cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design and Pedestrianism in a Smart Growth Development

Research on urban walkability does not always make a clear distinction between design features supporting walkability and those leading to a sense of urban liveliness. Walkability, for this article...
Imagining life with an ostomy: Does a video intervention improve quality-of-life predictions for a medical condition that may elicit disgust?

Objective To test a video intervention as a way to improve predictions of mood and quality-of-life with an emotionally evocative medical condition. Such predictions are typically inaccurate, which can be consequential for decision making.
CCPS initiative to assist small and medium enterprises in improving their safety performance

The Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) has been concerned with the difficulty that Small and Medium Enterprises (SME's) face in improving their safety performance and in coping with EPA and OSHA regulations. Over the past several years, efforts to reach out to SME's by technical societies, trade associations, and other groups have not been fully effective, and for the most part have not reached SME's. To meet this challenge, CCPS has formed a committee to explore methods of effectively reaching SME's and to develop programs to meet their needs.
Assessment of Anaerobic Toluene Biodegradation Activity by bssA Transcript/Gene Ratios

Benzylsuccinate synthase (bssA) genes associated with toluene degradation were profiled across a groundwater contaminant plume under nitrate-reducing conditions and were detected in significant numbers throughout the plume. However, differences between groundwater and core sediment samples suggested that microbial transport, rather than local activity, was the underlying cause of the high copy numbers within the downgradient plume. Both gene transcript and reactant concentrations were consistent with this hypothesis. Expression of bssA genes from denitrifying toluene degraders was induced by toluene but only in the presence of nitrate, and transcript abundance dropped rapidly following the removal of either toluene or nitrate. The drop in bssA transcripts following the removal of toluene could be described by an exponential decay function with a half-life on the order of 1 h. Interestingly, bssA transcripts never disappeared completely but were always detected at some level if either inducer was present. Therefore, the detection of transcripts alone may not be sufficient evidence for contaminant degradation. To avoid mistakenly associating basal-level gene expression with actively degrading microbial populations, an integrated approach using the ratio of functional gene transcripts to gene copies is recommended. This approach minimizes the impact of microbial transport on activity assessment and allows reliable assessments of microbial activity to be obtained from water samples.
Competition Among Virtual Communities and User Valuation: The Case of Investing-Related Communities

Virtual communities are a significant source of information for consumers and businesses. This research examines how users value virtual communities and how virtual communities differ in their value propositions. In particular, this research examines the nature of trade-offs between information quantity and quality, and explores the sources of positive and negative externalities in virtual communities. The analyses are based on more than 500,000 postings collected from three large virtual investing-related communities (VICs) for 14 different stocks over a period of four years. The findings suggest that the VICs engage in differentiated competition as they face trade-offs between information quantity and quality. This differentiation among VICs, in turn, attracts users with different characteristics. We find both positive and negative externalities at work in virtual communities. We propose and validate that the key factor that determines the direction of network externalities is posting quality. The contributions of the study include the extension of our understanding of the virtual community evaluation by users, the exposition of competition between virtual communities, the role of network externalities in virtual communities, and the development of an algorithmic methodology to evaluate the quality (noise or signal) of textual data. The insights from the study provide useful guidance for design and management of VICs.
Anti‐Indianism in Modern America: A Voice from Tatekeya's Earth

Anti-Indianism in Modern America:. Voice from Tatekeya's Earth. Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2001. 225 pp.
Nanofabrication in polymer matrices

Abstract Polymeric systems have played important roles as templates for nanofabrication since they can offer nanotemplates with different morphologies and tunable sizes, can be easily removed after reactions, and can be further modified with different functional groups to enhance the interactions. This review covers recent advances in polymer-assisted fabrication of nanomaterials with emphasis on ordered polymeric nanostructures. Examples could include self-assembled amphiphilic block co-polymers/surfactants, cross-linkable polymers, dendrimers, microemulsions, latex particles, biomacromolecules, electric- or shear-induced structures as templates to fabricate inorganic, organic/inorganic composites and polymeric materials with nanoscale modifications. The phase behavior of block co-polymers in water and the use of templates to form ordered nanostructures are reviewed in detail. Modern physical techniques for nanoscale characterization are briefly discussed.
A Fluid Approximation for Service Systems Responding to Unexpected Overloads

In a recent paper we considered two networked service systems, each having its own customers and designated service pool with many agents, where all agents are able to serve the other customers, although they may do so inefficiently. Usually the agents should serve only their own customers, but we want an automatic control that activates serving some of the other customers when an unexpected overload occurs. Assuming that the identity of the class that will experience the overload or the timing and extent of the overload are unknown, we proposed a queue-ratio control with thresholds: When a weighted difference of the queue lengths crosses a prespecified threshold, with the weight and the threshold depending on the class to be helped, serving the other customers is activated so that a certain queue ratio is maintained. We then developed a simple deterministic steady-state fluid approximation, based on flow balance, under which this control was shown to be optimal, and we showed how to calculate the control parameters. In this sequel we focus on the fluid approximation itself and describe its transient behavior, which depends on a heavy-traffic averaging principle. The new fluid model developed here is an ordinary differential equation driven by the instantaneous steady-state probabilities of a fast-time-scale stochastic process. The averaging principle also provides the basis for an effective Gaussian approximation for the steady-state queue lengths. Effectiveness of the approximations is confirmed by simulation experiments.
Testing Inter-layer and Inter-task Interactions in RTES Applications

Real-time embedded systems (RTESs) are becoming increasingly ubiquitous, controlling a wide variety of popular and safety-critical devices. Effective testing techniques could improve the dependability of these systems. In this paper we present an approach for testing RTESs, intended specifically to help RTES application developers detect faults related to functional correctness. Our approach consists of two techniques that focus on exercising the interactions between system layers and between the multiple user tasks that enact application behaviors. We present results of an empirical study that shows that our techniques are effective at detecting faults.
THE EXISTENCE OF A MAJORITY RULE MAXIMAL SET IN ARBITRARY n-DIMENSIONAL SPATIAL MODELS

We examine the effect of indifference on the existence of a majority rule maximal set. In our setting, it is shown in all but a limited number of cases that the maximal set is empty in an n-dimensional spatial model if and only if the Pareto set contains a union of cycles. The elements that constitute the exception are completely characterized.
Structural and Functional Evaluation of C. elegans Filamins FLN-1 and FLN-2

Filamins are long, flexible, multi-domain proteins composed of an N-terminal actin-binding domain (ABD) followed by multiple immunoglobulin-like repeats (IgFLN). They function to organize and maintain the actin cytoskeleton, to provide scaffolds for signaling components, and to act as mechanical force sensors. In this study, we used transcript sequencing and homology modeling to characterize the gene and protein structures of the C. elegans filamin orthologs fln-1 and fln-2. Our results reveal that C. elegans FLN-1 is well conserved at the sequence level to vertebrate filamins, particularly in the ABD and several key IgFLN repeats. Both FLN-1 and the more divergent FLN-2 colocalize with actin in vivo. FLN-2 is poorly conserved, with at least 23 IgFLN repeats interrupted by large regions that appear to be nematode-specific. Our results indicate that many of the key features of vertebrate filamins are preserved in C. elegans FLN-1 and FLN-2, and suggest the nematode may be a very useful model system for further study of filamin function.
Rupture of an Iliac Artery Aneurysm into the Rectum: A Case Report

Arterioenteric fistulas are uncommon, particularly when involving the colon and rectum, and death often ensues from multisystem failure.A seventy-eight-year-old man was admitted to the hospital within a few hours after the onset of profuse rectal bleeding. The preoperative diagnosis was perfo rated diverticulitis, but exploratory laparotomy uncovered a ruptured right iliac artery aneurysm that had eroded into the rectum. A diverting sigmoid colosto my and cross femoral grafting were performed, and the patient recovered. Ear ly, aggressive surgical intervention and medical management were essential to the successful outcome of this case.
EGFR signaling promotes self-renewal through the establishment of cell polarity in Drosophila follicle stem cells

A stem cell is a special cell that divides to produce another stem cell, plus a cell that goes on to perform a specific role in the body. The process by which this second cell becomes a specific type of cell is called differentiation. The body contains many different types of stem cells, such as neural stem cells, which go on to form the nervous system, and epithelial stem cells, which give rise to various types of surfaces in the body, such as the skin and the lining of the intestine. Many types of epithelial cells are polarized, which means they have three distinct sides or domains: a basal domain that faces the underlying tissue; an apical domain on the opposite side; and a lateral domain on the side in between the apical and basal domains. The details of how cell polarity is established in epithelial cells are not fully understood, but it is thought to have its origins in the division of epithelial stem cells. Now, by studying follicle stem cells in the ovaries of fruit flies, Castanieto et al. have shown that a process called EGFR signaling (which is short for epidermal growth factor receptor signaling) has a central role in establishing the difference between the stem cell and the cell that differentiates. EGFR signaling does this, in part, by promoting a ‘partially polarized state’ in the stem cells: this state is characterized by the presence of a basal domain and a lateral domain but no apical domain. In fully polarized cells, the apical and lateral domains work together to ensure that all three domains remain separated on the surface of the cell, so it was surprising to find that the stem cell could maintain basal and lateral domains without an apical domain. Castanieto et al. propose that this feat is achieved by EGFR signaling, which activates a multiple number of proteins, including one called LKB1 that is known to regulate cell polarity. This work strongly suggests that that changes in cell polarity are among the earliest differences to arise between epithelial stem cells and differentiating cells. In the future, it will be important to determine whether these differences in cell polarity cause the stem cells and the differentiating cells to take on different roles in the tissue. For example, it may be that the lack of an apical domain in the stem cells shields them from signals in the tissue that promote differentiation, thus allowing them to remain undifferentiated. Conversely, the development of an apical domain in the differentiating cells may expose them to signals that promote their differentiation, and also allow them to form a barrier and perform the other roles of epithelial tissue.
An analysis of open-basin lake deposits on Mars: Evidence for the nature of associated lacustrine deposits and post-lacustrine modification processes

Abstract A large number of candidate open-basin lakes (low-lying regions with both inlet valleys and an outlet valley) have been identified and mapped on Mars and are fed by valley network systems that were active near the Noachian–Hesperian boundary. The nature of processes that modified the open-basin lake interiors subsequent to lacustrine activity, and how frequently sedimentary deposits related to lacustrine activity remain exposed, has not been extensively examined. An analysis of 226 open-basin lakes was undertaken to identify evidence for: (1) exposed deposits of possible lacustrine origin and (2) post-lacustrine-activity processes that may have modified or resurfaced open-basin lakes. Spectroscopic data from the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument were analyzed over identified exposed open-basin lake deposits to assess the mineralogy of these deposits. Particular attention was paid to the possible detection of any component of aqueous alteration minerals (e.g. phyllosilicates, hydrated silica, zeolites) or evaporites (e.g. carbonates, sulfates, chlorides) associated with these exposed deposits. The aim of this paper is to act as a broad survey and cataloguing of the types of lacustrine and post-lacustrine deposits that are present within these 226 paleolake basins. Results of the morphologic classification indicate that 79 open-basin lakes (∼35% of the population) contain exposed deposits of possible lacustrine origin, identified on the basis of fan/delta deposits, layered deposits and/or exposed floor material of apparent lacustrine origin. Additionally, all 226 open-basin lakes examined appear to have been at least partially resurfaced subsequent to their formation by several processes, including volcanism, glacial and periglacial activity, impact cratering and aeolian activity. Results from the analysis of CRISM data show that only 10 (∼29% of the 34 deposits with CRISM coverage) of the exposed open-basin lake deposits contain positively identified aqueous alteration minerals, with one deposit also containing evaporites. The identified hydrated and evaporite minerals include Fe/Mg-smectite, kaolinite, hydrated silica and carbonate, with Fe/Mg-smectite the most commonly identified mineral. These results indicate that hydrated and evaporite minerals are not as commonly associated with lacustrine deposits on Mars as they are on Earth. This suggests in situ alteration and mineral precipitation, a common source of such minerals in terrestrial lakes, was not a major process occurring in these paleo-lacustrine systems, and that the observed minerals are likely to be present as transported material within the lacustrine deposits. The lack of widespread in situ alteration also suggests that either the water chemistry in these paleolake systems was not conducive to aqueous alteration and mineral precipitation, or that the open-basin lake systems were relatively short-lived.
Mechanisms that contribute to differences in motor performance between young and old adults

This paper examines the physiological mechanisms responsible for differences in the amplitude of force fluctuations between young and old adults. Because muscle force is a consequence of motor unit activity, the potential mechanisms include both motor unit properties and the behavior of motor unit populations. The force fluctuations, however, depend not only on the age of the individual but also on the muscle group performing the task, the type and intensity of the muscle contraction, and the physical activity status of the individual. Computer simulations and experimental findings performed on tasks that involved single agonist and antagonist muscles suggest that differences in force fluctuations are not attributable to motor unit twitch force, motor unit number, or nonuniform activation of the agonist muscle, but that they are influenced by the variability and common modulation of motor unit discharge in both the agonist and antagonist muscles. Because the amplitude of the force fluctuations does not vary linearly with muscle activation, these results suggest that multiple mechanisms contribute to the differences in force fluctuations between young and old adults, although the boundary conditions for each mechanism remain to be determined.
Ecology and Evolution in Tropical Herpetofauna

Donnelly, Maureen A., Brian I. Crother, Craig Guyer, Marvalee H. Wake, and Mary E. White, editors. 2005. Ecology and evolution in the tropics: a herpetological perspective. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. xv + 675 p. $95.00 (cloth), ISBN: 0-226-15657-5 (alk. paper); $45.00 (paper), ISBN: 0-226-15658-3 (alk. paper).
Social Capital as Obstacle to Development: Brokering Land, Norms, and Trust in Rural India

Summary Based on a study of how rural land brokers mediate the arrival of a Special Economic Zone in rural Rajasthan, this paper argues that theories of collective social capital cannot explain how networks, norms, and trust interact in a process of economic change. It then reconstructs Bourdieu’s distinct theory of individual social capital by showing how better-connected farmers are able to broker land and capture profits at the expense of fellow villagers, undermining trust, norms, and collective action. It argues that social capital is most plausibly seen as an aspect of social inequality that hinders inclusive development.
Estimation of Functions

An interesting problem in statistics, and one that is generally difficult, is the estimation of a continuous function, such as a probability density function or a nonlinear regression model. The statistical properties of an estimator of a function are more complicated than statistical properties of an estimator of a single parameter or of a countable set of parameters. In Chapter 4 we discussed ways of numerically approximating functions. In this brief chapter we will discuss ways of statistically estimating functions. Many of these methods are based on approximation methods such as orthogonal systems, splines, and kernels discussed in Chapter 4. The PDF decomposition plays an important role in the estimation of functions.
Attack-Resilient Sensor Fusion for Safety-Critical Cyber-Physical Systems

This article focuses on the design of safe and attack-resilient Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) equipped with multiple sensors measuring the same physical variable. A malicious attacker may be able to disrupt system performance through compromising a subset of these sensors. Consequently, we develop a precise and resilient sensor fusion algorithm that combines the data received from all sensors by taking into account their specified precisions. In particular, we note that in the presence of a shared bus, in which messages are broadcast to all nodes in the network, the attacker’s impact depends on what sensors he has seen before sending the corrupted measurements. Therefore, we explore the effects of communication schedules on the performance of sensor fusion and provide theoretical and experimental results advocating for the use of the Ascending schedule, which orders sensor transmissions according to their precision starting from the most precise. In addition, to improve the accuracy of the sensor fusion algorithm, we consider the dynamics of the system in order to incorporate past measurements at the current time. Possible ways of mapping sensor measurement history are investigated in the article and are compared in terms of the confidence in the final output of the sensor fusion. We show that the precision of the algorithm using history is never worse than the no-history one, while the benefits may be significant. Furthermore, we utilize the complementary properties of the two methods and show that their combination results in a more precise and resilient algorithm. Finally, we validate our approach in simulation and experiments on a real unmanned ground robot.
Differential characters on curves

The δ-characters of an abelian variety [B 95] are arithmetic analogues of the Manin maps [M 63]. Given a smooth projective curve X of genus at least 2 embedded into its Jacobian A, one can consider the restrictions to X of the δ-characters of A; the maps so obtained are referred to as δ-characters of X. It is easy to see that the δ-characters of X have a remarkable symmetry property at the origin. The aim of this paper is to prove that this symmetry property completely characterizes the δ-characters of X.
When I Tell My Story I'm in Charge: Ethical and Effective Storytelling in Advocacy

Stories are powerful. They can cut through prejudice, build understanding and motivate people to challenge injustice. Storytelling can empower individuals and communities by recognising their experience and expertise and promoting their agency. Storytelling also gives rise to difficult ethical questions and risks for clients, communities, community legal centres and campaigns.The challenge for progressive lawyers and activists is to develop a framework for storytelling that maximises systemic and sustainable advocacy outcomes and empowers participants while recognising and mitigating risks. The alternative is a policy and law reform agenda that relies on dry statistics and legal analysis and omits the insights and perspectives of people affected by injustice.
Mechanistic studies on a sequential PDT protocol

A low (~LD15) PDT dose resulting in selective lysosomal photodamage can markedly promote photokilling by subsequent photodamage targeted to mitochondria. Experimental data are consistent with the proposal that cleavage of the autophagyassociated protein ATG5 to a pro-apoptotic fragment is responsible for this effect. This process is known to be dependent on the proteolytic activity of calpain. We have proposed that Ca2+ released from photodamaged lysosomes is the trigger for ATG5 cleavage. We can now document the conversion of ATG5 to the truncated form after lysosomal photodamage. Photofrin, a photosensitizer that targets both mitochondria and lysosomes, can be used for either phase of the sequential PDT process. The ability of Photofrin to target both loci may explain the well-documented efficacy of this agent.
The Cardinal Temperatures and pH Response of Thielaviopsis Basicola

The severity of black root rot of tobacco, caused by Thielaviopsis basicola (Berk. and Br.) Ferr., is influenced markedly by soil tempera? ture and pH. Field studies by Johnson and Hartman (5) indicated the occurrence of the disease is determined primarily by soil tempera? ture. Valleau et al. (11) reported that black root rot injured tobacco in the field at 21-23? C, but above 25.5? C the host grew fairly well and the disease caused little damage. It is also well established (3) that black root rot is more severe on soils which have a pH of 6.0 or above. To gain a better understanding of the effects of soil temperature and
Towards Real-Time Composite Material Characterization Using Surrogate Models and GPGPU Computing

In this paper we address the particular need for high-speed or “real-time” characterization of realistic anisotropic material systems such as laminated composites. This is driven by the desire to dynamically alter the loading paths applied by a multiaxial robotic test frame during the testing of a specimen, so that strain states are developed in the specimen in a manner that activates the maximum excitation of the specimen’s constitutive properties. In order to achieve this goal, we present an evolutionary adaptation of earlier work into computationally efficient material characterization using response-surface surrogate models. This approach is enhanced by the adoption of highly-parallel General Purpose Graphics Processing (GPGPU) computing. We discuss the challenges of adapting the characterization problem for GPGPU computing, particularly in terms of parallelization, synchronization, and approximation. Two parallelized algorithms for characterization are developed, and the merits of each are discussed. We then demonstrate validation results on a simple linear-elastic material system, and present statistical data which demonstrate the robustness of the approach in the presence of experimental noise. We conclude with remarks regarding the performance of the GPGPU-enabled characterization algorithm, and its applicability to more complex material systems.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Acute and chronic losartan administration: effect on angiotensin II content and modulation of [3H]norepinephrine release from rat interscapular brown adipose tissue.

To determine if acute or chronic (21 days) losartan (10mg/kg, s.c.) regulates the renin-angiotensin system in interscapular brown adipose tissue, angiotensin II (AII) content and [3H]overflow from slices preloaded with [3H]norepinephrine were examined. Acute or chronic losartan administration had no effect on AII content. AII increased evoked [3H]overflow from slices from control rats. Losartan administration did not alter basal [3H]outflow or evoked [3H]overflow. Acute losartan administration inhibited AII-induced enhancement of evoked [3H]overflow. Tolerance developed to the inhibitory effect of losartan following chronic administration.
Monitoring Entrepreneurial Activity: Examining the Transition from Privately-Owned to Publicly Held

I show that entrepreneur and early private investor liquidity in initial public offerings is limited commensurate with the importance of underlying specialized knowledge. I employ dependent variables (secondary shares in IPOs) previously not used in the literature, and utilize data from all industrial IPOs from 1988-2002. Evidence is stark that the greater the importance of specialized knowledge the fewer secondary shares are allowed, and the less likely that any are allowed at all, as seen in tobit and logit/probit regressions, respectively. The results contribute to a greater under-standing of monitoring, particularly in an entrepreneurial or high technology setting.
An Efficient and General Finite Element Model for Double-Sided Incremental Forming

Double-sided incremental forming (DSIF) is a subcategory of general incremental sheet forming (ISF), and uses tools above and below a sheet of metal to squeeze and bend the material into freeform geometries. Due to the relatively slow nature of the DSIF process and the necessity to capture through-thickness mechanics, typical finite element simulations require weeks or even months to finish. In this study, an explicit finite element simulation framework was developed in LS-DYNA using fully integrated shell elements in an effort to lower the typical simulation time while still capturing the mechanics of DSIF. The tool speed, mesh size, element type, and amount of mass scaling were each varied in order to achieve a fast simulation with minimal sacrifice regarding accuracy. Using 8 CPUs, the finalized DSIF model simulated a funnel toolpath in just one day. Experimental strains, forces, and overall geometry were used to verify the simulation. While the simulation forces tended to be high, the trends were still well captured by the simulation model. The thickness and in-plane strains were found to be in good agreement with the experiments.
Cross-sectional imaging of multilocular cystic nephroma.

AbstractMultilocular cystic nephroma is an unusual renal mass lesion of uncertain taxonomy. Until the advent of cross-sectional imaging correct preoperative differentiation from a malignant tumor was not made with any degree of confidence. We report a case in which complementary imaging with ultrasound and computerized tomography revealed distinctive morphologic characteristics of multilocular cystic nephroma and allowed preoperative diagnosis. Specific diagnosis of multilocular cystic nephroma preoperatively obviates the need for extensive staging or radical surgery.
The role of Business Management in relation to Economic Development1

This paper describes and gives some evidence of two related concepts: Firstly: what has been called socio-psychological and habit infra-structures and Secondly: the concept of the "availability" of skill It was argued that socio-psychological and habit infra-structures can be identified in a business organization by the way in which they facilitate (like roads and railways in the macro economy) the exploitation of existing resources and skills. Examples were given of the pre-circulation of agendas and minutes of Boards of Directors and the habit of dictating letters instead of writing them out in long-hand. The concept of the "availability of skills" differentiates between possessing an ability and using it. While it is recognized that there is always likely to be a gap between knowledge and skill on the one hand and their use in practice on the other, it is argued that in developing countries this gap has often become so great as to constitute a major bottleneck in the efficient development of a business unit. The absence of certain socio-psychological and habit infra-structures is identified as one important element in the process of preventing knowledge and skills from being "available". This problem should be explored and considered in connection with the Galbraith-Harbison-Myers-Schultz argument for strategic human capital as a major resource scarcity in the process of economic development. It would seem to follow that one of the critical roles of modern business management in developing countries may be to build these habits and procedures which have here been called infra-structures.
SU-F-T-224: Importance of Timely Review of Daily Cone-Beam CTs: Dosimetric Evaluation of Rejected CBCTs for Head and Neck Patients

Purpose: To dosimetrically evaluate the importance of timely reviewing daily CBCTs for patients with head and neck cancer. Methods: After each fraction daily cone-beam CT (CBCT) for head and neck patients are reviewed by physicians prior to next treatment. Physician rejected image registrations of CBCT were identified and analyzed for 17 patients. These CBCT images were rigidly fused with planning CT images and the contours from the planning CT were transferred to CBCTs. Because of limited extension in the superior-inferior dimension contours with partial volumes in CBCTs were discarded. The treatment isocenter was placed by applying the clinically recorded shifts to the volume isocenter of the CBCT. Dose was recalculated at the shifted isocenter using a homogeneous dose calculation algorithm. Dosimetrically relevant changes defined as greater than 5% deviation from the clinically accepted plans but with homogeneous dose calculation were evaluated for the high dose (HD), intermediate dose (ID), and low dose (LD) CTVs, spinal cord, larynx, oropharynx, parotids, and submandibular glands. Results: Among seventeen rejected CBCTS, HD-CTVs, ID-CTVs, and LD-CTVs were completely included in the CBCTs for 17, 1, and 15 patients, respectively. The prescription doses to the HD-CTV, ID-CTV, and LD-CTV were received by 5% in 13 of 17 patients. For the oropharynx, larynx, parotid, and submandibular glands, the mean dose of these organs at risk was increased > 5% in 7/17, 8/12, 11/16 and 6/16 patients, respectively. Conclusion: Timely review daily CBCTs for head and neck patients under daily CBCT guidance is important, and uncorrected setup errors can translate to dosimetrically relevant dose increases in organsat- risk and dose decreases in the clinical target volumes.
Directing Policy Search with Interactively Taught Via-Points

Policy search has been successfully applied to robot motor learning problems. However, for moderately complex tasks the necessity of good heuristics or initialization still arises. One method that has been used to alleviate this problem is to utilize demonstrations obtained by a human teacher as a starting point for policy search in the space of trajectories. In this paper we describe an alternative way of giving demonstrations as soft via-points and show how they can be used for initialization as well as for active corrections during the learning process. With this approach, we restrict the search space to trajectories that will be close to the taught via-points at the taught time and thereby significantly reduce the number of samples necessary to learn a good policy. We show with a simulated robot arm that our method can efficiently learn to insert an object in a hole with just a minimal demonstration and evaluate our method further on a synthetic letter reproduction task.
Antonioni: Meaninglessness and the Modern World

Film can communicate insights that a verbal medium cannot. There are obvious ways in which this is true, as images are fundamentally different in kind than words. But I have argued in the first part of this book that film, precisely because of its concrete depictions, can convey insights that inform even the abstract ideas of theoretical philosophy. Generally speaking, there are two ways in which it does so: through its ability to deliver realistic narratives and through the expressive nature of visual imagery. Different films emphasize these aspects differently, but it is the latter consideration which really sets film apart from novels or other verbal media as a means of conveying insights into the human condition. So it is appropriate that we begin with a discussion of films that exemplify the ability for visual artistry to inform our understanding; and there are simply no films better suited to this purpose than those of Michelangelo Antonioni, particularly his four from the early sixties: L’avventura/The Adventure (1960), La notte/The Night (1961), L’eclisse/The Eclipse (1962), and II deserto rosso/Red Desert (1964).
Save The Tiger Fund’s Grant-making Strategy for Recovering Wild Tiger Populations

Publisher Summary Making effective investments through grantees in order to sustain and recover wild tiger populations from the vantage point of an organization based in Washington DC (USA) is a high risk endeavor for two reasons: grantees may fail to produce the outputs or deliverables promised; and even if the outputs are generated as promised, grantees may fail to produce the desired outcome—securing a future for wild tiger populations across their range. This chapter aims to define these risks and outline the steps that are taken to manage these risks at the Save the Tiger Fund (STF). Continued interventions are needed to maintain established protected areas and establish new ones; maintain and re-establish connections in landscapes to support and sustain the populations living in the 76 priority tiger conservation landscapes; prevent the poaching of tigers; and secure the human, financial, and political backing to sustain tiger conservation efforts in the long term. This work must be accomplished in an adaptive framework with multiple stakeholders and partners that are working from a shared vision. Monitoring conservation targets precisely enough to yield useful data can incur substantial costs on over-stretched resources and requires time, forethought, and discipline.
Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertisements Can Paradoxically Increase Intentions to Adopt Lifestyle Changes.

Background: Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements are thought to induce “boomerang effects,” meaning they reduce the perceived effectiveness of the alternative option: non-pharmaceutical treatment via lifestyle change. Past research has observed such effects using artificially created, text-only advertisements that may not adequate capture the complex, conflicting portrayal of lifestyle change in real television advertisements. Research in other risk domains has found that individual “problem status” often moderates boomerang effects, such that subjects who currently engage in the risky behavior exhibit the strongest boomerang effects. Objectives: We aimed to assess whether priming with real direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements elicited boomerang effects on perceptions of lifestyle change and whether these effects, if present, were moderated by individual problem status. Methods: We assembled a sample of real, previously aired DTC television advertisements in order to naturalistically capture the portrayal of lifestyle change in real advertisements. We randomized 819 adults in the United States recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk to view or not view an advertisement for a prescription drug. We further randomized subjects to judge either lifestyle change or drugs on three measures: general effectiveness, disease severity for a hypothetical patient, and personal intention to use the intervention if diagnosed with the target health condition. Results: Advertisement exposure induced a statistically significant, but weak, boomerang effect on general effectiveness (p = 0.01, partial R2 = 0.007) and did not affect disease severity score (p = 0.32, partial R2 = 0.0009). Advertisement exposure elicited a reverse boomerang effect of similar effect size on personal intentions, such that advertisement-exposed subjects reported comparatively higher intentions to use lifestyle change relative to drugs (p = 0.006, partial R2 = 0.008). Individual problem status did not significantly moderate these effects. Conclusions: In contrast to previous literature finding large boomerang effects using artificial advertisement stimuli, real television advertisements elicited only a weak boomerang effect on perceived effectiveness and elicited an unexpected reverse boomerang effect on personal intentions to use lifestyle change versus drugs. These findings may reflect real advertisements’ induction of descriptive norms and self-efficacy; future research could address such possibilities by systematically manipulating advertisement content.
Preclinical Comparison of Mechanistically Different Antiseizure, Antinociceptive, and/or Antidepressant Drugs in a Battery of Rodent Models of Nociceptive and Neuropathic Pain

The series of experiments herein evaluated prototype drugs representing different mechanisms of antiseizure, antinociceptive or antidepressant action in a battery of preclinical pain models in adult male CF#1 mice (formalin, writhing, and tail flick) and Sprague Dawley rats partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL). In the formalin assay, phenytoin (PHT, 6 mg/kg), sodium valproate (VPA, 300 mg/kg), amitriptyline (AMI, 7.5 and 15 mg/kg), gabapentin (GBP, 30 and 70 mg/kg), tiagabine (TGB, 5 and 15 mg/kg), and acetominophen (APAP, 250 and 500 mg/kg) reduced both phases of the formalin response to ≤ 25% of vehicle-treated mice. In the acetic acid induced writhing assay, VPA (300 mg/kg), ethosuximide (ETX, 300 mg/kg), morphine (MOR, 5 & 10 mg/kg), GBP (10, 30, and 60 mg/kg), TGB (15 mg/kg), levetiracetam (LEV, 300 mg/kg), felbamate (FBM, 80 mg/kg) and APAP (250 mg/kg) reduced writhing to ≤ 25% of vehicle-treated mice. In the tail flick test, MOR (1.25-5 mg/kg), AMI (15 mg/kg) and TGB (5 mg/kg) demonstrated significant antinociceptive effects. Finally, carbamazepine (CBZ, 20 and 50 mg/kg), VPA, MOR (2 and 4 mg/kg), AMI (12 mg/kg), TPM (100 mg/kg), lamotrigine (LTG, 40 mg/kg), GBP (60 mg/kg), TGB (15 mg/kg), FBM (35 mg/kg), and APAP (250 mg/kg) were effective in the PSNL model. Thus, TGB was the only prototype compound with significant analgesic effects in each of the four models, while AMI, GBP, APAP, and MOR each improved three of the four pain phenotypes. This study highlights the importance evaluating novel targets in a variety of pain phenotypes.
Wycliffe and Heresy

On December 31st, 1384, a priest died. No loud fanfare sounded, no one paraded through the streets; a stranger in town might not even realize that this man died holding heretical beliefs. Over forty years later his bones would be removed from the church graveyard, burned, and cast into the River Swift. However on that New Year's Eve, John Wycliffe, called by some the "Morning Star of the Reformation," quietly passed away as a baptized church member and Catholic in good standing. 1
Mindfulness and Well-Being

We begin this chapter by defining mindfulness and giving a brief historical overview for contextual purposes. In defining mindfulness, we focus on three core elements – intention, attention, and attitude. In the next section of the chapter, we review the empirical literature – which highlights the link between mindfulness as a state, trait, and practice – to physical and psychological well-being in both clinical and non-clinical samples. Throughout the chapter, we invite potential opportunities for new research directions. Finally, we detail formal and informal practices for cultivating mindfulness in an effort to enhance one’s own well-being.
Environmental and Genetic Factors Controlling Burkholderia pseudomallei Persister Phenotypes

Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of the severe disease melioidosis, can form persister cells, which can survive under high-dose antibiotic challenge complicating the treatment of the disease. In this review, we discuss our current knowledge on the formation of persister cells in B. pseudomallei. Recent studies suggest that growth-limiting conditions such as nutrient and oxygen limitation, as well as antibiotic challenge, can lead to formation of persister cells. Among the diverse set of genes that can contribute to persister cell formation, toxin-antitoxin pairs are the most studied and have been shown to contribute to persister cell formation in B. pseudomallei. B. pseudomallei infections result in high relapse rate after recovery from melioidosis. Such relapses may be facilitated by reactivation of the B. pseudomallei persister cells. Therefore, understanding the environmental and genetic factors that contribute to persistence is critical to develop effective treatment strategies for melioidosis.
Proton-proton analyzing power and spin correlation measurements between 250 and 450 MeV at 7°≤θc.m.≤90° with an internal target in a storage ring

We have measured the $\mathrm{pp}$ spin correlation coefficients ${A}_{\mathrm{xx}},$ ${A}_{\mathrm{yy}},$ ${A}_{\mathrm{xz}}$ and the analyzing power ${A}_{y}$ at 250.0, 280.0, 294.4, 310.0, 350.0, 399.1, and 448.9 MeV over the laboratory angular range $3.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}--43.5\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ $({\ensuremath{\theta}}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.}=7\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}--90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}).$ The statistical accuracy is approximately $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.006$ for ${A}_{y}$ and $\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02$ for ${A}_{\mathrm{mn}}$ per $1\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$ angle bin, while the corresponding scale factor uncertainties are 1.3 and 2.5 %, respectively. The experiment makes use of a polarized hydrogen gas target internal to a proton storage ring (IUCF Cooler) and a circulating beam of polarized protons. The method of calibration relative to pp spin correlation coefficients and analyzing power at 197.4 MeV, the injection energy, involves up and down ramping of the energy of the polarized beam. The data are compared to recent $\mathrm{pp}$ partial waves analyses and $\mathrm{NN}$ potential models, emphasizing in particular the energy dependence in the region of the pion production threshold.
A taxonomy and cultural analysis of intra-hospital patient transfers.

Existing research on intra-hospital patient transitions focuses chiefly on handoffs, or exchanges of information, between clinicians. Less is known about patient transfers within hospitals, which include but extend beyond the exchange of information. Using participant observations and interviews at a 1,541-bed, academic, tertiary medical center, we explored the ways in which staff define and understand patient transfers between units. We conducted observations of staff (n = 16) working in four hospital departments and interviewed staff (n = 29) involved in transfers to general medicine floors from either the Emergency Department or the Medical Intensive Care Unit between February and September 2015. The collected data allowed us to understand transfers in the context of several hospital cultural microsystems. Decisions were made through the lens of the specific unit identity to which staff felt they belonged; staff actively strategized to manage workload; and empty beds were treated as a scarce commodity. Staff concepts informed the development of a taxonomy of intra-hospital transfers that includes five categories of activity: disposition, or determining the right floor and bed for the patient; notification to sending and receiving staff of patient assignment, departure and arrival; preparation to send and receive the patient; communication between sending and receiving units; and coordination to ensure that transfer components occur in a timely and seamless manner. This taxonomy widens the study of intra-hospital patient transfers from a communication activity to a complex cultural phenomenon with several categories of activity and views them as part of multidimensional hospital culture, as constructed and understood by staff.
Principled thinking: a comparison of nursing students and experienced nurses.

BACKGROUND A descriptive study was used to compare ethical reasoning abilities in senior baccalaureate nursing students and experienced registered nurses. The effects of environmental factors and previous experience with ethical dilemmas in regard to nursing principled thinking were also examined. RESULTS Findings on the Nursing Dilemma Test indicated a significant difference in the level of nursing principled thinking in the two groups, with nursing students scoring higher than experienced nurses. There was a significant negative correlation between years of experience and level of nursing principled thinking. The level of nursing education (e.g., associate degree of nursing, diploma, bachelor of science in nursing, masters degree, or doctorate) did not appear to have an effect on nursing principled thinking. In addition, subjects who were most affected by practical considerations demonstrated less use of higher level moral reasoning. The effect of previous experience with ethical dilemmas on nursing principled thinking was found to be nonsignificant. CONCLUSION Ethical dilemmas continue to create much confusion and uncertainty for practicing nurses. Suggestions are made regarding individual analysis of personal and professional values in nurses. In addition, recommendations include ongoing educational offerings and nursing administration support to assist nurses during times of moral distress.