilation of the hindlimb vascular bed in response to H1-, H2-, and H3-receptor activation is mediated by a tetraethylammonium-sensitive mechanism that is associated with the release of nitric oxide and an increase in cGMP levels. These data further suggest that the response to H1-receptor activation is mediated by the complementary, yet independent, release of nitric oxide and the opening of a K+ATP channel.
Nitroxide Labeling of Proteins and the Determination of Paramagnetic Relaxation Derived Distance Restraints for NMR Studies

Site-specific attachment of paramagnetic spin labels to biomolecules causes distance-dependent line-broadening effects, which can be exploited to study the structure and dynamics of these molecules in solution. This protocol describes how to attach nitroxide spin labels to proteins and how to collect and analyze NMR data using these labeled samples. We also explain how to derive distance restraints for paramagnetic relaxation enhancement nuclear magnetic resonance (PRE-NMR) studies.
Lysine Deacetylases Exhibit Distinct Changes in Activity Profiles Due to Fluorophore Conjugation of Substrates

Lysine deacetylases (KDACs) are enzymes that reverse the post-translational modification of lysine acetylation. Thousands of potential substrates, acetylated protein sequences, have been identified in mammalian cells. Properly regulated acetylation and deacetylation have been linked to many biological processes, while aberrant KDAC activity has also been linked to numerous diseases. Commercially available peptide substrates that are conjugated to fluorescent dye molecules, such as 7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (AMC), are commonly used to monitor deacetylation in studies addressing both substrate specificity and small molecule modulators of activity. Here, we have compared the activity of several KDACs, representing all major classes of KDACs, with substrates in the presence and absence of AMC as well as peptides for which tryptophan has been substituted for AMC. Our results unequivocally demonstrate that AMC has a significant effect on activity for all KDACs tested. Furthermore, in neither the nature of the ef...
A social-cognitive model of animal cruelty

Recent decades have seen the emergence of social cognitive models of interpersonal aggression. These models, which have focused primarily on childhood aggression, have been the subject of extensive...
Moving to Need: The Effect of Federal Contracts on Service Provider Location

Place matters, particularly when one considers human services. Proximity to individuals served is particularly important in those human services dedicated to people with low mobility or elevated fears of difference. Our project aims to explore the location decisions of job placement and training nonprofits at a national level. Relying on four separate data sets - 990 data from the National Center of Charitable Statistics, federal contracting from the Federal Audit Clearinghouse, and American Community Survey data at the census tract level - we analyze nonprofit movement from 2008–2012 and assess the impact of federal contracts on the prevalence to move. This analysis finds that federal contracts played a powerful but double-edged role in redistributing job placement and training agencies. First, federal contracts seem to have helped nonprofits move to ‘better’ neighborhoods post-recession. Second, and somewhat contradictory, we also find that post-recession these same agencies were located in far worse neighborhoods than non-contracted counterparts that also moved during the recession.
Moderators of smoking cessation outcomes in a randomized-controlled trial of varenicline versus placebo

Varenicline has gained a reputation as the optimal intervention for treatment resistant smokers, yet more than half of those who try it do not succeed. To better understand individual differences in the effectiveness of varenicline, this study evaluates the effectiveness of varenicline for smoking cessation in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial and examines the influence of psychological factors on treatment outcome. Two hundred five cigarette smokers interested in quitting were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of varenicline or placebo. Outcomes examined were CO-confirmed continuous abstinence for the past month, average number of cigarettes smoked per day, and 7-day point prevalence. Varenicline-treated participants were more likely than placebo to achieve continuous abstinence at the end of treatment (OR = 3.29; RR = 2.62), and 7-day point prevalence rates showed an effect of medication at each time point. Participants in both groups significantly reduced their smoking during the course of treatment and follow-up, and the medication by visit interaction was significant in the expected direction. Impulsivity and personality style emerged as moderators of the relationship between medication condition and treatment outcome. In addition to replicating efficacy results for varenicline versus placebo, the present study shows that the efficacy of pharmacotherapy is influenced by psychological factors. In an era where pharmacotherapy is often perceived as the “silver bullet,” we are reminded that smoking cessation is a dynamic process and intervention must be adaptable to address individual differences.
Augmented Reality Powers a Cognitive Prosthesis for the Blind

To restore vision for the blind several prosthetic approaches have been explored that convey raw images to the brain. So far these schemes all suffer from a lack of bandwidth and the extensive training required to interpret unusual stimuli. Here we present an alternate approach that restores vision at the cognitive level, bypassing the need to convey sensory data. A wearable computer captures video and other data, extracts the important scene knowledge, and conveys that through auditory augmented reality. This system supports many aspects of visual cognition: from obstacle avoidance to formation and recall of spatial memories, to long-range navigation. Neither training nor modification of the physical environment are required: Blind subjects can navigate an unfamiliar multi-story building on their first attempt. The combination of unprecedented computing power in wearable devices with augmented reality technology promises a new era of non-invasive prostheses that are limited only by software.
CHESS: a computer-based system for providing information, referrals, decision support and social support to people facing medical and other health-related crises

CHESS (the Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System) is an interactive, computer-based system to support people facing health-related crises or concerns. CHESS provides information, referral to service providers, support in making tough decisions and networking to experts and others facing the same concerns. CHESS will improve access to health and human services for people who would otherwise face psychological, social, economic or geographic barriers to receiving services. CHESS has developed programs in five specific topic areas: Academic Crisis, Adult Children of Alcoholics, AIDS/HIV Infection, Breast Cancer and Sexual Assault. The lessons learned, and the structures developed, will serve as a model for future implementation of CHESS programs in a broad range of other topic areas. CHESS is designed around three major desired outcomes: 1) improving the emotional health status of users; 2) increasing the cost-effective use of health and human services; and 3) reducing the incidence of risk-taking behaviors that can lead to injury or illness. Pilot-testing and initial analysis of controlled evaluation data has shown that CHESS is extensively used, is useful and easy-to-use, and produces positive emotional outcomes. Further evaluation in continuing.
High-Pressure, High-Temperature Spectrophotometer Cell for in Situ Catalyst Identification

A high-pressure, high-temperature spectrophotometer cell has been designed and constructed in order to examine reacting solutions at conditions which are above ambient temperature and pressure. Large windows, a variable-path length, and a relatively compact design provide considerable versatility and permit the use of the cell interchangeably among a variety of commercially available IR and UV-Visible spectrophotometers without the need for special instrument modification. The cell has been used to study solutions at a variety of reaction conditions up to 100 atmospheres of pressure at 200°C without any suggestion of window or cell failure. The design and fabrication of the cell are reported. In addition, specific applications of the cell to studies of the rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of olefins are described.
Handling Long Horizons in MPC: A Stochastic Programming Approach

We propose an approach to handle long horizons in model predictive control (MPC). The approach is based on the observation that, if periodicity constraints are enforced over short-term stages, the long horizon MPC problem can be cast as a stochastic programming (SP) problem. The SP representation reveals a mechanism to construct a hierarchical MPC scheme under which a high-level (long-horizon) MPC controller provides periodic state targets to guide a low-level (short-term) MPC controller. We show that this hierarchical scheme is optimal under nominal (perfect forecast) conditions and can be extended to handle imperfect forecasts by correcting the targets in real-time. We demonstrate our concepts using a building system with stationary battery storage, where the goal is to use the battery to mitigate monthly demand charges while collecting revenue from hourly frequency regulation markets. We demonstrate that the hierarchical MPC scheme yields improved performance over standard MPC schemes because it can systematically capture long-term effects.
T-jump pyrolysis and combustion of diisopropyl methylphosphonate

Abstract We monitor the T-jump pyrolysis and combustion reactions of diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP) via FTIR and kinetic FTIR. DIMP is heated at 10 °C/s, ∼1800 °C/s, and ∼18,000 °C/s to temperatures between 500 °C and 1200 °C in nitrogen, air, and an oxygen-rich environment. We observe propene, isopropyl methylphosphonate (IMP), and methylphosphonic acid (MPA) as final decomposition products. In addition, we identify 2-propanol in the early phase of the reaction. The results indicate that DIMP has two possible decomposition pathways: (1) A two-step decomposition process in which DIMP first transfers an H atom from the OCH(CH3)2 group to the double-bonded oxygen through a six-membered ring transition state and forms IMP and propene. Subsequently, IMP decomposes into either propene and MPA or 2-propanol and methyl(oxo)-phosphoniumolate (MOPO). (2) DIMP transfers an H atom from the OCH(CH3)2 group to the O atom of the other OCH(CH3)2 group through a different six-membered ring and simultaneously forms MOPO, propene, and 2-propanol. Our theoretical calculation indicates that the energy barriers for the two reaction pathways are 36.5 kcal/mol (pathway 1, 1st step), 49.9 kcal/mol (pathway 1, 2nd step), and 51.2 kcal/mol (pathway 2), respectively. When using a heating rate of 10 °C/s, pathway (1) is the major reaction in the system; using a heating rate of ∼18,000 °C/s, pathway (2) is the most probable reaction; and when the heating rate is ∼1800 °C/s, both pathways are observed during the early phase of the reaction. When heated in air and an oxygen-rich environment, we observe the same decomposition products plus CO and CO2.
The Ibn Rushd Syndrome: In Search of Rational Muslim

In recent times, an increasing number of academics, journalists, and policymakers have been involved in reinterpreting, reforming and often times repairing Islam. Central to these discourses are two types of “Islam”: At one hand, there is the Islam that is incompatible with “Western” values and norms. And on the other hand, there is the Islam that share many principles associated with Western ideas. For the latter, the name of Ibn Rushd is often mentioned as the epitome of Islamic rationalism. Conversely, the works of Abū Hamid al-Ghazālī (1058-1111) is presented as diametrically opposite to Ibn Rushd's rationalism. The role of “Rational Muslim often times becomes a moment of contentions within these debates. I term this quest to discover the rational Muslim the “Ibn Rushd Syndrome” in honor of the great philosopher and to highlight the history of rationalism in Islam. The main purpose of this paper is to complicate the simplified trajectory of Islamic thought by focusing on the role of reason and rationality.
Reclaiming the social: relationalism in anglophone international studies

Even in the North American and European context, relationalism comes in many flavours. We identify the common features of relational approaches, including varieties of practice theory, pragmatism a...
Analyzing Uncertain Tabular Data

It is common practice to spend considerable time refining source data to address issues of data quality before beginning any data analysis. For example, an analyst might impute missing values or detect and fuse duplicate records representing the same real-world entity. However, there are many situations where there are multiple possible candidate resolutions for a data quality issue, but there is not sufficient evidence for determining which of the resolutions is the most appropriate. In this case, the only way forward is to make assumptions to restrict the space of solutions and/or to heuristically choose a resolution based on characteristics that are deemed predictive of “good” resolutions. Although it is important for the analyst to understand the impact of these assumptions and heuristic choices on her results, evaluating this impact can be highly nontrivial and time-consuming. For several decades now, the fields of probabilistic, incomplete, and fuzzy databases have developed strategies for analyzing the impact of uncertainty on the outcome of analyses. This general family of uncertainty-aware databases aims to model ambiguity in the results of analyses expressed in standard languages like SQL, SparQL, R, or Spark. An uncertainty-aware database uses descriptions of potential errors and ambiguities in source data to derive a corresponding description of potential errors or ambiguities in the result of an analysis accessing this source data. Depending on the technique, these descriptions of uncertainty may be either quantitative (bounds, probabilities) or qualitative (certain outcomes, unknown values, explanations of uncertainty). In this chapter, we explore the types of problems that techniques from uncertainty-aware databases address, survey solutions to these problems, and highlight their application to fixing data quality issues.
Inhibition of CD147 improves oligodendrogenesis and promotes white matter integrity and functional recovery in mice after ischemic stroke.

Abstract White matter damage is an important contributor to long-term neurological deficit after stroke. Our previous study has shown that inhibition of CD147 ameliorates acute ischemic stroke in mice. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether inhibition of CD147 promotes white matter repair and long-term functional recovery after ischemic stroke. Male adult C57BL/6 mice were subjected to transient (1-h) middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). Anti-CD147 function–blocking antibody (αCD147) was injected intravenously once daily for 3 days beginning 4 h after onset of ischemia. Sensorimotor and cognitive functions were evaluated up to 28 days after stroke. We found that αCD147 treatment not only prevented neuronal and oligodendrocyte cell death in the acute phase, but also profoundly protected white matter integrity and reduced brain atrophy and tissue loss in the late phase, leading to improved sensorimotor and cognitive functions for at least 28 days after stroke. Mechanistically, we found that αCD147 treatment increased the number of proliferating NG2(+)/PDGFRα(+) oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) and newly generated mature APC(+)/Sox10(+) oligodendrocytes after stroke, possibly through upregulation of SDF-1/CXCR4 axis in OPCs. In conclusion, inhibition of CD147 promotes long-term functional recovery after stroke, at least in part, by enhancing oligodendrogenesis and white matter repair.
US State Constitutional Entrenchment and Default in the Nineteenth Century

Constitutional scholars emphasize the importance of an enduring, stable constitutional order. North and Weingast (1989) argue that it consistent with credible commitments to sustainable fiscal policies. However, this view is controversial and has received little empirical study. We use nineteenth century US state-level data to estimate relationships between constitutional design and the likelihood of a government default. Results indicate that more entrenched and less specific constitutions are associated with a lower likelihood of default.
Flight Handling Qualities: Classical and New Models

I would like to share with you some of the work we are doing in our labs at NCA&TSU and give preliminary answers in concern to Dr. Chandra’s questions. I’m going to put this in two phases. I’ll start with the issue of virtual environment or virtual reality, from the human factor point of view, and pose some questions which we are trying to investigate.
Non-Negative Matrix Factorization for Selection of Near-Native Protein Tertiary Structures

Identifying biologically-active protein structure(s) from an ensemble of computed three-dimensional structures is a major challenge. Clustering-based methods are time-consuming and often under perform on structure datasets that are highly imbalanced. Energy landscape-based methods improve performance over imbalanced datasets but incur significant time costs. In this paper we propose a novel method based on non-negative matrix factorization. The method outperforms energy landscape-based clustering methods, addressing both time costs and challenges with imbalanced structure datasets.
Improving Neural Named Entity Recognition with Gazetteers.

The goal of this work is to improve the performance of a neural named entity recognition system by adding input features that indicate a word is part of a name included in a gazetteer. This article describes how to generate gazetteers from the Wikidata knowledge graph as well as how to integrate the information into a neural NER system. Experiments reveal that the approach yields performance gains in two distinct languages: a high-resource, word-based language, English and a high-resource, character-based language, Chinese. Experiments were also performed in a low-resource language, Russian on a newly annotated Russian NER corpus from Reddit tagged with four core types and twelve extended types. This article reports a baseline score. It is a longer version of a paper in the 33rd FLAIRS conference (Song et al. 2020).
12 – EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

Publisher Summary This chapter presents educational experience for adolescents. Several factors operate to influence a given individual's level of educational attainment. These factors are referred to as sorting mechanisms. Three major classes of factors appear to serve as sorting mechanisms: (1) family background, including socioeconomic status, discipline, and family stability; (2) academic ability, including grade failure, school attitudes, and aptitude; and (3) personality characteristics. High-school dropouts score low on academic aptitude tests, have low grades, and express negative attitudes about school. These students are lower in self-esteem and other personality characteristics in comparison to high-school graduates. Students appear to change in complex ways, partly as a function of education itself. In the affective domain, college induces changes in values, such as an increase in aesthetic values and a decrease in religious values. College students are also less authoritarian and less conservative than noncollege peers. In the cognitive domain, college appears to induce, to some extent, changes in intellectual disposition. College students prefer abstract, reflective thought in comparison to noncollege youth.
Implications of Migration Theory for Distributive Justice

This paper explores the implications of empirical theories of migration for normative accounts of migration and distributive justice. It examines neo-classical economics, world-systems theory, dual labor market theory, and feminist approaches to migration and contends that neo-classical economic theory in isolation provides an inadequate understanding of migration. Other theories provide a fuller account of how national and global economic, political, and social institutions cause and shape migration flows by actively affecting people's opportunity sets in source countries and by admitting people according to social categories such as class and gender. These empirical theories reveal the causal impact of institutions regulating migration and clarify moral obligations frequently overlooked by normative theorists.
“Habit and creativity in judges’ definition and framing of legal questions”

The dominant social scientific approach to studying judicial behavior treats judges as strategic actors pursuing their political preferences under institutional constraint. The intellectual roots of this rational choice approach are in American law’s long but sporadic engagement with pragmatist ideas. This article challenges that approach: a fully pragmatist account of judicial action provides a better description of the intellectual and social work of judging, and better explains how judges reach a decision in difficult cases that most affect the development of law and its relationship to society. The article argues that the foundational intellectual problem for appellate judges is how to define the legal questions presented in a case. Definitions of legal questions arise from the interplay of habitual and creative action in the local social context of an appeals court. Professional and local interpretive habits and legal forms ordinarily do a great deal to define the key questions, which are not strictly determined when a case comes before a court. Unscripted small group interactions at oral arguments also figure in question definition; oral arguments are most important in the rare but legally important cases where habitual practices alone are insufficient to delimit the legal question judges must answer. Supported by extensive interviews with federal appeals judges and clerks, the article illustrates judges’ creative, interactional efforts to define an answerable question in a major asylum case decided in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Building from this case, the article describes the factors that shape judicial question definition, and describes the conditions when creative judicial action is likely to be most prominent.
Scatter Correction in X-ray CT by Physics-Inspired Deep Learning.

A fundamental problem in X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is the scatter due to interaction of photons with the imaged object. Unless corrected, scatter manifests itself as degradations in the reconstructions in the form of various artifacts. Scatter correction is therefore critical for reconstruction quality. Scatter correction methods can be divided into two categories: hardware-based; and software-based. Despite success in specific settings, hardware-based methods require modification in the hardware, or increase in the scan time or dose. This makes software-based methods attractive. In this context, Monte-Carlo based scatter estimation, analytical-numerical, and kernel-based methods were developed. Furthermore, data-driven approaches to tackle this problem were recently demonstrated. In this work, two novel physics-inspired deep-learning-based methods, PhILSCAT and OV-PhILSCAT, are proposed. The methods estimate and correct for the scatter in the acquired projection measurements. They incorporate both an initial reconstruction of the object of interest and the scatter-corrupted measurements related to it. They use a common deep neural network architecture and cost function, both tailored to the problem. Numerical experiments with data obtained by Monte-Carlo simulations of the imaging of phantoms reveal significant improvement over a recent purely projection-domain deep neural network scatter correction method.
Incorporating a Mindfulness Program in a Graduate Family Nurse Practitioner Program

Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) activities have been shown to have psychological benefits. Studies have identified increased perceived levels of stress in graduate students; however, this...
Resident-led vacant lot greening and crime: Do ownership and visual condition-care matter?

Abstract In many cities, high land vacancy has contributed to negative outcomes including visual blight, loss of sense of community and safety, and high crime rates. Although studies show that vacant lot greening programs reduce crime rates in high-vacancy areas, little is known about the impacts of resident-owner-based vacant lot repurposing initiatives on crime. We evaluated the impacts of one such initiative, the Chicago Large Lot Program, on crime reduction. Through this program, qualified property owners could purchase one or two nearby city-owned vacant lots for one dollar each. Focusing on two study sites on the South and West sides of Chicago, we performed difference-in-differences analyses to examine whether blocks with at least one purchased ‘large lot’ (n = 234) showed greater reductions in various types of crime compared to matched control blocks without large lots (n = 702) in the years following program implementation (2015–2018). We found that, starting in the second year of implementation, the program contributed to significant reductions in overall crime density as well as a few types of crime. We also found that visual condition and care of purchased lots was associated with reduced crime density in one of our study sites where the percentage of purchased lots and mean condition-care rating were more than twice as much as those of the other site. Our findings support the usefulness of vacant land repurposing programs that transfer ownership to residents, and suggest that greening activities encouraged by these programs help improve neighborhood safety and quality of life.
Arsenic concentrations in the placenta are associated with dysregulation of placental microRNA expression

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Normal placental function is essential for successful pregnancy outcomes and programming lifelong health. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are epigenetic post-transcriptional regulators of ge...
The effectiveness of podcasts in sport management education part two: A qualitative analysis

Abstract Educational podcasts offer instructors and students a new, unique approach to learning course material which may translate to real-life situations. Students may take the learned material from podcasts and apply them to their jobs, internships, or real world practices in the sport management field. Podcasts are also an easy way for students to learn, utilizing while on-the-go. Previous literature demonstrates a demand for such podcasts from both educators and students to form new ways of learning which satisfy students with different learning styles. The purpose of this study was to perform a qualitative analysis on the use of podcasts in higher education and to determine the effectiveness of these podcasts on enhancing student learning in a Sport Event and Facilities Management graduate class. The research questions are: 1.) Did the podcasts affect student learning? 2.) Did the podcasts influence student motivation? 3.) How useful were the podcasts? The findings show that the podcasts had an overall positive effect on the graduate students’ learning and aligns with previous research, highlighting the overall effectiveness, enhanced student motivation, and usefulness of podcasts.